Hong Kong comes to New West

If you’ve been wanting to get away and experience a new place, why not let the getaway come to you?

Hong Kong is coming to New Westminster thanks to HK House and its Vancouver Hong Kong Fair, which will be happening at the Anvil Centre on May 7. Doors open at 11am, and it’s free to get in, though attendees may need to wait in line to get in. Additionally, there will be workshops and activities that may require a fee to cover the cost of supplies.

There is an option to support the fair financially, by purchasing an express guaranteed entry ticket. The proceeds from these $15 tickets will go towards the costs of putting on the event.

• Check out the event’s booth map here.

• Find the event’s full itinerary and learn about all the workshops you can sign up for here.

One of those includes sugar crafting, a lost art that has slowly been disappearing as masters of the craft retire or pass away.

“It’s a very traditional art form where practitioners melt the sugar, and through knitting and hand shaping, they make different shapes with the melted sugar. The technique is similar to making handmade sugar candies nowadays, but in the past, they’d make legendary figures or more complex shapes,” explains Agnes Hui, a volunteer with the fair’s planning committee. Hui had the opportunity to meet with the artist who will be at the fair. Attendees who sign up for the workshop will have the option of creating either a duck or a flower.

“[The instructor for the fair’s event] learned it from a master back in Hong Kong. She was actually one of the five students of this master, and she moved to Vancouver. It’s in her heart to share these skills. So, she approached us and wanted to have this workshop at the fair,” notes Hui.

Heiky Kwan is also responsible for organizing the fair, and she says she’s proud of how much its grown since its first year—which was just last year.

“[The fair] came out of a need because there are a lot of Hong Kongers that arrived [here] especially in the last few years, and there’s just this need to celebrate and be together in the community, and be at ease in our cultural familiarity,” says Kwan, adding that Hui is a relatively new immigrant to Canada, and made a number of friends by helping out in the Mahjong room last year.

“I had so much fun,” Hui elaborates, “I decided to join the planning committee and the Hong Kong House organizing team.”

Hui doesn’t doubt that there are others out there, looking for a place to connect like she did—and she stresses how lucky she’s been to find a like-minded community of people who want to familiarize themselves with Hong Kong.

“When I arrived February [2022], I was lost, and I said to Heiky, ‘I miss home.’ Then I saw [the news of] the fair and I myself have an event management background, so I thought I’d just join.”

Being part of HK House has allowed her to meet people from various parts of Hong Kong, in turn allowing to cultivate and keep alive traditions from home.

“It’s really heartwarming to hear [Agnes’s remarks] because that’s exactly what we hope to do: help Hong Kongers find community, preserve culture, and create community. And we always describe this fair as a love letter from Hong Kong to other Hong Kongers,” adds Kwan, who also hopes the community will come and experience the rich culture the fair has to offer.

“Come stroll through the exhibitions, the market itself. There are a lot of artists and crafters that are showcasing their work for the first time,” says Kwan.

“No matter who you are, a Hong Konger that had close ties with the city, or you’re a Canadian, anybody, I hope at this fair that you will experience who we really are, and how our culture shapes us. And hopefully fall in love, too,” offers Hui.

“We hope the community can feel rejuvenated after being in the company of other Hong Kongers,” adds Kwan, “we hope folks from all across Metro Vancouver will come celebrate our culture with us.”

For more details about the fair, visit this page. To support the work HK House does, check out this link.