Taste of Asia 2005 a Big Success


Saturday, June 25 to Sunday, June 26

“Taste of Asia 2005” came to a successful end with an attendance of over 50,000. The two-day street festival took place on June 25 and 26 on Kennedy Rd. between Clayton Rd. and Steeles Ave., a strip that was blocked to traffic for two days to allow visitors to enjoy themselves in safety.

At the opening ceremony which took place at noon on the 25th, the VIP guests were heralded towards the centre stage by the Philippine Heritage Band and the Markham Scouts 8th Division, led by Markham Town Crier John Webster who declared the street festival officially opened. Emcees Markham Deputy Mayor Frank Scarpitti and Vaughan City Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco invited the guests to cut the ribbon to mark the start of the host of activities and performances lined up by the organizers of “Taste of Asia 2005”

Many guests of honour were present at the opening ceremony. They included Federal Minister of National Revenue Hon. John McCallum, MP for Thornhill Susan Kadis, MP for Scarborough-Agincourt Jim Karygiannis, MP for Scarborough-Rouge River Derek Lee, MP for Markham-Oakridges Lui Temelkovski, Senator Vivienne Poy, MPP for Thornhill Mario Racco, Markham Councillors Alex Chiu and Khalid Usman, Market Village - Remington Group representative Wayne Chan, York Regional Police Chief Armand LaBarge, York Region Chairman Bill Fisch, MPP John Tory, York Region Police Superintendant Wayne Kalinski, Vice-President Zul Kassamali of the Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario, Richmond Hill Councillor David Cohen, Markham Regional Councillor Jack Heath, Dr. Gordon Chong, Head of Chancery Consul Iskandar Hadrianto of Indonesia, Consul General Alejandro Mosquera of the Philippines, Vice-Consul Shoaib Sarwar of Pakistan, Vice-President Stan Shapson of York University, CIPP Chairman Mark Persaud, Director & CFO Punch Lui of Toronto First Station, Rafael Nebres of Asian Canadian Entrepreneurs and Professionals, Past President Sid Ikeda of Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham directors Emily Ng, Raymond Tsang, Danny Li, Ray Chiu, etc.

The intense heat did not deter people from coming out to take part in the festival’s many activities. The site was jam-packed on the evening of the 25th for the rock show produced by Toronto First Radio featuring the station’s celebrity DJs, musical skits, cartoon characters, and Hong Kong music artiste Kwok-King Ng. A spectacular fireworks display sponsored by Splendid China crowned off the evening.

Since the principle behind “Taste of Asia” was the promotion of intercultural exchanges and co-operation, a large variety of cultural performances had been lined up for the event. These included traditional Indian, Chinese, Indonesian and Japanese dances, belly dancing, music by the Thornhill Community Band and Markham Concert Band, songs by Opera York, kung-fu and tai-chi demonstrations by the students of FCCM Cultural Centre, Chinese instrumental playing, pop concerts by Larry and the Sunshine Band and Dr. Vansen Lee and Friends, and of course the special two-hour “Tribute to Elton John” concert by Bennie and the Jets.

To accommodate the many different interests of the public, the organizing committee had added in a lot of new programs as well as lengthened the hours of operation of the festival. Among the additions to the regular food and wares booths were a car show sponsored by Auto Compass, an orchid exhibition sponsored by Ellington Park and Town of Markham’s Community in Bloom project, rock climbing, model car racing, a Filipino Village, a Playstation 2 games centre, and the ever-popular 3-on-3 intercultural basketball tournament with NBA star Mitch Wiggins as Basketball Ambassador.

This year, “Taste of Asia” held its first singing contest sponsored by Jacco Tours. The judges Larry Lo, Michael Chen, Roger Feng, Evelyn Ip, Ken Zheng, Daniel Chan, Francis Wong, Danny Li and Regional Councillor Jack Heath had a difficult task in choosing the winners. The 12 finalists, after successfully passed through 2 competitions among 100 contestants in May and June were cheered by many fans and supporters. The winners were awarded prizes that included tour packages by Jacco Tours, cash prizes, and coupons from MHQ Karaoke Box. The results were as follows:

First place: Christine Cristobal
Second place: Jacky Tai
Third place: Ivan Chan
Best Supporting Fans Award: Ho Kin Cheung

As for the 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, the trophy winners were as listed below:

Competitive Division – CIBC Cup:
Champion: BBC
Finalist: Flipside

Recreational Division – FCCM Cup:
Champion: HotShotz
Finalist: SCARLEM

Community Division – Pepsi Cup:
Champion: FCCM All Star
Finalist: York Region Police

Youth Division – ACEP Cup:
Champion: FCCM
Finalist: Dim Sum Boy

Youth Division Consolation Champ - PCCT Cup: Mitch 1

Youth 13 Division – FCCYR Cup:
Champion: Falcons
Finalist: Warriors

Youth 13 Division Consolation Champ – ACGA Cup: ICEE

Ladies Division – CCCM Cup:
Champion: Untouchable
Finalist: Destroyer

A free lucky draw sponsored by Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia-Canada was the final event at the closing ceremony of this colourful festival. The prize was two round trip tickets to Kuala Lumpur with a four-night stay in a 5-star hotel. The organizing committee Chairman Dr. Ken Ng, Co-chair Mobeen Khaja, Councillor Alex Chiu, and Market Village’s Johnson Yip drew the lucky winner who was notified of his good fortune.

Taste of Asia 2005 Lucky Draw Prize Winner

On June 26, 2005, the “Taste of Asia 2005” Street Festival successfully closed with a free lucky draw. The lucky winner was Mr. Guo Bin Huang, who was then contacted by phone to collect the prize.

The draw was sponsored by Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia-Canada. The prize was two round trip tickets to Kuala Lumpur with a four-night stay in a 5-star hotel.

The presentation of the prize to Mr. Huang was made at the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham’s Cultural Centre in Market Village by Mr. Ricky Wong of Tourism Malaysia-Canada, Mr. Johnson Yip of Market Village/Remington Group, and Dr. Ken Ng, Chairman of the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham.

Mr. Huang excitedly commented on his win. It was his first time renting a booth to sell pottery during the festival, and he never thought he would be so lucky as to win the big prize as well. Throughout the festival, his pottery sold well and now he has also won a fantastic getaway to Malaysia. He is going to share it with his wife and son, and he wishes “Taste of Asia” even better success in the years to come because it is a great family affair for the community.

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