Gung Haggis Fat Choy™
Canadian Games
Friday January 28, 2005
12:00 Noon Convocation Mall
Simon Fraser University
Imagine
if the Scottish Highland Games became “Chinese-ified,” or the Chinese
dragon boat races became “Scottish-ized.” What would happen if
the same concepts that created Gung Haggis Fat Choy™: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner were applied to an intramural event for Simon Fraser Unitiversity?Imagine
an event where Scottish highland dancers share a stage with Chinese
lion dancers, Scottish bagpipers play together with Chinese musicians.
Imagine a 7 person dragon boat on wheels being propelled around convocation mall with curling brooms.
Discover the Gung Haggis Fat Choy™ Canadian Games
ORIGINS
The SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games first took shape when SFU Intramural Coordinator Geoff Vogt approached Gung Haggis Fat Choy™founder
Todd Wong with the idea of creating a special event for SFU to bring
the large Asian communities together with the Scottish heritage of SFU.
Wong, who has attended the BC Highland Games and is himself very
involved in Vancouver's dragon boat community, quickly came up with an
intercultural concept based on a blending (or “bending”) of the
traditional Scottish Highland Games and Chinese sporting events, such
as a dryland dragon boat race, propelled by curling brooms for
“paddles.” Thus was first born the idea of a dragon boat go-cart race,
or Dragon-Cart Race.
Vogt subsequently had many staff meetings
with SFU Recreation and also invited Todd Wong and other speakers from
different cultural communities in for consultations and
presentations. The Highland Games concept morphed into the
“Canadian Games” and the Dragon Boat Go-Cart concept was chosen as the
marquee event. These are now being built by Gung Haggis
Productions, designed and built by Bob Brinson, who together with Todd
Wong, coaches the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. Bob
absolutely loved the idea, as he too has been involved with many dragon
boat teams since 1988 and with the Dragon Boat Association, he has
refinished the teak wood dragon boats originally donated to the City of
Vancouver for Expo 86, by the Hong Kong Board of Tourism.The origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy™ and Toddish McWong began
one cold and snowy Winter's day on the Simon Fraser University Burnaby
Mountain campus in 1993, when student tourguide, Todd Wong, was
first asked to wear a kilt and help out with the annual Robbie Burns
Day ceremony.
Ó 2005 Todd Wong