Hillary Swank played Erin Gruwell in the movie version titled Freedom Writers.  Gruwell comes to Metro Vancouver to speak to students and teachers.

A naive and idealistic brand new teacher
in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, was given her first class.  The students were not interested in giving the teacher any respect, and they comprised a volatile racially-diverse mix of African-American, Latino,
Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students, many of whom had grown
up in rough neighborhoods in Long Beach.

But the teacher, Erin Gruwell found ways to reach them, and their class project became a book, that became a movie.  The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them even sparked interest from Oprah and Barbara Walters.

I watched the movie a few weeks ago, and was amazed at the movie.  The students grow up surrounded by violence, and with gang mentality.  They are always on the verge of racial wars with each different ethnic group.  The African-Americans feel intruded upon by the new arrivals such as the Cambodian or Vietnamese students.  And the Latinos are also claiming and protecting their turf too.

This could be Vancouver, a city celebrated for its racial and ethnic diversity and harmony.  This could be Vancouver where in January 2008, a 15 year old Filipino student was stabbed to death. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/01/28/bc-daisy.html

Racism has also been a factor in other teenage deaths and incidents such as the Reena Virk murder in Victoria BC. 

But Freedom Writers is a wonderful positive story of triumph over personal adversity.  The students learn that they have more in common than they realized.  They learn that each ethnic group shares the same fears, hopes and struggles.  She assigns them the book, Diary of Anne Frank to read.  And the students relate to the young Anne, who has to hide from Nazi oppression.

It is a story that could happen in Vancouver.  Erin Gruwell gives a talk at River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond BC.  She was invited by King David high school executive director Dan Shmilovitch after he saw the film last February.  

Read the Vancouver Sun story by Chantal Eustace
From written off to Freedom Writers
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=eabf2ac1-53a4-4020-b42a-3d7fc2d01c96&p=2

LET'S ELECT VANCOUVER'S 1ST DRAGON BOAT MAYOR

Raymond Louie demonstrates his reach as a flag grabber for the 1st ever Taiwanese Dragon Boat demonstration race.- photo courtesy of Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society.

Vision
Vancouver Councillor Raymond Louie knows dragon boating. He knows it's
important to Vancouver's cultural, recreational, economic and
environmental communities.

Raymond paddled with the Vancouver Sun team during the 1990's.  He also raced bicycles in the Tour de White Rock, and the Gastown Grand Prix.

In
2003, Raymond was Canada's first dragon boat flag catcher along with
Olympic gold medalist Lori Fung, when they participated in the first
demonstration race for the inaugural Vancouver International Taiwanese
Dragon Boat Race. 

Raymond also helped the Taiwanese Canadian
Cultural Society stickhandle through bureaucracy to ensure the boats
arrived on time for the Labour Day 2003 Taiwanese Cultural Festival during a Vancouver
Ports strike.  These
special “flag catching” dragon boats were donated to the City of
Vancouver, by the Taiwanese Government and the people of Taiwan – which Raymond helped to facilitate.

“Motor-less Marina” are the words Raymond uses to
describe the recreational benefits for False Creek's East Bay – East of
the Cambie Street Bridge. He has also served as Co-Chair, Steering
Committee for the redevelopment of Southeast False Creek.

Raymond
is someone who can not only bring together voters from different
political parties, but he also offers leadership that brings support
from the multi-varied ethnic communities that define our city.

Raymond holds Tartan Day proclamation with Gung Haggis Fat Choy's dragon boat team's Michael Brophy and Todd Wong + bagpiper Joseph McDonald. As deputy mayor, Raymond read the Tartan Day that he helped move through Vancouver City Council. Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team then went out on the water for their April 6th “Tartan Day” dragon boat practice.  photo Todd Wong collection.

Raymond
offers a clear vision of a city where no one is left behind, and a
civic administration that is not only experienced, but also offers an
opportunity to unite neighbourhoods, ethnic communities, and supporters
from various political backgrounds in building a progressive and
sustainable city.

2.
Sign-up: Download a membership form by clicking here and return it to
Raymond’s campaign office at 1327 Laburnum St. by May 14, 10 PM. Call
604-724-4307 for more info on dropping off your forms.

Join Councilor Raymond Louie for Mayor (facebook group)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10860325854&ref=ts

Join Dragon Boaters for Raymond Louie – Mayor! (facebook group)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13601990479&ref=ts

The Bill Reid Gallery opening is wonderful…  

I love Bill Reid art.  I could stare at the Raven and the First Men, at the Museum of Anthropology for hours.  And the Killer Whale in front of the Aquarium… that is Bill Reid too. 

In 1990, I visisted Haida Gwaii, ancestral home of the Haida nation.  On my hand I wear a gold eagle wrap ring, carved by Garner Moody, who apprenticed with Bill Reid in Haida Gwaii.

On Saturday May 10th, I attended the packed opening at the Bill Reid Gallery on Hornby Street.  I missed the opening ceremonies at 10am, but we saw the 2pm ceremonial dance by dancers and drummers from Haida Gwaii, presided by artist Jim Hart, who is also known by his hereditary name of Chief Edenshaw.   Charles Edenshaw was the great Haida carver of silver, gold and argillite, and it was his work that first inspired Reid to carve.

View a Bill Reid photo gallery

Coast Salish chiefs celebrate Bill Reid gallery opening

VANCOUVER – When Bill Reid art was chosen to adorn the $20
bill, it was a sign that the Haida artist had become a Canadian icon.
Now the organizers of the new Bill Reid gallery in downtown Vancouver
are hoping it will capitalize on the growing interest in art of the
Northwest Coast and catapult Reid to an international art superstar.

Artist
Jim Hart prepares the raven to be placed atop the “tribute to Bill
Reid” totem pole before the opening of the Bill Reid Gallery in
Vancouver.

Stuart Davis/Vancouver Sun

“I
think we could say already that he as the status of a national icon,”
said George MacDonald, an anthropologist and expert on Haida art who
was instrumental in bringing about the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest
Coast Art.

“What we hope to do with this gallery is to make him
an international icon. In doing that, we're promoting Northwest Coast
culture and art as much as we're promoting Bill Reid as a practitioner
of that style.”

The Mayor of Lytton likes Gung Haggis Fat Choy!

Here's a picture of Peggy Chute of Lytton BC, with Lt. Gov. Stephen Point, and Premier Gordon Campbell, presenting me with the BC Community Achievement Award.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners official and unofficial have taken place in Whistler BC, Ottawa ON, Seattle WA, Santa Barbara California and even tiny Wells BC.  Maybe next year there will be a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in Lytton BC at the home of Lytton mayor Chris O'Connor.

It was wonderful to meet so many community minded people at the 2008 BC Community Achievement Awards.  I met past Vancouver city councilors and award recipients May Brown and George Puil.  The Mayor of Kamloops congratulated me. 

The Lt. Gov. of BC, Hon. Stephen Point, said he really liked the idea of Gung Haggis Fat Choy and mixing up the cultures. 

“You must know my cousin Rhonda Larrabee, Chief of the Qayqayt First Nations,” I said.

“Oh yes,” he replied as we spoke a bit about the cross-overs and similarities of Chinese and First Nations cultures.

He and his friend laughed when I told them that my friend Dr. Henry Wu's students produced a video called “Why Indians like Chinese food.”

I must remember to invite the Lt. Gov. to the 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year's Eve event.

It's aways nice to find a positive news story about oneself.  My Google News Alert for: “todd wong”

found Our towns have broad shoulders from the Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal – Ashcroft, BC, Canada.  Lytton mayor Chris O'Connor wrote a nice story about Peggy Chute of Lytton and Ben Roy of Cache Creek who also received BC Community Achievement Awards with me on April 23rd, at Government House in Victoria.

Mr. O'Connor, Mayor of Lytton, wrote:

I
was very fortunate to be in attendance at Government House in Victoria
for the presentation of the BC Community Achievement awards to Peggy
Chute of Lytton and Ben Roy of Cache Creek.

Accompanied
by Chief Byron Spinks of the Lytton First Nation, Mayor John Ranta of
Cache Creek and hundreds of other proud British Columbians, we
witnessed the very definition of what it means to be a citizen in our
great Province.

The recipients came from
communities large and small and Lieutenant Governor Steven Point and
Premier Gordon Campbell offered the thanks of all of us to a dedicated
group of BCer’s who have made large contributions to the lives of their
communities. It was humbling, since all of the recipients represented
the silent, hardworking volunteers who make our communities work.

Communities
are made up of individuals – and these are the individuals upon whose
shoulders we stand as your elected representatives. Without them there
would be no community clubs, fire departments, hospices, festivals and
every manner of activity which contributes to the vitality of our
towns. These are the people who have successfully converted the “I” to
“We” and in an ironic twist have elevated the “I” in all of us to be
the very best we can be.

While this text may be
full of clichés, the actions of these people is certainly not. Each of
them has demonstrated the imagination, commitment and sheer willpower –
their work is pure creativity of ideas and actions.

For
the following, I have borrowed from the text accompanying the awards
but I encourage you as the reader to go to the BC Community Achievement
Award website to see the full contribution made by the 2008 recipients:
www.bcachievement.com/community/2008/

For
the past 40 years, Ben Roy has quietly and effectively created positive
change within the Cache Creek and Thompson Nicola Regional District. He
has served as mayor, volunteer fire chief, chamber of commerce member
and was instrumental in establishing a local radio station. While
Mayor, Ben championed the landfill project as a way to provide jobs for
Cache Creek. Ben Roy has also played a pivotal role in the
revitalization of the Gold Country Communities Foundation, an
organization founded to serve the economic needs of a number of
adjoining rural communities.

Read my story of the BC Community Achievement Awards.

I am one of 45 recipients of the BC Community Achievement Award for 2008
http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/24/3657210.html

Join in celebrating Asian culture and heritage in Canada

By Noa Glouberman

Every
May, communities across the country have observed Asian Heritage Month,
acknowledging the long and rich history of Asian Canadians in Canada.
This year in Vancouver, the annual event — titled explorASIAN — is
marking its 12th anniversary, and invites Canadians of all backgrounds
to join in the celebration.

Todd Wong, a past explorASIAN volunteer and former program co-ordinator,
says the event isn’t simply about having Asian roots. “It’s about
understanding the history of Asians in Canada, just as other ethnic
groups, like the Scottish or French populations, may celebrate their
heritage as part of overall Canadian culture,” he explains.

Wong, who’s involved in a variety of cultural organizations and events,
and runs a website devoted to his “Asian Canadian adventures in
inter-cultural Vancouver” (gunghaggisfatchoy.com),
says the many Asian-infused programs, performances and events available
to the public in May can help all Canadians gain a better appreciation
for their own backgrounds.

“When you can look at and examine someone else’s culture and heritage,
it gives you more insight into your own roots as well,” he says.

Asian Heritage Month is celebrated in cities across Canada, including
Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary and
Edmonton. In Vancouver and other Lower Mainland communities,
explorASIAN offers an exciting schedule of events in May and June.
Visit explorasian.org for full details.

explorAsian highlights

explorASIAN 2008 Opening Event

Infinite Echoes from Japan: New Directions in Traditional Japanese Music

May 1, 7:30 p.m., Frederic Wood Theatre, UBC
explorasian.org/festival2008_short.html

Asian Cinema Takes a Bow on Knowledge Network
The Slanted Screen, Lai Man Wai: The Father of Chinese Cinema, Cinema Asia
May 2, 9, 16, 10 p.m., on the Knowledge Network
knowledgenetwork.ca

SMC/explorASIAN First Annual Filmmakers Showcase
Canadian filmmakers celebrated during Asian Heritage Month
May 11, 18, 25, 9 p.m., on Shaw Multicultural Channel

vancouver.shawtv.com/smc/smc_filmmakers.htm

Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Spectacular Korea, Halmang, Myth of Jeju Island
May 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, various show times/locations
childrensfestival.ca

Tailor Made: Chinatown’s Last Tailors

(this film is special because it is about my friend Steven Wong's father)
A film about two aging brothers who can no longer run their father’s shop
May 13, 14, 16, 28, various screening times/locations
explorasian.org/festival2008_short.html

explorASIAN 2008 Closing Event
Dharmakasa Concert
May 31, 8 p.m., Joyce Walley Learning Centre, Vancouver Museum
explorasian.org/festival2008_short.html

For a listing of events in other parts of the country, visit Canadian Heritage’s official site at canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/multi/asian-asiatique/index_e.cfm.