Orange County held our 15th Annual Moon Festival Banquet on September 18.  Keeping with tradition, the event was held at Ten Ten Seafood Restaurant in Artesia.

The evening started off with an icebreaker activity, the Moon Festival Legends Game. Each participant received a sheet about the legends and were tasked with finding images related to the legends, e.g. 10 suns, Chang-e, Hou-yi etc.  Each family was given an envelope of images to hand out and the kids had to run around the room collecting images from other banquet attendees.

As always, everyone enjoyed the delicious menu of egg drop soup, honey walnut shrimp, beef and snow peas, tofu and mushrooms, cashew chicken, house lo mein, yang chow rice, and of course, moon cakes.  Dinner was followed by a variety of entertaining and education performances: 

• Martial Drum: Performer Arthur Chen and instructor Rachael Sysiong
• Beijing Opera Master: Kevin Chai
• Lion Dance Instruction: Jonathan Wong

All attendees had the opportunity to try out the instruments and costumes and learn some of the routines first hand.  The evening ended with prizes for the kids - all went home with an adorable stuffed xiong mao, hou zi, tu zi or other animal.

Many thanks to organizers Susan Tschabrun and Debbie Kistler, and the group of volunteers who helped make this banquet a success! Copy and photos for this post contributed by Patty Uy and Jenifer Weigand.

We are delighted to announce that there are a few additional openings in the China Care Bruins Youth Mentorship "Buddy" Program for the 2011-2012 academic year (October 2011 through June 2012). Founded in 2005, China Care Bruins is a student-run group at UCLA that raises funds to provide medical services for children in China's orphanages and mentors Chinese adoptees and their siblings.

China Care Bruins offers a wonderful enrichment opportunity for FCC children and youth to be part of a nurturing and empowering community of adoptee peers and mentors. The leadership and members of China Care Bruins come from a variety of backgrounds (and have many different majors), but are predominantly Asian American students.

The Buddy Program participants meet in monthly Sunday afternoon get-togethers on the UCLA campus throughout the academic year, enjoying crafts, culture, skits, campus tours, field games and more. Through these ongoing interactive activities, the kids and mentors will build their relationship, solidify friendships and develop camaraderie. The kids also witness the fruits of the teamwork, leadership and dedication of the college students who give of their time and talents to produce the program and to be their mentors.

Click through to full post for more information, FAQs and application.

The Chinese Cultural Dance Club at UCLA (CCDC) is expanding its Junior Dance Program and has a limited number of positions open for new dancers.  A flyer is attached, along with a PDF/Word document containing detailed information about the requirements for participation and the application/audition process.  Note that the program is open to children/youth (girls & boys) ages 8 to 17 (as of October 1). Interested youth who are age 13 and older may also apply and audition to participate in a dance with the college students. If you have any difficulty opening the attachments, please contact CCDC Junior Dance Parent Coordinator Jeri Floyd jerifloyd@ca.rr.com and she will do her best to provide the information in another format.

Applications are due September 23, 2011.

Several of our children have participated in the program for many years -- read more about the Club, see photos of rehearsals and learn about the history of the Junior Dance Program in the Spring 2011 CCDC Newsletter (page 7), which is available on the CCDC website.

Come see CCDC members perform at the upcoming FCC-SoCal Heritage Day event.

Click through for the full post and attachments.

The FCC-SoCal chapter was honored to receive an invitation from the Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China to Los Angeles to attend a luncheon reception to celebrate International Children’s Day. The invitation was sent out to our FCC membership, and over 40 families responded indicating they would like to attend. Due to space limitations the final group consisted of 30 FCC families, staff from the Consulate-General Office and their families, and various additional members of the Chinese-American community in Los Angeles.

The event was held on June 5 in the main meeting hall at the Consulate building, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. The Consulate staff provided games, entertainment, and gifts for the children, and a highlight of the event was a special video presentation they put together highlighting photos of FCC families along with the families of the Consulate staff. Additionally, the Consul General, Qiu Shaofang, gave a short welcome speech to the group, and then spent the entire two hours getting to know many of the families in attendance. After the games and speeches a delicious Chinese luncheon was shared by all.

It was a delightful afternoon, and the Consul General stated that he would like to make it an annual event. We hope to see many of you at next year’s celebration.

A very special thank you to Albert Olson for organizing the event and contributing this post.

Check out photos from the event.

FCC-SoCal member Linda Goldstein Knowlton's documentary film "Somewhere Between" will be screening in competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June.  (Congratulations Linda!)

Click through for full details -- please note Linda advises that this film is NOT RECOMMENDED for children under the age of 14 due to the emotional content.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, May 31st.  You're getting an early heads up. Buy Tickets Here

Screening dates:
Sat. Jun 18, 3:10pm, Regal Cinemas/LA LIVE
Tue. Jun 21, 7:30pm, Regal Cinemas/LA LIVE
Wed. Jun 22, 4:30pm, Regal Cinemas/LA LIVE

The Regal Cinemas/LA Live are downtown by the Nokia/Staples Center Complex.

Somewhere Between tells the intimate stories of four teenaged girls. They live in different parts of the US, in different kinds of families and are united by one thing: all four were adopted from China, because all four had birth parents who could not keep them, due to personal circumstances colliding with China's 'One Child Policy'. These strong young women allow us to grasp what it is like to come-of-age in today's America as trans-racial adoptees. At the same time, we see them as typical American teenagers doing what teenagers everywhere do…struggling to make sense of their lives.

Your all-volunteer Orange County Planning Committee has assembled an exciting calendar of events for the remainder of 2011. Review the calendar and mark the dates so your family can plan to participate in as many activities as possible. Please note that event information is subject to change - be sure to check back to this site for the latest postings, and look for electronic invitations and updates in your email as the year progresses.

More volunteers are always needed to help with events. Please contact the committee at ocfccsocal@gmail.com.  Help build and sustain our nurturing, fun and enriching community that celebrates, empowers and advocates for adoptive families in every stage of the lifelong adoption journey. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed over the years to Families with Children from China!

The Orange County Regional Group had a busy end to 2010.  Here's the wrap-up:

In October the OC Regional Group inaugurated a new event - the China Book and Story Group.  This 2-in-1 family event opened with a fun children's session on Chinese folktales taught by Ms. Shawna Lai, instructor at South Coast Chinese Cultural Center. In the second hour, the remaining adults enjoyed a discussion of the book Factory Girls: from Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang. Everyone took part in the conversation and got to know each other better.  In the adjoining room, two of our teenage girls took charge of the younger kids and led a "make your own book" craft.  Patty Uy organized and numerous volunteers helped with set up and clean up.  Thanks everyone!  Expect to see this kind of event again in 2011!

Additional events include the annual art workshop and the Holiday Dance Party. Click through to read more.