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Taste of Asia 2005
Press Release
May 11, 2005
“Taste of Asia 2005”,
the third “Taste of Asia” street festival, held
its first press conference at Parliament Hill in Ottawa
on May 11, 2005.
The conference began at 4:30 pm, with Derek
Lee, M.P. Scarborough-Rouge River as the master of ceremony.
Among the members of parliament and honoured guests attending
were Federal Minister of Multiculturalism Hon. Raymond Chan,
Federal Minister of National Revenue and M.P. for Markham-Unionville
Hon. John McCallum, Federal Minister of Family and Seniors
Hon. Tony Ianno M.P., Speaker for House of Commons Hon.
Peter Milken, M.P. for Thornhill Susan Kadis, M.P. for Scarborough-Agincourt
Jim Karygiannis, M.P. for Oakridges-Markham Lui Temelkovski,
Alan Tonks M.P., Hon. Bernard Patry M.P., David McGuinty
M.P., Senator Day, NDP House Leader Bill Blakely M.P., former
NDP Party Leader Alexa McDonough M.P., several prominent
Federal Conservative Party M.P.’s including Gurmant
Grewal M.P., Nina Grewal M.P., Jim Abott M.P., Rahim Jaffer
M.P., Minister Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission for
the Embassy of People’s Republic of China Dr. Huikong
Huang, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Mr. Fahkraddin Gurbanov,
and many more.
In order to emphasize the multicultural aspect
of the festival, a preview of some of the scheduled performances
was arranged, including Chinese dancing, Chinese harpsichord
“Chêng” playing, traditional Nepalese
and classical Indian dancing, and Kolintang performance
by representatives of the Embassy of Indonesia.
Dr. Ken Ng, Chairman of the organizing committee,
gave a report on the progress of work, from fundraising,
sports contests, exhibitions to stage productions, allowing
the guests to have a clearer perception of the various activities
involved.
Mobeen Khaja, Co-Chair, gave the closing
remark and thanking all participants and FCCM , in particular
Dr. Ken Ng for the leadership and vision in organizing the
Taste of Asia Festival and welcoming the APMO
as partner in this significant project in Canada.
Co-hosted by the Markham Municipal Government,
the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham, and the
Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario, with the
sponsorship of Market Village and Remington Group, and the
Ontario Trillium Foundation, the event
will be held on June 25 and 26 at the junction
of Kennedy Road and Steeles Avenue, outside Market Village,
one of the busiest shopping centres of the district. There
will be non-stop activities and performances during these
two days, the highlights of which will be a live concert
of “Elton John” hits and a spectacular fireworks
display sponsored by Splendid China.
This year, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce-Toronto
has joined the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Markham and
ACEP as co-organizers of the Festival. A special feature
this year will be the “Philippine Village” organized
by PCCT. It will showcase some of the Filipino- Canadian
businesses and the various cuisines and products from the
Philippines,
This will advance the goal of linking the Asian Canadian
business communities and furthering the understanding, for
the Festival participants, the different cultures that make
up our Canadian mosaic.
With the experience accumulated from the past two years,
the organizing committee has increased the variety of the
programme to include a large orchid show sponsored by Ellington
Park, a first “Taste of Asia” singing contest
by Jacco Tours, an outdoor car exhibition by Auto Compass,
line dancing, Playstation 2 games, and the very popular
and well supported 3-on-3 intercultural basketball tournament.
This year, NBA Star Mitch Wiggins will be the Basketball
Ambassador. In addition, Toronto First Radio will be producing
a unique show at centre stage.
Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia-Canada
will continue their support by donating two New York-Kuala
Lumpur round trip tickets with a four night stay in a five
star hotel as the grand prize of the festival’s free
lucky draw.
During the two days, from 6 am on June 25
to 9 pm on June 26, the section of Kennedy Road, the site
of the festival, will be blocked to traffic to ensure the
safety of the visitors. Activities will be from 11 am to
10 pm on the 25th, and 11 am to 6 pm on the 26th with ample
time for setting up and cleaning afterwards.
The festival welcomes the participation
of business companies and community organizations, in the
form of sponsorship or booth rentals that range from $400
to $1000 per booth for 2 days. Interested parties are requested
to contact (416) 750-8233 for further details.
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