February 11, 2017 Year of the Rooster New Year’s Banquet. (poster) (program)
A crowd of 184 persons attended the annual Canada-China Friendship Society Banquet held at the Mandarin Ogilvie Restaurant in Ottawa. The Deputy Head of Mission from the Chinese Embassy Wentian Wang extended Chinese New Year’s greetings to the guests and said he looked forward to continued close co-operation between the Embassy and the CCFS.
The guest Speaker was Senator Yuen Pau Woo who offered his thoughts on the meaning of the Year of the Rooster and extended best wishes to everyone for the New Year. He presented souvenirs provided by Embassy to guests who were born in the Year of the Rooster.
Once again a very successful silent auction was held to raise money for various projects run by the Society. More than forty items were donated by the Embassy of China. The Azzi Law Professional Corporation was a sponsor of the banquet and other donations for the silent auction were received from Maison Birks, Nectar Fine Teas, ChoiTechandLaw Professional Corporation, Hulse Playfair and McGarry, Mandarin Ogilvie Restaurant, the National Arts Centre, Tsingtao Beer Canada, Sopa Soups, Squish Candy, T & T Supermarket, Anytime Fitness, Unlock Ottawa Adventure Games and many generous CCFS-O members.
During the ten course meal guests were treated to entertainment by Byron Zhang who played the classical Chinese instrument the Erhu. Master of Ceremonies for the banquet was Diana Cartwright. The silent auction and draw for door prizes were conducted by Tracy Tian with assistance from CCFS executive members and volunteers including Erqin Zheng, Peter Tarassoff, Roxanne Hamel, Lorraine Farkas, Amelia Choi, Yong-Zhi Wang, and Maria Shin
