Chinese Cultural Centre project
Thu, December 20 2007
By Angela Lee
|
Councillor George Chow |
As far as the CCC is concerned, the Vision Vancouver councillor and head of the Chinese Benevolent Association has been there for it all – or just about.
Chow joined the CCC in 1975, just three years after the centre opened.
“In those days, the emphasis was on activities, because we needed to raise our profile [in the community],” says Chow, who was behind a number of the centre’s “firsts.”
In 1974, the CCC sponsored Vancouver’s first Chinatown parade.
As chair of special events, Chow was also on hand for the first collaboration between the CCC and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, on the Butterfly Concerto, and when the Canada Council brought the revolutionary Chinese ballet The White Haired Girl into town. The centre also sponsored the city’s first ever canto-pop concert, and the UN Heritage Festival.
During Chow’s eight-year tenure, the centre was run by second- and third-generation Chinese Canadians. As the face of the community changed, however, the group was gradually replaced by members who had much closer ties with China and Taiwan.
“Back then, there wasn’t as much of an emphasis on traditional [Chinese] arts,” notes Chow. “We didn’t have the scholars who were educated in China, the painters or writers.”
When asked whether the CCC still holds significance for local-born Chinese, Chow becomes thoughtful. “That’s one thing the CCC may have to address,” he posits.
“Do you try to capture that segment of society [again]?” On Friday, the CCC’s past and present will symbolically converge when Chow is joined at the fundraising raffle draw by the Consul General of the Republic of China, Yang Qiang.
Together, the two men will randomly select the winning ballot in the centre’s prize draw.
The lucky winner will receive a new Honda Fit - and the CCC will earn the funds it needs for future programs.
The prize draw will take place at 5pm, Fri Dec 21 at the front office of the Chinese Cultural Ctr ((housed in a modern building at 50 E. Pender Street.)
More info: 604-658-8850.
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