A memorable birthday party for Angela

Birthday celebrant Angela (third from right) with party host Janet (extreme left) myself and Angela's sister Adriana

By Susan Palmes-Dennis

A birthday party was hosted for the beautiful Angela Cook by her friend Janet Pichon-Hixon and her husband Richard at their beautiful home and my husband Ronnie Dennis and I were among the fortunate few who attended the event.

Janet is Angela's good friend for many years now and Janet spared no effort to make the day extra special with candles, flowers, friends and good food for her. 

Angela, who is with the Aloha Island Hula group came with her fiancée Bernie Sumcad and sisters Adriana and Analyn. Angela was radiant in a black and red dress with matching black shoes.

Angela invited most of her close friends, a lot of whom Filipino-Americans in the Charlotte community including the Aloha Island Hula group. 

Some of the sumptuous fare served by both hosts and guests—a potluck affair of sorts--include  fried chicken, adobo, noodles with shrimp and chicken and spring rolls. 

For dessert there was raspberry birthday cake and matcha cake. After eating, the guests moved to the dance room where everyone was eager to party. The famed YMCA song and the electric slide brought the house down. 

The guests sang “happy birthday” as Angela cut the cake with fiancée Bernie by her side.  Richard then distributed glasses of wine and wished good fortune for the birthday girl. 

Angela had been in the US for the past 17 years and used to work for the Union County Public School for most of that time. 

A native of Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu province in the Philippines, her interests include dancing, traveling, shopping and food tripping.

The beautiful hostess Janet Pichon-Hixon was the Mrs. Asia USA titlist three years ago while her husband Richard worked in New York's financial sector. It was indeed a beautiful party for people who clearly enjoyed each other's company. 

Also in attendance were Amelia Lambert, Wenjun Whisen and Harumi Ito Lerner, Isabella Jane Throck, Christine Fejarang, Analyn Ymbong, Adriana Faile and many others. 

My husband Ronnie Dennis and I join the well wishers in praying for Angela's continued happiness and success.   

Angela with fiancee Bernie Sumcad

Japanese -American community celebrates Girls Festival' in Charlotte

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Charlotte, North Carolina--Japanese-American women in the Charlotte community celebrated their native country's Hinamatsuri or Girls Festival last March 3. 

An acquaintance named Harumi Ito Lerner explained to this writer that the Hinamatsuri or Girls Festival is also known as “Momo no Sekku” which means Peach Festival and is considerable a special day in Japan. 

Hinamatsuri is an annual celebration and is marked with prayers for the health and happiness of young girls.  Families with girls display “Hina Ningyo” or Hina dolls. 

It is said that the Hina Ningyo takes away bad luck from the girls that own them. 
Each Hina Ningyo wears a Heian period court costume which can represent the Emperor, Empress, their servants or attendants, musicians  and other members of the royal court. 

A platform covered with red carpet-material is used to display the set of ornamental dolls. On the day of the festival it is said that pink means peach, green means land and white means snow.

These three colors portray spring scene after the snow melts away and shows blooming peach flowers.  Another folk belief is that if people put away the Hina Ningyo late, the girl may end up getting married late in the future. 

Harumi Ito Lerner is from the Kumamoto prefecture located south of Japan. She came to Charlotte in 2004 from New Jersey. A friend gave her the set of Hina  dolls and since then she had been celebrating Hinamatsuri every year on March 3.  

To preserve the dolls, she kept it in its original boxes. “They came as a complete set so we don’t have to change them out,” Harumi said.

Based on my online research, the earliest recorded instance of a public display of the dolls to commemorate the Peach Festival occurred in 1625, when Emperor Go Mizunoo’s daughter Oki-ko ordered the Imperial court ladies to set up a stage where she can display her dolls.

After Oki-ko succedded her father as Empress Meisho, Hinanatsuri legally became the name of the holiday in 1687.

During Japan's Meiji period when a new emperor came to power, the Hinamatsuri was lowered in favor of new holidays that focused on the emperor’s supposed bond with the nation, but the event was later revised. 

By focusing on marriage and families, the Hinamatsuri represented Japanese hopes and values and as the dolls represented the emperor and empress, it also fostered respect for the throne. 

The holiday then spread to other countries where there were immigrant Japanese communities and their descendants. Harumi said she noticed that some people have incomplete Hina doll collections featuring only the Emperor and Empress. 

Harumi invited friends to the festival and some of her friends were Filipino-Americans Angela Cook and Mae Nonato Armstead. My Tomadachi Harumi is looking forward to the next Girl’s Festival next year.

Filipino-American women join International Women's Day event in Charlotte

Dr. Maha Gingrich receives flowers from Phin Xaypangna, chairperson of the planning committee of the 2018 Charlotte International Women's Day.

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Charlotte, North Carolina—The hundreds of participants to this year's Charlotte International Women’s Day were challenged to serve as mentors to the next generation of women in their respective communities.

In her speech, the event's speaker Dr. Maha Gingrich told the diverse crowd of women attendees at the International House to sow trust in their community and help lead the women to become achievers in their own right.

“I challenge you to get a young professional, friend or a colleague and help them professionally. I tell you it is rewarding,” said Gingrich, the vice president of the Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC).

Gingrich, who also serves as the International liaison officer for the CPCC, came in her native Indian costume. Her dress is colored purple, the designated color for this year's International Women's Day which is held at the International House for the third year in a row.

Dr. Gingrich came from South India and is also  a TV host who focuses on immigrant  success stories.  

“As women we want to be everything, we are super women,” Dr. Gingrich said, earning enthusiastic applause from the women participants.

She said this generation's superwomen are expected to care for everyone, with their right hand holding a child, the other hand clutching a phone and her feet soothing the family pet. 

Dr. Gingrich said she was fortunate to have experienced first hand the various cultures of women in other countries, having attended Mass in Catholic churches and visited temples of Indians as well as Muslim mosques.

Gingrich also talked about her childhood and her father's role as her mentor, instilling in her principles and values that would shape her character. “Father instilled in me the ambition to succeed in life ,” she said.

John Autry, the Democratic party candidate for the North Carolina House of representatives District 100 welcomed the attendees in behalf of Ella Scarborough, chairperson of the Board of County Commissioners. 

Phin Xaypangna of Mecklenburg County, who is this year's chairperson of the 
planning committee for the event, reminded everyone present that while much had been done to advance women's welfare, a lot of work still lays ahead to improve their status.

Xaypanga is the chairperson of the event's planning Committee  for the past three years. For her part Alexis Gardon, chief protocol officer of the City of Charlotte said women should not be relegated as objects.

“I am a noun, not an adjective,” she said. Gordon said women should not remain content in being labeled through adjectives that describe her beauty but also as leaders. 

A call to action later followed after the speech, with each participant given a Press for Progress ballot and asked to check the boxes in the ballot for a pledge of support to initiatives to improve women's welfare as explained by Phin Xaypanga.

These boxers consist of pledges to register to vote in the November elections, educating oneself on the candidates and the issues they support. This commitment for civic engagement drew enthusiastic feedback from the participants.

Among the cultural performers during the event were harpist Chiara Capobianco, Shefaleenpatel who performed an Indian folk dance, Mimoouna and Kim who performed an African dance, Molina and the Crew who performed a Latin American dance and the Philippines Cultural Dance troupe of Charlotte led by Maria Corazon Benrokiya and Dorena Reynolds who did the Ifugao dance. 

Florami Lao Cordero-Lee, past president of the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) is a member of the planning committee. 

She said she is grateful for having helped the celebration of International Women's Day for the past three years.

Among the Filipino Americans who attended the event were incumbent FACC Treasurer Mildred Cordova and Auditor Gloria Cagadas Grifenhagen, Roditha Fuentes Terado, Sony Krupp, Janet Hixson, Aurea Barbee, Maria Corazon Benrokiya, Dorena Reynolds and FACC member Ronnie and Susan Dennis. 

Also in attendance Leigh Altman, Meckklenburg County Commissioner candidate.  Barbee and Krupp helped Lee in the food committee.