Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto

History

YearEventRemarks
Milestones and Major Events before Phase I
1988 Steering Committee formed (Milestone)
1989 Phase I Feasibility Study by Laventhal & Horwath (now Price Waterhouse) completed (Milestone)
1990 Initial approval of CCC Constitution and By-laws (Milestone)
1991 First Board of Directors formed (Milestone)
Phase II Feasibility Study by Price Waterhouse completed (Milestone)
Participated in the Metro Toronto International Caravan – first to establish the Cathay Pavilion
1992 Registration as a charitable organization approved (Milestone)
“Request for expression of interest” sent to developers for partnership (Milestone)
Signing of Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Scarborough and CMS Development Inc. (Milestone)
Hosted Hong Kong Carnival as part of “Festival Hong Kong”
Inception of Chinese Canadian Day at Woodbine
1993 Signing of Tri-partite Agreement with the City of Scarborough and CMS Development Inc. (Milestone)
“Request for expression of interest” sent to architects for architectural design (Milestone)
Appointment of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg in joint venture with Patrick Chan Architects as CCC design team (Milestone)
Co-organized Metro Toronto Week in Hong Kong
1994 Major corporate donations from Bell Canada, Canadian Airlines (Milestone)
Major individual donations from Mrs Lucina Ho and Dr Hin-Shiu Hung (Milestone)
A Magical Evening (gala variety show, dinner and telethon), first major fund-raising event
1995 Award of Jobs Ontario grant of $1 million by provincial government (Milestone)
Major corporate donations from Hongkong Bank of Canada, Royal Bank, Four L Graphics (Milestone)
A Tale of Two Kingdoms, a Chinese opera in English, produced in conjunction with the Wah Yan Drama Society as the year's major fund-raising event
Partnership with Centennial College, Scarborough
1996 Ground-breaking Day set for November 18 (Milestone)
Major corporate donations from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto Hong Kong Lions Club, Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia (Milestone)
Appointment of Honourary Patrons (Milestone)
Major individual donations received from Mrs Vivienne Poy, Mr and Mrs Dexter Man, Dr Hin-Shiu Hung, and Dr K K Leung (Milestone)
Award of grant of $1 million by the Federal Government of Canada (Milestone)
Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Festival jointly organized with the Art Gallery of Ontario under the distinguished patronage of the Hon. Henry N R Jackman, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario
Superstar Fund-raising Gala Dinner and Variety Show, the year“s major fund-raising event
1997 Signed agreement with IBM Canada as technological partner (Milestone)
Concert en Cirque, the year's major fundraising event
CCC Sedan Chair Race
CCC co-presented the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre with the Hummingbird Centre as part of Toronto“s contribution to Canada“s Year of the Asia Pacific
Chinese New Year Celebration with ROM
1998 Foundation-stone Laying Ceremony by the Hon. Anson Chan, Chief Secretary for Administration, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government on January 18 (Milestone)
Official Opening of the Centre, Phase I, on May 2 (Milestone)
The Year of the Tiger First Day Cover commemorating the Official Opening of the CCC
Milestones and Special Program Highlights Between the Official Openings of Phase I and Phase II
1998 Regular classes started in the summer
Inception of annual Health Awareness Day
Inception of annual Chinese Cultural Summer Camp
Inception of annual China Study Tour for university and high school students
Inception of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Business Conference
1999 Inception of March Break Camp
Celebration of Confucius' 2550th Birthday
2000 “Tiger & Dragon Exhibition: Chinese Children's Festival Hats” (jointly with the Textile Museum of Canada)
“The Silk Road” exhibition
Inception of Chinese Canadian Youth Conference and Youth Achievement Award
2001 Application for Phase II construction began (Milestone)
Inception of annual “Searching for our Roots&dquo; youth tour for high school and university students
Inception of annual CCC Golf Day
Hosting of Hong Kong Ballet's The Last Emperor
“The Jews of Shanghai: A Story of Survival” (Jointly organized with JVS of Greater Toronto and the Canadian China Society)
2002 Contribution of $0.5M from Ministry of Canadian Heritage (Milestone)
Major donation received from Mr. Kwok-Yuen Ho (Milestone)
Initiation of discussion on Phase II fundraising activities (Milestone)
Inception of annual FCC Chinese New Year celebrations (Jointly organized with Families with Children from China)
“By Leaps and Bounds: Images of Chinese women since footbinding” (in association with the Bata Shoe Museum)
Inception of annual Orchid Show (Jointly organized with the Toronto Artistic Orchid Association)
Inception of Asian Heritage Month celebration at CCC (in association with &CMC-AO)
Hosting of “The China Film Philharmonic Folk Orchestra”
2003 CCC Phase II ground-breaking on March 27 (Milestone)
Major individual donation received from Mr. Michael Lo (Milestone)
Retained Vanbots as Construction Manager for Phase II (Milestone)
Retained Louis Cheung Architect as Phase II Architect (Milestone)
Formation of Community Coalition Concerned About SARS at the peak of the SARS outbreak
Inception of annual Children's Bridge Chinese New Year Festival
Arts of China: Glimpse of an Ancient Civilization (a mobile exhibition jointly organized with the Royal Ontario Museum)
First year ICHHN “World Heart Day” drawing contest for children
“Sharing Our Traditions: Cultural Holidays in Toronto” (Co-organized with the Spadina Museum Historic House & Gardens, Culture Division, City of Toronto)
2004 Foundation Stone Laying and Official Commencement of Construction for Phase II ceremony, November 20 (Milestone)
Major donations from Buddha's Light International Association, Mr. Lee Lau and MD Trust (Milestone)
Corporate donation announced by CIBC and Bank of Montreal (Milestone)
Launching of the Theatre Seat Sale donation drive
Hong Kong Film Festival 2004 (co-organized with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office)
“Eternal Echoes” Dr Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Week
2005 Topping-out ceremony for Phase II on December 10 (Milestone)
Additional grant of $0.5M from the federal government (Milestone)
Announcement of major donation by RBC Financial Group (Milestone)
Media luncheon to announce progress of Phase II construction (Milestone)
Cantonese opera performances by the renowned Zhanjiang Cantonese Opera Troupe from China
“Sound of China” symphony concert in Niagara Falls, celebrating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between Canada and China
“From War to the Pursuit of Peace—The role of overseas Chinese in World War II” exposition, an exhibition to bring reflection on World War II
Fundraising Appeal on TV for Asian Tsunamis Relief
Fundraising Dinner for Pakistan Earthquake Relief (with CMC-AO)
2006 Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a $1M grant to the Phase II construction project (Milestone)
Major donation received from Mrs. Lucina Ho (Milestone)
Announcement of major donation from HSBC Bank of Canada (Milestone)
The first Chinese New Year Celebration at the Toronto City Hall
Fundraising Dinner for Indonesia Earthquake (in conjunction with CMC-AO)
Fundraising Dinner for Filipino Mudslide disaster (in conjunction with CMC-AO)
Cultural partner of the “Watched by Heaven, Tied to Earth” children's shoe exhibition with the Bata Shoe Museum
Cultural partner of the Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival at the Ontario Place
Cultural partner of the Club Crew World Dragon Boat Race Championships
Co-organizer of “CCTV in Canada—Chinese New Year Spectacular” at the Rogers Centre
Official Phase II Opening on September 9 (Milestone)