Genevieve Davenport writes:
Our team, Blazing Paddles had a great Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival this year! Our mixed team did wonderfully. We showed our team spirit and persevered to the end. We ended up placing second in the final race in our division on Sunday. We placed fourth in our second race on Saturday. Our women’s team (mostly moms and daughters) looked great and had three great races.

This year our team really understood that technique was more important than speed in every stroke that we paddled. Everyone worked as a unit which made the boat surge forward.

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FCC-SoCal had a stellar turnout for the “Friends of FCC” activity to march in the Golden Dragon Parade on Saturday, February 20 in Chinatown! We more than doubled our participation from last year, with over 50 parents, children, and friends. 

Despite the threat of weather challenges (this was during the peak of the rainy season!), we had a nice, sunny day!  Click through to the full post to see additional photos of the memorable event.

The Catalina Island "Dark of the Moon" Weekend was great fun for the three families who participated - 3 little girls, 2 big brothers, their happy parents and one doting aunt.
 
Activities included a birthday celebration, volleyball, card games, endless relaxed conversations sitting on benches at Isthmus Harbor, walking all over the isthmus, and yes, stargazing on a very clear night.

It was an absolutely perfect and relaxing weekend - one that will be repeated next year along with, we hope, FCC Moon Festival mountain camping.

On Saturday, November 14, 2009 at Beeman Park in Studio City the SoCal Friends - Chinese the Fun Way group met to do crafts and learn Chinese with WeiWei. Luckily, they didn’t get blown away with all the wind! The children had fun making turkey headresses and Thanksgiving cards. They also learned how to say and give thanks in Chinese. Pumpkin pie was among the assortment of treats!

The group meets monthly with a different theme. The next event will be Christmas in Chinatown on Saturday, December 12. Event details will be posted shortly. Other upcoming events will include Chinese New Year and Huntington Gardens.

Contact Arlene Balkin at arlene@levyaffiliated.com for more information. And look for information of upcoming events here on this website. Come join WeiWei and friends to learn Chinese the fun way.

The 2009 Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival was held at Marine Stadium in Long Beach August 1-2. Dozens of teams competed, making it one of the largest festivals of its kind on the west coast. Among the competitors was our "SoCal Friends" Blazing Paddles team. The team finished with the other dragon boats, and one time even came in fourth place! More importantly however, team members succeeded in enjoying the spirit of the Festival: family, friends and community coming together to support one other all while having a good time.

Blazing Paddles welcome everyone to come and join the fun:  families with children of all ages, waiting families, siblings, friends and extended family. Additionally, they have fun community gatherings such as a post-season party, Chinese New Year Party and a Season Kick Off Potluck. This season they plan to add a Mother-Daughter Zongzi cooking class.

Practice is once a week, June through the end of July, for one hour at Mother's Beach in Long Beach. The culminating event is the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival which takes place on Saturday, August 1st, 2009. If you are unable to join the team, you are still encouraged to come cheer on the Blazing Paddles during the Festival. Additionally, there will be cultural events held throughout the day, and the event is free.

On November 12, 2008, the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and the University of Maryland Asian American Studies Program, "through a unique national nonprofit-academic partnership," released its study, "A Portrait of Chinese Americans."