On Demand Programming

VIDEO
I AM HERE GRANDMOTHER
I Am Here Grandmother was created in collaboration with memory holder Rosemary Georgeson, sound designer Olivia C. Davies and videographer Safoura Rigi-Ladiz. The video  honours the creative process Rosemary embarked on at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre that led to her finding an ancestor who had been forgotten by history. As an invocation of the world of blood memory and personal transformation, the soundscape holds ambient sounds of the Downtown Eastside city corner of Powell and Gore, fires, smoke, and ocean, along with music from Canadian composer Michael Red and original poetry written in response to Rosemary’s memory. Commissioned and created for Indigenous Cities, National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre June 2021, in partnership with Savage Society (Vancouver). For more information

VIDEO LINKS
GOLD MOUNTAIN SAM’S YOUTUBE TREASURES

Longtime community member and Heart of the City Festival crew member, Elwin Xie aka Gold Mountain Samis blessed with many talents. You will see him around the neighbourhood, or sometimes at Burnaby Village Museum, often behind the camera or powerpoint for a variety of organizations. The Festival shares with you links to a small enticing selection of videos that Elwin has posted to YouTube that explore and record stories of the Lower Mainland. Take some time over the long fall season to view these videos, we hope you enjoy!

BC Historical Federation

Vancouver Historical Society

Vancouver Heritage Foundation

Ricepaper Magazine

VIDEO
GRASS DANCES: Healing Through Practicing Culture
The Festival is honoured to present this video of two grass dances by dancers Larissa Healey (Pequis) and Peter Stillwater, along with the big drum Love Medicine. For Larissa, grass dancing is healing medicine that connects to her culture and her two-spirit identity: “I make my own art music and regalia now. I learned to powwow and dance in powwow circles now. I am also connecting to myself and two-spirit identity. I am holding myself up through sweats, beading, regalia, dancing and my relationship with the creator. You have to dance for your community, not yourself.”

PODCAST
CAROLYN JEROME: A MILITANT MOM
The pandemic hasn't stopped the kids at RayCam Community Centre – they've found creative new ways to learn about their neighbourhood, share stories and learn new media techniques. The children interviewed Carolyn Jerome by phone and asked her about actions she and the group of mothers living in Raymur took fifty years ago. For this year's Heart of the City Festival, Carolyn shares the Militant Mothers of Raymur story in a podcast. Back In 1971, after all their other efforts failed, the Mothers blocked the train tracks between Raymur and Glen Drive to demand an overpass be built so their children could get to school safely. They won! You’ll also hear from community members on what that victory meant to them.

Production, music and sound design James Ash
Additional music David (EUN YU) Kim, clarinet
Raycam kids who contributed Adria M., Wassan A. H., Amira M., London B., Esme P.B.
Community contributions Gina Hawkins, Misty Knight, Jennifer Guest, Wendy Strauman (daughter of Ollie Strauman, Kathy Moss (daughter of Gay Moss)
RayCam thanks RICHER Social Pediatrics Program for their continued partnership and program support; and Alysha McFadden for her support and enthusiasm for community storytelling projects.

VIDEO
VOICES FROM “IN THE BEGINNING”
Indigenous elders, knowledge-keepers and artists from many Nations share stories of the land from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh homelands, and from those who came down the rivers, across the waters or over the mountains. The voices heard on this short film by Chris Randle are compiled from In the Beginning: A Cultural Sharing, a five part series presented during last year’s Heart of the City Festival by the Firehall Arts Centre and Vancouver Moving Theatre. For more information and to book the five part series, contact Firehall Arts Centre: firehall@firehallartscentre.ca or 604-689-0926. 

VIDEO
SOLIDARITY NOTES LABOUR CHOIR: 20 YEARS OF MUSICAL RESISTANCE
Welcome to history and stories of one of the longtime mainstays of Vancouver’s activist movement, the Solidarity Notes Labour Choir. The Choir has been in existence since the year 2000, and since that time has been involved in many of the city’s resistance struggles. They’ve also travelled to Cuba and San Francisco, sung on picket lines and raised funds for worthy causes. In 2020, to celebrate their 20th year of existence, they produced a video telling some of the stories of the choir’s work during those years. They released the video in January as a fundraiser for DTES Response and for the Choir, and raised $2,061 for DTES Response! The video features interviews with almost all of the Choir members, many of whom have surprising stories to tell. The video ends with a “quarantune” version of the Choir singing one of their standards. 

VIDEO
STORIES WE NEED TO HEAR ABOUT CRAB PARK
CRAB Park is under a lot of pressure and duress, and the Festival wanted to hear from those who know the Park. We asked Don Larson, president of CRAB Water for Life Society, and Veronica Butler to look back on the park’s history to share some stories. They gave us a “whole lotta truth”. Both Don and Veronica were part of the 1984 campout on the landfill and were pivotal in the creation of Create a Real Available Beach, that is, CRAB Park. They continue to steward the park: Veronica shares the story she has as firekeeper of the sacred fire and carrier of oral histories for reconciliation; and Don continues to hold the feet of the powers-that-be to the fire! He says these are stories we need to hear about the central waterfront of Vancouver, it’s not just the Downtown Eastside. They share their dreams for the future of the Park including an expanded fresh-water bird marsh and a native healing lodge. Pre-recorded in the park.  

VIDEO
STORIES WE NEED TO HEAR: Lived Experience
Carnegie Community Centre’s Matriarch in Residence Marr Dorvault and Elder in Residence Leslie Nelson share personal stories, reflections and a song about their lived experience. Elder Les speaks to how he came to learn to play and respect the drum, and to learn about his culture; and Matriarch Marr speaks with heartfelt emotion about the impact of colonization on her people, her own life, and how cultural medicine protects her and other survivors.  

VIDEO
REVISITING AND ENVISIONING: A Special Edition of As Long As I Can Remember
Revisiting and Envisioning captures community reactions to Lynda Nakashima's film As Long As I Can Remember that commemorated the Powell Street Festival's 25th anniversary and was presented at this past summer’s 45th annual Festival. Twenty years later and in the midst of the COVID pandemic, longtime Powell Street Festival volunteers came together virtually to reflect on Lynda's film. What do they think the future of the Powell Street Festival will look like? What surprised them? What are they most proud of? Take a trip down memory lane with the Powell Street Festival and envision what twenty more years might look like. We encourage you to respond with your hopes and vision for the future! Tag them with your response using #powellfest on social media or send your written, audio, or video responses to info@powellstreetfestival.com!

VIDEO
WATER STORIES
MascallDance offers three short pieces to watch online about our connection to water. MascallDance is researching water stories and ancestral knowledge. Like water, their exploration flows – across countries (New Zealand, Canada and USA), disciplines – science, performance, our own bodies – and pretty much anywhere. Presented highlights interweave marine biology, eco-activism, dance, art, writing, and storytelling. Featuring Claire O'Neil, Jennifer Mascall, Alison East, Dr. Christina Houghton, Joanna Ashworth, Andrea Grant, Nicholas Macfarlane, Rabbi Diane Elliot and other special guest participants. Edited by videographer Darryl Ahye with music composition by Kathleen Nisbet.

VIDEO
TERMINAL CITY DANCE…. AT WORK 
A historic documentary on Terminal City Dance, the ground-breaking innovative dance collective based in Vancouver’s Chinatown, known for its experimental and interdisciplinary explorations. Featuring co-founders Terry Hunter, Karen Jamieson (Rimmer) and Savannah Walling, the video was filmed forty years ago in 1981 by videographer Michael Goldberg, with Paul Wong on camera, at the artists’ studio in the Lim Sai Hor Kow Mock Benevolent Association Building and other locations. This one hour documentary captures their working process: endless dance training, voice and music lessons, and the tense fragmented conception through rehearsal to polished performance, interwoven with its history.

VIDEO
HEARTS SPEAK
“At the heart of culture lives language.” As part of the cultural event Hearts Beat this year, the festival honours and celebrates Indigenous and Irish languages and shares a mini-series of video clips called Hearts Speak. Learn some phrases, expressions and greetings from Indigenous and Irish community members. Prepared by UBC Learning Exchange and Carnegie Community Centre Indigenous Programs. The series will feature on the Hearts Beat Facebook event page, and on the Heart of the City festival website. 

coming soon . . . 

Videos From This Year's Festival

Many of this year's online events are being recorded and will be available for on demand viewing once the events are completed. You can watch the videos here. Check back daily as more videos are added.