Taste of Asia 2010
Date:  Sat. June 26 to Sun. June 27
Time: Sat - 12pm to 12am, Sun - 12pm to 6pm
Location: Kennedy Rd. and Steeles Ave.  

Organizers and Sponsors

“TASTE OF ASIA” is an annual multicultural event hosted by the Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham (FCCM), the Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario (APMO) and the Town of Markham.  This year, we are proud to announce that Canadian Tamil Congress will be joining us as a co-host.  The event was first introduced in 2003 during the SARS outbreak with a mandate of boosting the local economy. The first Taste of Asia festival also provided a platform for the community to promote the multicultural mosaic of Canada and create harmony among various cultural groups through an event that fostered mutual respect and co-operation.  Through two days of non-stop multicultural performances and over 150 street vendor booths operated by different cultural groups, last year’s event was an overwhelming success, drawing more than 100,000 participants.  With more exciting events planned for the coming year, the 2010 Taste of Asia festival will be the most successful celebration of harmony and culture in its history.

	Highlights Kennedy Road north of Steeles Avenue and south of Clayton Road would be blocked off from traffic for two days from June 26, 2010 (Saturday) to June 27, 2010 (Sunday).
	2 days non-stop multicultural performances Feature performance by  Asian Superstar Pets show Celebrities’ noodle competition Large scale car show Over 150 vendor booths York Region health fair Kids ride zone Largest street basketball competition

The Seniors Division operates the Markham Chinese Seniors Centre located on the second floor of Market Village Shopping Centre and organizes programs to meet the need of seniors, such as mah-jong games, birthday parties, exercise programs, interest classes, and excursions. It provides a perfect place for seniors to meet in a warm atmosphere where they can feel at home and where their younger generations can be at ease knowing that their senior family members are in a safe place learning and enjoying the various facilities and classes offered to them. At the 2010 Chinese New Year dinner celebration, the seniors delighted the audience with Chinese opera singing and their own classical music band.

The Chinese Sports and Recreation Club of Markham organizes events such as the annual picnics, Christmas parties, badminton, basketball and dancing practice sessions in the evenings at local school gymnasiums, as well as operating the scouts section. One of the most recognised activities of the Sports and Recreation section is the organization of the annual Basketball Tournament at the annual Taste of Asia Festival, often featuring over 100 teams competing for championship title. Our scouts troop has also been prominently featured in many local events providing a good venue for both children and parents to be involved in activities together leading to a better understanding and rapport between generations.

The Business Division concentrates on networking, disseminating information and organizing educational seminars for the business people. It also helps in arranging trade exchange trips for the Markham business community to visit China where they meet with prospective buyers and manufacturers. The Business Division also organizes Chinese trade delegations visit to Canada with the same purpose of facilitating business exchanges.

The Cultural Division is engaged in fostering cultural exchanges, and operates the Markham Chinese Cultural Centre occupying 6000 square feet of space on the second floor of Market Village Shopping Centre providing various cultural programs in addition to English and Chinese language classes. The cultural and interest classes that the centre offers covered a wide spectrum of activities such as Shaolin kung-fu training, Tai Chi, ceramic making, Chinese paintings, Calligraphy, aerobics, dancing, singing, Cantonese opera, Chinese classical instruments, and many more. Throughout the years, our centre managed to provide highly skilled and talented performers from our classes to support our local community events and fundraising activities alike.

F.C.C.M. is also very much involved with the community it is in, and welcomes the opportunity to work for its benefit through cooperation and coordination with charitable organizations like the United Way of York Region, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Markham-Stouffville Hospital, the Canadian Red Cross, and more recently the aid for victims of the Chinese and Haitian earthquakes in conjunction with other associations. However, the star of the event of the year has to be the Taste of Asia Festival. Started in 2003 at the request of the Town of Markham to host an event that would draw out people and counter the devastating economic effect caused by SARS, this festival has become an integral part of the Town of Markham’s social calendar. It has become a platform to promote the multicultural mosaic of Canada and to create better understanding between cultural groups through cooperation and mutual respect. The festival features two days of non-stop multicultural performances, basketball tournament, car show, over 150 booths of food, goods, and services, kid’s ride zone, games, exhibitions, government services information booths, and an evening concert featuring top ranking recording artistes and celebrities from Hong Kong. It has grown from a participation of a few thousand to more than 100,000 in 2009, and became an event that attracts not only local residents but also visitors from neighbouring communities and cities.

Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario (APMO)

Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario (APMO), was founded in May 1998 by Mobeen Khaja. His vision of having an organization with the objective of projecting a positive image about Muslims and promoting core Islamic values of peace, justice, respect, understanding and equality, has appealed to people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

The Association's mandate is to build bridges of understanding among communities and faith groups, and to serve the social, cultural and educational needs of the Muslim Community of Canada. It does so by organizing various events and undertaking projects to raise awareness and encourage dialogue and interaction.

The Association elects the Executive Officers and the Board of Directors every two years. Mobeen Khaja has been elected president since the inception of this non-profit organization.

The Association is a cultural and social organization. Its membership is open to Muslims18 years of age or older. Annual membership dues are $25.00; and $10.00 for students and seniors. The Association welcomes new members and ideas. To become a member, please contact by email APMC@sympatico.ca or apmo@apmo786.org The word "Progressive" in the Association's name refers to the "progressiveness' in Islam and is clearly explained in the Preamble of the Constitution as follows:

WHEREAS WE BELIEVE THAT ISLAM IS A DYNAMIC LIVING AND RELEVANT RELIGION IN OUR LIVES IN CANADA, RELEVANT AT ALL TIMES AND IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, WE HEREBY RESOLVE TO FORM THE ASSOCIATION OF PROGRESSIVE MUSLIMS OF CANADA, IN ORDER TO RESPOND POSITIVELY AND CREATIVELY TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE MODERN AGE (OUR TIMES).

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED THEREFORE, THAT THE TERM "PROGRESSIVE" IS DEFINED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DYNAMISM, RELEVANCE AND APPLICABILITY OF ISLAM AS A RELIGION AND WAY OF LIFE FOR ALL TIMES AND FOR ALL PLACES.

The Association was initially incorporated in the Province of Ontario and federally incorporated in 2000. The Association participates in inter-faith dialogues and has worked with other community organizations, as well as the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments and NGOs.

Canadian Tamil Congress

Started in 2000, the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) is a non-profit non-partisan organization that works to integrate Tamil Canadians into the Canadian fabric and serves as a voice for the community. The CTC has 11 chapters across the country in 2010. It is headquartered in Toronto and is managed by an elected board of directors.

More than 300,000 Tamil Canadians live in the country. Since the early 1980s, Tamils have established their presence in multiple aspects of Canadian life: business, academic, political and social. While integrating into Canadian society, many Tamil Canadians also aim to preserve the richness of their culture, language and traditions. The Tamil language has a unique script and literary history that dates back to at least 3000 B.C.

At CTC, we strive to uphold Canadian values of multiculturalism, religious and cultural diversity, gender equality, human rights, pluralism and volunteerism. We advocate for equality by working towards the elimination of all forms of discrimination and intolerance.

In order to accomplish our objectives, CTC partakes in several activities annually. These include mobilizing Tamil Canadians to donate blood for the Canadian Blood Services. As a result of CTC’s coordination, Tamil Canadians became the largest community donor group in the Central Ontario region. In 2009, CTC also coordinated the Tamil Canadian Campaign for SickKids Hospital, helping raise tens of thousands of dollars. This year, CTC will be organizing a Tamil Canadian Walk-A-Thon for the Canadian Cancer Society.

CTC is also a proud supporter of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital in Canada and the University of Toronto’s Tamil studies program.

Markham has one of the largest concentration of Tamil Canadians in the country, and CTC is proud to be a co-host in this year’s TASTE OF ASIA, which celebrates the diversity and strength of Canada’s mosaic.

For more information, contact FCCM Federation of Chinese Canadians in Markham at
905-946-1137, email tasteofasia@fccm.ca or visit www.culture-canada.ca.