What's happened QAPA?

2006	Event
May 13	QAPA Semi-Formal Wine & Cheese Fundraiser Yes, QAPA went upscale for one night with a wine & cheese fundraising party. Jazz music, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, appetizers, and cheese were provided, along with great company. We took sliding scale donations, and raised $355 for pride!!
April 29	QAPA Rap Series: Sex Toys 101 / Pride Fundraiser Sponsored by Athena Home Novelties, QAPA RAP Series hosted another awesome event! This month we brought you Sex Toys 101, which included discussion, sex tips, free goodies, sex toy education, games, Q&A;, a chance to buy, and more. The event was held as our first PRIDE fundraiser, and we raised $250 while having fun and gearing up for PRIDE!
March 25	The Cross Cultural Context of LGBTIQ Issues, 1pm Several QAPA members will be speaking on the panel in the forum so come check it out if you can! Shifting Hues of Rainbows: The Cross-Cultural Context of LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer) Issues Saturday, March 25th, 2006, 1:00-2:45pm Northeastern University 403 Ell Hall
March 24	March Madness Potluck with MASALA and Asian Impact, 7pm This month's Potluck is being replaced by a SPECIAL event co-sponsored by MASALA, QAPA and Asian Impact. Join us for a fabulous night of music, food, drinks and best of all, SAFE SEX EDUCATION courtesy of the AI boys. We will be serving hors dourves and non alcoholic drinks, but feel free to bring whatever you want! Hope to see you all there!
March 22	QAPA Rap Series: Me, My Identity, and You, 7pm Finally, the long-awaited second rap discussion of the QAPA rap series, we invite you to a night of debate and discussion! The topic for the night will be identities and labels from a Queer API perspective. We hope to discuss the different sexual, gender, racial (and more?) identities that we choose to use for ourselves.
February 22	QAPA Town Hall Meeting, 59 Temple Place, Suite 406, 7pm We want to hear from you ! The new year has begun and QAPA wants to invite you all to our first open steering committee meeting. We're always looking for ways to improve our events and further our work in providing a safe, educational, and fun space. Fresh ideas, fabulous attitudes, we know you got them -- so bring it! Dinner will be provided! Please email qapa@qapa.org with any questions.
January 21	QAPA January Potluck, Davis Square, 7pm Our first potluck of the year was a tremendous success, with a packed house of 50 people. A smorgasbord of Asian and non-Asian dishes were sampled. Special thanks to the gracious hosts!
2005	Event
December 18	QAPA Holiday Party, Chau Chow City, 6pm Happy Holidays Everyone! QAPA is having our Annual Holiday Party at Chau Chow City. We have reserved the mezzanine for our event and we should have plenty of space for our festivities. So please come for some tantalizing food, effervescent company and scintilating conversation. As in years past, please feel free to "dress to the nines" in order to celebrate in style (entirely optional, of course)! Yankee Swap and out for drinks afterwards.
November 12	Beautiful Boxer Potluck Dinner 5pm Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman. The movie chronicles her life from a young boy who likes to wear lipstick and wear flowers to her sensational career as kickboxer whose specialty is ancient Muaythai boxing moves which she can execute expertly with grace and finally her confrontation with her own sexuality which led to her sex change op. Potluck dinner at 5pm, film at 7pm.
November 5	B.D. Wong Comes to Town, 6pm Successful gay Asian actor B.D. Wong (HBO's Oz, NBC's Law and Order: SVU, Broadway's M. Butterfly) is coming to town and giving a one-night only talk at Blackman Theatre at Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue at 8pm. B.D. Wong's speaks at 8pm, but we're going out for dinner first at 6pm at Pan Thai Restaurant at nearby 14A Westland Avenue, and then walking over together.
October 22	MASALA Mela Come out and celebrate South Asian queer culture with food, dance, and camp! WHERE: MACHINE NIGHTCLUB (1256 Boylston St, Boston, near Fenway Stadium) DOORS open at 7pm, DINNER from 7:30-8:30pm, PERFORMANCES & MUSIC follow TICKETS: $15 advance (email masala_mela@yahoo.com) $20 at door
October 20	The Modern/Embassy, 10pm Fellow party people - after a short reprieve, our location for the next Asian Invasion has been locked down. Please bring your sassy, sexy selves to Embassy/The Modern at 36 Lansdowne Street so we can dance the night away. From the information on the website, it looks like Thursday night at that venue will cater to both guys and girls -- guys upstairs at Embassy and girls downstairs at The Modern. The night is 18+. For more information about the club, please click here. See you and your fab friends there!
October 8	Dim Sum Brunch Join us for our month brunch at Chau Chow City in Chinatown!
September 15	Asian American Film Festival Opening Night: Quentin Lee's ETHAN MAO Join us for opening night of the 2005 Boston Asian American Film Festival, where QAPA will be co-sponsoring Quentin Lee's film, ETHAN MAO. We'll be there early, so come say hi! *** OPENING NIGHT *** Thursday, September 15, 2020 @ 7 PM at The Institute of Contemporary Art Feature Film: ETHAN MAO (Boston premiere!) Directed by Quentin Lee 18-year-old Ethan has been kicked out of home because he's gay, and has had to make do with a lonely life on the street hustling, and selling his body to older men. Things change when he befriends fellow hustler and drug dealer, 19-year-old Remigio. In what turns out to be a life-changing decision, he persuades Remigio to help break into his parents home. When Ethan's parents return home unexpectedly, Ethan, his family and Remigio are forced to confront unresolved conflicts and feelings long kept secret. This coming of age tale successfully blends elements of family drama, romance and thriller into one tightly wound package. For more info on Ethan Mao: http://www.ethanmao.com For more info on the film festival: http://www.aarw.org/film_website/
September 13	Equal Marriage Candlelight Vigil Please join us in support of equal marriage at the State House for the Candlelight Vigil. This is an issue that affects many of our own Family's current and future marriages. Take a stand, do something to show our support for equal rights, while giving a face to our community in this struggle. If you'd like to meet up with us, we will meet at the Park Street T station at 5:45.
September 9	September Brunch at Haveli Join us for our monthly brunch at Haveli in Cambridge for cheap, but good Indian buffet. There may also be some ice cream in it for you afterwards...
July 23	Joint QAPA/MASALA Potluck at Singing Beach This beach in Manchester gets its name from the melodious squeaking sounds that your feet make in the fine sand. This is one of the most beautiful beaches around! Also, at this event, we shall be saying good-bye to one of the leaders of the GLBT Asian community. We at QAPA/MASALA will sorely miss her and invite you to come say goodbye to her and wish her well.
June 16	Saving Face at Loews Harvard Square, 7:15pm Those of you who were at the MFA's Gay and Lesbian film festival this year know how hilarious and moving Alice Wu's film is. It's worth seeing again! Those who spoke with Alice at the festival know that Thursday is the last day it's showing in Boston before Sony Picture Classics decides whether to release the film more widely. Please show your support for a quality queer Asian film!
June 16	FREE AZN Pride Party at Manray/Campus, 9pm Join us for a FREE post-pride Asian pride party at Manray/Campus to celebrate our efforts at another successful float in the parade!
June 11	QAPA in the 35th Annual Boston Pride Parade This year, we shared a float with MAP for Health, MASALA, A Slice of Rice, and a new Rhode Island group, Prysm. It was a hot, steaming day, but we were glad to cheer and dance to promote queer API visibility! To view photos, please visit http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/qapa and click on the Photos section. Note: You must be a QAPA member to view these photos.
June 10	Pride Float Decoration Potluck/Party We had a lot of fun decorating the float into the wee hours of the morning. People showed off their talents by hauling cinder blocks and trailers, and also choosing coordinating colors and designs.
June 5	AIDS Walk QAPA/MASALA/MAP raised $2635.01 in Annual AIDS Walk Fundraiser. A special thanks to Sarav for putting a lot of energy and enthusiasm into this year's successful AIDS walk! [more]
June 4	Dinner at Penang in Chinatown We had some 20+ people show up, including some new members! Thanks for checking us out!
June 2	Pride Packing Party Volunteers had pizza and helped put together thousands of packets including safer sex items and information about our queer Asian groups to be handed out to spectators during the parade.
May 11	QAPA Co-Presents Alice Wu's Saving Face, QAPA co-presented Alice Wu's queer Asian film Saving Face on the prestigious opening night of the Museum of Fine Art's Annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. After the screening, we mingled with special guests Alice Wu and GORGEOUS cast member Lynn Chen. Photos to be posted soon!
May 6	Dinner Potluck We gave away some tickets to the opening night screening of Saving Face at this dinner potluck held in Davis Square.
April 29	QAPA joins MASALA and Rainbow Boston at Toast QAPA partied with MASALA and Rainbow Boston at Toast, located at 70 Union Square in Somerville!
April 28	Rap Series - "Coming Out?" This evening of discussion over coffee and free dinner and dessert was an excellent opportunity to share our thoughts and experiences on coming out as queer Asian Pacifiic Islanders. Stay tuned for further installments of the rap series!
April 2	Dinner at Pho Pasteur
March 31	First Asian night at Manray/Campus! QAPA, MASALA, MAP for Health, and Slice of Rice members joined others in descending on Manray/Campus' first ever gay Asian night! We took the night and made it our own, with some Asian remixes and special live performance numbers. Look out for the next Asian night!
March 26	Fundraiser for the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Started by a group of lesbians of color in NYC in the 70's, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice works for social, racial and economic justice in the U.S. and internationally, helping lesbians and allied communities challenge oppression and claim their human rights. This important event, which raised nearly $2,000, was cosponsored by QAPA, MASALA, and MAP for Health.
March 19	Joint QAPA/MASALA/History Project Potluck QAPA joined forces with MASALA for a hugely successful dinner potluck, during which members of the History Project discussed an exciting collaboration to develop an online exhibit documenting Asian GLBT history in the Boston area. [more].
February 19	Lunar New Year Party MAP for Health, with the support of QAPA, MASALA, A Slice of Rice, and Asian Impact, presented its FREE annual party at Buzz. In addition to the free food, dancing, and contests, several QAPA members participated in the "date auction," raising several hundreds of dollars. Check out the flyer.
February 11	Valentine's Day Potluck Party QAPA went wild this Valentine's with a party of food, games, and secrets revealed. Check out the photos here. (You must be a QAPA member to view these photos.)
January 9	Brunch at Mary Chung's We started off the new year right with our popular brunch at Mary Chung's Restaruant near Central Square. Around 20 people showed up, and we welcomed some new members. Three cheers for the queer-friendly Mary Chung's!
2004	Event
December 11	QAPA Holiday Party We celebrated our End of the Year Party at Chau Chow City in Chinatown. We had a good year to be thankful for: our 25th Anniversary, our first ever Float at Pride (which received an Honorable Mention from the Pride Committee), our first ever Boat Cruise, our first ever celebration of marriage in our community (yea!) plus so many more wonderful events. We also had another Yankee Swap, and people were a little more polite this year…
November 25	Homestyle Thanksgiving Dinner One of our members graciously offered to cater the event in her home, culminating in a fun, but chaotic 20-player game of Pictionary. Oh, and lots of leftovers for people to take home!
November 20	QAPA Movie and Potluck Dinner Night QAPA presented the Chinese blockbuster Hero starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, and Zhang Ziyi (a.k.a A Movie About Getting Rid of Leaders the Old-Fashioned Way: Assasinating Them!). The film was projected on the wall of a QAPA member's beautiful loft, and was preceded by an scrumptious potluck dinner.
November 13	Asian GLBQ Workshop at Smith College Some of the QAPA steering committee members participated in an Asian awareness conference at Smith College in Northhampton, MA. We ran an Asian LGBQ panel and Asian LGBTQA workshop that explored our personal experiences, stereotypes, and queer Asians as minorities within a minority. Made for some interesting discussion, and afterwards we browsed around Northampton and had some yummy Moroccan eats.
October 31	QAPA's Rocky Horror Halloween Potluck Party Following the success of last year's Halloween potluck, we again converged in costume at Albert's house in Cambridge for a night of fun and surprises! The pinata took a huge beating, but eventually rewarded us with goodies. And we discovered that the best technique to bob for apples is to suck them up. Those interested made their way to Sony Loews theater in Harvard Square to watch showing of the special Halloween edition of the Rocky Horror Picture Show!
October 23	Asian Invasion Despite the Red Sox game, 20ish people showed up to "invade" Club Hollywood (yes, a lesbian venue for once!). We danced the night away and made the important statement that Asians are a SIGNIFICANT part of the queer community! (They also gave us a good discount ;))
October 3	Brunch at Mary Chung's We were joined by our friends at Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY), who were in town for the BASIC conference.
October 2	Boston Asian Students Intercollegiate Conference (BASIC) Members of QAPA, MASALA and GAPIMNY moderated and spoke at the "LGBT Issues" and "At-Risk Youth" panels of this conference. The panels were very well received.
September 12	QAPA 25th Anniversary Sunset Boat Cruise. The cruise was an absolute success. The boat was pretty, the weather was gorgeous, the sunset was beautiful, and the company was great. We simply cannot think of a better way to celebrate our 25th birthday!
August 28	Get Close w/ QAPA Low on plot and high on eye-candy, "So Close" ("Charlie's Angels of the East") was experienced in all of its high-flying kick glory using a DLP projector. Unlike the Hollywood flick its based on, two of the women in this Hong Kong martial arts movie actually become interested in each other and share a on-screen kiss (!!). To go with our potluck dinner, bubble tea drinks were provided courtesy of Jeannie!
August 22	Potluck Brunch Our August potluck brunch was a great success. The rumor of a mah jong table begin present turned out to be true! A wedding gift was presented to the QAPA couple who tied the knot the first week after May 17th, 2004, and the gift was certainly something they'd have never bought for themselves--massage gift certificates!
July 10	Potluck Brunch We had a great time at our July potluck brunch. The food included...mmm...fudge! And the completely furnished gazebo was a beautiful locale for a relaxing Sunday, especially for playing Gayopoly. We should use the gazebo more often!
June 16	Charlestown High School Visit Invited by Charlestown High School, two of our members went to talk to some of their Chinese students about being gay and Asian.
June 12	34th Annual Boston Gay Pride Parade The Boston Pride Parade was an incredible success! The theme was "Monsoon Wedding Banquet," and the costumes were beautiful, the float was beautiful, and our spirit was beautiful! Thanks to the 50 or so members of MAP for Health, QAPA, MASALA, and A Slice of Rice who participated, ESPECIALLY to those who showed up for moral support and ended up changing their minds to march with us. Let's do it again next year!
June 9	Safer-Sex Kit Packing In preparation for the Pride Parade, we spent the evening packing a whopping 2,000 kits with safer-sex materials to be distributed along the parade route. Thanks to all who donated their time!
May 30	Potluck/Barbecue Thanks to HJ for hosting the successful barbecue on Sunday night - her backyard was the perfect location underneath the grape-vine trellis!
May 22	Are Gay Rights Human Rights? 'Voices from the Global South' QAPA co-sponsored this event organized by Young Professionals for International Cooperation. There was a screening of the provocative film, Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World (www.afterstonewall.com), followed by a panel discussion on the current state of gay rights as it relates to people of color around the world.
May 21	MAP for Health Pride Kick-Off Party @ Dedo's To kick off this year's Boston Pride Parade, MAP hosted a party at Dedo's Lounge & Bistro (69 Church Street, Boston), which also raised funds for the float that MAP, MASALA and QAPA will be doing together this year.
May 15	Margaret Cho in Revolution at the 20th Annual Boston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 10:15pm, Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts QAPA co-presented Margaret Cho in Revolution, which was heralded by The Chicago Sun Times as "Her strongest show yet!" Margaret Cho's critically acclaimed Revolution Tour played to sold-out audiences across the country. Filmed live at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, the film captures Margaret's unbridled, no holds-barred humor.
May 9	Mary Chung Nostalgia Brunch We hope to bring back fond memories of the good old days by going to Mary Chung. Moreover, thanks to Mary, we finally have more women than men coming to the brunch, its been almost a year since this last happened...
May 2	GLAD Marriage/Immigration Forum: Love, Marriage & International Intrigue at Northeastern University School of Law, Cargill Hall We co-organized a forum with GLAD to inform binational same-sex couples of the law and the risks that marriage will impose on their relationship and on the immigration status of the non-citizen spouse. Also, read the warning issued by GLAD regarding same-sex binational couples marrying in Massachusetts. [English] [Spanish] We have provided a Chinese translation as well.
April 24	QAPA Wine & Cheese Fundraiser The semi-formal fundraiser on Saturday, April 24th was an astounding success, raising several hundred dollars for our normal operational expenses and our joint float with MAP for Health and MASALA in this year's Boston Pride Parade. Thanks for the generosity of all who attended!
April 11	QAPA April Brunch & Steering Committee Meeting We enjoyed a wonderful Sunday Brunch at Clery's in Back Bay, and stayed to have our Steering Committee Meeting.
April 1-3	Between the Lines: Negotiating South Asian LBGT Identity This wass a festival of film, video, readings and discussion that was held at MIT. QAPA was proud to co-sponsor the official festival dinner reception on April 2, 9pm.
March 20	Joint March Potluck with MASALA The joint potluck with MASALA was an astounding success! The apartment was packed with people enjoying home-cooked food and delectible desserts. We also welcomed several new QAPA members!
March 20	QAPA tennis members played @ MIT
March 20	Steering Committee Meeting The steering committee met to discuss the recent Queer Asian Legacy Conference, fundraising, our float for the 2004 Pride Parade, and our sponsorship of the upcoming South Asian film festival dinner at MIT.
March 5-7	Queer Asian Pacific Legacy Conference QAPA definitely showed its presence at the conference. About 15 QAPA members attended, and some even facilitated the workshops. It was a great conference and QAPA members got to mingle with other queer APIs and groups around the country. Read the article in the Gay City News.[more]
February 22	QAPA tennis members played @ MIT
February 15	QAPA tennis members played @ Harvard
February 8	Steering Committee Meeting The steering committee met from 12-2PM at MAP to discuss the New York Queer Asian Legacy Conference, brainstorm and decided on the organization structure and by-laws of QAPA. It was a very efficient meeting and we accomplished a lot in 2 hours (view the minutes).
February 7-8	MassEquality Phone Drive Several QAPA members attended the MassEquality phone drive to urge people to call their legislators who are swing votes to oppose the anti-gay state constitutional amendment, which only recognizes the union between a man and a woman. This vote will take place the following Wednesday, March 11, 2004.
February 1	February Brunch We held a dim sum brunch at Chau Chow City, and 19 people came in total, probably an all-time record for dim sum! We ate a lot (almost 50 dishes!), but surprisingly it only came to $10 per person. We are glad to have met a few new members as well.
January 11	January Potluck We held potluck at Suriya's place. It was well-attended, and people had a good time. The steering committee met afterwards to plan for the coming year.
2003	Event
December 7	Annual Winter Party Our Annual Winter Party was held at China Pearl. Despite the snow storm, 15 people showed up for a great dinner. We had a lot of fun playing Yankee Swap as well.
December 1	QAPA issued a Press Release for SJC ruling
November 23	QAPA meeting on Press Release for SJC ruling
November 23	QAPA tennis members met to play @ MIT
November 8	Gay Guerilla Night 9:30pm, Club Cafe. November really has been a busy month for QAPA. At least 30 people showed up for the Gay Guerilla Night, which is a social and political gathering to show the presence of Asians in the queer community. People who showed up include a lot of active QAPA members and their friends, as well as our friends from MASALA. It was really memorable to see so many Asians together at Club Cafe! Thank you all for your support!
November 8	QAPA tennis members met to play @ Harvard.
November 7	The Matrix Revolutions Over a dozen of us went to watch The Matrix Revolutions at the Boston Commons, followed by dinner in Chinatown. The night was a riot!
November 2	QAPA tennis members met to play @ Harvard.
November 1	November Potluck We had a halloween party/potluck at Albert's house. About 25 people showed up, including some new members. Decorations started at 4, and the party started at 7. We cracked open a deranged spider pinata and made a mess bobbing for apples. It was a lot of fun!
October 25	Apple Picking We went apple picking at Lookout Farm at South Natick.
October 19	QAPA tennis members met to play @ Harvard.
October 12	QAPA tennis members met for the first time to play @ Harvard.
October 5	October brunch @ Club Cafe. Eleven people came, including some new members :), yeah! We had great conversation and some great brunch food.
October 4	Steering committee meeting @ Diesel Cafe, Davis Square. Eight people attended. We made plans for the QAPA Guerilla Event scheduled for November 8.
September 13	September potluck At a member's gorgeous penthouse at the Back Bay. About 25-30 members, a lot of them new, attended. We also had a discussion on the future of QAPA. Of course, a potluck cannot end without a mahjong game. The party was a blast! Some members also expressed interest in tennis or mahjong parties. These will be coming soon!
August 12	QAPA planning meeting at Bertucci's at Back Bay.
August 10	August brunch Dim sum at Chau Chow City. About 16 people attended.
July 27	QAPA planning meeting at Coolidge Corner.
July 25	Tomb Raider 2 We went to see Angelina Jolie kick butt at Tomb Raider 2.
July 6	July brunch & Legally Blonde 2 We had dim sum at Chow Chau City at Chinatown, and then head over to the Commons Loews to watch Legally Blonde 2 :)
June 16	Gay Pride Like previous years, we marched with MAAPP, MASALA, and A Slice of Rice. It was a lot of fun!
April 6	Brunch at Mary Chung, Central Square
March 2	Brunch at Mary Chung, Central Square
January 5	Brunch at Emperor's Garden, Chinatown
2002
December 15	We took over Chau Chow City for our annual Holiday Party!
May 2-19	QAPA was proud to co-present the film Lan Yu at the MFA Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival.