WESTMINSTER–Sandy Nguyen points to her orchids and knows which
ones her customers will purchase.

The Chinese and Vietnamese customers at this year’s Flower
Festival will likely choose bright yellow and red orchids. The
red ones are simply happy. And the yellow ones are particularly
favored for the New Year because they are gold-tone “and bring
good luck,” Nguyen said.

Asians tend to stay away from the white orchids because they
associate them with funerals, said the owner of Tuyet’s Orchids.

Friday was first day of the Flower Festival outside the Asian
Garden Mall, a two-story shopping mecca for Vietnamese goods in
Orange County’s Little Saigon. The annual event is the kick-off
to commemorate the Vietnamese Tet Festival, which will culminate
with a parade Jan. 28 in Westminster and a weekend celebration at
Garden Grove Park, from Jan. 27 to 29.

Within the first half-hour after opening up Friday morning,
Belinda Nguyen was doing brisk business at her fruit stand.
Customers scooped up handfuls of rambutan, a hairy-looking red
tropical fruit, and dragon eyes, another tropical fruit.

Under another tent, Jacqueline Nguyen said she didn’t expect much
business these first few days. This is the time for looky-loos.
The serious shoppers who want everything super-fresh buy closer
to the actual Lunar New Year date, celebrated Jan 23-25 this
year.

“The closer the new year, the more crowded it gets,” Nguyen said
shortly after unpacking a van full of live orchids, yellow mums
and colorful silk roses with glitter-covered edges.

The Flower Festival is true to its name. Many of the outdoor
stalls feature stunning flowers, especially orchids, as well as
silk and plastic varieties.

But there also are many tents that feature a variety of
Vietnamese and Chinese ornaments, trinkets and various assorted
items to symbolize and celebrate the occasion with lucky symbols.

Tong Sing Hooi is happy it’s the Year of the Dragon.

“I was born in the Year of the Monkey. Dragon is good for me. I
have very bad luck with (Year of the) Tiger,” he said while
glancing at a collection of dragons he’s selling in his stall.

For a youngster like Lily Truong, a sixth-grader from Santa Ana,
the best part of the celebration is the money in the colorful
envelopes she receives as gifts from her family. But the
12-year-old, visiting the Flower Festival with family and
friends, got the deeper meaning too: “It’s about being with your
family and celebrating the New Year.”

To Eddie Doan, the owner of Panda Imports and a vendor at the
festival, it’s all about family.

“My parents were boat people. To me, it’s really important to
stay in touch with our culture,” said Doan, 30. “In Asia, this
spring time is the only time some people get to visit their
hometowns and see their families. It’s a time to spend with
family and friends.”

And bringing along a gift, whether it’s a pretty package of
candies, a bright envelope with money or a stunning orchid, is a
common tradition.

“In our country, orchids are expensive,” so it’s not a typical
gift for most people, said Shelton Huynh. But here, it’s a lovely
and reasonably-priced present, he said. “You don’t want to give
your friend a Walmart flower for the New Year.”

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DULUTH — Last year, Korean artist Gyun Hur won $50,000 from a competition at the Hudgens Center for the Arts as the first place entry. With that money, she has created a new exhibit at the center called “In a Landscape Anew,” which is on display until Feb. 11.

“Her work is about vulnerability,” Angela Nichols, director of education and public programs of Hudgens said. “I think this exhibit is a new direction for her. She’s known for her stripes … this exhibit is a risk.”

Hur’s art usually consists of reclaimed flowers from cemeteries used in stripes to express her sense of loss, sense of place and loss of her homeland. With this display, she has used silk flowers, including black ones which is new to her color pallet — it is typically vibrant colors of the rainbow.

“She integrated from Korean at 13, so sentiments to Korean culture play in her work,” Nichols said. “Gyun has a sense of loss of her culture because she lost it when she came here. For this exhibit, the colors she used are black, rusty orange and bright green. Black was new for her — it has a very different feel.”

The exhibit is an installation piece, which is described as 3-D works that are designed around the space of a room in order to transform one’s perception of the space.

Hur’s “Landscape” fills the two main galleries at the center. It is one large work divided by a wall.

“(The installation) is very labor intensive,” Nichols said. “She started out reclaimed flowers from an actually cemetery when they would blow away. Then she needed so many of them, she started purchases them new. She grinds them into a powdery form and lays them on the ground.”

There are jars of the powder available at the center for people to feel the material.

“This type of work is somewhat challenging,” Nichols said. “We try to educate on what it is and why is it important. People have responded positively to this exhibit.”

Hur is speaking at the Artist Talk at 11 a.m. Jan. 28 at the Hudgens Center.

For more information about Hur, visit her website gyunhur.com.

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With the right combination of type, colour and arrangement, fresh blooms can make a dramatic statement, writes Elaine Yim

Creative arrangements certainly punctuate

Fresh and fabulous

IT’S been said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But I believe that flowers are a woman’s best friend, and perhaps a man’s too.
Anarchist Emma Goldman once said: “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.”
Flowers are nature’s wonderful gift to us. Just the sight of them can evoke positive emotions.
They are used as gifts for special occasions and for decorating homes, offices and venues. We give them to convey messages of “I love you”, “I’m sorry”, “Thank you” or even “Just because you’re special”. In the words of author Carl W. Buechner, “They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Would you choose real flowers or fake ones? Well, artificial flowers are replicas of the real thing! While real flowers don’t last long, the memory they bring lives on. A spontaneous but thoughtful gesture and a fleeting moment of happiness can lead to a lifetime of lasting impressions.

BLOOMS FOR THE RIGHT OCCASION
This is a matter of preference. The following is just a general guide:
• Roses are regarded as the flower of love and romance but are suitable for any occasion. They are often used to convey messages of the heart, which can be expressed by the colour and number of stalks in an arrangement. There are many varieties and colours to choose from, except black. Blue roses also don’t exist naturally but have been successfully cultivated through genetic engineering. Those sold at florists are most likely white roses which have been dyed blue.
• Carnations are suitable for Mother’s Day.
• Chrysanthemums are mostly used for prayers, tributes and condolences. Hybrids such as shasta daisies and coral reef cultivars are suitable for decorative and gift purposes.
• Besides roses, orchids, calla lilies and Oriental or Asiatic lilies such as the pure white casa blanca and pink stargazer lilies are good choices for weddings.
• Gerbera daisies, baby’s breath, statice, asters and sunflowers are popular as graduation bouquets.
• Ginger flowers, bromeliads, heliconias and Bird Of Paradise flowers can add a glamorous, exotic touch to your living space.
• Tulips, irises and daffodils are seasonal.
• Poinsettias, amaryllis, cherry blossoms, hyacinths and narcissus are festive flowers.

CREATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
• Table arrangements to decorate homes and venues for the reception, dinner or party table, and on the foyer or mantelpiece. The choice of flower type and colour will depend on the theme and decor of the celebration.
• Stand arrangements and wreaths at entrances or interiors to display congratulatory or condolence messages.
• Corsages — flower brooches for guests or wrist corsages for your dinner date.

DIY AT HOME
Group flowers of similar type, size and colour. Smaller flowers such as baby’s breath, asters and statice should enhance an arrangement, not overshadow it.
You don’t need to spend a lot buying stalks and stalks of flowers. A single bloom on a single stalk can be just as dramatic when placed in the right container or location. The container is just as important as the flower and both should complement each other.
The correct match with the right combination of colour and texture is important. You can use an antique sugar bowl, crystal vase, water jug, jam jar, milk or wine bottle, tin, bucket or basket. Use your imagination, have a little fun and follow your heart. Also, practice makes perfect.

DIY AT WEDDINGS
You can buy flowers cheaply from wholesalers and learn to make your own arrangements. Here are some tips:
• Bridal bouquet: Cascading style, arm sheaf, biedermeier, hand posy, nosegay.
• For bridesmaid and flower girls: Cone-shaped bouquets, wrist corsages or flower bracelets.
• For guests: Orchid corsages.
• For groom, best man and male guests: Boutonnieres or corsages.
• Traditional Malay wedding: Fresh flower arrangements for hantaran (dowry) trays, fragrant flower petals for bunga rampai (potpourri) and mandi bunga (flower bath).
• Western-style wedding: Rose petals for ceremony tosses.

MAKING CUT FLOWERS LAST LONGER
• As soon as you reach home, unwrap the flowers and remove excess leaves and thorns.
• No leaves should be left underwater.
• Use a sharp knife or scissors to make a diagonal cut on the stems. Place flowers in a container of clean water, away from heat, draught and ripening fruit. Allow to stand for at least an hour before you arrange them.
• Every two to three days, change the water and cut the stems again.

WHERE TO BUY
• Florists, wet markets and flower streets in Chinatown and Little India in Kuala Lumpur.
• Flower wholesalers such as Floristica in Bangsar, and Weng Hoa in Petaling Street, KL.
mynicegardenblog [at] gmail [dot] com

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In the minutes before her historic civil union ceremony in Sussex County on Wednesday, Mary Hudson picked up a bouquet of silk flowers and joked that once the ceremony was complete, she would toss it to her 89-year-old mother, one of two official witnesses to the event.

Hudson and her partner of 10 years, Lynn Ekelund, stood near a white-lattice garden arbor festooned with ivory silk flowers and tulle. A boom box, tucked amid the tulle, played romantic tunes.

“I’m really nervous,” said Hudson, 63, of Milton. “We were good 15 minutes ago.”

Hudson and Ekelund are the first same-sex couple joined in a civil union in Sussex County since the state law took effect Jan.1. Sussex County Clerk of the Peace George Parish has two more civil unions planned for this week and three for next week.

Parish stepped out in a black robe and asked the two women to designate someone to hold the legal documents.

“My mother,” Hudson said, turning to Cornelia Pruitt, 89, of Seaford.

The event had special meaning for Hudson, Ekelund and Parish.

Politically, Parish has been opposed to same-sex civil unions but said he had two choices once Gov. Jack Markell signed the bill into law: He could abide by the law or he could resign. Parish, a Republican, said he had no intention of resigning and giving Markell, a Democrat, the chance to appoint his replacement. But he said this would be his last year as Sussex County’s Clerk of the Peace.

Still, Parish said he wanted to come up with a special ceremony to help same-sex couples rejoice in and remember their day.

Parish had the couple stand face to face. Then he started by welcoming everyone to “wonderful Sussex County.”

The two witnesses, Pruitt and Hudson’s cousin, Diane Jefferson, of Milton, sat in the front row. Two print reporters, a radio reporter, a television crew and a print photographer were there to capture the historic moment.

“We are gathered here for the civil union of Lynn and Mary,” he said. “Lynn, do you freely, willingly and without reservation … though we know not what this journey will bring …” join Mary in civil union, he asked.

“I do,” Ekelund said.

He repeated the same question to Hudson, who held back tears. Ekelund reached out and held her hands.

She, too, said: “I do.”

Parish then gave the women a moment to speak.

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Examiners provide unique and original content to enhance life in your local city wherever that may be. Examiners come from all walks of life and contribute original content to entertain, inform, and inspire.

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Margaret M. Silk, 84, of East Stroudsburg, passed away late Friday evening, Dec. 23, 2011, at the Gluco Lodge, Hamilton Township.

Born on Aug. 25, 1927, in Orange, N.J., she was a daughter of the late William and Gertrude (Crawley) Mangan. Margaret graduated from Our Lady of the Valley Roman Catholic High School in Orange, N.J., and was employed in the medical field as an administrative assistant working for St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., and Dr. Fuller also in Livingston, N.J.

Margaret was a member of St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church, Brodhead Ave., East Stroudsburg, and loved to read and travel.

She was preceded in death in addition to her parents, by her husband of 49 years, Edward J. Silk, who passed away Nov. 19, 1995, and a brother, William Mangan.

She is survived by a daughter, Mary Ellen Swanson, and her husband, Donald, of Stroudsburg; sons, Douglas Silk of Fair Haven, N.J., and James Silk of Somerset, N.J.; three grandchildren, Caroline, Daniel and Timothy, all of Stroudsburg; and one sister, Patricia Rapaport, of Beaufort, N.C.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at the Lanterman Allen Funeral Home, 27 Washington St., East Stroudsburg, with Monsignor John A. Bergamo of St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic Church officiating. Interment will follow in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville.

A viewing will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29, at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the VNA Hospice of Monroe County, 412 E. Brown St., East Stroudsburg, PA 18301.

Lanterman Allen Funeral Home

27 Washington St., E. Stroudsburg

www.lantermanallenfh.com

The brilliant colors and mesmerizing dance movements of “Silk Road, Flower Rain” – the world-famous dance drama from the People’s Republic of China – is coming to the stage of the Tamaqua Area School District auditorium in a free-of-charge, international goodwill performance.

District Superintendent Carol Makuta announced Tuesday that the cultural exchange performance is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. tonight.

Made possible through a sponsoring partnership that includes the district, the Chinese Embassy in the United States and World Artists Experiences, Makuta said the program was organized by Tamaqua Area alumna June Krell-Salgado, cultural affairs director at the University of Salisbury in Salisbury, Md.

Working with WAE, Krell-Salgado arranged for the troupe of approximately 50 Chinese nationals to perform at the university. Seizing the opportunity, she also arranged for the performers to tour her Schuylkill-Carbon county hometown region and deliver the world-class show to a local audience.

Admission to the show is free, with seating on a first-come basis.

This is the second consecutive year Krell-Salgado has arranged for the Chinese nationals to tour and shop in the region and deliver a performance for local audiences.

Last year’s show, “Colorful China,” played to a full house in the Tamaqua Area auditorium and received an extended standing ovation.

The performers are visiting the United States on a cultural exchange visa.

“Silk Road, Flower Rain” is a classic Chinese dance drama created by the Gansu Song and Dance Theater of Beijing. Called China’s forever classic, the theme of “Silk Road, Flower Rain” is peace and friendship, expressed in a tear-driving story of long-lasting friendship between Chinese people and people from abroad.

Considered a model of Chinese folk dance drama, an adaptation of “Silk Road, Flower Rain” was presented at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

The dance troupe will perform for students in the morning, then have lunch at DiMaggio’s La Dolce Casa Italian restaurant on Broad Street in Tamaqua. After an afternoon of local shopping and sightseeing, the performers will take the stage once again.

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Dalat is an area of Vietnam in the southern Central Highlands, renowned for flowers and farming, writes JILL GALLOWAY.

The rice wine is very alcoholic – more of a spirit than a wine. Our guide poured a glass straight from the still. My daughter drank a little. I thought it would be bad to hand it back without it all gone. So “Bottoms up”, I cried, as the 55 per cent proof wine coursed through my mouth.

It came from a still in the back shed of a place our guide took us. There was no blindness and I was just a little staggery at 10.30am.

Rice wine was just one of the things our Easy Rider guide showed us in the course of the day. Also on the hit list was a dairy farm, flower producer, silk cacoon farmer, mushroom farm and silk factory.

We saw all of them, ably guided by Le Quang Hung – Hung to his friends and clients.

First, there was a rice wrapper place. The rice is stirred and soaked in water. The resulting pancake mixture is cooked for two minutes (over rice husks), then each goes on a rack and is dried in the sun for 2 1/2 hours.

The cooking is done close to a pig pen. It houses a sow and next door, her large piglets, destined for market. There was a dog in a cage.

“He kills chickens if he roams, so he has to stay in the cage,” Hung says.

Next stop was a dairy farm.

Four heifers, two months away from calving, were in a stall big enough to keep a family.

The heifers were eating carrot tops, a by-product of the vegetables taken to market.

The farmer told us the heifers, which were friesians, were 20 months old and had had artificial insemination.

“Each is worth US$2500 [NZ$3200]. The government buys the milk and it goes to the factory for processing. The farmers rent the land they live on and the cows are from the government,” Hung says.

No-one owns land in Vietnam – it is all rented – so there are many narrow, high houses to make use of the parcel of land. Some can be leased for 50 years.

Then it was off to try the rice wine. Like the dairy farm, it was south of Dalat in the Phi Nom area.

The rice was cooked, cooled and mixed with yeast after that. After seven days, the rice and yeast mix goes into a still and the steam is collected. One kilogram of rice makes 1.5 litres of rice wine. It is potent stuff.

We did see a few tractors and rotary hoes in the region, suggesting there was some mechanisation of farming for the lucky few, but often people were weeding and tending crops manually and harvesting by hand. It was a cooler region than most of Vietnam, growing strawberries, fuschia and mushrooms. So it was off to a mushroom area.

The mushrooms are the elephant-ear variety. They are dried before they are sent all over Vietnam. They are grown in limestone and sawdust in small bags hanging down to the ground from a height of two metres. They are kept in the dark.

After three rotations, the small bags are burnt and used as a fertiliser. One kilogram of dried mushrooms costs US$8. There were bales with 100kg of dried mushrooms ready for markets in Ho Chi Minh City.

We then went to see silk made.

The silk worms start life as tiny eggs, eating more and sleeping less as they grow to little-finger length. It is then that they spin the silk cocoon. The farmer has 2500 worms, selling the cocoons (with big worms inside) to the silk factory.

The silk worms eat only mulberry leaves, and Hung says they love Dalat, as it is neither too hot or cold.

At the factory, they dip the the cocoons in hot water and unravel and spin the silk. Big cocoons have two larvae and produce coarse silk.

There was no ear protection and it was loud. The workers labour for eight hours a day, seven days a week. They are paid according to their production, receiving US$15 to US$25 a day.

The Dalat region is also well known for its coffee and tea production. Both are hand picked, so the right bits hit the pot.

The coffee beans are put in the sun to dry, going darker as they dry for 15 days.

There are three main types of coffee – mocha (very strong), arabica (not strong) and weasel coffee.

The latter is kopi luwak, or civet coffee, and is made from the beans of coffee berries that have been eaten by the asian palm civet. The beans pass through a civet’s intestines and are defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness.

Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its name, ca phe chon in Vietnamese, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced. However, some farms have civets in the wild. Most of it is chemically treated rather than going through the civet.

In central Vietnam, a good crop might yield 25 tonnes a year. More common is the small farmer, who produces five tonnes a year.

Flowers, a rarity in hot Vietnam, are grown at Dalat in plastic houses to protect them from the 10-degree winter temperatures. Roses, geraniums and gerberas are grown, with many being exported. Red is good luck and yellow the colour for the New Year. Apparently, there were a few sheep, although I saw none, and a few cattle.

As they would say on the Starship Enterprise: “It’s farming Jim, but not as we know it”.

– © Fairfax NZ News

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3During daylight hours on Christmas Eve, many paused to decorate
the graves of their loved ones with wreaths, Santa figurines and
every other imaginable holiday decoration. One grave in the
American Fork cemetery was topped with a full-sized, fully
decorated Christmas tree. Others sported bells, fresh and silk
flowers, ribbon and more.

Marilyn Wanlass came to the American Fork cemetery to visit the
graves of her husband, Darrell Wanlass, who died 13 and a half
years ago, and her daughter, Janet Wanlass, who died in 2008.

“It is very emotional,” she said, sudden tears in her eyes. “But
we come to decorate every Christmas. Her birthday was on Dec. 21.
It’s just special, Christmas and the birth of Christ and the
memories.”

Keith and Colleen Barton drove from Spanish Fork to visit the
grave of their son in the Alpine cemetery. Gregory Keith Barton
died in an automobile accident in 2004 at the age of 27. The couple
also has other family members in the same place.

“We come every year because he was always there for Christmas,”
said Colleen Barton, holding a red silk poinsettia. He loved
Christmas and red poinsettias. It’s hard because when they are old
you expect it, but when they are young…” she paused, fighting
emotion. “It’s hard.”

June Pulley was visiting the American Fork cemetery to place
silk poinsettias on the graves of eight of her relatives.

“I do it every year,” she said. “It’s Christmas and it’s an
important part of our lives, with the birth of Christ, and I want
to share it with family and let them know I remember them.”

Her husband, James Reed Pulley, died six years ago on Dec. 23,
she said.

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Name: Mitzi Ash of Berlin.

What type of art do you create?

I paint on silk; white silk is stretched on a frame and painted with a brush with liquid dyes. Silk is a lustrous and supple fabric that reacts beautifully to brilliant and transparent dyes. I draw with resist which keeps the dyes from running into each other. Silk painting, like watercolor, is all about movement and fluidity. The silk is then carefully rolled into a bundle and steamed for an hour or more. It is then washed, cured, ironed and framed. There are many steps involved in creating this type of art.

Describe your work:

I like to paint large dramatic paintings of flowers, Georgia O’Keefe style. I experiment constantly with different styles, from very controlled, precise images to free flowing accidents that surprise me and lead to new discoveries. I learn to improve by painting lots of scarves.

When did you start making your art?

I started painting on silk in May 2001.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by colors in clothing and home decor magazines and catalogs, as well as by visits to museums, galleries and art sites on the Web. I can pick up a leaf in the fall which will become the start of an idea or color. I once did a huge painting where the inspiration was a vague pattern I saw in a friend’s tile floor.

What are the challenges of creating your art?

Silk painting is not very forgiving. It is not like painting with oils or acrylics where mistakes can sometimes be corrected with more paint. One has to find ways to incorporate mistakes into the final art piece. Also, like watercolor, there is no white dye. The white of the silk becomes the white of the piece.

Do you make a living through your art?

I feel fortunate that my artwork sells.

Do you have a job outside of your art?

I volunteer at the Worcester County Arts Gallery and Community Church of Ocean Pines.

Who is your favorite artist?

Gustav Klimt (1862 to 1918), an Austrian artist whose work is so private, personal and provocative.

Worcester County Arts Gallery in Berlin as part of the Holly Days exhibit, The Art Institute and Gallery in Salisbury, and the Rehoboth Art League in Rehoboth, Delaware.

What do you think the Eastern Shore can do to improve its arts scene?

I would like to see artists share studio space that is affordable and open to the public, perhaps use a building that is vacant. It would be great to see artists doing their various forms of artwork together in one central building. It could be another form of entertainment for visitors and locals.

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