[BCMA] Barkerville's Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Tue Aug 27 11:22:32 PDT 2013

The link below should not have a period at the end of it, otherwise it
doesn't work.
Thanks!

  Judy

On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 10:21 AM, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. <
bcma at lists.vvv.com> wrote:

>
> **
>
> *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) *– A celebration of the 150thanniversary 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 19th-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 – 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 150th 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.
>
>
>
> *- 30 –*
>
>
>  *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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