By Victor Chen, bostonese.com
Boston, Feb. 20, 2015, — Chinatown Main Street (CMS) 20th Anniversary fundraising gala was recently held in Boston Chinatown. Over $30,000 donation was raised during the banquet and about 300 guests enjoyed an evening of fine dining and performances by local dance and Kung Fu groups.
(from left)Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and CMS President Tony Yee cut the 20th anniversary cake(photo by Victor Chen).
Chinatown Main Street is part of the Boston Main Streets founded by former Boston Mayor Tom Menino. State Rep. Donald Wong praised the contribution of CMS to the Chinatown community. Before the banquet, Mr. Wong share his experiences with friends of practicing qigong, a form of Chinese martial arts.
Like other events by CMS, Chinese culture elements were part of the banquet. Mr. Tianyuan Jiang created beautiful Chinese calligraphy pieces for guests. The cultural performances included Kung Fu demos by Southern and Western martial arts school, dances by students of Boston Chinese Dance School.
Chinese WuShu (martial arts) champion Xiaoyi Chen(pictured above) performed a wonderful TaiChi routine. A graduate of Beijing Sports University WuShu College, Xiaoyi Chen is Chinese National First Class WuShu Athlete. In the 9th Hong Kong WuShu International Championships in 2011, Xiaoyi Chen Won four gold medals.
Other state and city officials at the banquet include Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty, Dan Koh of Mayor Walsh’s office, Shelia Dillion, director of Boston Housing Authority, and Jacqui Jepeta of State Treasurer’s office.
According to Gilbert Ho, board member of CMS, the Chinese New Year Flower Market (planned for Feb. 14 – 18) had to be cancelled, as Governor Baker issued a traffic ban asking people to stay off the road, and City of Boston also had parking ban and subway and bus delays during the Valentine’s Day Blizzard of 2015.
The next Chinese New Year event by CMS is on Sunday, March 1, featuring Chinese New Year Cultural village at China Trade Center, 2 Boylston Street from 10am – 5pm, with arts and craft for a whole day of family fun. For information about CMS activities, please call Courtney Ho, executive director of CMS, at (617) 350-6303, or check the website: www.ChinaTownMainStreet.org.