CASS Brought Together Over 250 Senior Performers to Make Magic on Stage Again

Spectacular Performance “A Journey in New Land” Presented the Beauty of Multiculturalism & Volunteerism

“A Journey in New Land” Multicultural Performance organized by CASS and supported by Georges River Council was restaged successfully at the Marana Auditorium, Hurstville on Wednesday, 2 November 2022.

Winning rave reviews from its first presentation in June 2022, the performance received appreciation and recognition widely from the community. The Mayor of Georges River Council spoke highly of the performance, “It is inspiring and amazing! I am grateful to be one of the audiences.” Therefore, with the tremendous support of Georges River Council, the show was on stage again in November 2022. The tireless effort of the whole team took the performance to another peak this time.  

This spectacular showpiece attracted an audience of over 800 spectators, topping the previous record. More than 250 senior volunteers of Chinese, Indonesian, Korean and Vietnamese backgrounds from CASS Multicultural Activity Groups participated, along with CASS staff members, supporting parties and community members, to present this exciting and thought-provoking journey of migrants settling in Australia.

“A Journey in New Land” comprised of four scenes, depicting the remarkable journey encountered by CASS over the past four decades, beginning with a difficult start, then experiencing ups and downs and all sort of hurdles during growth, but achieving fruitful results and becoming a well-established community services provider. New elements including a chromaharp performance and a Tibetan folk dance, have been added to the show this time to enrich the spirit of multiculturalism, and displayed the beauty of diversity and collaboration.

One of the impressive elements of the performance should be the passion and commitment of the volunteers of CASS. It is incredible and amazing to see our senior performers display their vitality and talents on stage. They have spent several months practicing at rehearsals. Moreover, the production team comprised of Ms. Ping Qiao (Director), Professor Haiyun Feng (Music and Lighting Director), Ms. Christine Wu (Assistant Director) and Ms. Holly Liu (Background Video Production), who are professionals, contributed their time and expertise to support the performance voluntarily from the beginning. The show manifested the strength and power of volunteerism in the community.   

There was the presence of special VIP guests, including Mr. Thomas Koruth, Manager of Cultural Engagement and Library Services of George River Council, Ms. Marghanita da Cruz, Councillor of Inner West Council, Ms. Gemma Rygate, CEO of The Centre for Volunteering, Mr. Quang Luu, Board Director of Australian Vietnamese Aged Care Services, Dr. Rita Chang, Director of Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra (MCCI) and a number of officials and personalities from public organisations. They were deeply impressed by the messages promoted in the performance – the value of multiculturalism and volunteerism.

Dr. Bo Zhou, CASS Chairperson; Mr. Henry Pan OAM, CASS Foundation Chairperson and Honorary Executive Director; together with other CASS Board members, including Ms. Tica Lee, Mrs. Teresa Chu and Mrs. Winnie Fung were present to support this event.

It is our absolute pleasure to acknowledge the hard work and commitment of all our senior performers, production team, CASS staff members and every supporting party. We would like to congratulate them for presenting such an inspiring and remarkable performance.