The First BC Dumpling Festival Took Place in Coquitlam
Photography by: Stephanie Porter + Christy Lum
A racist remark hurled at Canadian local photographer Gina Chong in Coquitlam Park during the pandemic sparked inspiration for her to start Asian Arts & Culture Society and to dream up the very first dumpling festival in British Columbia. Bringing together thousands of people from different cultures and walks of life, she used the dumpling as a thread to celebrate the commonalities between cultures, and that like all Canadians who have diverse heritages, share more in common than we think. The dumpling is often viewed as an exclusively Asian food type, but in fact it is found in other ethnic cuisines with the same generational spirit — just with a different name, such as perogies and ravioli.
“We were so overwhelmed by the response from the community as we had triple the amount of people we expected. This really tells us that a multicultural festival in Coquitlam is what was really needed in the community; a place where we can come together, share in our cultures through food, art and entertainment. We are thankful to all who showed up and for the response from our community leaders, sponsors, vendors, local artists, performers and especially to all the amazing volunteers who helped make the festival a success. As part of Asian Arts and Culture Society, we hope to engage with the community by hosting dumpling making events throughout the year and we hope to bring dumpling making into the local schools as well. We will continue to plan for an even better dumpling festival in 2023 and for many years to come.”
Gina Chong, give a speech at the Dumpling Festive Event
