I survived Jenny Kwan's fundraiser: Scotch tasting party.
It's a small house party of a fundraiser. There are many
different bottles of
Scotch for you to try, along with some wonderful appetizer and snack
foods. Jenny's husband Dan has a wonderful way with food, and he
sent me home with some incredibly delicious chocolate pate.
My accordion and I provided some musical entertainment. Jenny
said I was a hit. Her husband Dan booked me for a return
engagement for next year.
What did I do? Simply lead singalongs of “When Asian Eyes Are
Smiling,”
and “My Haggis Lies Over the Ocean.” It fit perfectly with
Jenny's Chinese heritage and her husband Dan's Scottish heritage.
We also sang “Loch Lomand (You Take the High Road)” with Vancouver city
councillor Heather Deal leading one of the verses, while everybody
joined in for the chorus.
I also performed the Address to the Haggis, while former Vancouver city
councillor Jim Green cut up the
haggis. Okay… it wasn't a traditional reading. It was my
very untraditional Haggis Rap. Dan and Jenny said that in the 5
years they have been hosting their Scotch tasting party, it was the
best reading of the Burns immortal poem, they had witnessed.
It was a great party…. I will definitely return for
next year.
Chairman George CTV special: the Greek-Canadian who sings Mandarin Chinese like Elvis
Who is George Sapounidis?
George Sapounidis is a cool guy. He is the Montreal born, Mandarin speaking, Greek-Canadian, who was featured in the CBC TVspecial “Gung Haggis Fat Choy.” I first met George
in person last year when he came to Vancouver for a Chinese Spring
Festival concert. We hit it off immediately and had a great time.
George loves China and Chinese people… he even volunteered to be a
translator for the Chinese Olympic team in Athens 2004. As well,
George is a eccentric, eclectic, intercultural Canadian with the “Gung
Haggis Fat Choy” spirit, whose universal good will transcendns racial
and cultural boundaries. Watch “Chairman George,”and I will work
on having George Sapounidis at a Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns
Chinese New Year dinner in Vancouver, Toronto… or maybe Ottawa.
CHAIRMAN GEORGE – Quest for the Torch
a CTV Television Documentary Film
SATURDAY August 19, 2006 7-8 PM national broadcast
In Canada, George is a statistician. But in China, George is Elvis…
Produced by EyeSteelFilm
Directed by DANIEL CROSS and MILA AUNG-THWIN in association with CTV, BBC and TV2 Denmark
“heart-warming … you will be rooting for George long before it's over! ” – The Times (London, UK)
Sterling
Feature Grand Jury Honorable Mention , Silverdocs
Documentary Film Festival – Washington DC
“A
delightful road movie about a career statistician who dreams of
performing one day at the Athens Olympics!” – The Montreal Gazette
” A brilliant documentary ! ” – The Montreal Mirror
“A
Troubadour-Savant…George, you are a perfect human bridge. I can’t
imagine any other candidate on the earth more perfect then you to
perform at the closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympics.” – CBC
Radio, Sheila Rogers
“Il
y a de ces individus qu’on croit sortis de l’imaginaire. Sapounidis en
est un. Il est pourtant reel, ce statisticien Greco-Canadien.” – La Presse, Montreal
Closing film of the Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal !
Special Jury Award : Canadian Filmmakers Festival , Toronto, Canada
Special Jury Award : Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, Saskatchewan, Canada
Synopsis:
Produced
by EyeSteelFilm, the documentary follows George Sapounidis, a shy,
Greek-Canadian statistician and Chinese folk-singing sensation on his
quest to perform at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games. In Canada, he is a statistician who lives with his mother. In
China, he is a pop star. George Sapounidis defies every effort at
categorization. The latest film from Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin
is a delightful portrait of this zany troubadour who regularly makes
the trip from Ottawa to Beijing to climb on stage. His bouzouki, guitar
and cell phone in hand, he sings in faultless Mandarin for a
delirious—mostly female—audience. With unquenchable optimism in the
face of adversity, this obsessive-compulsive who never quite grew up
goes for the main chance, a spot in the closing ceremonies at the
Athens Olympics. The multilingual Sapounidis, “the only Greek in the
world who can sing in Chinese,” wants to deliver his own ingenuous
lyrics as the Olympic flag is passed from Athens to Beijing. Chairman George
follows the trials and tribulations of this sensitive, eccentric man as
he beats the drum in a full-out campaign between China, Greece and
Canada.
Communique straight from Haggis Land
(from Alexander Hutchinson)
The fame of Gung Haggis Fat Choy is consistently growing. Here is
an example of appreciation from an ex-Scots, ex-Canadian – who really
appreciates the intercultural directions of Gung Haggis Fat Choy –
which celebrates the Chinese and Scottish heritage of Canada +
everything in between & everything beyond!
Please welcome Alexander Hutchinson as a guest on www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com
Mr. Hutchinson has written a poem about Haggis titled “Surprise Surprise” (see attachment).
He has also sent me a cover from his book, and a picture of a haggis
wearing a kilt. (I will have to send the picture to my kilted
mates on www.xmarksthescot.com
It seems a fitting time for Mr. Hutchinson to discover Gung Haggis Fat
Choy and to contact me 40 years after his first arrival in Victoria BC,
Canada – back on August 31, 1966. Victoria is a wonderful city
that plays up its British heritage with high tea at the Empress Hotel,
double decker buses, and all that stuff. However, Victoria is
also the city that at one point had the largest Chinatown in North
America, where my father's father once ran the largest Chinese merchant
store, and where both my father and my mother's mother were botn in
1925, and 1910.
British Columbia is indeed a place where Scots and Chinese have met,
collided, and colluded. I hope to soon be hosting a Gung Haggis
Fat Choy dinner in Victoria sometime soon. And maybe if Mr.
Hutchinson makes the trip to Victoria for his anniversary… we
will have a special little dinner. In the mean time, please enjoy
his letter and his poem.
Yo — Hullo, and Greetings to the Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2006 sponsors
from the Land of Haggis, cradle of Burns. This is a concept dear to my
heart. As you will see from the attached piece, my poem “Surprise,
Surprise” has been in circulation now for more than 21 years (and a
published version came out in 1990 – I'll attach some images if I can
scan them
It can be updated of course – so I
don't see why I couldn't add gung haggis fat choy – though there is
already a reference to ancient Chinese practice. – “100 year -old Kung
Po haggis”!
I returned to Scotland from
Canada in 1984 – had been living on Vancouver Island since 1966. The
haggis poem was the first piece I wrote on return – and it got a hot
reception.. There is a story about the “invention” of the vegetarian
haggis – but I'll save that for later.
God, I
would love to be back on the west coast. Shouldn't be long – I'm due a
visit. I am a Canadian citizen as well as Scottish – my kids are
too. The 40th anniversary of my first arrival is August 31st (Labour
Day 1966). “Good Vibrations” was on the radio all the time..
I walked in to teach my first class at UVIC a few months later – just 22 years old.
The illustrations are by a man called Charles Hynes.
Amazon still lists the wee book – but I will send you a copy.
As the old folks used to say: Here's tae us –
wha's like us? (“Damn few:and they're aa deid” is the usual answer..)
alll the best, Sandy H.
Alexander Hutchison
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
MacSween the corner butcher with confidence displays
for denizens of the city – 'of toons the a per se'-
a vegetarian haggis, rank specimen of his craft.
Just what the creature might contain defeats surmise:
pinmeal and onions, nuts or beans, some dribs and drabs.
No gristle, no suet, no organ meats: no liver, no tripes
no lights, no heart. Instead of a sheep's paunch
potato skins with a saddle-stitch fly. Up the Mound
down Candlemakers Row the fix is in. The makars jump
the peddlers stump, the market splits wide open.
First from a purely culinary point of view – corned, curried
devilled, smoked and kosher haggis; haggis à la king; wee cocktail
haggis; haggis in a basket; haggis on the half-shell; instant haggis;
English haggis; haggis eclairs; Crimean campaign haggis, conceived
in Sebastopol, consumed in Balaclava; hot-cross haggis; haggis in
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: The CBC TV special – summaries and video clip
– view the origin of Gung Haggis Fat Choy and Toddish McWong
Robbie Burns Day meets Chinese New Year.
Two separate cultures.
Nothing in common.
Everything in common.
View this video clip from the CBC television performance
special “GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY.” The 30 minute show was created in
the fall of 2003 on a small budget, and debuted on January 24th, and
25th, 2004. It recieved two nominations for Leo Awards for Best Musical/Variety, and Best Direction for Musical/ Variety.
Gung Haggis Fat Choy – View Clip
Gung Haggis Fat Choy
Chinese New
Year. Robbie Burns Supper. Gung Haggis Fat Choy fuses the two unique
cultural events in a celebration of music, dance and tradition.
Featuring performances by The Paperboys and Silk Road Music. A CBC Television production.
It was produced by CBC who hired Moyra Rodger to produce and it was directed by Moyra with Ken
Stewart. It was amazing to join them on the different sets as
they filmed each segment. I did get paid by CBC as a consultant, and for
use of the television rights for the name “Gung Haggis Fat Choy.”
The show blended together stories, music and dance from Chinese and
Scottish cultures to highlight both Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New
Year celebrations. I was involved in the planning stages, as well
as being filmed for the “Origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy”
segment which featured me donning a Scottish outfit, adjusting the
buckles of the kilt, and the “flashes” which hold up the socks.
“Only one student volunteered to carry the haggis for the Robbie Burns
Celebration at Simon Fraser University” says the narrator retelling a
short version of how I first developed the “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”
concept. Check my version of the origins here: http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/OriginsofGungHaggisFatChoy/_archives/2004/1/16/14225.html
There was a strong belief to ensure that each segment had something
Chinese and something Scottish in each of the music performance
segments. Also featured was a cartoon segment about poet
Robert Burns, with Monty Pythonesque animation style. And on the
serious side… a straight reading of Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” by
ex-Scotsman Neil Gray, a non-professional actor but loyal fan of The
Goon Show, and Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners since 2002.
Every segment was short and quick paced. Information preceded
each musical performance, giving background on not only Scottish and
Canadian culture, but also on Gung Haggis Fat Choy. Archival film
footage highlighted a segment about the making of haggis.
Archival film footage of Vancouver’s Chinatown during its heyday during
the neon nightclub years from the 1950’s and 1960’s featuring long gone
restaurants and dinner nightclubs such as the Bamboo Terrace and the
Marco Polo. Visit https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13434799/.
A simulated Chinese New Year dinner featured my
bagpiper friend Joe McDonald, my parents, grandmother, girlfriend,
friend Don Montgomery with his two young children, and friends Ray and
Ula. Typical Chinese New Year food dishes were served as well as
traditional haggis. Joe wore his full Scottish regalia outfit
complete with bear skin hat, while I wore my beautiful Chinese
jacket. This was a fun segment to film. My father passed
out li-see, lucky money red envelops, to pass out to the children and
young single adults. We actually had four generations
represented. My grand mother, my parents, my friends, and my
friend Don and his two young children who are actually half-Chinese and
half-Caucasian. It was a perfect example of what Gung Haggis Fat
Choy is about… blending Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian
cultures and bloodlines. In fact, all my maternal cousins have
married Caucasian partners, and our family dinners feature little Hapa
children running around laughing and playing together.
The PAPERBOYS
were filmed outside in October at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen
Chinese Classical Garden. This was the first music video ever
filmed in the gardens, which were designed by my architect cousin Joe
Wai. This was exciting to watch being filmed because bagpiper Tim
Fanning (aka Constable Tim Fanning of the Vancouver Police Department)
and Chinese flautist Jin Min-Pang were added to Paperboys lineup.
This segment is an instrumental but filled with lots of great
energy. The premise is imagining what would happen if a Chinese
flautist accidently meets a Scottish bagpiper in a Chinese Classical
Garden where a Celtic-Canadian band is playing… just the normal
Canadian thing in intercultural Vancouver… happens all the time…
really!
SILK ROAD MUSIC
is lead by Qiu Xia He and her husband Andre Thibault, who lovingly
refers to her as “the boss.” They are joined in this segment by
Willy on vocals, Zhimin Yu on Roan, and a Chinese vocalist. The
segment was filmed on Vancouver Chinatown’s Keefer St. It was a
chilly November evening when we filmed at night. One store stayed
open late so we could film using its contents and site as the props and
the set. The segment also features archival footage of
1950’s/1960’s Vancouver Chinatown with all its neon lights as
b-roll. It’s a great segment sung in both Mandarin Chinese and
English.
JOE MCDONALD has been the “Official Gung Haggis Fat Choy” bagpiper
since 2001, when the dinner only served 100 people. For 2002, he
joined me on an invterview on national CBC Radio with host Bill
Richardson. It was only natural to bring him into the CBC
television performance special. Joe performs with his band “Brave
Waves” supplemented by singer Sharon Hung,
performing an uptempo
version of Auld Lang Syne. Sharon is great singing… everybody
asks “Who is the Chinese girl singing?” Joe has become a good musical
friend since 2001, as has Sharon. Both of them have performed at
many Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners since our first meeting. Sharon
also performed with me for First Night Vancouver on Dec 31, 2004.
GEORGE SAPOUNIDIS
is the Greek-Canadian who sings in Mandarin. He is a big hit in
Shanghai, and Chinese women literally “scream” a la Elvis at this mild
mannered statistician from Ottawa. George was a volunteer
translator for the Chinese Olympic team in Athens 2004. In 2005 CTV
made a television documentary about him titled “Chairman George.” In the CBC tv special, Chinese fan dancers from the Vancouver Academy of Dance
in a spectacular sequence which features the dancers and their fans,
while a male voice sings in Mandarin Chinese. The fans slowly
reveal the mysterious face of the singing White man.
Links for the featured performers are:
PAPERBOYS – Contemporary Celtic-Canadian sounds
www.paperboys.com
SILK ROAD MUSIC – World Music fusion, led by Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault
www.silkroadmusic.ca
GEORGE SAPOUNIDIS – Mandarin singing Greek-Canadian
www.chairmangeorge.com/aboutgeorge_blog.htm
BRAVE WAVES: Joe McDonald & Sunny Matharu – bagpipes + South Asian tabla drumming world music fusion
www.bravewaves.com
For more stories about the GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY television performance special click on:
Kilts Night Vancouver – moved to 1st Thursday of the Month
It's a wee tradition in Vancouver to wear your kilt on Kilts Night. Kilts Night started at the Atlantic Trap and Gill a few years ago… but moved to Doolin's Irish Pub Jan 1st Kilts Night at Doolin's
All right lads and lassies,
It's time to get Kilts Night going again.
We've changed Kilts Night to the first Thursday of every month because
the Halifax Wharf Rats play live on Thursdays and there isn't the wall
to wall crush of people there is on every Saturday at Doolin's. So come on out, bring your friends, have a Guinness, stomp your feet,
and let's have a good time! (I'm told the ladies have missed us and our kilts terribly. Let's not
let this travesty continue! We must alleviate their pain!)
Bear
See below for Kilts night related stories on www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com
Shona Mooney band plays SFU Burnaby Campus ceilidh
From Harry McGrath, SFU coordinator for Scottish Studies:
I
would like to extend one last invitation to everyone to come to our
campus ceilidh at the SFU Burnaby campus this Friday night.
It features the Shona Mooney band which
is composed of some of Scotland's top young musicians. Shona herself is
this year's BBC Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and
plays a mean fiddle. You will also be treated to Celtic harp and step
dancing. The band will be on stage at the Highland pub about 8.30-9:00
The pipe jig and reel competition will take place in the pub before the band comes on.
I encourage you to come before that and support the piobaireachd competition in the SFU Theatre, starting at 6 P.M. sharp.
There
is no need to inform me that you are coming – just show up and the more
the merrier. This is a unique opportunity for the Scots to get
together. See you there.
Free parking for the evening is available in B-Lot.
Hip, Hapa and Interculturally Happening – May 11 to May 18
Asian Authors Night – featuring Kevin Chong, Kuldip Gill, Lydia Kwa and Terrie Hamazaki
May 11, Thursday Alice Mackay Room
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch
350 West Georgia Street.
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month in a literary way! Join us for a panel
of local Asian authors as they read and discuss their work, and share
their experiences and perspectives on writing and culture.
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month in a literary
way! Join us for a panel of local Asian authors as they read and
discuss their work, and share their experiences and perspectives on
writing and culture.
Featuring:
Lydia Kwa: author of The Walking Boy and This Place Called Absence.
Kuldip Gill: Winner of a BC Book Award (2000), she is the author of Dharma Rasa and Kildeer's Dance.
Terrie Hamazaki:
her plays have been produced at the Fringe and Women in View Performing
Arts Festivals; her fiction and poetry have appeared in several
anthologies.
Kevin Chong: popular columnist and author of Baroque-a-Nova and Neil Young Nation.
May 13, 7 pm, St. Andrew’s Wesley Church.
Tix $10 at www.ticketweb.ca or at People’s Co-op
Bookstore, info 1-888-222-6608.
Scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster launches his
new book, David Suzuki: The Autobiography, with a talk, multimedia
presentation, and book signing; proceeds to the David Suzuki Foundation. May
13, 7 pm, St. Andrew’s Wesley Church. Tix $10 at www.ticketweb.ca or
at People’s Co-op Bookstore, info 1-888-222-6608.
RICE ROCKETS & YACHT PEOPLE
To May 14, Wed.-Sat. at 8 pm (mats. Sat.-Sun. at 2 pm), Gateway Theatre (6500 Gilbert Rd.,
Richmond)
Tix $24/22, infowww.gatewaytheatre.com/ I
just saw this Simon Johnston’s
new drama about the clash of values between new Canadians and longtime
Caucasian
residents. It's great! It turns stereotypes on its head, as well
as presenting contemporary issues facing Vancouver area residents
today. Asian Canadians are no longer low income earners at the
bottom of the immigrant ladder, and sometimes they aren't even
immigrants = hence the term “yacht people.” “Rice rockets” is the term
used for souped up Honda Civics used for street racing in Richmond.
THE GULL: THE STEVESTON NOH PROJECT
To May 14, Wed.-Sat. at 8 pm (mats. Sat.-Sun. at 2 pm), Plaza at Richmond City Hall (6911 No. 3 Rd.).
Tix $25 at Gateway Theatre box office, 604-270-1812,
info www.pangaea-arts.com/.
Daphne Marlatt is hot! and she's cool!
Earlier in February she was made a member of the Order of Canada.
She read in support of Joy Kogawa at Chapters, and she is recently a
contributor of a anthology of Lesbian writing.
Pangaea Arts presents Daphne Marlatt’s new play about
Japanese-Canadian fishermen returning to the coast after the internment.
Featuring Japanese Noh performers and Canadian theatre artists.
What Are You Anyways? Jeff Chiba Stearns - film maker May 14th, 10:15am to 12:30 pm Vancouver Museum Workshop on Hapa Issues and animation
May 15th and 16th Sunday and Monday night 7:30, 9:30pm at the Pacific Cinematheque with the movie FACE.
Jeff is the award winning animator and film maker of "What Are you Anyways?" a short film about growing up Hapa or "Half Japanese/Half Caucasian" in Kelowna BC
Filmmakers Workshop with award winning Director/Producer Bertha Bay-Sa Pan (NY, USA) 12:30pm to 2:30pm
Scriptwriting Workshop with Grace Chin & Kathy Leung (BC) 2:45pm to 4:45pm
Bertha Bay-Sa Pan's FACE - Western Canada Premiere May 12-15
F A C E
Losing face. Finding soul.
a Bertha Bay-Sa Pan film starring Bai Ling – Treach – Kristy Wu
“Face”
– Winner of the Best Director Award at Urbanworld Film Festival, The
Critics Award for Best Director at CineVegas, an Open Palm nomination
from the Gotham Awards and the Premio Speciale Prize at Torino
International Women’s Film Festival.
Western Canada Premiere at explorASIAN 2006
Director in Attendance
May 12 – 7:30pm & 9:30pm
May 13 – 7:30pm & 9:30pm
May 14 – 7:30pm (followed by explorFILM: Asian Canadian Short Films at 9:30pm)
May 15 – 9:30pm (after explorFILM: Asian Canadian Short Films at 7:30pm)
Special members ticket prices in effect for this event!
Single Bill: $9.00 (students/seniors $7)
Double Bill: $12 (students/seniors $9)
Membership
in Pacific Cinémathèque or the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society
required for this event. VAHMS memberships available at the door.
THE MIKADO (OR THE TOWN OF TITIPU)
May 21, 27-28 at 3:30 pm),
Surrey Arts Centre (13750 88th Ave.).
Tix $23.50/19.50 (preview $16.50),
info 604-501-5566.
The Fraser Valley Gilbert & Sullivan Society presents a
traditional version of one of the pair’s best-loved romantic-comedy operettas.
May 18-20 & 24-27 at 8 pm (preview May 17 at 8 pm; mats.
EVENING OF ROSES
May 12, 8 pm,
St. Mark’s-Trinity Church (W. 2nd & Larch).
Tix $15/10, info 604-873-1372.
Okay…. I am including this event because Karen-Lee-Morlang
is a friend of mine.She accompanies
the the Vancouver City Singers conducted by Tom McPherson for a concert
celebrating love in its many forms.
OCEAN CROSSINGS
May 13, 8 pm,
Orpheum.
Tix and info 604-876-3434.
This sounds interesting…. Lots of Asian Canadian musical
performers, an Asian Canadian conductor with works inspired by Asian
influences.Alexina Louie is a
Vancouver born composer now living in Toronto.
Ken Hsieh conducts the VSO, with guests Grace Lee (kayagum)
and Gui Lian Liu (pipa), in a concert of Eastern-inspired music by
Vivier/Rea, Simon Holt, Ray Zhuo, Grace Lee, and Alexina Louie.
DRUM ‘N’
DANCE II
May 13, 7:30 pm,
WISE Hall (1882 Adanac).
Tix $22 (plus service charge) at Highlife, Scratch, and Zulu
Records, info 604-408-8582, www.caravanbc.org/.
Caravan World Rhythms and Vancouver Rhythm and Dance present
performances by Thione Diop’s Senegalese band Yeke Yeke, Pepe Danza’s Drum
Prayers, and dancer Jacky Essombe from Cameroon.
Jean Barman – Vancouver Asians and Stanley Park May 15th, Monday
Alice Mackay Room
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch
350 West Georgia Street.
The author of Stanley Park's Secret will explore the shared stories of Stanley Park's forgotten past.
The author of Stanley Park's Secret
will explore the shared stories of Stanley Park's forgotten past. Early
Vancouver was an inhospitable place with the dominant society using
various means to segregate itself from racial groups it considered
inferior. One of the few locations where everyone could enter on a
basis of rough equality was Stanley Park.
Jean Barman is a founding member of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC and UBC professor emeritis.
Sponsored by
explorASIAN
http://www.explorasian.org
VPL Asian Heritage Month series
Judy Fong Bates & Janice Wong: Chinese Restaurants Real and Imaginary
May 16 Tuesday
Alice Mackay Room
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch
350 West Georgia Street.
The author reads from her novel, Midnight at the Dragon Cafe.
Set in the 1960s, it is a vivid portrait of childhood divided by two
cultures and touched by unfulfilled longings and unspoken secrets.
Judy Fong Bates reads from her novel, Midnight at the Dragon Cafe,
the story of a young girl, the daughter of a small Ontario town's
solitary Chinese family, whose life is changed over the course of one
summer. Set in the 1960s, it is a vivid portrait of childhood divided
by two cultures and touched by unfulfilled longings and unspoken
secrets. Midnight at the Dragon Cafe won the ALA Alex Award (2006).
Janice Wong is the author of Chow from China to Canada: Stories of Food and Family. Her father Dennis Wong ran his restaurants in Sasketchewan, but had grown up in Victoria BC.
Sponsored by
Canada Council for the Arts
http://www.canadacouncil.ca
NATALIE MACMASTER AND DONNELL LEAHY
May 17-18, 8 pm,
Orpheum Theatre.
Tix $38-60, info 604-876-3434.
Hmmm…. Cape Breton Scottish Canadian fiddlers meet the VSO
with Chinese-Canadian conductor.I love
MacMaster’s work.
Juno-winning Canadian fiddlers perform with the VSO,
conducted by Ken Hsieh.
OKINAWA CULTURE EXTRAVAGANZA
May 12, 7:30-9:30 pm, Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall
(475 Alexander).
Tix $10 adults/$40 group of five adults/$5 children/$20
group of five children, info 604-254-2551
Oklinawan culture is unique – not Japanese and not Chinese, even
though each country colonized it for periods of time. The Kogawa family name came from Okinawa, as David
Kogawa has told me.
As part of its centennial celebrations, the Vancouver
Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall hosts a celebration of Okinawan
music and arts, featuring a performance by the traditionally attired Okinawan
Children’s Choir, plus a demonstration and sampling of bukubukuu-cha,
Okinawa’s traditional tea.
KAZUMI TSURUOKA & SAGEEV OORE
May 12-13, 8 pm,
Vancouver Elks Lodge (1–2177 W. 42nd).
Tix from $20 to $50 at the door, info
604-683-8240. Singer-storyteller
Tsuruoka and pianist Oore use rhythm ‘n’ blues to tell the love story of a man
with cerebral palsy. Hmmm…. Sounds interesting. Japanese story telling and Blues music? Very folking… (Did you ever see the movie Mongolian Blues?”
Hip, Hapa, Happening and Interculturally Interesting April 28 to May 5
There is
definitely lots of real cool stuff happening this week, especially with
the explorASIAN festival
celebrating Asian Heritage Month presenting
great stuff. My weekend is packed. I can't be down at
Centre A to help register head tax certificates on Saturday because I
am pulling a work shift at the Vancouver Public Library (proudly
wearing my 30 year service pin). May 1st is Workers Day, and I
also can't be at the April 28th celebration at Capri Hall, which is
boasting lots of great multicultural and intercultural
performers. And I can't attend the Scottish stuff happening
on Saturday either.
Saturday
night I attend the BC Book Prize Gala, where Bill Richardson will be
MC. I will be at a table with Joy Kogawa, Bill Turner (The Land
Conservancy) and my fellow Save Kogawa House committee coordinator
Ann-Marie Metten, as we toast the saving and purchase of Kogawa House.
Gung Haggis dragon boat
practice on Sunday afternoon 1pm. It is the last day of the ADBF
public paddling program.
Come join us for a 30 minute paddle in a
dragon boat for $2. Ipm – meet at the Green Trailer building in
Creekside Park – just a few paces south of Science World.
Consider it a waterfront tour of Vancouver's
False Creek – much more interactive than the mini-ferries.
Great plays coming up with Simon Johnston's “Rice Rockets and Yacht People” and “Finding Home” by Welly Yang and Dina Morishita Liutenant Governor's BC Book Prize Gala
Saturday, April 29• 5:30
pm,
Marriott Pinnacle Hotel, 1128 West Hastings Street.
For more information, call the BC Book Prizes at 604-687-2405 www.bcbookprizes.ca Emceed by
Bill Richardson, this 22nd annual BC Book Prizes gala will recognize our
province’s finest literary achievements in seven categories, as well as celebrate the recipient of
the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence.
Free post-gala reception at 9:30 pm.
Tickets must be ordered by April 21.
Join
Broadway Performer/Playwright Welly Yang and Performer/Co-Producer Dina
Morishita from FINDING HOME for an intimate Artist Talk and Q&A
event at Centre A
Saturday - April 29 7pm - 9pm Doors open at 6:30pm
Admission: FREE Centre A - Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art 2 WEST HASTINGS STREET, VANCOUVER www.centrea.org
S.T.A.T.U.S. Coalition presents... MAY DAY 2006** "Long live International Workers' Day!" Commemorating the International Workers' Struggle and Migrant Labour & Immigrant workers Resistance... SATURDAY APRIL 29 @ 7:30 PM- 1 AM DINNER WILL BE SERVED. DJ’S AFTER 10 PM. CAPRI HALL, 3925 Fraser (corner East 23rd Ave) 5-10$ suggested donation- includes dinner Community performers, poets, and multimedia presentations: Dhol Nation Academy, Hugo Rojas, Marcus Youssef, Mariam Durrani, Mexican Migrant Workers, Ndidi Cascade, Michael Franti, Kelis, K-OS, & Kardinal Offishall, Oscar Villalobos, Sinag Bayan, Filipino cultural collective, Wayde Compton, Yyadzehe Gatica with the Consejo Indigena Popular de Oaxaca
SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND April 29, Seaquam Secondary School (11584 Lyon Rd., Delta). Tix and info 604-463-3421, www.sfupipeband.com/.
Afternoon concert with performances by Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe
Bands, SFU Pipe Band,and the Heather Jolley Dancers (4 pm); evening
ceilidh and dinner featuring Blackthorn (6:30 pm)
SOUNDS OF SCOTLAND April 29, 8 pm, Scottish Cultural Centre. Tix $25, info 604-929-1802. Scottish fiddle champion Paul Anderson and singer-pianist George Donald perform on a program with the Vancouver Scottish Country Dance Dem Team and local singer Wilma Paton. RICE ROCKETS & YACHT PEOPLE May 4-13, Gateway Theatre (6500 Gilbert Rd., Richmond). Tix $24/22, info www.gatewaytheatre.com/ The Gateway’s New Play Series presents Simon Johnston’s drama about the clash of values between new Canadians and longtime Caucasian residents, focusing on a well-to-do couple from Shanghai and their street-racing kids.
PALESTINE, ISRAEL, AND ME: A POWER PLAY
May 5 & 7, 7:30pm, Unitarian Church of Vancouver, 949 W. 49th
Forum
Theatre piece about the struggle for peace and justice in Palestine and
Israel,and the profound effects of that struggle on people and
communities in Canada. Facilitated by Headlines Theatre with the
participation of local Jewish and Palestinian organizations.
explorYOUTH 2006: e-race
May 2, 7 pm, Vancouver East Cultural Centre (1895 Venables). Info www.explorasian.org/.
VECC Youth Week, explorASIAN, and MISCELLANEOUS Productions present a screening of clips from a DVD of the hip-hop musical e-race, plus a panel discussion featuring four young writer-performers from Asian backgrounds, moderated by director and writer Elaine Carol.
JAPANESE FAIRYTALE
May 2, 10:30 am, Silk Purse Arts Centre (1570 Argyle Ave., West Van.). Tix $10, info 604-925-7292. UBC Opera members Michael Mori and Teiya Kashahara perform folksongs and arias from the opera Turandot.
TOMODACHI
May 2, 10:30 am, Silk Purse Arts Centre (1570 Argyle Ave., West Van.). Tix $10, info 604-925-7292. VSO violinist Akira Nagai and his wife, violist Seri, perform Western classical and various kinds of traditional Japanese music.
FINDING HOME – Canadian Premiere & Opening Event for explorASIAN 2006 May 5 – 8:00pm May 6 – 2:00pm & 8:00pm The Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage 2750 Granville St., Vancouver, BC
Tickets $88, $58, $38
Join Broadway Performer/Playwright Welly Yang, Dina Morishita, and friends in a
Night of Musical Theatre!
In a musical journey about finding home, Yang explores three generations of
family history: stories of leaving home and finding home, of love lost and love
found, and of dreams deferred and dreams realized. The show artfully weaves
together seventeen Broadway classics and contemporary songs by Elton John, Tim
Rice, Dan Hill and Luther Vandross among others.
CBC TV Special “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”
