South East Asian Night 2011

MASSA's annual largest event of the year 'South East Asian Night 2011', showcased the unique Southeast Asia culture within Montreal's multi-cultural society. Every year, SEA Night takes place at McGill's SSMU Ballroom, has attracted attendees not only from McGill and broader Montreal community, but also from out-of-province communities from Toronto, Ottawa, New Brunswick etc. It is a night of cultural celebration for people of all ages.

MASSA Execs Team 2010/2011

More than 300 people has attended SEA Night 2011

SEA Night is known for its vibrant cultural performances. This year, MASSA has invited special guest performers to showcase their distinct culture backgrounds from Southeast Asia. SEA Night 2011 began with an enchanting chinese violin performance that filled up the atmosphere with enthusiasm and excitement. 

'Springtime and Pastoral Song'

Followed by a Chinese dance performance, 'Freedom' which was influenced by the traditional Chinese cloth dances. 

'Freedom' - Chinese Dance

Up next was the Indonesian performance by Permika (Indonesian Students Association) - Tari Saman. Tari Saman incorporates arabic and gayo (native language in Aceh), as a way of reflecting education, solidarity and unity. 

'Tari Saman'

Another interesting performance, the bamboo dance 'Tinikling' is the national dance of the Philippines. The dance imitates the movement of the tikling birds as the dancers skilfully maneuvering between the 2 bamboo sticks. It attracted much attention from the audiences when some of them were invited on stage to try out the dance. Furthermore, we had other dance performances like Desa Tercinta (The village I love) and the 'Xin Jiang' dance.

Tinikling - Bamboo Dance

'Desa Tercinta' - Malay Dance

Other than dance performances, we also had singing and music performances.
3 singing performances: 'Pergi & I Go and chong bai' sang by Xiaowei, 'Melodi' sang by James and Ming Hwei and 'Ilog & Harana' performed by MUFASA (McGill University's Filipino Asian Students' Association).

'Ilog & Harana' - MUFASA

Great music performances by McGill Serenasia Music Club and Permika. The performances showcased a mix of traditional Chinese (Guzheng - chinese zither) and western music instruments (Flute, piano and saxophone) that brought a refreshing and inspiring music to the audiences. 

Serenasia Music Club

Chinese zither performance

Check out the videos of the performances:

Chinese Dance, Tinikling, MASSA Exec Dance

Besides enjoying the performances, everyone who attended SEA Night 2011 was treated to a delicious spread of Southeast Asia food, which includes cuisine from Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Filipino and Vietnam. This year, we had food and beverages ranging from Nasi Lemak, Laksa to Kuih Bakar, Bandung and many more. These cuisines were prepared by MASSA, Permika, Burma Solidarity Collective, MUFASA and a few Montreal-based Southeast Asian families. 

Kuih Bakar 

Nasi Lemak

SEA Night 2011 would not be able to succeed without the many volunteers who spent their time and effort to perform and run the event. And also the generous support from Singapore Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, Permika Montreal and student clubs like MUFASA, Serenasia Music Club and many more. To thank all the volunteers, MASSA will be holding a SEA Night Celebration Lunch/Dinner soon, check out our Facebook or Blog for more details.

Sound & Lighting Crew

While MASSA's South East Asian Night aims to promote cultural awareness among students in McGill and members of the public, we are also doing a good cause by giving back to the community. This year, we are donating a significant amount we earned from SEA Night to Unicef McGill, giving a helping hand to the poor children. 

Once again, we would like to thank those who have attended and participated in this year's SEA Night. SEA Night 2011 is definitely a night to be remembered for all who was there to experience the best of Southeast Asia!! 

Cheers 

MASSA Execs    

Preview to South East Asian Night 2011

Hi Everyone!

Don't get too upset as reading break is coming to an end because MASSA's South East Asian Night 2011 is just 7 days away from now! 

The details for SEA Night 2011 are as follows:

When    : 5th March 2011
Where   : SSMU Ballroom, Shatner Building
Time     : Doors open 630 pm
Tickets  : $7 for non members, $5 for members with valid student ID

This year, backed by generous support from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Arts Singapore, Ski Mont Blanc and many volunteer collaborators, these are some of the things you can expect:

1. EXPECT CULTURAL PERFORMANCES

- Traditional folk dances from around the Malay Sultanate regions
- The TINIKLING, a traditional Filipino dance involving bamboo sticks.
- A unique traditional Chinese dance as well as a performance by your very own exec team!

2. EXPECT MUSIC AND COLOUR

- Instrumental ensembles that will steal your attention
- Expect to see many colourful people in colourful ASEAN costumes among the crowd.

3. EXPECT EDUCATION

Informational and INTERACTIVE booths will be set up that feature general ASEAN information. Expect souvenirs!

4. EXPECT FOOOD. GLOOORIOUS FOOOOODDDD

Cooked by ASEAN locals. So expect your grandmother's food, ASEAN-ized. Think NASI LEMAK, CHICKEN RENDANG, BANDUNG, ONDEH-ONDEH, and food from all parts of the region including Indonesia and Burma!

MASSA is a small group, but no doubt a hospitable bunch. Whether you want to eat things other than Thai express, or just want to have a good time--whatever it is--come be our guest in our little but big-hearted event.

So spread the hype! Let all your friends know about our event and we will try our bet to live up to your expectations! 



You can also get the tickets from our tabling sessions at the following dates:
- 28th February (Monday) Leacock Building
- 2nd March (Wednesday) Leacock Building
- 3rd March (Thursday) SSMU Lounge
So come down and visit us and get your tickets!

Hope to see you guys there on Saturday night!!


Love from MASSA Execs

MASSA Kopitiam Breakfast

On the first weekend of our study break, MASSA had its Kopitiam Breakfast with those who stayed back in Montreal, ‘enjoying’ the harsh winter weather. It was indeed a break during the busy midterm period.

The weather treated us well on the Saturday morning when all gathered at SSMU Building. Sitting in an ‘old-fashioned’ atmosphere of kopitiam, all who attended was served with Teh Tarik (Milk Tea) & MILO, authentic bread toast with kaya, half-boiled eggs and not forgetting Ondeh Ondeh!

Hand-made Ondeh Ondeh!

2 1/2 mins to get half-boiled eggs

Lastly, SOUTH EAST ASIA NIGHT 2011 is on March 5th.

Get your tickets nowww by contacting one of our execs or sending us an email! It's gonna be a fun and wonderful night of performances, culture and FOODDD!!!!

MASSA Ski Getaway!

Montreal’s notoriously cruel winter months tend to leave us dreading the new school semester, especially after a festive Christmas or southern escapade to enjoy warm weather. However, on January 14, MASSA organized its first ever Ski Trip Weekend Getaway at Mont Blanc and attracted its members and friends to enjoy a fabulous weekend with MASSA.

On the first day arriving at Mont Blanc, after collecting our ski equipment from the rental store, we headed off to our apartments and prepared a yummy delicious dinner.

Ski @ Mont Blanc

Next day early morning, it took us quite a long time to put on the ski boots before we headed up to the mountain. For those who have no experience skiing, we had a skiing lesson with a ski instructor. After having a few practices at the bunny hill, we were ready to challenge the ‘Green’ slope (considered the easiest, followed by ‘Blue’, ‘Black Diamond’, ‘Double Black Diamond’). With some experience with skiing, this was considered as easy as a cup of tea but for those who were skiing for the first time, they had a hard time going down the slope. Some fell badly while some crashed into the woods!! Ouch! It was painful!! Nevertheless, they preserved and managed to ski to the end.

Winter came alive as we took an enchanting moonlit sleigh ride through the snow-covered forests. Just from hearing those sleigh bells jingling, tingling enhanced our sleigh ride journey in the cold.

Sleigh Ride

On the last day, some of us continued skiing and they challenged themselves with ‘Black and Double Black Diamond’ slopes. The rest went for tubing and short trip to Mont Tremblant.

Tubing

Caramel Apples!!

@ Mont Tremblant

We then had a sushi buffet @ Crescent Sushi after we arrived Montreal.

Thank you to everyone who made this Ski Trip a huge success. I hope everyone had a memorable winter experience in Quebec. Check out our MASSA Facebook  / Blog for more upcoming events.

MASSA Execs :-)

Welcome Back Movie Event

With the new year and new semester upon us, we decided a welcome (back) event was much needed to chase the end-of-holiday blues away!

So on January 8th we rounded up a projector, a selection of local movies and several good friends willing to brave the snow and cold and snuggled in for a night of cinematic entertainment.

 

The movie we voted on watching ended up being "Sepet", a Malay term referring to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese. Directed by Yasmin Ahmed, the movie has garnered many awards for best film and is, in my humble opinion, an amazing romantic comedy highlighting the difficulties faced in attempting a cross-cultural relationship.

One of the coolest things about the movie was that English wasn't the only language spoken: Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien and Mandarin were all included. For an outsider with no experience of Malaysia or even Singapore, the fluid switching between languages while speaking may come off as incredibly confusing or hard to follow, but for me it was like being back at home again. I'll also admit to feeling a bit smug that I got some of the "inside" jokes even with my incredibly limited knowledge of Hokkien and Malay!


I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it, but you can find more information about it at Wikipedia or watch a trailer.


Afterward it was off to Scores for over-eating, for what is a MASSA event without a serious makan session with friends?

Deepavali Celebration!

On November 13, 2010, MASSA celebrated Deepavali, also known as Festival of Lights, with our members and friends. It was the night filled with dances and laughters.


For this event, the exec team went through lots of practices and hard work, and here we present the exec dance for Deepavali Celebration.


Click on the link below:
Exec Dance Video
Look at the happy faces of us when we dance. The execs team love DANCING!!

And of course, we did not forget our members who came for this event. We invited everyone to come up and dance with the execs.

And we recorded them on action: Dance 1 & Dance 2. After that, we had a fabulous Indian dinner comprising of Chicken Briyani, Vegatable Kurma and loads of PAPADUM!!! Look at the smiles of our members!

Vegetable Kurma & Chicken Briyani

Papadum!

Thanks to the exec team for preparing all the food for everyone in the morning.

Wayne & Siva preparing ingredients!

Christine cutting the garlic.

Lastly, for those who get excited after watching the videos. Here is the song: Maahi Ve and you guys can learn and practise on your own.

With Love,
MASSA Execs

Happy New Year 2011

Hello everyone!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  2011 is here! 

How's everyone's winter break? Hope you guys have an awesome and wonderful New Year countdown party! 

Image Courtesy of Tan Choon Lai

                                                                                   www.boston.com

                                                      

This year, we hope to bring in more fun and enjoyable events. Here is our 2 events that are lining up for you guys in January:

1) MASSA Movie Event Of The Year on 8th Jan (Saturday) 

Enjoy a great movie together with your friends on the first weekend of the year!

2) MASSA Ski Getaway, from 14th Jan - 16th Jan

Get prepared to ski on one of the nicest and beautiful mountains in Quebec, Mont Blanc for 3 days. Are you ready for it? 

Other than that, check out our blog for more upcoming events for the rest of the Winter semester. Wish you all a fantastic New Year!

Cheers to the New Year

MASSA Execs

Laser Tag

Not only is MASSA all about food, but we also know how to have fun!

A huge SHOUT OUT to those of you who came for some laser tag fun and all-you-can-eat sushi! 

In our last 2 games, we had a grueling battle between the "kia su" team and the Hello Kitty team! A game full of screaming, chasing and gang banging! Needless to say, it was a fight 'til the finish, with both teams winning once, resulting in a tie.

A special congratulations to those of you who got the top 3 rankings in our games! We hereby honor you as our laser tag masters!

After 3 intense games, whether it was running around the maze or hiding behind walls, it was no surprise that everyone wanted to regain their energy with a great dinner together! 

We then had dinner at Crescent sushi, where we devoured some of our favorite sushi, sashimi and tempura! 

Thank you to everyone who made this event a huge success and we definitely hope that you continue to support us by coming to our events!

See you all at our Deepvali event! More fun and food coming your way! :)






<3 MASSA