Jewell Parker Roades, the Virginia G. Piper Chair in Creative writing, meets fans and discusses "Sugar," her new novel for middle readers. It tells the story of a 10-year-old girl who lives on a sugar plantation on the banks of the Mississippi and takes it upon herself to serve as the cultural bridge between the plantation residents and the Chinese workers who come to harvest the cane. Roades will sign copies of her book after the presentation.

The Chandler Children’s Choir is presenting its spring concert, “Dancing Around the World,” a collection of songs representing different nationalities and cultures in different languages.

Resign to run

Shen Yun: This New York-based dance company resurrects the 5,000-year-old tradition of classical Chinese dance, which has been virtually extinguished in communist China.

Phoenix Sister Cities, Phoenix Sister Cities Taipei and Chengdu committees, and the Phoenix Chinese Week Committee will celebrate Chinese Week 2013 and the Chinese New Year 4711, “The Year of the Snake” from Feb. 4 to 10, with cultural and educational events at a variety of Valley locations.

Chinese New Year is the sort of new year celebration I love.

These noodles are a fun and approachable dish equally good for a busy weeknight or to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The first time I had to test a recipe for steamed fish was back in the ’80s, when I was working in the test kitchen at Gourmet magazine. And truthfully, the very idea seemed preposterous.

So much of Chinese medicine is linked to how our emotions are connected to our health and well being.  In fact the very fundamentals of Chinese medicine are reflected in the five elemental theory. This theory states each major organ has a specific emotion that affects it. It also states that out of that negative emotion can come a positive drive. For instance, at one point in my life I got angry with the way that I was being treated as a patient. I was also upset that there were no options to help me in my condition. If that wouldn’t of happened I would have never thought of becoming a health care provider. Out of that anger came a passion to help others in their healing process.

The advent calendar, which eases anxiety by counting down those pesky 24 days until Christmas Eve, is as much a holiday tradition for my family as the tree.

Ollie, a 2-year-old Shepherd-Chinese Shar-Pei mix, is excited to meet new people. He gets so excited sometimes that he forgets just how big he is (he likes to give bear hugs). Other than needing to work on his manners, Ollie is a pretty happy-go-lucky oversized puppy. He recently learned about hiking, and loves it. Enjoying the fresh air on a nice day with a human is really something Ollie looks forward to.

You don’t have to drive to northern Arizona for New England-esque fall color worth photographing. A pocket of it exists just 50 miles away, at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior.

A year after Abacus Inn shut its doors at the Ahwatukee Mercado shopping center, at the southwest corner of 48th Street and Elliot Road, a new Asian restaurant is open for business and hoping to bring customers back.

Lately I have been hearing people claim that they are a “foody.” Initially, I had thought that term meant they are a fan of food. To me that was kind of funny because should we not all be fans of food? Our bodies need it and we all seem to be a fan of it from infancy and beyond. Ask any mother. Although the term “foody” according to the dictionary is, “a person having an enthusiastic interest in the preparation and consumption of good food.” Now that I can get on board with.

If the federal government was meant to create jobs, it would have created a surplus of them by now, and unemployment would be far below 7.8 percent — considering the exorbitant amount of money the Obama administration has, as it says, “invested” to do so.

Maybe we’ll just end up being a third-world country

Maybe we’ll just end up being a third-world country

Shark Week isn’t just on TV. The popular Discovery Channel celebration of the ocean’s most notorious predator is also happening at Sea Life Arizona in Tempe.

Arizona is once again becoming a popular place for tourists.

New York •  Amazon.com wants “.joy,” Google wants “.love” and L’Oreal wants “.beauty.”

New York •  Amazon.com wants “.joy,” Google wants “.love” and L’Oreal wants “.beauty.”

Two photo exhibits, “The Many Splendors of Taiwan” and “Taiwan Plugging into the World,” will be on display 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, through June 15, at Phoenix City Hall atrium, 200 W. Washington St. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

When he was about 12, Hugh Acheson’s mom went through a cooking phase: recipes from magazines, nice pots and pans, and exciting new dishes, like her signature chicken piccata.