Chinese Cultural Society of Saskatchewan

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Location

Regina Saskatchewan 50° 26' 52.70" N, 104° 36' 57.16" W Community Centre Group

The Chinese Cultural Society of Saskatchewan (CCSS) is a non-for-profit cultural organization registered with the province of Saskatchewan.

About

Membership in the Society is open to any persons who support the goal and objectives of the Society. Founded in 1976, the Society has branches in Regina and Saskatoon.

The CCSS Regina Branch supports many community cultural events, in particular, the Society had been the sponsoring organization for the Chinese Pavilion at Mosaic for 28 years from 1977 to 2004. The Society has formal affiliation with the Regina Phoenix Dancer and the Chung Wah Kung Fu Centre.

The CCSS also engages in activities that promote Chinese heritage as part of Canada’s ethno-cultural mosaic and provides a forum for promoting better relationship and understanding between Chinese Canadian and others in Canada through cultural exchange and language training.

30th Anniversary

2006 marked the 30th anniversary of the Society. To celebrate our 30th anniversary, a Chinese Cultural Week in Regina was successfully organized with week long activities to promote the Chinese culture and the CCSS was also able to raised $10,000 in support of the Children’s Health and Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan. Since 2006, the Chinese Cultural Week in Regina and the China Night Gala Banquet has been successfully organized annually. Over the last 6 years, we have donated over $70,000 to purchase much needed equipments for the pediatric wards in the hospitals in Regina.

History

In January 1976 the CCSS held its first general meeting in Regina and the Society was officially formed at that time. Among the founding members of the CCSS were Dr. and Mrs. P.C. Hsieh, Dr. and Mrs. Charlie Chen, Mr. Chow Tai Yee, Mr. Ken Seto Mah, Mr. Jack Hui and many others from Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw and other communities in the province. Although many people have since contributed to its success, it was the foresight, vision and effort of these founding members, which bought the Society to life.

The following are some of the Society’s major activities and functions since its inception:

• Fall, 1975: Society members formed the Chinese Language School of Regina; offering language and dancing classes to Chinese and Canadian students. (The School became an independent organization in 1986.)

• April 1977: The first ever “Conference of Chinese-Canadians in Saskatchewan” was organized by the Society in April, 1977. More than 60 delegates attended, representing community within and outside the province as well as the three level of government.

The theme of the conference was “ Saskatchewan - a place in the Mosaic”.

• June 1977 to present: The CCSS sponsors the Chinese Pavilion in Regina’s annual multi-cultural festival - MOSAIC. The Chinese Pavilion has always been a successful attraction and had won the “Diploma of Merits” award in 1986 and 2nd places for its Arts and Craft Display both in 1993 and 1995.

• 1980 -1998: The CCSS has initiated and organized since 1980, along with many local Chinese community organizations, an annual Chinese New Year Celebration Banquet and other activities. This grew from the Society’s annual Chinese New Year’s dinner of 300 to 400 guests in the early 1980s to a large community event in Regina with over 1,000 people in attendance in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Strong support from the Regina business communities has contributed to the great success of this function. As a result , the Regina Chinese New Year Celebration Committee was able to contribute over $25,000 to the Regina Chinese Benevolent Association to assist in their operational costs and other projects. Unfortunately, this Committee was dissolved in early 1998.

• September, 1983: Chinese Week in Regina was organized by the Society to celebrate 125 years of Chinese settlement in Canada. This event was coincided with similar celebration across Canada.

• February - April, 1984: Touring of the Shandong Acrobatic Troupe across Canada - a total of 18 cities - was sponsored and organized by the CCSS. This major undertaking had not only enhanced the friendship between Chinese and Canadian people, it also enabled to Society to establish valuable contact with other organizations in different cities.

• 1986 to present: In order to encourage active involvement of our youth in the cultural activities, the CCSS established a Youth Scholarship Program. Every year this program provides a total of $1500 in financial assistance to students from Grade 8 to University level. Over the past 20 years, an estimated $20,000 has been awarded by the CCSS to youth in our community.

• Summer, 1987: The CCSS arranged for the public display of “Chinese Immigration in Canada” at the Art Gallery in the Saskatchewan Legislation Building.

• To promote Chinese culture in the province, the CCSS has invited world-class dancers (i.e Mr. & Mrs. Zhao), painters (i.e. Professor Zhang He Yun), Micro-carving expert and Qi-gong masters (i.e. Mr Liu and Mr. Lee) from China to demonstrate their talents and to teach classes in Saskatchewan.

• Affiliations: The CCSS has been a member of the Chinese Canadian National Council since 1978. The Society supports and sponsors the activities of the Chinese Phoenix Dancers and the Chung-Wah Martial Arts School in Regina. The two organizations have now become affiliated members of the Society.

• Over the years, the CCSS has invited hundreds of visiting scholars and students from the People’s Republic of China to participate in the Society’s activities.

• Since its inception the CCSS has organized and participated in numerous other community events and activities and has also contributed significantly to other Regina Chinese Community organizations. Most notable recent major contributions include a $20,000 grant to the Regina Chinese Benevolent Association for the construction of the Chinese Memorial Structure at the Regina Riverside Memorial Cemetery in 1997.

• CCSS purchased a building in downtown Regina in 1998 and through the joint efforts and generous donation from members and friends of the CCSS, the building was completely renovated and has served as the Regina Chinese Cultural Centre since September 2000 - we finally have a place of our own for various functions and activities of the CCSS and the communities.

• September 16, 2000 – Grand opening of the Regina Chinese Cultural Centre. Activities included an opening ceremony attended by representatives of three level of government, Shaolin Kong Fu Demonstration in Regina and Saskatoon.

From|email from Mr. Victor Chang 27/08/2012