[BCMA] Barkerville's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Tue Aug 27 10:21:08 PDT 2013

**

*_For Immediate Release_*

**

*Barkerville¡¯s Mid©\Autumn Moon Festival brings two-days of magic,
lantern parading, and lion-dances to visitors with help from McElhanney
Consulting Services, Ltd.*

*August 26, 2013 (Barkerville, BC) *¨C A celebration of the 150^th
anniversary of the founding of Barkerville, British Columbia¡¯s Chinatown
and the inaugural chapter of BC¡¯s Chinese Freemasons drew more than 1500
people to the National Historic Site of Canada¡¯s annual Mid-Autumn Moon
Festival this past weekend, including some venerated descendants of
Barkerville¡¯s early Chinese pioneers.

Acclaimed Vancouver documentary filmmaker Karin Lee (/Comrade Dad/,
/Cedar and Bamboo/), who is the great-granddaughter of successful 19^th
-century Barkerville entrepreneur Tsang Quon, brought her mother, Lilian
Lee (Tsang Quon¡¯s granddaughter) specifically for the sesquicentennial
event. Also in attendance was Ray Hong, the second son of longtime
Barkerville resident-miner Bill Hong, who was himself author of the
seminal history /And That¡¯s How it Happened/, as well as members of the
Prince George chapter of the Chinese Freemasons and a troupe of
waist-drum dancers from Nanaimo, BC.

Mid-Autumn Moon Festivals have been held throughout Asia for more than
1000 years. The holiday is a time to rejoice over the bounty of the
summer harvest, the fullness of the moon, and to recall the legends of
/Chang O/, a tragic Chinese goddess who is said to live on the moon. The
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is often compared to Thanksgiving in the
western world, because of its spirit of appreciation and the abundance
of food ¨C including the traditional moon cake; a flaky, round,
semi-sweet pastry often filled with bean or lotus-seed paste shaped to
resemble the full moon. Millions of moon cakes are sold and/or gifted
around the world during celebrations of the Mid-Autumn Moon.

Barkerville¡¯s 2013 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival included a variety of
daytime and evening activities commemorating British Columbia¡¯s
Chinese-Canadian pioneers, including lion dances, Chinese martial arts
demonstrations, lantern-making workshops, a tea ceremony, games for all
ages, moon cake tasting, two special celebration banquets, late-night
fireworks, and a spectacular parade of illuminated paper lanterns that
filled the event with equal parts revelry and reverence for one of BC¡¯s
oldest and largest ethnic communities.

As a special treat for the 150^th anniversary, this year¡¯s Mid-Autumn
Moon Festival stretched into a second day¡ and on Sunday guest were
treated to a series of presentations on the history of Barkerville¡¯s
Chinese community from a variety distinguished British Columbia
scholars, including W.G. Quackenbush (Curator, Barkerville Historic
Town) Professor Imogene Lim (Vancouver Island University), Dr. Zhongping
Chen (University of Victoria), Karin Lee (University of British
Columbia), Dr. Ying Ying Chen (Indiana University/Barkerville Historic
Town) and Dr. Tzu-I Chung (Curator, Royal British Columbia Museum).

This year¡¯s sesquicentennial Mid©\Autumn Moon Festival was made possible
by a gift from Community Sponsor McElhanney Consulting Services, Ltd.,
who¡¯s much appreciated funds went directly to the special event weekend,
including the purchase of moon cakes, lantern making supplies, prizes,
and fireworks.

¡°McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. is pleased to be a part of the 2013
Barkerville Mid-Autumn Moon Festival,¡± said Bill Cheung, Branch Manager
at McElhanney Consulting & Services Ltd. ¡°With McElhanney¡¯s own
involvement in the history of British Columbia over the past 100 years,
we enjoy the opportunity to look back at our past and appreciate the
difficulties and challenges that our early settlers and First Nations
had to contend with in this part of the world.

¡°McElhanney is also happy to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon festival with
the Chinese community which played such a key role in the history of
Barkerville and BC,¡± he added.

This is McElhanney¡¯s third gift to Barkerville and their third year
sponsoring the Mid©\Autumn Festival. In addition to McElhanney¡¯s
Community Sponsorship, the Community Support of Quesnel¡¯s Sandman Hotel
helped to make the 2013 Mid©\Autumn Moon Festival a success.

For more information about the Mid©\Autumn Moon Festival, or any of
Barkerville¡¯s seasonal events, please visit please visit
www.barkerville.ca/special_events.htm
<http://www.barkerville.ca/special_events.htm>.

*- 30 ¨C*

*_About McElhanney Consulting Services, Ltd._*

McElhanney Consulting Services, founded in 1910 by British Columbia land
surveyor William G. McElhanney, is a now a major Canadian company
specializing in engineering, surveying and mapping in the fields of
transportation, structures, land development, drainage, water supply and
treatment, sewage treatment and disposal, resource development and land
administration. McElhanney¡®s goal is to provide personalized services
tailored to local needs and supported by a multi©\disciplinary team of
specialists and professionals, and the consulting company has completed
projects throughout Canada and in over 70 other countries for
government, the private sector and international financial institutions.

*_Media Inquiries_*

Fairlith Harvey | Special Events and External Promotions Coordinator

*B A R K E R V I L L E H I S T O R I C T O W N*

Box 19 | Barkerville, BC | V0K 1B0

250-994-3302 ext. 41 | 888-994-3332 toll free | 250-994-3435 fax

barkerville.ca <http://www.barkerville.ca/>| barkervillebog.com
<http://www.barkervillebog.com/>| facebook.com/barkervillebc
<http://www.facebook.com/barkervillebc>

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