Harbourfront Centre viewed from the East
Update: The TXA has been invited to appear at China Now on Friday evening in addition to Saturday and Sunday, and we will be at a second location near the Redpath Stage, in the festival’s main area. Toronto champion, Mark Wang WeiQiang 王偉強, and former champions, Lin ShiXiong 林世雄, Paul Ng 吳嶽林 and Peter Sung 宋德柔 have agreed to join us.
We’re very pleased to have accepted an invitation from Harbourfront Centre to demonstrate Xiangqi at the China Now Festival on July 12 and 13.
For many years, Harbourfront festivals have provided some of the best international culture experiences in the GTA. They offer theatre, dance, crafts, food, and always lots of music. The quality is very high, and they’re free.
Harbourfront festivals draw big crowds
This summer, Harbourfront is holding festivals devoted to Canada, China, South Asia, Brazil, Africa, the Caribbean and Taiwan.
The China Now festival will run from July 11 (Friday) to 13. It will feature many artists from all over China, and a spectacular array of activities, including puppetry from Fujian Province, folk dancing from Anhui Province, print making from Tianjin and a Cantonese “Dumpling Duel.” There will be a great deal of music, including the Shanghai Restoration Project, inspired by the songs of the 1920s and 1930s, the Ih Tsetsn Ensemble from Mongolia, and excerpts from Cantonese Opera. Harbourfront’s China Now press release includes a detailed program.
We’ll be playing Xiangqi on Friday July 11 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., Saturday July 12 from 12 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Sunday July 13 from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. at the “People’s Park,” a covered area devoted to activities typically found in a Chinese park. This is to the east of the main building, Harbourfront Centre. Our second location will be near the Redpath Stage in the main festival area. The map at the end of this post shows both location, and is linked to a larger PDF with directions to Harbourfront Centre.
We’ll have our standard sets as well as a couple of sets with figurine pieces (similar to western chess) and we’ll welcome all inquiries, regardless of skill level.
If you wish to drive, there’s a new and large underground parking complex that can be entered from Queen’s Quay West right in front of Harbourfront.
Harbourfront Centre is beautifully located on the Toronto harbour, across from the islands. You can walk along the pier and even go for a harbour cruise. Union Station is about an eight minute walk away. Spadina Chinatown is not far to the north and west.
We recommend that people park their cars at Finch or York Mills station and go by subway. From the Union Station, you can take the 509 bus (you’ll need a transfer) or walk. There are detailed directions on the Harbourfront site.
If you walk down from Union Station, go south on Bay Street (through the tunnel) to Queen’s Quay West (you’ll see where the ferries go to the islands). Walk west on Queen’s Quay to Harbourfront.
We highly recommend this as a full day outing for the whole family. We hope to see many of the GTA’s Xiangqi enthusiasts.
If you have questions or ideas, you’re welcome to offer them on our Facebook page.
The locations of the Redpath Stage and the People’s Park can be seen in this map.
Click on this image for a larger PDF version with directions to Harbourfront
