Winter Olympics invited countries from around to the world to multicultural Vancouver, but cultural diversity was missing in the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

Apparently the opening ceremonies did feature performers of cultural diversity.  But we missed it.

Only before the televised official opening... ("Miss Jully Black to the back of the bus please")... not "Canadian" enough to be televised.... and February is Black History month in Canada!

Read Vancouver Sun Pete McMartin's review of the opening ceremonieshttp
http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=195883fa-d774-4385-9365-2cda2e55e631

The Closing Ceremonies were promised to include more French content, and to feature Canadian humour and myth-busting of Canadian stereotypes.

Vancouver's cultural diversity was represented in the hundreds of jumping Grade 9ers holding snowboards in the opening sequence.  My First Nations 2nd cousin was there - his mother was very proud.  But all the featured performers were White - with the exception of K-OS.  And most of the volunteer performers of colour were dressed as hip-hop dancers, instead mounties, lumberjacks and hockey players.  Because there are no Asian hockey players in the NHL - but that's another Canadian Myth that's been busted since Larry Kwong played one game in the NHL in 1948, 10 years before Willie O'Ree became the first black hockey player in 1958.

A Few days later the same Pete McMartin quoted Tung Chan in an opinion piece -
Opinion - An Olympic Games as white as snow
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Opinion+Olympic+Games+white+snow/2620782/story.html

But read the comments to the above piece, or to Craig Takeuchi's pieces in the Georgia Straight.
2010 Olympic closing ceremony: Why wasn't there any aboriginal content?
or
Vancouver 2010 Olympics: The Great White, er, Multicultural North?

Despite all the crowd cheering, street filling patriotism, when Canada wins a gold medal hockey game, there is still a dark anonymous racism that haunts all the internet comments, and rears its head at any hint of "affirmative action" or ethnic inclusion.

This is the next story.   This is the next stage of insight. 

The aim of the Closing ceremonies was to have some fun, poking fun at Canadian stereotypes, and doing some "myth busting."  But one of the myths that got reinforced is that Canada is White.  Despite generations of immigration from all around the world, Canada cannot find a performer of colour good enough to speak at or perform at and during the Closing ceremonies. 

Would it have hurt Canadians if one of the chorus line lumberjacks, mounties, or hockey players had been a shade of colour other than white?  Would we have heard a chorus of boos, if one of the mounties had worn a turban?

We know that racial discrimination in sports can be cruel to kids growing up, so it can't be a wonder why our top athletes are mostly White.  But we have succeeded in the Arts.

Where was Indo-Canadian comedian Russell Peters?
Canadians of multi-ethnicity are cool and sexy.  What better examples do we have than actors Kristin Kreuk of Smallville?  or Lisa Ray of Bollywood?  Even Keanu Reeves primarily grew up in Toronto, despite being born in Lebanon - but we didn't hold Steve Nash's birthplace of South Africa against him.

First Nations actors Graham Green and Tantoo Cardinal were good enough for "Dances with Wolves" but not for the Closing Ceremonies?  And Tantoo just received her Order of Canada too...

Our authors Joy Kogawa, Thomas King are amongst the most studied authors in our Canadian high schools, colleges and universities. Wayson Choy and 7th generation descendant of Black Loyalists
George Elliot Clarke are also amongst our most loved - these four authors also are Order of Canada recipients.

We are not saying that Canada should enforce racial inclusivity guidelines for its sports teams.  But we are saying that the closing ceremonies lacked the representation of Canada's population, and it reinforced every sad stereotype of Canada.  Alongside the Mounties, lumberjacks, beavers and moose was the sad realization that Canada is only populated by White people, despite multi-generations of accepting people from all over the world.

And where are the bagpipes?

Canada's first Prime Minister, BC's first Premier, and Vancouver's first mayor were all born in Scotland.  Has the former largest ethnic group of Vancouver so much assimilated into mainstream culture, that they have forgotten their ethnic roots?

The SFU Pipes and Drums is the six time and current World Champion pipe band.  There are more bagpipers in Canada then there are in Scotland - or is this a Canadian myth that we are not proud of?

Bagpipers have performed with Uzume Taiko, and Delhi 2 Dublin, - two internationally recognized examples of cultural fusion music happening in Vancouver.  To me, these are the examples of performers that should have been featured at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, demonstrating how Canadians have come from all over the world, put aside our racial differences, and blend our cultures, and our shared our histories together. 

This is the Canada that I am proud of - not the beer swigging garage band party music that was featured - without any relevance to the historic Olympic successes that we witnessed over the past 17 days

Stories critical of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Opening Ceremonies are in Vancouver Courier and Georgia Straight blogs.


Vancouver Courier: Allen Garr's
Much is continuing to be written about the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremonies that took place with great hoop-lah on Friday February 12th, in BC Place Stadium.  Yes, there were the Four Host Nations welcoming the world to their ancestral (and unceded) lands.  Yes, there were Canadian Aboriginal peoples from all across the nation, dancing and drumming, while Bryan Adams and and Nelly Furtado took the spotlight and sang a new Adams' song "Beat the Drum."

And then.... a show that has brought complaints from across the country, as Federal Minister James Moore has said "there wasn't enough French-Canadian content."

Even Quebec Permier Jean Charest, as he sat next to VANOC CEO John Furlong at a news conference Monday said, “Not at the level we were expecting,” said “It wasn’t sufficient.”

I admit that enjoyed watching the show. And my girlfriend and I watched it twice... but we were also playing video and computer games during the second time.

But we cannot ignore that so many people are speaking out, and to so is to risk great peril. Clearly there is a schism in the understanding of what make's us Canadian... as understood by new immigrants of both Asian and Celtic origins, as well as multi-generational Canadians of First Nations, Asian, Celtic, Gaelic, British, French and European heritage.

Maybe like at Expo 67, we are discovering the point of how we see ourselves in the world, and in our own country.

I especially liked Shane Koyczan's poem. He is indeed addressing the values that push us to do better, to be more inclusive, and to always try harder - just like my personal hero Terry Fox, who is very dear to me, as I hold the SFU Terry Fox gold medal, as a recipient "for courage in adversity and dedication to society."

Remember what happened after the Closing Ceremonies in Turin?
Even Premier Gordon Campbell criticized Turin closing ceremony display by saying, “I thought there were lots of stereotypes that are not what the new Canada is.” http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=8a6a6c72-05f7-4a8d-91a1-60f2ebe27219&k=96687

Yes, I too understand that we cannot please everybody all the time, and that some cultural groups will cry foul. But my experiences are also tainted by growing up in a deliberate exclusion of systemic racism, where my born-in-Canada grandmother could not vote in this country until after her brothers and cousin had been reluctantly accepted into the Canadian Forces due to pressure from Great Britain, and then sent on "Suicide Missions" to be behind enemy lines in Burma.

For these reasons I knew it was important to help save Joy Kogawa's childhood home from demolition, where she was forced to leave at age 6 due to internment of Japanese-Canadians.

For these reasons, I know it is important to support my cousin Chief Rhonda Larrabee whose mother's people had their ancestral lands taken away from them, to create BC's first capital city of New Westminster. And then to add insult, had their reservation taken away, and their band name of Qayqayt was said to not exist, because the people didn't live there anymore.

If we don't speak out on these issues, now - then it is like the silence that watches the Japanese Canadians put on trains and sent away, or like knowing that First Nations children are in Residential schools. We know something is wrong, but dare not speak.

I have tried to embrace this country and it's foibles, despite hating the bagpipes when I was little because it represented Colonialism. I speak better french, then I do Chinese.

I understand the the Ceremonies wanted to emphasize "The Land" rather than the cultural diversity.  Even Margaret Atwood's great book "Survival" argues that there is indeed a distinct Canadian literature, with its own preoccupations, themes, and ideas specific to its history, geopolitics, and landscape.

But that was so 20th Century... Now in the 21st Century, it is about the geopolitics, our cultural diversity, and our place in the global world.

Yes John Furlong has done and amazing job with VANOC. It is a very challenging, almost impossible task - But John Furlong's terrible french pronounciation seems to be an apt metaphor for VANOC's ceremonies team of understanding and including Canada's multicultural history and culture.

But come on VANOC.... We Are More!!!!

It looks like a Tiger of a year... with the Olympics in town, and lions running everywhere at Vancouver's Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade

Lions were everywhere in Vancouver Chinatown, celebrating the Year of the Tiger.

All the celebrities, politicians and VIP's walk at the beginning of the parade. 

Next come the Chinese Canadian veterans of Pacific Unit 280 (minus my uncle Dan, who passed away less than a month ago).  But the veterans all wore red Olympic mittens!

Here's a Chinese parade dragon.  How to tell a dragon from a lion?  You wear the lion costume over your body, while the dragon is always held up on poles!

The Kitchen God always marches in the parade.  The trick is to put honey on the Kitchen God's lips before he makes his report to heaven about your kitchen, so he can only say sweet things with honey on his lips.

Here I am with my friend Georgia, who paddles with us on the Gung Haggis dragon boat team.

The Carnival band all tried to dress up as Tigers....

City Councilor Kerry Jang hands out lucky red envelopes called "li-see" for good luck!

Here I am dressed in my kilt and red Chinese dragon vest.  I met this fellow in his black utility kilt outside the skytrain stop at The Bay.  Kilters greet each other, and I invited him to join us for the next kilts night.  Since it was Chinese New Year we took a picture of him waring my Chinese jacket.  Very cool.

The Bar is open at 5:00 and Dinner Start time is 6:00, Buy Your Raffle Tickets, FREE Subscription for Ricepaper Magazine, This dinner is the primary fundraising event for Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop/ Ricepaper Magazine, Historic Joy Kogawa House Society + Food + Music + Pictures   more »

In 1759, a wee bairn of a boy named Robert was born in a cottage in the village of Alloway, in Ayrshire Scotlandm, on January 25th in the last days of the Chinese Lunar Year of the Tiger. Four days later on January 29th, Chinese New Year of the Rabbit occurred + pictures + more    more »

Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinners always emphasize BC's cultural and historical past and present. While we acknowledge the Scottish and Chinese pioneers that helped to shape this province of British Columbia, we also look to see where we are going and what kind of cultural fusion is happening. This year's program is amazing..... pictures + descriptions   more »

Last year, Larissa Lai was a guest at the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner. She enjoyed the event so much she is coming back... as our featured poet! At a reading event at the Vancouver Public Library, Larissa shared with me that she teaches Robert Burns to her students at University of BC. Wow... Perfect! But Larissa is much more than that... She is an acclaimed poet in her own right, and the author of two novels - When Fox Is A Thousand, and Salt Fish Girl. Both books are in my personal collection. I first met Larissa back in 1994, when I wrote an article for the SFU Student Newspaper, and she was a featured poet for the Go For Broke Festival - the forerunner of Asian Heritage Month..... + MORE   more »

Ron Samworth, Lan Tung and Nealamjit Dhillon make up the cultural fusion trio of Birds of Paradox . Lan Tung is a fantastic virtuoso erhu player who has recently toured across Europe and was just in Halifax with Symphony Nova Scotia for a January 7th concert of new music. + PICTURES + MORE   more »

Every year I do media interviews. On Robbie Burns Day, I was woken up at 7am by a request from BBC Radio Scotland. Yesterday, I did an interview for French CBC television. Monday was Epoch Times. Last week the Georgia Straight did a food feature article. Somewhere in Scotland there is an interview in the Sunday Post. Even SFU, Seattle and North Shore News have stories about Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner this year. Check out the links:   more »

There are some changes for the dinner menu for the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner. We try to vary the dinner items from year to year, add some new surprises, take out items we are bored with. This is a draft menu - subject to change. See if you can spot the new additions - not repeated from last year. 1. Floata Appetizer Platter a. Haggis Pork dumpling (Shiu Mai) b. turnip cake (Lo-bak-goh) c. Honey BBQ Pork d. Jelly Fish 2. Deep fried haggis won ton + PICTURES + MORE   more »

There are 77 pounds of haggis that I have just picked up from Peter Black & Sons at Park Royal South in West Vancouver. + PICTURES + MORE   more »

Internet Radio blog link to Cultural Connects - Very interesting interview with Todd Wong, creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, by Gary Jarvis.Listen to Gary's interview of Todd Wong, creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, as he explains the Scottish and Chinese and BC roots of his brain child - a cultural fusion Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.vie...w&friendId=400868504&blogId=526013921   more »

Article from Vancouver Style 101 featuring Raphael Fang - a paddler on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team. Every body wears kilts... or they should... here are some ideas why!   more »

Todd goes to Vernon and meets Betty Chan, former Highland Dance champion of Canada, and Dan Huang drum sgt of Kelowna pipe band.   more »

2009 featured photos in exhibits at Royal BC Museum and Scottish Parliament. Other highlights included the inaugural writer in residence program at Historic Joy Kogawa House, and Todd Wong's first visit to Scotland for the finale weekend of Homecoming Year. And there was the 250th anniversary of poet Robert Burns.    more »

I usually help organize a team social for attending the Winter Solstice events at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens - but this year I must attend AGM and Christmas Party at Joy Kogawa House. Check out my past stories about attending Winter Solstice events here: http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog?cmd=search&keywords=winter+solstice Check out the official Winter Solstice events here: http://www.secretlantern.org/ My friend Devon Cooke is performing "Fire tossing" at the Round House Community Centre. Devon loves being involved in many cultural activities and also paddles on the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team.   more »

Now Available: Tickets for Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner

- It's the 12 Anniversary of the "little dinner that could."

January 31st, Sunday 2010
Floata Seafood Restaurant
Vancouver Chinatown
Contact Firehall Arts Centre:
phone 604.689.0926

The Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Dinner has created an awareness of cultural fusion that has spanned international media, and been featured at the 2008 BC Canada Pavillion in Bejing during the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Royal BC Museum celebration exhibit of the 150th Anniversary of the province of BC, and a 2009 touring exhibition in Scotland titled This Is Who We Are: Scots in Canada.


Gung Haggis Fat Choy creator Todd Wong at the Scottish Parliament exhibition of THIS IS WHO WE ARE: Scots in Canada.  The exhibition featured a life sized photo of Wong and a video interview about the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, which features the acknowledgement of Chinese and Scottish pioneer history in Canada and contemporary culinary and cultural fusions.

Tickets are now on sale for the 12th Anniversary Dinner.
January 31st, Sunday, 2010
Floata Seafood Restaurant
Vancouver Chinatown
Doors open 5pm
Dinner starts 6pm

$60 + $5 service charge
or
$600 per table + $20 service charge
prices for students and children available.

Raffle Prizes are featured, as this dinner has traditionally been a fundraiser for: Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop/Ricepaper Magazine and Historic Joy Kogawa House.

Contact Firehall Arts Centre:
phone 604.689.0926
Visit the Firehall Box Office, 280 E. Cordova Street.
Box Office hours are: 9:30am - 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

For media information
- contact: Todd Wong 778-846-7090
- email: gunghaggis@yahoo.ca

The origins of the dinner started with 16 people in a living room in 1998.  The next year it expanded to 40 people in a restaurant.  Soon it outgrew the first restaurant and expanded to 220 people in 2002.  Moving to a larger restaurant for 2003, and expanding to a 2-night event in 2004, serving over 500 people.  2005 saw the move to North America's largest Chinese restaurant and present home of the dinner where 570 people were accomodated.

A 2004 CBC telelevision performance special, Gung Haggis Fat Choy, was inspired by the dinner, and received two Leo nominations for best music performance, and best director of music performance.  In 2007, a CBC television documentary Generations: The Chan Legacy featured interviews with dinner creator Todd Wong, and film clips of the dinner.

A wide range of musical performers have been featured over the years including: fusion musicians Silk Road Music Ensemble, Dragon River Chinese Music Ensemble, Blackthorn celtic band, The Mad Celts, Chinese erhu master Ji-Rong Huang; opera singers Heather Pawsey, Veera Devi Khare; Jazz singer Leora Cashe.  Featured poets have included: Joy Kogawa, Rita Wong, Fred Wah, George McWhirter, Fiona Tin Wei Lam, Jim Wong-Chu, Sean Gunn and Tommy Tao.  The past 3 years have also featured sneak previews of Asian Canadian plays including: Mixie and the Half-Breeds, The Quickie, and Twisting Fortunes.

Todd Wong visits Scotland for Homecoming Year, the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns.

For the 2010 dinner, creator Todd Wong has just returned from Scotland after visiting the birthplace of Scotland poet Robert Burns, and researching the displays of Burns for Homecoming Scotland, and museum exhibits on Scottish history and emmigration to Canada.  Wong is active in Chinese Canadian activities and visited Bejing and Xian in 1993.  He hopes to combine a merger of Scottish-Canadian and Chinese-Canadian history and culture in the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.

Another extravaganza of culinary and cultural fusion are expected for the 2010 dinner.  Details will be released each week leading up to the event.  Special guest speakers, media hosts, poets and musicians are confirmed or being confirmed.  The 2010 dinner will feature old traditions and new surprises, something borrowed and something brewed - especially created for the 2010 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Dinner.

Tell your friends, and put a table of 10 together to enjoy the singalongs!
or come as a single or a double, and meet 8 brand new best friends for the evening at your table!
It's the most fun and intimate dinner for 500 you will ever attend!

I am now back in Canada. It was an incredible learning experience for my first trip across the Atlantic to one of the most important cultural and historical ancestral homes for this country called Canada. Canada is probably the most Scottish nations outside of Scotland. Our first prime minister, many of our explorers, BC's first premier, Vancouver's first mayor - were all born in Scotland. And yet... Scotland is a country that is learning from Canada. My trip was initiated because a life-size picture and video-interview of me were used in the photo exhibit This is Who We Are: Scots in Canada. I have written about the exhibit here: Toddish McWong arrives in Scotland for inaugural visit and reception at Scottish Parliament for "This is Who We Are". Here are my pictures from the exhibit and the reception at the closing of the event on St. Andrew's Day   more »