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Welcome to GungHaggisFatChoy.com
Home to my passions for my inter-cultural adventures, Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner event. Historic Joy Kogawa House Society, Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team, Find what you are looking for by 1) scroll the categories links (below), 2) use the search function ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Search
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Saturday, January 9
Todd Wong goes electric guitar
by
Todd
on Sat 09 Jan 2010 12:16 PM PST
But I had left my music stand behind. So on January 2nd, Deb and I returned to the house and found ourselves at another music night - but without my accordion. Carol offered me her red electric guitar without even asking if I could play guitar - even before offering me the keyboard in the corner + pictures more »
Sunday, December 27
Olympic mascots go to Scotland with Toddish McWong
by
Todd
on Sun 27 Dec 2009 04:59 PM PST
Quatchi, Miga and Sumi go to Scotland with Toddish McWong and Quatchi brings back a kilt
2009 was Homecoming Year for Scotland. It was an invitation to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the birth of poet Robert Burns on January 25th, and went all through the year until November 30th St. Andrew's Day.
The year started with Visit Scotland CEO Philip Riddell bringing a special bottle of 37 year old Famous Grouse whisky to auction off at the 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner. By November, there was a photo exhibit at Scottish Parliament titled This Is Who We Are: Scots in Canada. It featured many Canadians of Scottish ancestry including Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong, who is not Scottish, but hosts the largest Burns Supper in Vancouver.
Exhibit creator Harry McGrath invited Todd to come attend the Homecoming Scotland finale weekend events and attend the Closing Reception for the exhibition.
Todd decided in the last days to attend the event, and quickly invited his friends Quatchi, Miga and Sumi to visit Scotland with him.
They arrived in Scotland, late on Saturday night, November 29th in Glasgow. They traveled to Edinburgh and visited many Robert Burns displays in the museums - but had lots of fun at the Scottish Parliament reception on St. Andrew's Day. After the reception finished, they retired to a pub called Jenny Ha's - but Todd had to return to do a radio interview back to Vancouver BC on CBC Radio.
These pictures are their adventures exploring Scotland from Nov 29th to Dec 5th., 2009.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53803790@N00/sets/72157623081283070/ more »
Wednesday, December 2
Kilts culture in Vancouver: Kilts Night on Thursday + December ceildh on Sat night
by
Todd
on Wed 02 Dec 2009 01:17 PM PST
Every 1st Thursday of each month, I usually meet with my kilted friends at Doolin's Irish Pub at Granville and Nelson St in Vancouver. Free Music starts at 9pm with Halifax Wharf Rats - if there isn't a hockey game on. It's always lots of fun, and a great way to meet people. After attending the Homecoming Scotland ceilidh here in Edinburgh at The Hub. I am ready to go for another one. It's really easy to do, as the callers give a demonstration and tell people what to do. eg. turn left, grab the right hand, etc etc.
Big Secret: Wear a Kilt and ask for a free pint of Guiness Beer. more »
Todd's first day in Scotland
by
Todd
on Wed 02 Dec 2009 01:00 PM PST
It's been a busy few days in Scotland. I first arrived late on Saturday night, after a 9 hour layover in Amsterdam's Schipol airport. I took the train to central station and went for a walk through the touristy bits - where I also discovered both Chinatown and the Red Light District. + pictures of Scotland and Amsterdam more »
Sunday, September 13
3 Days of Accordion Noir Festival - playing circles, films, concerts + more
by
Todd
on Sun 13 Sep 2009 11:51 PM PDT
Accordions, Accordions & more accordions at Accordion Noir Festival - Sept 10,11 & 12.
 Accordions "Squeeze Box Circle" is led by Rowan Lipkovits (front right with big red accordion) at Spartacus Books. Usually the 1st Thursday of the month - this session was Sept 10th as a special part of the Accordion Noir Festival. Out-of-towners came from Lasqueti Island BC, and Bellingham WA. I didn't bring my big Titano accordion - but I did play somebody else's Faoro accordion.
Thursday, September 10
2nd Annual Accordion Noir Festival happens this weekend Sept 11,12,13
by
Todd
on Thu 10 Sep 2009 12:14 PM PDT
ACCORDIONS TAKE OVER VANCOUVER for ONE WEEKEND.
It's the 2nd Annual Accordion Noir Festival September 11,12,13  Here is information from Rowan Lipkovits Exhaustive information about all three festival days should be up at http://bit.ly/ANfest , but to summarize: * Friday night, Sept 11th, Geoff Berner will be a guest on the Accordion Noir radio show at CFRO 102.7 fm from 9:30 through 10:30 pm. Meanwhile, up Main street at Cafe Montmartre (4362 Main Street), Rowan will be hosting a varied program of virtuous squeezebox players in small groups from 8 pm through closing time (after midnight), featuring the ivory-tickling of Joanna Chapman-Smith, Barbara Adler, Dawn Zoe, Tina Tew, Andy Fielding, with Mezamazing and the Creaking Planks closing things out. By donation. * Saturday, Sept 12th, at 4 pm, an accordion parade will be departing (weather permitting) from the southeast corner of Grandview Park (Commercial Drive at Charles Street) to squeeze along the seven blocks to the day's venue, the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac Street at Victoria Drive). 45-minute workshops begin at 4:15 pm, starting with an accordion repair and maintenance session led by Rickey Mann, then an accordion composing session led by Andy Fielding, and closing with an accordion history talk by Bruce Triggs of Accordion Noir! An accordion film festival of sorts should get underway around 6:30 pm, and close to 8 pm, we should be beginning the main evening performances: Story from the Maritimes, Jason Webley of Washington State (though he does spend a lot of time touring in Russia) and Vancouver's own Geoff Berner. The evening promises further surprises and special guests, but you'll just have to come out to know for sure what they're going to be! All-day tickets for Saturday will be $20 at the door, or $15 for just the closing concert portion. Wednesday, January 28
World Poetry Gung Haggis Fat Choy performs at Vancouver Library on Chinese New Year Day
by
Todd
on Wed 28 Jan 2009 11:41 PM PST
 Monday night was the 6th Annual World Poetry Gung Haggis Fat Choy Gala. This event was first created when I noticed there were no readings of Robbie Burns at the library... I contacted Ariadne Sawyer of the World Poetry Reading series to collaborate for this now popular program. Just before our 7:30 start time, I chatted with the audience, explaining the origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, and sharing some of the events that happened the night before at the big Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner, and at our small ceremony at the Robert Burns statue in Stanley Park - to celebrate the 250th Birthday of Robbie Burns. We bring together the elements of Gung Haggis Fat Choy within a world context. We feature poetry of Robbie Burns, China, as well as contemporary Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian poets. And sometimes we add in music and dance and of course... singalongs. This year's program was a lot of fun. It was hosted by Ariadne Sawyer, Diego Bastianutti and myself. We featured poet James Mullin and myself reading poetry by Robbie Burns. I also brought my accordion to play some tunes too.  Rita Wong, the 2008 BC Book Prize Poetry winner, read from her books Monkey Puzzle and Forage. With the World Poetry theme, Rita even read a poem by Pablo Neruda, which Diego read in Spanish afterwards.
James Mullin led a group of four volunteers to dance my parade dragon around the room while I played "Scotland the Brave" on my accordion.
There were a number of Korean ESL students in the audience, and they really had a lot of fun.
Check out more photos:  World Poetry |
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I will play some solo accordion pieces + select some of my favorite tunes featuring accordion by other artists. Maybe the Bruce Springsteen acoustic version of Fire, or the new Emmylou Harris album "All I Intended to Be" featuring a song co-written with Canadians Kate & Anna McGarrigle titled "Sailing Roudn the Room." 
I performed last year on Accordion Noir - just before the 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner. My bagpiper friend Joe McDonald also brought along his accordion, and we jammed along to our recorded rap version of "Address to a Haggis"
- photo Patrick Tam
- photo Patrick Tam
- photo Patrick Tam
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http://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/sfu_news/regular_features/comment11270301.htm
Charles discusses multiculturalism, the brain drain and the accordion. He inter-relates these seemingly different topics when the last accordion teacher registered with the BC Music Teachers Association leaves Vancouver for more work in the US.
Charles cites the demise of the Bordignon accordion factory in Vancouver (formerly on Hastings St.) while in Seattle, the Petosa Accordions flourised. Crawford writes:
"Vancouver was once a vibrant centre of the accordion. We had
outstanding accordion performers and teachers, such as Alf Carlson, Bob
Dressler, Joe Morelli, and Ernie Rilling. The Bordignon family built
accordions in Vancouver for 75 years. Their skill was such that they
repaired accordions and other free reed instruments for the
Smithsonian. Why had the Petosas prospered in Seattle while the
Bordignons faded in Vancouver?
"We had a rich repertoire of folk accordion music brought to Canada from all over Europe. What happened to it? We have modern composers, such as Barbara Pentland and Murray Schaffer, who write for the modern art accordion. Yet, our one remaining accordion teacher was planning to fly south."
I can certainly attest to Seattle's vibrant accordion scene. When I was still entering accordion music competitions, my teacher would always enter us in the local Vancouver Kiwanis and Coquitlam music festivals. As numbers became smaller for these events, we would enter the North West Accordion Teachers Music Festival in Seattle. It was huge. You could enter your age class, and open division, and also the King or Queen division. One year I played the 17 page Manhattan Concerto in my bid to become "King of the Festival.""We had a rich repertoire of folk accordion music brought to Canada from all over Europe. What happened to it? We have modern composers, such as Barbara Pentland and Murray Schaffer, who write for the modern art accordion. Yet, our one remaining accordion teacher was planning to fly south."
a) Bagpiper Joe McDonald (in Lion mask) and Todd Wong in 2005 rehearsal for Gung Haggis Fat Choy; b) Todd Wong filmed by CBC camera crew for the CBC documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy at the open house event for Joy Kogawa House; c) Todd Wong and his accordion on the picket line during the recent CUPE 391 Vancouver library workers strike d) Gypsy jazz guitarist Ross Bliss and accordionist Todd Wong trade licks for versions of Sweet Georgia Brown and O Solo Mio.
Maybe Charles Crawford and I will have to get together. I have a Titano free bass acordion. My repetoire includes Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Orpheus in the Underworld Overture, Puccini's Un Bel Dei from Madame Butterfly, and Scott Joplin's The Entertainer.
Maybe I will have to play some celtic jigs and reels. I have played jazz, and folk tunes with Japanese-Canadian musicologist Harry Aoki. I have played with gypsy jazz guitarist Ross Bliss. I have even played the Chinese traditional song "Jasmine Flower (Mo-li Hua) on accordion for CBC radio while my friend soprano Heather Pawsey sang in mandarin Chinese.
2010 GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY Dinner
January 31, 2010
Contact Firehall Arts Centre: phone 604.689.0926
2010 prices
SINGLE TICKET
$60 + $5 service charge = $65
Student price is $50 + $4.50 = $54.50 (must show student high school or university ID)
Children's price is $40 + $4.00 = $44 (ages 13 and under).
Reservations for tables of 10
$600 + lower service charge
WHAT: GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - 12th Annversary Dinner, celebrating 251st Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth + incoming Chinese New Year of the Tiger.
WHEN: 6PM January 31 2010, SUNDAY
doors open 5pm, Dinner 6pm
WHERE: Floata Chinese Restaurant,
#400-180 Keefer St.
Media Inquiries
Call Gung Haggis Productions / Todd Wong
direct: 778-846-7090
email: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
CULTURE: Our Performers create something special for us every year with traditional and contemporary performances featuring everything in-between and beyond!
FOOD: A quirky fusion/mix/buffet of Scottish Canadian and Chinese Canadian culture 10 course Chinese banguet dinner
2004 - The debut of Gung Haggis Won-Ton
2005 - Haggis lettuce wrap!
2007 - Haggis dim sum appetizer buffet
2008 - Scotch tastings! + debut of Gung Haggis parade dragon!
2009 - debut of Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipes & Drums band + auction of 37 year old special edition Famous Grouse whisky + scotch tastings of Famous Grouse, The Macallan and Highland Park.
Watch for more surprises in 2010!
Description of 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with CBC News anchor Gloria Macarenko and Media colunist Catherine Barr
featuring performers: bagpiper Joe McDonald and Mad Celts, Silk Road Music's Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault, Opera Soprano Heather Pawsey and DJ Timothy Wisdom, BC Book Prize winner Vancouver poet Rita Wong + poet traslator Tommy Tao, Playwright Adrienne Wong and a scene from "Mixie and The Half-Breeds"
Description of 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with Media colunist Catherine Barr
featuring performers: , celtic band Blackthorn, bagpiper Joe McDonald and Brave Waves, Ji-Rong Huang on erhu, Film maker Ann-Marie Fleming, Vancouver poet laureate George McWhirter, Playwright Grace Chin and a scene from "The Quickie"
Description of 2007 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with CBC Radio's Priya Ramu,
featuring performers:
Silk Road Music, Heather Pawsey, Brave Waves, Leora Cashe, No Luck Club, Dr. Ian Mason (Burns Club of Vancouver) Lensey Namioka - Author "Half and Half" Margaret Gallagher, "Twisting Fortunes" (sneak preview of play)
Description of 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
with co-host with CityTV's Prem Gill
featuring performers:
Rick Scott & Harry Wong, The Shirleys, Joe McDonald & Brave Waves, Sean Gunn, author Joy Kogawa,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team
for lots of summer fun, fitness and friendship. We are a social team full of cultural vigor, that likes to eat.
We have been featured on television, local, national and international. We have a unique and internationally famous fundraiser dinner event.
We practice starting March Sunday 1:30 pm -3:30 pm Tuesday 6pm-7:45pm
We meet at Dragon Zone clubhouse - just south of Science World in Creekside Park above the Aquabus and dragon boat docks.
Our coach Todd Wong has 15+ years of experience including novice, recreational and competitive levels, and both community and corporate teams.
Our 2008 season took us to races in Burnaby, Vancouver, Vernon, Vancouver Taiwanese race, UBC, Ft. Langley. It was our strongest team ever and we are proud of our race performances.
For more information:
Click on Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information
phone: 778-846-7090
e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
January 31, 2010
Contact Firehall Arts Centre: phone 604.689.0926
2010 prices
SINGLE TICKET
$60 + $5 service charge = $65
Student price is $50 + $4.50 = $54.50 (must show student high school or university ID)
Children's price is $40 + $4.00 = $44 (ages 13 and under).
Reservations for tables of 10
$600 + lower service charge
WHAT: GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - 12th Annversary Dinner, celebrating 251st Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth + incoming Chinese New Year of the Tiger.
WHEN: 6PM January 31 2010, SUNDAY
doors open 5pm, Dinner 6pm
WHERE: Floata Chinese Restaurant,
#400-180 Keefer St.
Media Inquiries
Call Gung Haggis Productions / Todd Wong
direct: 778-846-7090
email: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
CULTURE: Our Performers create something special for us every year with traditional and contemporary performances featuring everything in-between and beyond!
FOOD: A quirky fusion/mix/buffet of Scottish Canadian and Chinese Canadian culture 10 course Chinese banguet dinner
2004 - The debut of Gung Haggis Won-Ton
2005 - Haggis lettuce wrap!
2007 - Haggis dim sum appetizer buffet
2008 - Scotch tastings! + debut of Gung Haggis parade dragon!
2009 - debut of Gung Haggis Fat Choy Pipes & Drums band + auction of 37 year old special edition Famous Grouse whisky + scotch tastings of Famous Grouse, The Macallan and Highland Park.
Watch for more surprises in 2010!
Description of 2009 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with CBC News anchor Gloria Macarenko and Media colunist Catherine Barr
featuring performers: bagpiper Joe McDonald and Mad Celts, Silk Road Music's Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault, Opera Soprano Heather Pawsey and DJ Timothy Wisdom, BC Book Prize winner Vancouver poet Rita Wong + poet traslator Tommy Tao, Playwright Adrienne Wong and a scene from "Mixie and The Half-Breeds"
Description of 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with Media colunist Catherine Barr
featuring performers: , celtic band Blackthorn, bagpiper Joe McDonald and Brave Waves, Ji-Rong Huang on erhu, Film maker Ann-Marie Fleming, Vancouver poet laureate George McWhirter, Playwright Grace Chin and a scene from "The Quickie"
Description of 2007 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
co-hosted with CBC Radio's Priya Ramu,
featuring performers:
Silk Road Music, Heather Pawsey, Brave Waves, Leora Cashe, No Luck Club, Dr. Ian Mason (Burns Club of Vancouver) Lensey Namioka - Author "Half and Half" Margaret Gallagher, "Twisting Fortunes" (sneak preview of play)
Description of 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner
with co-host with CityTV's Prem Gill
featuring performers:
Rick Scott & Harry Wong, The Shirleys, Joe McDonald & Brave Waves, Sean Gunn, author Joy Kogawa,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team
for lots of summer fun, fitness and friendship. We are a social team full of cultural vigor, that likes to eat.
We have been featured on television, local, national and international. We have a unique and internationally famous fundraiser dinner event.
We practice starting March Sunday 1:30 pm -3:30 pm Tuesday 6pm-7:45pm
We meet at Dragon Zone clubhouse - just south of Science World in Creekside Park above the Aquabus and dragon boat docks.
Our coach Todd Wong has 15+ years of experience including novice, recreational and competitive levels, and both community and corporate teams.
Our 2008 season took us to races in Burnaby, Vancouver, Vernon, Vancouver Taiwanese race, UBC, Ft. Langley. It was our strongest team ever and we are proud of our race performances.
For more information:
Click on Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information
phone: 778-846-7090
e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca
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