For Immediate Release
February 25, 2009

Meeting with the Stars

Richmond – Today, Mrs. Joann Wong Bittle and Dr. Raymond Kwan, Co-Chairs of 2009 S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Fundraising Gala were on hand at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond to greet three distinguished performing artists from Hong Kong: Chet Lam, renowned singer and song writer, Ha Yu, newly crowned Best Actor at the 2008 TVB Anniversary Awards, and Annabelle Louie at the Gala’s Meeting with the Stars event. 

“We hope both media and fans are as ecstatic as we are in welcoming our artists to Vancouver for the 2009 S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Fundraising Gala,” said Joann and Raymond.

As a precursor to the annual Fundraising Gala, Meeting with the Stars provided a great opportunity for fans to get a first glimpse of their long awaited idols. To their elation, the first 50 lucky fans who purchased Chet Lam’s CDs on site received autographs from their favorite artists. Their presence at Aberdeen Centre stirred up quite a commotion and attracted crowds of admiring fans trying to get closer to their idols.

The three artists will perform at the Gala on Friday, February 27 at the Westin Bayshore. The event begins with an elaborate banquet for approximately 1,000 guests, which consists of elected officials, corporate and community leaders, followed by an intimate concert at the Bayshore Grand Ballroom. This year, the fundraising target for the Gala is $ 168,000. All proceeds will benefit S.U.C.C.E.S.S. services to sustain under-funded or un-funded programs and services for those in need, particularly seniors, youth, women and families.

 “It is a tremendous opportunity for us to be here today to thank our Presenting Sponsor, TELUS, and other community organizations, private donors and corporations for their continuous support to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation altogether,” stated Mrs. Betty Funston, Chair of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation, incorporated in December 2001, is a charitable foundation responsible for raising funds for S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and its affiliated organizations to support their mandates for the betterment of the community. For more details, please visit: www.successfoundation.ca

-30-

Contact:

Tony Moy                                                Eileen Lao
Director of Resource Development             Public Affairs Manager
S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation                      S.U.C.C.E.S.S.
Tel: 604-408-7232                                    Tel: 604-408-7243

Backgrounder

Chet Lam

Since starting his own label LYFE in 2003, Chet Lam now has 8 critically and commercially acclaimed albums and a long list of sold out live show recordings under his belt.  In 2003 Chet also collaborated with Hong Kong theatre veteran W Creative to put on an original musical “Best Memories in My Life,”  the ten sold out performances immediately became the talk of the town and the benchmark for a new genre in the musical theatre industry.

2004 was a banner year for Chet.  Representing Hong Kong indie music, he was invited to give four performances at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in February and held his first sold out concerts in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium later in October.

Through the years Chet has collaborated with numerous prestigious performing artists on stage and on recordings, including headlining with the first lady of Hong Kong theatre Louisa So in “Superman Forever” and singer Miriam Yeung in “903 LIVE.”  Chet’s songwriting talent also led him to pen many chart topping and award winning hits for artists including Eason Chan, Stephanie Sun Yanzi, Elva Xiao, to name a few.  In 2006 Chet’s label LYFE expanded to present other independent acts such as FAMA, Wildchild, My Little Airport, at17 and the pancakes.

Chet has been notably awarded in various fields, including two times Best Folk Artist of the Year in the Chinese Media Music Awards in China, Best Song Written for a Movie in the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, Best New Artist and Singer Songwriter in 903 Music Awards in Hong Kong. Apart from being the Chinese folk music icon of this generation, Chet is also a prolific best selling author with four collective writings published so far.

Ha Yu

A household name in Hong Kong, Ha Yu has been in show business since the 1960’s.  He has starred in hundreds of television dramas since joining TVB in 1974.  Adapt at playing both heroes and villains, Ha Yu is best known for his recurring comical character in the landmark television variety show “Enjoy Yourself Tonight.”  Ha Yu continued to hone his craft and won in the Best Actor category at the 1996 Golden Horse Film Award.  In 2005, he won the Best Male Supporting Actor Award at the TVB 38th Anniversary Award.  In 2007, he was nominated for a Best Actor Award and won rave reviews for his
role in the hugely popular TVB drama series “Heart of Greed.”  2008 proved to be a banner year for Ha Yu.  After many nominations, his hard work finally paid off and Ha

Yu captured the much sought after Best Actor Award at the TVB 41st Anniversary Award for his role in “Moonlight Resonance.”  Ha Yu’s star continues to rise and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Foundation is pleased to have him as one of the performing guests at tonight’s Gala. 

Annabelle Louie

Annabelle Louie began her singing career in the early 80’s, when she was discovered by star search in one of the singing contests. Her first duet with Michael Kwan “人在旅途洒淚時” became a huge hit . She signed under the Polygram record label and in 1981 released her first album “Forget The Unhappy Past Memories” which went to the top of the billboard charts and she became a new idol for teenagers. In 1987 Annabelle migrated to Vancouver, Canada with her husband.  During the past ten years, she has been invited by the North

American Chinese communities to perform at events and concerts in various cities such as Chicago, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Reno, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and New York, as well as Asian cities including Singapore and Malaysia. Her performances of English, Cantonese and Mandarin songs are highly praised.  In 1999, she traveled back to Hong Kong to perform in the “Joseph Koo & James Wong Show.”  Annabelle also starred in “The Jubilee Show” & “The Jubilee Show 2003”, two long-running musical productions in Hong Kong with an ensemble cast of superstars that went on to set record success with over one hundred performances.  In both shows Annabelle played the character Fung Ping.  Besides her active singing engagements, Annabelle is also one of the premier singing teachers in Vancouver and busy with her travel business.