9-11: Asian Pacific America Recounts a Year of Struggle and Healing (Feature) Who’s Getting the Message? (in National News) Putting Our Health Center Stage (in Bay Area News) Ultimate Diversions: Kingdom Hearts (in Business) Chinese American Volleyball Tournament Comes to San Francisco (in Sports) Collateral Damage: ‘Asian Americans On War & Peace’ (in A&E) Emil Amok: Chicken-hearted Patriotism in Fremont (in Opinion)

Fairmont Chateau Whistler director Sonya Hwang (right) shows off the resort’s beautiful grounds to California visitors Susan Chang and Calvin Wong. Photo by Gerrye Wong.

A Bear on the Green

Golfing in Canada and other upcoming adventures

CANADA CALLS: I was told that the Whistler area of British Columbia, Canada had everything for the adventurous traveler, but I was not prepared to find a black bear facing me on the fairway of a golf course, that’s for sure! Sonya Hwang, director of the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, had warned me that the course along the slopes of Blackcomb Mountain was home to much wildlife — including black bears and coyotes — but to actually meet one sitting nonchalantly near your ball is a true golf experience to write home about.

Let it be said that though these bears are vegetarians by nature, I decided to drop another ball a distance away from it to play on with. Canada’s scenic beauty surrounds this Robert Trent Jones Jr. course, with dramatic elevation changes, granite rock faces, glacier-fed creeks and snow-capped mountains in the summer. Alongside the course stands the majestic Chateau Whistler Resort, noted as one of the top ski resorts in the world, but we found it equally charming in the summer — offering hiking trails, horseback riding, mountain biking, river rafting and even summer glacier skiing and snowboarding.

Though Whistler has been known worldwide for its ski experience, its renown is also growing among the golf world. GolfBC manages a dozen of British Columbia’s finest courses to welcome visitors from all over the world, according to Nicki Rakitti, GolfBC exec. I loved the first tee of its fascinating Furry Creek, which let me hit over a striking 165-foot plunge toward the tranquil waters of Howe Sound. Looking out onto the calm waters amidst the pristine mountains was reminiscent of Norwegian fjords, making it hard to keep my mind on the golf task at hand when facing such surrounding beauty.

Barely two hours away, via the spectacular Sea to Sky highway, exciting city life erupts downtown at Vancouver’s Grand Lady, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Standing regal and tall with over 500 guestrooms and Renaissance-styled lobby, the hotel treats you like royalty with sweeping marble staircases, pillars and its proximity to Vancouver’s premier shopping, art and cultural attractions.

Eager to test Vancouver’s well-known Chinese cuisine and see the burgeoning Chinese population’s new areas, I was directed by the knowledgeable, courteous hotel staff to the Richmond suburb full of Asian shopping centers and restaurants. Nearby, we met Vancouver natives Jack and Lilyann Hoy, and Ben Chin at their Marina Green Golf Club but alas, the Canadian gods swept torrential rain down on us, so being fair weather golfers, we enjoyed the club’s spectacular seafood buffet instead.

If you feel the call to Canada, be sure to add Whistler resort area and Vancouver to your itinerary.

FRIENDSHIP GAMES: In another part of the world, TV celebrity Jan Yanehiro tells us about Kristi Yamaguchi’s Friendship Games, where her Always Dream Foundation teamed up with the Hawai‘i Center for Independent Living to host 30 physically challenged youngsters and their buddies for an Oahu camping experience with her and ice hockey star husband Brett Hedican. A Taste of California fundraiser followed in Honolulu for 500 patrons where chair Dale Minami, jazz band Hiroshima, Scott Hamilton and many California friends flew over to ensure that Kristi’s Friendship Games will continue for many coming years.

MOON FESTIVAL: In Santa Clara, Paramount’s Great America will celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival on Sept. 21 — in a joint production with the Chinese Performing Artists of America — presenting the full-scale show, Moon Festival Gala. Artists from Beijing, an acrobatic master from Las Vegas and 50 local dancers and musicians will perform the Celestial Dragon and other dances. Patrons going to the park that day will not only be able to partake of all the exciting rides, but they will also be able to partake of the arts and crafts exhibitions and the Moonlight Concert with Moon Goddess to conclude the festival. For more information, go to www.ChinesePerformingArts.org.