Brian Wong made a name for himself acting as the host of Flames TV's Chinese-language broadcasts.
Calgary’s Chinatown has long played a critical welcoming and advocacy role, serving the city’s large Chinese and Asian communities from its early settlers and rail workers to the more recent immigrants and long-standing Calgarians. In its current location for more than 100 years, having survived its ups and downs and regular challenges of being usurped by other development ambitions, it continues to provide critical social supports and serves as a demonstration of Calgary’s rich cultural diversity.
Brian Wong, Interior Design Diploma alumnus (1997), shares the importance of the community to him when he emigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in 1994 with his sense of curiosity in tow. Now a well-known personality in Calgary’s Chinese community, Wong has made a name for himself as the host of Flames TV’s Chinese-language broadcasts, produces weekly “Focus Cantonese” episodes for Fairchild Radio and OMNI Television, and has held creative production roles at the Calgary Public Library and other community organizations. He has integrated his interests into a thriving and diverse career plus holds a long-term commitment to the community that first welcomed him.
“My first meal in Calgary was in Chinatown. As a student at the downtown Mount Royal College campus, my second and third meals of the day were always down there. I would head there after school every day for a meal and high tea.” Fulfilling a sense of belonging with the familiar language around him, Wong notes there weren’t the supermarket or restaurant choices elsewhere in Calgary that there are today.
“Chinatown and ... the Crescent Heights community were the main hotspots for Asian cuisine and culture. I could enjoy my favourites of Hong Kong-style milk tea, dim sum, and cream corn paste with minced pork on rice.”
The puck introduction
Back before he enjoyed the area’s culinary delights, Wong’s sister had come to Alberta prior to him and had suggested he consider Calgary as a potential post-secondary destination. As this was before internet searches, Wong took it upon himself to research Calgary the old-fashioned way: by heading to his school library.
“I looked up Calgary on a world map. Someone had told me it was a big place for hockey, and I had first heard of the Calgary Flames through a very pixelated NHL video game. I loved sports and had played a lot of NHL video games, so that appealed to me.
“With my own experience playing sports (varsity soccer), the chance to see big stadiums and watch live ice hockey games was enticing. In hindsight, I think the Flames helped me integrate into Calgary a lot faster, my ESL (English as a second language) classmates and brother-in-law were fans, and we went to the ‘Dome to watch live games and even got to see Jarome Iginla's first game in Flames jersey.”
He also recalls during the ‘94 World Cup of Soccer, his ESL classes ended at noon, and he had the opportunity to watch the Chinese commentary on the games–an experience that really helped him feel settled during his first year in Canada.
Calgary's Chinatown provided a sense of belonging and opportunities for Brian Wong.
From comfort food to Chinatown's future
It was while working as a server at Treasures of China restaurant in Chinatown in 2000, Wong was introduced to someone who would help set him on his broadcasting career path, bringing a few passions together, and leading to his eventually joining the Fairfield Television team the following year as a sports and news producer.
In 2018, Wong came full circle from his NHL video game playing days in Hong Kong, when he joined the Calgary Flames as they travelled to China to play in two exhibition games. Wong assisted the team in different situations to overcome language barriers and cultural challenges during their travels while producing Flames TV content for the North American time zone.
All the while, Wong has remained closely involved with the Calgary Chinese Merchants Association (CCMA) and Chinatown Business improvement Area (CBIA) and recalls a few key milestones from the past two decades.
“In 2003, SARS has negatively affected Chinatown due to prejudice. In 2006, the long-form Canadian census, for the first time ever, recognized the Chinese community as one of the largest ethnic groups in Canada. In 2010, the Chinatown centennial celebration brought out 100,000 attendees. And in 2013, the resilient community came together to overcome the impact from the Flood and within weeks to put together the Chinatown Street Festival.”
There is a new local area plan in the works for Chinatown, referred to as Tomorrow’s Chinatown, which will build on the 2016 Cultural Plan for Calgary. Building on its rich history, including important landmarks like the Chinese Cultural Centre, Sien Lok Park and Dragon City Mall, the goal of the plan is to “support Chinatown’s future growth, so it remains a vibrant, culturally-rich place to live, visit, work, and do business for generations to come.”
Wong shares his personal vision for the future of Chinatown. “Chinatown should be a concept or a type of mentality as the world is evolving. We do not need to geo-fence an area. We need to consider how we can activate maker spaces, ignite potentials of Chinese arts and culture, revisit Chinatown’s relationships with nearby districts such as Crescent Heights and areas in greater downtown and let them collide to find new chemistry.”
Seemingly a long way from his roots in Hong Kong, Wong’s path to Calgary Flames Chinese host seems all the more likely with his own personal ‘collision’ of a Nintendo video game, a passion for sports, his drive and curiosity, and the welcoming scene Calgary’s Chinatown provided.
Written by: Mark Sollis & Erika Holter