Events for November 14, 2024 - November 14, 2024

Dear Fellow Gay Asians 40+ members: It has been months since we last met and our last gathering cancelled due to the pandemic...we hope you are all doing well. We miss you all! At a recent town hall gathering for LGBTQ+ community co-sponsored by ACAS and Project PROTECH, many of our members identified the wish to stay connected virtually, so here we are: We would like to invite all of you to join us on a virtual reunion social networking session on Friday October 2nd, from 6-7:30 p.m. It would be in time to celebrate the mid-Autumn festival, a time to be reunited and reconnected. Let us connect, catch up with each other and chat about how we can best stay connected and support each other going forward! Please join our virtual reunion on Zoom. Contact Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link or if you have any questions. Looking forward to meeting you all! Best, Midnight Lotus Organizing Committee Midnight Lotus (formerly know as Gay Asians 40+) is organized by former members of Gay Asians Toronto (GAT) and sponsored by Asians Community AIDS Services (ACAS). Through regular social events and educational activities, our group aims to provide a forum and community support to gay Asians who are 40 plus.

Your Friday nights at home just got a little better! Looking to meet new friends during the pandemic? This is a monthly online games night for Asian gay, bi, queer, cis and trans guys. We'll start with introductions and then play a fun game called Among Us. You will need to download the free game app on your phone at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Download ahead of time so you can be ready to join in. Feel free to drop in and out between 8pm - 9:30pm EDT Email Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link. How to play Among Us Among Us is a cooperative game where Crewmates can win by completing all tasks or discovering and voting the Impostor off the ship. The Impostor tries to secretly sabotage the ship and kill its crewmates one by one. The Imposter can use sabotage to cause chaos, making for easier kills and better alibis. Every time a dead crewmate is reported, the crewmates have the opportunity to discuss and vote who they believe the imposter is. If they vote correctly, the crewmates win! Crewmates can also declare an emergency meeting in order to discuss and vote.

Want to be a QTAY Peer Educator?! Want to… … Learn new leadership skills? … Make an impact in the Queer and Trans East and Southeast Asian community? … Increase your social support networks and meet amazing youth in the community? Come join our team by attending QTAY’s mandatory one-day training on OCT 10 and go through an interview. Hiring details:Before the training, submit your resume, cover letter and 2 references, and we will call qualified peers for a job interview. We are looking for 3 peer leaders to work a 7-month contract (Oct 19, 2020 – May 21, 2021). You will be paid $15/hrs, 10hr/week (refer to "Discussion" tab on event page to view the official Job Posting). HOW TO RSVPYou can RSVP by using ONE of the following methods:e-mailing us at youth@acas.orgclicking "attending/going" on our facebook event page (please make sure to check your unread messages to see if you've received a confirmation from Gabriel Bacani)Direct Messaging (DM) us on our @queerasianyouth Instagram page Once you’ve RSVP’d, Gabriel will send you a zoom link close to the training date! DATE: OCT 10, 2020 TIME: 12PM – 5PM LOCATION: ZOOM! (a zoom link will be sent to you once your attendance has been confirmed by Gabriel!) TRAINING TOPICS: Group Facilitation, Peer Support, Navigating Emotional Triggers in the Workplace

This event is for Asian gay, bi, queer, cis and trans men. Wednesday, October 28 7:00pm - 8:30pm Register by emailing Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link At the beginning of 2020, we asked gay, bi, queer Asian men in Toronto to fill out an online survey to capture a brief look into the sexual health of our community. 158 people responded. For this Humpday, we are going to dive deep into the results and find out the juicy answers to these questions: How much condomless sex are gay Asian guys having? What was the average amount of sexual partners they had in 2019? How many guys caught an STI? Are Asian guys on PrEP? Do guys get tested often enough? After revealing all the bare facts you'll get an opportunity to share how this relates to you. What does this mean for you and your sexual health? How do you take care of yourself and is everyone else taking the same precautions? As a small community survey, the data here is not fully representative of the whole community, but should be understood as a small look into some of the sexual health experiences queer Asian men face. As a short-term survey, gathering data from within a month, we were not able to reach men with more diverse ethnic backgrounds that would have been more reflective of the queer Asian community.

Event Description: If society defines anything that is "other" as "monstrous", what does that mean for those of us who cannot hide how "other" we are? What does it mean to be a monster, and how can we reclaim the power that comes with that? If you'd like some tricks AND treats this Halloween, then join us for "We Are All Monsters: Reclaiming our Self Re-Creations", an interactive arts-based workshop that focuses on discussions about identities, finding strength by confronting and changing the narratives that society prescribes us, and building solidarity with other monsters. Please register at: https://forms.gle/8pFXkEbnnhyDTPmp9 (A Zoom link will be sent out to all registered participants closer to the event date.) A little bit about our facilitator: MXKO, also known as Dany, creates many things--drawings, designs, zines, logos, characters, cosplay, music, stories and more. They are a diasporic Filipino/Chinese queer deaf person who focuses on creation and storytelling as a way of connecting to, building, and reimagining community. Recently, they have been leading workshops and discussions on topics such as intersectionality, reimagining identity, storytelling as healing, and Queer Asian pride / solidarity with other movements. You can check them out at http://mxkocreates.art.blog/, on Instagram (@mxkocreates), or email them at mxkocreates@gmail.com. They are currently open for commissions and bookings in leading workshops / discussions. This event is made possible thanks to the support of United Way GTA #LocalLove Funded by the Government of Canada.

**Remember to REGISTER to join!!! https://forms.gle/YbFh3SwZhbjvTEEV6** Hey ACAS… suspects?! Join us for another round of games night, Halloween Edition! This time, we’ll be playing the online cooperative game Among Us! In this game, you are assigned to work as a team to fix the spaceship that you are on! Be careful, though--there is an impostor within the group who aims to sabotage the mission by breaking the ship and killing the crew. Who do you trust? Who do you suspect? Who do you accuse…? Can't go out in the evening but still want to dress up? Feel free to come in costume! :D This event is open to all Asian folks that self-identify as LGBTQIAP2S+! Please register ahead of time here: https://forms.gle/YbFh3SwZhbjvTEEV6 Once you do, you’ll be sent an invitation to the Zoom event and given more details. If you're looking for more exciting and engaging activities on Halloween night, join us for an incredible workshop on identity and building solidarity with fellow monsters (right before this event)! Event link here: https://www.facebook.com/events/827228628017238/ If you have any questions, concerns, or recommendations for future events that you would like to see, please do not hesitate to contact Dany at community@acas.org. This event is made possible thanks to the support of United Way GTA #LocalLove Funded by the Government of Canada

This is a new monthly group for East & Southeast Asian transmasculine and non-binary people. This includes all transmasculine-identifying folks or folks who may be questioning. We welcome people at any point of their transition. This Meet & Greet online event will allow us to get to know each other in a safe space. We want to create a regular space of support where we can share and learn from each other's common experiences as Asian transmasc folks. This group will be facilitated by an Asian transman. Please register through this form (https://forms.gle/cZHJq6rYHHGLtgvB6) and the facilitator will email you with the Zoom link. Who can join? ACAS primarily serves those who identify as East and/or Southeast Asian living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. However, we know spaces for East & Southeast Asian transmasc folks are very few and we are happy to open this event to those living outside of Toronto. Please note that resources will be focused on Toronto due to our knowledge of local services and resources. East & Southeast Asian includes those from multiple generations of immigrants (1st generation, 2nd generation, and so on..) and members of the diaspora from East & Southeast countries like China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, etc. This can also include people with mixed backgrounds from at least one of those countries. This may also include those who might not identify ethnically by blood, but have a substantial heritage or up-bringing living in those countries.

Dear Fellow Gay Asians 40+ members: Please join our virtual Party on Zoom! We would like to invite all of you and your partners to join us on a virtual reunion social networking session on Friday November 6, from 6-7:30 p.m. Let us connect, catch up with each other, and share about the movies and books that give us pleasure during this pandemic. Please contact Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link or if you have any questions. Looking forward to meeting you all! >> Put your name onto the zoom log-in box to ensure speedy admission into the meeting. ***** Midnight Lotus (formerly know as Gay Asians 40+) is organized by former members of Gay Asians Toronto (GAT) and sponsored by Asians Community AIDS Services (ACAS). Through regular social events and educational activities, our group aims to provide a forum and community support to gay Asians who are 40 plus.