A Most Auspicious Year
The Year of the Dragon coincides with the centennial of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the reign of the just-crowned Narcissus Court: (from left) third princess Julianne Cheng, fourth princess Cherie Ching, chamber president John Hui, queen Tiffany Au, first princess Amanda Wong and second princess Stephanie Wang
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the City of Honolulu’s Sister City relationships with China municipalities, including Hainan and Chengdu.
It also conducts trade missions and helps members with China marketing opportunities.
In the Islands, however, the Chamber is probably best known for the Narcissus Festivals, which it has sponsored annually since 1950. Fashion, art and flower shows, parades, banquets, nights in Chinatown and, of course, dancing dragons characterize the celebration.
“It’s the way we highlight our cultural heritage,” says Hui, 58, president of Avanti Fashion Inc., a manufacturer and retailer of vintagestyle Hawaiian wear. “It’s also a platform to reach young people and get them involved in our programs.”
Staging the festival during a centennial year allows for more glitz and glamour. The centennial’s yearlong celebration, led by Chamber committee chairman Vernon Ching, includes gala banquets, publishing a centennial commemorative book in May, and issuing a silver souvenir coin with a five-dragon design. Other events are the coronation ball for the newly crowned Narcissus Queen (Jan. 28) and an 11-day China goodwill tour in June.
Befitting the year of the dragon, volunteers are putting in extra hours and effort to make the occasions dynamic and imbued with good fortune. Like the narcissus flower that blooms once a year, an organization gets a centennial only once in its history, so grand festivities are planned. We’re all invited.
Cultural Charm
Crowning glory of the Narcissus Festival and Chinese New Year is a beautiful young lady who reigns over the official events. This year, judges chose 24-year-old Tiffany Ho Yun Au to wear the crown.
Beautiful and articulate Au, a legislative aide to state Rep. Corinne Ching (Nuuanu, Liliha), is supported by Amanda Mei Ling Wong, first princess; Stephanie Hui-Yuan Wang, second princess; Julianne Joo Lai Cheng, third princess, and Cherie Oi Mei Ching, fourth princess. They were among 15 contestants, one of the largest groups vying for the title, at the Jan. 7 pageant in Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Au hip-hopped her way to applause in the talent portion, showing her dance agility to music by Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. In the evening gown competition, she wore a beaded magenta cheongsam with peony floral design.
“The peony is known as the king of flowers,” Au says. “It represents good fortune, blessings and spring. I chose this floral design because it symbolizes what is a growing period for me.”
Growing into womanhood with a title of Narcissus Queen can only enhance one’s confidence and opportunities, Au believes.
“This is a journey of reorienting and re-evaluating myself. I wanted my participation in the pageant to be a self-expression of who I am,” she says. “In our minds, we sometimes fret that we’re not good enough, not pretty enough or not educated enough to do something. I never thought I’d enter a pageant, but by doing so I’ve overcome barriers of self-doubt.”
The Sacred Hearts Academy and Grinnell College graduate, who majored in political science, aspires to be a broadcast journalist. She speaks Cantonese and Spanish, and her interests include acting, theatre and playing the piano. She was born in the year of the rabbit and admits to a non-aggressive, non-confrontational personality typical of this zodiac sign. The Chinese rabbit also is associated with sophistication, artistic skills and intellect.
The daughter of Lily and Tien Au, the queen looks forward to visiting China later this year.
“While I’m a modern American-Chinese citizen, I am very rooted in my culture,” she says. “I’m proud to be Chinese, and having a deeper understanding of my heritage allows me to better communicate with my parents and others.”
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce has given Au and its members a platform to be visible in the community, to represent their ethnic heritage and to facilitate success.
In the final analysis, that’s what the Narcissus Festival really represents. It takes the proud 100-year legacy of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and couples it with a strategic program to teach young people to embrace their cultural identities.
It brings Western and Eastern philosophies into harmony in a yin and yang of personal and professional goals.
If you add the power of a Chinese dragon, it’s bound to be an enduring course of prosperity.
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