Monthly Archives: September 2011

Accordions VS Ukelele Grudge Match for Accordion Noir Festival: Accordions Rule!

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Accordions VS Ukelele: Grudge match of the under-appreciated music instrument
The trash talking was going full bore on the Facebook group event page, escalating in the days before the event.  Saturday September 24th, 8pm at Little Mountain Gallery on 26th Avenue, just off Main St.
It was the Great Accordion
VS Ukelele under-appreciated instrument GRUDGE MATCH. The
event was MCed by accordionist Barbara Adler of the punk band Fang. 
Team Accordion also featured Jack Gordon of the group “Maria in the
Shower”. Lots of trash-talking, between the Team Captains… too much
fun!
Team Accordion
demonstrated great diversity of performances… while Team Ukelele tried
to use the option “Call a Friend” – a total of 3 times, bringing in
bagpipes, mouth harp and saxophone – to pinch hit for them. My solo
performance was a rebuttal to their “avante-garde-classical-moment”, for which I played J.S. Bach's “Toccata in D Minor, to a rousing ovation. Take that! ukeleles!
I perform J.S.
Bach's Toccata in D Minor – with lots of cheering, heckling, laughing
and applause – not your typical setting for classical music. 
My
performance Accordion Noir Festival on Saturday
My
performance Accordion Noir Festival on Saturday

13 Todd Wong – Accordions vs Ukelele Grudge Match

www.youtube.com

Todd
plays JS Bach for Team Accordion at the Accordions vs Ukuleles Grudge
Match – Day 2 of Vancouver's Accordion Noir Festival, held at Little
Mountain Art Gallery
Here is a list of the videoed performances of Team Accordion and Team
Ukelele, recorded by Alan Zisman, and conceptualized by Barbara Adler, as part of the Accordion Noir Festival – founded by Rowan Lipkowits.

Missed
last weekend's Accordion Noir Festival? Or went but want to remember
it? I've posted video clips from Fang (Friday night): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDB75EFC51C5B523C , Geoff Berner (Friday night): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL00C87B447A492C0A and the Saturday Accordions vs Ukuleles Grudge Match: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7A978059D64C1ED3 for your listening pleasure.

Gung Haggis dragon boat team going to Ft. Langley for Cranberry Festival

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Ft Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta will again have two Gung Haggis teams on Oct 8

Gung Haggis paddlers in boat 8, chat it up with another team in boat 5 – at the start line of the Pumpkin chasing final heat, of the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta – photo T.Wong

The Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta is one of the favorite events of the year for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  There are no medals.  No huge crowds of cheering fans.  But lots of cameraderie, and a fun obstacle race.  The first two races are double ovals.  The Pumpkin Final, is super fun.  10 boats will line up across the Fraser River slough, then start racing for the bridge.  Pumpkins will be dropped from the bridge.  Each team has to pick up one pumpkin, then proceed under the bridge.  Race 500m up river and make a sharp turn at the buoy marker.  Return under the bridge and make a right turn around a buoy on the south shore.  Proceed to the North side and drop a paddler off at the beach.  The paddler will balance a cup of cranberry juice, and walk 50 feet up the beach, where they will climb back into the canoe.  The Canoe travels back around the buoy on the south shore, then heads back under the bridge to the other side to cross the finish line. 

10 voyageur canoes race towards the pumpkins! – photo T.Wong

We have had great
practices over the past 2 weeks, often running two 10-person Swift
boats, or other boats side by side… doing turns and sprint starts. 
This is all preparation for the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe
Regatta.

We are racing in 10 person voyageur canoes
We will
have 12 people on each team – so there will be 2 spares per race.
6
people will do 2 races each, and 6 people will do 3 races each. 

This
is a good strategy because: some people want a rest… while others
might get sick, or lost… and some people cheer the team on and take
pictures!  We would rather have two extra persons as spares, rather than
paddle with 8 people and have to do more work.

Watch these videos – by
clicking on the icons – to see what happens at the Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta

2010_Oct_Cranberry_Canoe 015








Watch a race start – Gung
Haggis is #1 on the far side.


2010_Oct_Cranberry_Canoe 055

Watch Jen toss the
pumpkin

2010_Oct_Cranberry_Canoe 056
Watch teams
try to grab pumpkins

2010_Oct_Cranberry_Canoe 057

Watch teams paddle backwards because they missed the pumpkin!

2009_Oct_Ft_Langley_cranberry_canoe_race 065
Watch us do
a nice turn before we go to the beach

2009_Oct_Ft_Langley_cranberry_canoe_race 066


Watch us do a nice beach
landing – then somebody climbs out of the boat, and runs down the beach
holding a cup of cranberry juice on their paddle

2009_Oct_Ft_Langley_cranberry_canoe_race 068



Watch the final
turn – a bit wide – but we are in the lead!!!







See all the photo sets from from past
races below:

2010 Ft.Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe regatta

2010
Ft.Langley Cranberry…

Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta 2009

2009 Ft.
Langley Cranberry…

Ft. Langley Cranberry Festival Canoe Regatta

2008 Ft. Langley
Cranberry…

Oct 6, Ft. Langley Cranberry Canoe Regatta

2007 Oct 6, Ft.
Langley…

ACWW and Ricepaper had a good presence at Word On The Street

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Asian Canadian Writer's Workshop had some of their best contributions at Word On The Street Festival

photo

Here I am at the Ricepaper Magazine booth, organized by our managing editor Patricia Lim (right) and assisted by volunteer Jerry Tang (left).  Ricepaper is published by Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop for which I have been a director since 2000-2005 + 2008-2011.

Special
Kudos to director Anna Ling Kaye for moderating on Saturday at Carnegie Centre,
and for managing editor Patricia Lim for organizing and staffing the Ricepaper booth on
Sunday

  • 12:00 :: Ricepaper Magazine with
    Anna Ling Kaye

     Ricepaper’s
    recent Green Issue (16.2) features creative writing and non-fiction
    that revolves around nature, the environment, and landscape. Ricepaper
    magazine is a national quarterly magazine devoted to showcasing Asian
    Canadian artists, writers, performers, and innovators, and is published
    by The Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop. Writers and poets from Ricepaper will read and share their creative writing.

Usually I will spend some time behind the Ricepaper booth as an ACWW director, but I also helped to staff the booth for Historic Joy Kogawa House where I am president. 

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Joy Kogawa is
currently in town, and made a late surprise appearance at the end of the
day to attend a talk by Susan Crean – the new
writer-in-residence at

Tetsuro attended JJ Lee's reading and gave BIG RAVES!…. I attended
readings by Jen Sookfong Lee, Wayde Compton, and Susan Crean. 

IMG_1698

Kevin Chong signed a copy of his
new book “Beauty and Pity” for me, and I chatted with Evelyn Lau
afterwards (we are having dinner next week, following her reading at
Kogawa House on Sunday).

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Bob Sung and Hayne Wai – are both are included in the book
“Chinese Canadian and Aboriginal Pot Luck” (along with ACWW co-president Allan Cho and
myself). Also – I saw local Chinatown historian
Larry Wong, with his new book @ the booth for Chinese Canadian
Historical Society – which I bought from Larry last week.  Larry's book features praise on the back cover, from his childhood and lifetime friend, Wayson Choy.

IMG_1124

Myung Lee, publisher of Diverse Magazine, holds up an article about Gung Haggis Fat Choy that I co-wrote with my friend Allan Cho.  Allan also recently submitted
an article about Hapa Palooza, with some quotes from my blog.

IMG_1132

When I saw Anna Ling Kaye, I called her over to introduce Marisa Alps,
an editor at Harbour Publishing.  Marisa is a former long time ACWW
director, and formerly shepherded the ACWW Emerging Writer Award.  She
is also a poet, and contributed to “Swallowing Clouds” the first
Chinese-Canadian poetry anthology, edited by Jim Wong-Chu, that sees its
12th anniversary this year.

Then I introduced Anna to Tradewinds publisher  Michael Katz… Michael
was a driving force behind the young adult anthology “Henry Lee and
Other Stories”.  Michael was immediately taken by Anna's young daughter
Pacific, and he pulled the Paul Yee book “Bamboo” out of my hands to
give to Pacific (saying to me “I'll give you another book”).

My friend Tetsuro Shigematsu (and ACWW board director) was especially affected by JJ Lee's reading today.  Tetsuro wrote on this FB that :

Today at Word on the Street, JJ Lee along with Sheryl MacKay
took a reading and raised it to a new level. The shivering audience
laughed and cried, as JJ spoke entertainingly and insightfully about his
new book, The Measure of a Man, a memoir about his stormy relationship
with his father reconstructed around the rebuilding of his father's
suit. Buy this book. You will love it. I guarantee it. And by
guarantee, I mean I will personally buy the book from you if you don't
love it. (JJ ran out of books to sign afterwards, so I couldn't buy one)
But I know because I read an advance copy!

Word On The Street – is almost swept up by the wind, but prevails!

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Great Day at Word On The Street today…
photo

Adrianne Carr, Green Party politician, came by the Historic Joy Kogawa House booth, and told me that her daughter had shared with her Joy's children's book “Naomi's Tree.” “It's a great book” said Carr, as we chatted about the importance of saving historically significant landmarks (such as Kogawa House), and conserving sensitive and important environments – okay, I told her I was a director for The Land Conservancy of BC.

It's always great to see literary friends such as Evelyn Lau, George McWhirter, Renee Saklikar, Brad Cran, Charles Demers, Wayde Compton, Marisa Alps, Kevin Chong, Ariadne Sawyer, Alejandro Mujica + more… Lots of great books and magazines! I did my Christmas shopping to support local book publishers!
IMG_1121

Susan Crean and Hal Wake (Vancouver International Writers Festival) chat in front of the Historic Joy Kogawa House booth – photo T.Wong

Also great to see my friends at the booths such as Historic Joy Kogawa House, Ricepaper Magazine, Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC, CUPE BC, Tradewind Books, Harbour Publishing, Vancouver Review, BC Book Prizes, VPL Foundation + more!

It was a busy busy Sunday, starting at 10am, because we had moved the dragon boat practice for Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team one hour early to encourage paddlers to attend events at WOTS.

Deb & I arrived shortly around 1pm to see that the tents for Poetry and Childrens events were flat on the ground.  We later learned that the wind tunnel on Hamilton St had threatened to lift the tents into the air.  After past years of rain, road closures, and a library strike, this will be forever known as the Year of the Wind.

Storyteller Mary Gavan wrote on FB that:

Storytelling in Word in the Street tent. Wind blew. Wind blew and blew; tent flew up; chairs fell down; Persian carpet went into orbit, as per its history.
Storytelling at Word on Street terminated. Area evacuated. All in a
day's story!!!  First
time in 25 years that anyone can recall the wipe out of part of Word on
the Street (ed. note: tents were taken down for safety and programs moved to other locations). Library staff outstanding in ensuring safety and rehousing
organisations inside with tables to replace their booths. Will write
as a story shortly.

IMG_1706

George McWhirters steps off the “Poetry In Transit” bus, where Poetry Tent events were moved to after the tents were “put down” for safety.  George told me that he had arrived at the Poetry Tent 10 minutes before his scheduled event to find the tents flat on the ground!

IMG_1077

Rob Taylor read his poems on the “Poetry In Transit” bus, which didn't have any lights because of a dead battery.  Transit attendants had to herkily-jerkily back up the bus while previously reading poets and host Evelyn Lau were still on the bus chatting with audience.


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Christine Lowther reads her poems – not on the bus, but in the outdoors –  from her collection “My Nature” at another location instead of the Poetry Tent.

Despite the early morning rain, and the sudden windstorm, this year was lots of fun.  Great programming at WOTS this year.  I was able to help out at the booth for Historic Joy Kogawa House, check in at Ricepaper Magazine, drop in at lots of author readings, chat with friends at the publisher tents, and buy lots of books, as well as scoop up some deals at the silent auction prizes.

I was able to see Jen Sookfong Lee, Wayde Compton, Susan Crean, and many other authors.

IMG_1059

The elegant Jen Sookfong Lee read from her new book “The Better Mother” and also suggested to aspiring writers to never give in to Writers Block, nor interrupt their writing time.  She admitted that she doesn't answer the phone even when she knows her mother is calling.

IMG_1139

Wayde Compton is the current writer-in-residence at Vancouver Public Library.  He spun a particularly captivating story about mixed races.

My friend Tetsuro Shigematsu was especially affected by JJ Lee's reading today.  Tetsuro wrote on this FB that

Today at Word on the Street, JJ Lee along with Sheryl MacKay
took a reading and raised it to a new level. The shivering audience
laughed and cried, as JJ spoke entertainingly and insightfully about his
new book, The Measure of a Man, a memoir about his stormy relationship
with his father reconstructed around the rebuilding of his father's
suit. Buy this book. You will love it. I guarantee it. And by
guarantee, I mean I will personally buy the book from you if you don't
love it. (JJ ran out of books to sign afterwards, so I couldn't buy one)
But I know because I read an advance copy!

10am practice for Gung Haggis dragon boat team Sunday

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10am is
this Sunday's practice time –  September 25th.
We moved it one hour
early… to help accommodate people attending Word On the Street and
World Rivers Day events…

10am – we meet
10:30
– the boat leaves the dock (which is only 30 minutes before we normally
meet)
12 noon – back on dryland

We had a GREAT practice on Wed Night
– hardly any rain at all!  only light sprinkles at the beginning then
it stopped completely…

We simulated the pumpkin final race for
Ft. Langley – our lead strokes Debbie and Karl grabbed imaginary
pumpkins and took turns being the single lead stroke in the boat.  We
practiced turns, and beach landings.  I even jumped out of the boat onto
the shore, at one point.

only 4 practices left
until
Ft. Langley Cranberry
Festival Canoe Regatta

Another Busy Sunday coming up:

Word
on The
Street Festival – 12pm – 5pm
www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver
 –
I have to be there for booths for
Kogawa House and Ricepaper Magazine

World Rivers Day
Clean up
on False Creek – on SATURDAY 1-5pm
Paddle Down the Fraser or up at
Whistler on Sunday

To find out more about water issues, and
how
to get involved with World Rivers Day, visit the
Web sites below for more information.


World Rivers Day Web Site:
http://www.worldriversday.bcit.ca/


Rivers Institute at BCIT:
www.riversinstitute.ca


BC Rivers Day Web Site:
http://www.riversday.bcit.ca/


United Nations “Water For Life Decade”
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade
/

Word On The Street Fair features most Asian-Canadian authors yet!

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WOTS is featuring the largest number of
Asian-Canadian authors
I have ever seen at this event

Word On The Street – book and magazine Fair
http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca

Friday – come to Kogawa House and meet author Susan Crean
Sunday – join us for Ricepaper booth @ Word On the Street

I always attend WOTS – and can sometimes be found:
1) staffing the ACWW Ricepaper Magazine booth
2) staffing the Historic Joy Kogawa House booth
3) hosting an event
4) listening at an event
5) searching for good book deals
6) searching for good silent auction deals
7) visiting my fellow library co-workers at CUPE 391 and VPL booths
8) one year I played accordion at CUPE 391 booth

Here
is a list of Asian-Canadian writers – + First Nations and Afro-Saxon
(as Wayde Compton describes himself). 
I know each of them – except
Sachiko and Richard.  I have made the list in chronological order, so you can start at 11am with Kevin Chong, and finish at 4:10 with Wayde Compton.

author headshot

Kevin Chong

Kevin Chong was born in Hong Kong in 1975. He is the author of Baroque-a-Nova, Neil Young Nation, and a forthcoming memoir on horseracing. Beauty Plus Pity is his first novel in ten years.

Kevin Chong is at the Canada Writes at 11:00

author headshot
JJ Lee

JJ Lee is the menswear columnist for the Vancouver Sun
and broadcasts a weekly fashion column for CBC Radio in Vancouver. For
years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the navy
suit that hung at the back of his closet—his late father’s last suit. JJ
Lee will read from The Measure of a Man and…

JJ Lee is at the Authors Tent at 11:30


author headshot
Richard Wagamese

Richard Wagamese is Ojibway but was separated from
his people for 20 years. When they reconnected, elders told him that he
was to be a storyteller. This has led to an award-winning career as a
writer and a journalist.

Richard Wagamese is at the Poetry Tent at 11:30



author headshot
Sachiko Murakami

Sachiko Murakami’s first poetry collection, The Invisibility Exhibit,
was a finalist for the Governer General’s Award for Poetry and the
Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. She is a past member of Vancouver’s
Kootenay School of Writing collective and now co-hosts the Pivot Reading
Series.

Sachiko Murakami is at the Poetry Tent at 11:45


author headshot
C. E. Gatchalian

C. E. Gatchalian is the author of three books of
drama and one book of poetry. His plays have appeared on stages
nationally and internationally, as well as on radio and television. His
most recent undertaking, Crossing and Other Plays contains three plays: Crossing, Diamond and Ticks, that explore themes of sexuality…

C. E. Gatchalian is at the Authors Tent at 12:00



author headshot
Jen Sookfong Lee

Jen Sookfong Lee was born and raised in
Vancouver’s Eastside and is now the voice behind “Westcoast Words,” a
weekly writing column featured on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast and All Points West.

Jen Sookfong Lee is at the Canada Writes at 12:20





author headshot
Evelyn Lau

Evelyn Lau is the author of four volumes of poetry, two works of non-fiction, two short story collections and a novel. Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid was a Canadian bestseller and was made into a CBC movie starring Sandra Oh in her first major role. Living Under Plastic won the 2011 Pat Lowther Memorial Award for Poetry.

Evelyn Lau is at the Carnegie Centre at 1:45


author headshot
Wayde Compton

Wayde Compton is a Vancouver writer whose books include After Canaan: Essays on Race, Writing, and Region, Performance Bond, Bluesprint: Black British Columbian Literature and Orature and 49th Parallel Psalm. Compton is also a co-founding member of the Hogan’s Alley Memorial Project, an organization…

Wayde Compton is at the Authors Tent at 4:10

New media stories about Terry Fox – for the 31st Terry Fox Run

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31st Terry Fox Run this Sunday

Sunday Sept 18th is the 31st Annual Terry Fox Run.   I have attended runs since 1993, when Terry's younger brother Darrell asked me to be a Terry's Team Member – a cancer survivor who demonstrates that cancer research has made a difference.  When I first met Terry's mother, Betty Fox, she said I had a few runs to catch up on…. or maybe she told me that after I told her I was speaking at 3 different run sites in one morning.

When I first became a Terry's Team member, I would also drive out to the Terry Fox Run Foundation office in Coquitlam and have lunch with Terry's older brother Fred.  Fred had taken over in the BC Run office, as the younger brother Darrell had moved to Toronto to be at the National Run office.  That was just after 1994, when Fred had moved the BC office from Downtown Vancouver back to the Fox Family's hometown of Coquitlam.

Since that first year in 1993, I have spoken at Terry Fox Runs in Vancouver's Stanley Park, North Vancouver's Seymour River Park, West Vancouver's Ambleside Beach, Burnaby's Central Park, Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Richmond's Garry Point Park, North Delta, Kelowna BC, and also at a run in Beijing China in October 1993.

Here are some media stories that I have found and liked for this year's run.

ThumbnailA history of Terry Fox 5:26

This
is a very cool video that shows mementos of Terry in the Fox Family
home.  There are also vintage newsclips of Terry on a vintage television
set.

  1. ‎New statues unveiled at Terry Fox Plaza The Province –
    Four bronzed sculptures of Terry Fox were unveiled outside BC Place today in a new memorial for Canada's Marathon of Hope runner. …
  2. Missing Betty but carrying on

     This is a story about Rolly Fox – Terry's father and Betty Fox's husband of 54 years.  He’ll be in Port Coquitlam on Sept. 18 for the Hometown Run. 

  3. Terry Fox worthy of being called a hero  GMontreal Gazette – This is a nice story from Montreal as Terry's brother Fred Fox travels across the country doing interviews, that he says his mother would normally be doing.  He talks about his brother Terry, and the recent loss of his mother Betty Fox.
  4. A letter, a trip and Terry Fox Tri-City News

‎

Donna Ball of Newfoundland at the statue outside of Terry Fox secondary school in Port Coquitlam. By Janis Warren – The Tri-City News Donna Ball returned …

No Dragon Boat practice on Sunday

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NO DRAGON BOAT Practice this SUNDAY

but do take part in 1) Terry Fox Run 2) Vancouver Sports Day on Saturday & Sunday

No Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team practice this Sunday Sept 18th, neither Steven Wong nor myself is available… logistics are challenging.

AND it is TERRY FOX RUN DAY
– so please go to a Terry Fox Run site as your sports alternative for
Sunday…  Usually I speak at at Run Site as a Terry's Team Member
(Cancer Survivors who serve as living examples that research has made a
difference).

I recommend going to Coquitlam for the 9:30am Opening Ceremonies. 
http://www.terryfox.org/Run/_BritishColumbia_.html
This
will be very poignant and emotional because Betty Fox would always
speak at the Coquitlam Hometown Run – and unfortunately, Betty passed
away this summer.  Last year, she was one of the Olympic flag bearers at
the Opening Ceremonies.  I am pleased and thankful, that I was able to
meet and get to know Betty, and her family over the years, since I have
been a Terry's Team Member since 1993.

There are also run sites
in Stanley Park, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and
throughout all of BC.  Times vary from 8am start to 10am starts.

SATURDAY – You can still PADDLE – SATURDAY
Paddle or Ice Skate
please see below for details of City of Vancouver Sports Day @ Creekside Community Centre

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Paddlers, Volunteers, Residents,
Neighbours and Friends,

Just a reminder that we are holding an
open house as part of the City of Vancouver’s Sports Day. New Dragon
Boat participants will be instructed in basic dragon boat paddling and
then taken out on the water for about 45 minutes.
All ages and
abilities welcome. Bring your family and friends. We’ll also be
barbequing up some hotdogs with proceeds to the Greater Vancouver Food
Bank.

Boats depart at 1, 2 and 3 pm on Saturday.
Location:
Dragon Zone at Creekside Community Centre, 1 Athletes Way (Boating
Centre hallway to start)
Times: 1 pm – 4 pm
Please email rsvp@dragonboatbc.ca
with the boat time you’d like to depart.

Please come a little
early so you are ready to go out on time!

Here is more
information on the City of Vancouver’s Sports Day

Sports Day in
Vancouver
Where:
Creekside Community Recreation Centre
1
Athletes Way
Vancouver, BC V5Y 0B1

When:
Saturday September
17, 2011 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Where:
Hillcrest Ice Rink
4575 Clancy
Loranger Way
Vancouver, BC   When:
Sunday September 18, 2011
12:45-2:15 PM
     
Dear Sports Enthusiasts,  Sports Day in
Canada is taking place on September 17th.

Join Canadians in
rallying support for Sports Day in Canada – a national celebration of
sport at all levels.

Sports Day in Vancouver: Two Days on Land,
Water & Ice 

Day One: Sept 17, 1-5 PM at Creekside
Community Centre

Celebrate at Creekside and participate in sports
on water and land! Enjoy your favourite sport or try a new sport in our
gymnasium with the help of MoreSports staff and volunteers. Discover
the exhilarating experience of dragon boating on False Creek; please
pre-register to save your spot on the boat. Also, take advantage of
DragonZone's hot dog barbeque with all proceeds going to the Greater
Vancouver Food Bank. Scheduled sport times and registration information
for the dragon boat “try-it” sessions available at creeksidecentre.ca
For more information on other boating programs, visit dragonboatbc.ca

Day
Two: Sept 18, 12:45-2:15 PM at Hillcrest Rink
Get involved on ice!
Experience the pristine ice of Hillcrest Rink with your family. Skate
for free, enjoy complimentary refreshments and watch great ice sport
demos provided by our local community sports groups!

Everyone
invited, no need to RSVP (other than dragon boat)!

Hapa-Palooza has a big weekend, Saturday @ Robson Square

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The Hapa-Palooza Festival is going great!  lots of media and great talent.

Last night's showcase The Sir James Mix-A-Lot Cabaret featured Kokoro Dance, Zhambai Trio, First Ladies Crew, and Green Tara.  Contact juggler Chris Murdoch did a great job as MC @ the Roundhouse.

I gave a welcome and explained the history of the festival origins and why we recognized Sir James Douglas – our first Gov. of BC, as a Hapa.  He was born in Guyana to a Scots Father and a Creole Free Black Mother, and his wife Ameilia awas Metis.   He was a visionary that saw British Columbia as a land where people could come from all over the world and live in harmony.  That was in 1858.

Check it out today at Robson Square – lots more music, art, and community booths.
12:30 to 6pm

I will have a booth for Gung Haggis Fat Choy – celebrating both the
dinner and dragon boat team, and other Gung Haggis activities…

If you came to the 2011 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner in January – you will recognize Celtic Fiddler Jocelyn Pettit, and co-host Tetsuro Shigematsu and Jenna Chow, film maker Jeff Chiba Stearns (One Big Hapa Family), and past performers co-host/singer Margaret Gallagher and rap singer Ndidi Cascade.

Turning Point Ensemble celebrates Vancouver 125 with soprano Heather Pawsey and Orchid Ensemble

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This looks like a fun event… as well as educational and musical.  Some of my favorite Vancouver musicians are Heather
Pawsey, as well as the Orchid Ensemble with Jonathan Bernard and Lan Tung.  Heather has been a repeat featured performer at Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners since 2004.  Lan Tung performed at the 2010 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner with her jazz fusion group Birds of Paradox.

Turning Point Ensemble Celebrates Vancouver’s 125

Vancouver Snapshots 125

September 10 & 11 2011

Special Events at the Roundhouse and

Dr.  Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Consider
the snapshot: a casual after image of a fleeting moment in the recent
past. In time it can become an embarrassment (did we really wear those
close? that hairstyle?). Then, after generations, it becomes a relic, a
potent (and poignant) piece of social history and a powerful reminder of
who we were is always a part of who we are.

Join Turning Point Ensemble with special guests soprano Heather
Pawsey, the Orchid Ensemble and musical historian as we celebrate
Vancouver’s 125 with an album of “sonic snapshots” of Vancouver’s
musical traditions – an intermingling of the east and west of the past
125 years.  For more information click on Vancouver Snapshots 125 or download our poster!

Vancouver Snapshots 125 Poster