Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival 2018

BY SCARLETT CHANG

The Taiwan East Coast Land Arts Festival is cultural event that lasts from June to November 2018, and features music and handcrafts from local artists.

“This festival is not only about art, but also the lifestyles and scenery in Taitung,” said the organizers. “Our main purpose is to let people understand more about the culture of Taitung.”

The highlight of the festival is a series of concerts spread out over three months. Many different singers and bands will be performing, including Kimbo-Hu, Suming, and Chen Jiannian, who are all aboriginal singers from Taitung.

Kimbo-Hu is also called “The father of the campus folk song" and is well known around Taiwan. Suming is a songwriter,who is famous because he writes in his own mother tongue, and protects his own culture vigorously. Chen Jiannian won the best new artist award, best male vocalist and the best songwriter prize.

There are also many other foreign and indigenous artist who will come to share their work.

The festival is separated into 10 venues, each featuring a different artist. There will be some workshops for people who want to experience the art firsthand.

Festival organizers are looking for volunteers who are interested in helping. You can apply on the website of the East Coast Land Arts Festival, through this chance.

Here are some more details about the arts festival.

( please click the addresses below)

    

The Moonlight-sea concert is for free, and it separated into 7 different dates.

Dates: June 29-30, July 27-29 , Aug 25-26

Time: 04:00P.M~09:00P.M

Location: Douli Visitor Center No.25, Xincun Rd. Taitung County, Chenggong Township.

2. About the east coast land arts festival

3. More details about volunteer



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Slow Food Festival

BY XANDRA LEE MAY 24 , 2018

This weekend Tiehua Village will host a Slow Food Festival which features local food that is produced in season. The festival supports local farmers who want to preserve their culture by preparing food in the traditional way, meanwhile creating a new Taitung catering culture that supports eco-friendly food.

“We will have around 35 vendor’s booths this time,” said the festival organizer. “We will also have some games and some special limited dishes! We welcome everyone to attend the festival.”

Rice and grain are the main themes for this festival. It will feature the best rice from Taitung and rich grains, like those grown in the Shennong Valley. There will be nutritious millet, corn, soybeans, peas, taro and so on, prepared in different ways, representing the diverse food cultures of Taitung. With so many different cuisines from the various ethnic groups in Taitung, every bowl of rice is sure to have its own unique flavor.

The Slow Food Festival has been held since 2012. Scarlett, a student from Junyi High School, attended last year.

“This is a free activity, and you can feel free to join any speech or performance,” said Scarlett. “I think the Slow Food Festival is a very good event. It allows visitors who come to Taitung to get to know our culture more deeply.”

This year there is a special addition. There is an exchange with Jeonju county, in Jeonbuk, one of the most traditional cities in South Korea, which is also the birthplace of Korean Bibimbap. In the Korean Dynasty, Bibimbap, Pyongyang's cold noodles, and Kai Cheng's soup rice were known as the three most famous dishes. These meals have been prepared meticulously in the local custom.



THE PLACE：

Tiehua Village, Taitung City, Taitung County

THE TIME：

2018-05-26~2018-05-27
16:00~21:00

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING:

Bring your own tableware. If you forget, you can borrow some from the market.



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Kamcing Exhibition

 BY BRUCE YOUNG MAY 17 , 2018

During the Japanese occupation the Bunun people were forced to move down from the mountains where they would be easier to control. As a result, many new villages were formed, one of these is Kamcing village in Guan Shan. This village is hosting an exhibition to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of their resettlement. The exhibition tells the history of the establishment of Kamcing village.

Umas is a high school student at Junyi who is one of the hosts of this exhibition. He is a member of the Kamcing tribe and a resident of Kamcing village. We interviewed him about the exhibition.


Q: What ideas inspired you to start this project?

A: We began planning this event in 2016. One of our planners found a document which showed it had already been 100 years since Kamcing village was established. Then she posted an article on facebook. “It has been 100 years. We can’t just let it pass. What should we do?” When an Independent Curator, as well as The National Museum of Prehistory, discovered this article, they first organized an activity to let the youth of tribe walk back to their original tribe to see the historical life of their ancestors. By doing that, they could understand the lives of the elders. After that, the National Museum of Prehistory held an exhibition, because they finally got funding to hold this activity.

Q: Where are all the photos of your activities from?

A: All the photos were collected from every family in the tribe, but mainly three grocery stores opened by Han Chinese people. They were the wealthiest people in Kamcing. One of the family members had a camera. He kept taking pictures when there were some activities. Then he sold them to people for 10 NT. It was very expensive at that time. Some people bought them, but some didn’t. Those which weren’t sold stayed in the store. Then there was also a photo studio in Guanshan. It was also a meeting place for Kamcing people to do business.The photographs for this event were probably provided by these two families as well as each household in the village.

Q: Where is your exhibition?

A: Kamcing Tribal House

Q: Who is preparing this activity ?

A: This exhibition is mainly hosted by the youth in the tribe, people who come back to the tribe more often and have the ability to do things. For example, there’s a guy. He is a soldier and doesn’t live in the village. But he often comes back on vacation.

Q: Are you displaying other artifacts except pictures?

A: We had considered that before, but we decided not to display private goods to respect the elders. We made some boards and some stories about Kamcing. It’s mainly for students, wanderers, and children who have returned during the Ching Ming Festival, to let them know about the history, and also to let elders recall the past.

Q: Did you learn something different after this activity?

A: I learned a lot of history and the way to communicate with elders. I also discovered a way that I can contribute to my tribe. Sometimes we faced some kinds of technology and didn’t know how to use them, or didn’t know how to interview tribe members. I used some skills I learned and used in Junyi. But I think learning wasn’t the main purpose of this team; it was offering something.

Q: Did you meet with any opposing voices during the activity?

A: Yes we did. Because we didn’t actually have a seminar at first, we just did it directly. We did interviews on Father’s Day and many people got confused. So we explained and invited everyone to provide a story after re-organizing the seminar. But people were reluctant to participate, because many had been fooled before. Some development associations have collected information for their own purposes

Q: Are most of the people who visit the exhibition tribe members or outsiders?

A: Most are from the tribe, and a small part of them are from outside.

Provided by the exhibition member

Contact Amazing Taitung Editors about this story at theamazingtaitung@gmail.com

Contact Amazing Taitung Editors about this story at TheAmazingTaitung@gmail.com

Oyster Noodles

    

 BY RUBY TIEN MAY 15 , 2018

There is a shop in Taitung that serves a local speciality, oyster noodles. It has been in the same family for three generations, who have run it for 40 years. This shop does not have an English name, but its Chinese name, 客來吃樂, means that the guests should feel happy.

“This has always been my favorite oyster noodle shop, ever since I was a child,” said Miss Zhang, a regular patron at the restaurant. “When I moved away from Taitung, I missed it very much, but now I live here again, I eat here every two or three days.”

The oyster noodles from this shop are very famous in Taitung. It is popular with locals and visitors alike. “I want to eat another bowl so I can return to Changhua satisfied,” said Mr. Kim, who came to Taitung to enjoy the noodles.

The shop only sells a certain amount of oyster noodles per day, so be sure to arrive early, or they will likely have sold out.

The oyster noodles contain oysters, and also intestines and a unique spice. Besides oyster noodles, the shop also sells fish noodles, as well as ice and green bean soup.

A large bowl of oyster noodles is 60 NT, and a small bowl is 40 NT.

The store's address is No.220, Xinsheng Rd., Taitung City, Taitung County.




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Orchid Island Series 3 - Traditional Canoes & Taboos

BY SCARLETT CHANG APRIL 26 , 2018

This is the first article in the series on Orchid Island which we will be running over the next few weeks. Orchid Island is located in the southeast of Taitung city. It is a popular destination for tourists.

TRANSPORTATION TO ORCHID ISLAND

There are two ways to get to Orchid Island. The first is to take a domestic flight, and the second is to take a ship. The ship costs NT $2300 (round trip), and the flight is NT $2960 (round trip). There are three ships every day from Fukang harbor in Taitung to Orchid Island, and there are also six to eight flights from Taitung airport to Orchid Island.

”The boat trip to the Orchid Island is fantastic,” said Bella, a tourist visiting Orchid Island. “You can go upstairs to the deck to feel the fresh sea breeze and see some beautiful flying fish! it is very comfortable.”

TRANSPORTATION ON ORCHID ISLAND

Once visitors have arrived on Orchid Island, they may wish to travel around the island. There are bus tours. Otherwise, visitors who want to explore on their own can rent cars, scooters or bicycles. The round-island highway is about 36 kilometres long, so riding bicycles around the island only take about 1.5 hours.

“Cycling on the island is comfortable,” said Beck, another visitor. “It makes me feel relaxed! I think I will come here again soon.”


There are six tribes on the island. Every tribe has lots of creative B&Bs. Miss Tien stayed at one called “Tatala’s Home”, which is located in Hong tou village.

“This B&B is really good,” said Miss Tien. “The room, the view of the ocean, and even the breakfast are all pretty awesome! I had a sweet dream here.”

It has six rooms, and the owners decorate their rooms in different themes, such as “Blue ocean”, “Purple romantic”, or “Green grassland”. The price is about NT $3000 per night for four people, which includes breakfast.
           

Contact Amazing Taitung Editors about this story at TheAmazingTaitung@gmail.com