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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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2009 TICKETS Available in October 2009 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 In 2004, we presented the debut of Gung Haggis Won-Ton including haggis served with plum or sweet and sour sauces.! For 2005 it was haggis lettuce wrap! 2007 saw the creation of Haggis dim sum appetizer buffet - Watch for more surprises in 2008! On-line tickets at Tickets Tonight - Vancouver's Community Box Office or NEW PHONE NUMBER 604-631-2872 $2.50 extra 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 cell: 778-846-7090 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 Sundays 1pm -3pm and Tuesdays 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 over 12 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. We also raced at Harrison Lake and Sea Vancouver regatta. For more information: Click on Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dragon Boat team information phone: 778-846-7090 e-mail: gunghaggis at yahoo dot ca ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GungHaggisFatChoy 2007 Performers
Sponsors
Month Archive
Cool Links
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Chinese Canadian History
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Friday, April 4
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, March 13
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
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
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
Thursday, January 24
by
Todd
on Thu 24 Jan 2008 11:04 AM PST
Vancouver has a large Scottish diaspora. There is a Scottish Cultural Studies program at Simon Fraser University, also home to one of the best bagpipe bands in the world. There is a stature of Robbie Burns in Stanley Park. There are TWO Robbie Burns dinners in Vancouver Chinatown... the 45+ year old tradition by the Chinatown Lions Club which is a traditional Burns type supper... and of course the wild and wacky Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, created by yours truly - Toddish McWong It is this latter dinner that is considered a "Friend of Scotland" and posted on the web page article A Thistle Wrapped in Maple Leaves. Sometimes I get invited to Scottish events by the British Consulate in Vancouver. Here is the First Minister's 2008 message for Burns Night, sent to me from Russell Walker:This month we are celebrating Scotland's national bard, Rabbie Burns. All over Scotland, and the world, people are organising Burns Suppers and ceilidhs celebrating the poet with a supper of haggis, neeps and tatties. Burns Night brings all of Scotland's cultures together to celebrate our country's national poet, beloved songwriter and cultural ambassador. The range of Burns' work is vast. Writing in the late eighteenth century, he dealt with major themes of his day such as politics and the role of the Kirk; as well as the eternal questions of love, social justice and nationhood. The Scotland of Burns' day owed him much. Burns not only helped to restore Scots' pride and confidence in the nation. He also did his best to support the Scots language when it was under threat. Published in 1786, the 'Kilmarnock volume' – or Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect – contained some of Burns' best work and it was a timely boost for Scotland's language and culture. Modern Scots also owe a debt to Rabbie Burns. As one of our nation's greatest figures, he embodies many of our distinctive qualities: compassion, humanity and a passion for learning – as well as a sharp wit and an urge to question conventional wisdom. When we honour Rabbie Burns, we don't simply remember a great poet and songwriter. We also pay homage to a man of enduring vision and values; a Scot who showed us our uniqueness and our huge potential. The celebration of our national Bard doesn't end at our shores. Events will be held across the world. From St Andrews to St Petersburg, Burns is celebrated in every corner of the globe. The Bard's universality is shown by the number of events today, remembering him with a dram of whisky, Burns Supper, and recital of his inspiring poetry. This year, Burns Night will also close Scotland's first ever Winter Festival. Looking back to the wonderful events we have held for St Andrew's Day and Hogmanay, the Winter Festival has been a huge success for our nation. I am greatly looking forward to the celebrations in years to come and to our Homecoming 2009 celebrations –www.homecomingscotland.com. Here's to Burns, his enduring legacy, his pride in our nation and his inspiration for our Homecoming celebrations – for auld lang syne. Yours for Scotland
Russell Walker International Networks - "Global Friends of Scotland"
+44 (0) 141 242 5791 Read our features on modern Scotland at Thursday, July 19
by
Todd
on Thu 19 Jul 2007 05:38 PM PDT
Kilts and family history abound during two episodes of the 6-part Generations series on CBC Newsworld
Find out what a 250 year old Anglophone family in Quebec City and a 120 year old Chinese-Canadian family in Vancouver have in common. Both have: bagpipes and kilts + accordion music + canoe/dragon boat racing + immigration as a topic + Church music + archival photos/newsreels of an ex-premier + cultural/racial discrimination stories + prominent Canadian historical events to show how the families embraced them or were challenged by them + both featured saving a historical literary landmark. + younger generation learning the non-English language Generations: The Chan Legacy features Todd Wong, founder of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a quirky Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, which inspired a CBC Vancouver television performance special. Todd's involvements with Terry Fox Run, Joy Kogawa House campaign and dragon boat racing are also shown. July 29th 4pm PST / July 30th 12am
July 4, 10 pm ET/PT, July 8 10 am ET, July 29, 7 pm ET
The
documentary begins with Todd Wong playing the accordion, wearing a
kilt. He promotes cultural fusion, and in doing so, he honours the
legacy of his great, great, grandfather Reverend Chan Yu Tan. The Chans
go back seven generations in Canada and are one of the oldest families
on the West Coast.
![]() The Chan family Reverend
Chan and his wife Wong Chiu Lin left China for Victoria in 1896 at a
time when most Chinese immigrants were simple labourers, houseboys and
laundrymen who had come to British Columbia to build the railroad or
work in the mines. The Chans were different. They were educated and
Westernized Methodist Church missionaries who came to convert the
Chinese already in Canada, and teach them English. The Chans were a
family with status and they believed in integration. However even they
could not escape the racism that existed at the time, the notorious
head tax and laws that excluded the Chinese from citizenship.
In
the documentary, Reverend Chan's granddaughter Helen Lee, grandson
Victor Wong, and great grandson Gary Lee recall being barred from
theaters, swimming pools and restaurants. The Chinese were not allowed
to become doctors or lawyers, pharmacists or teachers. Still, several
members of the Chan family served in World War II, because they felt
they were Canadian and wanted to contribute. Finally, in 1947, Chinese
born in Canada were granted citizenship and the right to vote.
Today,
Todd Wong, represents a younger generation of successful professionals
and entrepreneurs scattered across North America. He promotes his own
brand of cultural integration through an annual event in Vancouver
called Gung Haggis Fat Choy. It's a celebration that joins Chinese New
Year with Robbie Burns Day, and brings together the two cultures that
once lived completely separately in the early days of British Columbia.
We
also meet a member of the youngest generation, teenager Tracey Hinder,
who also cherishes the legacy of Reverend Chan, but in contrast to his
desire to promote English she is studying mandarin and longs to visit
the birthplace of her ancestors.
Produced by Halya Kuchmij, narrated by Michelle Cheung. July 11, 10 pm ET/PT, July 15, 10 am ET, August 5, 7 pm ET
For
250 years, the Blair family has been part of the Protestant Anglophone
community of Quebec City. The Anglophones were once the dominant
cultural and economic force in the city, but now they are a tiny
minority, and those who have chosen to stay have had to adapt to a very
different world. Louisa Blair guides us through the story of her
family, which is also the story of a community that had to change.
![]() Ronnie Blair The
senior member of the family today is Ronnie Blair. He grew up in
Quebec, but like generations of Blairs before him, he worked his way up
the corporate ladder in the Price Company with the lumber barons of the
Saguenay. Ronnie Blair's great grandfather came to the Saguenay from
Scotland in 1842. Ronnie's mother was Jean Marsh. Her roots go back to
the first English families to make Quebec home after British troops
defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. The Marsh family
amassed a fortune in the shoe industry in Quebec City.
The
Marshes and the Blairs were part of a privileged establishment that
lived separately from the Catholics and the Francophones, with their
own churches and institutions. The Garrison Club for instance, is a
social club that is still an inner sanctum for Quebec's Anglo
businessmen.
![]() The Blair family Then
came the Referendum of 1995, a painful moment in the history of the
Anglophone community, and for the passionate Blairs. But David decided
he was in Quebec to stay, and today his children are bilingual and
bicultural. More recently his sister Louisa also returned to Quebec
City and a desire to rediscover her past led her to write a book
called, The Anglos, the Hidden Face of Quebec. Her daughter is also is
growing up bilingual and bicultural, representing a new generation
comfortable in both worlds.
Produced by Jennifer Clibbon and Lynne Robson.
Friday, January 26
by
Todd
on Fri 26 Jan 2007 10:35 AM PST
Here's something that has come through my poetry/literature network:
"The Vision" Writing Contest for writers and lovers of the works of the
Scottish Bard, Robert Burns. The Prize is the James Turnbull Memorial
Award - $500 (Cdn) and possible publication in the Celtic Faerie
Magazine. more »
Wednesday, January 24
by
Todd
on Wed 24 Jan 2007 08:26 PM PST
Here's an event from the Rogue Folk Club, if you aren't attending a Burns supper on January 25th
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, January 25th 8pm
Back of the Moon
St James Hall (3214 West 10th Ave)
Tickets: $23 ($20 members) more »
Sunday, September 17
by
Todd
on Sun 17 Sep 2006 01:17 AM PDT
I survived Jenny Kwan's fundraiser: Scotch tasting party. It's a small house party of a fundraiser. There are many different bottles of Scotch for you to try, along with some wonderful appetizer and snack foods. Jenny's husband Dan has a wonderful way with food, and he sent me home with some incredibly delicious chocolate pate. My accordion and I provided some musical entertainment. Jenny said I was a hit. Her husband Dan booked me for a return engagement for next year. What did I do? Simply lead singalongs of "When Asian Eyes Are Smiling," and "My Haggis Lies Over the Ocean." It fit perfectly with Jenny's Chinese heritage and her husband Dan's Scottish heritage. We also sang "Loch Lomand (You Take the High Road)" with Vancouver city councillor Heather Deal leading one of the verses, while everybody joined in for the chorus. I also performed the Address to the Haggis, while former Vancouver city councillor Jim Green cut up the haggis. Okay... it wasn't a traditional reading. It was my very untraditional Haggis Rap. Dan and Jenny said that in the 5 years they have been hosting their Scotch tasting party, it was the best reading of the Burns immortal poem, they had witnessed. It was a great party.... I will definitely return for next year. Sunday, July 30
by
Todd
on Sun 30 Jul 2006 11:38 AM PDT
The fame of Gung Haggis Fat Choy is consistently growing. Here is an example of appreciation from an ex-Scots, ex-Canadian - who really appreciates the intercultural directions of Gung Haggis Fat Choy - which celebrates the Chinese and Scottish heritage of Canada + everything in between & everything beyond! ....
Please welcome Alexander Hutchinson as a guest on www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com Mr. Hutchinson has written a poem about Haggis titled "Surprise Surprise" (see attachment). He has also sent me a cover from his book, and a picture of a haggis wearing a kilt. more »
Sunday, April 30
by
Todd
on Sun 30 Apr 2006 05:43 PM PDT
The Many families spoke from their heart...Mrs. Wong's presentation was
very powerful especially when she held up her father's laundry bag. Many of local laundries in Filmmaker Karen Cho, who is also a descendant, gave a strong
presentation. I was sitting beside the microphone where she spoke and her voice
shook the entire room. Karen recalled the stories she heard from the many
families she met while making her film “In The
Shadow of Gold Mountain” and presented a DVD copy to Minister Oda. Please see the CanWest/National Post news article
below; the Gazette has an edited version. I spoke about CCNC's work, my own family's
experience under the HTEA (more than 50 years to unite our family in Canada and
I consider my family lucky because so many people never met their father or
grandfather), and I paid tribute to the local groups including Amite Chinoise,
Redress Alliance, NCCC (Quebec) and CBA-Canada affiliates. Only local NCCC reps
spoke and they pitched the AiP but they didn’t
oppose the families. I asked the govt to include a
meaningful gesture of regret to the families. William, May and Walter spoke.
Doug Hum got the last word in: "Leave the head tax money for the head tax
payers and their families." We still have to work hard to convince the govt
to resolve this issue in a just and honourable manner, in a manner that
respects our common interests of family, respect and dignity and to do this
preferably by July 1st. Wednesday, April 5
by
Todd
on Wed 05 Apr 2006 06:04 PM PDT
It was inspired by Chinese Consul General Madame Guo Guifang, who said tartan was a key to the appeal Scotland holds for Chinese tourists. The creators hope the tartan will boost tourism and business opportunities between China and Scotland. It was specially designed by the Strathmore Woollen Company and the Scottish Tartans Authority. The company is also hoping to link up with a business partner in China to launch a clothing label using the design. 3,000-year link The new tartan incorporates blue and white from the Saltire and the red and yellow featured in the Chinese flag. The tartan will be officially unveiled in Angus on Tartan Day, on 6 April. Angus provost Bill Middleton said: "The new Chinese-Scottish tartan symbolises the co-operation and harmony that exists between Chinese people and Scottish people everywhere. "As this tartan belongs to the Chinese as a nation, we hope to see it worn around the world." China's link with tartan goes back almost 3,000 years when an explorer in Xinjiang, Western China, discovered the burial place of a group of ancient Caucasian travellers wearing perfectly preserved tartans.Monday, April 3
by
Todd
on Mon 03 Apr 2006 01:04 PM PDT
BBC Radio Scotland: Vancouver's Toddish McWong talks about Canada's Scottish-Chinese-Canadian Community: Gung Haggis Fat Choy! A special warm welcome to Scots finding our website after listening to BBC Radio Scotland's arts and culture program The Radio Café. "Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Canada’s Scottish Chinese community," is how the Radio host described what was coming up on the Monday April 3rd program, as Radio Cafe this week is featuring aspects of the Scottish diaspora and its influences around the world, and will highlight Tartan Week in New York City where a huge parade will take over the street with men in kilts! I, Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong, was featured today on BBC Radio Scotland this afternoon at approximately 2:53pm Greenich Time (5:53am Pacific). But you can listen to the BBC Radio website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/noscript.shtml?/radio/aod/scotland_aod.shtml?scotland/radiocafe_mon" Click on Play to hear the introducations, then click on the Fast Forward buttons to reach 38:00 Clips from a pre-recorded interview of me run from approximately 38:30 to 41:45 of the full 45 minute Radio Cafe broadcast. "This is what you get when you cross Robbie Burns Day with Chinese New Year", opens the host, as my voice comes in. "Gung Haggis Fat Choy is the intersection of Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year Day. "The Scots came across the Atlantic and named the land Nova Scotia, the Chinese came across the Pacific and called it "Gum San" (Gold Mountain). "With haggis – we mix in with haggis with Chinese food! We invented Deep Fried Haggis Won Ton. "This is what Canada is about. Many white Canadians can wear Chinese outfits and say they are learning about Multiculturalism. "My kilt is the maple leaf tartan, and it has all the colours of Canada in it. The Greens, yellows and reds of the Maple Leaf." "I recently read a book about “How the Scots invented the Modern World” and I think that the Chinese invented the Ancient World." Here are some links to help you navigate www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com Origins of Gung Haggis Fat Choy story - It all started back in 1993, when I was a wee student studying at Simon Fraser University on the highlands of Burnaby Mountain. Todd's poem "Gung Haggis Fat Choy" - "The Chinese called this land Gum San (Gold Mountain), And the Scots gave it the name of Nova Scotia Westerners became Easterners The Far East becomes the Far West." Dinner menu for 2005 Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner - 10 courses of food, mostly traditional Chinese , but served up with haggis won ton, and haggis lettuce wrap + spicy jelly fish, noodles, rice vermicelli, curried beef and potatoes, and crab. article and photos from Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner - pictures of real-life intercultural music, relationships and food. Pictured above is our 2005 poster, my friends Lorrie and Tony Breen, myself with my girlfriend Deb Martin. Recipes for Gung Haggis Won Ton, and Gung Haggis Spring Rolls and haggis-stuffed tofu - Honestly! So many people have said, "I didn't know haggis could taste so good!" Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team mixing Chinese dragon boats with wearing tartans! Tuesday, February 21
by
Todd
on Tue 21 Feb 2006 11:57 PM PST
The Burns Club of Vancouver prides itself on being faithful to the tradition of the Tarbolton Batchelor's Club, which was founded on 11 November 1780. Robert Burns and some friends formed a debating society to 'forget their cares and labour in mirth and diversion', to promote friendship and to improve their minds with meaningful debate. The Vancouver dinner was held on Monday evening, February 20th, at the Terminal City Club in downtown Vancouver. more »
Saturday, February 4
by
Todd
on Sat 04 Feb 2006 02:48 PM PST
Haggis lends itself very well to fusion cooking. In 2004, I helped to lead a Gung Haggis Fat Chili team of Vancouver Public Library employees in the City of Vancouver annual United Way Chili Cook-off. People couldn't believe we actually made a chili with haggis, that tasted very.... uh.... haggis-sy. I LOVED our chili, and took the remainders home and ate lots and lots of it. My girlfriend even admitted it was a good chili - for one made with haggis. more »
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