Byline: Chao Xiong; Staff Writer

Bao Phi just wanted to impress a pretty girl when he slipped into a St. Paul coffeehouse in the winter of 1994 with a love poem that in bygone days would have been fit for moonlit whisperings over an ivy-clad balcony.

It was the then-Macalester College sophomore's introduction to the fledgling Asian American Renaissance, a non-profit founded in 1992 to support Asian Pacific Americans in the arts. There was an open mic onstage and a smattering of audience members, and performers had to contend with a sound system that was more rustic than romantic.

"Every time a truck came by and they were talking on their CB, it would come through the speakers," Phi said on a recent afternoon, laughing as he recalled the evening. "It was hilarious. Grass-roots arts at its best."

A decade later, Phi is part of the organization's bittersweet farewell tonight. Asian American Renaissance, which has been beset with financial problems, will hold a night of storytelling, music and dance and a closeout auction as a last adieu at the Loft, which is co-sponsoring the event.

Asian American Renaissance...