A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

It's that time of year again here in New York City. Spring is upon us, and as the weather warms up you'll find street fairs popping up all around the city. I've already run into a couple of them. If you have ever been in the city at this time of year, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's hard to miss it when you come across blocks and blocks of a wide New York City avenue that are closed off to traffic, and bustling with pedestrians instead. You'll smell the aroma of mouthwatering foods wafting in the air, and see a variety of vendors hawking their wares. Imagine a massive flea market and a block party all rolled into one.

In the summer New York City is known for its free, open air, outdoor, public events with all sorts of cultural offerings ranging from classical music performances in Central Park to screenings of blockbuster movies at one of the Hudson River Park piers.

Most notable for the Talking Taiwan podcast and our listeners, is the Passport to Taiwan, an outdoor festival dedicated to celebrating everything related to Taiwan. The festival takes place every May in Union Square Park and is a chance for the public to experience Taiwanese culture. There are arts and crafts demonstrations, community organizations represented, the ever-popular Taiwanese food stalls, and live music performances. Passport to Taiwan has been going on for 14 years and last year an estimated 10, 000 people were in attendance.

The Hello Taiwan concert series was born out of the Passport to Taiwan and brings musical artists from Taiwan to New York to perform at the festival. This year's Hello Taiwan musical artists are truly representative the ethnic diversity of Taiwan.

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ysanne Spevack, the producer of this year's Hello Taiwan Tour. Ysanne herself is an accomplished musician who works with up-and-coming musical artists. I was really impressed with how she has embraced Taiwan and the Taiwanese music industry, which she compared to the U.K.'s. That's high praise indeed! This year's Hello Taiwan Tour runs May 24-29. Learn more about Hello Taiwan in this episode of the Talking Taiwan podcast.

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

What is the Passport to Taiwan

The origins of Hello Taiwan and the Hello Taiwan tour

The musical artists who will be performing at Hello Taiwan: Gina Can, Sean Huang, and Biung

Taiwan's music industry and how it compares to the U.K.'s

Hello Taiwan tour dates

Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan's equivalent of the Grammys

Ysanne's advice for aspiring musicians

Related Links:

Hello Taiwan Website

Link: www.hellotaiwan.us/

Hello Taiwan Facebook Page

Link: www.facebook.com/HelloTaiwanRocks//

Music videos featuring musicians performing in the 2017 Hello Taiwan Tour: Sean Huang (singing to a woman dressed in a cockroach costume), Gina Can and Biung:
Link: http://www.hellotaiwan.us/2017.html

Treya's Pledge Music Campaign is now LIVE

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/treya

To purchase tickets

Link to purchase tickets to the May 27th Hello Taiwan concert at Joe's Pub featuring Sean Huang, Gina Can, Biung and Treya
https://www.joespub.com/Tickets/Calendar/PlayDetailsCollection/Joes-Pub/2017/H/Hello-Taiwan/

Talking Taiwan Episode 45 About the 13th Annual Passport to Taiwan

Passport to Taiwan website

Learn about Taiwan in New York

Link: www.p2tw.org/

Ysanne's personal website

http://www.helloysanne.com

Ysanne's company website for Cherry Plum Media
http://cherryplum.media

Ep 54 | 2017 Hello Taiwan Tour – Ysanne Spevack Talking Taiwan

Talking Taiwan

Ep 54 | 2017 Hello Taiwan Tour – Ysanne Spevack Talking Taiwan