THREE

ONE

TWO

FOUR

A sweet, cream-coloured bunny smiling and then tilting its head in surprise.

FIVE BLESSINGS

Photo of Nancy Tam, a Chinese woman in an elegant striped dress and gold jewellery.
Photo of Robyn Jacob, a half-Chinese woman with sharp bangs, gazing softly at the camera.
Photo of Derek Chan, a Chinese man with wild black hair, facial hair, and black stand-collared shirt.
Photo of Jasmine Chen, a Chinese woman with long black hair in a deep green top.
Photo of Howard Dai, a Chinese man with a tropical hat, hoodie, and black hair and facial hair.

FIVE BLESSINGS is a collective of five Asian-Canadian artists creating A YEAR OF BLESSINGS, an adorable audio-play series based on Chinese Holidays—for kids!

Mo, a cute little grey shrimp in a pink sweater dancing and singing for the sun.

live event!  may 25, 2024

Band of Dragons:

Sync, Oar, Swim

Join us for a staged reading of our Dragon Boat Festival episode as part of “Fluffy Blessings,” a 45-minute hybrid event for kids three years and older at Odd Meridian Arts’ ahmm (asian heritage month at morrow). Heidi Damayo, Aidan Chan, Katrina Teitz, Jasmine Chen, Conor Wylie, and Anjela Magpantay will be bringing our story to life!

Afterwards, stick around for Fluffy and Friends Lion Dance! Enjoy this full afternoon featuring whimsical gender non-binary creatures, and then take a little time to visit the amazing playground across the street!

WHEN: Saturday, May 25 @ 1 + 3 pm

WHERE: Morrow, 910 Richards St — Unit 204

TICKETS: Free! (or By Donation)

presented by:

listen to our final episode!

OPERATION

DOUBLE HAPPINESS

Mandarin duck cousins, Mallory and Jamie, hatch a plan to reunite their moms at the Winter Solstice celebration in Taiwan!

1 2 3 4 FIVE BLESSINGS!

1 2 3 4 FIVE BLESSINGS!

who we are

FIVE BLESSINGS is made up of five Chinese-Canadian artists who create theatre, sound and music, movement, and performance. We are:

Nancy Tam, Derek Chan, Robyn Jacob, Jasmine Chen, and Howard Dai.

We’re five first and second-generation Hong Kong and Taiwanese settlers to Turtle Island. Our work celebrates the complexities found within stories and traditions from the Chinese diaspora through songs, audio plays, film, and stage works.

Derek Chan, Nancy Tam, and Howard Dai reclining on the steps of an old, green East Vancouver house. One step up, Jasmine Chen and Kristin Fung sit back-to-back, their legs kicked up onto the railing. It is sunny and everyone is smiling.

A YEAR OF BLESSINGS

A YEAR OF BLESSINGS

Faye, a scaly green Chinese dragon, beats on her drum to the rhythm.
A red Mantis Shrimp winking with its arms crossed.
Eunice, a green chum salmon with dark-rimmed glasses, standing next to Mabel and looking across to RoRo.
A sweet, cream-coloured bunny smiling and then tilting its head in surprise.

A YEAR OF BLESSINGS

is a five-episode audio play series

about Chinese holidays, made for young audiences.

Starting with Chinese New Year in January, we welcome each season according to the Lunar Calendar. We follow with a Spring release of the Qingming episode, the Dragon Boat Festival episode in the Summer, Mid-Autumn Festival episode in the Fall, and bringing our year to a close with the Winter Solstice Festival episode.

A Year of Blessings is co-produced by Five Blessings Collective, Gateway Theatre, and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

episodes

episode one 

BUN FUN NEW YEAR

“Welcome to the Bao Family,

We’re a family of bunnies.”

We kick off this Lunar New Year with tales from our bunny friends at the Bao household. In the midst of preparing for the lunar new year family feast, twin bunnies Bunnifer and Bunnithy learn the true meaning of new year festivities and a couple of…interesting…recipes along the way.

Bunnifer, a cream coloured twin bunny, smiling next to her twin brother, Bunnithy.
Bunnithy, a cream-coloured twin bunny, has his head tilted in surprise, next to his sister, Bunnifer.

episode two 

LITTLE SHRIMP

“Saying goodbye is not the end

We will see each other again.”

A brave Little Shrimp with a big heart takes us on a musical adventure through the underwater (and underworld) to connect with friends, family, and ancestors on Qingming, the tomb-sweeping holiday.

A grey Little Shrimp with his eyes wide and arms outstretched, pleading his case to someone. He wears a cozy yellow coat, a purple fanny pack, and a brown leather backpack.

episode three 

BAND OF DRAGONS:

SYNC, OAR, SWIM

“We follow the drum

Our hearts beat together.”

Star athlete Faye, a 5th-generation dragon boat drummer, has a secret passion for playing music in the band, Skyhorns. When the Skyhorn’s biggest gig yet–opening for Manta Del Rey–falls on race day of the Dragon Boat Festival, our hero is faced with an impossible decision: fulfill traditions, or forge a new path. Faye seeks wisdom from the immortalized Chinese poet, 屈原 (Qu Yuan). With so much on the line, how will our young dragon choose? Will they sync, oar, swim?

Faye, a scaly green Chinese dragon, stands over their pink 3-piece drum kit, eyes closed and holding their drumstick aloft.

episode four five 

LEGEND OF THE WHOOSHHH

“Fins together,

Friends forever.”

We celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with Eunice, RoRo, and Mabel. The three chum salmon swim upstream from the ocean, through the estuary, up the creek, and homeward bound into the forest where they will spawn. With rising temperatures and lowering water levels, The Three Chums will need to rely on their enduring friendships, new connections, the myth of Chang Er, and the legend of The Whooshhh—the salmon cannon—to get them safely home.

Mabel, a green chum salmon with headphones standing next to Eunice, pointing with her fin at RoRo.
RoRo, a green chum salmon wearing a pink sea star on her head, grabbing her face with concern while looking across at Eunice and Mabel.
Eunice, a green chum salmon with dark-rimmed glasses, standing next to Mabel and looking across to RoRo.

episode six 

OPERATION DOUBLE HAPPINESS

You sing low, and I sing high

If you don’t know the melody

Just wing it, you can try.”

Operation Double Happiness tracks a family of Taiwanese Mandarin ducks who reside in different parts of Turtle Island. Clara and Cici are identical twins who have been in rivalry since birth and are now estranged, but their daughters Jamie, and Mallory are tightly connected–thanks to the interwebs. The two BFF cousins hatch Operation Double Happiness to unite their family for the Winter Solstice celebration in Taiwan. Jamie and Mallory narrate their mission to us in this heist-style, spy-movie episode—will the wily cousins be able to restore family harmony?

Jamie, a yellow Mandarin duckling with patches of brown down, wears square, shaded spectacles and smiles with an closed beak.
Mallory, a yellow Mandarin duckling with brown down, wears a fedora and smiles with an open beak.

hey grown-ups!

Like what we’re doing here? Then you might enjoy our other project, Double Happiness: Detour This Way.

Robyn Jacob (left), a half-Chinese woman wearing a deep red, floral cheongsam stands a few steps away from Nancy Tam (right), a Chinese woman wearing a dark blue cheongsam with small white dots. Their hair meets in a long braid.
An illustration of a cluster of eyes, some open, some blinking.

Sounding two parallel histories, Double Happiness: Detour This Way winds through the complexities of the Chinese diaspora by tracing migration paths of two families, connecting both shores of the Pacific using live music in a multimedia performance.

Double Happiness is led by Nancy Tam & Robyn Jacob.

A black and white line drawing of a paper airplane, its swirling path dotted in a line.

our friends

A Year of Blessings is co-presented by Gateway Theatre, and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

our funders