Dragon Boat on Kalamalka Lake at Vernon Dragon Boat Race – photo Stephen Mirowski
Gung Haggis paddlers cool off in Kalamalka Lake (l-r) Leanne, Jonas, Wendy, Ashleigh, Tzhe, Hillary, Todd and Jim – photo Stephen Mirowski
Jonas Ng and Wendy Lee – 2nd year Gung Haggis paddlers – photo Stephen Mirowski
Stephen Mirowski – our captain and drummer – photo Dave Samis courtesy of S. Mirowsk
in the attached picture – photo by Raymond Kwong:
Bill Martin (back view)
Hillary Wong
Pat martin (peeking – pulling a Sybor)
Wendy Lee
Craig Brown
Tzhe Lam
Jim Blatherwick
Todd Wong
Emma Hopkins
Stephen Mirowski
Jonas Ng
Steven Wong
Sandra
Jane Johnson
Dan Seto
Joanne Black
Gerry Black
Richard Montagna
sitting:
Ashleigh Dalton
Deb Martin
Sarah Wong (Remus' daughter)
Rebecca Wong (Remus' daughter)
Hyuma
Dave Samis
Remus Wong
Leanne Riding
Cheryl Howes
Holly Parsons
Bill Martin (back view)
Hillary Wong
Pat martin (peeking – pulling a Sybor)
Wendy Lee
Craig Brown
Tzhe Lam
Jim Blatherwick
Todd Wong
Emma Hopkins
Stephen Mirowski
Jonas Ng
Steven Wong
Sandra
Jane Johnson
Dan Seto
Joanne Black
Gerry Black
Richard Montagna
sitting:
Ashleigh Dalton
Deb Martin
Sarah Wong (Remus' daughter)
Rebecca Wong (Remus' daughter)
Hyuma
Dave Samis
Remus Wong
Leanne Riding
Cheryl Howes
Holly Parsons
Gold medals for Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in Vernon!
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Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team and supporters:
standing:
Bill Martin (back view) Hillary Wong, Pat martin (peeking), Wendy Lee, Craig Brown, Tzhe Lam, Jim Blatherwick, Todd Wong, Emma Hopkins, Stephen Mirowski, Jonas Ng, Steven Wong, Sandra, Jane Johnson, Dan Seto, Joanne Black, Gerry Black, Richard Montagna
sitting:
Ashleigh Dalton, Deb Martin (steers), Sarah Wong (Remus' daughter), Rebecca Wong (Remus' daughter), Hyuma, Dave Samis, Remus Wong, Leanne Riding, Cheryl McIntosh, Holly Parsons
Gold medals for Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in Vernon!
Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team won Rec B in Vernon Dragon Boat Races today.
On Saturday – we races two 200m sprints + one 500 m race + a demonstration 1000m race – where we got knocked around by a rogue wave, which resulted in a collision. Another boat hit our drum broadside. Nobody was hurt.
We had a wonderfu team BBQ + swimming + canoes at Martin's Nest on Kalamalka Lake.
Sunday, we raced hard in the Rec B semi-finals with a time of 2:26. – securing a place in the final. Sunday afternoon we placed our best time of 2:23 – good enough for 1st place gold medal
pictures & more details to follow.
Generations: The Chan Legacy on CBC Newsworld. July 29th – 4pm and midnight
Generations: The Chan Legacy on CBC Newsworld.
July 29th – 4pm and midnight
The
Chan Legacy is the lead episode in the new documentary series
Generations on CBC Newsworld. It debuted on July 4th – my grandmother's 97th birthday.
How fitting! Because the show is about her grand-father Rev. Chan Yu Tan who came to Canada in 1896 as a Christian missionary.
Feedback
has been very positive. Family members are very proud. Friends are
very supportive. Historians are enthusiastic. Strangers are thrilled.
Listen to Auntie Helen and Uncle Victor tell stories about Rev. and Mrs. Chan, and about growing up in pre-WW2 BC, and facing racial discrimination. Uncle Victor Wong also tells about enlisting as a Canadian soldier to go behind enemy lines in the Pacific for suicide squadrons, fighting for Canada, even though Chinese-Canadians could not vote in the country of their birth.
The next generations assimiliated more easily into Canadian culture. Gary Lee became an actor and singer. Janice Wong became a visual artist and author of the book CHOW: From China to Canada – memories of food and family, which addressed the history of Rev. Chan coming to Canada, and how Janice's dad started a Chinese restaurant in Prince Albert SK.
Then there is Todd Wong – cultural and community activist who founded Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner – which inspired a CBC Vancouver television performance special. Todd is shown active in the dragon boat community, and speaking at a Terry Fox Run in the role of a 16 year cancer survivor. Renowned Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa makes an appearance, as Todd was also involved in helping to save Kogawa's childhood home from demolition and to turn it into a national historic and literary landmark.
July 29th Sunday – repeats at midnight
| 4:00 p.m. | Generations: The Chan Legacy – Missionaries from China come to the West Coast help Westernize Chinese immigrant workers in the late 1800's. |
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J
Hip, Hapa and Happening: What to do in intercultural Vancouver this weekend.
Hip, Hapa and Happening: What to do in intercultural Vancouver this weekend
My computer mother board tanked my computer time yesterday… so articles are down to a bare minimum this week, as I also head up to Vernon for the 3rd Annual Greater Vernon Dragon Boat Races.
Check out:
Enchanted Evenings summer concert series at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens in Vancouver Chinatown. This is a great way to spend a Friday evening with great musicians in an intimate setting.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Gardens.
578 Carrall St. between Pender and Keefer.
July 27
Vancouver Chinese Ensemble
The Ensemble presents to the public an eclectic repertoire that
embraces popular and traditional Chinese music as well as Western
classical and contemporary compositions.
Go see COWBOY VERSUS SAMURAI at the Firehall Arts Centre
July 20 – August 3, 2007
put on by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.
I went on opening night with 15 members of the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team and we all really enjoyed it.
Cowboy Versus
Samaurai is a multicultural re-telling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story,
that was retold and reset in Nelson BC, in the Steve Martin movie
“Roxanne.” This time prepare for a Western setting of Wyoming –
complete with cowboys and samaurais. I will be writing a review from
the opening night performance. Check out the following press releases,
and check out the website www.vact.ca
ALL OVER THE MAP
Outdoor dance and music series
Ron Basford Park, Granville Island
Sundays at 2pm
FREE
July 29th
Feel it! Tango Paradiso and dancers
http://www.newworks.ca/alloverthemap.html
Last week I ended up on stage learning Celtic dancing to Punjabi-Celtic fusion music.
Barbara Clausen of New Works has created a wonderful culturally interesting summer series of dance, music and fun. Tango Paradiso is exciting… Wish I could be there… I started learning to play tangos on my accordion when I was 12 years old.
CUPE local 391 (City of Vancouver Library Workers) is on strike for the first time in it's union history!
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CUPE local 391 (City of Vancouver Library Workers) is on strike for the first time in it's union history!
Bad city management!!! Why don't they return to the bargaining table? Why don't they acknowledge union concerns instead of asking for concessions! This morning, I attended a CUPE 391 study session, with my fellow library workers, and learned why Vancouver City library workers are taking job action. The meeting was lead by union president Alex Youngberg, whom I have known for many years. She has always been supportive of my Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner events, and other community efforts. Today Alex and the bargaining committee explained why they are frustrated that the Library management has not acknowledged union concerns and issues, nor made counter offers. Instead they try to impose a contract with concessions. see: http://www.cupe391.ca Why has high priced PR firm Why is Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan (who has been a big supporter of Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner events) continually saying that the issue is about preventing a strike during the Olympics when the unions state “We have never said, will never say and have no intention of shutting the city down during the Olympics.”I thought the strike was for wage equity, fairness and other labour issues. Who cares about the Olympics? It will last for 2 weeks. Vancouver civic workers will continue to be here long after. But in the meantime, can we have a fair wage please? Gee… BC finance minister Carole Taylor gave unions financial bonuses if they signed prior to a certain date, and to keep contract disputes from disrupting the Olympics. I have been a CUPE 391 member since 1975, and received my 30 year pin Here's an article about Pay Equity: The following press release is from the CUPE website:
http://www.cupe.ca/media/Library_workers_seek Library workers seek positive resolution to avert full strike [July 25, 2007 05:44 PM] City encouraged to return to table immediately VANCOUVER – In a final effort to avoid a full blown strike at Vancouver’s libraries, CUPE 391 public library workers are encouraging their employer, the City of Vancouver, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate. Public library workers are cautiously encouraged by Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan’s move away from his ongoing demand for a 39-month contract earlier today, admitting the first step is returning to the bargaining table and seeing their local issues addressed, like pay equity, improvements for part-time and auxiliary workers, benefit improvements, and job security. Tonight (Wednesday) at 5:30 p.m. CUPE 391 will be making a presentation on pay equity, the library workers’ primary bargaining issue, to the Vancouver Public Library Board at the Central Library (350 West Georgia Street). “Finding a way to start addressing pay equity in Vancouver libraries is a high priority for our members in this round of bargaining,” said CUPE 391 president Alex Youngberg. “We need to make sure that the Library Board understands why pay equity is such a significant issue for us.” A recent pay equity report released in July 2007 by CUPE researchers affirmed that regardless of the equally valuable work that library workers contribute to society, traditionally female jobs in the library sector are typically lower paying than traditionally male jobs in the municipal sector. Vancouver Public Library workers are paid $7 an hour less than library workers in Toronto. Despite the City’s persistent refusal to return to the bargaining table, CUPE 391 remains open to meet and prepared to bargain. However it is anticipated that job action will escalate to a full strike by the end of the week if a fair agreement is not forthcoming. CUPE 391 represents the 790 employees of the Vancouver Public Library. Contact: Diane Kalen, CUPE Communications, 778-229-0258 |