ATLANTA, February 1, 2010 – The Korea Times and MBC America in collaboration with Eden Entertainment is proud to present the first Annual Atlanta Asia Festival to celebrate and recognize the growth and strength of the Asian community in Atlanta. The Asian population has grown to over 500,000 residents and the Atlanta Asia Festival hopes to gather everyone to this special event. The purpose of the Atlanta Asia Festival is to promote Asian awareness by sharing various aspects of Asian culture with the entire community. The festival will host a wide variety of food tastings from different Asian countries and live performances from local Asian artists and Asian celebrities representing Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and China. The festivities will be held at the Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, GA on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday April 25.

Dedicated to promote rising local talent an opportunity to showcase their talents, The Annual Atlanta Asia Festival will also host the winners of Kollaboration to perform at the festival as well. With the mission of “Empowerment through Entertainment,” Kollaboration Atlanta began in 2008 and represents local Atlanta and Southeastern Asian-American talent. The Korea Times is proud to be a sponsor of Kollaboration Atlanta and the addition of their talented performers to the Atlanta Asia Festival will be an exciting showcase. The Korea Times has been serving the Korean community for 14 years in Atlanta but now is dedicated to bringing together all the Asian communities together for this monumental event. Never in Atlanta has there been a synergy between all the Asian communities in one single festival. As a tribute to the event, The Korea Times will donate the proceeds to a charity that truly advocates and improves the quality of life in Asia.

This year the Atlanta Asia Festival will support Holt International Children’s Services. Holt services is an organization that develops and maintains programs overseas to give orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children safe and nurturing environments in which to develop. There are over 60 million abandoned children and infants in the world today and Asia is home to a large number of them. Compared to other similar organizations, Holt International Children’s Services is one of the oldest and most passionate organizations, however, their fundraising efficiency ranks the lowest of all the charitable institutions, which is why the Atlanta Asia Festival must support their cause.

The year 2010 is the beginning of much anticipated changes and growth especially for the Asian community in Atlanta. Together, our community will continue to flourish and make a strong impact in the state of Georgia. And so together, please come and join us at the Annual Atlanta Asia Festival to celebrate our accomplishments and to support our future.

Annual Atlanta Asia Festival

Date: Saturday 4/24/2010 – Sunday 4/25/2010

Time: 9am – 6pm

Location: Gwinnett Place Mall – Mall Blvd, Duluth, GA 30096

Host: The Korea Times / MBC / Eden Entertainment

Charity: Holt International Children’s Services

For sponsorship opportunities please contact:

Thomas Lee

tleektimes@gmail.com

Tel) 770-248-9510

Fax) 770-248-9511

Kollaboration Atlanta 3 – Audition Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

“Empowerment Through Entertainment”:
Kollaboration Atlanta to Hold Auditions for Talent Competition

ATLANTA, January 25, 2010 – A creative outlet for cultural self-expression, Kollaboration Atlanta, a non-profit Asian Pacific Islander American/Canadian (APIA/C) organization, will be holding auditions on February 6, 2010 for its third annual talent show competition. Dedicated to giving rising performers a chance to showcase their talents and break into mainstream media, Kollaboration’s past events have brought together talented performers, community enthusiasts, and diverse professionals in celebrating artistic talent and the breakthrough of cultural barriers.

With the mission of “Empowerment Through Entertainment,” Kollaboration Atlanta began in 2008 and represents local Atlanta and Southeastern Asian-American talent. Kollaboration Atlanta’s goals are to 1) provide a creative outlet for Asian-Americans in the Atlanta and Southeastern US community to share their performing talents, 2) promote and increase Asian-American visibility in mainstream media, where diversity is often stereotyped or unseen, and 3) inspire Asian-American youth to pursue their dreams and passions in the performing arts and discourage delinquent activities such as drug-use and violence.

Musicians, dancers, comedians, magicians, and more are welcome to audition on February 6, 2010 at Emory University’s White Hall in Room 208. At least one member of the group must be of Asian descent, all members need to be present for the audition, and performances should be show-ready in the event that the act is selected for Kollaboration’s show. Applications are available online at www.KollaborationATL.org and are due on February 1, 2010. Walk-ins are available on the day of the audition, but there is no guarantee of an audition timeslot.

Kollaboration Atlanta’s show will be held on April 17, 2010 at Center Stage Theatre from 7:00 – 10:00 PM. Tickets are currently available for purchase through the site www.KollaborationATL.org for $11 from now until February, $15 from March to April, and $20 on the day of the show. Last year’s show sold out the venue, attracting over 1,100 attendees, along with former Miss Georgia Teen, CNN news anchor Richard Liu, and AJC Entertainment Blogger Rodney Ho as guest judges, and performances by Oak & Gorski (formerly known as Ken Oak Band) and winner of the competition, beatboxer Rubox.

About Kollaboration: The Movement

Kollaboration is an Asian Pacific Islander American/Canadian (APIA/C) non-profit organization and movement founded in Los Angeles in the year 2000. Under the umbrella of ProKreation Productions, Kollaboration officially became incorporated as a 501(c)( 3) non-profit organization in January of 2006. Kollaboration’s strong following in its birth city has propelled its expansion to 9 other cities: Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Washington DC, Houston, Toronto, San Francisco, and Tulsa.

For audition applications, tickets, or general information, visit www.KollaborationATL.org.

For Sponsorship opportunities, contact Grace Shim, Executive Director, at graceshim@KollaborationATL.org or at (678) 763-6446.