MOON FESTIVAL IN MINNESOTA

A HUGE success

Minnesota Chapter of US –China Peoples Friendship Association

hosted this event on September 12, 13, 2008

          in St. Paul and Minneapolis

 

Co-sponsored by

Midwest Region, US-China Peoples Friendship Association

East Asian Studies at  Hamline University

East Asian Library of the University of Minnesota

 

The Minneapolis Chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association

hosted the 2008 Midwest Conference Moon Festival in Minnesota.

     Our distinguished guest was the Chicago Consul General Huang Ping and his colleagues. 

Dr. Robert Jacobson, Chair of Asian Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, was Keynote speaker,

followed by a diverse group of presenters throughout the day speaking on their specific area of expertise.

     Friday night’s dinner was held at Little Szechuan and Saturday’s dinner at Peking Garden

with entertainment by natives of sister relationships  of Changsha, Harbin and Shaanxi 

 

 

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Friday, September 12, 2008

     East Asian Library, U of M, Minneapolis West Bank Campus, S-75 Wilson Library

     http:eastasian.lib.umn.edu/  for location and parking

Lecture at 12:00-1:00

 

Moon Cake Festival Open House  from 3:00-6:00

Moon cakes and fresh tea were served as guests listened to traditional folk stories melodies of the erhu

 

Dinner at Little Szechuan Restaurant at 6:30

 

SATURDAY, September 13, 2008

Hamline University Conference Center

     http://www.hamline.edu/visitors/PDF/campus_map.pdf 

     Conference Center is between  Law School + Holt Tennis Courts off-street at 1492 Hewitt, St. Paul

     Parking in Lot D on map

 

8:45  Joyce Cox, President of the Midwest Region and Mary  Warpeha, President of the Minnesota Chapter welcomed conferees.  Consul General Huang Ping from the Chicago Consulate and Liao Yuancui were our official honored guests.

 

9:30  Keynote speaker Dr. Robert Jacobsen, Chair of the Department of Asian Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will present.

 

Starting at 10:45, seven exciting and diverse one-hour workshops covered a broad range of cultural and historical topics. 

 

Topics included

· Porcelain-making in Jingdenzen by Professor Gary Erickson

· Feng Shui principles in the garden by Carole Hyder

· Shadow puppetry of Shaanxi by Annie Katsura Rollins

· Brian Moon’s telling of the remarkable reunion of U.S. Airmen shot down over China and the farmers who harbored them safely from the Japanese over 50 years ago

· The changing education opportunities in China by China 

      Center Director, Dr. Yongwei Zhang

· Wal-Mart and the changing Chinese consumerism by

      Professor David Davies,

· China’s regional strategy in Asia by Professor Ed Farmer

 

Dumplings began and Moon Cakes ended the 14 item banquet at Peking Garden Restaurant. Featured entertainment included musical arrangements in the traditions of our sister relations of Changsha, Harbin and Shaanxi Province. 

SUNDAY, September 14, 2008

USCPFA Midwest Plenary Session

9:00am until completion 

 All current members of USCPFA were invited and encouraged to attend this session. 

This is the business meeting held every two years in the Midwest Region.  Current members were able to vote on agenda items at this meeting.  Partial reimbursement for a members costs for the Conference was available to those who attend Saturday and Sunday sessions. 

Conference Committee Members:  Barbara Harrison, Carole Hyder, David Davies, Rhonda Fox, Rebecca Warpeha, Mary Warpeha

 

USCPFA-MN MEMBER Amy Xu

completes RACE ACROSS AMERICA

Amy Xu and three teammates completed the Race Across America, a
3,000-mile, non-stop, 24/7 bicycle race across 14 states - from
Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md. - and raised more than $30,000 for
Camp Odayin, a residential summer camp for kids with cardiovascular
disease.

"Team Strong Heart" included Amy and three other Minnesotans: Melinda
Silbernick (a teacher at Maple Grove Junior High), John Rotach (an
engineer at Medtronic), and Jay Thompson (an engineer at the Twin
Cities' Three River Park District). They were supported by a dedicated
six-member crew who followed behind in an RV and kept the racers fed and
hydrated, while also providing bike maintenance, medical care and huge
amounts of encouragement. Crew members included friends and family from
Minnesota, Iowa and other states: Sandy Roman, Bill Beckman, Holly
Rotach and Rusty Wessling, Aimee Plasier and Ryan Davis.

Dorsey and other sponsors including the Silent Sports Foundation,
Cargill, Medtronic, Rainbow Resort, Hamre Schumann Mueller & Larson, PA,
Griffin International, EKS, and Trailhead Cycling and Fitness,
contributed to this worthy effort. Some sponsors provided financial
support while some provided in-kind contributions. HED Cycling Products,
a Shoreview Minn. manufacturer of high-tech bike components s (and a
client of the Dorsey patent group), provided bike wheels for the race.
Another company, Peace Coffee, supplied coffee to keep Team Strong Heart
and crew properly caffeinated.

As its name suggests, the Race Across America is a race. Although many
of the teams were racing for charitable causes, competition was fierce.
When the race began in California, Amy and her teammates were surprised
by how hard their competitors were pushing the pace. Team Strong Heart's
primary goal was to finish the race safely, so they resisted the urge to
chase the leading teams. This strategy would pay off at the finish line.

One of the world's most grueling cycling events, RAAM requires high
levels of strength, endurance and mental fortitude. At 3,000 miles, the
race is almost 50% longer than the Tour de France, but unlike the Tour
it consists of only one stage. The clock starts on the west coast and it
doesn't stop until each racer reaches the finish line on the east coast.

RAAM rules require that every team must have at least one cyclist on the
road at all times. The Team Strong Heart strategy involved breaking the
four-person team into two smaller teams of two. While one two-person
team rested as best they could in the RV, the other mini-team alternated
racing duties in 5 - 6 hour shifts. Each rider on the team put in
between 100 and 120 miles every day.

During the daylight, Amy and her teammates maintained a steady pace and
held their position relative to other teams. At night, Team Strong Heart
took advantage of cooler temperatures and reduced wind to "hammer"
through the miles and climb in the standings.

Although she is accomplished marathon runner cyclist, Amy had never
experienced anything quite like the Race Across America. "By far, it was
the toughest cycling race I have ever done," she said.

As the days wore on, fatigue, pain and sleep deprivation took their toll
on everyone, and there were some low points along the way. One of their
team members was blown off the road by a strong wind gust and suffered
multiple cuts, bruises and some nasty road rash (fortunately, one of
TSH's crew members is a registered nurse, and the downed rider was able
to get back in the saddle quickly). One day the team strayed off course,
losing valuable time and fatiguing racers unnecessarily as they
backtracked to find the route again. Because of the sheer scale of the
route, it's impossible for race organizers to shut down the roads, so
teams had to contend with traffic, which got increasingly heavy as the
race moved eastward.

In spite of these setbacks, Team Strong Heart gained time on other
teams, many of whom had faded after fast starts. Amy credits their
success to the support and encouragement that racers and crew provided
each other. They were also motivated by the cause they raced for: the
children who attend Camp Odayin, Amy explained, live with cardiac
disease every day, and participating in RAAM didn't seem too daunting in
comparison.

Seven days, 1 hour and 57 minutes after they began the race, Team Strong
Heart crossed the finish line in Annapolis, Md., taking a remarkable 2nd
place in the Four Person Mixed Team division.

Team Strong Heart riders will participate next RAAM, though Amy doesn't
plan to ride in the race next year. For now, she is looking forward to
the team's visit to Camp Odayin in July.

To learn more about Team Strong Heart's ride, visit the team blog
<http://www.teamstrongheart.com/> .
Learn more about the Race Across America here
<http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/> .
Learn about Camp Odayin here <http://www.campodayin.com/> .
See media coverage of here
<http://wcco.com/health/race.across.america.2.759402.html> .

The Minnesota Chapter, along with 40 other local China-related organizations, participated in the recent “Passage to China” event.  The event was sponsored by the Minnesota Chinese Heritage Foundation and held in the Twin Cities in May. 

Board members Margaret Wong and Linda Mealey-Lohmann created interactive hands-on materials for the booth to educate the public about USCPFA-MN and Minnesota’s three Chinese sister relationships – the St. Paul – Changsha sister city relationship (since 1988), the Minneapolis – Harbin sister city relationship (since 1993), the Minnesota – Shaanxi province sister relationship (since 1982).  The materials included laminated photos taken by board members to be matched with the sister city/province on a large map of China; playing Tangrams; and teaching how to write Chinese numbers.  

Other board members who helped that day included Christopher Hang, Nathan Huerkamp, Ben Zhou, C.J. Liu, and Walter Graff.  Margaret Wong’s Chinese language students from Breck performed the dragon dance with a 13 person dragon handcrafted by Zhang Qing Yi, a peasant painter from Huxian County and a long-time friend of USCPFA-MN.  The event was a great success.  Plans to repeat this event next year are already in the works.    Prepared by Linda Mealey-Lohmann

Sunday, February 17, 2008

           5:30 Gathering    6:00 Banquet   7:00 Program

Little Szechuan Restaurant

The Dark Side of the Dao: 
The Lives and Challenges of Medieval Chinese Daoist Nuns, Saints and Hermits

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Suzanne Cahill will explore Tang dynasty (618-907) women and their Daoist practices and accomplishments, using biographies compiled by the Daoist master and courtier    Du Guangting in 910

Cosponsored by: Consortium for the Study of the Asias, China Center, Department of Asian Language and Literatures, Department of History, and the US-China Peoples’ Friendship Association - Minnesota

KOJI ARIYOSHI AWARD PRESENTED TO BARBARA HARRISON

             At the 21st National Convention in Sarasota, FL Barbara Harrison was presented with the most prestigious award granted by USCPFA by National President Robert Sanborn.  Barbara has a commendable volunteer records which includes 14 years as National President, 29 years as Minnesota Chapter member with 26 years on the Board of Directors.  She has served as Minnesota Chapter president and editor of the newsletter and is currently a representative on the Midwest Board of Directors.  Barbara is a proven advocate for the mission and ideals of US—China Peoples Friendship Assn.

            Koji Ariyoshi was a Japanese-American who worked for the US Army Military Intelligence Service during WWII.  He spent a majority of his time stationed at the Dixie Mission in Yan’an.  His primary duty in Yan’an was to learn more about the Communist activities,  train Japanese prisoners of war, translate Japanese source materials, and develop Allied propaganda targeting the Japanese.  After the War, among his many activities was the founding of the China-Hawaii People’s Friendship Association.

THANK YOU

To all who participated in so many ways during the

Minnesota-Shaanxi 25th Anniversary Celebration

Matthew Abbott, An Wei, Joan Brzezinski, Inkie Brons, Suzanne Cahill, Su Chen, David Ruzhao Cheng, Poldi Gerard, Li King Feng, Jesse Field, Walter Graff, Christopher Hang, Barbara Harrison, Gao Hong, CC and Joyce Hsiao, Fred and Jennie Hsiao, Hu Di, Greg Hugh, Robert Jacobsen, Robert Jamison, Alan Kagan, Jeanne Kilde, Thomas La Venture, Dong Li, Wen Li, CJ Liu, Elise Lohmann, Linda Mealey-Lohmann, Tony Lorusso, Richard Mather, Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau, Honorable Walter Mondale, Governor Tim Pawlenty, Paul Quie, Mindy Ratner, Kathleen Ryor, Tony Simmons, Suzanne Smith, Jim Swiderski, Mary Voight, Ann Waltner , Yang Wang, Daniel Warpeha, Mary Warpeha, Rebecca Warpeha, Walter Warpeha, Jean Wilhelm, Bruce Willits, Margaret Wong, Amy Xu, Yali You, John Y. Zhang,      Penny Zhang, Chen Zhou

Foreign Affairs Offices of Shaanxi

Wang Yousheng, Liu Xianlian, Qiang Haoli, Jiang Shuidong,

Ban Hui, Zhou Bin, Zhong Shi Min, Wang Juan

An Shang Education Committee

Asian American Press

BestBuy

Carleton Chinese Ensemble

Changqing National Nature Reserve

China Center

China Insight

Global Volunteers

China Tribune

High School for Recording Arts

Minnesota Trade Office

Office Max

Shaanxi Assn of Minnesota

Sino-American Society in Xian

Spectrum Trust—St. Paul Foundation

U of M Libraries

U of M Institute for Advance Study