There are two upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations in the Grand Rapids area:

The first will take place on Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 2-5 pm at Rivertree Community Church, 1951 64th Street, Byron Center, MI.  Tickets are $3.00 (children 3 & under are free) and are available at Rivertree and Grandville Printing Company, 4719 Ivanrest, Grandville, MI.

There will be arts & crafts for the kids, a Chinese calligraphy demonstration, appetizers from a local Chinese restaurant, performances by the Chinese Association of West Michigan, and a professional dragon dance team. For more information Jodi at durx3js@hotmail.com.

Yen Ching, 4605 28th Street Southeast, Kentwood, MI  will be hosting its 30th annual Chinese New Year celebration from 6 – 9:30 PM on Saturday February 20, 2010.  The celebration will consist of a 10-course meal, as well as games, lots of giveaways, and a raffle.  Traditional cuisine to be served includes: Chicken Corn Chowder, Shendong Dumplings, Peking Duck, Imperial Seafood Cold-Dish (jellyfish, prawn, etc), Sesame Chicken, Crispy Mandarin Beef, Firecracker Prawn, Sweet & Sour Fish Filet, and Sherbert.  The cost is $32.95 per person.  Kids 10 and under are half price.  If you are interested in attending this, contact Yen Ching at (616) 940-4111 for reservations and any additional information.

Here’s to a terrific year – Dan Richter

Our annual Holiday Party will be held on Saturday December 5, 2009 at Golden Gate Restaurant (616-534-7087), which is located at 4023 S. Division Avenue in Wyoming.  The party will take place from noon to 2 PM and will feature arts & crafts, games, and a visit from Santa Claus.

There will also be an all-you-can-eat buffet including appetizers, pork, beef, and chicken entrees, vegetarian selections, soup, and desserts.  Soda and tea will also be included.

Prices for the buffet are as follows:

• Ages 4 & under: Free
• Ages 4-10: $6.95 per person
• Ages 10 & up: $13.95 per person

Please note that 6% sales tax and 15% gratuity are not included in these costs.

If you are planning on attending this event, please RSVP by 11-28-09 by clicking on the following signup link:  http://ccgggr.org/content/signup/christmas%20signup/

Hope to see you there – Dan Richter

On Saturday October 24, 2009 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
• 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

We will plan on meeting as a group around 10 near the booth where you pay.

Day: October 24, 2009

When: 10AM to ?

Where: Klackle Apple Orchard in Greenville, MI

Moon Festival is a traditional holiday celebrated each year all across China with family and friends (much like our Thanksgiving). Come celebrate with us at Wei Wei Palace restaurant. We will be eating there at 2:00 pm which means we will be enjoying Dim Sum–mmmm!

Dim Sum is a traditional Cantonese lunch where they come by each table with a cart of hot dishes and you can choose what looks good to you. Every now and again the cart comes by again with new fresh offerings to tempt you. It’s a fun way to eat a Chinese meal, and Wei Wei Palace is one of the most authentic Chinese restaurants in Grand Rapids.

Please RSVP with the following form if you plan to attend.
http://ccgggr.org/content/signup/moon-festival-signup

P.s. There is an Asian market next door, that has everything from frozen dumplings and wooden steamers to ceramic rice bowls and Asian spoons, and it’s much cheaper than buying these things at your local grocery store.

Day: Saturday, October 10

When: 2:00 pm

Where: Wei Wei Palace Restaurant– on Division just North of 44th on the East side of the street

Early Fall is a great time to just get out and enjoy the last of the fading summer weather (well, maybe we’ve been enjoying this longer than normal this year). So this event is just an informal get-together at Fallasburg Park in Lowell.

We plan to meet at 2:00 pm and let the kids play on the main play structure together, and maybe walk down to the river after some playing. Fallasburg Park has some great walking/hiking trails, a beautiful creek that feeds into the river and picnic areas, if you so choose.Come join us! We hope to see you there.

Day: Saturday, September 19

When: 2:00 p.m.

Where: Fallasburg Park main play structure (drive straight ahead after entering Fallasburg Park Drive and do not turn right or left onto the other roads that connect to it. You’ll come to a stone arch to a parking lot on your right. Keep going about 100 feet and you will come to the main play structure on your right).

I don’t know about all of you, but sometimes I have a hard time remembering names. This can be a little embarrassing when it comes to remembering those in the group that you feel you really should know the names of by now! So, to this end, we will be putting together a photo directory (my wife Melissa is putting it together–here is a sample).

Nothing too fancy (the final directory will be in PDF format which members can print out on their home printers if they like), just something to help us all. If you have a family picture and would like to be included in the directory, please send me…

1. Your family photo

2. The names of everyone in your family picture

3. Let me know if you would like your email address(es) included with your photo (and what they are)

Send them to mark@markandmelissa.com by the last day of March.

Thanks,

Mark

P.S. A couple of you have already sent pictures (you saw this post on the Yahoo site). If you want to send an updated photo that’s fine. If not, we will plan to use what you have already sent.

During July 2009, there will be 4 board openings for the following positions:

- Chairperson (Currently held by Dan Richter)

- Vice Chairperson (Currently held by Mark Elenbaas)

- Member At Large (Currently held by Lori Visser)

- Member At Large (Currently held by Kevin Weber)

The main responsibility of the board is to organize/plan events, distribute information, and maintain the mission of the group in accordance with FCC guidelines as follows: To support families who’ve adopted in China through post-adoption and Chinese culture programs; To encourage adoption from China and support waiting families; To advocate for and support children remaining in orphanages in China.

Please volunteer for the board, which is a 2-year commitment.  If you are interested in becoming a board member, please contact us:  http://ccgggr.org/content/contact-us/

If there are no volunteers, individual members/regular attendees will be asked to step-up in order to maintain this group.

Thank you – Dan Richter

On Saturday May 16, 2009 come celebrate one of China’s most famous inventions – The Kite.  Approximately 2,800 years ago, the first kite was flown in Weifang, China (Shandong Province) by 5th century philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban.  Over time, kites have been used for sport, military operations, scientific testing, and leisure.   Weifang continues to recognize this invention by hosting an annual International Kite Festival.

For more information about the kite and it’s relevance to Chinese Culture, please see:  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/kites.htm.  In addition, there are several children’s books about Chinese kites that would be an excellent way to educate our kids about this topic before our celebration:

Kite Flying by Grace Lin (http://www.gracelin.com/content.php?page=book_kite)

Moonbeams, Dumplings, & Dragonboats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes (http://www.childbook.com/Moonbeams-Dumplings-Dragon-Boats-A-Treasury-o-p/e0261.htm)

In honor of the kite, Art and Lori Visser will be hosting a kite flying celebration at their home.  The celebration will take place on Saturday May 16, 2009 from noon – ???.  For directions to the Visser’s Home (located between Cedar Springs and Rockford, MI) please send them a private email at: one1horseranch@att.net.  A tentative agenda for the celebration is as follows:

12:00 – 1:15 PM Lunch (Each family will be responsible for bringing their own place settings and drinks.  Punch and condiments will be available, if desired.  Additionally, each family is asked to bring a dish to pass.  There will be a grill and/or fire available for cooking meat, which families need to supply for their own use).

1:15 PM – ???  Kite flying.  The Vissers have several acres with few trees.  Each family will be responsible for bringing their own kites.

To sign-up for this event, please click on the following link:

http://ccgggr.org/content/signup/kite-flying-and-potluck/

Hope to see you there – Dan Richter