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2007 GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY press release January 12

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Here is my latest press release for Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2007

January 12, 2007 – for immediate release –

Gung Haggis Fat Choy
Toddish McWong's 10th Annual Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner Spectacular

January 28th, Sunday,
5:30pm reception and appetizers
6:30 dinner
Floata Restaurant
#400 – 180 Keefer Street

Ever had Haggis Dim Sum appetizers?
Expect the Unexpected!

Culinary
surprises await… the world's first haggis dim sum appetizer buffet will
greet arriving guests.  Imagine haggis shrimp dumplings, haggis spring
rolls, haggis-stuffed tofu??? in addition to the now famous haggis won
ton!

Sing
along to “Scotland the Brave,” and Burns' perennial favorite, “Auld
Lang Syne;” and the culturally fused “My Chow Mein Lies Over the
Ocean,” and “When Asian Eyes Are Smiling,” plus many more surprises!

Featured performers for 2007 include:
Silk Road Music, World fusion music
Heather Pawsey, Opera Soprano
Brave Waves – Bagpipes and tabla musical fusion band,
Leora Cashe – Jazz gospel singer
No Luck Club – Instrumental Hip Hop
 Dr. Ian Mason – Burns Club of Vancouver
Lensey Namioka – Author “Half and Half”
Margaret Gallagher – Writer “All Mixed Up” anthology
“Twisting Fortunes” – sneak preview of play

Co-hosted by Priya Ramu (CBC Radio) and Todd Wong

Gung
Haggis Fat Choy does more than mix East and West. It blends them
together and turns them upside down and shakes them out sideways. It
highlights Canada's Scottish and Chinese heritage and pioneers. It
breaks down barriers and is an impressive forum for the emerging
intercultural Canada where everybody can claim and celebrate Chinese
and Scottish culture and everything in-between.

Expect
great cultural fusion music between East and West, as Scots musicians
play Chinese music and Chinese musicians play Scottish music…
and everything in between and beyond!

Gung Haggis Fat Choy is growing into a Festival with 4 related events

Gung
Haggis Fat Choy started out as a small fundraiser of 16 people in 1998
in a crowded living room.  Ten years later it serves 500 people at the
biggest Chinese Restaurant in North America, and has spun off a CBC
television performance special, and the SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy
Canadian Games.

This
is the “Little Dinner that Could” which is now growing into a
festival!  Creator Todd Wong has been interviewed by BBC Radio
Scotland, plus local and national media.

Today
it is a major fundraiser event for Gung Haggis Dragon Boat team, Asian
Canadian Writers' Workshop, and Kogawa House Committee – helping to
create positive examples of inter-culturalism in our community!

January 15th, 2007. Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry Night
Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver
– featuring bagpipes, Scottish born Chinese-Canadian poet Fiona Tinwei
Lam, Dr. Ian Mason (Burns Club of Vancouver), Leon Yang, Shelly
Haggard, Joe McDonald and Bagpipes + singalongs.

January 21st, 2007. Haggis and Rice – Cric Crac
presented by Vancouver Society of Storytelling
Hodson Manor, 12254 West 7th Ave. Vancouver, 
Todd Wong will read poetry + tell stories

January 25th, 2007. SFU Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games
SFU Convocation Mall, Burnaby Campus
– Look for Dragon Cart racing, Haggis eating contest + World's first human curling event.

January 28th, 2007
Catch the infamous Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.

Tickets now available at Firehall Arts Centre
604-689-0926.
Call Monday to Frieday – 9am – 5pm

Early bird tix available until January 21 $60 adult,  $70 for premium seats.
Children 13 and under 50% off.
After January 21st – prices go up to $70/$80

Book a table of 10 and receive a gift basket (value $50)

For more information contact
Todd Wong
Phone: 778-846-7090
Email gunghaggis@yahoo.ca
www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com

2007 Menu for Gung Haggis Fat Choy

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2007 Menu for Gung Haggis Fat Choy

I've always liked watching Monty Python.  And it was great to see the CBC tv special Gung Haggis Fat Choy take on a Monty Pythonesque animated sequence when telling the history of Robert Burns.  This will be part of the program on January 28th, as we will show excerpts from teh CBC tv special.

As for the dinner menu… we will NOT be serving SPAM. 
But look for plenty of haggis…

Haggis won-ton, bagpipes, Silk Road Music, Robbie Burns poetry,  Haggis dim sum, Heather Pawsey opera soprano, Chinese banquet food, Haggis lettuce wrap, Leora Cashe jazz & gospel, Scottish singalongs, Haggis spring rolls, lots of surprises, traditional haggis, co-hosted by Priya Ramu (CBC Radio On The Coast) and Todd Wong himself and more haggis… .

for all the non-haggis lovers there will be:
lots of vegetarian food…
tofu appetizers, deep-fried tofu, tofu with vegetables, tofu hot pot, tofu with taro, tofu-stuffed haggis, and tofu pudding…

If you don't believe me, check out last year's dinner menu
Scottish Canadian and Chinese Canadian culture 10 course Chinese banguet dinner

I am presently working on upgrading the menu from last year – there will be crab, chicken, haggis and tofu… but not so much tofu…

Roy Miki reads from new book “There” – Jan 12 at Spartacus Books

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Roy Miki reads from new book “There”
– Jan 12 at Spartacus Books

image

Here's a 2005 picture of Roy Miki (centre left) with Rev. Tim Nakayama (left), Joy
Kogawa (cenre right) and Todd Wong (right), at the One Book One Vancouver launch for Obasan,
at the Vancouver Public Library – photo courtesy of Todd Wong

Roy Miki, poet, author,
Order of Canada
recipient, and friend of historic Joy Kogawa House launches a new book, There, tomorrow evening,

Friday,
January 12, at 8:00 pm.
Spartacus Books,
319 West Hastings Street

This is a free event.

Roy Miki is an award-winning writer, poet, editor, scholar,
teacher, and activist in the movement for redress for those
Japanese-Canadians interned during the Second World War.

This year Dr. Miki’s achievements were recognized with three major
university awards (Gandhi Peace Award, Thakore Visiting Scholar,
Sterling Prize) for his 2004 book REDRESS: INSIDE THE JAPANESE
CANADIANS CALL FOR JUSTICE (Raincoast) and his work in the movement and
commitment to the ideals of truth, justice, human rights, and
non-violence.

In August he was made a member of the Order of Canada.


His work as a scholar and editor includes a prize-winning bibliography
of poet George Bowering, and a collection of critical essays, BROKEN
ENTRIES (1998); he has also edited the collected poems of Roy Kiyooka;
and the collected critical essays of bpNichol. He is the founding
editor of WEST COAST LINE magazine, and the author of several books of
poetry, including SAVING FACE (1991), RANDOM ACCESS FILE (1995), and
SURRENDER, which in 2002 won a Governor General’s award.



Check out the many articles on this website featuring Roy Miki

roy miki on www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com

CBC's Dragon Boys… Body count and community impact

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CBC's Dragon Boys… Body count and community impact

Dragon Boys
was one of CBC's most hyped new shows for January 2007.  Because
it dealt with drugs, gang violence and prostitution in the Chinese
communities of Vancouver and Richmond, it broached sensitive
issues.  Cultural consultants were brought in, but did it help or
hinder the show?

Ricepaper
Magazine gives a behind the scenes look at the development of the
script with input from the Chinese-Canadian communities from Toronto
and Vancouver.  It also explains the development of the “community
consultants” roles that writer/editor Jim Wong-Chu and film maker
Colleen Leung took on.  Check out Crime and Controversy: The Story behind the Dragon Boy by Nancy Han.
 
My friend David Wong writes his critique: ‘Body parts in plastic bags’ + hongcouver = Dragon Boys for his blog Ugly Chinese Canadian. 
David gives an interesting view with regards to tying in the screen
violence to actual events that happened in Vancouver.

Here are my views that were originally written as a comment to his article:

It’s so easy to blame the dominant mainstream cultural stereotypes,
and the politically correct cultural consultants… The true fact is that
there are so few stories and characters that are Chinese-Canadian, that
anything that comes out goes under the microscope, gets anal-yzed like
pork entrails, and is criticized for generalizing/mis-representing the
community.

When Kwoi writes that Dragon Boys is like an Asian version of Fast
and Furious – we also have to look around and say “Where is the Asian
version of Corner Gas?” Look at all the shows about about white
mainstream society, and there is no possibility that you will assume
that Causcasians are obsessed with killing people (CSI, Bones, Cold Case,
Crossing Jordon), or crime (Sopranos, Vegas, Without a Trace, 24, NCIS,
Law & Order, Prison Break).

Did Ang Lee need cultural consultants when he directed “Brokeback Mountain” or “The Hulk?”

Dragon Boys really had nothing to do with Chinese Canadian history.
It was more about Chinese language immigrant issues. And it is rare to
find the recent immigrants concerned with Chinese Canadian
multigenerational history, or the multigenerational CBCers concerned
with new immigrant issues such as prostitution, gangs or crime – unless
it makes the entire “so-called Chinese community.”

It was interesting to see that the Dragon Boys had pretty blonde
girlfriends, that Asian brothers had conflicts,
Chinese people took advantage of society or even tried to fit in. Yes
the stereotypes of Asian gang members, prostitutes and drug dealers were
all there – BUT they were fully developed characters that you could
know, like and even (gasp!) care about – instead of secondary
superficial undeveloped characters. Is this progress?

Having been a consultant for the CBC performance special Gung Haggis
Fat Choy, and the upcoming CBC Generations documentary on Rev. Chan
family and descendants (Feb broadcast date?) – I can say that without
my insight and comments – things would get missed, be inaccurate, and
run the risk of steotypes and generalizations.

It’s great that White-Canadians like Ian Weir want to write stories
that involve the Chinese-Canadian community – but let’s also have more
Chinese-Canadians given the opportunity to tell their stories too! We
need a balance and we need a spectrum of stories and view points.

BTW – I saw “Little Mosque on the Prairie” last night – and I LOVED it!!!
Why can’t we have a story about Chinese-Canadians like that?

Gung Haggis Fat Choy update for January 10th

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Gung Haggis Fat Choy update for January 10th

What's happening with Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2007?

Just confirmed today…  Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is attending.  This will be the second time he has attended as Mayor, in addition to two previous times as a city concillor.  Mayor Sullivan definitely has Scottish ancestry… and he's learned to speak Chinese

Haggis is ordered.  I really like haggis from Peter Black and Sons, from Park Royal South, in West Vancouver.  I have used it every year since 2002.  When I don't use it, there's usually complaints.  This is a nice spicy family secret recipe.  I have never “gagged” on a Peter Black haggis, as I have on other haggis.  Peter and family attended last year and had a great time.  Peter even gave the Selkirk Grace.

Erin Cebula of Global TV, called me on Monday – she's going to do a story about the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner event.  Look for her and a television cameraperson at the Vancouver Public Library on January 15th, when I host Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry Night with Ariadne Sawyer as part of the World Poetry Series.

Jazz-gospel singer Leora Cashe is really really excited about performing for GHFC – we talked on Sunday.  Leora wants me to perform accordion with her for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner – an old Scottish song that her Scottish uncle used to sing and perform on accordion – “My Luv Is Like a Red Red Rose.”  Leora is also really excited about helping to lead the singalongs for the dinner, such as “Loch Lomand (You Take the High Road)” and others…

And the dinner menu???
This year we are having something very special – Haggis Dim Sum appetizers.
I am talking with Floata Restaurant and trying to haggisize some of my favorite dim sum foods such as Hah-Gau shrimp dumplings.  I think my mother will be upset… shrimp dumplings are one of her favorites too!

Crab is definitely on the menu…  and lots of other good foods.  Look for an improved menu from last year's dinner.

In Scotland – 'Chinese all look alike' – but when does foreigner become “Chinese” in China?

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In Scotland – 'Chinese all look alike' – but when does foreigner become “Chinese” in China?

 
Do I look less Chinese but more Scottish if I wear a kilt?

Check out these interesting news articles that Susanna Ng posted on www.chineseinvancouver.blogspot.com

They
give an interesting perspective to the issue of nationality vs
culture.  Can we be Chinese if we are born in China?  Can we
be Scottish if we are born in Scotland.  Definitely, we are
Canadian if born in Canada – and we can also be Scottish and Chinese
too, if you are like my friend Fiona Tinwei Lam – born in Scotland of
Chinese ethnicity, but now a Canadian citizen since she was a child.

Judge clears driver because 'Chinese all look the same'

By David Lister, Scotland Correspondent, The Times

A JUDGE has provoked outrage among race relations groups by claiming that all Chinese people look the same.

Sheriff
Margaret Gimblett cleared Hui Yu, 23, a student from Beijing, of a
motoring offence after dismissing evidence from two police officers
identifying him.

She told Greenock Sheriff Court: “Without
wanting to be derogatory in any way, sometimes it is said that all
black people look the same at first glance, and the same can be said
that all Chinese people can look the same to a native Scot.

“It’s only when you have time to look that you begin to see the differences.”
 
(MORE…)

'Chinese-ness' by race, or by culture?


The
following article is from the Shanghai Daily.  Interesting
article…  It is all about the individual person's
perspective.  Remember that even though I am 5th generation
Canadian – Mainland Chinese will view me as “Overseas Chinese.”

China calls itself “The Middle Kingdom.”  5000 years of continuous
uninterrupted culture has encouraged an ethno-centric viewpoint of the
world.  People who look  like us vs people who do not look
like us.  Most European countries also have a similar sense of
“national self.” But Brazil, USA and Canada are different… We are
colonized countries, populated by indigenous peoples plus many waves of
immigrants.   Our definition of “Canadian-ess” is less based
on race, but rather by shared culture and values.

Last week, I was talking to a friend who was born in Romania – yet she
identifies herself as a Hungarian – because that is her parent's
language and culture.  She told me that I was “Chinese,” even
though I am 5th generation Canadian.

“No…” she told me, “you are still Chinese… look at you…”

“Yes…” I said, “I just happened to be born with this beautiful DNA,
but I don't speak Chinese, I wasn't born in China, I don't think
Chinese.  I don't know all it's history and culture.”

Maybe it's the Nature vs Nurture issue.  Much of the things we
know can be taught, but somethings are socialized unconsciously, and
some things are hard-wired biologically.

I know somebody who was born in Shanghai, to Austrian parents, and is 100% Canadian.

I know somebody who was born in Scotland, to parents of Chinese ethnicity, and is 100% Canadian.

Being identified as one thing or another is often dependent on what
makes you stand out from the crowd. I grew up amongst white Canadians
in high school, so I was identified as the “Chinese guy.”  When I
hung out with lots of Asian-Canadians who were  immigrants or
children of immigrants, I was identified as the “Banana” or the “CBCer.”

But how we define ourselves is the most important thing.

Puzzle of identity: Beyond race, nationality
By Wayne Hsu 2007-1-8  Shanghai Daily

HOW we identify ourselves is how we perceive others see us.

For example, if I identify myself as an American, I also wish others to perceive me as an American.

Identifying oneself can sometimes be a tricky act. Many factors may come into play – race, nationality and cultural background.

Take
for instance that I was born in China of Chinese ancestry, and at the
age of three I moved to France and lived there until I was 25. Shortly
after that, I moved to the United States and became a US citizen.

So,
how should I identify myself? Am I Chinese? Sure, my race is Chinese.
Am I French? Sure, my cultural background is French. Am I American? Of
course, my nationality is American. The question remains how should we
identify ourselves?

Perhaps,
a more significant question to ask oneself is: Which is the most
important factor among race, culture, and nationality? 
(MORE…)

Dragon Boys, CBC mini-series premieres Sunday January 7 – inside scoop from Kwoi

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Dragon Boys, CBC mini-series premieres Sunday January 7
– inside scoop from Kwoi

Dragon Boys (Part 2) (2006)

CBC's Dragon Boys is the heavily anticipated drama about Chinese gang
life in the Vancouver/Richmond community.  I first heard about the
project when my friend Jim Wong-Chu (Asian Canadian Writer's Workshop)
became one of the cultural consultants for the project.  Jim was
excited, because this was the first time CBC or CTV was creating a
mini-series on Chinese Canadians.  There would be lead roles and
story themes – not just supporting roles in side bar stories. 

See the story in the Georgia Straight where Dragon Boys director talks
about the importance of having community counsultants filmaker Colleen
Leung and Jim Wong-Chu: http://www.straight.com/article/dragon-boys-shoot-for-truth.
Also check out what Jim wrote about Chinese Canadian history for the In Context section on the Dragon Boys website.

While this is all good.  The next step will see CBC creating a
mini-series about multigeneration Chinese-Canadians beyond any
stereotypes of “typical immigrants,” “gang members,” and
“prostititutes.”  Gee… maybe they will watch the upcoming CBC
Generations documentary on the Rev. Chan Yu Tan family – my seven
generation Chinese-Canadian family. see: GungHaggisFatChoy :: Generations Rev. Chan Yu Tan

My friend Kwoi in Toronto sent out the following letter to friends
across the country giving people his personal view with some inside
scoops.  With Kwoi's permission – here is his letter:

Dragon Boys, the two part mini-series
is airing this coming Sunday and Monday, Jan 7 and 8 at 8 pm to 10 pm.
Working closely with the Asian Community, Writer/Exec Producer Ian Weir
did a great job keeping it real, working with material outside his own
culture. It stars some of my TO friends Jean Yoon & Simon Wong.
Simon's character was especially real for me personally as I had
started a youth gang upon my early arrival in Toronto. We even called
ourselves “Nine Dragons” as there were initially nine of us from the
same hood in Kowloon (translates 9 Dragons). I started the gang as a
means of survival. I was constantly getting beat up after school by
trailer trash bullies. The same trailer trash that were portray in
Dragon Boys. My gang involvement strained my relationship with my dad
whose Baldwin St eatery was struggling with extortion threats from the
triad at the time. Watching the preview on Tuesday night was like
having my childhood flash me by.

The cast worked hard at keeping it real. The character of Chavy Pahn
was changed from Chinese to Cambodian to reflect current immigration
patterns, Stephanie Song, who had already been cast in the role, had to
learn to deliver her lines in Khmer. Byron also objected to his
character’s wife being changed to Chinese because he saw his character
as a banana who “grew up thinking he’s a white man, a guy who has never
dated Asian women.” Unlike most Hollywood depictions of Asian males as
de-sexualized monk like beings, it was refreshing to see the brothers
hooking up with White Woman on the big screen. Thanx Byron, Lawrence
& the Dragon Boys  for “getting some” on behalf of the
brothers.

It could have easily been another Asian exploitation flick like Year Of
The Dragon, with the dominant culture's set of assumptions about power
relationships and power structures which is completely skewed towards
the White perspective, but keeping it real with all the family &
human stories really made the piece into a Chinese Canadian Sopranos if
you will. Excellent performance from the cast including the amazing
Eric Tsang (the Asian De Niro) who my friend Jean Yoon got to slap
around for real.

The Canucks have been known to follow their American counterparts
politically as well as culturally. The Americans pass the Head Tax Law,
they follow. The Americans pass the Exclusion Act, they follow. The
Americans started the Japanese Internment, they follow. Finally,
they've initiated something positive for their American counterparts to
envy over. The American networks are in envy & amazement how an
all-Asian lead cast without any White leads can be made possible. This
would not have been a reality in the States. Now if we can only get our
own writers, producers & directors in there…

Dragon Boys is a dark & gritty right-between-the-eyes crime story.
Please check it out & forward this to anyone you think might enjoy
it. Oh heck…on 2nd thought, forward it to them even if you think they
might not enjoy it! Cheers!

 

Banana Kowboy.
 
Check out sites here
 
http://www.dragonboys.ca/

http://www.schemamag.ca/Dragon_Boys/
 
And Articles:

http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/2007/01/01/3116203-cp.html

What to expect at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2007 Dinner

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What to expect at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2007 Dinner

The Arrival



Arrive Early:  The doors will open by
5:15 pm. All seating is reserved, and all tables are placed in the
order that they were ordered (except for special circumstances such as
a major sponsor hint hint).  We find this is the most fair, and it
encourages people to buy their tickets earlier to ensure a table closer
to the stage.  We expect a rush just prior to the posted 5:30pm
reception
time.  This is the time to go to the bar and get your dram of
Glenfiddich or pint of McEwan's Lager – specially ordered for tonight's
dinner.  Ohhh…. but we might be having a special sponsor for drinks.  We're working on it.

The premium
tables will have two bottles of wine on each table.  This is the
reward for purchasing tables closer to the stage and paying $10 more
each.  This also means that you don't have to stand in line for your first drink.

Buy Your Raffle Tickets:
We have some great door
and raffle prizes lined up.  Lots of books (being the writers we
are), gift certificates and theatre tickets + other surprises.

Please buy
raffle tickets… this is how we generate our fundraising.  We
purposely keep our admission costs low to $60 for advance regular seats
so that they are affordable and the dinner can be attended by more
people.  Children's tickets are subsidized so that we can include
them in the audience and be an inclusive family for the evening.

This dinner is the primary fundraising event for
 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team.  Since 2001, we have also given funds to Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, publishers of RicePaper Magazine.
The Gung Haggis team continues to promote multiculturalism through
dragon boat paddling events, and puts a dragon boat float each year in
the Vancouver St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Rice Paper Magazine
highlights creative Asian Canadians – especially in the arts and
culture.

Last year, we added the Save Kogawa House committee as a beneficiary for the event, because I felt it was
important to save Joy Kogawa's childhood home from demolition.  I
have been working on the committee, and I am pleased that The Land
Conservancy has stepped in to partner with us to save Kogawa House
and turn it into a National literary landmark and treasure for all
Canadians.  Now that the house is saved, more money is still
needed to restore it to the 1942 qualities when Joy and her family were
forced to leave it, as well as create an endowment for future
programming.

Please support our missions of supporting and developing emerging writers,
organizing reading events, and to spread multiculturalism through
dragon boat racing – or come join our teams!

The FOOD

This year haggis dim sum appetizers will
be on a long buffet table – available at 5:30 pm.  This is going
to be culinarily exciting.  We have featured deep-fried haggis won
ton since 2004.  In 2005 we introduced haggis spring rolls. 
On City Cooks with host Simi Sara, we also introduced haggis stuffed tofu. 

6:30 pm Dinner event begins. People
are seated, and the Piping in of the musicians and
hosts begins.  We will lead a singalong of Scotland the Brave and give
a good welcome to our guests, only then will the dinner courses
appear.  You want to eat, you have to sing for your supper! (which should appear by 6:45 pm).

From then on… a new dish will appear every 10 to 15 minutes –
quickly followed by one of our co-hosts introducing a poet or musical
performer.  Serving 50 tables within 5 minutes, might not work
completely, so please be patient.  We will encourage our guests
and especially the waiters to be quiet while the performers are on stage.
Then for the 5 minute intermissions, everybody can talk and make noise
before they have to be quiet for the performers again.

This year's
dinner show will emphasize the show over the dinner.  In past
years, we have always tried to alternate food dishes with
performances.  But with the high quality of artists, we need to
highlight them… so this year… the show takes priority!

The Performances

Expect the unexpected: I
don't want to give anything away right now as I
prefer the evening to unfold with a sense of surprise and
wonderment.  But let it be known that we have an incredible
array of talent for the evening.

Priya
Ramu, CBC Radio host for “On The Coast” will be co-host with me for the
evening.  We have already created a mini-kilt for Priya and she is
looking forward to the event.

We welcome the return of Silk Road Music and Heather Pawsey to the Gung Haggis program.  Qiu
Xia and Andre bring their musical fusion performed on pipa and
classical guitar.  Opera soprano Heather Pawsey will perform in
Mandarin and a special suprise…

Joe
McDonald and his celtic-fusion band Brave Waves is again our “house
band.” We always delight in having Joe and his bagpipes.  This
year Joe and the band will deliver a Canadian surprise with a
multicultural twist.

Author
Lensey Namioka, author of the young adult novel “Half and Half” will
introduce us to the trials of Fiona Cheng growing up half-Scottish and
half-Chinese in Seattle.  Her brother is red-headed and prefers
martial arts to highland dancing, and she really really would love to
wear his kilt and dance – but her parents and her grandparents would
prefer her to wear a chinese dress to go with her black hair.

No
Luck Club – the instrumental hip hop band, recently returned from a
cross-Canada tour will be providing “ambient groove music” during our
reception.  But I think they might even get in on our version of
“The Haggis Rap.”

Our non-traditional reading of the “Address to the
Haggis” is always a crowd pleaser.  But
this year, audience members will be reading a different Burns poem to
tie their tongues around the gaelic tinged words.  Will it be “A
Man's A Man for All That,” “To a Mouse,” My Luv is Like a Red Red Rose,” or maybe even “Tam O-Shanter?”

I
hand-pick members of the
audience to join us on stage to read a verse.  Past participants
have included former federal Multicultural Secretary of State Raymond
Chow, Qayqayt
(New Westminster) First Nations Chief Rhonda Larrabee, , a
descendent of Robert the
Bruce, a doctor from White Horse, a UBC student from Scotland, somebody
doing a vocal impression of Sean Connery.  Last year we invited
Faye Leung, Kelly Ip, Jim Harris (then national leader of the Green
Party) and NDP federal candidates Ian Waddell and Mary-Woo Sims – both
dressed in their Scottish and Chinese finest.

Who will it be for 2007?  We leave it up until the evening to decide.

The evening will wrap up somewhere between 9:00 and
9:30 pm, then we will socialize further until 10pm.  People will
leave with smiles on their faces and say to
each other, “Very Canadian,”  “Only in Vancouver could something
like this happen,” or “I'm telling my friends.”

Year of the Pig stamp launched today in Toronto

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Year of the Pig stamp launched today in Toronto
To Year of the Pig
Feb 18, 2007, marks Chinese New Year of the Pig.  Canada Post celebrated with a new stamp in Toronto today on January 5th.

The Pig Year should be filled with good feasting and friendship. 
It is also a very good year for people born in the Year of the Rat, like me!

Check out these stories.


CBC British Columbia		 Pig puts stamp of good fortune on new year

Vancouver firm's stamps mark Year of Pig
Globe and Mail, Canada – 27 Dec 2006

12/20/2006
 – Canada Post welcomes the Year of the Pig with fortunate stamps
   “From February 18, 2007 to February 6, 2008, it will be the pig's turn to rule the Chinese zodiac. …”

Kilts Night at Doolin's – 1st Thursday of January 2007: I meet Rob MacDonald – kiltmaker and bagpiper

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Kilts Night at Doolin's – 1st Thursday of January 2007: 
I meet Rob MacDonald – kiltmaker and bagpiper

Every first Thursday of each month we celebrate Kilts Night at Doolin's
Irish Pub in Vancouver.  This time, no sooner had I walked in and
was heading toward the stage looking for friends when a stranger called
out “Toddish McWong!” and came over to shake my hand.

Rob MacDonald, greeted me.  I had never met the man before.  But I recognized the name immediately. 

“Kilt maker,” I nodded in recognition, recalling a 2004 article Hearts in the Highlands in the Vancouver Courier that had interviewed us both about Robbie Burns Day. 

Rob and I had a great talk, turns out we have been aware of each other
since the 2004 article and in Google circles but had never met in
person… although people we knew in common kept saying “You should
meet Rob McDonald” or “You should meet Toddish McWong.”

Rob makes kilts, and his website is www.westcoastkilts.com. 
He regaled us with stories from his days in the Seaforth Highlanders
where he first learned to make kilts.  This man is full of great
entertaining stories.

He has a wonderful “Imortal Memory” address for Robbie Burns, and he
offered to present it for my Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese
New Year dinner.  Alas but the program is fully booked, as Dr. Ian
Mason, of the Burns Club of Vancouver, is our Burns expert for the
evening, and Joe McDonald is our bagpiper.  But I invited Rob to
come to the January 15th Gung Haggis Fat Choy World Poetry Night at the
Vancouver Public Library.  Hopefully we can fit him in.  For
January 28th, at the GHFC dinner?  We'll see….

Kilts Night is the 1st Thursday of every month at Doolin's Irish Pub in Vancouver.