"From the Great Wall to Town Hall"

The Bolton Community Education Foundation sponsored a series of 2009-2010 programs connecting China, the world's most populous country, and Bolton, one of Connecticut's smallest towns. Here are descriptions of the programs:

September 14, 2009, 6-8 p.m., Bolton Senior Center

Da Chen, a New York Times bestselling author of a memoir of his life during the Chinese revolution, visited the Bolton community on Monday, Sept. 14. Da Chen, author of several novels including Colors of the Mountain, which was read by many Bolton residents over the summer, attended a reception and book discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bolton Senior Center. He has been described as “an engaging, almost mesmerizing, speaker," and the story of his life is fascinating.

In addition to the Monday night reception, Da Chen visited Bolton High School on Tuesday morning, Sept 15, to give a school-wide presentation that also was open to the community. The Bolton Community Education Foundation had awarded a grant of $1,500 to help bring Da Chen to Bolton.

Click here to see photos from Da Chen's visit.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 6 p.m., Jorgensen Auditorium on the UConn Campus

Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 7-8:30 p.m., Bolton High School Library

Three Chinese-born Connecticut residents offered an interesting discussion of Chinese culture in this free program. Dr. Jon-Shen Fuh, a Glastonbury resident, was born in Taiwan. He discussed Chinese literature, history, religion and philosophy. Kitty Liu came to the U.S. from Taiwan 35 years ago. Her talk focused on the landscape, people, religion and poetry of China. Gaily Anderson-Ho was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. at age 19. She discussed Chinese history, population, education, home life, food and economics, and brought a selection of Chinese items for display.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 7 p.m., Bolton Center School Library

A Geopolitics Forum was held on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, at 7 p.m. at the Bolton Center School library. The guest speakers were Yuhang Rong, dean of the Neag Graduate School of Education at the University of Connecticut, and Chris Ulbrich, an executive from a Connecticut corporation that does business in China. They discussed the facts and myths of the relationship between the U.S. and China.

Friday, February 5, 2010, 6:30-9 p.m., Bolton Center School All-Purpose Room

More than 250 people attended this free party in the festive Chinese tradition for the whole community! The party featured Chinese finger food, entertainment, games, souvenir name tags written in Chinese characters, door prizes and other special events. A highlight was a performance by Asian Performing Arts in Hartford.

Click here to see photos and more from the Chinese New Year Party.

Wednesdays, March 3, 17 and 31, 2010

Our much-loved "Wednesdays in March" series featured free talks on various topics related to China:

• March 3 -- "The Bolton-China Connection"
• March 17 -- "Chinese Cooking Class"
• March 31 -- "Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine"

Click here to see photos from these programs.

And the grand finale... a roundtable discussion in May 2010 by some of the 14 students who, along with 41 adults, went on a community trip to China in April 2010. The students described their unforgettable experiences in Beijing, Shanghai, and Jinan, where Bolton's two "sister schools" are located. Click here to see photos from the roundtable discussion.

We sincerely thank our sponsors for these events:  Bolton Methodist Church, Bolton Women’s Club, Cigna, Country Liquors, Dairy Queen of Manchester, John Dean Custom Cabinetry, Dr. John E. Hambrook, Sandra Hastings Associates, Integrated Rehabilitation Services, Irish Acres, Lyons Insurance & Financial Services, McGill Electric, Munson's Chocolates, Karen Tierney Floral Designs, West Reach Construction Company and Whitehawk Consulting LLC. Graphics courtesy of Kelley Bogner.