ON THE SCENE IN SANTA CLARA VALLEY
ON THE SCENE IN SANTA CLARA VALLEY
By Gerrye Wong March 31, 2022,
When California Assemblyman EVAN LOW throws his annual Chinese Lunar New Year Fundraising event each year, he draws the biggest crowd anyone has seen for a local political candidate. It is, of course, due not only to his personal charisma, but to the fact that he has long supported, participated with and advocated for many organizations and non-profit groups even before he went into politics. His popularity knows no bounds, even after he became a local Assemblyman, coming up the ranks from Campbell City Council and Mayor.
Caption: Traveling from Sacramento were Maeley Tom and Stephanie Nguyen attending Low luncheon fundraiser.
.So it was no surprise that he brought in the first capacity crowd to the new GRAND DYNASTY RESTAURANT in San Jose’s large dining room with over 600 boisterous supporters. Carl Guardino MCed the program, doing the usual acknowledgement of all the government office holders, elected and appointed.
Caption: Evan Low is surrounded by lovely ladies at his fundraising event in San Jose.
As soon as the traditional Lion Dance troupe, led by Liz Chew’s local group, provided the fanfare to start off the program, the Grand Dynasty’s ever efficient staff brought a full Chinese banquet of 8 delicious courses to everyone’s delight.
Caption: Evan Low greets his luncheon guests celebrating the Lunar New Year at Grand Dynasty.
In the crowd I saw among the Chinese community leaders, SF Attorney David Chiu, Dennis Wu, Ken Fong , Andy Li, Sandy Chau, Hsing Kung with wife Rose, Rosemary Kamei, Cady Yu, Diana Ding, Maeley Tom, Stefanie Nguyen, Dennis Wan, Homer Tong, Michael Chang, and long time supporters, board members from the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project and the Chi Am Circle of Santa Clara Valley.
Caption: Film star of Marvel movies, Simu Liu zoomed call to the guests at Evan Low’s Lunar New Year luncheon.
Highlight of the program was when Evan Low introduced his Marvelous guest – that of Simu Liu (star of Marvel movie) who greeted everyone via Zoom on the big screens surrounding the guests on all the walls of this beautifully decorated restaurant. He and Evan carried a virtual conversation on his thoughts about the disturbing growth of ani-Asian hate crimes, and his own experience growing up in Canada. He told of the difficulties of making it in the acting field and laughed, recalling that of course, his parents wanted him to become a doctor or engineer to guarantee earning a good living. Of course, the purpose of Evan Low’s banquet is a fundraiser for his upcoming campaign as a returning California Assemblyman but representing a new Sunnyvale/Cupertino district. More power to you, Evan! From the crowd’s reactions, I can easily see EVAN LOW has a lot of faithful friends and supporters out there in his corner. Anyone out there wanting to send him your support, can contact him at ASMEVANLOW@GMAIL.COM
Caption: Happy Evan Low supporters gather in support of his upcoming California Assembly election.
BAY AREA CHINESE GENEALOGICAL GROUP
As President Ron Chan said in his welcome to the members of his BAY AREA CHINESE GENEALOGICAL GROUP last week at the Oakland Mormon Tabernacle, “It has been a long two years without in-person meetings, so it is especially great to see members out again .” The meeting drew over 100 of the BACGG members who seemed eager to reconnect with the members again. It was my first time to attend, but felt very welcome by the members.
Caption: By Area Chinese Genealogical Group members held their first in-person meeting in Oakland, drawing up to 100 in person and an additional 40 members on zoom.
Gathered in an auditorium in the very spacious beautiful church grounds, the members listened to a talk by David Lei on Chinese Lion Dancing Legends and Traditions. With slides of the history of this Chinese custom, he shared the origin of the Lion Dance, and its purposes through the years. David is well known in the Chinese community of San Francisco for his help in founding a Chinese Performing Artists dance troupe, as well as the Chinese New Years parade.
Caption: Bruce McLeod Gerrye Wong, Scott Hepworth and Arthur Jue congratulated David Lei on his talk on Customs of Lion Dancing.
A lavish pot luck table had every imaginable type of Chinese dishes, many homemade by the members. Among active members reuniting with new members were Gail Chong, Bruce Chin, Brenda and Willy Wong, Ray Mah, Erwin Wong, Al Low, Alvin & Anna Huey, and Anna Ng. New members along with me on their first meeting as new members were Arthur Jue, Scott Hepworth, George and Lee Liu Chin.
BACGG members enjoy their member’s meeting endng with a pot luck lunch.
LOS ALTOS ROTARY CLUB
I was honored to be asked to speak at the Los Altos Rotary Club along with Connie Young Yu about the history of Chinese pioneers of the valley from our own personal experiences. Connie, with a slide show of historic photos of the first 5 Chinatowns in San Jose, told about the difficulties her grandfather had in settling in those Chinatowns, and how her father was subsequently raised in the last Chinatown which existed in the 1920s-30s.
Caption: Rotary President Harry Price shows display case showing Rotary history to Connie Young Yu, Gerrye Wong and Lina Broydo.
President Harry Price officiated the meeting before the members enjoyed a buffet lunch at the Garden House at Shoup Park in downtown Los Altos. I spoke on living in San Jose during that 1930s-40s period and how my father, as one of the respected Chinese American businessmen in San Jose, at that time, had been invited to be possibly the first Chinese American man to join that city’s Rotary Club, and how my son has carried on that community spirit Rotary tradition as the president of the Sunrise Rotary Club in San Mateo, and his son, Braden Wong, had been active in the Rotary’s Interact Clubs in high school and college.
Caption: Lina Broydo and Ruth Chu enjoy the Rotary auctioned prize of the painted Year of the Rat sculpture.
A member of the Rotary planning committee, Publicist and writer Lina Broydo introduced Connie and me as the day’s guest speakers, and it was a very rewarding experience for me as they all seemed very interested in learning about the history of the Chinese in the valley, the wrong doings inflicted on the early Chinese pioneers trying to settle in America, and how both Connie and I were instrumental is having a Resolution of Apology drawn by the City of San Jose and presented to the Chinese Community last year in 2021. A longtime Los Altos Hills native, Ruth Chu, whose popular restaurant Chew Chu’s has been in business in the city for over 50 years, spoke of how she and her family had always felt welcomed in Los Altos, and was grateful for living in this community which has been a wonderful background for her children to grow up in. She felt compassion and remorse for those Chinese Americans who suffered during the early years of discrimination , and was grateful to the citizens of Los Altos today who had been more welcoming to her family and their restaurant business.
A CHINESE LUNAR YEAR FESTIVAL AT HISTORY SAN JOSE
It seemed like a long time coming, but finally the CHINESE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT could present and host a Festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year recently. Families seemed to enjoy a wonderful sunny day being out in the open at History San Jose park, but they were also anxious to partake in the children’s arts and crafts tables. There children could make Chinese fans, and banners to be used in the later afternoon parade following the Chinese lions.
Caption: CHCP’s Hoong the Dragon entertained the little ones at the HSK History park as he led them on a parade .
I was a docent at our CHINESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL MUSEUM and was happy to greet hundreds of visitors, many of whom had never been to the museum before. Many enjoyed our Lions Head display, and the children liked turning the audio on and hearing the drums and symbols in the background as the lions danced on video. Others were enthralled with our historic altar, which is the largest and one of the last surviving altars of the 1880s vintage to be standing in full glory today. The altar, following the demolition of the historic Ng Shing Gung temple by the City of San Jose (another of the wrong doings we cited in the City of San Jose’s Resolution of Apology mentioned before), which stood in San Jose’s last Chinatown from 1888-1940s, had been stored under the outdoor bleachers of the San Jose Municipal Stadium for 50 years. I do commend the city for not destroying it in the 1949 demolition, but when it was uncovered by the CHCP group I helped found in 1986, you can imagine what type of condition it was in packed away like that.
Caption: It was a pleasure to show Chenming Hu around oyr museum as he will be one of the Honorees of the CHCP’s 35th anniversary dinner party come September 17.
So the day of the festival, when I could help show off the altar in the museum to newcomer retired UC Berkeley Professor Chenming Hu, was very rewarding to me. The museum, by the way, is celebrating its 30th anniversary since the CHCP erected and opened its doors as a museum. At a ceremony formalized with city officials like SJ Mayor Susan Hammer and California Secretary of State March Fong Yu, our CHCP gifted the museum to the City of San Jose as a token of friendship from the Chinese Community to the city.
Caption: NBC Associates stand before giant background of Year of the Tiger for people to pose in front of for memory’s sake.
The festival day ‘s activity was very full all day with a talent show where children from local schools, sang, danced, and even had a Chinese yo yo exhibition in addition to a martial art show. In one room Robin Yang was giving Chinese calligraphy lessons, and in another room, Oliver Chin was showing his children’s book on Chinese new year themes as well as other of his latest popular children’s books of fiction, all with Chinese themes.
Caption: Author Oliver Chin showed the Festival families his new collection of children’s books with a Chinese theme.
Kudos to Liz Chew, and her many student ambassadors who helped present this first festival In many years for CHCP. NBC, who participated with their own booth this year, were duly impressed with the wealth of activities offered to the festival guests, as well as the beauty of our museum, built in the replica of the original Ng Shing Gung temple.
Caption: Festival crowds are eager to enter the doors of the Chinese American Historical Museum.
Hopefully this is a first of many in and outdoor events the CHCP can host to fulfill the group’s mission to preserve and present Chinese history and culture to the community. It is our hope the world is once again opening up, as will our Museum, and we can host many visitors, including dear readers, and many school children on classroom field trips.
Caption: Robin Yang shows his calligraphy samples to CHCP committee workers Wand Ching, Gerrye Wong and Eva Wong
