Two new "Gates" were revealed in Vancouver's Chinatown on Oct 22 and Oct 29th. The first was the gift from Vancouver's sister city of Guangzhou. White marble panels set on the original chinese gate from Expo 86, in front of the Chinese Cultural Centre on Pender St. The second is a public art commission by artist Gwen Boyle, a green jade abacus, at the Keefer St. entrance to "historic" Shanghai Alley.   more »

Heartbeat, Dennis Law's latest action-musical is an exciting fantasia of a show combining Chinese dance, music, martial arts and gymnastics. The story presents the history of Chinese drums as seen through a sequence of dream events by a young girl named Jade. Dances from different Chinese dynasties and regions are matched with the drumming sequences. Check out my August 25th review and some more pictures   more »

Janice Wong continues to make the rounds with her book Chow. 

Monday: City Cooks
Tuesday: Vancouver Museum

City Cooks airs on Monday morning at 9:30am and 12 Noon, as Janice tells her stories with Simi Sara.  Janice reports that Simi was great to work with.  There will be a skill testing question to win a copy of the book.  Hint, the question has something to do with Janice's father, Dennis.

I heard Janice's radio interview with Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio's Sounds Like Canada on Friday.  It was a very warm and friendly interview, with Shelagh asking many questions about Janice's family ancestors and how they came to Canada, and how her parents settled in Prince Albert, Sasketchewan.   I particularly enjoyed hearing about Janice's first ancestor in Canada, Rev. Chan Yu Tan, who arrived in 1896, as a Methodist lay preacher for the Chinese Methodist Church (especially since he is my great-great-grandfather).

Janice also brought some chicken wings, steamed sable fish and beans with dow see (bean curd) and presented the food in a laquerware box, and Shelagh complimented Janice on the presentation, and also upon tasting the food.  Shelagh was also particularly interested in hearing the stories about how Janice's father was born premature, and his mother wrapped him up in blankets and put him in the oven to keep him warm.

Another fascinating story was how Janice had started the book as a gift for her family, after her father died.  A friend encouraged her to turn it into a book, and Whitecap Books appreciated her  creative in the book design, recognizing Janice as an accomplished and professional visual artist- Janice Wong Studio.

Janice also told stories about how her parents met in Nanaimo Chinatown, and seeing her grand-Uncle Luke Chan in Hollywood movies that her father would point out, such as "The Mysterious Mr. Wong," as well he was in movies with Clark Gable, Bela Lugosi and Katherine Hepburn.

Afterwards, Janice sent me this e-mail:
"The interview with Shelagh was fun.  She's such a warm person.  I met Philip (Ditchburn) and he mentioned your geneology connection.  I don't think the producer told Shelagh about you and me as Philip mentioned it after the interview and she was pleasantly surprised."

It was a night to wear your chinoiserie to the Vancouver Opera to celebrate the Vancouver Opera's season opener of Turandot. So many people were wearing Chinese influenced outfits as well as cheong-sams and jackets from Chinatown, that I could have mistaken myself at a Chinese New Year Dinner. I was intrigued by how an Italian opera based on a Persian fable set in Peking would play   more »

Free Performance of Naomi's Road
Vancouver Opera Touring Ensemble

Mon Oct 24th, 2005
3:30 pm
Vancouver Public Library
Central Branch, Alice Mackay Room

Admission is free and all are welcome.

This performance has come about as a result of the ongoing teacher's strike so the library apologizes for the short notice. They ask people to please pass this information on to anyone whom you think may be interested in attended, including day camp groups.

I talked with soprano Jessica Cheung, who plays Naomi,  tonight at the Vancouver Opera  reception/cast party following the openining night of Turandot.  Jessica says that the children in the schools are really recieving the opera well.

In particular, the children really respond to "the bully" scene, and when Naomi is trying to decide whether or not to give Mitzi her doll back.  Jessica reports that she is really enjoying the performances and is looking forward to taking the production to Vancouver Island next week.

For further information contact:

Barbara Edwards
Community Relations Librarian
Vancouver Public Library
programs@vpl.ca
604.331.4041

Vancouver Opera's Turandot opens up.

October 22, 25, 27, 29, November 1 & 3
All performances 7:30 pm  Queen Elizabeth Theatre

The lead singer, Audrey Stottler, performs her signature role as Princess Turandot, a role she has performed at the Forbidden City Imperial Palace in Beijing.  Puccini did research authentic Chinese melodies for his masterpiece opera, known for Nessun Dorma, one of Opera's most famous tenor arias.  But expect stereoptypical portrayals of Chinese characters such as the court administrators named "Ping", "Pang" and "Pong."

Goh Ballet and the Modern Dance Company of Guangdong perform a special 10th Anniversary celebration for the special sister province relationship between Guangdong, China and British Columbia, Canada.  Thius takes place tonight at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.

I join Janice Wong for CHOW book launch at West Vancouver Library Oct 18, 2005

Tuesday
October 18th
7pm - 9pm
West Vancouver Memorial Library

I will be joining Janice Wong as a panelist for the West Vancouver launch of her book, CHOW From China to Canada: Memories of Food + Family.  Jeannie Mah is unable to attend from Regina.

This will be lots of fun.  Janice and I only discovered each other about 2 months ago, when she e-mailed me and identified herself as a relative from the Rev. Chan Family.  We have enjoyed sharing our mutual love for family history, and discoveries about who we know and what stories about relatives we know.

I will be talkign about discovering Chinese restaurants on my travels throughout North America, stories about Chinese restaurants, and how I have integrated Chinese food into my Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner, aptly named.... "Gung Haggis Fat Choy!"

Earlier on Tuesday she will be taping a tv segment for CityTV's CityCooks with host Simi Sara.  I have appeared two times on the show with restauranteur/chef Joseph Lee to prepare haggis wun-tun, and lettuce wrap.

VISION VANCOUVER fundraiser for Raymond Louie & George Chow: Review - who ate what... who was there...   more »

My friend David Wong sent me an invitation to join him attending a fundraiser dinner for Vancouver city council candidates Raymond Louie and George Chow. I first met Raymond Louie when he attended the inaugural ACWW Community Builders Dinner organized by Asian Canadian Writers Workshop.    more »

Donna Yoshitake Wuest book launch:  Coldstream: the ranch where it all began

I have actually walked through the old Coldstream Ranch lands, because my girlfriend's parents' house in Coldstream is on the edge of Kalamalka Lake Park, and we often walk in the park.

She tells me that the NDP government turned the old ranch into parkland in the late 1970's, saving it from becoming a resort complex located at Cousins Bay, on Kalamalka Lake.

Here is a message from the Japanese Canadian National Museum:

We invite you to attend the upcoming book launch for "Coldstream: The Ranch Where It All Began", and to share this information with any friends or colleagues who might be interested.

----------

The Japanese Canadian National Museum Speakers Series presents:

Coldstream: The Ranch Where It All Began
by Donna Yoshitake Wuest

Book Launch

Thursday, October 20, 2005 7:00 PM
National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre
6688 Southoaks Crescent (Kingsway & Sperling), Burnaby

The Japanese Canadian National Museum is proud to present the launch of the new publication, "Coldstream: The Ranch Where It All Began"   ($28.95. ISBN 1-55017-343-X).

Author Donna Yoshitake Wuest will share her experiences chronicling the fascinating history of Coldstream Ranch,
located on the outskirts of Vernon, BC. Wuest grew up on the ranch, which was home to a tight-knit Japanese Canadian community at the time.

In addition to stories of Japanese Canadians at Coldstream Ranch, Wuest explores the role of the ranch in the history of the British Columbia orchard and cattle industries. Join us for exciting tales of life at one of the oldest continually operating ranches in Canada.

Admission is free.

Japanese Canadian National Museum
Tel: 604-777-7000 Fax: 604-777-7001
120 – 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC, V5E 4M7
E-mail: jcnm@nikkeiplace.org Web: www.jcnm.ca

Scripting Aloud is a monthly scriptreading and networking event for scriptwriters and actors that began a limited twelve-month run August 15, 2005 at "Behind the Scenes" (www.performingartsbooks.ca) performing arts bookstore and coffee shop in Vancouver.   more »

CHOW: Janice Wong has successful book launch at Sylvia Hotel

Janice Wong wrote some stories about her father and his Chinese restaurant a few years ago as a gift for her family, and  paired them with his recipes that she had found.   Before she knew it, she had created a new genre of cookbooks.

"Janice knows a lot of people," smiled Alicia Schlagg, Marketing coordinator for Whitecap Books. She was very pleased as author Janice Wong signed autographs and posed for pictures with family and friends.  It was a busy crowd at the Sylvia Hotel on Wednesday evening, Oct 12th.  Whitecap Books had taken over the restaurant, wine was served along with mandarin oranges, and many bouquets of unique flowers had been brought by admirers to mark this special occasion.

I walked in and quickly spotted my grandmother Mabel Mar, and her younger brother Dan Lee.   I greeted her cousin Josie (Janice Wong's aunt), and Janice's cousin Rick Lum.  These are all relatives that I had known and grown up with since I was a little boy.  At the same table sat Janice's mother Mary, who had flown in from Saskatoon.  I find it hard to believe that I only met Janice two months ago, when she e-mailed me looking for an e-mail list for the Rev. Chan family descendants.

Who else did I see?  Larry Wong, now president of the Chinese Canadian Historical Association of BC.  Larry has arranged to have Janice present her book, along with Paul Yee at the Vancouver Museum on ???.  Larry will also be part of a panel discussion on growing up with chinese restaurants at the West Vancouver Memorial Library on Oct 18, where Janice Wong will present a slide show.  I will also be part of the presentation sharing my experiences of Chinese Restaurants, and the importance of Chinese food, as I have developed haggis wun-tun and the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners.

Janice's book, CHOW, really is amazing.  It is filled with pictures and stories about her father, her family, the restaurant where she grew up in Prince Albert Saskatchewan.  Recipes alternate with pictures and stories, giving a context to how and when certain dishes would be created and served, as well as eaten.  The recipes come alive, as you can read the stories and imagine all the family members sitting around you, or her father Dennis Wong in the kitchen.

I opened the book and found stories about Great-grand uncle Luke who went to Hollywood and became an actor, starring and supporting in movies with Clark Gable and Gary Cooper.  A story about Rev. Chan Yu Tan, reveals the name of his wife Wong Chiu Lin, whom nobody in my family could remember except as "Tai-poh" (great-grandmother) or as Mrs. Chan.

Harvey Lowe the Yo-Yo King, is a friend of Dennis Wong, inviting Janice's father to go to England with him, but Dennis's parents forbade him, never imagining that Harvey Lowe will go on to tour the world and perform yo-yo tricks on the Smothers Brothers TV show, for Nat King Cole, and for royalty.

At the end of the evening, Janice is still beaming widely.  She is still signing autographs when I pull her away to take a family picture, because Aunt Josie and my grandmother - both in the 90's have to leave. 

"Have you met Toddish McWong, yet?" Janice asks a friend.  She introduces me to her friends and says, "My friend Robin has wanted to meet you for years."  She adds later, "We will have to get a table and attend the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner this time." 

I think to myself, that there will be ways to feature CHOW at the dinner - maybe as a raffle prize or silent auction prize.  Imagine winning a private Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in your home with chefs Toddish McWong and Janice Wong, along with a copy of CHOW.

CHOW is an accessible recipe book, that is sure to be a Christmas gift for many people as it will be at home on the coffee table, next to the photo albums, or the kitchen.

pictures from the book launch and book review of chow to come....

Jeff Chiba Stearns grew up in Kelowna with Japanese and European/British heritage. He created a wonderful animation film titled "What Are You Really?" that captures the struggles of dealing with racial identities, looks and cultural heritage. He does this in a very fun way. I recommend watching the film, and I hope to have Jeff and his film as a featured guest at the next Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner - January 22, 2006.   more »

Scotland wants to recruit Scottish-Canadians  to "Come Ye Back" not matter how ancient the link

I found the following article in today's issue of the National Post. The paper featured a front-page picture of nine prominent Canadians with Scottish connections, such as musicians Natalie McMaster, Asheley McIssac, actress Neve Campbell, Prime Miniser Paul Martin, and deputy Conservative Party leader Peter McKay.

TOUR WILL TARGET SCOTS LIVING IN CANADA
RECRUITMENT DRIVE
By RANDY BOSWELL

Scotland's top politician will use a tour of Canada this month to
target millions of Canadians of Scottish ancestry with an invitation to "return home" and reverse the centuries-old, westward flow of wealth and talent across the North Atlantic.

The recruitment drive by Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, not yet officially announced but revealed in British news reports, coincides with the inauguration of a Scottish investment office in Toronto and an aggressive effort by the semi-autonomous state to end a crippling brain drain and bolster its economic fortunes.

"Scotland is an ideal place to live, learn and work," said Lorna Jack, head of the Americas branch of Scottish Development International. "We are bringing this message to interested parties and expats across North America and beyond.”

The campaign, to "win back" Scottish expatriates, as well as Canadians with more distant links to the "auld" country, includes an Edinburgh-backed research project at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University, which is compiling a detailed profile of this country’s Scottish-Canadian population.

"It is not just about the locations and incomes of Scottish-Canadians, but about the history and culture of the Scots in Canada,” Harry McGrath, the Glasgow-born co-ordinator of Simon Fraser's Centre for Scottish Studies, told CanWest News Service by e-mail. "It is part of a general effort to link modern Scotland to, and inform it about, its diaspora which, in my opinion, is long overdue.”

Part of McConnell's sales pitch in Canada, according to the Sunday Herald, will be that Scotland is a dynamic modern nation and "no longer a land of tartan, haggis and Braveheart.”

And The Sunday Times reported that famous Scots such as actor Sir Sean Connery and singer Annie Lennox might be called upon to promote investment and tourism among the children of Scotland's diaspora, all part of the strategy to "lure descendants of Scottish- emigrants" back home from Canada.

McGrath noted that before Britain devolved self-governing powers to Scotland, "there was very little effort being made in this area and when people left the country, as so many did, they were gone and forgotten except by those closest to them.”

Last year, in a high-profile convocation address at Nova Scotia’s St. Francis Xavier University, Scotland's top Catholic cleric, Keith Patrick Cardinal O'Brien, made an impassioned plea to young Scottish-Canadians to go back "to the home of your ancestors" - presumably countering efforts by Nova Scotia to stanch its own brain drain by convincing graduates to stay in the province.

More than four million Canadians claim some degree of Scottish ethnic heritage. Canada - which traditionally counted the Scottish among its four founding "races" along with the French, Irish and English - has a history filled with influential Scots, including 18th-century explorer Alexander Mackenzie, Confederation-era Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and telephone inventor, Alexander Graham Bell.

Among other places, McConnell is taking his "come home" message to the University of Guelph, in the Ontario city founded by the 19th-century Scottish industrialist John Galt.

On Oct. 28, McConnell is scheduled to visit the university’s collection of Scottish archival material, the largest in the world outside of Scotland.

Graeme Morton, the University of Guelph’s chair of Scottish Studies, said McConnell's campaign to attract Canadian immigrants "puts the boot on the other foot" after centuries of  Scottish emigration to Canada.  But he said both Canada and Scotland would ultimately gain from increased movement of workers between the two countries.

"I am sure" echoed McGrath, "that the young people going from here to there will tell others about the place that they came from. I can only see benefit for both countries in this kind of exchange.”

Naomi's Road: Pulls the heart in all the right places and directions

Vancouver Opera's first Opera in the Schools Commission is superb!

Two children are left in the care of an aunt, when their father is sent away from them, after their mother leaves the country to look after her sick grandmother.  And the "holiday" they are told they have just boarded a train for is actually going to be a re-location camp for the next 3 years of their life.  They will be called "enemy aliens," called racial slurs, and they may never see their real home again. 

This is all great stuff for school children to learn about bullying, Canadian history, the importance of family, and how to make friends.  Oh... and it has been turned into an opera.

Vancouver Opera has turned to the children's version of the award winning novel Obasan by Joy Kogawa for it's second-ever original commission, designed for their Vancouver Opera in Schools program.  Naomi's Road revolves around the upheaval of a 9 year old girl's life, as she and her older brother are removed from their home in Vancouver, and sent to a re-location camp in Slocan, located in BC's Interior.

Limited by a 45-minute time frame, the creative team of composer Ramona Leungen with librettist Ann Hodges were challenged to bring alive a dark time in Canada's history, but make it palatable and relatable for 21st century school children.  They have succeeded in spades!  Naomi's Road conveys the story without oversimplifying it.  The music is acessible and emotional, with soaring melodies and lovely ensemble work.

I attended the Saturday afternoon performance following the previous evening's World Premiere.  A question period followed the short but lively performance during which adults in the audience wanted the opera extended by an hour, and children wanted to know how the actors could change costumes so fast playing multiple roles.

Young soprano Jessica Cheung stands out.  Her projection portraying a 9 year old is amazing.  She is completely believable, with little nuances that enhance her character.  When I remarked to Jessica after the performance about "another costume change" into very chic and hip street clothes, she remarked "So people don't think I really am a little girl.

Composer Ramona Luengen, says of Jessica, "We were so thrilled to find her.  She brings so much vitality and spark.  We just wanted to keep her.  Where else are you going to find a twenty year old that can play a 10 year old... and sing?!?!"

Sam Chung does a good turn as Stephen, Naomi's older brother.  He initially plays a shy reserved child who becomes emotionally volatile as he discovers that the "holiday" really isn't a holiday and becomes cynical about many things related to the internment.  Sam does a good job evolving Stephen's emotional maturity compressing three years into 45 minutes.

Gina Oh and Sung Taek Chung both take on multiple roles, playing Mother, Obasan & Mitzi and Father, Rough Lock Bill, Trainmaster and Bully, respectively.  They create characters complete and separate from the roles they shed with a change of clothes.  Seeing Gina go from loving mother to reserved aunt to childish Mitzi within 30 minutes is remarkable.  I particularly liked how Sung played doting father, then later reappeared as Rough Lock Bill - a First Nations Character in Slocan who befriends the children, gives Stephen a flute and helps demonstrate racial acceptance and unconditional friendship.

During the Q&A, a question was asked about the role played by Joy Kogawa, author of Naomi's Road children's book.  Luengen described attending a reading by Kogawa 2 years ago, in the Kogawa childhood home (now threatened by demolition - see www.kogawa.homestead.com), which she describes as magical.  Anne Hodges said that Joy gave them complete reign over the story and never said to take or leave anything out, nor questioned what they did.  "She was like a benevolent and peaceful spirit that permeated what we did, and always seemed to be in town whenever we needed her."

When I told music director Leslie Uyeda that I had tears in my eyes when the children were in the train scene, she replied, "You're the third person who has said that... that scene is so emotionally charged, especially when they are separated from their father.  It is so iconographic.  It's in all the pictures," she commented about the photographs showing Japanese-Canadians at the train station waving to family members being sent to different camps, and used on the cover of the book Obasan.

If this is only the 2nd-ever commission by the Vancouver Opera (the first was 1994's The Architect), I can only eagerly anticipate the next one, and hope that it will be soon.  Maybe they will pick another Vancouver-based story such as the Komagata Maru incident that affected the South Asian community, or an issue from Chinese-Canadian history, similar to the opera Iron Road, that is yet to show in Vancouver.

Kudos for the Vancouver Opera's Naomi's Road.  I foresee a long life for it, touring BC's schools and beyond.  Glad I wasn't sitting on a gymnasium floor for 45 minutes... but I think the kids will definitely enjoy it!

Please sign the petition to preserve the Kogawa Homestead. Click on the white banner - this will forward you to an on-line petition.
Donations can be made in care of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation

Vancouver architect Joe Wai is featured in Vancouver Magazine's October Issue.  The article is titled Chinatown Calculations and details the questions in saving Vancouver Chinatown's past and defining its future.  I can proudly say cousin Joe was one of my early role models growing up.  Because of the activities of Joe and his brother Hayne, I was able to witness their involvements and love for Vancouver's Chinatown.  It definitely sparked my own interests to understand our shared history as our grandfather Wong Wah had come to Canada at the age of 16, in the 1880's.

The magazine also features interviews with Fred Mah, Henry Yu and Jessica Chen-Adams.  Fred is a community leader and director of the Chinese Cultural Centre, Henry is a professor of History at UBC, and Jessica is the City of Vancouver liason for the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee.

The artical also mentions the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC 's study of the five buildings in Chinatown.  The article also poses the interesting question, Who Will Define Our Chinatown? with some interesting answers.