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Food and Drink

Gung hay fat choy, near and far
glendabyline

Are Steve Jiu and I the only ones left on the planet who love to celebrate every holiday and culturally significant day known to humankind?

By the time you read this, I will have picked the bits of haggis from me teeth after a wee bit o’ fun at Robbie Burns night, having only just put away the last of the New Year’s party horns. Our outdoor Christmas lights are still up – and on – because they make these long dark nights a little brighter. (Promise I’ll turn them off before Easter.)

Now I sit wide-eyed in anticipation of the big noisy parade down Pender and Keefer streets in Vancouver to celebrate Chinese New Year, this the Year of the Dog, followed by a feast of won ton and noodles and barbecued duck at a Chinese restaurant somewhere.

I caught up with Steve after he penned a letter to the editor in the Jan. 12 Pique enlightening people about Chinese New Year. Its subtle subtext: wouldn’t it be great if Whistler got on the Chinese New Year bandwagon big-time.

Steve is better known as the multi-tasking, multi-disc-spinning DJ Kato – well, not anymore; he just changed his name to DJ Jiu, – when he’s not running Farfalla Hair Salon or running for council. His bandwagon message pretty much encapsulates his inner impresario self, and comes across with a bang in person.

"Chinese New Year is so big in Vancouver, which is great, but in Whistler it’s non-existent – it’s a big divide.

"I don’t think people here see the economic benefit it could have," says Steve, who will be heading down to Vancouver to get his annual hit of Chinese New Year with family and friends.

On the 28th, the day before Chinese New Year, everyone will flock to his mom and dad’s house in Coquitlam to exchange gifts and enjoy all kinds of special foods. There’ll be a "steamboat", where you cook your own shrimp, scallops, pieces of meat and Asian veggies like bok choy in a bubbling broth. And barbecued pork, ginger beef, salted pork and chicken (the latter served with garlic sauce), fried rice and chow mein.

Chinese New year is a time to celebrate together, and to "sweep clean" by putting your physical and metaphorical house in order. Any grudges between you and a cousin? Steve says now’s the time to mend bridges and move forward with a clean slate.

Friends and relatives will drop by with gifts for each other — boxes of chocolates, bags of oranges or red packets of lucky money. They’ll read about and discuss the New Year and what it will bring. (This is the year of the red or fire dog, to be precise, and that adds a little extra energy and zip. But normally years of the dog bring out the loyalty and honesty in people and inspire confidence.)

Steve loves the parade in Chinatown, too, with all the dragon dancers and firecrackers that chase away bad spirits. But he would just as soon do some of his celebrating at Whistler.

"In Whistler we don’t really have a multi-cultural community, that’s why we don’t celebrate things like this. It’s sad but true," he says.

He’s quick to point out that being the true-blooded Canadian he is, he isn’t just talking about celebrating Chinese events. No, he’d love to see the town mark all sorts of special days from cultures near and far, be it Cinco de Mayo or Aussie Day. Which to him creates a perfect synchronicity in a tourist town like Whistler. Sort of a permanent Expo 86, where every day is pavilion day.

One problem: Steve doesn’t see Whistler’s movers and shakers getting behind celebrating special days – to whit, Whistler had an Irish mayor who couldn’t find it in his green blood to push for St. Paddy’s Day festivities.

In fact, we are both still waiting, even as I write, to get more details from Tourism Whistler on the Chinese New Year festivities touted weeks ago.

I’m almost past deadline with nary a year-of-the-dog dragon dance detail poking its head up in my e-mail basket, other than to tell you we are promised there will be indeed dragons dancing through the village and swooshing down the mountains Jan. 27-29 until about 4 p.m.

Chinese tea will be served in lift lines and traditional Chinese entertainment and arts demos will be happening somewhere. The Whistler-Blackcomb Fire & Ice Show on Sunday evening at the village base of Whistler Mountain will have a Chinese theme.

I can tell you, though, that several restaurants are putting on special Chinese New Year offerings. This much confirmed: The Cinnamon Bear Bar at the Hilton is doing a pretty swell looking dim sum brunch on Sunday and Joey Chan’s is offering some special group dinners at group prices. And the Crepe Montange will have its usual Chinese fondue you could partake in. (Check out Nicole Fitzgerald’s "Table Scraps" column this issue; you may find more last minute tid-bits.)

As well, in the true tradition of Chinese New Year and in keeping with something his dad impressed upon him – always bring something for people – Steve will be serving Chinese tea and oranges and giving away lucky red packets to all his good customers at Farfalla.

Of course, all this doesn’t quite add up to spending Chinese New Year in Vancouver, nor does that add up to spending Chinese New Year on the shores of Hong Kong harbour.

But it’s a start, and seeing a Chinese dragon on skis just might be worth giving up the Pender Street parade.

However or wherever you spend Chinese New Year, gung hay fat choy. Or as Steve would say, good luck, good fortune, good health.

About all that red and crackling

Red is very big at Chinese New Year. People wear red clothes, decorate with red paper, and give away "lucky money" in special red envelopes all because red symbolizes fire, which, according to legend, can drive away bad luck. The fireworks and firecrackers that shower Chinese New Year festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. In those days, people in China lit bamboo stalks because they believed that the crackling flames would frighten away evil spirits.

Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning freelance writer who just got a crazy Aussie cattle dog in time for year of the dog.