| Welcome! | 
Seasons Greetings!
It's almost been a year since I stepped into the ED role and time has never flown by faster! It's been a fulfilling year.
CDBF participated in the inaugural Colorado Gives Day through Giving First where a portion of funds donated that day will be matched. Thank you to all who donated!
As the calendar year comes to a close, many of you are busy making New Year's resolutions. If one of those resolutions is to quit smoking, scroll down to get more information on the Asian Quitline. They provide smoking cessation aid not only in English, but in four Asian languages!
The end of the year is always an exciting time for me. For many Japanese Americans, the New Year is a very auspicious and important time.
Before New Year's Eve (December 31st), it's important to clean house so not to bring the old dirt into the New Year, or else it's bad luck. I try hard to uphold this tradition, but admit I'm not as thorough as I could be.
We celebrate the New Year with osechi-ryori or a myriad of special Japanese dishes that represent good luck, fortune, health and long life. My family starts out with ozoni or chewy rice cakes in a broth with Japanese vegetables -- we must eat this on New Year's morning to ensure good luck throughout the year. We also eat a special stew, called nimono, and sweet black beans, kuromame. And, we have more familiar fare like tempura, norimaki, sashimi and crab. Can you see why it's an exciting time for me?!
On behalf of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Board of Directors and myself, we wish you the happiest of holidays and a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year!
Erin Yoshimura
Executive Director
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| Thank you for your support on Colorado Gives Day! |  CDBF participated in the first-ever Colorado Gives Day on Dec. 8, sponsored by our fundraising partners at GivingFirst.org. All donations for CDBF that day will be partially matched by the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund, which was established by FirstBank and other area corporations and foundations.
We raised over $2,000 without the matching funds, and want to thank everyone who supported us on this exciting day. Next year, we hope you'll help us increase that amount -- the sky's the limit.
It's never too late to donate, even though it won't qualify for matching funds. You can support CDBF anytime at our page on GivingFirst.org, where you can read all about us and click to donate. It's easy and secure, and every cent goes to us -- Giving First doesn't charge a processing fee. |
| CDBF is hiring an Operations Manager |  Yup, we're hiring! The Operations Manager is an enthusiastic and resourceful self-starter who has an entrepreneurial mindset and a passion for festival event planning. This central role will provide year-round support to the Executive Director and Board of Directors, and seasonal support to the festival operations committee and contracted staff. You can read the full description and send us your information here.
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| The Performing Arts Team |
 | | Richela Das |
We're thrilled to announce that we have our Performing Arts Team in place for the 11th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival!
Richela Das is very familiar with CDBF. She was a volunteer working with the Performing Arts stage for several years until she moved from Denver back to her native Hawai'i. But now she's back and Richela is the perfect person to take over as Performing Arts Chair, overseeing the performing arts stages.
She's retired from a career that spanned high tech and architectural design, but she's always been active in the Asian community. Richela coordinated Vietnamese refugee resettlement in Honolulu; wrote and directed a project to provide technical business assistance and networking resources to refugees who had or were starting businesses in the US; coordinated with the ASCEND program (a youth internship program out of the Asian Pacific Development Center in Denver) with Time Warner Cable and eventually joined the ASCEND board.
She says she loves "the thought of contributing to Colorado's Asian community again...and especially the CDBF...which is fun."
Jinny Kim will be co-chairing with Richela and
| | Jinny Kim |
managing the main Performing Arts stage. She is currently the marketing and communications coordinator at the Asian Pacific Development Center.
Jinny acquired her M.A in International & Intercultural Communications with a focus on Conflict resolution (racial/ethnic conflicts) from University of Denver.
We'd like to welcome Richela and Jinny to the CDBF team! They can be reached at: performingarts@cdbf.org. |
| CDBF performer Dwight Mark is featured on HGTV's FrontDoor.com website! | |
Congratulations to Dwight Mark, one of our favorite local musicians and author of the festival theme song, 'Dragon Boat," for getting his photo and a description of his Highlands home on HGTV's FrontDoor.com!
| | Dwight Mark practices "Dragon Boat" on his porch. |
It's great to have our Asian American community represented nationally!
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| Cinema Asian America Now Available On-Demand | 
Comcast, one of our Associate Sponsors and a longtime supporter of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, has launched Cinema Asian America, an On-Demand channel for great Asian American feature films and documentaries. These aren't foreign films from China, Japan and Korea -- they're Asian American films that reflect both traditional Asian roots and American pop-culture branches. Each month, there will be a new selection of movies available.It's especially great for those of us who live in Colorado, where we haven't had easy access (if any) to all the great movies that get screened on the West and East Coasts. We can finally get to see the films we've read about, and expand our library of experiences. You can see a trailer of the December films available from Cinema Asian America here.
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| New Year's Resolution: Stop Smoking with Quitline |
 Quitline is reaching out to Colorado's Asian Community to help stop smoking.
You don't need us to tell you that smoking is a major risk factor for chronic disease and the most significant driver of health care costs. Check out the resources included at www.MyQuitPath.org and make good on your New Year's resolution to stop smoking.Asian-speaking smokers over age 18 or family members can call the ColoradoAsian QuitLine from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday, at thefollowing numbers:Mandarin or Cantonese: 1-800-838-8017Korean: 1-800-556-5564Vietnamese: 1-800-778-8440 |
| Upcoming Asian Community Events | |
 For the most complete calendar of events happening in Colorado's APA community visit asiaxpress.com.
Do you have an upcoming event that you want to share with the local APA community? If you would like your event listed in the next CDBF monthly newsletter, please email a brief description to media@cdbf.org.
Hello Kavita performanceDate: Sat, December 18, 8pmPlace: Hi-Dive, 7 S. BroadwayCost: $8Hello Kavita is a Denver band led by Japanese American singer-songwriter Corey Teruya. This is a make-up show for the Denver Post Underground Music Showcase. It will be their last show in Denver for a while. For more information: www.hellokavita.netBig Head Todd & the Monsters New Year's Eve ShowDate: Fri, December 31, 8:30 pmPlace: Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glenarm PlaceCost: $60.50 to $70.50Big Head Todd has been a local institution since the late 1980s, led by Korean American bandleader Todd Park Mohr. Their fans will be out in force for the annual New Year's Eve concert. For more information: www.bigheadtodd.com
 Charmaine Clamor
Date: Sat, January 29, 7 pmPlace: Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Rd., BroomfieldCost: $25A superstar jazz singer in the Philippines who's been dubbed "The Queen of Jazzipino," Clamor is a popular voice on Denver's KUVO. She comes to Colorado for her "Something Good" tour for the first time, sponsored by the Filipino American Community of Colorado. Purchase tickets at BrownPaperTickets.com |
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About the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival |
 Your Weekend Passport to Asia and the Pacific - Dragon Boat Races. Cultural Education. Performing Arts. Food. Marketplace.
About the CDBF
Founded in 2001 to celebrate Colorado's diverse Asian Pacific American (APA) communities, the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival (CDBF), a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, has become the region's fastest growing, family-friendly summer festival. CDBF offers festival-goers the opportunity to explore APA culture through performances, educational programs, arts and crafts, shopping, dining and the exciting athletic competition of dragon boat racing.
The 11th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival will be held at Denver's Sloan's Lake Park on July 30-31. 2011. We'll see you there!
Contact Information: 11049 West 44th Avenue Suite 110 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 T: 303-953-7277 F: 303-953-7278 Toll-free: 877.716.BOAT (2628)
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| 2010 SPONSORS
Community Partner:
Associate Sponsor:
MillerCoors
Media Sponsors:
Comcast
Westwood College
Fox31 News
The Denver Post Community
Supporting Sponsors:
Allied Insurance, a Nationwide Company
Pepsi Bottling Company
Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk
Your Neighborhood Toyota Stores
Contributing
Sponsors:
CH2M HILL
Denver Water |
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