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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. Save Kogawa House campaign, Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team, Find what you are looking for by 1) scroll the topics links, 2) use the search function ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Join the 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 Sunday 1:30 pm -3:30 pm Tuesday 6pm-7:45pm Wednesday 6pm - 7:45 pm 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 2005 Season brought us the David Lam Award for being the team that best represented the multicultural spirit of the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival, and Bronze medals at the Vancouver International Taiwanese Dragon Boat Race. In 2007, we won Gold in B Division at Vernon Races. For more information: Click on Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information phone: 604-987-7124- e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2009 TICKETS Available in October 2008 WHAT: GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - 12th Annual Dinner, celebrating 250th Anniversary of Robert Burns' birth + Chinese New Year's Eve. WHEN: 6PM January 25 2009, SUNDAY doors open 5pm WHERE: Floata Chinese Restaurant, #400-180 Keefer St. 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! Watch for more surprises in 2008! Description of 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner featuring performers: Rick Scott & Harry Wong, The Shirleys, Joe McDonald & Brave Waves, Sean Gunn, author Joy Kogawa, with co-host Prem Gill . Media Inquiries Call Gung Haggis Productions 604-987-7124 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sponsors
Month Archive
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Chinese Canadian History
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Friday, April 18
Music for a New World special concert April 20 at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver
by
Todd
on Fri 18 Apr 2008 06:37 PM PDT
And I know and have performed with many of the featured musicians. Silk Road Music's Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault have performed at Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner & First Night events since 2004. In the past few years I have become a big fan or Orchid Ensemble's Lan Tung, as she plays her erhu.....
This incredible collaboration brings together 17 of Vancouver’s best world music artists in a one of a kind partnership in which influences from around the world mix into a melting pot of sights and sounds. Centred on a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, Music for a New World celebrates the diversity of world music. more »
Sunday, April 6
Friday, April 4
Tartan Day (April 6) proclaimed in City of Vancouver, April 3
by
Todd
on Fri 04 Apr 2008 02:49 PM PDT
We gathered at the Council Chambers foyer with Mayor Sam Sullivan and city councilors for our this photo. Bagpiper Allan McMoridie and Darryl Carracher of the Scottish Cultural Centre joined us for the ceremony. The motion had been brought forward by city councilor Heather Deal...... I brought the tartan sashes and extra kilts that the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team wears for paddling and kilts nights. Tim Stevenson held up a kilt for the picture, and Kim Capri donned the mini-kilt. Sashes were taken up by Sam Sullivan, George Chow and BC Lee. Heather Deal wore her own tartan skirt. + PICTURES more »
Thursday, April 3
Vancouver Sun: Every day is Tartan Day for devoted kilt maker
by
Todd
on Thu 03 Apr 2008 11:30 AM PDT
Vancouver Sun article about kiltmaker Rob McDonald.....
Every day is Tartan Day for devoted kilt maker
The province's annual nod to Scottish heritage is no big deal for Robert MacDonald, for whom the leggy garment is a way life more »
Vancouver Province: Vancouver to embrace Tartan Day on April 6
by
Todd
on Thu 03 Apr 2008 09:46 AM PDT
Here's the first public media acknowledgement that Tartan Day is officially happening in the City of Vancouver.
Indeed, the city of Vancouver, province of BC, and country of Canada - all trace it's historical beginnings to Scottish pioneers.
+ Vancouver Province story:
Vancouver's lads and lassies have until Sunday to press their kilts and dust off their sporans for the city's first official Tartan Day.
Council will declare today that Vancouver is joining a long list of cities around the world that celebrate their Scottish roots on April 6. more »
Monday, March 31
Tartan Day proclamation for City of Vancouver
by
Todd
on Mon 31 Mar 2008 06:04 PM PDT
I solicited SFU Scottish Cultural Studies to created a proclaimation, which I passed to city councilor Raymond Louie.
Kilts Night "Tartan Day" celebration happening at Doolin's Irish Pub - after the hockey game... or between periods?!?!
details TBA
more »
Monday, March 17
Gung Haggis Fat Choy parade dragon and paddles on flickr
by
Todd
on Mon 17 Mar 2008 12:17 PM PDT
Being in a parade doesn't allow you to take pictures of your group, so it's always interesting to find pictures on flickr.
Steven Duncan took some pictures of us setting up. Check out his flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/9057324@N08/sets/72157604144696435/ more »
Sunday, March 16
Gung Haggis Fat Choy puts a dragon (not a snake) in the 5th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.
by
Todd
on Sun 16 Mar 2008 11:36 PM PDT
The 15 foot long Chinese dragon undulated up and down in the air above the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Vancouver’s Granville Street. A mini version of the larger 10 or 20 person dragons used in Chinatown Chinese New Year parades, it jerked hesitantly. Five Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team members carried short poles sporting a yellow body with red scales and blue and yellow ridge......
A Chinese dragon in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade? Didn’t St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?
Ahh… but this is multi-inter-cultural Vancouver. Dragon boaters paddle in kilts, and bagpipers perform in the Chinese New Year Parade. And the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner serves up deep-fried haggis won tons. Welcome to Vancouver! more »
Thursday, March 13
Courier: Wong celebrates Celtic Fest's kilty pleasures
by
Todd
on Thu 13 Mar 2008 01:18 PM PDT
Last week the Vancouver Courier interviewed me for a Celtic Fest story about tonight's Battle of the Bards. Photographer Dan Toulgoet met me at the Robert Burns statue in Stanley Park, which had been erected 80 years ago.
It's always interesting to find out how other people perceive Gung Haggis Fat Choy, and what they think about my persona as "Toddish McWong." more »
Wednesday, March 12
Celtic Fest opens in Vancouver: Robert Burns (Toddish McWong) is guest poet on Co-op Radio's Wax Poetic
by
Todd
on Wed 12 Mar 2008 08:36 PM PDT
Wax Poetic recognized the first day of Celtic Fest by highlighting the "Battle of the Bards" event featuring celtic poets Dylan Thomas, William Butler Yeats and Robert Burns, played by Todd Wong.......
Diane and Steve asked Todd about the origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com and how he became interested in Robert Burns......
Todd also read poems "My Luv Is Like a Red Red Rose" and "A Man's a Man For A' That and A' That". more »
Monday, March 10
Recommended Robert Burns poems for Celtic Fest "Battle of the Bards"
by
Todd
on Mon 10 Mar 2008 12:12 PM PDT
We will go on a pub crawl reciting poetry to (un)suspecting patrons starting at Doolin's Irish Pub at 5:30pm. Then we will go to Atlantic Trap and Gill for 6:05. Johnny Fox's Irish Snug at 6:45. Then the finale at Ceili's Irish Pub and Restaurant for 8pm, where we will be accompanied by a DJ and a celtic fiddler..... Not being a complete expert or scholar on Robert Burns, I asked my friends in the Burns Club of Vancouver, as well as Ron MacLeod, Chair of the Scottish Cultural Studies program at Simon Fraser University for advice. They readily obliged: more »
Monday, March 3
Todd Wong getting ready for "Battle of the Bards"
by
Todd
on Mon 03 Mar 2008 11:53 PM PST
It took me by complete surprise when Steve Duncan initially asked me to play Robert Burns in a literary poetry slam for Celtic Fest Vancouver, based on the "Battle of the Bards" originally done in Dublin. more »
Toddish McWong to appear as Robbie Burns in "Battle of the Bards" literary pub crawl
by
Todd
on Mon 03 Mar 2008 12:17 PM PST
The word is out. Scotland's favorite poet son, will be represented in Vancouver CelticFest's Battle of the Bards by 5th generation Chinese Canadian Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong - creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, and other intercultural events.
 Wong first participated in Celtic Fest's first St. Patrick's Day parade, when he put a Taiwanese dragon boat on a trailer and towed it down the street in the parade. Seated in the boat were bagpiper Joe McDonald, and guitarist Andrew Kim, the Brave Waves. 
 Both McDonald and Kim were also featured in the CBC Vancouver television performance special Gung Haggis Fat Choy - another spin off from the Todd Wong creative braintrust. Check out official CelticFest promotional blurbs from event organizer and poet Stephen Duncan http://www.poetryradio.blogspot.com/ With CelticFest and St. Paddy's day fast upon us, we decided a tribute
to the Scotch and Irish would be appropriate, so we are raising the
dead for this show and bringing in William Butler Yeats and Robbie Burns to help celebrate. Yeats and Burns (really two great performers, Mark Downey and Todd Wong) will be going head-to-head, along with Dylan Thomas in a unique literary event this year on Thursday, March 13: The Battle of the Bards Literary Pub Crawl, a combination pub crawl/poetry slam where the legendary poets go from pub to pub downtown performing their works and being judged by members of the audience armed with scorecards. The event culminates in a Jack Karaoke-style match at Ceili's Pub, where they must do their pieces accompanied by a DJ (All Purpose's Michael Louw) and fiddler Elise Boeur. Once the contest is over much drinking and dancing is done into the wee hours. Click on the image below for more details. 
Friday, February 29
Ron MacLeod Report Feb 29: a ceilidh, a TV program, Isle of Eigg and Talisker whisky.
by
Todd
on Fri 29 Feb 2008 11:58 PM PST
Ron MacLeod is Scots Chair V at the Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University. Here is his latest report featuring one of my favorite single malt scotch whiskey Greetings, a message about a ceilidh, a TV program, Isle of Eigg and whisky. Regards, the other Ron 1. Ceilidh What: Gaelic Society’s next ceilidh Where: Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson (at 73rd Ave), Vancouver,B.C. When: Saturday, March 1st, 2008 Time: 8:00 PM Other: small door fee; entertainment, munchies, some dancing. All welcome 2. The following courtesy Angus MacIssaac. A short movie entitled “The Wake of Calum MacLeod” will be shown on Bravo television at 4:30 P.M., Friday, February 29th. The movie was made in Cape Breton so should have a great dollop of Highland realism. 3. Life will never be the same on the island of Eigg again, and in this respect it can only be a good thing. Islanders have at last joined the 21st Century and will now be able to enjoy the little things we take for completely for granted. No
doubt there will be a rush of electrical equipment being delivered to
the island; appliances which the residents have not been able to use
previously because their power was provided by expensive diesel
generators and gas bottles. The Isle of Eigg Electrification Project switched on for the first time on 1st February 2008, allowing power generated from renewable energy sources around the island to be supplied to all residents, through the new island-wide high voltage distribution network. The system will generate over 95% of the island’s annual energy demand through a combination of Hydro Electric, Wind Power and Solar Energy, which is believed to be the first time that anyone has successfully integrated these three renewable energy sources. To ensure that constant power can be provided, a battery storage system has been designed which will compensate for short periods where energy from renewable sources is not available. Two diesel generators have also been installed to provide emergency back-up power, and to supplement the supply should the output from the renewable sources be lower than the demand.
4. Talisker Distillery in Skye is looking forward to increased interest from connoisseurs around the globe after one of its products was named “the world’s best single malt whisky” in the industry’s most prestigious awards event. It was Talisker 18 Years Old that took the fancy of the judging panel — and the supreme title for the first time — in Whisky Magazine’s 2007 Awards. A spokesman for Diageo, the distillery’s owners, said that demand for Talisker was expected to rise sharply as a result. The award coincides with the retirement of Charlie Smith, manager at Talisker for the past three years, following a distinguished career in the whisky industry. Mr Smith was also manager at Dufftown, Cardhu and Glenkinchie distilleries. He is succeeded by Willie MacDougal, a native of Aberfeldy who was site operations manager at Oban Distillery for six years prior to a brief spell at Blair Athol. His family has a long association with the industry and Mr MacDougal says he is “totally thrilled” to be taking over at one of the world’s most famous distilleries. “Talisker is one of the most successful malts in the world,” said Mr MacDougal, “though — or maybe because — the distillery’s output is deliberately a good deal lower than some other top-selling malts. It’s a distillery with massive heritage and an amazing future, with fans all over the world.” He added that he also intended to improve his piping skills while on Skye. The Whisky Magazine judging panel’s comments on Talisker 18 Years Old fully endorsed Mr MacDougal’s enthusiasm for the brand. Dave Broom, one of the world’s leading whisky commentators, described it as “elegant with fascinating balance between smoke and subtle sweet fruit. Ever changing in the glass and on the palate.” Edinburgh whisky dealer Keir Sword waxed even more eloquent: “Warm, rich and attractive. Leather, pipe-tobacco, sweet sherry and polished oak on the nose, followed by a good creamy texture and a warming finish. A very attractive Friday, February 15
Eric on the Road podcast with Gung Haggis Fat Choy - hitting US pod cast waves
by
Todd
on Fri 15 Feb 2008 11:01 PM PST
Back in January, Todd Wong was interviewed by Eric Model for "Conversations on the Road." Model describes his show as "journeys into the offbeat, off the beaten path, overlooked and the forgotten."
"And today most appropriately takes us into the category of offbeat. And today's journey we go to Vancouver and we are discussing and event called 'Gung Haggis Fat Choy.'" It's a very interesting 21 minute and 38 second pod cast with a stimulating conversation about the origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, early Chinese and Scottish pioneers in the late 1800's, racism, cultural traditions, inter-racial marriage, and the Canadian explorer Simon Fraser who was actually born in Vermont. Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Gung Haggis Fat Choy - A Unique Scottish-Chinese Cultural CelebrationGung Haggis Fat Choy is a cultural event originating from Vancouver, BC. The name Gung Haggis Fat Choy is a combination wordplay on Scottish and Chinese words: haggis is a traditional Scottish food and Gung Hay Fat Choy/Kung Hei Fat Choi s a traditional Cantonese greeting (in Mandarin it is pronounced Gong Xi Fa Cai) used during Chinese New Year. The event originated to mark the timely coincidence of the Scottish cultural celebration of Robert Burns Day (January 25) with the Chinese New Year, but has come to represent a celebration of combining cultures in untraditional ways. In Vancouver, the event is characterized by music, poetry, and other performances around the city, culminating in a large banquet and party. This unique event has also inspired both a television performance special titled Gung Haggis Fat Choy, and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy Canadian Games, organized by the Recreation Department at Simon Fraser University. In this conversation, we speak with event founder and spearhead Todd Wong. He tells us how it got started, and what it has come to represent around Vancouver and far beyond. Thursday, February 7
Gung Haggis Fat Choy in Province Newspaper today for Chinese New Year
by
Todd
on Thu 07 Feb 2008 12:20 PM PST
Happy Chinese New Year - Gung Hay Fat Choy!
...or should that be Gung Haggis Fat Choy ? Province Newspaper reporter Cheryl Chan interviewed me about the multiculturalism of Chinese Lunar New Year, and about my recent Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner. I told her about how I have been asked to speak at Elementary schools to help them express the Lunar New Year as a multicultural event, that all cultures can share in - not just Chinese New Year, Tibetan Losar, or Vietnamese Tet celebrations. Gee... like everybody can be Irish for St. Patrick's Day, or everybody can be Scottish for Robbie Burns Day, or all Canadians can celebrate Chinese New Year.... definitely!!! Then she asked what I was up to for Chinese New Year's Day... I told her going to see Banana Boys Play... and Kilts Night at Doolin's Irish Pub. The writer included it in a list of events for Chinese New Year. But darn... she didn't use any of my quotes about inter-culturalism expressed in a dragon boat team! I am going to spend some time with my Hapa-Canadian niece and nephew today, then go see bagpiper friend Joe McDonald, who has survived 9 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners, and a dragboat float in the 1st Vancouver St. Patrick's Day parade. Some of our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team members and Kilts Night clan will be having Chinese New Year dinner at Hon's before they head over to Doolin's Irish Pub, Nelson and Granville for Kilts Night and to watch the hockey game before the Halifax Wharf Rats start playing. I am going to see the 7:30pm Banana Boys show at the Firehall Arts Centre- but should make Kilts Night around 9:30 to 10pm. Slainte, Todd Chinese New Year joins Canadian mainstreamCommunities come together in paradeCheryl Chan, The ProvincePublished: Thursday, February 07, 2008The Year of the Rat kicks off today -- not with a squeak but with a mighty cross-cultural roar. Chinese
New Year, the most important holiday on the Chinese lunar calendar, has
become a reason for many Canadians, including those of non-Chinese
heritage, to eat, drink and make merry. "It's becoming, in
that great way, a Canadian tradition," said Todd Wong, a
fifth-generation Chinese-Canadian. "It's for all cultures to celebrate,
not just Chinese or Asians."   View Larger ImageJoin the Rat Pack: It'll be a good year for Rats, especially if you're looking for a job. Roosters? Well, you could be facing problems.Sherman Tai predicts the year ahead, B6-7 n The changing taste of Chinese food, B8-9Illustration, Nick Murphy -- the ProvinceMore pictures:Wong,
47, recently hosted Gung Haggis Fat Choy, an annual salute to Chinese
New Year and Robbie Burns Day, where bagpipes serenaded banquet diners
munching on hybrid delicacies such as a haggis lettuce wrap. He
said Chinese New Year's popularity is due not only to the large number
of Chinese immigrants but the interracial friendships and marriages
that have introduced the family-oriented holiday to mainstream
Canadians. "There's a heck of a
lot of white people out there learning about Chinese New Year because
their grandkids are half-Chinese," said Wong, whose maternal cousins
all married non-Chinese. Even
traditional offerings have taken on a cross-cultural flavour. The
annual Chinese New Year parade, expected to draw more than 600,000
spectators from across Metro Vancouver, is an example of
multiculturalism at work. More
than 2,000 participants, including bhangra dancers, marching bands,
bagpipers, traditional dragon- and lion-dance teams and a unicorn-dance
team, will make their way on foot and floats through Chinatown starting
at the Millennium Gate at noon on Sunday. "At
the parade, you see multiculturalism when the fabric of communities in
Vancouver come together," said Kenneth Tung, head of Success, one of
the event's organizers. "It's a multicultural
parade in a culture-specific setting," adds Wong, who says he'll be attending the festivities. Other celebrations: - Thursday: The Vancouver Police Department's lion-dance team performs at Vancouver City Hall at noon. - Thursday night: Kilts Night at Doolin's Irish Pub. Free pint of Guinness if you wear a kilt. - Friday through Sunday: Chinese New Year celebration at International Village, 88 West Pender St. Thursday, December 13
Vancouver Irish-Indo fusion music: Delhi2Dublin releases cd
by
Todd
on Thu 13 Dec 2007 03:05 PM PST
Delhi2Dublin is having a cd release party!
Thursday December 13th, doors 9pm
The Red Room (398 Richards)
If you have ever seen spritely violinist Kytami perform with Delhi2Dublin's tabla drums and hip hop turntables - then you already now how much fun this Vancouver secret is! more »
Sunday, November 18
Bagpipes and Taiko drums... Look out for Uzume Taiko & Mearingstone Nov 23
by
Todd
on Sun 18 Nov 2007 10:58 PM PST
Four bagpipers... four taiko drums... What could possibly happen?
I have seen Uzume Taiko perform with one bagpiper before...
Uzume Taiko & Mearingstone's performance together should be a musically adventurous evening. I am looking forward to it. There is a long history of Japanese-Canadians and Scottish-Canadians mixing in Vancouver. more »
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