Art of Tea in the Bamboo Garden 竹園品茗

Take a breath, and enjoy a slow afternoon of tea and Chinese folk art in the tranquility of the bamboo garden. T!C tea educators, Alice Liu and Anna Ye, will brew a set of 2 Chinese teas in the traditional gongfu style throughout the afternoon. Plan to spend 30-45 mins at this drop in event. Reservations not required to enjoy the tea & conversation.

Folk artist Meifang Shi will teach mini-workshops on the art of palm braiding. Workshop participants will make a beautiful braided goldfish to bring home. RSVP required to secure your spot for the workshop. A small donation would be appreciated to cover material costs and artist fees. No prior experience required to participate. Estimated starting times for the workshops are:

2:15pm, 2:30pm, 2:45pm
3:15pm, 3:30pm, 3:45pm
4:15pm, 4:30pm, 4:45pm

A big thanks to DLJ for generously hosting our community event!

Meifang Shi has spent two decades honing the art of palm braiding, as each figurine is crafted in its own signature way. Dragons, especially larger and longer ones, can take over two to three hours to make. Easier figurines like butterflies, frogs, and grasshoppers are simpler to make and can be made in as little as five minutes. Ms Shi quite likes braiding those simpler animals because she can do them on the spot and they turn out quite beautifully.

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Chinatown Arts Festival is a month-long festival produced by Think!Chinatown to celebrate the cultural richness of Manhattan’s Chinatown with musical and dance performances, storytelling projects, film screenings, community workshops, art exhibitions, a block party, and so much more! This series of cultural programs curated by Yin Kong presents traditional Chinatown artists, and emerging Asian American artists in context and dialogue with each other, bringing the generations together and making connections with a wider arts audience. The festival also highlights cultural happenings presented by neighboring organizations and artists to increase awareness of Chinatown’s cultural assets. Learn more at thinkchinatown.org/artsfest

Think!Chinatown is an intergenerational non-profit based in Manhattan’s Chinatown, here to listen, to respond, and to build Chinatown’s capacities as a strong & vibrant immigrant neighborhood of NYC. Our mission is to foster intergenerational community through neighborhood engagement, storytelling & the arts. We push from within our neighborhood to shape better policies and programs that define our public spaces, to celebrate our cultural heritage, and to innovate how our collective memories are represented. Learn more at thinkchinatown.org