March Newsletter

PRESIDENT’S NOTE Thoughts on Seollal and What's Ahead As some of you know, it's been a few years since AK Connection held a Seollal Celebration, so we were thankful to see how many of you made it out for our event a few weeks ago. We had a great turnout and it was so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves and children playing games and making art. The board was quite busy setting up, making the food, and serving you. It was a lot of work but it was all worth it! And I take blame for the mushy rice. Let’s just say, there were no measuring cups and I had many thoughts running around my old brain. Looking ahead, I hope many of you will be able to join me at the showing of Ed Pokropski’s live show on March 23. The Bryant Lake Theater has an 85 seat limit and I’m told that around 56 tickets have been sold already. So, get your tickets sooner rather than later if you want to guarantee a seat -- check out the details in our Upcoming Events section.  Finally, we wrapped up our first-ever T-shirt design contest and have selected a winner. Congratulations to Jeff Kim for the winning design! We will unveil his design soon and will provide a link for you to order your very own shirt on our website. Thanks to all for your submissions! -David Moschkau, AKC President WHAT'S NEW Seollal Celebration Recap We were thrilled to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with more than 70 people at our Seollal Celebration on Feb. 18. We enjoyed mandu and tteokguk, watched a taekwondo demonstration, and provided traditional Korean games and crafts like yutnori and ddakji. It warms our hearts to be able to usher in the Lunar New Year with our Korean adoptee community -- thank you to everyone who came out. 새해 복 많이 받으세요!  UPCOMING EVENTS March 23: Ed Pokropski: Case 84: Adopted in the U.S.A. Join us for Korean adoptee Ed Pokropski’s one-man show on March 23 from 3-5 p.m. at Bryant Lake Bowl and Theater in Minneapolis. There will also be an informal meetup afterward at Up-Down in Minneapolis, a three-minute walk from the theater. In his show, Ed – an Emmy-nominated senior writer/producer for NBC Universal – covers his first trip back to Korea to find answers about his origin and the misconceptions about adoption using pop culture and his personal experience. Note: Tickets are $12 each and this event is for ages 16+.  Buy Tickets March 22 - April 14: The Name Jar  Join Theater Mu for the world premiere of The Name Jar at Stages Theater Company (111 Mainstreet, Hopkins, MN 55343) from March 22 - April 14. The Name Jar is based on a children's book by Yangsook Choi and tells the story of Unhei who has moved from Korea to America with her family and has started a new school. When the kids struggle with her name, she wonders if she should choose a new one to fit in. Buy tickets