2007 Open House
October 14, 2007
At our third annual open house this year we welcomed two special guests: Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Dayton. Mr. Dayton was to receive a special tribute from CHF as our honorary Chinese Minnesotan of Note. Our community, representing many of our active organizations, turned out in force to honor him for his significant contributions to the Chinese Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Our program, reprinted below, shows our increasing funding activity this past year. Many of our award recipients came to tell us about their successes and the difference our support had made, chief among them the students funded by our WWII Fellowship in the Department of History at the University of Minnesota. Others performed for us, including tenor Li Lei and the children from Yinghua Academy.
Our food table, always a focus at our events, displayed a charming array of delectable finger foods in bamboo baskets. They included sesame moshi, ginger biscotti, baked potato dumplings, and fresh fruits. The golden touch of Yin Simpson was evident in the stylish display of the cherry tree in a classic Chinese jardiniere and stand in the center of the table. As is becoming a tradition at our open houses, TeaSource provided that important complement to a Chinese gathering: authentic teas.
The Daytons enjoyed our program and were thrilled to see the thriving arts and cultural activities in our community. They were touched by our tribute to them, and were moved by the calligraphy written especially for them by Moon Fong, our 93-year old resident calligrapher. The proverb, “The wise is never confused,” depicted in the calligraphy, aptly described the Daytons’ philosophy of life. For our complete tribute, please visit the Daytons’ page at the Chinese MN of Note web site.