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SAN JOSE- On May 22, 2004, over a thousand people came to Andrew Hill High school to attend Le Phat Dan, an annual celebration of the Birth of Lord Buddha organized by Lieu Quan Temple. The goal of the event was three-fold: 1) to preserve the Buddhist culture and tradition, 2) to foster the spirit of peace and harmony in the neighborhood, and 3) to strengthen the foundations of community and family.
ICAN has been participating in this annual event for the past several years. Our hope is to help the children identify with their cultural roots and tradition, create an enjoyable atmosphere for children and families, and enable parents and families to have ‘quality time’ with their children.
The official ceremony was followed by music, food and fun activities. Hundreds of children and adults alike enjoyed activities provided by ICAN: magnet, bubbles, free drawing, face painting, arts and crafts, jump ropes and hoola hoop dancing. By far the most popular activity was ‘Make your own hat”. Children enjoyed choosing the various designs to put on their hats. Parents and grandparents also chimed in to create new shapes. Bubbles, the all time favorite activity, attracted not just children, but also adults, even the senior members of the community.
All the hard work paid off! It was great to see community members laughing, eating, and chatting together. It was also great to see children beaming with joy as they play with their parents. It was especially moving to see
McNamara
and her adopted Vietnamese children enjoying community events that help to strengthen the children’s cultural identity.
Thank you, our heroes, Jasmine, Alfie Ngo, Peter Tran, Eli Yani, students from Milpitas Highschool for being the ‘masterminds’ of the activities. They have worked very hard to come up with ideas, prepare the materials and lead the fun activities for the event
Thank you everyone for putting your heart and soul into making this event successful. Here’s looking forward to next year’s celebration.
And now, enjoy the moments…
1. Having fun
2. Cultivating cultural roots in the children … and in us
ICAN members contributed a song honoring Lord Buddha
[Picture: Le Phat Dan_2004 653]
3. The magnet center attracted some inquisitive minds
4. What I can do with hoola...
5. Most popular center: ‘Make your own hat”.
6. Bubbles: everyone’s favorite ... And really bring out the child in each of us.
7. Last but not least, our heroes: Jasmine, Alfie, Peter, Eli, students from Milpitas Highschool.
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