Chinese Culture Group of Greater Grand Rapids

With summer fading away, it’s time to look ahead for Fall. We have things planned for each month starting with our annual Moon Festival, which will be held on Friday September 5, 2008 from 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at Keystone Community Church http://www.keystonecc.org/app/. The Moon Festival will follow our traditional format as follows:

• Potluck Dinner (Each family needs to bring a main dish to pass. Deserts are optional).
• Moon Festival Story.
• Arts & Crafts.
• Fireworks.
• Glow Stick Hunt

The cost of this event is $5.00 per family which will help to pay for supplies and facility rental costs. To sign up for this event, please click on the following link: http://ccgggr.org/content/signup/moon-festival-signup/

On Saturday October 18, 2008 (From 10 AM - ??) we will be going to Klackle Orchards: http://www.klackleorchards.com/. For those of you who have never been to Klackle, you’re in for a very memorable time. There are over a dozen activities to do for the kids including:

• Wagon Ride with 1/4 peck of apples to pick
• Enchanted Pumpkin Ride (Starts Sept. 29th)
• Inflatables
• Animal Crackers Petting Zoo
• Face Painting
• Barrel Train Ride
• Pedal Carts, Tractors & Trikes
• Field of Fun (Maze, BMX Track, Apple Shoot, Putt Putt Pumpkin)
• Coaster Slide Area
• Picnic Areas
• Bonfires

• BMX Track
• Putt Putt Pumpkin
• Straw Tower
• Corn Maze

The cost of this event is $10.00 per person (to be paid on the date of the event). This cost includes all aforementioned activities as well as donuts and cider for all attendees, a private tractor ride to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch, and a private meeting/gathering place. A rain date is scheduled for 10-25-08 in case Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate with us on the 18th.

On Saturday November 8, 2008 (From 10:30 AM - 2 PM), we have an event planned for Craig’s Cruisers in Grand Rapids: http://www.craigscruisers.com/ For $11.99 kids get to choose from 2 activities that includes laser tag, bumper cars, co-carts, frog hopper, and ropes course. The $11.99 cost includes an all-you-can eat buffet. Additional activities can be added for $4.00 more. Adult chaperons do not have to pay for activities and can pay a separate cost for the buffet if they just want to eat. Children 36 inches and smaller eat free at the buffet (the buffet last for up to 3 hours and contains 50 items). There are really no activities for kids under 36 inches other than video games.

On Saturday December 6, 2008, we will be having our annual Holiday Party from 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM at Golden Gate Restaurant located at 4023 S Division Ave/Grand Rapids, MI 49548. The telephone number for the restaurant is 616-534-7087. Back in 2004 we had a group meal/cooking demonstration at this restaurant. Aside from good food, the hospitality of the owners was incredible! They are very excited to have us back and are opening the restaurant especially for our group (they are typically closed on Saturday afternoon). Presently, there are options for a buffet style dinner. If you are interested in attending and ordering a buffet, please click on the following link: http://ccgggr.org/content/signup/christmas-signup/ If there is minimal/limited interested in a buffet, families can order from their menu. The deadline for signing up is November 24, 2008. Here’s to a great fall! Peace - Dan Richter, Chairperson

Check out http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/category/sports/2008-olympics/ for coverage and facts pertaining to the Beijing Olympics.

You can check out other China related news feeds at http://ccgggr.org/content/china-news-feeds-rss/

Let the games begin!

Mark

If your family is planning on attending this event with the CCGGGR, please email Dan Richter at crookedbayct@earthlink.net

This information will help with the planning process.  Thanks - Dan Richter

May 2008:

With Summer approaching there are several cultural opportunities for you and your family. In June, FFIC will be holding its annual Heritage Camp from June 17-June 20, 2008. For more information go to: http://www.fficgr.org/id3.html

On July 26, 2008 the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual Dragon Boat Race For Literacy at Ping Tom Park in Chicago, Illinois (for more information go to: http://www.chicagochinatown.org/). To celebrate this event, there are several families from our local FCC group who will be traveling to Chicago for the weekend.

We will be staying at the Holiday Inn Mayan Adventure Indoor Water Park in Elmhurst, Illinois http://mayanindoorwaterpark.reachlocal.com/coupon/?scid=180826&cid=177176&tc=08051015115926832&dynamic_proxy=1&primary_serv=mayanindoorwaterpark.reachlocal.net&se_refer=http%253A%252F%252Fsearch.yahoo.com%252Fsearch%253Fp%253Dmayan%252Badventure%252Belmhurst%2526ei%253DUTF-8%2526fr%253Dmoz2. This hotel offers reasonable rates and includes an indoor water park that should be fun for all ages.

Additionally, there is a commuter train station 5 minutes from the hotel, offering hourly commutes into Chinatown. The hotel offers complimentary shuttle service to and from the train station, depending on interest level. For more information about fares and schedules, please visit: http://metrarail.com/. The Elmhurst station is on the pink line and is a 35-40 minute ride into Chicago.

An agenda for activities has been developed as follows:

Friday:

· Check-in time is 2 PM

· Dinner will be on your own

· Meet at the pool (open until 10 PM)

Saturday:

· Dragon Boat Festival is from 9 AM to 4 PM (come and go as you please)

· Pizza Party at the Pool at 5 PM

· Swimming until 10 PM

Sunday:

· Breakfast on your own

· 11 AM check out

· You may enjoy the pool until 3 PM

From July 28th through August 1st, Chinese Village & Young Champions will be holding a Wushu Summer Camp for ages 6 on up.  For more information please visit their website at: http://chinesevillage.org

From August 8th through August 10th Families Through Adoption (Char Lanning’s organization) is planning a weekend gathering to celebrate the Olympics in Beijing. For more information, go to their website: http://familiesthroughadoption.org/celebrate.htm

I hope everyone enjoys a memorable summer. Peace – Dan Richter, CCGGGR chairperson.

Our Chinese New Year party is scheduled for February 8th at Keystone Church located at 655 Spaulding Ave. in Ada, MI The meeting time is from 6:30-8:30

This year we celebrate the Year of the Rat. The party will be potluck style so please bring a hot and cold dish to pass. We will provide place settings and something to drink. For more details please email mark@markandmelissa.com

6:30-7:30 - Announcements and dinner (potluck)
7:30 - Traditional Lion dance by members of The Panda Pals
7:45 - New Year Games (rat pinata to celebrate “The Year Of The Rat”)
8:00 - Humorous short video of Frank Jiang explaining how the order of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac came to be.
8:05 - Closing with an outdoors firework display

Thanks,

Mark

The new Board of Directors were voted in at the June 23, 2007 meeting. Many thanks go out to the Board for the commitment and sacrifice they make to ensure our group events run smoothly.

Dan Richter is stepping up to the Chair position with Mark Elenbaas now filling the Vice Chair position. Mike Pikaart will remain the group Treasurer and we have three Member-at-Large positions being filled by: Lori Visser, Gale Lanning and Kevin Weber.

If you’d like to congratulate a board member or if you ever need to get in touch with one of us, please visit the Contact Us page and click one of the email links.

CCGGGR Webmaster

At the end of March an invitation to serve on the board was extended to all members. To date, the executive committee hasn’t received any responses. Fortunately, several board members have stepped up and plan to run for another two year term, but we need your help to make these next two years our best ever. This year we plan to re-institute sub-committees to ensure meeting are planned and run smoothly. If you can’t commit to a two year or one year post please consider serving on one of the sub-committees (Education, Communication, Facility & other major event committees)

Serving on the board can be very rewarding and is a great way to get connected with the group. Please contact a board member if you are interested in one of these positions. For a list of board member email addresses go to http://ccgggr.org/content/contact-us/

Two Year Term Positions:

Chairperson - Dan Richter has expressed interest in this position
Vice Chairperson - Mark Elenbaas has expressed interest in this position
Secretary
Treasurer

One Year Term Positions:

Member at Large - Gale Lanning has expressed interest in this position
Member at Large

I love to keep up-to-date on what’s going on in China but often don’t have the time to scan the web. So, I implemented RSS feeds on the CCGGGR site to gather daily news feeds from two sources: Radio Free Asia and Peoples Daily Online.

News feeds are available at China News Feeds - RSS to read more of an article click on the article name and it will direct you to the appropriate website to continue reading. If you know of any other websites that offer a XML or RSS feed please email Mark

Enjoy

Coming this June, all current board member positions will be expiring. Spring is upon us and Summer is right around the corner so we wanted to give you plenty of time to consider serving on the board this next term. Serving on the board can be very rewarding and is a great way to get connected with the group. Please contact a board member if you are interested in one of these positions. For a list of board member email addresses go to http://ccgggr.org/content/contact-us/

Two Year Term Positions:

Chairperson
Vice Chairperson
Secretary
Treasurer

One Year Term Positions:

Member at Large (2 positions)

Due to the slippery roads and extreme cold weather, tonights meeting is cancelled. The meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 13th.

Thanks,

CCGGGR Board