at the beginning of every year, whether chinese new year begins in january or february, the city and county sets a great example for the other major cities in this country in the way we celebrate lunar new year, and especially with the leadership of all the members and supporters and volunteers of the chinese chamber of commerce. we have seen so many years of the street fairs, the parades' that attract a quarter million people. we really have set an example for the rest of the country. i want to congratulate everyone for their hard work. i look forward to seeing everybody this saturday at the parade. taking an example of the lunar utah -- lunar new year and how celebrate it, we talked about it

lunar new year and chinese new year as the same period that are pretty much the same, but lunar new year is celebrated by many groups within the asian american community, including korean- americans, vietnamese americans, and many others. we want to celebrate the chinese new year every year, but also the occasion of asia pacific heritage month in grand style, and set an example for the rest of the country. this year, our theme is celebrating heritage, advancing education. we will be presenting three awards to distinguished individuals and organizations in the area us of advancing education. the nomination is open to the public. we will have more information in the weeks to come. this evening, talking about history and culture, a reception for the ceremony. we have a calligrapher and a

musician who will entertain us as part of tonight's celebration. [speaking a foreign language]

lastly, we have a special presentation. i would like to bring up commissioner and each one -- commissioner amy chuang. also representing -- i did not realize all of this. would you like to introduce the artist? this is a very special year of the dragon presentation. the artist. [speaking a foreign language]

>> thanks, claudine.

mr. mayor, i know you are pressed on time. thank you for being here tonight. your staff has asked me to call you back. i think you are late for a meeting. the work of a dragon. thank you, sir. tonight, we are honored to be with family, friends, and loved ones who help us celebrate this new beginning. we are also here with members of the elected family and special dignitaries. i want to acknowledge some of the other officials present in the audience. i know the mayor's wife is here. would you stand up? say hello. the director of civic affairs is here. emily murase is here. police chief greg suhr, and the director of dpw. we also have the president of the police commission, mr.

mazzucco. we have tiger mendoza, who sits on the school board. and we have the consul general of the philippines and the consul general of vietnam. we also have share of -- sheriff mirkarimi here, and treasurer cisneros. it is an honor on behalf of the city and county to celebrate such a cultural event as the lunar new year. this concludes tonight's ceremonies. please enjoy the reception that follows in the north light court. thank you to moon star for providing delicious food. thank you to the youth at cyc for the amazing dragon dance. speaking [a foreign-language]

thank you all. good night.

>> feel like it really is a community. they are not the same thing, but it really does feel like there's that kind of a five. everybody is there to enjoy a literary reading. >> the best lit in san francisco. friendly, free, and you might get fed. ♪ [applause] >> this san francisco ryther created the radar reading series in 2003. she was inspired when she first moved to this city in the early 1990's and discover the wild west atmosphere of open mi it's ic in the mission. >> although there were these open mics every night of the

week, they were super macho. people writing poems about being jerks. beatty their chest onstage. >> she was energized by the scene and proved up with other girls who wanted their voices to be heard. touring the country and sharing gen-x 7 as a. her mainstream reputation grew with her novel. theses san francisco public library took notice and asked her if she would begin carrying a monthly reading series based on her community. >> a lot of the raiders that i work with our like underground writers. they're just coming at publishing and at being a writer

from this underground way. coming in to the library is awesome. very good for the library to show this writing community that they are welcome. at first, people were like, you want me to read at the library, really? things like that. >> as a documentary, there are interviews -- [inaudible] >> radar readings are focused on clear culture. strayed all others might write about gay authors. gay authors might write about universal experiences. the host creates a welcoming environment for everybody. there is no cultural barrier to entry. >> the demographic of people who come will match the demographic of the reader. it is very simple. if we want more people of color,

you book more people of color. you want more women, your book more women. kind of like that. it gets mixed up a little bit. in general, we kind of have a core group of people who come every month. their ages and very. we definitely have some folks who are straight. >> the loyal audience has allowed michelle to take more chances with the monthly lineup. established authors bring in an older audience. younker authors bring in their friends from the community who might be bringing in an older author. >> raider has provided a stage for more than 400 writers. it ranges from fiction to

academics stories to academic stories this service the underground of queer fell, history, or culture. >> and there are so many different literary circles in san francisco. i have been programming this reading series for nine years. and i still have a huge list on my computer of people i need to carry into this. >> the supportive audience has allowed michele to try new experiment this year, the radar book club. a deep explorationer of a single work. after the talk, she bounces on stage to jump-start the q&a. less charlie rose and more carson daly. >> san francisco is consistently ranked as one of the most literate cities in the united states. multiple reading events are happening every night of the year, competing against a big

names like city arts and lectures. radar was voted the winner of these san francisco contest. after two decades of working for free, michelle is able to make radar her full-time job. >> i am a right to myself, but i feel like my work in this world is eagerly to bring writers together and to produce literary events. if i was only doing my own work, i would not be happy. it is, like throwing a party or a dinner party. i can match that person with that person. it is really fun for me. it is nerve wracking during the actual readings. i hope everyone is good. i hope the audience likes them. i hope everybody shows up. but everything works out. at the end of the reading, everyone is happy. ♪