Happenings Archive

Join The Bookworm’s weekly SciFi Book Club to talk about your favorite science fiction short stories! Each meeting we choose a short story to read and discuss. Authors we’ve talked about so far include Greg Egan, Iain M. Banks, Cory Doctorow, Andy Weir, Liu Cixin, Peter Watts, Neal Stephenson, Ted Chiang, and many others. The club meets every Thursday at 8pm. Add Olga on WeChat @Merukaba for more information.

FREE

Beijing Improv is China’s oldest and largest Improvised Theater organization. Its members come from around the world and have been trained in the best improv schools from New York, Chicago, California, the UK, France, New Zealand and more. Script-less, long-form is a popular type of improv that uses audience suggestions to create an extended scene. Attendees never know what is in store but there is always the guarantee of a laugh and a good time. Don’t miss this hilarious event!

Beijing Improv is a non-profit organization, so they donate all of their proceeds to a local charity Hua Dan which benefits migrant workers and children through the performance arts.

Tickets: 75RMB (65 RMB for members)

Order your tickets at: [email protected]

In China, vegetable safety becomes a hot topic, consumers gained stronger awareness of what they are eating. “Organic vegetables” that are grown in the soil becomes a trend. However, for many vegetable types, modern ‘soilless’ production in technically advanced greenhouses seems to be more efficient and realistic to solve the food problems in the decades.

Following subtopics will be addressed in this month’s speech:
1.How green and sustainable high-tech greenhouse is.
2.Why 100% “organic” production in the soil can not solve the world’s food problems in the coming decades.

Speaker: Oscar Niezen, Oscar has been in protected horticulture industry for 26 years (20 years in the Netherland, 6 years in China), he provides consultancy and project advice for modern horticulture and food production in Asia. Oscar is well connected in the global horticulture industry, and has the very insight about global food and vegetable issue, and tries his best to bring them to Asia.

30RMB, includes a free drink

If you’re a fan of jazz, soul, hip-hop, or something in between, don’t miss this special evening of music and wine on Sunday, August 14th. Fresh off their debut performance at The Hutong, Ren Min Beats (RMB) plays a soulful blend of jazz and R&B sure to turn you on to a whole new catalog of music. The core band, comprised of guitarists Kerry Marshall, Jr. (touring guitarists for Jason Derulo, Ledisi, and other R&B icons) and Ben Kalman as well as singers Nanci Zhang and Sydney Hess, will be joined on stage by 3 of Beijing’s top jazz musicians for this electric performance.

Join us for our monthly Book Club discussion about Things Fall Apart by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe.  Things Fall Apart is a post-colonial novel in 1958. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world.

The novel follows the life of Okonkwo. He is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan. But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone – even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists. When outsiders threaten the traditions of his clan, Okonowo takes violent action. Will the great man’s dangerous pride eventually destroy him?

FREE

The present is a contest between the bright and dark sides of discovery. To avoid being torn apart by its stresses, we need to recognize the fact―and gain courage and wisdom from the past.  Age of Discovery shows how. Now is the best moment in history to be alive, but we have never felt more anxious or divided. Human health, aggregate wealth, and education are flourishing. Scientific discovery is racing forward. But the same global flows of trade, capital, people and ideas that make gains possible for some people deliver big losses to others―and make us all more vulnerable to one another. In the moment when everyone ought to be celebrating giant global gains, many of us are righteously angry at being left out and stressed about where we’re headed. To make sense of present shocks, we need to step back and recognize: we’ve been here before. The first Renaissance, the time of Columbus, Copernicus, Gutenberg and others, likewise redrew all maps of the world, democratized communication and sparked a flourishing of creative achievement. But their world also grappled with the same dark side of rapid change: social division, political extremism, insecurity, pandemics and other unintended consequences of discovery. Now is the second Renaissance. We can still flourish―if we learn from the first.

50RMB, 40RMB (Members)

Bookworm Comedy Night is a monthly night of stand-up comedy featuring acts from the local community opening for an international headliner.

Dwayne Perkins is one of Rolling Stone magazine’s “Five Comics to Watch”. He’s an upbeat storyteller who’s act touches on family and race. He is best known for his appearances on Conan, Comedy Central, and as a regular correspondent on The Jay Leno Show. and just released a special on Netflix.

150RMB (in advance), 180RMB (at the door)

Get your tickets online here

Lear more about Xu Xi here

Get your tickets online here
200RMB