WELCOME
It is an honour and a pleasure to work with our associate and community partners to present the 4th Annual Heart of the City Festival.
At this year’s festival you will find old favourites, annual celebrations, ongoing community discussions, and community treasures alongside new and fresh elements: from Asian Canadian voices to DTES comedy; from activists and hip hop artists to visiting artists brought in to engage with our community; and from reflections on the 100th Anniversary of the infamous anti-Asian riots, to the powerful and compelling voice of Downtown Eastside poet Bud Osborn.
Bud Osborn writes that Downtown Eastside residents and artists are “speaking hope and possibility into situations of apparent impossibility.” Like the compelling image on the program cover by Downtown Eastside artist Richard Tetrault, we are a community of immense beauty, bitter sweet sadness, and inner strength. Our artists remind us that the best change comes from within – from within ourselves, and from within our community.
Enjoy the Festival everyone.
Terry Hunter, Executive Director
Savannah Walling, Artistic Director
Vancouver Moving Theatre
On behalf of the Carnegie Community Centre, I am pleased to welcome community members and visitors to the fourth annual Heart of the City Festival! This festival has become a delightful tradition for residents of the Downtown Eastside — a time when we get to show off the astounding variety of talent that is present here and raise our voices to tell our own stories. It is a great reward for those in the community who work so hard to make things better.
I have had the good fortune to be a part of the Festival from the very beginning, when the Carnegie Association began planning the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Carnegie building, in 2003. The Community Arts Network and the Heart of the City Festival grew out of that. Now the festival gives Downtown Eastside people the chance to develop their skills in the arts and in social organizing; to challenge perceptions of our beloved neighbourhood; to build community with people and organizations from different cultures and viewpoints; and to increase our self-confidence, as individuals and as a group, that we can succeed at work we love to do.
Thank you to the partners, artists, volunteers, and participating community organizations who make this festival happen. Thank you to Vancouver Moving Theatre for your tireless work on this annual event. Thank you everyone for attending! Enjoy the festival!
Gena Thompson, Vice-President
Carnegie Community Centre Association
Dear friends,
Welcome to the 4th Downtown Eastside Annual Heart of the City Festival.
This festival is truly a wonderful experience and celebrates and shares the genuine community expression of our local gifted artists and activists.
The festival is a celebration of culture, history, activism, people, and great stories from the Downtown Eastside.
I hope you will enjoy the exciting program that awaits you.
Yours sincerely,
Libby Davies, M.P. Vancouver East
As the Minister Responsible for the Arts, I’d like to congratulate the 4th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival that celebrates the rich creative presence of artists in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The arts are a vital part of our society. By it we exemplify and preserve the history, heritage and culture that define us as a province. Art inspires creativity and fosters that which is exceptional in us. It is a channel for fantastic innovation, extraordinary imaginations and surprising insights.
The provincial government recognizes the important role of arts and culture in British Columbia. Through the Steering Committee for the DTES Arts and Culture Strategic Framework and Investment Plan we are working to bring more residents and tourists to our galleries, heritage sites, theatres and music performances in restaurants and clubs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
On behalf of all British Columbians, I thank you for your contribution to British Columbia’s thriving and vibrant arts community. As well, I thank the many artists who, by sharing with us their talents, expand our ability to see and understand our world with unique and beautiful perspectives.
All the best in this year’s activities and may it be the most successful festival to date.
Sincerely,
Stan Hagen
Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
It is a great pleasure to welcome everyone to the 2007 Heart of the City Festival and to congratulate all the people who have helped make this and past Festivals into creative, imaginative and successful events.
Once again, this year’s Festival will showcase the talents and diversity in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside community by offering a program of music, dance, readings, spoken word, open houses, processions, workshops, exhibits, viewings, and walks.
I am especially pleased to know that this year’s Festival will include the work of Asian Canadians marking the 100th anniversary of the anti-Asian riots in Vancouver. It is important to remember our community’s history, however painful.
On behalf of the people of Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, I extend my warmest greetings and my wishes for another marvellous festival.
Sincerely,
Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, MLA
Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant
Welcome to the fourth edition of Heart of the City Festival!
The British Columbia Arts Council proudly supports this unique celebration in the centre of Vancouver. The “Downtown Eastside” is rich in creativity, culture and heritage as well as tenacity, perseverance and advocacy. Gathering at this intersection of commerce, transportation, dwellings and peoples, locals and visitors from across the region will experience all kinds of sound, movement and colour, among the sights and sounds of the “Heart of the City.” My best wishes to all participants: the artists, particularly those who live and work in the Downtown Eastside; the many individuals and sponsors who have so generously donated to the festival; and audience members of all ages and backgrounds. May you discover a new corner of the City’s heart through the performances and exhibitions of this year’s Festival.
Sincerely,
Don Shumka
Chair, BC Arts Council
On behalf of the citizens of Vancouver and my colleagues on Vancouver City Council, I am delighted to welcome everyone to the 4th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival.
It is a pleasure to see, how in just four short years, the Heart of the City Festival has become an important flagship event in the life of the Downtown Eastside. I want to congratulate the organizers, the community participants, the volunteers and the sponsors of this year’s Festival. The Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival is a shining example of how arts build community. Your leadership and commitment to your community is an inspiration to our entire City. I hope everyone enjoys the Festival!
Yours truly,
Sam Sullivan, Mayor
It is with ever increasing pride in the artistic community of the Downtown Eastside that I welcome the citizens of Vancouver to experience the creative achievements of the Heart of the City Festival. This Festival was born and raised in the Downtown Eastside and continues to reflect the community in all its extraordinary history and diversity. Congratulations to the organizers who have made the Festival an event we look forward to every year. This year’s program is interesting, instructive and most of all a community celebration. Enjoy.
Russell Anthony
Chair, Friends of the Downtown Eastside Community Arts and Vice President, Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Members: Milton Wong, Leonard Schein, Donald Shumka, Philip Owen, Russ Anthony, Jim Bishop