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Storytime Tapestry Newsletter
The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural
awareness throughout the world.
Special Treat – By Hartson Dowd
June
22, 2006
DRAGON-BOAT FESTIVALS
in CANADA
Chinese-Canadians also have a celebration near
the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese calendar.
The Dragon Boat Festival honours an ancient
Chinese poet and statesman, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in order to protest
against political corruption and injustice.
Legend has it that as the townspeople tried to rescue him; they beat
drums and splashed their oars in order to frighten away the fish and water
dragons. To keep the fish from eating Qu
Yuan’s body, the fishermen threw a kind of dumpling made from rice and meat and
other ingredients wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river.
Today festival activities recall the legendary
events. Participants in the boat races
eat the dumplings made from glutinous rice, which have been wrapped in leaves
tied with threads: green, red, yellow, white and black. They are eaten on the day of the Dragon Boat
Festival to honour Qu Yuan.
To symbolize attempts to rescue Qu Yuan,
participant’s race elaborately decorated narrow “dragon” boats. These boats measure twelve meters and have
ornately carved and painted “dragon’ heads and tails, and each boat carries a
crew of twenty-two paddlers.
Here in Canada, the Canadian
International Dragon Boat Festival, held in Vancouver, in June 17 and 18 is a
truly unique event. At the Plaza of Nations, on the shores of
False Creek, there is a three-day presentation of the performing and visual
arts with the performers drawn from the professional and semi-professional arts
community of Canada, with special guests from Pacific Rim countries.
Add to this a culinary festival featuring foods
of the world, and the dragon boat races themselves, held in the east basin of False Creek, and you have a true
multicultural event.
In Sudbury, Ontario the Dragon Boat
Festival begins Friday July 14th thru Saturday. Aside from
the races, the fun-filled weekend will be enriched by a series of performances,
featuring traditional cultural dances and songs from a number of ethnic
communities. These performances reflect Sudbury's ethnic diversity and complement the city's cultural
mosaic. Fun activities for children will also be included.
In Barrie, Ontario the Dragons are moving Downtown! The
2006 Barrie Dragon Boat Festival, in support of Barrie Public Library, which will take place on Saturday,
August 26, 2006, is
moving to a new venue - Heritage Park, in the heart of downtown Barrie.
The Manulife Dragon Boat Festival is an organized
Fundraiser in support of the Nova Scotia Amateur Sport
Fund. Teams of 20 people, plus a drummer who keeps the beat of the stroke, will
paddle Dragon Boats down the lake in a series of fun and friendly races. Dragon
boats are very stable, and the races only last a minute or two, making it a
perfect event for everyone - even a team of beginners! The ninth annual Manulife Dragon Boat
Festival will take place on Saturday, July
8, 2006 at Lake Banook.
In Toronto, Canada, the 18th
Dragon Boat Festival featuring The Historic Amazing Race, June 24-25, 2006 Toronto Centre Island, Free Admission . Around 200 teams with
over 6,000 paddlers competing in over 100 races in two days. Athletes of
different backgrounds from all over the world take part in the ancient Chinese
tradition and friendly competition.
Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival – June 24,25th
-  Ancient Chinese tradition meets the Nation's Capital.
Combine the excitement and competition of dragon boat races, multi-cultural
food and entertainment, community spirit and charitable fundraising and you
have a colourful two-day event that attracts 4,500 paddlers and over 60,000
spectators. In 2005, our generous paddlers raised $ 175,000.00 for local
charities. Thanks to all.
The most popular
dish during Dragon Boat Festival is Tzung Tzu,
originally eaten in memory of the patriot Chu Yuan, but
gradually evolving into a snack eaten during normal occasions as well.
Of all the major
holidays celebrated in China, Dragon Boat
Festival has the longest history. Occurring at the beginning of summer when
insects thrive, the festival was distinguished from other occasions in earlier
days as a time for reminding family members to take care of their health. The
Chinese continue to heed this wisdom, however, by replacing the traditional
customs of hanging calamus and moxa, drinking hsiung huang wine, and
giving sachets, with more advanced methods for protecting one's health.
For a schedule of Dragon Boat Races in your
part of the World – click on:
http://www.dragonboatcalendar.com/calendar.htm
Recipe: Stuffing Tsung Tzu
Making tsung tzu is relatively simple and can be
mastered after a few tries. A recipe for Taiwanese-style tsung tzu is
included below if you want to give it a try.
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 Ingredients:
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long glutinous rice
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Chinese five-spice
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pork(stewed in spices is best )
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salt
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dried mushrooms
(large cap and long-stemmed)
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broad bamboo leaves
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salted egg yolks
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string
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sugar
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soy sauce
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Directions: 
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Wash sticky (glutinous) rice and
soak for three hours.
Chop pork into 4cm long and 2cm wide strips.
Soak mushrooms until tender, remove stems and cut into
strips.
Mix soy sauce, Chinese five-spice, salt, and sugar. Let
pieces of pork and mushrooms soak in above mixture for two hours.
Cut salted egg yolks in halves.
Thoroughly clean soaked and softened bamboo leaves and
string.
Shape two long bamboo leaves into a funnel shape using
one third of the length of the leaves.
Fill the funnel half with rice and half with pieces of
pork, mushroom, and egg yolk.
Cover the "funnel" with additional rice, and then
wrap the mixture tightly with the remaining portion of the leaves.
Tie string around tsung tzu and cook in a covered
steamer over medium heat for two hours.
May be eaten hot.
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Hartson Dowd
hsdowd@telus.net
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