October Lineup: Exciting Events by Rizal Center Filipino School Team!
Celebrate Filipino American History Month with us at the Rizal Center! Dive into the rich tapestry of Filipino American history through a day of engaging activities led by talented Chicago-based artists and educators. Enjoy a lively concert by Fil-Am musician Little Miss Ann, participate in a theater workshop with Ginger Leopoldo from CIRCA Pintig explore your creativity in a visual arts workshop with Abby Mendoza of Sinag Chicago Art.
This family-friendly event is designed to introduce children and their families to Filipino American histories and contributions often overlooked in schools. Activities are tailored for ages 2-8, with a sliding scale donation of $5-20 per family. Join us for an enriching day filled with culture, creativity, and community! REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/RC-FAHM
You’ve heard of witches, vampires, and werewolves…but have you heard of the shapeshifting aswang? The terrifying tikbalang? The powerful moon goddess Mayari? Get into the spooky season spirit with this creative writing workshop where we’ll be diving into Filipino mythology and folklore, and putting our own spin on these centuries old tales! We’ll draw our supernatural inspiration from Filipino and Filipino American literature and media. All levels are welcome – you don’t have to be a poet or a writer to join this workshop. You’ll also have the option to create a drawing or piece of art to accompany your writing in this workshop. This workshop In partnership with StoryStudio Chicago is recommended for youth ages 9-15 years old.
Meet Our Guests
Little Miss Ann is a Chicago-based, Filipina-American, nationally touring kids musician who has made 8 award-winning Family Music albums. She is also a former Chicago Public School teacher, an instructor at Chicago’s iconic Old Town School of Folk Music, a social justice activist, and a first generation Filipina American. She has performed at the Lollapalooza Kids Stage(IL), the Getty Museum (CA), Pickathon Fest (OR) Wolftrap (DC) and more. Ann is proud to be one of the first representations of Filipino American culture on notable kids radio shows like Sirius XM Kids Place Live with her songs “Ube”, “Tong, Tong, Tong” and “Stars on the Island”. She is also thrilled to be celebrating and performing fun, upbeat, interactive songs for families for Filipino American History Month at the Rizal Center.
Abigail (Abby) Linatoc Mendoza (they/she) is a second-generation Filipino American mixed media artist and care worker from the suburbs of Chicago, IL. With a BFA in Painting from the Herron School of Art + Design and an MA in Art Therapy & Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Abby’s practice is community-focused and rooted in positive youth development. While they see themself as an artist first, Abby applies their training as a therapist in a variety of experiences such as non-profit work, educational workshops, and freelance painting + design. Their artwork has been shown in galleries across Chicago, Wichita, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles.
Ginger Leopoldo is an educator, actor, director, producer, and community organizer. She is the founding Artistic Director of the Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts (CIRCA), and Executive Director of CIRCA Pintig. Her work includes performing, directing, producing, and facilitating theatre productions and workshops for all ages. Ginger has created youth heritage curricula with techniques that utilize a basic integrated theatre arts workshop methodology as well as Activism & Art workshops, STEAM Education, and programming that support the TEAACH Act for K -12 public school educators and students. Ginger has over 20 years of experience as a teaching artist and literacy coach for public school teachers. In addition, she teaches English to students on a virtual and global platform and is an adjunct lecturer in the ESL program at the University of the Potomac. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in organizational leadership focusing on the pedagogy of the Theatre of the Oppressed, popular education, and diaspora. She received her B.A. and M.A. in theater from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her recent projects include the co-design and facilitation of a UIC-funded program called WAANT – Wellness through Asian American Narrative and Theatre, she is a TEAACH Act PD facilitator with Asian American Advancing Justice Chicago and serves as an advisor for several community boards including the Chicago History Museum, UIC’s Global Asian Studies (GLAS) Community and Advisory Board, and Digital Tapestries. Ginger is a proud 1.75-generation Filipino American and lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.
Christian (Chris) Aldana (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, community organizer, and your Lola’s fave Scorpio. She is the author of The Water We Swim In (Sampaguita Press, 2023) and founder of Luya Poetry, an organization that centers the stories of people of color. One day they’ll recreate all the recipes in Dungeon Meshi.
For questions please email us at FilipinoSchool@rizalcenter.org
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