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President: |
NEWSLETTER February 2009 Dear RECA Members and Friends,
Our RECA language classes continue with small classes due, in part to our success in having Chinese be offered in Herbert Slater Middle School and in Montgomery High school. Plans are that next year, there also will be Mandarin in Elsie Allen High School. Santa Rosa City Schools is sponsoring a program to send about 30 students to Shanghai for a three week program to learn Chinese. They asked RECA to assist with the planning and publicity. In December, Nancy Wang and Judy Cheung attended a meeting at the administrative office of the City Schools and discussed the itinerary, curriculum, staffing, and various other issues. Everyone enjoys coming to RECA on a Saturday morning, but not just for Mandarin class. We have a Tai Chi class from 9-10 led by David Chung. They meet in our dance studio-- our enhanced, remodeled used-to-be garage, complete with wall mirrors and a floor that is easy on your legs and feet. This was originally intended for parents who drop off their kids to classes. However, lots of our parents either enrolled in classes themselves or use the time for shopping or other errands. We now have a sizable group of adults who come only for the hour of Tai Chi. David is an excellent instructor whether you are a first-time beginning or advanced student. He gives instructions and explanations for all levels.
At our RECA Center, 14 FCA parents joined Leslie C. Hansen, MFT, to discuss their adopted “tweens.” Problems were brought up and parents discussed various paths to successfully deal with hormones, racial prejudice, blended families, school peer pressures, budding independence balanced with the need to still be sheltered and given a feeling of protection, and many more conflicting situations faced by children 10-14, especially those who are adopted.
Again, as always, our RECA Winter Pot Luck Social was the biggest and the best ever. We had more people in attendance, this time including a contingency from the newly formed
Vietnamese group. Our performers were great, as usual. Our food was wonderful, as usual. The people attending were friendly, as usual. The gifts and raffles were fun, as usual. I guess it was just a
"usual" Winter Social. How wonderful it is to have such a joyful event be “usual!”
The Ding Family poses for their annual family photo with Santa and teen elf, Jasmine. Our food, as usual, was plentiful, beautiful and delicious. A time to chat with new friends, old friends and friends of friends.
No one was surprised when our youngest performers stole the show. Our pre-school class in the front row, joined by their parents and the Beginning Mandarin Class behind, sang some songs for us in Chinese. Most of these children are from English speaking families, yet you could hear and understand every word. In our Pre-school class, parents learn with their children as part of the class taught by Elena Shi and Jay Jay Dodson. Cathy Ringstad teaches Beginning Mandarin. Our intermediate dancers performed an umbrella dance taught by Judy Elliott. RECA's Rena Wang, a teen to be proud of, gave a few words. She is a page in Washington DC, for Lynn Woolsey. RECA teens jump around a lot and find themselves in strange positions! Here is Jared Lee thrilling the audience with his high jumps and summersaults in his martial arts demonstration. Many of our teens take martial arts lessons to improve self confidence, health, social contacts and just for the fun of it. As our performers performed, everyone, especially the younger kids were inspired to try to do what they did. The young ones danced, sang and jumped between acts, amusing the audience as much as the official performers. Our RECA Adult Chorus sang to a packed house. We estimate 150 people attended our Winter Social. The chorus used risers for the men so they can be seen and heard better. This was a good addition to their performance. As usual, their songs were magnificent and joyful. As kids helped draw and announce the raffle numbers and displayed the raffle prizes, almost everyone was able to receive a gift. To the beautiful singing of Phi Phi Dang, Xiao Qin (Sandy) Sullivan performed a solo dance. She learned dancing in China, is taking lessons in San Francisco, and is now the choreographer for our older girls' cultural dances. Everyone had great fun at the party! Throughout the evening, everyone was able to enjoy the food, both well known dishes and dishes new to many of our participants.
On Friday Jan 23rd two of RECA's dancers performed at the first all school celebration of the Lunar New Year at Sunrise Montessori School in Napa where RECA member Maya Ibitz attends. Meesha Heydon performed the ribbon dance to an awe struck audience of 150 students, teachers and parents. Maya Ibitz and three of her classmates rehearsed for two weeks while Maya taught them the umbrella dance which they performed beautifully at the celebration. In addition to the dancers there was a reading of the story The Great Race about how the 12 Chinese horoscope animals came to have a year named for them, an introduction to New Year's greetings in Mandarin and Cantonese and a performance of shadow puppets by the Moonshine Theatre. The students paraded with a dragon and a banquet of Chinese food was served. Meesha's mother, Azi, was there and helped with serving and decorating. RECA member Sharon Bragg organized the kitchen crew and Linda Ibitz and Theresa Barnes helped organize the event and provided many of the decorations. RECA generously lent costumes and warming pans for the food. The event was a huge success and later in the day during recess students could be seen imitating the dancers with pretend ribbons and umbrellas.
Maya Ibitz lead the performance of the Chinese umbrella dance that she taught to her classmates for her school's Chinese New Year Celebration. Maya is one of our RECA intermediate dancers.
Maya Ibitz lead the performance of the Chinese umbrella dance that she taught to her classmates for her school's Chinese New Year Celebration. Maya is one of our RECA intermediate dancers. On December 31, about 50 members of RECA joined together to ring in the new year. There was food, friends, fun and frolic. Everyone had so much fun that no one took pictures. Since the merriment began at 6:00 p.m., by the time 10:00 came around, every one was on their way home to happily watch the new year come in from the comfort of their own couch, or to sleep happily through midnight after an evening of fun at our Center.
On Monday, February 2, RECA was invited to Yulupa Elementary School in the Bennett Valley area of Santa Rosa and gave a presentation to a group of first and second graders. Nancy Wang opened the program with a discussion of many Chinese New Year customs, using our best parade lion as a prop. She had the lion wink his eyes and open and close his mouth. She also talked about family traditions, honoring ancestors, eating special foods, wearing red clothes and many other things. Judy Cheung read from a picture book showing many New Year customs. Meesha and Savannah Heydon finished the presentation with their ribbon dance which made the first and second graders gasp in amazement. Nancy wrote
calligraphy names as Judy answered questions from the students. As we left, the lunch tables were being prepared with a special lunch of fried rice, chow mien and oranges. In Cloverdale, the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a Chinese New Year event at RECA member Mai Yeung's Tien Yuan Restaurant. Our original lion team (Nancy Wang and David Chung) danced because it was a night when our school kids could not attend. Our RECA Adult Chorus also sang a Happy New Year Song.
Welcome to the year 4707, the Year of the Ox. Chinese New Year is traditionally a 15 day long holiday. At RECA, we begin with a western New Year’s Eve party and finish two months later, on the last Saturday of February of each year, with our grand Chinese New Year Celebration and Fundraiser. During recent years, on the Saturday closest to the official date of Chinese New Year, RECA has a Traditional New Year Celebration. We bring out our beautiful ceremonial table cloth, donated by Mai Yeung, then load the table with flowers and fruit. Everyone is shown the traditional way to show respect and focus on good thoughts by bowing and presenting incense. We have people of many different religions learning the customs of traditional Chinese respect and piety. After the formalities, we all ate a delicious pot luck lunch to nourish our good will and friendship.
Mai Yeung raises incense to invoke the good attentions of the higher forces to be with us at our Center throughout the year.
Everyone who wants is encouraged to help in the preparations of fruit and flowers.
Chat during set up includes learning about the traditional, symbolic meanings of various flowers and fruit placed on the table.
We all learn how to show respect and focus our minds on good things to come by folding our hands, presenting incense and bowing.
Everyone participates or observes, as they choose. Those formally showing respect may do so in a group, 2 or 3 at a time, or individually. RECA asked Mayor John Sawyer if RECA member David Poulson could be honored for his multi-cultural work on the Sister City Committees, RECA, the Cambodian Temple and in the Korean community. He was instrumental in arranging for Jei Ju Island, Korea, to give sculpture and a fountain to Santa Rosa. David Poulson was also instrumental in bringing a group of youth exchange artists to Santa Rosa to paint a mural on Jei Ju Way, changing it from an unsavory alley to a cheerful short cut. Later, Santa Rosa teens went to Jei Ju Island, Korea, and painted a similar mural of Sonoma County.
Mayor John Sawyer presented a certificate of honor to David Poulson, accompanied by his wife and son, and some of those celebrating his achievements, in front of the mural at Jei Ju Way.
In front of the fountain given to Santa Rosa by Jei Ju Island, Korea, the Poulson family, Mayor John Sawyer and City Council Member Lee Pierce pose with the certificate of achievement. Christopher Armstrong (son of our Intermediate Mandarin Teacher, Hsiu Chuen Armstrong) and Maria Elizabeth Brunn were wed on January 17 at the Kenwood Community Church. During the reception, David Chung lead the couple in the Chinese custom of bowing and receiving red envelopes. Congratulations Chris and Maria! May you live a long and prosperous life together with many wonderful children.
  SEAN WANG MEMORIAL BENCH Recently, Sean Wang, beloved husband of Shirley Wang and father of RECA youths Rena Wang and Taylor Wang passed away. In his memory, the family placed a bench on the trail between Spring Lake and Howeth Park. At the unveiling ceremony, his family was joined by Joe and Nancy Wang and Judge Cerena Wong. Our condolences go out to the Wang family and their loss. Sean Wang is dearly missed.
In October, RECA participated in a rededication ceremony at the Sonoma County Rural Cemetery. In November, Jeremy Nichols, coordinator of the cemetery restoration project, approached RECA with a strange request: Could RECA translate the words on a mysterious grave marker? He thought there might be poetry on the wooden artifact. Instead it was the name and the exact location of the man’s birth in Guang Dong, China. His name is now known, but the mystery of where he died still remains.
RECA Adult Chorus sang, including one song in Vietnamese.
Our Xin Jiang Dancers gave another dazzling performance with their Western Chinese Tambourine Dance.
RECA Intermediate Dancers did their light hearted umbrella dance to Jasmine Flower.
Jerad Lee was spectacular with his sword performance.
Our traditional fan Dance from the Tang Dynasty caused many flash bulbs to brighten the auditorium.
RECA's 2 Senior lions were joined by Alex and Derek Baldi in their first performance as junior lions for RECA.
RECA wants to thank our 2008 Sponsors for their kind donation that keep RECA able to continue performing for the community and being a public resource for people, businesses, schools and agencies who need our assistance. Northwest Insurance Company Redwood Empire Chinese Association |
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 © Copyright 2002-2008 Redwood Empire Chinese Association |