Dragon Boat Festival Celebration

Although we didn't have a dragon boat race for our festival celebration, we still had a great time with 40 friends at Board member Teresa O'Neil's house in Santa Clara.

 Board Member Susan Man made over 50 Cantonese style zhongzi for the party, adding marinated pork, Chinese black mushroom, dried shrimp, split mong beans, and salty egg yolk. She laughed, “It has so many wonderful ingredients, everything except the kitchen sink!”

We not only enjoyed the zhongzi she prepared, but she--and sous chef Kenny Lin-- taught those interested how to make and wrap them.

In addition to the festival food, zhongzi, people also brought seasonal Chinese fruits, like lychee 荔枝, and dragon eye nuts 龙眼，pineapples, and cherries… Chinese minfen 米粉，and a whole lot more...

Aside from eating lots of delicious food, Winny Lin, co-chair of our chapter, retold the story of Qu Yuan 屈原, the patriotic poet of the Warring States. She enlisted several guests in the re-enactment of the story. Yanshuo Zhang, Phd candidate of Stanford Eastern Studies, recited and explained excerpts of Li Shao 離騷, the famous poem that the father of Chinese poetry, Qu Yuan, wrote before he threw himself into the Mi Lo River汩羅江! Tina Man also brought fragrant sachets, 香包, as prizes.
“You know how to make us laugh, how to feed our stomachs and how to warm our hearts!” said Shawa, one of our guests.
That's our definition of a good party.
Stay tuned for details about our next event in September.