My family and I had the great honor of spending Saturday night at the Madame Walker Theatre with members of the Indianapolis Chinese community as they commemorated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
We were the guests of Weilin Long, who is a director in the City of Indianapolis' Office of Minority and Business Development and very active in the local Chinese community. She was extremely helpful to me in preparing for the recent trade mission trip I took with Governor Daniels, and Weilin herself recently visited her parents in China.
Weilin gave us the VIP treatment, with front row seats and a chance to make brief welcoming remarks along with Vice Consul Jing Zhu from the Chinese consulate in Chicago and Virgil Madden, special assistant to Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. I even did a couple of interviews at intermission for Chinese television.
The festival was excellent, featuring singing, dancing, traditional Chinese music, ballet, an outstanding cellist, and even a couple of Chinese comics. I didn't understand a word they said, but trust me -- based on the audience's reaction, these guys were hilarious.
In fact, you can check out part of their act for yourself. I took along a new Flip video camera, and my 8- and 12-year-old daughters -- who looked lovely in the Chinese silk dresses I picked up in Hangzhou a few weeks ago -- helped me shoot some footage. There are no Oscars in our future, to be sure, but this footage will give you a brief taste of what a full house at Madame Walker enjoyed (and just to clarify, these are just a handful of the many wonderful performances that were shared with us Saturday night, including a fabulous cello solo by Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra cellist Jian-Wen Tong).
The festival was co-sponsored by the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center; Confucius Institute; Indianapolis Chinese Medical Association; IUPUI Chinese School; IUPUI Students and Scholars Association; Indianapolis Chinese Performing Arts, Inc.; and Lilly Chinese Culture Network.
I'm convinced more than ever that we have a great opportunity to make Indianapolis a vibrant and welcoming community for Chinese businesses and families. I'm heading to Taiwan and Beijing in a week, and there will be more to say about that soon. But for now, to the many friends we met on Saturday night, let me simply say, "xie xie."
We were the guests of Weilin Long, who is a director in the City of Indianapolis' Office of Minority and Business Development and very active in the local Chinese community. She was extremely helpful to me in preparing for the recent trade mission trip I took with Governor Daniels, and Weilin herself recently visited her parents in China.
Weilin gave us the VIP treatment, with front row seats and a chance to make brief welcoming remarks along with Vice Consul Jing Zhu from the Chinese consulate in Chicago and Virgil Madden, special assistant to Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. I even did a couple of interviews at intermission for Chinese television.
The festival was excellent, featuring singing, dancing, traditional Chinese music, ballet, an outstanding cellist, and even a couple of Chinese comics. I didn't understand a word they said, but trust me -- based on the audience's reaction, these guys were hilarious.
In fact, you can check out part of their act for yourself. I took along a new Flip video camera, and my 8- and 12-year-old daughters -- who looked lovely in the Chinese silk dresses I picked up in Hangzhou a few weeks ago -- helped me shoot some footage. There are no Oscars in our future, to be sure, but this footage will give you a brief taste of what a full house at Madame Walker enjoyed (and just to clarify, these are just a handful of the many wonderful performances that were shared with us Saturday night, including a fabulous cello solo by Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra cellist Jian-Wen Tong).
The festival was co-sponsored by the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center; Confucius Institute; Indianapolis Chinese Medical Association; IUPUI Chinese School; IUPUI Students and Scholars Association; Indianapolis Chinese Performing Arts, Inc.; and Lilly Chinese Culture Network.
I'm convinced more than ever that we have a great opportunity to make Indianapolis a vibrant and welcoming community for Chinese businesses and families. I'm heading to Taiwan and Beijing in a week, and there will be more to say about that soon. But for now, to the many friends we met on Saturday night, let me simply say, "xie xie."
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for Celebrating October Festival with the Chinese Community in Indianapolis