RADIO CANADA - August 14, 2006

RADIO CANADA
(CBC - FRENCH - Regional Radio broadcast)
August 14, 2006

Rachel Gaullin of Radio Canada (Outaouais) interviewed Rebecca Benoit on "Le Monde Selon Mathieu" from 3:50 - 4:00 EST. Mme Gaullin heard about Tea Ceremony through CBC's Cory O'Kelly who'd interviewed our Camellia Teas of Ottawa in May 2006. Thanks Cory!

We sat down for this 10-min. interview on Monday over the lunch hour and discussed what brought me to Tea Ceremony, how long I studied and spent in Japan, the types of people who come to Tea Ceremony events in Ottawa and what is involved in learning this traditional artform.

Watch this page for a transcript of the interview to follow soon!

To listen to the interview, click on the link below:

Rachel Gaullin Site(link will expire by end of August 2006)

Ottawa Japanese Community Newsletter

First published in the Ottawa Japanese Community Newsletter, July 2006.

The Camellia Teas of Ottawa celebrates is first anniversary this summer. Rebecca Benoit founded the group in June 2005, after her return from Japan where she lived from 1998 – 2005. A practitioner of the Omote Senke school, Rebecca is now in her 9th year of tea studies and is currently a student of Mrs. Kyoko Kosaki, of the Omote Sei Ha school. She holds monthly Tea Events at her Alta Vista home in one of two tatami chashitsu (tea rooms).

Camellia Teas of Ottawa: Celebrating One Year!
By Rebecca Benoit

When I returned from Japan last year, I was delighted to learn that there were a few people in Ottawa interested in Tea Ceremony, and even a teacher I could study with here! Over the months, our tea gatherings began attracting more and more curious Canadians and in a single year, to a membership of over 350 active subscribers to our monthly newsletter. We recently decided to name ourselves the ‘Camellia Teas of Ottawa’, which represents our interest in tea, despite the fact that we might come from different schools of Japanese Tea Ceremony. Our love of tea ceremony extends to other cultures which practice tea, such as Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, Turkish and more! We look forward to celebrating these tea cultures at our events in the near future.

Over the last year, our group participated in nearly 70 Tea Ceremony Events in the National Capital Region, sharing Tea Ceremony culture with over 2,000 Ottawans!

Yearly Highlights
A highlight of our year was certainly the late January visit of the Grand Masters of the Urasenke School. Over the course of a weekend, our team served tea alongside Tea Masters from Kyoto at the Embassy of Japan. In late spring, we were also delighted to be interviewed by CBC’s Cory O’Kelly. Friends in across Canada, and even in Japan were able to see the 4-minute report on May 11, 2006!

Next Camellia Tea: September 9 – 10, 2006
Our Tea events usually draw over 50 guests a day. We cordially invite you to the next Camellia Tea, September 9th – 10th (Saturday and Sunday). Sittings are usually about 30 minutes and held at 2:00, 3:30 and 5:00. For those with difficulty kneeling in the Japanese ‘seiza’ position, we do have a tatami tearoom surrounded with stools. Please check our website for more details: http://camelliateasottawa.blogspot.com/

The Stepping Stones Art Gallery: http://steppingstonesart.blogspot.com/
Each month, our Teas feature artists in the gallery space. We welcomed Mayumi Shepherd and her daughter Jennifer in late spring with their ‘Spring Breeze’ Sogetsu Ikebana exhibit of over 30 works. Shoko Shimamura’s oil paintings, and abstract sculptor Hans Blokpoel presented their work in March and June. We look forward to a brush painting exhibit with Majka Broulik in July. We welcome artists of any variety interested in sharing their work with us. Please feel free to forward suggestions to Rebecca.

Camellia Members: We always have 3 – 4 active Temae (hosts) and at least 2 skilled Mizuya helpers (those working behind the scenes). We have enjoyed training over 10 Hakobi (both Canadian and Japanese) and are always happy to have new members join us. Have you studied Tea Ceremony? Are you interested in learning or practicing? If so, we welcome you to our group!

Contact Rebecca Benoit: Email: ottawatea@yahoo.ca
Camellia Teas of Ottawa: http://camelliateasottawa.blogspot.com/

Alta Vista News: December 2005

Japanese Tea Ceremony In Alta Vista
Over the last five centuries, The Japanese Tea Ceremony developed into a highly ritualized art form. Essentially, both host and guest(s) sit quietly together for about 30 minutes while enjoying the tranquility of a tatami (rush-mat) room and sharing a bowl of matcha (powdered (bitter) green tea) and some sweets.

Once a month, those who interested come to Rebecca Benoit’s home to experience participate in a ceremony of either the Omote or Omote-Sei-Ha Schools. No training, fee or materials are required. Before entering the tearoom, a short explanation is and brochure are given.

Rebecca Benoit lived in Japan from 1998 to 2005 as a licensed TESL instructor in both the public and private school systems. During her seven years in Japan, she trained intensively in Japanese arts: Sagagoryu Ikebana, Japanese Brush painting (landscape), Omote Senke Tea Ceremony in a Zen Temple and the Sodo school of Kimono dressing.

Saturday, December 17th, 2005: Tea, Art & Flowers
On Saturday, December 17th, over 60 people from the Japanese community, Canadians interested in Japanese arts, university students and neighbours attended tea served in one of Rebecca’s two tearooms. Following the ceremony, guests were invited to view an exhibit of 30 of her Japanese brush paintings and 20 works of Ikebana (floral arrangements).

Next Tea Ceremony
The next tea gathering will be held on January 21st, 2006. For more information contact Rebecca at: beccabenoit@yahoo.com or 739-4649
Visit this site to see photos of tea ceremony: Photos:http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wakaotta/my_photos

2006 Media Interviews

Camellia Teas of Ottawa in the News!

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION
(Press Release - English/French)
November 18 - 19, 2006: Camellia Teas of Ottawa serves Tea Ceremony Tea in the Children's Museum in Canada's National Museum. Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm.

Click Here to read the press release on the CMC site (link will expire)

Click Here to read the press release

CONTACT JAPAN
(Rogers TV - ENGLISH- Regional Television broadcast)
October 8 and 14, 2006 Melisa Kamibayashi of Rogers TV (Ottawa) interviews Rebecca Benoit on "Contact Japan" from 9:10 - 9:30 am EST.

RADIO CANADA
(CBC - FRENCH - Regional Radio broadcast)
August 14, 2006
Rachel Gaullin of Radio Canada (Outaouais) interviews Rebecca Benoit on "Le Monde Selon Mathieu" from 3:50 - 4:00 EST.

Rachel Gaullin Site(link will expire by end of August 2006)

OTTAWA JAPANESE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
(Regional - Newspaper - English)
July 2006
Camellia Teas founder Rebecca Benoit reports on the groups first anniversary in this short article.

OJCC/OJCA Newsletter July 2006 Article on Camellia Teas

CBC CANADA TV
(Nationally broadcast - English)
May 11, 2006
Cory O'Kelly visits the Camellia Teas of Ottawa to record a 4 min. segment aired nationally on the 6:00 pm News.

Asian Heritage Month Listings for 2006, including Tea Ceremony

CARLETON UNIVERSITY
(Midweek - English)
February 8, 2006: Carleton University MidWeek Interview with Nate Kim aired Feb. 8, 2006. Click on the link below, and select the show for Feb. 8th, 2006 to listen to this 5 min. interview featuring Mrs. Kyoko Kosaki, Kyoko Tsunetomi, Shoko Shimamura and Rebecca Benoit of the Camellia Teas of Ottawa.

Carleton University MidWeek Interview with Nate Kim aired Feb. 8, 2006 (5 min.)

ALTA VISTA NEWS
(Regional Newspaper - English)
December, 2005

Short Article in the Alta Vista Times Newspaper

2007 Tea Schedule

Camellia Teas of Ottawa

Sunday, October 14, 2007

As we move indoors to our Winter and Summer Tearooms, Camellia Guests will enjoy Tea of two Tea schools.

Photographer Dr. Paul R. Benoit, Haiku Poet Terry Ann Carter and Calligrapher Peter V. Quenter join us in the Stepping Stones Art Gallery for reflections on Canada's seasons.

WORKSHOPS:

Award-winning Haiku poet, Ms. Terry Ann Carter also joins with a workshop on this Japanese poetic form on Saturday, October 13th from 1:00 - 3:00 and again on Sunday, October 14th from 1:00 - 3:00. Each class costs $10 per student, with a minimum of 10 students required for the course.

On both Saturday and Sunday, Calligrapher Peter Quenter will offer brush workshops from 1:30 - 3:30 pm. Contact info[at]exploringculture.net to reserve for these events. *Workshops fill quickly and are limited to 10 participants each with a cost of $10 per student).

Saturday and Sunday, November 3 - 4, 2007

With Winter on its way, we welcome guests to warmth and peace of the Camellia Tearooms as always...

In the Stepping Stones Art Gallery, Ingo Hessel and Hans Blokpoel will be working on the theme of "A Roundness of Circles".

Saturday and Sunday, December 1 - 2, 2007

For our final Tea of the year, we welcome a talented textile artist to the Stepping Stones Art Gallery. Ms. Karen Goetzinger brings her own interpretation to the Japanese kimono through quilting and embroidery. A Christmas Craft sale and workshops will also be announced shortly.