Art on the Streets
LAUGHING HAND STREET ARTIST
Saturday October 26, at Hastings and Dunlevy, morning
Saturday November 2, at Carrall and Pender, morning
Look for Laughing Hand Street Artist on location during the Heart of the City Festival. Painted drawings – lines that speak to you of places and people from time gone by or still seen today in Vancouver’s East End. See the Smilin’ Buddha, the Blue Eagle, Green Door, the Ovaltine, the Empress – Laughing Hand captures your favourite places and somehow mysteriously, brings them to life. Artist Keith McKellar will be on the street for two days, beginning in the mornings – Sat Oct 26 at Hastings and Dunlevy, and Sat Nov 2 at Carrall and Pender. The weather could determine where and when Laughing Hand is out and about.
Watch for Laughing Hand’s exhibition “A walk down the crooked road…” in the InterUrban Gallery, 1 E. Hastings in April 2014
Art Market
EASTSIDE ARTISTS COMPANY
Saturday October 26, 10am – 5pm
Saturday November 2, 10am – 5pm
Woodward’s Atrium, 111 W. Hastings
Since May of this year, the Eastside Artists Company has held regular art markets every Saturday inside and outside the Atrium at Woodward’s. The initiative provides a place for Vancouver artists and artisans to display and sell their work. Diane Johnston, owner and operator of the company, is passionate about the opportunity for artists to be self-sustaining in the Downtown Eastside. Come to the Saturday market and see what the artists have for sale. For more information contact: dianecaroljohnston@hotmail.com or 604-251-1980.
Mass
ALL SOULS’ DAY MASS
Saturday November 2, 10:30am
St. James’ Anglican Church, 303 E. Cordova
The St. James’ Choir sings a special Requiem Mass at this spiritual gathering to give thanks for all the departed, no matter who they were, or what they believed. Pray for all, especially for those who may not have had anyone to pray for them. You are welcome to come and remember all of your beloved ones who have moved on from this life. If you have names of the departed you would like read aloud during the prayers, please contact the church office at 604-685-2532 by Monday October 28. Everyone is welcome.
Walking Tour
VANCOUVER’S DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE OUTDOOR MURALS with Richard Tetrault
Saturday November 2, 11am – 12:30pm
Meet at Raven’s Eye Studio, 456 E. Hastings
There are over eighty murals on the walls of buildings in Vancouver’s East End and muralist and local award-winning artist Richard Tetrault leads us on a walking tour of about a dozen of those murals located in the Downtown Eastside. The walk begins at Raven’s Eye Studio where you’ll see Western Canada’s largest mural, Through the Eye of the Raven, on the west wall of the Orwell Hotel. The walk ends at Richard’s most recent project in the DTES, the Radius Mural in the courtyard of the Firehall Arts Centre. With so many murals on neighbourhood walls, there are sure to be surprises around every corner! For further details please visit the interactive mural map at www.muralsvancouver.ca, a website built with the support of the City of Vancouver Great Beginnings Program. $10 for non-residents, pay-what-you-can for local residents
Click for photos and video of this event.
Open House
ST. JAMES’ ANGLICAN CHURCH
Saturday November 2, 12pm – 4pm
St. James’ Anglican Church, 303 E. Cordova
Following the All Souls’ Day High Mass, St. James’ invites you to their open house: a wonderful opportunity to see first hand the heritage building, to take in a variety of parish activities, and to share some exciting presentations!
12:30pm Sing-a-long
City Opera Vancouver, together with students from the Saint James Music Academy, will lead what is sure to be a very entertaining sing-a-long of Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s Il trovatore with real anvils! Like singing in the shower, without the water! City Opera thanks the SFU Vancity Office of Community Engagement for their support. Music and lyrics provided free at the door.
1:15pm Guided Tour
Long-term parishioner Allan Duncan leads a guided tour of this unique church: learn about the church’s architecture and the personalities who were involved in its construction in the 1930s.
3pm Play Reading
Sit back, relax, and listen to a dramatic reading of the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman, author unknown. Notables in the cast are UBC English professors Dr. Paul Stanwood and Dr. Leslie Arnovick, and actress Sheila Paterson. The medieval play presents an allegory of the moral struggle all Christians face as their qualities, good and bad, push and pull them toward Heaven or Hell. Come and hear what happens when ‘Everyman’ finally encounters ‘Death’!
Mass at St. James’ is a rich experience for all the physical senses! Don’t miss the opportunity throughout the afternoon to view a display by the St. James’ Sanctuary Guild – ‘The Treasures of St. James.’ The display features elaborate embroidered vestments, altar linens of handmade lace, chalices, patens, burses, thuribles….you may even come away with a new vocabulary! Free
Music in the Streets
HASTINGS STREET BAND
Saturday November 2, 12:30pm & 1:30pm
Starts at Carnegie Community Centre, 401 Main
Get your dancing shoes ready. Can you hear them coming? It’s music in the streets with the Hastings Street Band. Led by multiinstrumentalist and composer Brad Muirhead, the Band is comprised of enthusiastic Downtown Eastside involved amateur and semi-pro musicians playing with professional musicians from across Vancouver. Fast becoming a community favourite, the band plays upbeat jazz and blues with a taste of New Orleans. Free
Click for photos and videos of this event.
Workshop
SLAM POETRY with Sho Wiley
Saturday November 2, 12:30pm – 2:30pm
Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main
In anticipation of Carnegie’s 1st Poetry Slam! Sho Wiley, creative writing instructor and long-time slam poet, leads a workshop where she’ll share advice and techniques. Bring two of your favourite poems or write one in the workshop; you’ll get an opportunity to try out your slam poetry ideas and with one-on-one mentoring you’ll be ready to step up to the mic and go for it! “Poetry is meant to be heard, poetry for the people!” says Sho and who knows that better than the poets of Carnegie! Space is limited so please pre-register with the Carnegie 3rd floor program office. Drop-ins only if space available. Free
Community Celebration
COMING TOGETHER, CELEBRATING OUR SENIORS
Saturday November 2, 1pm – 3:30pm
Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre gym, 920 E. Hastings
Seniors play a vital role in all cultures and in our Downtown Eastside community; seniors sing, sew, dance, play and share the stories of other days. During these busy and challenging times, we welcome the opportunity to celebrate our seniors. Join us for an afternoon of entertainment, activities, tea and snacks. We have a special treat: Rod Chow, Chinatown’s own unique and sophisticated International Champion Magician, will perform! Everyone welcome! Free
Presentation
OPENING THE TREASURE BOX: Where Carrall Meets Pender
Saturday November 2, 2pm – 4pm
Urban Aboriginal Fair Trade Gallery 29 W. Pender
The Downtown Eastside is a treasure box full of compelling stories generated by an interaction of people, place, period, position, and perspective. Our panel of five historians and storytellers will share from their favourite neighbourhood stories and recollections about the historic intersection of Pender and Carrall.
The panel of history treasure hunters features:
- T’Uy’Tanat/Cease Wyss – ethnobotanist, media artist, educator, filmmaker, illustrator, curator, artist and activist whose work weaves itself thorough a variety of communities including the DTES;
- James Johnstone – East End-based house history researcher, heritage activist, avid blogger and neighbourhood History Walk guide;
- Lani Russwurm – DTES resident and creator of the Past Tense blog; his first book, Vancouver Was Awesome: A Curious Pictorial History, was just released in October;
- Larry Wong – enthusiastic writer and historian who published his memoirs Dim Sum Stories: A Chinatown Childhood in September 2011, now in second printing;
- Steven Wong – certified Sundo yoga teacher, Dragon Boater, and a scion of the Wong family of Modernize Tailors at Carrall and Pender.
Free
Poetry
CARNEGIE’S 1ST POETRY SLAM!
Saturday November 2, 3pm – 5pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main
In celebration of the Carnegie newsletter and its long history of encouraging writers and poets in the Downtown Eastside, we present Carnegie’s 1st Poetry Slam! Have you slammed a poem before? You’ll have three minutes to say your poem. Memorize it, improvise it, rant or sing it out. Then five random audience members chosen to judge will give you a score. The rules have still to be decided, so be prepared for surprises. Featured host and MC is Zaccheus Jackson, a slam poet and full-blooded Blackfoot (Piikani). Zaccheus is a three-time Van Slam team member and two-time Vancouver Indie Champ: we’ve got one of the best to lead the afternoon. Be part of the audience – laugh, cheer, cry, clap – or step up and slam it, you know you want to! Free
Click for photos and videos of this event.
Mulitmedia
OUT ON A LIMB Stories about growing up and growing older
November 2 and 3
Hastings Urban Farm, 58 W. Hastings Outdoors, under tent cover
The Only Animal, in association with PHS Community Services and the DTES Heart of the City Festival, presents Out On A Limb, an intergenerational digital storytelling project about growing up and growing older. Twelve youth and elders, in collaboration with six artists, crafted animated video stories that will be projected on the wall of the Portland Hotel at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Saturday November 2 & Sunday November 3. Conceived by Kendra Fanconi, directed by Eric Rhys Miller, facilitated by David Roche and Vanessa Richards, video designed by Keith Murray, the project launched in 2012 with fifty-two community members whose stories can be seen and heard on The Only Animal’s YouTube channel. All activities and events, FreeSaturday November 2 3pm – 3:45pm
Opening Welcome
William Nahanee (Kwel-a-s-nexw), Ingrid Gurvan, and Ingrid’s daughters Shaquinni and Sabrina offer a traditional Squamish Greeting of the day in song and dance.Click for photos and videos of this event.
Saturday & Sunday 4pm – 6:30pm
OUT ON A LIMB Workshops
Community workshops in movement with director Eric Rhys Miller, storytelling with Naomi Steinberg, and choral singing with Vanessa Richards. Youth, seniors and elders are especially encouraged to come tell stories about a day when they grew up or grew older. Everyone welcome.November 2 and 3 7:30pm & 8:30pm
OUT ON A LIMB Screenings
Community and professional artists working together to relate the passing of time and coming of age. See and hear what they have lived. Intergenerational. Interactive. Undeniable. Limited seating under the tents.
Poetry
DTES POETS OPEN MIC
Saturday November 2, 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. 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. Featured guest for the evening is slam poet Zaccheus Jackson, full-blooded Blackfoot (Piikani). Joining us after the afternoon Poetry Slam, Zaccheus’ fusion of storytelling and urban guerrilla poetry shares some of his experience of homelessness and addiction – it’s non-fiction, socially based and opinionated, just the way we like it. Sign up for a 10 minute spot at the Open Mic. Hosted by Diane Wood. Free
Theatre
PROJECT LIMELIGHT
Saturday November 2, 7pm – 7:30pm
SFU Woodward’s World Art Centre, 149 W. Hastings
Project Limelight is a free performing arts program for young people living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Project Limelight unleashes the imagination, awakens curiosity and gives children the opportunity to experience the magic of applause. This program offers youth living in the inner-city a safe place to build an artistic community. Project Limelight Society has collaborated with Vancity’s Office of Community Engagement, SFU Woodward’s, East of Main Cafe and Strathcona Community Centre for this presentation. We are thrilled to have Project Limelight back at the Festival to share their love of performing. Free