6 minute read
ON SCENE
Daniel Oh receives Service Award from World Federation of Power Leaders
Colorado business leader Daniel Oh was honored with the Service Award from the World Federation of Power Leaders. The service award recognizes a person that has contributed to the harmony and development of the community. Honorees demonstrate their value to future generations through practice sharing.
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Oh is the only overseas recipient to receive the award (other recipients are based in Korea). He is the President/CEO of Goldstone Commercial & Investments and has been a leader in Colorado’s Asian community for more than four decades.
On November 4, Oh celebrated with friends and local leaders at Ocean Prime.
Daniel Oh celebrates with friends and colleagues, including Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, his honor of receiving the Service Award from the World Federation of Power Leaders.
The work goes on to revive Colorado’s historic Chinatown
In collaboration with Colorado Asian Pacific United (CAPU), the 2021 Downtown Denver Leadership Program celebrated its class project focused on re-envisioning Denver’s Historic Chinatown. Attendees at the event were treated to engaging exhibits and immersive experiences, including a virtual reality presentation of a futuristic vision of the Wazee alleyways from 14th to 17th streets.
Local Chinese calligrapher Harber Chang provided live calligraphy. Members of CAPU shared the Asian American Pacific Islander community’s stories and Denver’s history, making the event a roaring success.
Follow CAPU for updates and future events at fb.com/ColoradoAPUnited.
Realtors and lawyers mingle at holiday mixer
On December 1, Asian Real Estate Association Denver (AREAA), Asian Pacific Bar Association Colorado (APABA), and Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network kicked off the holiday season with a festive mixer at Four Seasons Hotel The Edge Bar in downtown Denver.
Members and supporters of the three organizations enjoyed appetizers and drinks, while making new connections and networking.
The event also kicked off the second year of the holiday winter drive for Colorado’s senior citizens (information below). The three organizations, in partnership with the Colorado Dragon Boat, will be collecting 200 gift bags to be given to seniors in the local area, including Asian senior daycare centers and senior living apartments.
Guest speaker Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser spoke about Stop Asian Hate. He inspired the audience by referencing the motto “E pluribus unum” meaning “out of many, one” in that we are all together in this fight for justice.
“We’ve had hate crimes for a long time, but now we have the opportunity to create more dialogue,” Weiser said. “Together we can work towards this ideal.”
President of Asian Pacific American Bar Association Colorado Clark Yeh reflects on 2021 in his welcome Attorney General Phil Weiser shares how the Department of Law is protecting land, air, and water Members of AREAA, APABA Colorado, and CACEN brought gift bags to donate to local seniors
H O L I D A Y W I N T E R D R I V E F O R C O L O R A D O ' S S E N I O R C I T I Z E N S
Help 200+ Asian seniors in Colorado this winter. Drop off a gift bag with at least 5 items (suggested minimum value of gift bags $25) or donate items directly from Nov. 29th–Dec. 13th.
R E G I S T E R T O F I L L A G I F T B A G O R D O N A T E :
Registration, drop off locations, and details for suggested gift bag items here: https://tinyurl.com/Holiday-Winter-Drive
This holiday season, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado, Colorado Asian Culture and Education Network, and Asian Real Estate Assocation of Greater Denver are teaming up to bring joy to senior citizens in our community by hosting again a Holiday Gift Bag Donation Drive. At least 200 gift bags will be provided to seniors across the Denver metro area, including seniors at the Volunteers of America Sunset Tower apartments, Happy Living Adult Daycare Center in Aurora, and Korean Adult Daycare in Aurora.
Sign up at tinyurl.com/Holiday-Winter-Drive
to indicate how many gift bags you plan to donate (“quantity”). Now through December 13, drop your gift bags off at one of these locations during business hours: • Happy Living Adult Daycare Center, 12201 E. Mississippi Ave #101, Aurora, CO 80012 • Primera Law Group, 1240 S. Parker Rd, Suite 103, Denver, CO 80231 • Kokoro Restaurants in Denver and Arvada
By Gil Asakawa
“Bunka No Hi” in Japanese means “Culture Day.” Culture is exactly what people got from the Denver Takayama sister City Committee’s 2021 Bunka No Hi on November 11. In Japan, Bunka No Hi is a national holiday celebrated on November 3. Can you imagine the U.S. marking a national day that just celebrates culture?
The Denver Takayama Sister City Committee (DTSCC) has hosted Culture Day events twice before the pandemic, and last year switched the event to an online showcase for the committee’s friends in Takayama, who gave a virtual tour of Takayama’s beautiful old-town district and then gave a live cooking demonstration of famous local foods. This year, the DTSCC offered a hybrid event with limited in-person capacity at the Jewish Community Center in Denver, and the entire four-hour event was livestreamed on Facebook.
The program included, as promised, a great introduction to a wide range of Japanese culture, both traditional and modern pop arts.
The day featured speakers and demonstrations on topics ranging from Jpop music capped off with an energetically choreographed dance to a Jpop song by expert Yoko Watanabe and a troupe of young Japanese language students, to a precision demonstration of the martial art of Aikido by Sensei Ron Abo and his family.
Culture Day also featured talks about the history and significance of Godzilla and Ultraman as well as Yokai, or Japanese ghosts and demons.
The event provided an introduction to the Japanese tea ceremony; and Japanese washi paper; bouncy and haunting Okinawan music played by Sanshin Maameez group; and an entertaining lecture on how to read Japanese by Tom Reid, former Washington Post Tokyo Bureau Chief.
Interim Consul General of Japan at Denver Kiyoshi Mihara greeted the audience and performers, and video greeting from the organization’s friends in Takayama was shown that took viewers on a brief tour of the city’s famous Miyagawa Morning Market.
People who attended the event in person were treated as part of their admission to Ehomaki, or special Japanese sushi rolls that give diners good luck, and both the in-person and online audience members were able to participate in a silent auction that raised nearly $600 for the DTSCC. The good luck sushi must have worked!
See more photos and videos on the DTSCC Facebook page at fb.com/Denver Takayama. Or visit the DTSCC blog on the group’s website: denvertakayama.org/ bunka-no- hi-reflections-2021.
