Toronto Programs

Stardom in Sight (Free Admission compliments of TELUS)
Della, with Magic Power (Opening by Champion)

Co-organized by
  

Music, Concert

Saturday, August 27th @ 9:30pm

One of the most talented female vocalists in the Mandarin-speaking world – Della begun her career singing in the pub at a very young age of 18 in China. Considered as a runaway, her journey to stardom took many surprising turns until she found her way to Taiwan. She is the first China-born artist who released her first album in Taiwan in 2006 and her song "I love him" topped the charts of Taiwan KTV Billboard in 2009. Della's interpretation of Lady Gaga's "Telephone", Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and Wintney Houston's "Saving all my love for you" has also made her live concerts very popular.

Get Out
Magic Power

Music

Six good friends playing for four different bands came together to form one of the most promising young bands in Taiwan. Combining hip hop, funk, rock and rap, Magic Power delivers its own unique style in music – The East Side Story. Magic Power is known in the youth circuit as a band that is daring and innovative – the very characteristics that represent the youth in Taiwan today.

Always Open Your Heart
Champion

Music

Founded in 1998 with two students who wanted to pursue their love for music and decided to use their job at the music instrument store to search for other band members. Champion, the alternative rock band, begun their performances at the popular indie festival – Spring Scream Festival in Taiwan and released two albums since their inception.

Taiwan Rising (Free Concert)
Musou Girls' Band

Co-organized by

Music, Concert

Friday, August 26th @ 8pm

Musical boundaries between East/West and Ancient/Contemporary continue to be blurred as evidenced by Musou Girls' Band. The name "Musou" represents the bands unique place in Chinese traditional music. With comparison to China's "Twelve-Girl Band", Musou brings together the unlimited imagination of composer and founder Mr. Xue Xuan Liu and young Taiwanese talents in music. With instruments such as dizi, liuqin, yangqin, xiaooruan, zhonggrun, pipa, erhu, cello, and percussion, Musou narrates the contemporary classical music for tomorrow.

Guardians of Taiwan
Chairman Band

Music

The Chairman Band has been topping charts, receiving many awards in Taiwan for the past 10 to 12 years and has toured in Singapore, Hong Kong and China. The recently released 8th album is focused on merging Taiwanese folk traditions with their love for Rock and Roll. This alternative rock band was honoured with the best band award at Taiwan's 2006 Golden Melody Awards.

The Notorious MSG

Music

Rising up from the hard streets of Chinatown in 2002, The Notorious MSG are three renegade restaurant workers on a mission to make your asses palpitate with their high-sodium beats. Their gritty sound is a compound of the rawest sounds on the New York City streets, hip-hop and punk rock, through a lens of streetwise Chinese-American tradition.

Violets & Viruses

Music

Formed in 2008, the Toronto based rock band Violets & Viruses combines music from Asia, Europe and North America into its own blend of hard-driven rock songs and emotional ballads surrounding melodic vocal lines by the singer.

Strings In Harmony
Ho-Deng Music Ensemble

Music

Ho Deng was established in 1997 with the objective to broaden the knowledge of Chinese music through a mix of instruments and various cultures.  Consisting of local talents from Toronto, Ho Deng will play various familiar tunes from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

Where's the beef? Best Beef Noodle on Earth
Chef Hung

Culinary Show

First introduced in 2008 and back by popular demand, TAIWANfest welcomes three-time champion of Taiwan's Beef Noodle contest - Chef Hung. Chef Hung's creativity is elevating this popular dish to a whole new level. Chef Hung will be demonstrating his winning recipes, which you will be able to find for sale at the World Café throughout TAIWANfest.

Melting Pot
Formosa Cultural Society of Ontario

Culinary Show

"Melting Pot" explores the culture in the villages where families of the military veterans who came to Taiwan with Chiang Kai Shek after 1949 used to live. Of course, people can find traces of culinary cultures from China in the delicacies from the Veterans' Villages; however, the places produced the unique taste of Chinese dishes that could not be found anywhere in China.

Hakka Secrets
Taiwanese Hakka Association of Toronto

Culinary Show

"Hakka Secrets" will reveal how this close-knit ethnic group is always pursuing big dreams. Using simple yet delicious ingredients to create delectable dishes is very culturally fitting to the Hakkas.

Dumplings Etc.
Chef Deng

Culinary Show

This 33-year-old restaurant is known for one of the best northern China’s delicacies in Taiwan. From various types of dumplings to a delicious selection of noodles, Chef Deng captures the essences of cuisine styles from various parts of China. Dumplings Etc. provides a good perspective on the sources of Taiwan’s culinary influences.

Kinda Fusion
Chef Mavis Lee

Culinary Show

Mavis Lee has been the culinary instructor at various institutions. Very passionate about culinary arts, Mavis is very well known in the community because of her love to dream up new creations in food. As Taiwan embraces culinary influences from all over the world, Kinda Fusion will show how newcomers to Canada are changing the Canadian culinary landscape.

Survey Says

Presented by

Game Show

A game show designed to explore the stereotypes in a diverse nation like Canada. Multiculturalism encourages all ethnic groups to share their cultures with others; however, our society is also filled with stereotypes. Through the surveys conducted, the game "Survey Says" will enhance our overall understanding of each other in a very light hearted manner.

The Techno Prince

Dance

One of the most popular programs during the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, the Techno Prince, traditionally only seen in temples and rituals to keep evils away, is a contemporary brand of dance which is now the must-have program at Taiwan's festivals. This Taiwanese interpretation of "Gods must be crazy" features a funky and dynamic dance that everyone can do.

Granny Mob

Dance

As the documentary “Go Grandriders” showcase the never-ending courage of the seniors in Taiwan, the local seniors’ community wants their share of the lime light.  Originated as a form a line dance and inspired by the popularity of flash mobs, Granny Mob will change your perspectives of the lives of our seniors in the community.

Yuan-ji Dance

Dance

In search of the fountain of youth, Yuan-ji Dance is a popular exercise / dance in Greater Toronto. Often seen as a form of exercise, Yuan-ji combines the ancient wisdom in science, nature, medicine, music, dance and martial arts. The dance movement is a great paradox to the pace of our high-tech world.

Transparent Kingdom
Mr. Candle

Film, Lecture

Ready to provide a different perspective is Mr. Candle (Huang, Ming Cheng) who handstand-walks around Taiwan and is in a process of completing a self-made documentary – "Transparent Kingdom." Through his handstand walk, he documents his life as an acrobat and a dancer but through his lens, he reveals the naked truth about Taiwan. This presentation consists of a short documentary and acrobatic acts from Mr. Candle.

Hip Hop Storm

Documentary

This is a story about two generations of hip-pop dancers in Taiwan. Directed by Su, Che-Hsien, Hip Hop Storm explores the struggle of the first generation hip-hop dancer Alun and the overall acceptance of the street dancing culture today. In his generation, Alun had to travel to Japan, US, Brazil and Europe to pursue his dream to become a world-class hip-hop dancer while his passion and devotion was alien to most of people in Taiwan.