FCC St. Louis Culture Day 2003 Rocks the Halls of Visitation Academy

by Garland Tenholder

The halls of Visitation Academy, quiet and vacant since school ended several weeks ago, echoed with laughter from happy FCC (Families with Children from China) children who, with their parents, celebrated the 6th annual FCC St. Louis Chinese Culture Day on June 21st.  The fun-filled day included cultural activities for children and adults, vendors selling sought-after Chinese items and tasty Chinese food for lunch.   

This year FCC welcomed instructors from the Circus Day Foundation in St. Louis.  They opened the morning with a very entertaining demonstration of acrobatics.  The children then participated in a class with the instructors where they learned circus skills such as ball walking, tumbling, juggling, and more.  It was the highlight of the day for many of the kids.

In addition to the circus activities, the children also created a variety of craft projects.  The children under the age of three were given their own activity room.  The teachers in that room combined Chinese culture with toddler fun.  

Many of the adults attended programs of their own.  Mindy Carney presented a program based on her recent trips to China working with the "Half the Sky Foundation".  Her talk was very emotional and left many of the parents with a new insight into life in a children's home.  The adults also saw an authentic tea ceremony presented by St. Louis artist Jimmy Liu.  Mr. Liu crafts unique and beautiful teapots and he explained the process behind these exquisite creations.  

FCC welcomed many vendors this year and each brought unique and popular products.  Many parents were able to buy items such as Chinese clothing for their children, books, purses, artwork, etc., all with a Chinese theme.  As treasures went home with the families, one could see just how popular the vendor area was.

The Culture Day committee also provided a number of refreshments throughout the morning as well as a Chinese buffet for lunch.  Families were offered many Chinese food options.

From start to finish the day was a great success.  The families had fun, met some new people, saw some old friends, and took part in some special activities.  This year's Culture Day committee was headed by Laurie Lambros and Garland Tenholder and together with a dedicated group of volunteers, Culture Day 2003 was created.  FCC thanks everyone who worked so hard to make the day a success - teachers, sponsors, volunteers, vendors--and also extends a thank you to Visitation Academy for the use of their wonderful facility.