metro asian news
Posted Oct 1, 2008
HK Dragon Boat Festival Pedals To Another Successful Year
The Commissioner of Hong Kong, Margaret Fong officially dot the ‘eye of the dragon’ to bring blessing to the 13th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Lanier Rowing Center on Sept 13.
Over 2500 spectators attended the fun-filled annual festival. This year’s recorded over 50 teams participating at the Dragon Boat races.
A special tribute to cancer survivors teams were held to honor their courage and determination to fight the disease.
This year festival has attracted teams from neighboring states of South Carolina and North Carolina.
“This year marked the 13th annual festival and we have become an important event for corporate teams to build teamwork and spirit. Many companies are also returning to this event each year with larger team participation,” said Gene Hanratty, organizer of HK Dragon Boat Atlanta.
Other than dragon boat races, spectators and families are treated to dance and cultural performance by various community groups from metro Atlanta. The festival also feature bazaar and food vendors selling various ethnic cooking.
Listed below are results of division winners:
BCS category: Dragon Boat Charleston-1st place, Steel Magnolias-2nd Place, Indy Survivors-3rd place.
Collegiate category: UGA Team I-1st place, Georgia Tech-2nd place, Emory II (Chinese Student Union)-3rd place.
Financial category: Merrill Dragon King-1st place, United Commercial Bank-2nd place
International category: AIESEC Global Dragons-1st place, AJC International-2nd place
Laotian category: Wat Lao Buddharam of Habersham-1st place, Drnken Dragon-2nd place, Cornelia Jump Boyz-3rd place
Open category: LCKC “A”-1st place, LCKC “B”-2nd place
Recreational category: Charleston Surge-1st place, Charlotte Fury-2nd place, KAC-Chong Yong-3rd place
For more race results of HK Dragon Boat Atlanta, visit www.dragonboatatlanta.org
Japan Fest Draws Large Attendance At Gwinnett Center
Japan Fest in its second year of hosting at Gwinnett Center has continued to attract large crowds and visitors. Organizer has moved the event from Stone Mountain to Gwinnett Center in 2007.
Japan Fest headlines several popular Japanese act including rock band “Sinatra”, Orlando based Taiko drumming group “Matzuriza”, and Yoko Hiraoka, a Japanese biwa player.
Visitors to the event were able to sample Japanese food and drinks prepared by local food vendors. Bazaars selling items such toys, woodwork, clothing, and various pop culture items were available at the event.
Fans of Japanese flower arrangement “ikebana’ and bonsai plants were treated to a special exhibition. Varieties of artfully crafted plants were exhibited by members of local bonsai society.
This year’s festival was impacted by the current gas shortages that hit the metro Atlanta. The crowd was comparatively smaller compared to last year’s event.
“Although the numbers were about 2000 smaller that last year attendance, we are encouraged by the strong interest and enthusiastic visitors to the festival this year. More importantly, the flow of visitors are smooth and convenient,” said Masahiro Katamoto, Consul of Japan Information Center at Consulate General of Japan Atlanta.
The annual event is presented by The Japan American Society of Georgia, The Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, and supported by The Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta.
Asian Procurement “Match-Making” For Minority Business Owners & Asian Suppliers
A business luncheon and networking symposium designed for minority business owners and Asian suppliers is scheduled for Tuesday, 10:30 am - 2:30 pm, October 7 at Arkwright Auditorium at Georgia Power corporate headquarters.
Organized by Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the symposium offer ways for minority business and Asian suppliers to conduct business with Federal, State & Local governments, Fortune 500 corporations and various chamber of commerce.
Registration and lunch is free to interested participants. Participants are encouraged to reserve their seats at the symposium online. For more information, visit www.aacc-ga.com
Monte Jade Science & Technology Association - S.E. To Host Annual Conference
Monte Jade Science & Technology Association of Southeastern US will hold its annual conference at 6:00 pm, November 1. The theme for this year conference is “Business Opportunity of Renewable Energy.”
Guest speaker is Dr. Sean Wang, who is president of Industry & Technology Research Institute (ITRI) International. ITRI is the most renown R&D organization in Taiwan and from there originated most of technologies used by the high tech industry in Taiwan.
The venue for the annual conference is Happy Valley Asian Seafood Restaurant, 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross, GA 30093. Admission is $35.00 per person.
There will be a free seminar on Personal Finance and Estate Planning before the annual conference. The seminar is schedule to start at 5:00 pm and speakers of the seminar are Ting Chiu and Nancy Liu, Esq.
Young Achiever Awards will also be handed out during the conference.
For more information on the MJSTA-SE conference, contact Mike Wang (770-883-2227) or Ray Wang (404-894-3815).
Join the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) at Automechanika Shanghai, China
The state of Georgia is currently recruiting Georgia manufacturers interested in being part of a delegation to Automechanika Shanghai 2008, Dec. 10-12, 2008.
Exhibitors will be a part of the U.S. Pavilion at the Shanghai International Trade Fair for Automotive Parts, Equipment and Service Suppliers (Automechanika Shanghai 2008) at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, December 10 - 12, 2008.
Automechnika Shanghai is focused primarily on parts & components, repair & automotive services, accessories, tuning equipment, re-fuelling & care products, Automechanika is competitively as an international, high quality trading platform for the automotive aftermarket trade in China.
The cost of Georgia exhibitor participation is $2700 and space is available on first come basis.
For more information: contact Kathy Oxford, koxford@georgia.org
India To Open Consulate in Atlanta: Report
India is scheduled to open two new consulates in U.S. possibly this year, in Atlanta and Seattle, according to a Sept 27 report from Press Trust of India.
The decision was made at the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George Bush in Washington, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said while briefing reporters about the Singh-Bush meeting.
Both the size of the community and its commercial interest was the criteria taken into consideration while deciding that the new consulates will be located at these cities, he said.
Free Tickets & Transportation Support To The Center For Puppetry Arts
The Center for Puppetry Arts, in partnership with a generous local foundation, is pleased to announce a FREE ticket and transportation program for under privileged Asian American community groups that have never been to the Center.
Qualifying groups are eligible to receive reimbursement for bus expenses, MARTA fares, and gas cost in addition to free admission to the Center.
Tickets and transportation support is available for Brer Rabbit & Friends, the first show in our 2008-09 Season, and for Weather Rocks!, a high-energy Center favorite.
A day at the Center also includes admission to our exciting museum exhibits, including Jim Henson: Wonders from his Workshop, and an opportunity to take part in a Create-A-Puppet Workshop.
To see if you qualify, and to plan your day at the Center, please contact Park Cofield, Audience Development Manager at 404.881.5178 or parkcofield@puppet.org.