HK Immigrants Gather at HK Fair

A semi-outdoor area featured numerous stalls to buy items

Today was the fourth annual Vancouver Hong Kong Fair and I finally checked it out for the first time. Just like last year, the fair was held at The Shipyards in North Vancouver and I'm glad I went. It's the closest thing for like-minded Hongkongers to meet up, share and enjoy their culture.

I was on a tight schedule with a concert to attend in the early afternoon, so I took the bus downtown just before 9.30am and caught the seabus at Waterfront station to get there at 10.30am before it opened half an hour later. There was already a small line for ticket holders that already formed though the signage wasn't very clear.

Back copies of Apple Daily were for sale

The fair opened a few minutes after 11am and they scanned my QR code and gave me a bright pink bracelet before I could wander around the outdoor fair in a covered area. It's a good space, and I was glad I went early because I can see how it can get crowded very quickly.

There were all kinds of stalls selling handmade beauty products, cookies like salted egg yolk shortbread, treats for dogs shaped like egg tarts (my cousin's dog wolfed them down later), Chinese books, jewellery, Lion Rock T-shirts and tote bags, Hong Kong-themed coasters, key chains and artwork.

One stall was run by activists who are raising money to help people back in Hong Kong. There was a stack of Apple Daily newspapers, and included the copy of the last publication of the paper for C$50. Manning the booth was former Hong Kong radio host "Giggs" Edmund Wan Yiu-sing, who was jailed for 32 months for sedition and money laundering who are raising money to help people back in Hong Kong. 

Curry fish balls with peanut sauce

Another section was food one could buy and eat there, like curry fish balls, various sweet drinks with sago in them; I tried one with durian, coconut milk and sago. Hong Kong milk tea was also available as well as mango mochi.

Recently re-elected NDP MP Jenny Kwan was at the opening ceremony and gave a bilingual speech explaining that she was originally from Hong Kong and grateful to be in Canada. She promised she would help ensure the Canadian government would approve all Hong Kong immigrants' applications for permanent residency. She got a big round of applause.

In an indoor space was the cultural section, where UBC Cantonese had a booth, an area showing the black and white photographs of legendary photographer Chan Kiu, who passed away in Vancouver last year at the age of 96. There were pictures of Vietnamese refugee children eating from basins, the funeral of Bruce Lee, and Queen Elizabeth II's first visit to Hong Kong.

There were also mahjong tables for people to play the game, or learn how to make paper lanterns. An interactive exhibit featured various places in Hong Kong with photographs matched with scents from those areas.

MP Jenny Kwan spoke in Cantonese

I also got to meet up with some people I had met before and catch up with them, and get to know what others are doing in Metro Vancouver, from holding Cantonese summer camps to drawing workshops.

After about an hour and a half, I made it back to the seabus with two minutes to spare. As I was leaving there were more people lined up to go in, and even more spilling out of the seabus. Now I know why people make an effort to go because settling in Vancouver isn't easy; at this event they feel strength in numbers, and feel understood and appreciated.