用一个周末把自己沉浸在中国文化中之中，何乐而不为！

去年年底，我当选为多伦多华埠商业促进区(CBIA)管理委员会的成员。我成为委员会的执行董事之一，任期为3年。

Late last year, I was elected to the Board of Management of the Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Area (CBIA) organization. I have since served as one of its executive directors and my term will end 3 years from now.
 
CBIA是一个非牟利组织，由多伦多市政府于2007年成立。当年，CBIA由该地区的商业楼房主、商业租户，以及Trinity-Spadina选区的市议员Ceta Ramkhalawansingh组成。今天，它有19名董事会成员和2名市议员来帮助他们开展业务。

The CBIA is a not-for-profit community based City of Toronto agency established in 2007. CBIA was formed by the area’s commercial property owners and tenants, along with then Trinity-Spadina’s City Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh. Today, it has 19 Board members and 2 City Councillors to help run its business.



CBIA与三级政府，当地居民，社区团体，其他社区的商业促进组织和私营机构合作，以建立一个繁荣的唐人街。

CBIA works closely with all three levels of the government, area residents, community groups, other BIAs and the private sector to build a strong Chinatown community.

CBIA的主要目的是保护中国的文化遗产和文化，改善唐人街的景观，健康和安全，并开展吸引人到唐人街的活动和项目，包括游客和当地居民下餐馆，购物和在唐人街参观。因此，该地区将不断吸引更多的就业机会和商机，这将让已经是活力和有各种商家的唐人街向前继续发展。

The key purposes of CBIA are to preserve the Chinese heritage and culture, improve on Chinatown’s streetscape, health and safety, and to create exciting community events and projects to promote the area and draw visitors and locals to eat, shop and explore the neighbourhood. As a result, more employment opportunities and new businesses will be continually attracted to the area to enhance on the existing vibrancy and tenancy mix.



中区唐人街CBIA包括北到学院街，南到Sullivan街，西到Augusta街，东到Beverly街之间街区。其中南北向的Spadina街，东西向的Dundas Street West横跨这一区域。CBIA还包括横跨D'Arcy街和Dundas Street West之间的Huron街。

CBIA geographic boundaries run from north to south on Spadina Avenue between College Street and Sullivan Street and from east to west on Dundas Street West between Augusta Avenue to Beverly Street; and Huron Street between D’Arcy Street and Dundas Street West.

CBIA的资金来自该地区的商业楼房的特别税款（地区里的商业楼房房东需向多伦多市支付这一特别税），商业赞助和捐赠。

The funding of CBIA comes strictly from the area’s commercial property owners (who pay a special levy to the City of Toronto), sponsorships, and donations.



为了实现所制定的目标，唐人街CBIA董事会设立了五个不同的委员会，每个委员会由一名董事会成员担任主席。这些委员会有两名工作人员，以协助项目的研究和管理。每个委员会在财政年度开始时制定业务计划，确定要做什么项目，项目资金和资源的需求，负责项目的成员和项目完成的日期。

In order to complete its goals, the Board of Directors created five different committees each chaired by one of its board members. These committees are supported by two staff members to help with the research and administration of projects. Business plans are established by each committee at the start of the fiscal year identifying projects, resources requirement, responsible members, and scheduled completion dates for each milestone.

五个委员会是：各类活动委员会，街容和治安委员会，清洁和标准委员会，市场营销和推广委员会，以及管理和标准委员会。

The five committees are: Event Committee, Landscape and Safety Committee, Cleanliness and standards committee, Marketing and Promotion Committee, and Governance and Standards Committee.



活动委员会负责每年举办两个重大活动，中国新年庆祝活动（2月）和多伦多唐人街中区华埠同乐日（今年将于8月17日和18日举行）。同乐日始于2000年，从那时起人气每年上升。 2018年，同乐日在为期两天的活动中吸引了大约250,000名游客。

The Event Committee is responsible for the two major events that take place every year – The Chinese New Year Celebration (in February) and the Toronto Chinatown Festival (to be held August 17 and 18 this year). The Toronto Chinatown Festival started in 2000 and it has been growing ever since. In 2018, the Toronto Chinatown Festival attracted approximately 250,000 visitors during the 2-day event.

今年活动所选的主题是“十二生肖”。中国的十二生肖每12年的重复一次，每年都有一种动物及其属性。生肖的次序为：鼠，牛，虎，兔，龙，蛇，马，羊，猴，鸡，狗，猪（2019）。就像西方文化中使用的十二生肖一样，中国十二生肖意味着不同年份出生的人有其共性和个性。

This year, the chosen theme is the “12 Chinese Zodiac”. The Chinese zodiac, or shengxiao, is a repeating cycle of 12 years, with each year being represented by an animal and its reputed attributes. The cycle and its representative animals are presented in this particular order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig (2019). Just like the Zodiac sign system used in the Western culture, the Chinese zodiac is also about compatibility and conflicts between persons born under different signs.



2019年的多伦多唐人街中区华埠同乐日将分两个阶段进行各种文化表演，约有80个商家将展示亚洲文化和社区多样性，同时为改善当地旅游业和经济做出贡献。同乐日期间，人们可以品尝中国不同地区、不同风味的食物，包括四川羊肉串，炸鱿鱼，甚至还有著名的“臭豆腐”。艺术家将展示他们的创意技能并销售他们的作品。此外，同乐日还将有主客互动活动，让游客了解更多多伦多唐人街和中国文化的信息，如与陈籍强教授一起徒步逛唐人街，听他介绍唐人街的历史。

The 2019 Toronto Chinatown Festival will feature various cultural performances on two stages with about 80 vendors to showcase Asian culture and communal diversity in Canada while contributing to the improvement of local tourism and economy. There will be plenty of food from different regions of China, Sichuan lamb skewers, deep fried squid, even the famous “stinky Tofu” amongst many other selections. Artists will demonstrate their skills at creative crafts and sell their products. There will also be interactive activities for visitors to learn more about Toronto Chinatown and Chinese culture, such as a Free Chinatown Walking Tour with Professor Leo Chan to explore the history of Chinatown.

我将与朋友和同事一起参加这项活动。用一个周末把自己沉浸在中国文化中之中，何乐而不为！

I will be there to enjoy all these activities along with my friends and colleagues. What a way to spend a weekend to immerse into the Chinese culture!

下周，我将继续介绍多伦多华埠商业促进区（CBIA）的活动，并介绍多伦多唐人街的过去，现在和未来。

Next time, let us continue with the activities of the Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Area organization (CBIA) and also take a look at the history of the Toronto Chinatown - its past, its present, and its future.