On Saturday, July 25th, 2009, Desifest – a free concert celebrating Canadian South Asian Artists and culture- will be taking place at the Plaza of Nations from 12pm until 8 pm.
There will be over a dozen performers not to mention a dozen vendors. The weather should be wonderful on Saturday too, so grab some friends and family and head to False Creek! It should be a lively event!
For more information, please go to RBC Desifest 2009
From July 23-26, there will be a Bollywood Wedding in the Italian Park at the PNE grounds and everyone is invited!
New Works in partnership with South Asian Arts and the Pacific National Exhibition will present Bollywood Wedding, an outdoor, interactive opportunity for the audience to experience traditional Indian wedding customs, in the form of a wild and hilarious event, bringing the whole dysfunctional family together for an evening of fun and melodrama.
The event begins at 8pm on all nights and extra 2pm shows on Satruday and Sunday. The best part is that this is completely FREE!
For more information, please visit: New Works presents Bollywood Wedding
The annual Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival is happening this weekend, June 20-21 down at False Creek. It will be two days full of activities including musical performances, a market place, food court and of course, dragon boat races! So, come down and cheer on our paddlers!
For more information, visit: Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival
From June 18 – August 30th, every Thursday and Sunday starting at 7:30 pm in the Dr. Sun Yatsen Garden, Seven Tyrants Theatre will present the exciting sequel to last summer’s outdoor roving hit. This historical fairy tale takes audiences of all ages through the beautiful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Starring Joann Liu, Minh Ly, Elwin Xie and Troy Anthony Young
Written and Directed by Daniel Deorksen and David Newham
Created by Daniel Deorksen, David Newham and Richard Sung
It’s the year 1701. Still solidifying its power in China, the Qing Dynasy now faces an unprecedented flood of European trade. Before long, the Chinese begin to realize these ships from the west have brought more than they bargained for.
In London, the East India Company faces the most tumultous time in its history. With its eastern monopoly threatened by interlopers who have gained the support of parliament, the Company’s directors will stop at nothing to ensure trade supremecy…
For more information on how to buy tickets, visit Seven Tyrants Theatre
From June 19 to June 21, UBC Literature Etc. will be presenting the Third Annual Taiwanese Film Festival. While the first annual TWFF led the audience onto a round-island trip exploring the beauties of Formosa, the second annual TWFF accompanied the audience to enjoy the taste of youth – its flight, adventure and realization. This year, the third annual TWFF “Only Human” will direct the audience into the lives of ordinary/everyday people and invite them to experience their struggles, disheartenment, happiness and tears. Within the cruel hands of fate and life’s adversities, we see their unyielding resilience and also the frailty and strength of human hearts that are seemly contradictory yet incredibly real. No matter what our status, background, race or culture are, we all have one same entity – We are only human.
For ticket and schedule information, please visit: Third Annual Taiwanese Film Festival.
This weekend in Stanley Park, the South Asian Family Association is pleased to present their annual cross-cultural extravaganza, Sawan Mela, occurring on the weekend of June 13 and 14. SAFA’s mandate is to create cross-cultural awareness as well as provide a platform for youth to showcase their talent. The Sawan Mela originally began in 2002 in South Vancouver and now 7 years later, is set to take over Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park for two exciting days.
This free public festival is suitable for kids of ALL ages. There is sure to be something for everyone at the Sawan Mela. Whether you enjoy your butter chicken or pine for tangy dosas…or perhaps desire a mini-makeover or mehndi, the marketplace is full of delights to tempt all of the senses: delicious smells and aromas, bright and vibrant colours and an exhibition by local artisans as well as yoga classes.
On our mainstage under the Sawan Mela tent, local performers from the Lower Mainland will entertain for hours on end. From Bhangra & Bolly to Filmi & Fusion to Giddha and Garba, the team at SAFA will turn Stanley Park into Little India. Little India with a few visitors however…performers from the Violet Moore Irish School of Dance, Vancouver Korean Drummers, Bluesette, Steveston Taiko Drummers, Argentian Tango, Eagle Song Dancers will be sharing the stage with Punjab Cultural Arts Centre, Giddha Punjabna Da, Sitara Thobani, Sulochana Dance Academy, Surrey India Arts Club, Juggy Jag (Jugpreet Bajwa), Jawani Bhangra, Duniya Dance Academy, Slumdog Millionaire Dancers and Karima Essa & Merlyn Prakash amongst others. A full line-up is available at www.safa.ca.
Following the festival on Saturday night, there will be Bollywood movie starting at 7:30pm. The movie, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ) was produced in 1995 and just finished a 700 week run in Mumbai this past March. Translated to “The Brave Heart will take the Bride”, it is one of the highest grossing Bolly films earning 580 crores INR in India and over 175 crores overseas.
The festival and movie screening is completely FREE!! So, come out and enjoy this festival as the weather will definitely be sunny!
WHAT: SAWAN MELA 7
WHEN: SATURDAY JUNE 13 AND SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2009, 2 – 8PM
WHERE: STANLEY PARK, LUMBERMAN’S ARCH. MAP, DIRECTIONS & SHUTTLE SERVICE INFO
WHY: A FREE CULTURAL EXTRAVAGANZA FEATURING MEHNDI, MASTI AND MUCH MORE. OVER 30 LOCAL PERFORMANCES CELEBRATING CULTURE AND HERITAGE. SHUTTLE SERVICE TO AND FROM BURRARD STATION.
The Center for Inquiry Vancouver is hosting a lecture tonight (Friday, May 30th, 2009) by John Lombard who will discuss his experience with the education system in China having lived 15 years there. The lecture will be from7pm-9pm in the Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms at the Vancouver Public Library downtown. For CFI members, the event is free but for non-members, it will cost only $5. It should be an interesting talk, visit the Facebook Event for more information: John Lombard – Lessons from China.
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Our schools have, in many ways, become a battleground over what should be taught. Evolution vs. creation. Atheism vs. religion. And yet many people on every side of this debate are making a fundamental mistake — trying to teach our children ‘what to think’, rather than teaching them ‘how to think’.
Using his experience of living in China for 15 years, John Lombard will use examples from the Chinese educational system — its strengths, and its weaknesses — to bring a new perspective to the debate; and to suggest ways in which we can learn from that situation. Why is it that in China, a country that is officially atheist, superstition and cults are growing at an astounding rate? How does the debate over Traditional Chinese Medicine in China relate to the debate over abortion in North America?
Mr. Lombard will present arguments and examples of a strategy that most people, regardless of their beliefs, should find more rational and reasonable: a strategy that uses critical thinking as its foundation, and that seeks primarily to teach our children how to think — and reach decisions — for themselves.
The audience will be encouraged to ask questions and make comments after the talk, and attendees are invited to stay and discuss the issues. The event will conclude by 9pm.
John Lombard was born and raised in Canada, but for the past 15 years he has been living and working in China. He established two businesses as well as a non-profit organization to work with one of the Chinese minority groups, the Mosuo. In addition, he worked with local Chinese skeptics and scientists to establish one of the first official critical thinking organizations in China. John is currently the Director of Business Relations at the Canada Asia Business Network.
“No beds were provided! Approximately 20 people were crammed into a house this big, and we piled bamboo mats together and that’s how we slept; each family takes a corner. My impression of Hong Kong is not very good. The “jail guards” – the police who guarded the camps – were not very nice to us, refugees. Hostility towards refugees who committed crimes makes sense, but they were impolite to the children and women, to us refugees in general… For example, everyone was lining up for buckets of water in a narrow space, so there were inevitably some pushing and shoving. Then, one of the guards kicked one of the buckets and yelled at us with profanity. He didn’t tell us in polite tones to keep order, but yelled and swore at us… Not everyone was like this, but 6 to 7 out 10 of them were.” -Excerpt from “Finding the Sino-Vietnamese: The Historic Process of the Identification of the Sino-Vietnamese in Vancouver” a graduating essay by Angela Wong (May 2008)
Between the period of 1979-1980 resettled 60,000 Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese refugees who were escaping Vietnam by the masses in boat. This period was often referred to as the Boat People Exodus during the late 1970s and 1980s, and was often compared to the plight of the Jews in the Holocaust. This year would mark the 30th anniversary of this horrific event.
The Canadian Red Cross is hosting a talk featuring a Vietnamese survivor,Tuoi Nguyen.The event will be at the Central Vancouver Public Library in the Alice McKay Room. It will be on Tuesday, May 19th, from 7-9 pm. Admission is free but seating is limited. For more information, visit: We Came By Boat – A Story of Survival
Japanese Picture Brides
On Friday, May 15, 2009, Dr. Michiko Midge Ayukawa will be lecturing on the social implications for the Japanese Canadian community in regards to the Japanese Picture Brides of the early 20th Century. Without the large influx of Japanese wives following the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907, permanent settlement of Japanese may not have taken place. These brave, enterprising and adventurous women laid the foundation of the society and molded the character of their Canadian-born children. Dr. Michiko Midge Ayukawa lives in Victoria, British Columbia and has published widely on Japanese Canadian history. Her most recent book is Hiroshima Immigrants in Canada, 1891-1941, UBC Press 2008.
The talk will be at National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent (at Kingsway & Sperling) in Burnaby from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.
For more information, visit: http://www.herstorycafe.ca/
The 2nd Annual New Asia Film Festival will be going on this week from May 7th to the 10th at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate). This year, the festival is featuring 12 films from Canada, Japan, India, the UK, China and South Korea. Tickets are only $3 so be sure to check it out.
The schedule for the event is as follows:
TUESDAY MAY 5
18:30 – 21:30 DocuAsian Forum: A Chinese Documentary Night
Room 1800, Harbor Centre (SFU’s Downtown Campus)
Filmmaker in attendance
THURSDAY MAY 7
19:00 – 20:30 Opening Reception ( by INVITATION only)
21:00 – 22:20 Opening Film ( Ticket at door only)
A State of Mind ( UK / Doc)
FRIDAY MAY 8
14:00 – 16:00 Four Women (India / Drama)
16:30 -18:00 Who Killed Our Children (China / Doc)
19:30 – 22:30 CNEX Screenings
Hip-Hop Storm (Taiwan / Doc)
The District Councillor (HK / Doc)
Filmmaker in attendance
SATURDAY MAY 9
10:30 – 12:30 3XFTM (South Korea / Doc)
13:00 – 14:30 Mongolia, 30 Years Later (Canada / Doc)
Filmmaker and guest speaker in attendance
15:00 – 17:30 puujee (Japan / Doc)
Filmmakers in attendance
18:30 – 21:00 A Warrior’s Religion (Canada / Doc)
Filmmaker in attendance
21:30 – 23:30 Four Women (India / Drama)
SUNDAY MAY 10
10:30 – 12:30 A State of Mind (UK / Doc)
13:00 – 14:30 puujee (Japan / Doc)
Filmmakers in attendance
15:00 – 17:00 Mother’s Day Special Feature
Flower in the Pocket (Malaysia/ Drama)
18:30 – 21:30 Audience Choice Award Announcement
Award-winning Film Additional Screening
