District 5330 in Taipei, Part 1: Meeting New Friends

Greetings from Taipei, site of the 2026 Rotary International Convention. Members of the Rim-area Rotary Clubs spent the week experiencing the local culture and meeting new Rotary friends from around the world — among them Jeri Simpson, Lake Arrowhead; Armand LeSage, Lake Arrowhead Mountain Sunrise; and Corina Colan, Lake Arrowhead Mountain Sunrise.

Seeing Taiwan

The group arrived on Monday, June 8, and took tours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, when Jeri arrived. Among the sights they saw were Taroko Gorge National Park, Yehliu Geopark, the historic mountainside village of Jiufen and Sun Moon Lake. They also visited the National Palace Museum, the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple, Dihua Street — where the plethora of spices and dried fruit amazed them — and Taipei 101, the incredibly tall building that towers over the city.

Taiwan Cultural Night

Members of the District 5330 delegation were invited to a Taiwan Cultural Night hosted by District 3482 on Friday, June 12, courtesy of Jimmy Hsieh, a Taipei native who is a member and past president of the Temecula Sunrise Club.

After playing some typical street market games, we joined clubs from Taiwan, Japan and Korea for an evening of Taiwanese food and entertainment. A local children’s choir stunned us with their sweet voices. Local Rotarians performed some very acrobatic dancing, followed by dancing Rotarians from India. Local singers performed songs in Mandarin from Phantom of the Opera and then invited some of the guests up on stage for karaoke.

The evening ended with a performance by the Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Arts Troupe. Sporting colorful costumes and large heads, they drew thunderous applause from the room full of Rotarians.

The House of Friendship opens

On Saturday, June 13, the House of Friendship opened. Districts from around the world display their service projects, inviting other Rotary Clubs to join them. Various Rotary Fellowships — such as Tea Lovers and Jazz — have booths, sharing their passion for their activities. Vendors also set up, selling a variety of Rotary items such as shirts, pins, jackets, jewelry and more.

In this year’s House of Friendship, an entire row was devoted to Taiwanese culture. There were traditional costumes folks could try on (and be photographed in). Rotarians and their guests could try their hand at calligraphy, and there was even a tea ceremony.

The stage was busy all day with a variety of entertainment. Our delegates happened upon the announcement of the Rotary Poet of the Year 2026, hosted by RI Immediate Past President Stephanie Urchick. She announced that Riaan Odendaal of South Africa, who had earned the title of Rotary Poet of the Year in 2025, is also the Poet of the Year for 2026. President Urchick read the winning poem.

And then, on Sunday, June 14, the convention truly began with the opening general session, titled “Planting Peace, Growing Hope.” Because of the size of the convention, Rotarians were assigned to one of two sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

Read Part 2: ‘Peace is not a destination — it’s a daily practice’, on the convention’s general sessions.