Stories in Action

 ”Uncle Toisan,” a Chautauqua performance by renowned writer and historian William “Charlie” Chin. Chin plays a Chinese-America character called Uncle Toisan whose life spans the Chinese Exclusion Act to the post-civil rights era and the emergence of Asian-American consciousness. 1-3 pm, Saturday, April 18. Chinese Culture Center, 750 Kearny Street, San Francisco. More.

“Sharing the Channel,” a half-hour documentary film on the history of the Santa Barbara Channel and the Northern Channel Islands. 7- 8:30 pm, Wednesday, April 22. E. P. Foster Library, 651 E. Main Street, Ventura.

“Sharing the Channel,” a half-hour documentary film on the history of the Santa Barbara Channel and the Northern Channel Islands. 7-8:30 pm, Monday, April 20. Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara.

“Sharing the Channel,” a half-hour documentary film on the history of the Santa Barbara Channel and the Northern Channel Islands. 7-8:30 pm, Tuesday, April 21. Del Norte Transfer Station, 111 S. Del Norte Boulevard, Oxnard.

“Broadway: Around the World in 30 Blocks,” a radio series about the cultures and cuisines along Sacramento’s most delicious street. The series airs on Capital Public Radio on the second Friday of each month through November 2009 during “Morning Edition.” Learn more about the project and listen to the first segment.

Arthur Dong’s “Hollywood Chinese” a high-spirited look at the ways the Chinese have been imagined in the movies, from silent classics to contemporary blockbusters, premieres nationally on American Masters on PBS on Wednesday, May 27. Check local listings for times in your area.

“When Medicine Got it Wrong,” a California Documentary Project film about how loving parents stood up to the medical establishment and changed how we understand schizophrenia. The film airs on KQED’s Truly CA series on Sunday, May 10, at 6 pm.

Are you a K-12 teacher planning to cover the history of California immigration and migration in your classroom? If so, check out WeAreCA.org, the Council’s website that puts that history at your fingertips. To learn exciting ways to use the website, attend a workshop near you. The workshops, sponsored by the California History-Social Science Project and led by expert teachers, take place this month in Santa Barbara and San Francisco. Find out more and register. And stay tuned for announcements of future workshops in your area.

The Purple Moon Dance Project presents “When Dreams Are Interrupted … “, a work- in-progress performance of a new, site-specific, interdisciplinary piece with original dance, art, music and memories from the Japanese-American WW II internment experience. The performance takes place at the historic Japanese YWCA Julia Morgan-designed building, 1830 Sutter Street, San Francisco, on Sunday, May 3, at 2 pm. The performance will be followed by a discussion and a reception. The completed work will premiere in Berkeley on Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4 and 10-11. More.

Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas lies the desert Morongo Basin area, where homesteaders, starting in the late 1930s, began occupying the area under the Small Tract Act, which made so–called useless federal land available for private ownership.

Jackrabbithomestead.com tells the history of the area through the voices of local residents, historians and area artists, many of whom reside in reclaimed historic cabins and use the structures as inspiration for their creative work.

The 29 Palms Historical Society Museum is holding a listening party of the stories on Saturday, March 28, 1 to 3 p.m. In case you plan to visit the area, be sure to check out the downloadable car audio tour on the site.