“Flipping the Boat” is a community engagement project that speaks to the power and agency of Filipino and other Bay Area residents to navigate their boats, ships, communities, and lives. This collaboration between the Manilatown Heritage Foundation and San Francisco’s Maritime Museum celebrates our sovereign ways of being and encourages us to take the helm of our community “ships” to direct our own destiny.
Each month, from April to July 2024, free intergenerational and family-friendly workshops will take place at the International Hotel Manilatown Center to teach people how to create their own miniature boats that will bear their dreams and wishes for themselves and for the city of San Francisco. Participants will be encouraged to let their boats stay at the Center as part of a growing exhibit of boats representing the voices of our community.
Also, from April-July 2024, the Manilatown Heritage Foundation and the San Francisco Maritime Museum will provide workshops and lectures focusing on traditional Philippine ancestral music and dance related to the maritime world, the Filipino-American connection to San Francisco maritime history, celestial navigation, and traditional boatmaking.
On Sunday, August 4, 2024, we will invite all workshop participants and the larger community to join us at San Francisco’s Aquatic Park for a special launching of our community boats into Aquatic Cove to symbolically reclaim our ancestral connection to the waterways, release our wishes, and bring our boats back to our Manilatown home. Participants will be invited to walk with us from Aquatic Park, through North Beach and to the International Hotel Manilatown Center in Chinatown to commemorate the 1977 I-Hotel Eviction, the most dramatic housing rights battleground in America’s History. We will recall the names and stories of the I-Hotel tenants (many of whom were merchant seamen, longshoremen and fishermen), and transition from a Commemoration event to a Reclamation event in which participants will actively reclaim our connection to each other as one San Francisco Bay Area maritime community. (See event schedule at https://tinyurl.com/flippingtheboat2024)
APRIL 13, 2024
EVENT TITLE: Flipping the Boat
TYPE OF EVENT: on-site
ORGANIZER(S): Manilatown Heritage Foundation and the San Francisco Maritime Museum
WHAT: An intergenerational, family-friendly miniature boat making workshop
DESCRIPTION: Starting April 13, there will be a monthly workshop until July 13, 2024 where we will dive into untold stories and flip the script on history! We’ll teach participants how to create their own miniature boats and highlight them in a “place of honor” at the International Hotel Manilatown Center. On August 4, 2024, boat makers and the general public are welcome to join us at the Aquatic Park, commemorate the boats with a ceremony, and walk the streets of San Francisco to the International Hotel Manilatown Center, continuing the festivities during this “Day of Reclamation” with snacks and networking.
WHEN: Saturday, April 13, 2024
WHERE: International Hotel Manilatown Center
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
WHAT TIME: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
HOW MUCH: Free. Donations accepted.
RSVP TO: Inquiries only at mhf@manilatown.org
RSVP BY: April 13, 2024 before the event
RSVP LINK: https://tinyurl.com/flippingtheboat2024
WEBSITE: https://www.manilatown.org/
APRIL 16, 2024
EVENT TITLE: 2024 Philippine Tax and Investment Briefing in San Francisco
TYPE OF EVENT: on-site
ORGANIZER(S): The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Silicon Valley
WHAT: Business briefing about investment opportunities and a guide to taxation in the Philippines
DESCRIPTION: The Philippines is an emerging market with a high and sustained economic growth, a vibrant workforce, and strong domestic demand. Its strategic location in Southeast Asia presents various investment prospects. Led by Mr. Raymond Abrea, founding chairman and chief tax advisor of the Asian Consulting Group, our panel will provide valuable insights into the latest economic trends, regulatory framework, and investment incentives in the country. Don’t miss out on this chance to explore the promising prospects of doing business in the Philippines.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
WHERE: Kalayaan Hall (first floor), Philippine Center
447 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94108
WHAT TIME: 5:30 p.m. (PDT)
HOW MUCH: free
RSVP TO: For inquiries only, at economic@pcgsanfrancisco.org or siliconvalley@dti.gov.ph
RSVP BY: ASAP to reserve your spotRSVP LINK: https://tinyurl.com/Tax-and-Investment-Briefing
DISCLAIMER: This is my content curation of events, aka my choices, which are organized by community-based organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and community events that benefit our diverse communities. If you have questions about an event, click on the RSVP link or find the contact person or organizers mentioned in the announcement. There are some events included in this column that I help promote or organize.
