- gatherings — FORTUNE

BIG SUMMER BOOK SALE:

Our 4th annual Big Summer Book Sale, at Icebox Project Space, in July 2025. At BSBS, we welcome an eclectic mix of bookstores, print collectives, artist-run projects — from comics to wearable multiples, from self-published zines to artist books — in celebration of printed matter among friends and family, in its many popular, social, and liberatory forms. 30 vendors, free food, good vibrations.

Co-organized with Ulises and Icebox Project Space, with generous support from the Penn Treaty Special Services District and Fire Museum Presents.

FORTUNE PRESENTS: Year of the Fire Horse x Ramadan

“A fire can spark when we gather fiercely, lighting up the faces of loved ones. A fire fed by our connections, our insistence on freedom, our resolve. Welcome to FORTUNE’s 7th annual Lunar New Year party — this year, falling during the holy month of Ramadan. Come by, break your fast among queer kin, and warm yourselves with us for awhile.”

Workshops with Alice Sparkly Kat, Chan
Opening Ceremony by URIOL
Performances by Beau Mahadev (NY), Hing, Shometha Monét
Karaoke with Frisbee Jackson & Sh’Maia Twain Chao
DJ Set by Chauder
Artist Vendors: Akhtarshenas Studios, frequent crier club, Ghazni Clay, Horse Girl Treasures, Many Folds Press, Peri Law, The Noxious Crow Metalworks, Tracy Chahwan, Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez

We opened serene Spa area, featuring:
Handpokes by Soft Tissue Tattoo
Facials by Maybe Khim

And there was more variety: mahjong and cards, activity tables, and a raffle with all proceeds to Juntos and Vietlead. COVID-safer hours were held prior to sundown.

Year of the Water Rabbit

Year of the Wood Dragon

Year of the Wood Snake

Our Lunar New Year gatherings reupholster tradition in jubilant and unabashed variety. Hosted at Icebox Project Space, these celebrations have featured performances, workshops, karaoke serenades, fare and wares by local queer Asian vendors, parlor games, and a 7ft disco ball.

Video documentation from Year of the Wood Snake by Ty Burdenski and Aidan Un. Featuring live sound recordings from the evening's performances:

“Urban Legend,” original taiko and house dance piece composed and performed by Casual Fifth

"look to the sky," guzheng piece composed and performed by Salina Kuo

Unity @ the Initiative CARE PACKAGE

With care, we curated packages on occasion of Unity at the Initiative, and in celebration of the Year of the Metal Ox. These boxes featured contributions by local QTBIPOC artists and makers, and were distributed for free to QTBIPOC friends, neighbors, and family of Asian Arts Initiative.

Inside, recipients found a variety of treats — dyed & screenprinted handkerchiefs, herbal tea blends, heirloom seeds, a digital playlist, and more — material proof of the vibrant and resilient creative community here in Philadelphia, and tools for future wholeness.

Through the assembly and distribution of this care package, we remain committed to a practice of coming together and collective care, even from a distance. In the absence of much governmental and infrastructural support for us, we honor care for ourselves, each other, and our worlds.

Including contributions by: Felicia Blow, golden collier, Hardwork Movement, Icon Ebony Fierce, Lucia Garzón, JK Chang, Kamihira, Kilamanzego, Kirby Reiko McKenzie, Malachi Lily, Marria Nakhoda, Moor Mother, Naima Merella, Olivia Neutron-John, Rachel Ishikawa, Ramona Córdova, Serena Hocharoen, Tagine Dream, Truelove Seeds & Jasmine Hamilton, Wit López, Yarrow

Press Play — LIVE!

A virtual panel with QT/POC small presses and print spaces, hosted in Spring 2020 to discuss activitvating print as a resource. The event included conversations with: No Shame Distro, Sponge Gourd Collective, Endless Editions, Other Publishing, and Ulises.

GATHERINGS in the Year of the Pig:

1: NEW YEAR — celebrating lunar, dumpling-folding, blessings by Miss Piggy Lee
2: CORRESPONDENCE — studio nite @Andra's, postcards, italian sausage bao
3: ABOUT — wait for it —
4: TECHNOLOGIES — big-screen presentations (Catching! Eva! Quinha!) at the round table, self-spinning lazy susan, livestreamed karaoke, fruit service by Pear Ware, Eva's lightboxes @High Tide Gallery
5: BLOOM — picnic, passing sticky rice, badminton by the Southeast Asian market @FDR Park
6: SWEAT — work & play @Truelove Seeds Farm, lettuce-bearing ritual, how to save seeds, sudden rain
7: SOURCE — beach day send-off, strong wind and sand, warm water, fish snacks @Mike's
8: HARVEST — potluck @Heidi’s, debut khao man gai, shepherd’s purse wontons, shoyu cured eggs, biore nose strips for all
9: GARMENT — clothing swap @Andra's, sew jobs, egg drop ribbons, pig blanket hallo-weenies, many treats
10: CHANCE — BYO game @Connie's, wheel of fortune: a scratch-off, mahjong, cards, mystery egg rolls
11: TAKE CARE — hotpot :-) byo ingredient, dinner steam, marbled nails, warm dessert soup
12: WANING — A LUNAR NEW YEAR PARTY @The Rotunda in collaboration with Sarah Kim; jubilation, grace, variety
13: WAXING — returning home — potluck @Heidi’s, DIY buffet & karaoke, our hearts will go on

Photo credit: Manny Figueroa, FIGUEROA PHOTOS

Photo credit: Owen Taylor. www.trueloveseeds.com