The Great Wall Culture Club brings families together in social gatherings to participate in Chinese cultural events. These events are hosted quarterly by our Regional Office Directors and offer support for parents and children in all phases of the adoption process. The Culture Club events are an excellent resource for networking with other adoptive families, gathering information and just having fun. Great Wall Culture Club events have included a Chinese heritage seminar, a backyard B-B-Q, a Chinese cooking class, a life-book assembly class, a Chinese New Year Celebration attended by 200 adoptive families and many more. The Great Wall Culture Club events are as diverse as the families who attend them, so they are always interesting and enjoyable.
Hi Everyone,
Our 2008 Chinese New Year Celebration is not too far away. Here is the information so you can mark your calendars, make reservations, and invite your family and friends.
Sunday, February 17, 2008, 1-4 pm
Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore on North Lois Avenue in Tampa.
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/TPAAHHF-Hilton-Tampa-Airport-Westshore-Florida/index.do
Adults - ages 13 & up - Chicken Dijonnaise Breast of Chicken finished with a Creamy Dijonnaise Sauce, Pasta, Fresh Field Green Salad w/assorted dressings, Chef's Choice of Fresh Seasonal Vegetable, Rolls/Butter, Cheesecake, Iced Tea. $28.00 Inclusive (tax, gratuity, & lion dance)
Jumbo Gourmet Cookie, Lemonade. $15.00 Inclusive.
Children 5 and under - Same menu as children 6-12 but not as big. $10.00 Inclusive This does not apply to children less than one year old. They are automatically free and will NOT be served a plate.
To continue the tradition, we will have a formal lion dance, slide show, and some entertainment (by the fabulous Marc Weinstock)! We will also have an arts and crafts table for the children and a silent auction. Donations for the silent auction will be greatly appreciated.......all proceeds will be donated China Center for Adoption Affair's Love Project:
http://www.chinaccaa.org/site/infocontent/AXFX_20070313050703938_en.htm
From the CCAA's web site:
In order to help social welfare institutions improve nurture conditions, promote life quality of orphans and handicapped children and facilitate healthy development of the children, in 2007, the China Center of Adoption Affairs will continue to carry out content- abundant and form-various “love project” which will meet demands of orphans and handicapped children. We hope that adoption organizations and adoptive families both home and abroad who are willing to help orphans and handicapped children can participate actively. We will, according to the situation of social welfare institutions, make good use of donations and give response after the project.
The hotel will have open seating at round tables of 10 so if you have a large party that you would like seated together, you should plan to arrive a few minutes early as there is no reserved seating. Also, please be sure to make arrangements for the seating of your child(ren) regarding high chairs/booster seats as the hotel will have a very limited number, if any, available.
Due to the fact that we are holding this event in a hotel, reservations must be paid in advance.......no exceptions. Payment should be made to Michele Waters. On a separate sheet of paper, you will need to list the number of adults, children ages 6-12, children ages 1-5, and children under age one so we can maintain a proper head count for the different age categories. Please include names so we can make name tags. If you plan to attend, you can rsvp via email and I will put your name on a list. I am asking that you make payment within two weeks after you rsvp. Checks should be made payable to Michele Waters but mailed to Susan Fremer at 1317 Fergason Avenue, Spring Hill, FL 34609.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend this event. I need to get as accurate a head count as possible. The hotel is reserving a limited space for us. If we go over that amount, they will offer us more space IF it is available. We’ve always had excellent attendance but since we cannot reserve the entire ballroom, we’ll need to reserve as we grow. Therefore, it is pertinent that you rsvp as soon as possible and follow up with payment. I cannot reserve extra space without the funds to cover it.
You may rsvp to me via email at sfremer@tampabay.rr.com if you plan to attend. Again, please let me know the number of adults in your party, the number of children ages 6-12, the number of children ages 1-5, and the number of children under one year. I will reply that I have gotten your email and then please follow through with payment so we can get a head count by December 30th.
Anyone interested in helping with the silent auction, door prizes, or arts and crafts, please let me know.
If you are coming from out of town and need local hotel information, please email me and I'll forward that to you.
Susan Fremer Florida Director Great Wall China Adoption
February 11, 2007
Over 350 people, parents and children, flocked to Tampa, Florida this past weekend for the 4th annual Florida Culture Club New Year Celebration. Great Wall's President, Snow Wu and Client Services and Relations Director, Leigh Anne Baseflug flew down for the event and had a blast. The consensus is that Susan Fremer has out done herself again. Great Wall's Regional Office Director for many years she has held a New Year's party for the last four. Every year the crowd has grown. The first year accumulated 50 of the Florida adoptive community. This year, over 7 times that many! Susan is a committed adoptive parent who should be commended for her outstanding efforts to keep the community of people who have adopted from China, strong, full of cultural pride and closely knit. Even as the numbers of families grow, (also with the help of people like Susan Fremer) it is great to see how adoption has not become so common that it has lost that special connected feeling parents share having adopted from China.
Families came from as far away as Maryland to join in the festivities, many dressed in traditional Chinese outfits. Snow gave a short speech inviting everyone to bow to their neighbor and wish them Xin Nian Hao! (Happy New Year in Chinese). What a sight!
Everyone took a sentimental sigh when one family showed a touching slide show on the big screen. There were quite a few chuckles too. This was a luncheon so there was also a wonderful, authentic three-course meal to boot! Everyone must have been feeling pretty warm and generous at this point because families contributed $1,000.00 to the Love Without Boundaries Fund. Outstanding!
The party continues! Once finished with her desert, Leigh Anne had a sweet treat for the kiddos. She gathered about a hundred of them up on the stage and read a delightful book about the Chinese New Year. Afterwards, a local cultural dance group performed a traditional line dance for the families. Did I mention that Susan Fremer did a great job and that she is nothing short of fantastic?
At the end of the party there were pictures taken and hugs galore as several mini- Great Wall reunions took place. Snow met a family she had first helped over nine years ago. That, she says, was most wonderful for her. Mostly, Snow and Leigh Anne couldn't say enough about the event and they hope the culture club events taking place around the country in the next couple of weeks to celebrate the New Year are at least as successful. This one will certainly go down in Great Wall history as the most memorable! Thanks to you Susan Fremer and all of the families who attended. You do have a very special connection to each other and your children will forever benefit from your love and preservation of that connection. Here's to you and a very Happy New Year!
By the way, to learn more about the Spring Festival check out: ChinaCulture.org
