Borderlands of the Valley is a live multi-media story-telling event featuring film, poetry, youth radio, theatre and conversation to be held on March 21, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W. Main Street.
The program, sponsored by the California Institute for Rural Studies, seeks to challenge the common misunderstanding that the Central Valley is an agricultural wonder of the world because of a magical mixture of technology, capital, and land.
This one-night-only event will shine a light on the communities of people who have come to the valley from around the world with cultural, social and ecological farming knowledge that has helped to build the farming industry and who skillfully criss-cross cultural borders dozens of times a day as they shape the landscape of the San Joaquin Valley.
Borderlands will present stories, performances, music, and food from this wide variety of immigrant communities.
Borderlands will showcase diverse and dynamic actors, soulful musicians, powerhouse poets, thoughtful historians, and captivating storytellers, who will all be sharing their stories.
Tickets are sliding-scale, from $20 – $50 each, and include local food by Chef Tanisha.
The evening’s line-up includes:
- Live music from Lupe Martinez and Janaki Jagannath.
- A performance of the “Ours to Lose” play, written by Yia Lee, directed by Rich Barnes, produced by Dawn Trook, acted by Fong Xiong, Ka Vang, Fuchi Thao
- Youth-produced audio pieces about personal food histories
- A conversation between food scholar Nina Ichikawa and Buddhist priest Brian Nagata about the history of Buddhist temples in the Valley
Screening of the Pan Valley Institute documentary “From Our Roots (Desde Nuestras Raíces)” along with stories by women from the film – Myrna Martinez, Rosa Lopez, and Dayanna Sevilla
- Art by Patricia Wakida and Janaki Jagannath
- Poetry reading by Marisol Baca and Aideed Medina
- “Borderlands” will also premier a new Cal Ag Roots audio piece featuring Janaki Jagannath, Isao Fujimoto, Nikiko Masumoto, Cecelia Tsu and others.
For tickets and more information: Go online to brownpapertickets.com and search for “borderlands.”