AIISF Newsletter / February 2024
A Message From AIISF’s Executive Director
Happy Lunar New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy! Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Xin Nian Kuai Le! Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo! Suk-San Wan Dtrut-Jiin!
It’s only February, and there are already so many exciting things that the AIISF team is working on for the rest of 2024.
Congratulations to Huang Ro and Del Sol Quartet for their sold-out performances of Angel Island Oratorio at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Festival last month. We appreciated the opportunity to join them and The Last Hoisan Poets for a screening of Genny Lim’s Paper Angels at the Marina Theater in observance of Angel Island Day. We’re looking forward to hosting Del Sol Quartet for a series of performances on Angel Island this year!
We are thrilled to be a community co-sponsor for the Berkeley Repertory Theater’s production of The Far Country by Lloyd Suh. AIISF supporters can get a 20% discount on select performances! (See below)
This year, we’re hoping to bring Heather Klein’s Shanghai Angel back to the Bay Area and to have it performed on Angel Island for the first time. The piece is inspired by her grandmother’s escape from Nazi-occupied Austria through China to Angel Island and the US.
Don’t fret if you missed the staged reading of Illegal: A New Musical on Angel Island last October. We’re excited to share that this musical by Skyler Chin and Sita Sunil is coming back to the Bay Area and to Angel Island. It is based on Skyler’s grandfather’s detention and experiences at the immigration station.
Finally, the Oakland Ballet Company is debuting part of a new piece inspired by Angel Island at their upcoming Dancing Moons Festival. The full piece will be part of their Spring 2025 season, and we are currently exploring the possibility of hosting one of the performances out on Angel Island.
Music and art have the amazing power to add emotional context and connection to historic facts, figures, and experiences. We are so appreciative of all the artists who have helped to lift up Angel Island’s history through their beautifully creative pieces and performances over the past decades.
AIISF staff are also continuing to expand out our own programs and efforts including an upcoming Ancestry-sponsored genealogy webinar series, several in-person and virtual programs for youth and families, and multiple additions to the current exhibits at the site (and a few new exhibits in the works). 2024 is going to be a jam-packed year full of new reasons for you to visit or re-visit Angel Island!
Of course, none of this is possible without the support of our extended family of donors and supporters like you. So please mark your calendar and join us for this year’s 2024 Gala and Immigrant Heritage Awards. Tickets and sponsorships are now available at www.aiisf.org/gala2024.
May you live long (and prosper)!
Edward Tepporn
AIISF Executive Director
Upcoming Events
Angel Island Storytime: Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain
Friday, February 9 | Oakland Main Library | 3:45 to 4:15 pm
Join us on February 9th for a fun read aloud at the Oakland Main Library! We’ll be reading a picture book about Angel Island and answering any questions participants might have.
Kai's Journey to Gold Mountain explores the Angel Island immigration experience from the perspective of a child. This book is a great way to introduce your family to the history of the Angel Island Immigration Station.
Del Sol Quartet Performance
Saturday, March 23 | Detention Barracks Museum on Angel Island
Save the date! We are thrilled to welcome the Del Sol Quartet back to Angel Island. They will be performing a 35 minute meditation from Huang Ruo's A Dust in Time in the Detention Barracks Museum.
Free with museum admission.
Stay tuned for more details!
Save the date: Gala 2024
Our annual Gala will be held on Saturday, April 20th at The Conservatory at One Sansome in San Francisco.
Join us for an elegant evening of delicious cuisine, memorable performances, and the chance to mix and mingle with AIISF’s extended network of friends, supporters, and community partners.
Sponsorship opportunities are available.
For more information, please aiisf.org/gala2024.
Recap: Gateways in Dialogue
On December 6th, AIISF partnered with the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation for a 1-hour virtual event comparing journeys through the two immigration stations.
A recording of the event is now available to watch on our YouTube channel.
Partner Event: Celebrating Lunar New Year from Angel Island
Join Angel Island State Park for their virtual Lunar New Year event, this Wednesday, February 7th:
Happy Lunar New Year! / 恭喜发财! / 恭喜發財! Tune in before the lunar new year begins in 2024 to celebrate with us at Angel Island State Park! We'll talk about the Chinese immigrant experience in the 1900s and how that relates to modern lunar new year traditions.
Pre-registration is required.