– photo T. Wong

I just ordered 55 pounds of haggis for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns dinner.  I always talk to Peter Black & Sons in early January.  I have been using their haggis since about 1990.   They are the largest distributor of haggis in Western Canada.  The Blacks have a special family recipe that is different from a traditional lard recipe.  I admit that the first time I tried haggis, I gagged.  I don’t like the lard recipe.   There are many different recipes with varying quantities of suet, oatmeal, spices and meats.  Some recipes don’t even have organs other than liver.  I describe this mixture to being like a nice liver pate with oatmeal.  I have used Black’s haggis for haggis chili, stir-fried haggis with rice, haggis hash with scrambled eggs…. but my favorite is Chinese style with lettuce wrap – which we also serve at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.

– photo T. Wong

– photo T. Wong

– photo T. Wong

And today… I also bought 6 of the Scottish Beef Sausages.  I asked Peter how they are different from regular beef sausages, and he said it was a family recipe.

For tickets to the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Dinner

– please purchase through Ricepaper Magazine

http://ricepapermagazine.ca/2013/01/gung-haggis-fat-choy-dinner-buy-tickets-now/

For more information about the dinner – click here:

https://www.gunghaggis.com/ai1ec_event/gung-haggis-fat-choy-robbie-burns-chinese-new-year-dinner-january-27-2013/?instance_id=18

Idle No More rally at Peach Arch Park, Surrey – photo by Shelley Ferguson

What is Idle No More, and why does it affect Canadians? and my family?

For the past few weeks there have been lots of postings about Idle No More on the Facebook pages of mostly my First Nations friends.  But when my cousin Shelley attended the rally at Peace Arch Park on Saturday January 5th 2013, I asked her to write a posting for this blog.  I wanted her to write about her personal experience.  Her resulting story is very poignant and underlies the importance of the Idle No More movement, and what it means to the new generations of First Nations Canadians.

Shelley’s mother Rhonda Larrabee and my mother are cousins.  We both share the same great-grandparents. Our great-grandmother Kate Lee was the daughter of Rev. Chan Yu Tan, who came to Canada in 1896.  Shelley’s maternal grandmother Marie Lee Bandura, was the last First Nations child to live on the Indian Reservations of the Qayqayt Band, that have long since been taken over by the sprawl of the City of New Westminster.  By 1913, when the Federal government seized most of the remaining Band’s reserve lands, most of the area’s First Nations and Chinese people had already been forced out of New Westminster, due to racism.  In 1994, Rhonda Larrabee single-handedly re-established the Qayqayt First Nations. There have been two films made about Rhonda Larrabee’s efforts to reestablish Qayqayt First Nations.  Tribe of One is made by the National Film Board of Canada in 2003. One Woman Tribe aired on the CTV television network in 2008.

Please read my cousin Shelley’s story:

“Idle No More… is also about discovering the richness and beauty of my heritage”

Powerful!  That is the best way I could express my involvement of the Idle No More protest at the Peace Arch Provincial Park in Surrey today.  I am Shelley Ferguson from the Qayqayt First Nation.

My tribe had been kicked off their lands almost a century ago because we were too close to the Royal city. So, I was not raised with any of my traditional indigenous culture.  With no one of the original band still alive, our traditions have been long lost.  I am currently a student at a First Nations college.  Subsequently, it has only been the past few years that I have truly started to take a deeper interest in my First Nations issues and culture.

I have never had an interest in any type of politics before a few weeks ago. That was when I spoke with my classmate Steven Kakinoosit. He spoke about our human rights be ripped away, our natural resources’ left unprotected for companies to exploit, and.. a revolution (Idle No More).  I had a hard time believing that something like this would happen here in MY Canada but I was enthralled by his passion for the cause. Therefore, I started doing some of my own research.  I had found that everything Steven had said was the truth.  I sat disgusted with everything I was learning in such raw details.

Bill S-212 says that reserve lands can be sold to the general public.  This means that large companies can buy directly from individuals instead of getting approval from the entire band.  They can throw large amounts of cash to people who are living below the poverty line, to companies like Enbridge, and use the land any way they see fit. Bill C-27 says the failure to make business information public can result in being taken to court and having funds to the community cut off.  Currently, if leaders speak up, they risk having finances decreased. Bill C-45 is the most shown symbol on protests signs because it prevents any debate or Grand Chiefs to present views of amendments they are imposing.

I felt I had no choice but to join the fight and be Idle No More.

On the day of the Peace Arch protest, I had no ride to get to there.  Therefore, I was prepared to spend the day at home.  I had planned to putter around the house while checking my facebook for any updates of the protest.  I was ecstatic when I got a call from my friend, Roberta, asking me to ride there with her.  We went to the Aboriginal Friendship Center on Hastings St. in Vancouver, and made several signs to bring with us.  There was a convoy of about a dozen vehicles that headed to the rally from there. We were all in a row with our hazard lights on, flags waving out the windows, and honking the horns.  It was awesome!  On our journey, we saw an eagle flying over the convoy and I’m sure everyone felt that was a blessing that we are on the right path.

The crowd gathers to listen after singing a song  – photo Shelley Ferguson

The clouds may have remained dry but the grass was wet and soggy. Thankfully, that didn’t damper the throng of people from singing and cheering.  You could see the joy on people’s faces from having so many people in attendance.  The buzz in the air was one of brethren and purpose as we marched to pass under the white arch.

We sang all sang the women’s warrior song while walking and I suddenly realized, this was my first time actually walking under the arch. I whipped out my phone to take pictures but all too soon I was through to the other side so quickly.  The moment of being disappointed lasted about half a second because I saw people from every race before my eyes standing together as one.  Many were singing, several were laughing, and a couple were holding hands.  The feeling of awe was over powering.  I couldn’t wait to hurry my feet through the muck and be a part of it all.

3:54

Video of #INM Jan 5 Peace Arch Women’s Warrior Song

One thing that was sorely needed was a sound system.  It was hard to hear from the middle and back of the crowd.  My friend and I finally ended up wiggled our way a few rows from the front so we could kind of hear the speakers.  They spoke of the responsibility to consult and honour treaty rights, of the land protected under treaties to be given to non-First Nation people, and of taking pride & fighting for our rich cultures.  The stories and knowledge that was passed to everyone was nothing short of inspiring.

Seeing as we were in Coast Salish territory, they asked for the Coast Salish people to come to the center and have the honor of the first song.  Roberta and I are both Coast Salish.  She grabbed my wrist and started to haul me to the front of the circle.  My first instinct was to panic because I do not know their songs and squeaked that out as fast as I could.  A woman I passed had heard me and laughingly told me to fake it.  I did not feel like I had the entitlement to be there.  I couldn’t join in song.  I was never taught our culture.

“You are Coast Salish,” Roberta said as she looked me in the eye, “You have every right to take your place up here.”  I wish I could describe the feeling of being unquestionably accepted to a world I usually watch from a distance, like through a piece of glass.  Just trying to find the appropriate words for this story causes my eyes start to water. I have to admit, that was the highlight of my day.

When my cousin, Todd Wong, asked me to write a few paragraphs for him, I had planned to write about all the injustices that PM Harper is imposing upon my First Nations brothers and sisters.  About the First Nation people having the strength and power within us to stand up for what is right.  Against a man (PM) who passes laws which are offenses against the Treaty acts made with the Queen and are inconsistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Which are all extremely valid points but this movement is about more than just politics to me.

For me, it is also about discovering the richness and beauty of my heritage, seeing firsthand the pride and joy that traditions are being done correctly, and feeling like I found my place that I belong. My one hope is that no children have to go through what I have to feel like they belong. I am IDLE NO MORE!!!

 For more thoughtful readings on Idle No More please check these links.

Idle No More website  http://idlenomore.ca/index.php/about-us

CBC news stories: Can Idle No More comment-threads-be-more-constructive

• FAQs: 9 questions about Idle No More
• CBC radio: Idle No More and Accountability
• CBC documentary: 8th Fire: Aboriginal peoples, Canada and the way forward
• CBC analysis: The cultural importance of Idle No More

Where is Toddish McWong

This is a new segment on Vancouver Cooperative Radio shows hosted by my friend Gary Jarvis. So it won’t be at a regular time slot but here’s the first one of its type, which took place during the In The Claddagh Ring show on 21 Dec 2012. on Vancouver’s Co-op Radio 102.7 FM.

Gary Jarvis caught up with Toddish McWong – local accordion player and all round good guy at the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival @ Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens.  Todd was performing Celtic Ceilidh music with the Black Bear Rebels and was between sets when he talked about the festival as well as upcoming events Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner on Jan 27 and the Burns Marathon Poetry Reading hosted by Centre for Scottish Studies at SFU.

Where is Toddish McWong #1

The second segment took place long distance from Vernon BC, on Dec 27.  Todd speaks about the Scottish influence and place names in Vernon and Coldstream, the Kalamalka Pipe Band, and Vernon resident Betty Chan Klepp – the first Chinese Canadian Highland Dance Champion of Canada, back in the late 1950’s.

Where is Toddish McWong #2

The third segment took place from Grouse Mountain on New Year’s Eve.  Highlights include Todd going off a small ski jump, as he skis through the terrain park with his 9 year old nephew.  Todd describes the similarities of Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and Chinese New Year, and how he had started his New Year’s Countdown by listening to BBC Radio Scotland at 4pm PST.

Where is Toddish McWong 3

When will the next segment take place?  We are not sure….   but Gary hosts “Last Call” radio show on Co-op and also co-hosts “The Rational” – so… just keep listening!

It can be cold wearing kilts in winter, but here are Joe McDonald, Bruce Clark, Todd Wong and Xavier MacDonald at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens for the Winter Solstice Lantern Festival.  Joe, Xavier and myself with The Black Bear Rebels music ensemble helped to create a Winter Solstice Music Ceilidh on December 21st for the event.

Members of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipes & Drums – included Dan Huang of the Kelowna Pipes & Drums

New
years are new beginnings, and every culture celebrates them differently
and similarly.  That’s the great thing about being in a multicultural
nation such as Canada.  All of the world’s cultures live inside our
borders and we can freely share and partake of each other’s cultures.
Yes, there are still racist bigots and idiots out there, and that is why
it is so important for us to embrace cultural harmony and help to build
a country we want to be proud of.

The origin of Gung Haggis Fat Choy
started when I was asked to participate in the 1993 Robbie Burns Day
celebration at Simon Fraser University.  In 1998, I decided to
host a dinner for 16 guests that blended Robbie Burns Day(January 25th)
with Chinese lunar New Year (late January to early February).  Now the
dinner event that has grown to an size of almost 500 guests, a CBC
television special, an annual poetry night
at the Vancouver Public Library, a recreation event at Simon Fraser
University…. and media stories around the world!

Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year’s Eve, and it is celebrated on New Year’s Eve with a Grand Dinner. It can be very similar to Chinese New Year’s in many ways:

1) Make lots of noise.
Chinese like to burn firecrackers, bang drums and pots to scare the
ghosts and bad spirits away.  Scots will fire off cannons, sound
sirens, bang pots and make lots of noise, I think just for the excuse
of making noise.

2) Pay off your debts.
Chinese like to ensure that you start off the New Year with no debts
hanging onto your personal feng shui.  I think the Scots do the
same but especially to ensure that they aren’t paying anymore interest.

3) Have lots of good food.  Eat lots and be merry.  Both Scots and Chinese enjoy eating, hosting their friends and visiting their friends.

4) Party on dude!  In
Asia, Chinese New Year celebrations will go on for days, lasting up to
a week!  Sort of like Boxing week sales in Canada.  In
Scotland, the Scots are proud partyers and are well known for making
parties last for days on end.

Come to think about it… the above traditions can be found in many
cultures… I guess the Scots and Chinese are more alike than different
with lots of other cultures too!

I am back at Kalamalka Lake.  The water is clear and cold…  no swimming today… maybe some canoe paddling tomorrow… or maybe we will head up the hill to Silver Star for some ice skating…

Only 36 hours ago, I put my accordion in the car, along with skates, wine, camera, etc… and I hit the road to  meet up with Deb and her parents in Vernon for a White Christmas.  This is now the 10th year I have come to Vernon.

It was an easy drive up the Coquihalla Hwy.  It started snowing lightly in Hope, but there was some sunshine past the former toll area up to the Connector summit, where there was more snow and minus 7. Then it got foggy and more snowy, so we all drove more slowly.  It is rreat to be back at Kalamalka Lake now – but we usually swim only in the summer in July and August.  There can be snow on the Coquihalla at Easter or Thanksgiving or Remembrance Day weekends.  I usually come to visit at least 3 or 4 times in the year.  Sometimes twice in the summer.

I love the Okanagan now, especially in the summer.  It’s hard to believe that when I was 11 to 13 years old, our family used to come to Vernon to spend a week’s vacation at Silver Star for skiing in February.  Our parents would take us out of school for a week.  I learned to ski really well.  The last time we came to Vernon was when I was 16 years old.  I never ever saw Vernon or the Okangan Valley in the summer time. (sigh).  I have more than made up for it now.  The lake is so peaceful in the winter.  All the loud motorboats and sea-dos are gone.  I love Kalamalka Lake in the winter too.

Fiddler on the Roof

Gateway Theatre

Dec 12-31, 2012

Fiddler on the Roof is known as a 1964 hit Jewish Broadway musical that won 9 Tony Awards, while the 1971 film adaptation wan 2 Oscars and 3 Golden Globe Awards.   I grew up playing the songs on my accordion, because my mother used to listen to the movie soundtrack while I grew up in the 1970’s.  “Sunrise Sunset” and “If I Was a Rich Man” are great songs to play on the accordion, as well as “My Favorite Things” and “Edelweiss” from the musical The Sound of Music.  But instead of thinking that this musical was about Jewish people, I found myself thinking of the similarities to the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “The Flower Drum Song” which was about Chinese-Americans dealing with a clash between generations in San Francisco, which had recently been performed in Vancouver and Richmond by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.  Fiddler on the Roof deals with universal themes of family, love, generational divide, while addressing racial discrimination and anti-semitism.

David Adams is brilliant as Tevye, the family patriarch.  He has a full rich voice and presents a warm humane character that struggles between his own ambitions singing “If I Were A Rich Man”, as well as the balance of “Tradition” with his wife Golde (Patti Allan) and letting their daughters be happy, and be empowered to make their own decisions about love and life, or not.  It is a time of social and political changes in Russia, and there are hints at the changing times and what this will mean to the small Jewish village.   A teacher named Perchik (Gaelan Beatty) comes to town, telling the villagers about what is happening in other cities.  Tevye takes a liking to the young man and barters with him to help educate his children.  This sets the wheels in motion for the challenges to the family in this musical.  Perchik bring knowledge of the outside world to the village, and falls in love with the oldest of Tevye’s daughters Yenta (Barbara Pollard).

The stage is simple, but works well.  The raised platform with doors, acting as either a village yard or the inside of a restaurant or house.  The musicians in the live pit orchestra are wonderful, led by music director Allen Stiles.  I especially the clarinetist, as it squeaked and bent the musical notes so I could really imagine a Jewish klezmer band coming alive with each song.  During the intermission, I was surprised to learn that my violinist friend Mark Ferris was playing in the pit orchestra, so I sent him a text about the clarinetist, who replied “Thanks” to my compliment.  The Gateway Theatre always employs great local musicians for their productions and the feedback is always genuine when I hear how much they are enjoying themselves.

The direction and cast are good.  There is strong acting from all the characters, but especially from Tevye’s three daughters and his wife.  Unfortunately, not all the actors have strong singing voices, so the use of microphones changes the ambiance levels and can be a distraction.  The action and the dialogue flows smoothly, and I found myself smiling a lot.  It was a real pleasure to see the dancing in the musical.  I don’t know how accurately traditional it was but it felt authentic.  And the dancing at the wedding of Perchik and Yenta is one of the philosophical turning points in the play.  The choreography is by Dawn Ewen, who is originally from Scotland.

While I thought that this was a great show for Vancouver because there is a strong Jewish community, it is even more important for other ethnic groups like Richmond’s large Chinese population, to see the show and learn more about the commonalities we all face.  And so I found myself thinking how the musical could be performed with Asian actors, and still be very relevant in almost any culture.  Ahh… but there are Asians in the cast, and Sharon Ong Crandall is one of them, playing multiple roles – but most brilliant in her role as Fruma-Sarah’s ghost.  It is a pivotal scene in the play. Gateway has always been supportive of colour blind casting for their supporting roles and chorus, and I absolutely remember being thrilled to see their production of “Brigadoon” a few years ago.  (Of course, I could imagine myself in the lead role – or at least wish I could be…)

I enjoyed Fiddler on the Roof, and was personally surprised to learn how much Jewish culture I have been recently learning, especially since I attended a friend’s Jewish wedding 2 years ago, and my partner got to hold one of the poles of the happa – a suspended cloth canopy held up over the bridal couple during the ceremony.  Having this personal experience, as well as knowing that I have so many friends of Jewish ancestry, whose own daughters are marrying into different cultures, just made this musical all the more real and poignant for me.

Hi everybody – You can be the first to order a table…
for the 2013 Gung HAGGIS Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year.

~ change of ticket sales:
is now through Ricepaper Magazine – We thank Firehall Arts Centre for helping us with ticket sales for the past few years, but are now trying to do it in-house at Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop / Ricepaper Magazine.  Please check out Firehall Arts Centre for the great multicultural programming that they do.

~ new theme for 2013:
celebrating Sir James Douglas, the father of BC and first governor in 1858.
~new incentive to buy tickets early:
We are going to put a bottle of wine on the tables that are ordered by January 1st
http://ricepapermagazine.ca/gung-haggis

Gung HAGGIS Fat Choy

Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner

Sunday January 27, 2013

Celebrating BC Scottish and Chinese pioneer culture, history – in music, poetry and culinary fusion

Photo by Deb Martin

Reception: 5:00 pm
Dinner: 6:00 pm – 9:15 pm
Floata Seafood Restaurant (#400 – 180 Keefer St, Chinatown Vancouver)

Photo by Deb Martin

Gilbert and Sullivan is not often performed by serious opera companies.  And to me, it often represents Victorian colonial values, which I have tried to rebel against in the quest for post-modern multicultural Canada.  But Pirates of Penzance was also written as social satire, critiquing the values of the day.  And with more multicultural inclusion of global pirates such as Chow Yun Fat in the Pirates of Penzance: End of the World movie,  I think I can allow myself a little more enjoyment.

This version of Pirates of Penzance is a lot of fun!  The cast and the orchestra are having fun.  We know this because the pirate king pointed his pistol at conductor Jonathan  Darlington, who also during the final applause sported a pirate hat.  And the audience was having fun… there was lots of laughter from the audience at appropriate moments, as they followed the actors and staging.

If you remotely like Gilbert and Sullivan – you will love this production.  If you have never before experienced G & S, then you will like this production.  If you were not raised in a country of the British commonwealth, then you will learn about the culture and history of the realm, and understand better about British humour, the evolution of British Music hall tradition and Broadway musicals, and maybe why the sun set on the British empire.  The program notes are by my former English teacher from Capilano College Graham Forst, who now teachers literature, philosphy and opera history at both UBC and SFU, and just happens to be married to opera star mezzo-soprano Judith Forst, who plays “Ruth” in this production.  He dares the audience to not leave the theatre humming some of the songs for this light opera.

Most G & S productions I have seen are usually by small or amateur opera/theatre companies.  So to have Vancouver Opera give Pirates a lavish treatment on the huge stage is a wonderful treat.  But then to ask Vancouver’s celebrity and theatrical Shakespearean star actor Christopher Gaze to pay Major General Stanley, and ask him to direct – is an opportunity for both the audience and Gaze, who said he “jumped at the chance.

– More to come….

Montreal film maker Karen Cho wins the World Documentary Award at the 2012 Whistler Film Festival. photo courtesy of Craig Takeuchi

Karen Cho’s new movie about Feminism, “Status Quo?” won the top documentary prize at Whistler Film Festival on December 2nd.

I initially met Karen probably around 2004 when she brought Shadow of Gold Mountain (2004) to Vancouver.  It is an extremely moving documentary about the Chinese Head Tax Survivors and descendants,and questioned how one side of the her family (white) could be given free land to come to Canada, while the other side of the family (Chinese) would be charged a racist head tax and denied citizenship.  It also features interviews with my friends: activist Sid Tan, WW2 Veteran Gim Wong; and recently deceased Charlie Quon – the first person to receive an ex-gratia Head Tax Redress payment after the Canadian government apologized in 2006.