No more wondering and guessing, it is officially that there will be a World Tai Chi & Qigong Day (WTCQD) celebration in the Tower Grove Park on Saturday April 27. Mark your calendar and invite your family and friends out for this FREE healing event; Tai Chi experience is not required, everyone is welcome. There will be Tai Chi and Qigong masters, instructors and enthusiasts practice the arts and introduce them to anyone who wants to try.
In the early 1970’s, St. Louis was one of the pioneer cities in the nation to embrace the ancient arts of Tai Chi (Taiji) and Qigong. Once Bill Douglas and Angela Wang of Kansas City, Kansas founded the World Tai Chi & Qigong Day (WTCQD) in 1999, St. Louis was the first to respond and hosted the WTCQD celebration before the it became a worldwide phenomenon and celebrated in hundreds if not thousands of cities in over 70 countries. Throughout the years, the celebration program in St. Louis became bigger and better under the leadership of Sifus Justin Meehan, Anna Lum, LeRoy Alsup, Cis Hager and many others with participation of almost all local schools with versatile demonstration programs and workshops. It evolved into an event too big for a single person or school to undertake the planning and organization. The last two celebrations were held in seven or eight years ago and 2010. Each year, I got e-mail messages and calls from readers and practitioners asking when and where the celebration would be.
Shelley Shray is a Tai Chi enthusiast and member of the St. Louis Tai Chi Ch’uan Association. A few weeks ago she asked me whether there was anyone organizing a celebration this year. I told her that I was not aware of one. I encouraged her to organize one if she valued it. After all, Tai Chi and Qigong are for everyone. No one has license to them or owns them. In their long history, they have always grown organically on a volunteer basis. Now with the support of her association, Shelley has put together a celebration plan together, which should be relaxing and fun for anyone that attends.
The WTCQD has a unique concept to unite people around the global together on the last Saturday of April to practice Tai Chi and Qigong together to renew and regenerate Qi (life energy) and exchange friendship and knowledge. Every city and town will start their celebration at 10 a.m. local time starting with Fiji, then New Zealand and going westward. It is like a healing wave following the footsteps of the sun going around the globe and completes its circle in Hawaii.
A gong will kick off 2013 St. Louis Celebration at 10 a.m. in the Humboldt South pavilion in the park. Shelley stated that everyone and every school are encouraged to practice their own Tai Chi and Qigong forms at their own schedule and pace. The celebration is scheduled from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Shelley said that having the event take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. allows everyone to continue to do or demonstrate the forms, get to know one another a little better and interact with those who stop by, curious about the arts. It is fine if you cannot stay the entire four hours. She suggests that instructors have some students there from 10 a.m. until noon and a few others from noon to 2 p.m. if so desired. Each school can bring their own brochure or information to share. There are about 12 picnic tables in the pavilion. People are welcome to have picnics there. Shelley has reserved the Pavilion for the entire day, so you can linger as long as you want.
So far, at least eight schools already confirmed their participation in the event. They all teach and practice various styles and forms of Tai Chi and Qigong. If you ever wonder what Tai Chi and Qigong are, it is a great event to find out and decide which one is suitable for you.
If you have question, or ideas or wants to help, please contact Shelley at sshray@sbcglobal.net or 314-863-1918.
**After I published this article, I found out that Sue Schulte will host another celebration at Shaw Nature Reserve at the Gray Summit exit on Highway 44. Sue asked interested individuals to arrive at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday April 27 so they can kick off the celebration at 10 a.m. Again, no experience is needed. Call Sue at 636-274-8851 if you have questions.
Subscribe to this column to get reviews, recaps, and latest news regarding Tai Chi, Qigong, health and martial arts sent directly to your inbox. If you enjoyed this article please click the social media links above and to the left to share it with your friends. You can also subscribe to my page on Facebook here. You can also follow me on Twitter.
Comments