includes interview with Gung Haggis dragon boat team
Our Gung Haggis Fat Choy parade team being photographed by the Province (photographer Jason is outside the picture). Paddlers are facing backwards just for the picture. Todd Wong at drum, Dave Samis with paddle, Da Ming Zhao with dragon puppet, Aefa Mulholland with little Lion head mask, Ann McQueen with red scarf - photo Deb Martin
Multiculturalism was the sub-theme at the 3rd annual Vancouver St. Patrick's Day Parade. Immediately after our Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat float turned onto Dunsmuir St., marking the finish of the parade route, I was approached by Kent Spencer, Province reporter, who was amazed at our colourful parade entry.
I introduced Spencer to team members Da Ming Zhao (born in China) and Aefa Mulholland (born in Glasgow), explaining that the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team is very inclusive. Da Ming loves it because he has learned so much about Canadian culture and meets non-Chinese Canadians, as well as 5th-generation Chinese Canadians as myself.
"My White-Canadian girlfriend claims that we don't have an intercultural relationship because we are both multigenerational Canadians," I shared with Kent. "And all my maternal cousins have married non-Chinese partners. And one of my cousins is a First Nations Chief, Rhonda Larrabee of Qayqayt First Nations, whose father was my grandmother's older brother, and her mother was from the New Westminster Band.
I also explained the tradition of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, my Robbie Burns Chinese New Year dinner, now blending Scots and Chinese traditions for 9 years.
Da Ming and Aefa, gave Spencer their views on how inclusive Vancouver is about different ethnic cultures. They both felt that it's very appropriate that St. Patrick's Day parade is a multicultural parade with South Asian bangra dancers, and Celtic pipe bands. Aefa lived in Dublin for 12 years, and didn't see many Asians in St. Patrick's Day celebrations over there, while this was the first time Da Ming had ever attended a St. Patrick's Day parade before, feeling that this is a good way to learn about many different cultures.
Ann McQueen, new to the team, explained that St. Patrick was responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. How wondefully apropos, since my great-great-grandfather Rev. Chan Yu Tan, was a pioneer missionary bringing Christianity to Chinese in Canada with the Methodist Church of Canada.
Province Reporter Kent Spencer interviews "Toddy O'Wong" about the Gung Haggis Fat Choy float in the St. Patrick's Day parade - joining us is another kilted parade participant - photo Deb Martin.
see The Province
Getting Jiggy with the Irish
Record Turnout: Ethnic hues mix with green of St. Paddy's parade
by Kent Spencer
page A4, March 20, 2006
Leave it to Vancouver to turn an Irish parade into a multicultural folk festival.
Irish green for the third annual St. Patrick's Day downtown parade was mixed yesterday with ethnic hues: a Chinese dragon boat, traditional Indo-Canadian Bhangra dacners and Brazillians swaying to sambas.
"This parade is inclusive," said Celtic Fest spokeswoman Julia Markus. "It is so quintessentially Vancouver... It's a tradition we're going to encourage."
Crowds lined five-deep along Granville Street from Drake to Dunsmuir. Organizers "guess-timated" that up to 100,000 people watched, topping last year's 60,000.
"When Vancouver gets two minutes of sunshine, everybody is out in shorts," said Markus. "This wasn't a corporate-float parade. It was a cross-cultural community-spirit kind of parade."
One brightly coloured entry was the Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a full-sized dragon boat captained by a kilt-wearing Todd Wong, who called himself Toddy O'Wong for the day.
"We get to play with stereotypes," said Wong, a fifth-generation Chinese-Canadian with cousins who have married Scots, Irish and native Canadians. "Wherever Chinese and Irish go, they seem to get colonized by the English.
"Chinese came from the Pacific, while Irish came from the Atlantic. We met in the middle and had children, " said Wong.
The drummer on board the Fat Choy - a Cantonese greeting meaning wealth and prosperity [Todd's note - full phrase is Gung Hay Fat Choy] - was Da Ming Zhao, a chinese newcomer to Canada.
"I am really happy to join in the parade," he said. "It was really new for the audience. Not only Scottish or Irish, but something from other cultures."
The legendary St. Patrick is believed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland more than 1,500 years ago and is known as the priest who brought Christianity to the island.
St. Patrick's Day is traditionally celebrated with green-dyed beer, pipe bands and Irish dancers - all well represented yesterday.
Future plans include celebrating all seven Celtic races, including one that originates in Spain, said Markus
Irish green for the third annual St. Patrick's Day downtown parade was mixed yesterday with ethnic hues: a Chinese dragon boat, traditional Indo-Canadian Bhangra dacners and Brazillians swaying to sambas.
"This parade is inclusive," said Celtic Fest spokeswoman Julia Markus. "It is so quintessentially Vancouver... It's a tradition we're going to encourage."
Crowds lined five-deep along Granville Street from Drake to Dunsmuir. Organizers "guess-timated" that up to 100,000 people watched, topping last year's 60,000.
"When Vancouver gets two minutes of sunshine, everybody is out in shorts," said Markus. "This wasn't a corporate-float parade. It was a cross-cultural community-spirit kind of parade."
One brightly coloured entry was the Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a full-sized dragon boat captained by a kilt-wearing Todd Wong, who called himself Toddy O'Wong for the day.
"We get to play with stereotypes," said Wong, a fifth-generation Chinese-Canadian with cousins who have married Scots, Irish and native Canadians. "Wherever Chinese and Irish go, they seem to get colonized by the English.
"Chinese came from the Pacific, while Irish came from the Atlantic. We met in the middle and had children, " said Wong.
The drummer on board the Fat Choy - a Cantonese greeting meaning wealth and prosperity [Todd's note - full phrase is Gung Hay Fat Choy] - was Da Ming Zhao, a chinese newcomer to Canada.
"I am really happy to join in the parade," he said. "It was really new for the audience. Not only Scottish or Irish, but something from other cultures."
The legendary St. Patrick is believed to have driven the snakes out of Ireland more than 1,500 years ago and is known as the priest who brought Christianity to the island.
St. Patrick's Day is traditionally celebrated with green-dyed beer, pipe bands and Irish dancers - all well represented yesterday.
Future plans include celebrating all seven Celtic races, including one that originates in Spain, said Markus
