Excerpts from the Portland Press Herald Families enjoy performers and traditions as a Maine Chinese and American group welcomes the Year of the Rabbit. PORTLAND – Just before three girls danced barefoot onto the stage wearing conical Asian hats made of straw, the announcer introduced them. “The Lotus Troupe are the founding pioneer students hereContinue reading “New year, old ways”
Author Archives: Shannon
Officers: 2010-11
CAFAM elected new officers at the board’s first meeting of the season. President: Mary Tennant Vice-President: Melissa Lin Treasurer: Gary Libby Amenuensis: Mike Connelly
Chinese New Year Festival in Portland
Excerpts from the Penobscot Maritime Museum Feb 24, 2009 — On Saturday, January 31, 2009, Education Director Betty Schopmeyer helped usher in the Year of the Ox at a Chinese New Year Festival in Portland. Sponsored by the Chinese American Friendship Association of Maine (CAFAM), the all day celebration was attended by several hundred peopleContinue reading “Chinese New Year Festival in Portland”
Watching the battle
Excerpt from the Portland Press Herald CAFAM Chinese School students watching a martial arts demonstration by Nikos Simmons (left) and Soren Donisvitch of the River View Foundation. In the background watching are, from left to right, Nina Henrikson, Sarah Stauffer, Catie Cough, Anna Foo, Madeline Shields and standing is Fan Luo. Photo by James Shield.Continue reading “Watching the battle”
Review: Journey to Xiamacun
By Mason Philip Smith (Provincial Press 2008) Review by Craig Dietrich Early in 2008 I received an email from my friend Ma Tongchun inviting me for lunch at his ancestral farm northwest of Kunming, Yunnan. So in May I returned to China, accompanied by Brian Dorsk a friend from Cape Elizabeth. Before proceeding to Xiamacun,Continue reading “Review: Journey to Xiamacun”
New Year in Beijing
By Patrick Murphy We call it Chinese New Year, but they call it Spring Festival. I’ve argued with many Chinese over the years about this misnaming. I think it should be called Winter Festival, because the weather is always cold. “No, no,” they tell me. “Now it is Spring and it will soon be warm!”Continue reading “New Year in Beijing”
A Chinese-American Tragedy (1979-91)
By Gary Libby from the May 2008 CAFAM Newsletter Portland area old timers will recall that, in 1979, a new kind of Chinese restaurant opened on Congress Street. It was called Hu Shang, and it offered a different menu from the familiar Cantonese-American fare, including Sichuan dishes that would set your mouth on fire. ItContinue reading “A Chinese-American Tragedy (1979-91)”
Review: Authenticating Tibet
Edited by Anne-Marie Blondeau and Katia Buffetrille (Univ. of Ca. Press 2008) Review by Craig Dietrich from May 2008 CAFAM Newsletter For people outside China, the Tibetan situation typically appears black and white. Probably most non-Asian Americans sympathize with the Dalai Lama and the exile Tibetans. Mostly it is a question of human rights andContinue reading “Review: Authenticating Tibet”
The Pekin Restaurant, Bangor, and Raymond Huang
By Gary Libby Wong Jack June opened the Pekin Restaurant in Bangor, Maine in the 1920s. He and his wife, Chin Ngan Kee, had one daughter and five sons. One of those sons, Raymond Li Min Huang, is the subject of this article. Raymond’s parents gave all of their children Chinese names. Their “American” namesContinue reading “The Pekin Restaurant, Bangor, and Raymond Huang”
Early Chinese Christians in Maine (1870-1918)
By Gary Libby from the March 2008 CAFAM Newsletter The earliest known reference to a Chinese person’s membership in a Maine church appeared in the Portland Press on December 26, 1870. It reported that Ar Tee Lam had joined the Congress Square Sunday School on Christmas Day and promised “to become a learner and goodContinue reading “Early Chinese Christians in Maine (1870-1918)”
Chinese American Friendship Association of Maine 