Walking Tour
THE DTES – ADJUST YOUR PERCEPTIONS with Judy Graves and community historian Chris Mathieson
Saturday November 3, 10am (approx. 2 hours)
Meet at SW corner of Powell & Columbia
Take a revealing walk through the Downtown Eastside, a walk that will make you think and wonder about perceptions, history, housing, people and community. Join John Atkin, author, historian, DTES/Strathcona resident and walking-history-encyclopedia, and Judy Graves, the housing advocate for the City of Vancouver who has worked in the DTES since 1979, on a social history walk of a great but much misunderstood neighbourhood. $10 for non-residents, pay what you can for local residents
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Cultural Sharing
DRUM CIRCLE & PERCUSSION JAM
Saturday November 3, 11am – 1pm
Ray-Cam Cooperative Centre Gymnasium, 920 E. Hastings
So many drums, so many cultures, so many rhythms in the Downtown Eastside! Join Russell Shumsky, long time DTES resident, drummer and drum teacher as he leads a drum circle. There will be hand drums, bongos, congas, dununs, electronic drums and special guests. Listen to the voices of the drums; have fun, call and response. Drums will be available or bring your own! Family friendly, all ages, all rhythms, no experience necessary. Everyone welcome! Free
Walking Tour
THE TOUR OF NOTHING: The Freeway That Never Was, with John Atkin
Saturday November 3, 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Meet at SE corner of Main & Union
Did you know that the Georgia Viaduct is part of the Vancouver freeway system that local residents and activists brought to a grinding halt? When driving east over the overpass have you ever looked straight ahead and realized that, if successful, this planned freeway would have wiped out hundreds of homes along Union and Prior? John Atkin, Strathcona resident, civic historian and author, will lead us on a tour of what’s been lost (Hogan’s Alley), what wasn’t built (the freeway), and the consequences for the neighbourhood. The walk will end at the former home of the Chan family, leaders in the fight to stop the freeway, to coincide with the SPOTA Mosaic Unveiling and tribute. $10 for non-residents, pay what you can for local residents
Reading & Writing
READ. WRITE. SHARE. Intrepid Pens
Saturday November 3, 1:45pm – 4:45pm
W2 Media Café (upstairs), 111 W. Hastings
Every Saturday afternoon The Pens hold a themed reading and writing session at W2. Participants read and discuss a short story, poem or piece of creative non-fiction, free-write based on a prompt, and then have time to workshop and share. The theme of today’s session is “You Never Told Me” and is facilitated by Sarah Stephen. The Intrepid Pens DTES Reading & Writing Society believes in the power of storytelling as a real vehicle for change.
Everyone is welcome to this free event, but please register in advance: info@intrepidpens.org.
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Artist Talk
ARTISTS OF THE DTES: Talk and Forum
Saturday November 3, 2pm – 4pm
Gallery Gachet, 88 E. Cordova
Artists from the Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show, whose lives and practices are positioned within the historically low-income neighborhood of the Downtown Eastside, reflect on the vibrant and creative community in and around Oppenheimer Park and Gallery Gachet. Free
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Film & Video
AN AFTERNOON OF DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE DIGITAL STORIES
AND OTHER FILMS
Saturday November 3, 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main
We invite you to four acts of digital stories and videos. The digital form is a wonderful medium to use to tell the many stories from the streets of the Downtown Eastside.
As part of the City’s 125th Anniversary celebrations, the Vancouver Park Board selected a team of digital media artists to work within the Vancouver community to capture the oral histories, stories and memories of local residents. A member of the team, Lisa Walker, who also facilitates the Carnegie Art Workshops, shares a handful of digital stories from the Downtown Eastside.
Bob Currie is a leader in the making of digital stories here in the Downtown Eastside. His latest project is a story about the countless outside murals that we enjoy in the neighbourhood.
Another leader and mentor in digital story making is Adrienne Macallum. She started with the SHIRE project and continues to work in the medium. Her new piece is a collection of Carnegie Community Centre members telling their stories about how they came to Vancouver and what Carnegie means to them, some of it based on the book When I came to Vancouver created last year by the Carnegie Learning Centre.
The fourth act features two short documentaries connected to Vancouver Moving Theatre, co-producer of the Heart of the City Festival.
This is Mikanak (5min) by Brenda Prince. A first-time filmmaker and creative writing student at UBC, Brenda’s film is about her mother Harriet Prince. Harriet is not only a survivor but a striver. Harriet and Brenda both appeared in In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Community Play (Vancouver Moving Theatre/Carnegie Community Centre, 2003).
Storyweaving at the Gathering Place (11min) directed by Renae Morriseau and Cowboy Smithx. This video gives voice to those who have lived within and around the Canadian legislation of the Indian Act, and provides a glimpse into the creative process of Storyweaving – a theatrical event that honoured First Nation ancestral and urban presence in Greater Vancouver. Storyweaving was produced by Vancouver Moving Theatre in partnership with the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre in May 2012, and featured a team of urban Aboriginal writers, elders, actors, dancers, singers, and culture carriers who wove First Nations memories from the past into the future. The video includes DTES-involved artists Sue Blue, Sam Bob, Stephen Lytton, Brenda Prince and Priscillia Tait.
Afternoon tea. Free
Unveiling, Plaque Presentation & Reception
SPOTA MOSAIC & PLACES THAT MATTER
Saturday November 3
3:30pm – 4pm Unveiling & Plaque Presentation
Walter and Mary Lee Chan House, sidewalk 658 Keefer
4pm -5pm Reception
Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer
Urban renewal – the City’s vision circa 1958 – was a major and drastic overhaul of what the city would be. One of the major thrusts of this plan was to put a freeway through the city that would destroy the neighbourhood in Vancouver’s East End (later known as Strathcona).
In 1968 after close to a decade of opposing the changes, the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (SPOTA) was formalized and the neighbourhood had a voice. It was heard both locally and nationally, and a movement was born that resulted in a new way of thinking in respect to urban “social” planning.
The SPOTA Mosaic pays tribute to the founding members and supporters of SPOTA. The concept of a permanent legacy to honour those who fought to stop the freeway was originally conceived during the Downtown Eastside Public Realm Arts Plan process (Richard Evans, Terry Hunter, Carmen Rosen). This mosaic and location was conceived and developed by long-time Strathcona resident Esther Rausenberg, designed by Richard Tetrault, and created by Richard Tetrault and Jerry Whitehead. The project is an initiative of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver – Creative Pathways project, with support from the City of Vancouver Great Beginnings Program.
Also being placed is a Vancouver Heritage Foundation Places That Matter plaque to recognize the home of Walter and Mary Chan, community members who led the fight against the freeway. For more information about the plaque project: www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org
Reception to follow at 4pm at the Strathcona Community Centre. Free
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Fundraiser
STRATHCONA COMMUNITY CENTRE 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Saturday November 3, 5:30pm – 11pm
Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant
1132 E. Hastings
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Strathcona Community Centre over good food, storytelling by friends and alumni, hot jazz and a stylish silent auction featuring art from local studios, unique items such as team jerseys from Roberto Luongo and Steve Nash, and much more. All proceeds support Strathcona Community Centre programs including food security, childcare and access to arts and sports education for all children and families. For more information or tickets call 604-713-1838. Tickets online: www.strathcona40gala.eventbrite.ca. After Oct 12: $65 per person, $600 for table of 10
Film
INTERURBAN: An evening of archival films and stories
Saturday November 3, 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Centre A, 2 W. Hastings
As part of Centre A’s exhibition of To/From BC Electric Railway: 100 Years, Colin Browne (Film Professor, SFU School of Contemporary Arts) presents an early evening of archival films, and shares stories of history and filmmaking. Free
Poetry
DTES POETS OPEN MIC
Saturday November 3, 7pm
Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main
Downtown Eastside poets and writers meet on the first Saturday of every month to read original poetry, plays, prose and work-in-progress. Special guest for this evening is City of Vancouver Poet Laureate Evelyn Lau. The evening is free, it’s friendly, and it’s packed with local talent, both on the microphone and in the audience. The personal stories can be quite raw and powerful…sign up for a 10 minute spot at the Open Mic. Hosted by Diane Wood. Free
Music & Dancing
BIG JAZZ AT THE HEART OF THE CITY FESTIVAL
Saturday November 3, 8pm – 10:30pm
Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender
The Downtown Eastside’s hot Carnegie Jazz Band joins with the legendary Dal Richards Combo in this evening of great jazz that will have everyone in the Ukrainian Hall a shakin’!
The much honoured Dal Richards, the “King of Swing”, tonight with his seven piece Combo, leads superb musicians in a blend of unique sounds that capture the best of the big band era, along with jazz, rock and pop standards. Now living around the corner from Victory Square, Dal has childhood memories of the neighbourhood. Every Saturday “we shopped at Woodward’s, we had dinner at Woodward’s then we walked down the block to the Pantages Theatre [at Hastings and Carrall]…when those lights came up and the orchestra struck up in the pit, my heart went pitty-pat.” Dal’s visits to the legendary theatre helped inspire him to start his eight-decade career in show business.
Then the Carnegie Jazz Band takes to the stage! Led by the wonderful tutelage of accomplished composer and multi-instrumentalist Brad Muirhead, the Carnegie Jazz Band is comprised of enthusiastic amateur and semi-pro jazz musicians. Last year the band had the honour of performing in a double bill with the Dal Richards Orchestra at Government House in Victoria at the invitation of His Honour, Steven Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Joining the Carnegie Jazz Band for tonight’s concert are two very special guests: Juno award-winning trombonist Hugh Fraser; and proud resident of the Downtown Eastside, vocalist Dalannah Gail Bowen. Cabaret style seating with dance floor, so bring your dancing shoes for this evening of great music! Sliding scale $2 – $20
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Multimedia
BLUETECH SOUND PERFORMANCE
Saturday November 3, 10pm
W2 Media Café, 111 W. Hastings
Bluetech – live electronic audio video showcase featuring the adept, on-the-move producer/remixer Bluetech aka Evan Bartholomew & Evan Marc. Bluetech’s sound features a selection of instrumentals and down-tempo electronic sounds that chronicle emotive vistas and reflective passages. “Love songs to the source is an audio exploration of the spark of divine light that oscillates in the heart of every being,” and with this intent, one finds music that is both uplifting and devotional. To embark on this listening experience is to travel down a path beyond stylistic bounds. $5 entry for DTES residents who are members of W2’s Inner-City Media Arts Club. Join in person or via email info@creativetechnology.org