Join
us to help celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rat
View the Mai
Wah News
by clicking here.
Click here to see details about this summer's exciting archeological
dig in Butte's Chinatown
Click
here to see a
slideshow by Yahoo.com
about the Chinese New Year
in Butte, Montana
- Our
permanent exhibit describes the Butte Chinese Experience. See
details here.
The Southern Poverty
Law Center has recognized the Mai Wah Society. To see what they
say, visit Tolerance.org.
We are a proud member
of
Montana
Shares,
a federation
of education, advocacy and
service organizations supporting
human, cultural and natural
resources in Montana.
Show off your Wah by wearing a Mai Wah T-shirt in the Chinese
New Year of the Rat. Sizes from small to XXL in all colors.Colors
are Chestnut, Leaf, Pine and Cedar. We still have shirts from
previous Years of the Boar, Dog, Rooster, Monkey and Goat, too. Generic
Mai Wah: XL, bright yellow and bright green. To order, send a
check for $15 for each shirt to Mai Wah Society, P.O. Box 404,
Butte, MT 59703.
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- The
Butte Chinese: A Brief History of Chinese Immigrants in Southwest
Montana, a 24-page study guide for $4.25. To order, send check
or money order to The Butte Chinese, Mai Wah Society, P.O. Box
404, Butte, MT 59703.
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The Wah Chong Tai Mercantile in Butte around 1905.
The Mai Wah Society is a non-profit organization established
for educational, charitable, and scientific purposes, including
research and public education about the history, culture, and
conditions of Asian people in the Rocky Mountain West.
The Society collects and preserves artifacts, preserves historic
buildings and sites, presents public exhibits, and supports research
and publication of materials of scholarly and general interest.
Among other projects, the Society is rehabilitating and restoring
the Wah Chong Tai Co. and the Mai Wah Noodle Parlor buildings to hold permanent
and temporary public exhibits to interpret the Asian history
of Butte, Montana, and the Rocky Mountain West. In addition to
preserving and restoring these physical remnants, the Mai Wah
Society sponsors public lectures, workshops and movies.
The Mai Wah Museum's permanent exhibit uses artifacts and photographs to
tell the story of Asian immigration to the inland West, especially
to Butte. The display contains many original artifacts from the
original store and noodle parlor that have made their way from
cold storage for public display. During the summer of 2007, the
museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm
(we are closed Sunday and Monday).
 Another notable artifact was also on display
this past summer. Mai Wah board members on a visit to Nevada
City recognized a nameplate that once hung over the Wah Chong
Tai Mercantile. The Mai Wah now borrows the artifact from the
Montana Heritage Commission and it is placed on
display in its original location during the summer months. It
will return again next summer in its original location inside
the area of the museum that was once the Wah Chong Tai.
2008 New Year's Celebration
 One of its main events of the
year, The Mai Wah Society celebrates the arrival of the Chinese
New Year with its annual New Year's Parade, the shortest and
loudest (and often coldest) such parade in the world.
The 2008 Chinese New Year's parade will be held on Saturday,
February 9th to honor the arrival of the Year of the (Butte)
Rat.
The parade begins at the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse (155 W. Granite St.)
at 3 pm and proceeds through the streets of Uptown Butte accompanied
by noisemakers  and firecrackers,
led by Montana's parade dragon (the dragon was a gift to the
people of Montana from the people of Taipei) to the Mai Wah Museum
at 17 W. Mercury Street.
There, the lighting of more than 10,000 firecrackers will welcome
the arrival of the New Year while parade goers enjoy refreshments
provided by the Mai Wah Society.
In 2008, related events to celebrate the new year's arrival include:
Kid's Chinese New Year Craft Workshop - Parade Noisemakers (children
under 10 must be accompanied by an adult) Saturday, Jan. 26,
10 am to 12 pm, Butte Public Library at 226 W. Broadway
- Film Event
- Riding Along for Thousands of Miles,
Friday, Feb. 8 at 7 pm, Montana Tech Auditorium, 1300 W. Park
St.
Sponsored by the Mai Wah Society, Inc.
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- Opening
Artists' Reception - YEAR OF THE RAT ART EXHIBITION & SALE
Saturday, Feb. 9, 12-2 pm, MoFAB, 405 W. Park St.
Butte
Silver Bow Arts Foundation and the Mai Wah Society, Inc., Co-sponsors
- If you
have comments or questions about Butte's Asian heritage, or you
would like to know more details about the projects of the Mai
Wah Society, please contact us.
To contribute to help continue the Society's efforts, send any
donation large or small to Mai Wah Society,P.O. Box 404, Butte,
MT 59703, or send e-mail to info@maiwah.org.
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- All donations
are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
- The answer
to the question of why a large community of Asian immigrants
settled in Southwest Montana is found in the rich heritage of
Butte,
Montana.
Wah Chong Tai Co. & Mai Wah Noodle
Parlor || Restocking the Wah Chong
Tai ||
What We Do || Related
Links ||
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Would you like to see information about Montana in Chinese? Click
on the horses
above to visit www.montana-chinese.org.
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