Category Archives: Vancouver Area Adventures

explorASIAN Family Day Saturday at Vancouver Museum

Celebrate Asian Heritage at the Vancouver Museum on Saturday

here is an event for explorASIAN:

Metro Vancouver community invited to participate in


explorASIAN Friends & Family
Day


 


(Vancouver)
 explorASIAN celebrates the end of Asian Heritage Month in Metro Vancouver
with an exciting day of family friendly activities.  This free community event includes live
music concerts, magic shows, dance performances, arts and crafts, community
booths, and free giveaways.  
The
community is invited to enjoy this FREE multicultural event and meet the
talented Asian Canadian artists and diverse cultural and community
groups.


 


Event:              
explorASIAN Friends & Family Day


Location:
        
Vancouver Museum, 1100 Chestnut Street (Vanier
Park)


Date:
              
May 31, 2008 Saturday


Time:              
11am – 5pm


Cost:               
Free event | Free parking


 


Live
performances for all ages:


  • International
    Champions of Magic Rod Chow & Company
  • Award
    Winning Elvis Impersonators: 
    Aaron Wong & Adam Leyk
  • Kathara
    Dance Theatre
  • Vandna
    Sidher Bharata Natyam Classical Indian Dance
  • Master
    Wilson Wu (kungfu)
  • Sifu
    Laurens Kam To Lee (tai chi)
  • DJ's
    Trevor Chan and MissBliss


Family
activities:


  • Asian
    Canadian History Timeline Challenge Scavenger Hunt
  • Arts
    and Crafts displays and demonstrations
  • Caricature
    Drawings by Geoff Wong
  • and
    more!
     

Participating
community organizations:


  • Lang’s
    Mongolian Acupuncture
  • Powell
    Street Festival Society
  • Taiwanese
    Canadian Cultural Society
  • UBC
    Department of Asian Studies (KUNGQU)
  • C3
    Korean Canadian Society
  • Scripting
    Aloud
  • Dr.
    Lyla May Yip Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • Master
    Wilson Wu Kungfu Ocean Academy
  • 411
    Seniors Centre Society
  • Kam
    To Tai Chi Chuan Association
  • Raymond
    Chow, Artist
  • Canadian
    International Dragon Boat Society

 


explorASIAN FRIENDS
& FAMILY DAY

is sponsored by the
Vancouver
Museum

and
Superior
Tofu


 


The
Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society is a registered non-profit society
that celebrates Pan-Asian arts and culture by presenting diverse educational and
community outreach programs.


 


The
Society presents and participates in many community ethnocultural events
throughout the year and produces the Asian Heritage Month festival known as
explorASIAN” in the month of May.


 


Since
1996, the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society's “explorASIAN” Festival has
endeavored to explore the diversity of Asian Canadian life and culture and
promote the discussion of relevant issues and concerns within and beyond the
Asian Canadian community.   The
Metro Vancouver community

will share and experience Pan-Asian Canadian arts and culture at events
featuring emerging and established actors, artists, dancers, filmmakers,
musicians, performers and writers.

What's happen' with Stanley Park's Hollow Tree?

Stanley Park's “Hollow Tree” is a world famous icon.  For as long as Vancouverites have had cameras they have been taking pictures of the Hollow Tree.


Here's a picture of my great-grandparents Ernest Lee and Kate (Chan) Lee circa 1907.  Accompanying them in the photo is Kate's mother Mrs. Chan Yu Tan and Kate's youngest sister Millicent.  Kate's father Rev. Chan Yu Tan was well known in the community and ministered for the Chinese United Church in Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo and New Westminster, where he and his wife retired.

One hundred years later, the Hollow Tree had become a Hollow stump, and damaged in the violent wind-storms of December 15, 2006.  Because of further damage and leaning, and safety concerns, the Vancouver Parks Board voted to cut down the tree.  But as of May 1st, the tree is still standing.

Here's the latest on Stanley Park's world famous Hollow Tree

On April 18th, students from Lord Roberts Elementary School visited the tree and sang a special song to the tune of O Canada, led by French teacher Duane Lawrence, author of Sammy Squirrel and Rodney
Raccoon, a children's book set in Stanley Park:

“Oh Stanley Park, Our home and favourite
land,

Big Douglas firs, Where owls hoot, oh so grand,

With cedar trees and surrounding seas, You can walk there all you like.

There's a little lake, Where the beavers make, The best dams in the world.

Oh, Stanley Park, The animals live free,

Oh, Stanley Park was made for you and me,

Oh, Stanley Park was made for you – and – me.”


On April 18th, the Georgia Straight wrote a blog story: The Hollow Tree and the 2010 Olympics highlighting how the Hollow Tree plays a prominent role in the Origin story of the 2010 Olympic Mascots.  The artwork and mascots were designed by Vancouver's Vicki Wong and her creative partner Michael Murphy of Meomi Designs. I first met Vicki at a fall 2006 event for new Children's books, where she introduced her book The Octonauts and the Only Lonely Sea Monster.  I bought it immediately.

See the video: Meet the Vancouver 2010 Mascots
http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/meet.php

Concerned citizens discuss the Hollow Tree's future yesterday.

Concerned citizens discuss the Hollow Tree's future yesterday.

As of May 1st, the Hollow Tree still 'standing'.  The Vancouver Province wrote a story about “Supporters hoping to save Stanley Park's famous Hollow Tree from the
chainsaw claimed victory yesterday after Vancouver parks staff agreed
to continue meeting to discuss its fate.”

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is happening! The city is turning pink!

Pink petals are sprouting on cherry trees all over Vancouver.  It's time for Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival!

Scan4.jpg

http://www.vancouvercherryblossomfestival.com/2008/event

Last Tuesday, March 25th, the Vancouver Cherry Jam kicked of the official start of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival at the Burrard Sky Train station. 

The free noon-time
concert  Chibi Taiko and Tera Taiko Drumming and
Dueling, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet with Blossom
Brass, Suzka Gypsy Jazz Violin and was emceed by Bramwell Tovey.

This festival celebrates the blossoming of the city’s 36,000 Japanese
flowering cherry trees and is the brainchild of Linda Poole.  I guess it was a sign of times to come when I first met Linda at a special cherry tree planting at Vancouver City Hall in Novemember 2005.  That was the symbolic planting of a graft from the cherry tree at Joy Kogawa House, the very tree that has now inspired Joy's new children's book “Naomi's Tree”

Check out the many events programmed for Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.  There are photography workshops, cherry trolley tours, picnic lunches and more!

Key events

April 1/2 Haiku Garden event

April 2 Pink Tie Affair Gala @ Pair Bistro featuring Cherry Blossom martini + tasting menu


April 3 Sakura Tree Planting @ Van Dusen Gardens.  All day events celebrating the planting of a new Sakura Cherry Tree grove.

April 10 7pm Joy Kogawa Reading of “Naomi's Tree” @ Vancouver Kidsbooks

April 19th Bike the Blossoms – meet 9am at Van Dusen Gardens, then bike the city underneath falling cherry blossom petals.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy parade dragon and paddles on flickr

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  It's the day after Celtic Fest and the Vancouver St. Patrick's Day parade.  I am still  wearing my green Gung Haggis Fat Choy t-shirt.

Being in a parade doesn't allow you to take pictures of your group, so it's always interesting to find pictures on flickr. 

Steven Duncan took some pictures of us setting up.  Check out his flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/9057324@N08/sets/72157604144696435/

IMG_6604 Michael Brophy gets in touch with his “inner dragon” – photo Steve Duncan (by permission)

  IMG_6563Julie and Hilary help Todd assemble the new parade dragon – photo Steve Duncan (by permission).

Check out these pictures by Click Kashmera's Buddy Icon to see more photos
By Kashmera

Stuart MacKinnon and I sat on the front of my car with our kilts on… and paddled.  We tried to get a dragon boat named “Fraser” into the parade, but it ran into trailer problems.  So we improvised.  It was quite funny, because a few people yelled out “Where's your boat?”  And Stuart insisted on paddling with my Chinese dragon hand puppet stuck on his hand.  I don't think I ever saw it come off, until there was a glass of Guinness in his hand after the parade.

DSC_4464 Gung Haggis Fat ChoyDSC_4460 Gung Haggis Fat Choy
DSC_4457 Gung Haggis Fat ChoyDSC_4459 Gung Haggis Fat Choy


Our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team carried our new Chinese parade dragon.
Below Raphael and Leanne lead the dragon, while Michael wears a Chinese lion head
and terrorizes the volunteers!

DSC_4450 Gung Haggis Fat ChoyDSC_4452 Gung Haggis Fat Choy

Gung Haggis Fat Choy puts a dragon (not a snake) in the 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Gung Haggis Fat Choy puts a dragon (not a snake) in the 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.


Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon team: Stuart holds the paddles, while Joy, Deb, Hillary, Richard, Michael and Leanne (out of picture) hold up our new parade dragon! – photo Julie

The 15 foot long Chinese dragon undulated up and down in the air above the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Vancouver’s Granville Street.   A mini version of the larger 10 or 20 person dragons used in Chinatown Chinese New Year parades, it jerked hesitantly. Five Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team members carried short poles sporting a yellow body with red scales and blue and yellow ridge.

It flowed unsure of itself, as the leader lowered and raised the head and the body followed.  It ran from one side of the road to the other, slowing down to flap its mouth and pay attention to the children.



A Chinese dragon in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade?  Didn’t St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?  

Ahh… but this is multi-inter-cultural Vancouver.  Dragon boaters paddle in kilts, and bagpipers perform in the Chinese New Year Parade.  And the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner serves up deep-fried haggis won tons.  Welcome to Vancouver!

Yesterday I was in Chinatown looking for some kind of dragon to use for our parade entry.  I had only learned the day before that the trailer used for Fraser Valley dragon boats had some safety issues.  Damn!  

It would have been very cool to put a “Fraser” dragon boat into the Celtic Fest St. Patrick’s Day parade, and have our dragon boat team members wearing the Hunting Fraser tartans (okay we call them “sport tartans”).

I checked around to try to find a Vancouver area dragon boat and trailer to use as a replacement.  But no luck.

For the first three years of the festival, I had featured a Taiwanese dragon boat, that we pulled on a trailer.  Very colourful.  Very ornate.  Very good audience reaction, as we “paddled” on the boat and banged the drum.

But this year… Sorry – no dragon boat… so we improvised…

I looked in Chinatown stores at seven foot long plastic expandable dragon decorations.  They looked cheap.  Some looked pretty cool, with bright jewel cellophane coloured assembled pieces for its head.  $49.

But then I saw a larger cloth covered dragon for $148, like the kind used in the Chinatown parades, but with only two poles.

Then I saw a large dragon face staring at me, with a large pink tongue sticking out.  A large round body, stretching 16 feet long alongside the staircase leading to the second floor.  Wow!  It’s  yellow head was about the same size as the large Chinese Lion head mask that I have.  I wanted it!

A big commitment buying a parade dragon like that.  As I was looking at it, a woman said to me, “ Are you Todd Wong?”  My daughter Shane did a lion dance at Gung Haggis Fat Choy!”

“Hi… uh… that’s great!  Nice to see you… was that at SFU?” I answered  (I didn’t remember ever having a Lion Dance at a Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner).

“No… it was about a month ago, in Seattle!” She said, “My name is Sam.”

In Seattle Bill McFadden had organized a grand Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner with 5 Lion Dancers.  The mother and daughter had popped up to Vancouver from Seattle for the day, just to see a martial arts demonstration earlier that day on Saturday.  We had a wonderful conversation about Lion dancing, and what a beautiful dragon we were looking at.

“We don’t have a dragon at our school,” they said.  “This dragon is gorgeous!  It would be great to have.”

I bought the dragon.

The weather was chilly today for the March 16 parade this morning, high overcast.  But 5 Years…. and NO RAIN!!!  Incredible! 

 

Our dragon boat team members started assembling about 10:15am.  It took awhile for some of us to find us, because our car had been “temporarily” ushered into the “walkers” area instead of the “motorized” area, so that we could unload the car and decorate it.

Our paddlers marveled at the new dragon making its’ public debut.  We struggled trying to screw in the poles to the dragon.  We put green Gung Haggis Fat Choy shirts on our participants.  We put kilts on the people who didn’t show up in them.  We put green plastic bowler hats on the men or tiaras on the women, and we gave everybody mardi-gras style green, purple and blue beads.

We were festive.  We were fun.  We were happening!

People seemed to like the Chinese dragon we had on 5 poles…
and the Chinese lion head character….  Michael lead the dragon first.  He is 1/2 Chinese, 1/8 Irish and 1/8 Scottish.  Following and supporting the dragon were Leanne, Richard, Hillary and Joy.  

Lots of interaction with the audience, playing to the cameras… giving attention to the children.  Raphael and Stuart carried dragon boat paddles.  I wore the large Lion Head mask.

Todd Wong and Lion Head mask – photo Michael Brophy

We got lots of crowd reaction, when Raphael and I started sitting over the front fenders on the car hood, paddling dragon boat style.

In the parade we saw lots of great pipe bands, Irish dancers, Scottish highland dancers and even horses and Irish Wolf Hounds.

It was nice to see a Korean parade entry, and a Chinese Falun Dufa entry.  Apparently for the Chinatown parade – they wouldn't let Falun Dufa participate, because it is a “hot issue” for the Chinese embassy.  And I even found two Chinese bagpipers.  Xi “Jonsey” is in the J.P. Fell pipe band and Fu Cheong is in the Irish Pipes and Drums.

Jonesy Wu and Todd Wong – Celtic loving Chinese-Canadians in kilts – photo Michael Brophy

After the parade, we visited the Celtic village set up on Granville St., then dipped into Ceili's Irish Bar for some food and well-deserved Guinness beer.  It was great to be back at the very site where Thursday night, I had won the inaugural “Battle of the Bards” playing Robbie Burns!

But I couldn't stay long, as we still had a dragon boat team practice, and I was coaching!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the Celtic Fest organizers for having us in the parade.  We are glad to add  a multicultural aspect to the festival, and hope to organize an event for “Celtic-Asian-Canadians” next year – celebrating Celtic-Asian-Canadian literature, music and arts!

The rain started about 4:30pm in Vancouver after the most successful St. Patrick’s Day Parade ever.

Rhonda Larrabee, chief of Qayqayt First Nations, in CTV's One Women Tribe

This is the CTV documentary about my cousin Rhonda Larrabee's struggle to resurrect Canada's smallest First Nations band the Qayqayt. 

Once upon a time the band flourished on the banks of the Fraser River.  Then White settlers moved into their territories and renamed it New Westminster.  The Qayqayt were put on a Reserve, but that was taken away from them too. 

Rhonda's mother fled her homeland territories due to racism and shame.  She came to Vancouver's Chinatown, where she met Rhonda's father.  Rhonda grew up into her teenage years thinking she was Chinese.  Then she discovered she was First Nations.

Now Rhonda Larrabee is resurrecting the Qayqayt Nation.

Tribes & Treaties

This show originally aired on January 26

Tribes & Treaties


Updated: Tue Feb. 05 2008 18:04:25

ctvbc.ca

One Women Tribe:

Rhonda Larrabee discovered the startling truth about her family
origins. She was not of Chinese and French descent as she was told
while growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown. Rhonda's mother was First
Nations. Then an even bigger shock – Rhonda discovered that she is the
last surviving member of the Qayqayt Tribe (New Westminster Band). She
is now striving to preserve the cultural legacy that her mother felt
forced to reject.

see the pod cast:
http://www.ctvbc.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080127/bc_firststory_women_tribe_080127/20080127/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Gung Haggis Fat Choy in Province Newspaper today for Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year – Gung Hay Fat Choy!

…or should that be Gung Haggis Fat Choy ?

Province
Newspaper reporter Cheryl Chan interviewed me about the multiculturalism of Chinese Lunar
New Year, and about my recent Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese
New Year dinner.  I told her about how I have been asked to speak at Elementary schools to help them express the Lunar New Year as a multicultural event, that all cultures can share in – not just Chinese New Year, Tibetan Losar, or Vietnamese Tet celebrations.

Gee… like everybody can be Irish for St. Patrick's Day, or everybody
can be Scottish for Robbie Burns Day, or all Canadians can celebrate
Chinese New Year…. definitely!!!

Then she asked what I was up to for Chinese New Year's Day…  I told her going to see Banana Boys Play… and Kilts Night at Doolin's Irish Pub. The writer included it in a list of events for Chinese New Year.

But darn… she didn't use any of my quotes about inter-culturalism expressed in a dragon boat team!

I am going to spend some time with my Hapa-Canadian niece and nephew today, then go see bagpiper friend Joe McDonald, who has survived 9 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners, and a dragboat float in the 1st Vancouver St. Patrick's Day parade. 

Some of our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team members and Kilts Night clan will be having Chinese New Year dinner at Hon's before they head over to Doolin's Irish Pub, Nelson and Granville for Kilts Night and to watch the hockey game before the Halifax Wharf Rats start playing.   I am going to see the 7:30pm Banana Boys show at the Firehall Arts Centre- but should make Kilts Night around 9:30 to 10pm. 

Slainte, Todd

Chinese New Year joins Canadian mainstream

Communities come together in parade

Cheryl Chan, The Province

Published: Thursday, February 07, 2008

The Year of the Rat kicks off today — not with a squeak but with a mighty cross-cultural roar.
Chinese
New Year, the most important holiday on the Chinese lunar calendar, has
become a reason for many Canadians, including those of non-Chinese
heritage, to eat, drink and make merry.
“It's becoming, in
that great way, a Canadian tradition,” said Todd Wong, a
fifth-generation Chinese-Canadian. “It's for all cultures to celebrate,
not just Chinese or Asians.”
Join the Rat Pack: It'll be a good year for Rats, especially if you're looking for a job. Roosters? Well, you could be facing problems.Sherman Tai predicts the year ahead, B6-7 n The changing taste of Chinese food, B8-9View Larger Image View Larger Image

Join
the Rat Pack: It'll be a good year for Rats, especially if you're
looking for a job. Roosters? Well, you could be facing problems.Sherman
Tai predicts the year ahead, B6-7 n The changing taste of Chinese food,
B8-9

Illustration, Nick Murphy — the Province

More pictures:


Wong,
47, recently hosted Gung Haggis Fat Choy, an annual salute to Chinese
New Year and Robbie Burns Day, where bagpipes serenaded banquet diners
munching on hybrid delicacies such as a haggis lettuce wrap.
He
said Chinese New Year's popularity is due not only to the large number
of Chinese immigrants but the interracial friendships and marriages
that have introduced the family-oriented holiday to mainstream
Canadians.
“There's a heck of a
lot of white people out there learning about Chinese New Year because
their grandkids are half-Chinese,” said Wong, whose maternal cousins
all married non-Chinese.
Even
traditional offerings have taken on a cross-cultural flavour. The
annual Chinese New Year parade, expected to draw more than 600,000
spectators from across Metro Vancouver, is an example of
multiculturalism at work.
More
than 2,000 participants, including bhangra dancers, marching bands,
bagpipers, traditional dragon- and lion-dance teams and a unicorn-dance
team, will make their way on foot and floats through Chinatown starting
at the Millennium Gate at noon on Sunday.
“At
the parade, you see multiculturalism when the fabric of communities in
Vancouver come together,” said Kenneth Tung, head of Success, one of
the event's organizers.
“It's a multicultural
parade in a culture-specific setting,” adds Wong, who says he'll be attending the festivities.
Other celebrations:
– Thursday: The Vancouver Police Department's lion-dance team performs at Vancouver City Hall at noon.
– Thursday night: Kilts Night at Doolin's Irish Pub. Free pint of Guinness if you wear a kilt.
– Friday through Sunday: Chinese New Year celebration at International Village, 88 West Pender St.

Chinese New Year week… Gung Haggis Fat Choy style

It's Chinese New Year week….

here are some FUN events this week…. after recovery from Gung Haggis Fat Choy Chinese Robbie Burns Dinner recovery….

Tuesday February 5, 2008 – 6:00 PM

CITY COOKS with Simi Sara

Channel 13 in Metro Vancouver
Our cooking dragon boat chef Dan Seto (Chinese Canadian Historical Society of B.C.)

  1. Lotus Root Soup
  2. Steamed Pork with Salt Fish
  3. Green Beans with Fooyi Bean Cake

Check out
TUESDAY to Saturday FEB 5 – 9th
BANANA BOYS
Firehall Theatre
The fun play by Leon Aureas, based on the Terry Woo novel
Back from a hit run last year… manic comedy and Asian identity… or Asian confusion.

THURSDAY Feb 7
CHINESE NEW YEAR DAY
– Kilts Night at Doolin's Irish Pub
FREE pint of Guinness if you wear a kilt.
8:00pm – Raphael to greet you.
Hockey game starts a 7:00 pm – expect music by Halifax Wharf Rats to begin afterwards around 9:30

FRIDAY Feb 7 – 16
THE QUICKIE
– Playwrights theatre centre on Granville Island
– this is the play excerpted at Gung Haggis dinner
– this is by the same group that did Twisting Fortunes last year

purchase tickets online via PayPal at www.scriptingaloud.ca/quickie.

Tickets
are selling fast, especially for the Friday, February 8 show.  Don't
miss it. Last year, seats sold out 36 hours in advance.

Friday and Saturday Feb 9 & 10
OOZOOMAY! UZUME TAIKO
with special guest Ben Rogalsky
Japanese Taiko drums with a multi-instrumentalist who plays accordion along with mandolin, tenor banjo and Javanese gamelan  – how can Gung Haggis not resist???

Norman Rothstein Theatre
950 West 41st Ave.

SUNDAY  FEBRUARY 10,
CHINATOWN
NEW YEAR PARADE

12 noon

Place: Parade starts from the Millennium Gate (Pender
and Taylor St.), winds through Pender, Gore and Keefer.


Remember to bring your camera along with family and friends!


Visit
www.cbavancouver.ca
for more info.

Poster


Flyer front
/ back


Sunday February 10

CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden Courtyard
(part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad)
10:30 -11:30
1:30 – 3:30

– featuring Silk Road Music
+ Uzume Taiko
+ Loretta Leung Dancers
+ many many more!!!

download the program: click here

http://www.silkroadmusic.ca/sitefiles/olympiad.htm

DEAD SERIOUS
at CHAPEL ARTS
(CANCELLED due to illness)

2:30pm
featuring soprano Heather Pawsey and pianist Rachel Iwassa

but see them:

Friday, February 15 concert of DEAD Serious 
7:30 p.m. at Vancouver Memorial Services and Crematorium / Hamilton-Harron Funeral
Home, 5390 Fraser Street) will TAKE PLACE AS SCHEDULED.
If you would like to make reservations,
please call 604-325-7441.

Toddish McWong finds another White Christmas in Vernon '08

It's not every Christmas that you can be snow bound and car-less in the Okanagan, yet spend the day walking dogs in a park, after seeing a bobcat in the morning.  Boxing Day's gift was 15 cm of fresh Okanagan champagne powder snow at Silver Star ski resort.  And this morning I was canoeing on beautiful crystal clear Kalamalka Lake, while it was snowing!  And then there was the company… as I spent Christmas week in Vernon BC with my girlfriend's family.

CHRISTMAS EVE DAY: SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS
Christmas Eve Day started with transferring car ownership papers between father and son at the Vancouver General Insurance Agency in North Vancouver's Edgemont Village.  The Village street lights were decorated like humongous candy canes.  I don't think I've ever seen Edgemont Village so crowded before.  My usual haunts in the village are Delaney's Coffee, 32 Books, Vancouver Kidsbooks, and Village Wines.  My parents got a new car, so I was the lucky recipient of their now former '96 Acura Integra. Wonderful generous Christmas gift!  But now I was about 2 hours late picking up my friends for our trip to Vernon BC, to spend Christmas with my girlfriend and her family.

In Vancouver's West End, my dragon boat team mate Stephen loaded up his gear in the Integra's trunk.  My accordion took up most of the room, but we rearranged our backpacks to fit.  Once on our way, Stephen told me that he heard my name mentioned on CBC radio.  He said that there aren't many Chinese-Canadians writing a blog about inter-cultural adventures in Vancouver…. so it had to be me.  Margaret Gallagher, the co-host of the radio show Flavour of the Week had read my contribution to their  Flavour of the week Facebook group, answering the topic of Favorite Christmas Dishes.  Read my contribution here: hint – (it's stuffing!)  Stephen was surprised to learn that Maggie Gallagher was half-Chinese… but not too surprised to learn that she was a friend or that she had ridden on our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat float for Vancouver's St. Patrick's Day parade.

Next we picked up my girlfriend's friend Zsuzsanna.  The trunk was full, so her suitcase sat on the passenger backseat beside her.   And off we were, 1:30pm, only 2 1/2 hours later than my hoped for departure time.  But the sun was shining, and the traffic was light.  We took turns choosing music for the drive.  B.B. King Christmas was followed by Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and Yo Yo Ma's Tango album.

The weather was good into the Fraser Valley, but beyond Hope the weather turned wet and nasty.  Sleet accompanied up up the Coquihalla, quickly turning to snow as we climbed higher.  Past the toll both, we drove to an almost clear moonlit sky all the way to Vernon.  We arrived for Christmas Eve dinner by 7:20pm.  We made good time.  And we were quickly ushered in to meet the dinner guests of my girlfriend's parents. 

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER: INTERCULTURAL  ORIGINS & CAROL SINGING
While eating a sumptious dinner of Cornish Game Hen, we discovered that one couple had recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  He had been born in England, she in South Africa, and they met in Cairo during WW2.  It  sounded romantic, out of something like Casablanca or The English Patient. The other couple were neighbors up the street accompanied by their adult son, named Fraser.  Of course we made our usual jokes about Toddish McWong's origins at Simon Fraser University, and that Fraser should come join the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.  Well… maybe it will happen.  We did talk about birth and cultural origins, as Stephen was originally from Thunder Bay, and Zsuzsanna was from Romania.  And we also talked about universal themes of Christmas such as love, joy and peace on earth – when we weren't being cleverly cynical.  I was definitely the only “Asian” sitting at the table. 

After my girlfriend's delicious dessert of a flaming brandy-doused plum pudding served with alcoholic “hard sauce” – we retired to the living room, where Zsuzsanna and I led a musical duet of piano and accordion for a group singalong of Christmas songs and carols.  Quite the busy Christmas Eve… snow was falling softly and I we all were asleep by 11pm, giving Santa plenty of time to fill the stockings.

CHRISTMAS MORNING: A GIFT FROM NATURE
Christmas morning was definitely a White Christmas.  We got up late, enjoyed breakfast with cinnamon rolls, sausage rolls, bacon and scrambled eggs.  But before we could open our stockings… Mother Nature gave us a surprise present.  Outside the window, we watched a bobcat stalk a pheasant.  My girlfriend's father said that they had never before seen a bobcat outside the house, in 35 years of living beside Kalamalka Lake.  Wow!  The bobcat slinked across the snow, while partridges pecked unawares closer to the house, beside camper.  The bobcat sat still, behind a rock. And we waited with cameras in hand. And waited…. Finally it slunk off under the trailer without it's quarry.

After the bobcat sighting, Christmas gifts seemed anti-climatic – but we had lots of fun.  Presents opened, we took the doggies out for a walk to Kalamalka Park. We walked along the cliffs and the beaches in the snow.  The youngest dog kept bringing us pine cones to throw for her to chase.  A car-less Christmas Day, spent walking in the snow in one of BC's most beautiful parks.  Stephen was amazed, and kept taking pictures as we stood on the crest of Rattlesnake Point.  A bald eagle circled the small peak about Dog Beach.  Snap snap – more pictures.

When we arrived back to the house, we were introduced to another family friend.  Susan had just arrived back from Somalia after a stint with MSF, more popularly known as Doctors Without Borders.  We had a wonderful time talking about cultural differences and challenges, as well as the adventures of working with such as group.  They are usually the first NGO aid agency into a challenged country.  Wow!  My university studies in international political studies and medical anthropology gave me plenty of understanding to talk with Susan, and yet she was equally interested in learning about Gung Haggis Fat Choy, as we showed her the recent write up about me in the grade 5 textbook Literacy in Action.  We did agree that understanding cultural differences, and stopping racism and cultural discrimination would certainly help to bring more needed peace into all corners of the world, whether the war lord controlled countries like Somalia or our many race issues in Canada.

BOXING DAY: OKANAGAN POWDER SNOW
Boxing Day gave us a present of 15 cm of fresh Okanagan powder snow at the Silver Star ski resort.  Stephen had never every before skiied on snow so light, or so deep.  I probably bored him with tales of me skiing Silver Star as a child of 10, 11, 12 and 15 when my parents would take my brother and me for a week of ski lessons.  But Thunder Bay doesn't have the close proximity of incredible ski resorts that Vancouver or the Okanagan has.  It was a fantastic day for skiing and we made the most of it, starting with my insistence that we rent high performance shaped skis for Stephen.  We skiied all over the mountain, beginning with the Comet 6-pack Express that took us to the peak.  We checked out Christmas Bowl and found some fresh powder on At-Ridge.  In the afternoon visited the Powder Gulch Express lift in the Putnam Creek area, as we skiied along Eldorado, the longest run on the mountain at 8km.

“Are you Toddish McWong?… I mean… are you Todd Wong?” a lady asked me in the lunch-time cafeteria line-up.  Every now and then, I meet somebody who had attended on of  my Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner events.  Debbie had attended the 2004 and 2005 dinners.  Hosting and meeting 300 to 590 people can be kind of hard to remember names.  Debbie said she had had a great time at the dinners and introduced me to her 10 year old daughter Lizzie.  “We have Scottish and Chinese ancestry both in our family, ” said Debbie.

After skiing, we met up with my girlfriend Deb and her friend Zsuzsanna at the skating pond.  Each Christmas, Deb and I have a wonderful time skating a Silver Star, and we always invite friends to join us.  But this year, the ice was terrible.  There were cracks in the ice that people kept tripping on.  As we were holding hands skating, Deb caught the crack and fell hard, banging her knee.  She limped to the seating area to rest.  I went in to the skate rental office to demand that the ice be fixed and the dangerous cracks marked with orange pylons. 

“Don't be so grumpy,” Deb called to me after another woman had shared that the skate rental attendants didn't seem to care about the bad ice, when she had complained.  When the manager said that it was “pond ice” and not much could be done, I explained that if they weren't going to refund people's money, pylon markers were needed to prevent people injuring thermselves.  I stopped short of saying that easily preventable skating injuries were the last thing one of Western Canada's premier ski resorts needed for their reputation.  Pylons were soon out on the ice, and the cracks were soon marked.  I thanked the manager for being responsive to my concerns.  There's a line between ignoring preventable injuries and negligence, and after being on successful campaigns for head tax redress apology, saving Joy Kogawa's childhood home, and the recent Vancouver Library strike – I am not going to let a stupid thing like not marking potential ice hazards go unaddressed.

DEC 28th:  CANOEING IN THE SNOW
Who goes canoeing and skiing on the same day?  We would have if we could have.  Silver Star had another 14 cm of fresh snow this morning… but we passed in favour of canoeing before heading back to Vancouver.  There was maybe 4 cm of fresh snow outside the house this morning.  Stephen and I cooked breakfast for everybody.  Bacon, raisin bread toast, and my baked omelette stuffed with mushrooms, onions and green peppers and served with melted cream cheese on top.  Yummy!

After breakfast we bundled up and went to find canoe paddles, and personal floatation devices.  But everything was already stored away for the winter – not like when we last paddled in July after winning a gold medal in the Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Races. After convincing my girlfriend's father that we were serious about paddling, the equipment was released to us, and we carried the beautiful hand-made cedar strip canoe down to the dock.  The water was so clean and clear we could see 10 feet down to the bottom.  It was amazing paddling across Jade and Juniper Bays in Kalamalka Park.  The water colours changed with the depths of the water from shallow light tourquoise green to deeper emerald greens, and really dark green.  We paddled around Marmot Point, where we had hiked past on Christmas Day.  We paddled around Rattlesnake Point, below the observation point where we had taken so many pictures on Christmas Day.  We would have kept going, enjoying the calm water and beautiful scenery, but we knew we had to get back to the dock, so we could begin our return journey to Vancouver. 

Deb and Zsuzsanna took pictures of us as we returned to the dock.  Okay, we requested that pictures document our paddling in the snow adventure.  It only took a little gentle coercion to convince them to take a turn in the canoe.  Soon they wanted to keep going, and not come back.  Paddling was a wonderful way to end our Christmas vacation in Vernon.

Salute to the Veterans by 78th Fraser Highlanders at BC Place Nov 3rd, during the BC Lions half-time show

Salute to the Veterans by 78th Fraser Highlanders at BC Place Nov 3rd, during the BC Lions half-time show


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Musket smoke flares in BC Place, as the 78th Fraser Highlanders honour guard fires a “Salute to the Veterans” – courtesy photo by Vincent Chan at www.invisionation.com 

Guns, muskets firing, marching men in kilts, veterans and Remembrance Day ceremonies and beer in a football stadium… what could be better?

I have never been to a military tatoo at Edinburgh Castle, but after watching the video of the 78th Fraser Highlanders “Salute to the Veterans” at BC Place, during the Nov. 3rd BC Lions half-time show… and feeling the stirring sounds of bagpipes… I could well imagine.  I shoulda been there!!!

Maybe if I buy a new Roland electronic accordion with MIDI bagpipe simulations – I could join the 78th Fraser Highlanders.  Except my kilts are the Ancient Fraser of Lovat and the modern Fraser Hunting Tartan.

My friend Louise Lindgard, Vol. Sgt with the 78th Fraser Highlanders sent me the following account:

“The 78th Fraser Highlanders
participated last Saturday (Nov. 3, 2007) in the BC Lions Salute to the Veterans
which was held during the half-time show at BC Place Stadium.  The
half-time show was a tribute to our veterans and serving Canadian Forces
personnel.

The Hon. Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs,
joined 1,000 people (veterans, cadets, Canadian Forces personnel, massed bands,
pipes and drums) to march on the field at half-time for a performance honouring
our veterans and Canadian Forces personnel.  The cadets unfolded a giant
Canadian flag and veterans who were unable to march were driven onto the field
in vintage cars.”

The attached video was made predominantly for the 78th Fraser
Highlanders as a promotional video as our Honour Guard fired some musket
volleys during the performance, which is always a crowd-pleaser.  Please
feel free to include it if you think it is appropriate and, if so, please give
credit to Paul Keenleyside as he shot the video.  Thanks.

The video
by Paul Keenleyside can be viewed at the following link:

http://www.thefraserhighlanders.com/video/video_1.htm

I also attach four photos
of the 78th Fraser Highlanders courtesy of Vincent Chan at www.invisionation.com – so please
also include his name and website in the credits for the photos, if you use
them.

Louise Lindgard

Vol. Sgt. – 78th Fraser Highlanders

Fort Fraser Garrison