Eastside Culture Crawl 2007:

We met at Janice Wong's studio at 318-1000 Parker St.  It's a huge warehouse, a 4 story rabbit warren filled with artist studios. You can spot Culture Crawl first-timers by the glazed look in their eyes as they try to see everything in every studio.

Janice Wong is artist-cousin who also wrote the book C H O W from China to Canada: memories of food + family – which contains some history of her family growing up in Sask, and our revered ancestor Rev. Chan Yu Tan. She also knows our paddler Dan Seto because Dan and I took the CCHS writing workshop, and Janice came to give a talk.  Janice and I are also featured in the CBC documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy. She for her book and art work, me for my community service and Gung Haggis Fat Choy events.

This is the third year I have visited artist Arleigh Wood.  I really wanted our paddler Leanne to meet Arleigh, as they are both Japanese-Canadian internment descendants, as well as Hapa-Canadians. Leanne really appreciated how Arleigh has also drawn on her Japanese heritage to incorporate designs and photographs.  I really like her themes with ravens and trees.  This year her work also featured embossed patterns.

Erin Williams shared some space in Arleigh's studio and was launching her satin wear. She demonstrated her satin tool belt for “provocative play” and had an assortment of blindfolds and arm/leg restraints.  They are unlike anything I had seen before… Very interesting!

Wendy Sexsmith had some wonderful series of works using Asian themes, such as Buddha, Ganesha, a sumo wrestler and a couple in kama sutra poses.  Paddlers Wendy and Jonas bought the Buddha series as part of their quest for really cool christmas and wedding gifts. I asked Wendy why she had Asian themes, when she was so convincingly non-Asian looking.  She revealed that she had spent some time growing up in Japan, when her parents had worked there.  As well she had travelled and worked in India and elsewhere.  She loves Asia… so why not?  She had a great attitude and we loved speaking with her.

Robert Kwon had some lovely landcape pictures.  I loved how they were almost like colour field paintings – but expressed through nature.  When I told Robert that we had been visiting my cousin Janice, he said that he also liked Janice Wong's work.  We talked about her monotypes, and the relationship of modern expressionism and colour field paintings. Robert has Korean ancestry, and invited me to visit his Autumn Brook Gallery on 1545 West 4th Ave, just East of Burrard.

Rebecca Blair saw me and said “library guy” or was it “accordion guy?”  In addition to being an artist, and a part-time library worker, Rebecca is also a celtic harp player.  We didn't play any duets together while we were on the library picket line – but maybe for a future Gung Haggis Fat Choy event.  I have invited Rebecca to perform at the annual Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry event at the Vancouver Public Library, Monday January 28th.  We will read Robbie Burns, as well as ontemporary Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian poetry.

“You have to see this!” my girlfriend Deb exclaimed to me. “I love these!” She showed me a wall of ceramic hearts made by Kathryn Youngs.  Being a good boyfriend, I immediately said that I would buy her one.  Of course we decided we couldn't buy just one… we had to have one for each of us.

Kathryn's ceramic works are whimsical.  She creates ceramic fruits and flowers and even a kitty cat.  My girlfriend just had to take more pictures of her work. While in the store, we discovered we had a mutual friend in Sean Gunn, who posed with Kathryn. I have known Sean for many years.  Recently we were on the head tax redress campaign together.  Sean has also performed at my Gung Haggis Fat Choy events where he has performed his song “Head Tax Blues” and “Gim Wong.”

We went into The Mergatroid Building at 975 Vernon Ave. for the first time ever.  I was instantly fascinated by Joe Blow Glassworks.  There were $600 glass ray guns! Okay… I settled for the $25 Glass ornaments by Ilona.  I also liked the $95 gold leaf glass paper weights.  If you spent $150 in the store, they they would let you make your own glass paper weight.  Glass is cool.  Last year, members of the Gung Haggis dragon boat team when to Tacoma's Museum of Glass, and saw the incredible work of Dale Chihuly.  Maybe I will take a glass course one day.

Kroma Arttist Acrylics didn't have any artworks for sale.  Instead they sell acrylic paints.  For years they wondered how they could be part of the Eastside Culture Crawl happening around them.  Their idea was to open up the shop and let people use their paints.  This is now the favorite stop for kids.  I bumped into my library colleague Janis who said her young daughter kept asking “When are we going to paint?”  This was definitely a highlight for Deb and me – just sitting down, relaxing, and exploring colour and texture.  Of course I painted a dragon boat.

Remembrance Day 2007 in Vancouver's Chinatown: building a new tradition to remember the contributions of the past

The crowds are growing larger each year for the Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the Monument to Canadian Chinese at Keefer Triangle in Vancouver Chinatown – but the numbers of the veterans are growing smaller each year. photo Todd Wong

Everybody knows about the big Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square at Hastings and Cambie Streets in Vancouver.  But not everybody knows there are simultaneous ceremonies at the Japanese Canadian War Memoria in Stanley Park, or in Grandview Park, or South Memorial Park.  Left off the the Vancouver Park Board – 2007 Special Events Calendar was the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Monument to Canadian Chinese at Keefer Triangle in Vancouver Chinatown. 

It is the Chinese-Canadian veterans accompanied by First Nations veterans that attend two Remembrance Day ceremonies each year.  First they attend the Victory Square ceremonies at 10:30 am, then the now four year old ceremonies a the Monument to Canadian Chinese

I have attended the Remembrance Day ceremonies steadily over the past 7 years in support of my grand-uncle Daniel Lee who is one of the Victory Square event organizers.  His brothers Howard and Leonard and cousin Victor Wong also served in WW2 – all were descendants of Rev. Chan Yu Tan who came to Canada in 1896.  My father's brother James Wong also served in WW2. 

I know how cold the veterans can get in between the two ceremonies.  Usually after the Victory Square ceremony, they will head straight to Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant to get warmed up.  The clouds were threatening  rain, so I skipped the Victory Square Cenotaph
ceremony and drove home to North Vancouver to assemble my 8X8 tents,
and bring them to the Vancouver Chinatown Remembrance Day ceremonies
for 12:30pm.   This way the vets might have some added protection.  But the rains didn't happen, and I left the tents in the car.  But the organizers still appreciated the gesture.

My Grand-uncle Daniel Lee is once again president of Pacific Unit 280 Veterans Association.  He and his good friend Ed Lee (also a past-president) led the veterans, and the beavers, cubs and scouts in their parade walk across Columbia Street to the Memorial.

This year's ceremony involved more of a First Nations involvement.  Members of the Aboriginal Front Door Society brought their drums and sang a special song to honour the First Nations veterans and Chinese-Canadian veterans.

There were many wreaths to be laid this year.  The City of Vancouver wreath was laid jointly by Raymond Louie and B.C. Lee.  Raymond has attended every year since 2004.  A wreath was also laid by veteran Roy Mah's widow, as Roy passed away earlier this year.  Tung Chan and Ken Tung laid a wreath from SUCCESS and Wendy Yuan also laid a wreath.

After the ceremony all the veterans with their family and friends headed over to Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant for the traditional Pacific Unit 280 luncheon.  Members of our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team also attended the ceremony and the luncheon.  Paddler Art Calderwood's father Douglas Jung had been a very active member of Pacific Unit 280 up to his death in 2002.  In May of this year, a film biography I Am The Canadian Delegate about Douglas Jung, was produced and directed by Wesley Lowe – who is also the chaplain of Pacific Unit 280.  On September 7th, the federal office building at 401 Burrard St was named after Douglas Jung, with members of Pacific Unit 280 in full dress kit.

Paddler Steven Wong's family also has deep Chinatown connections as his father Bill Wong operates Modernize Tailors with his brother Jack.  Veteran Alex Louie insisted I take him to say hello to Steven, when I told him which members of our dragon boat team were attending the luncheon.  It was Alex's daughter Jeri Osborn who created the NFB film documentary  Unwanted Soldiers, which told the story of how Canada did not originally want Canadian born Chinese to become Canadian soldiers.
 
Paddler Gerard Graal was born in Holland, so he and his family were very grateful for the Canadian troops that helped liberate Holland in WW2.  Also attending the luncheon was Gerard's paddler wife Keng, and paddler Cindy.

See my pictures at:

Remembrance Day, Chinatown 2007