(l-r) Terry Hunter (Executive Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre/Artistic Producer, DTES Heart of the City Festival), Mayor Gregor Robertson and Gena Thompson (President, Carnegie Community Centre Association)

This line of fiery poetry exemplifies the theme of this year’s festival: Voices from the Heart.

Here you will hear voices that inform, raise awareness and educate about the stories, concerns, values, heritage, art forms, community plans and exciting art generated in Vancouver’s founding community.

Voices that speak to the wisdom and power of our community and the challenges it faces. And voices that celebrate the neighbourhood’s indigenous stories so that old and new community members can draw strength from the community’s heritage, feel pride in its residents and values and understand its roots.

Thank you to our community partners and all those in the community who have helped realize this year’s event, our ninth annual festival. Thank you to our festival team who have worked with such dedication to produce, promote and present the many events throughout our neighbourhood at this year’s festival. And a special heartfelt thank you to Teresa Vandertuin (Associate Artistic Producer) for the passion, commitment, care, thoroughness and sense of humour she pours into the festival.

See you at the Festival everyone! Enjoy!

Terry Hunter
Executive Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre
Artistic Producer, DTES Heart of the City Festival

Savannah Walling
Artistic Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre
Associate Artistic Director, DTES Heart of the City Festival

We will be adding more locations as program guides are delivered, so check back.

You can also download a pdf of the program guide. (This is a large file and may take a few minutes to download.)

Locations

Carnegie Centre* – Hastings and Main
Roundhouse Community Centre*

SOUTH MAIN
Western Front  - 303 East 8th
Mt Pleasant Library and Community Centre* – Kingsway near Broadway
The Rhizome Café  - 317 Broadway
Gene Café  - Kingsway & 8th Ave
Our Town Café – Kingsway & Broadway
Bonchaz Bakery – Main & Broadway
Bean Around the World – 2528 Main
Waves Coffee – 2588 Main
Liberty Bakery – Main & 21st
Bean Around World – 3598 Main
Locus – 4121 Main
The Grind – 4124 Main
Blends – 4198 Main
Saltspring Coffee Co. – 4295 Main
Splitz – 4242 Main
Café Montmarte – 4362 Main
Solly’s Bagels – 28 th Ave, near Main

COMMERCIAL DRIVE
Uprising Bakery – 1697 Venables
Kettle Society – 1725 Venables
Vancouver East Cultural Centre – Venables & Victoria
Zawa – 920 Commercial Drive
Adelina’s – 952 Commercial Drive
Food Co-op – 1034 Commercial Drive
Brittannia Library* – 1000 block Commercial Drive
Joe’s – 1150 Commercial Drive
Havana – 1212 Commercial Drive
Turk’s Café – 1280 Commercial Drive
Highlife Records – 1317 Commercial Drive
Co-op Bookstore – 1390 Commercial Drive
Café du Soleil – 1393 Commercial Drive
Vera’s Burgers – 1438 Commercial Drive
Euro Café – 1468 Commercial Drive
Il Mercato* – Commercial & First Ave
Washing Wells Laundry – 1910 Commercial Drive
Café Deux Soleils – 2096 Commercial Drive
JJ Bean – 2206 Commercial Drive

OTHER AREAS
Aboriginal Friendship Centre 1607 Hastings East
Hastings VPL Library Branch 2674 Hastings East

With more than 80 events at over 20 locations throughout the Downtown Eastside scheduled over twelve days in this year’s Festival (October 24 – November 4), choosing what to see and hear becomes a delightful challenge. Here is our thrilling Top 14 Festival Picks for 2012!

1. Singing History: An evening of songs to celebrate the history of the Downtown Eastside community and its fight for human rights. Hear the uplifting voices and harmonies of Songtree, Quatro, The Diggers, Gathering Place Choir, Solidarity Notes Labour Choir and more! Led by Musical Director Earle Peach.
   Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Wed Oct 24, 7:30pm. Free
2. Howling Comedy: The Heart of the City Festival is tickled silly to present an evening of clowning and stand up comedy that celebrates the resilience and diversity of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The lineup features comics from Stand Up for Mental Health and founder David Granirer, along with the wild and hilarious Sam Bob, Canadian comedy legend Gina Bastone, and local favourite Muriel Williams. What’s so funny about mental health? Let’s find out!
   Gallery Gachet, 88 E. Cordova. Thurs Oct 25, 7pm. Free
3. Festival Art Stroll: In the tradition of gallery crawls, the Festival presents its’ first Art Stroll to community galleries. This special event starts with a sidewalk procession led by Brad Muirhead and the Hastings Street Band and travels to Gallery Gachet for the opening reception of the Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show, and then from 6pm to 9pm, six more community focused galleries in the neighbourhood open their doors.
   Oppenheimer Park, 488 Powell. Fri Oct 26, Procession starts 5:30pm. Free
4. Barrio Flamenco: Flamenco for the People: Celebrate the spirit of the Downtown Eastside with an unforgettable night of live flamenco music and dance! Flamenco is an art form by and for the people, danced and played with spirit, ferocity, joy, laughter and tears. The evening features some of the most compelling flamenco artists in the city, hosted by Kelty McKerracher.
   Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Fri Oct 26, 7:30pm. Free
5. Survival, Strength, Sisterhood: Power of Women in the Downtown Eastside: A short film by Alejandro Zuluaga and Harsha Walia, based on a concept by the Downtown Eastside Power of Women Group. Join the filmmakers and participants for a screening of a film that focuses on the voices of women who live, love, and work in the Downtown Eastside, and celebrates the complex and diverse realities of women organizing for justice.
   Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Sat Oct 27, 4pm. Free
6. Film, Talk, Unplugged: Joe Keithley and Bloodied But Unbowed: Vancouver filmmaker Susanne Tabata’s documentary Bloodied But Unbowed tells a tale of rebellion and music – a chronicle of the late 1970s/early 1980s Vancouver punk rock scene. Following the screening, Joe Keithley, Canada’s godfather of punk and founder and lead guitarist of Vancouver punk band D.O.A., will participate in a Q & A and perform solo unplugged. A fabulous evening, as Joe says, to talk “about the good days in the future.”
   Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Sat Oct 27, Film 7:45pm, Performance 9pm. Free
7. The Festival is thrilled to feature Evelyn Lau, City of Vancouver Poet Laureate at two festival events:
   1. Dream of Words: Poetry and Music: In the charmed setting of the Classical Chinese Garden, the Festival is delighted to present a jewel of an afternoon concert with Evelyn Lau, poet and historian Jim Wong-Chu, and Qiu Xia He and Andre Thibault of Silk Road Music.
      Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall. Sun Oct 28, 2pm. By donation to the Garden
   2. Eat Rice, Talk Story: Local Chinese Canadian writers including Bob Sung, Larry Wong, Steven Wong and Evelyn Lau share food and stories that celebrate the sharing of food and the nurturing of community. “The best medicine is socializing with family and friends.”
      Chinese Cultural Centre Museum, 555 Columbia. Tues Oct 30, 7:30pm. Free
8. The Wayne Lavallee Band: The unique fusion of Wayne Lavallee’s folk/rock acoustic style with traditional Cree chanting has made this West Coast artist an in demand performer whose work is fresh and innovative. A Juno nominee and award-winning musician, this is a great opportunity for Vancouver audiences to hear Wayne with his full band.
   InterUrban Gallery, 1 E. Hastings. Sun Oct 28, 7:30pm. Free
9. TinPan Chef: A Cooking Competition and Food Forum: Six chefs, three teams, six hotplates, three boxes from the FoodBank, one hour! TinPan Chef is a cooking competition and food forum that uses sealed food boxes from the FoodBank to draw attention to the challenges of maintaining a healthy diet on a limited income. Diane Brown of the One Pot Cookbook leads the team, with judges from the community scoring the dishes for taste, appearance and creativity.
   Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Mon Oct 29, 12:30pm. Free
10. Building: a Social Writing Evening: Join the Downtown Eastside’s exciting Thursdays Writing Collective directed by Elee Kraljii Gardiner for a raucous social writing session of creative writing prompts based on architectural and poetic space. Geist magazine has said the Thursdays Writing Collective is “the biggest, boldest, and by far the most vital conspiracy of writers operating in Vancouver at present.” Participants will have the opportunity to share what they’ve written.
    Dunlevy Snackbar, 433 Dunlevy. Thurs Nov 1, 7pm. Free
11. DTES Front and Centre: Ballads, Blues & Rock ‘n Roll: An exciting evening of original ballads and blues, and favourite rock ‘n roll tunes; featuring members of the Downtown Eastside community and regulars of the Carnegie Music program including Patrick Foley, Mike Richter, Corinthian Clark, Darren Morgan, Stan Hudac, and Dalannah Gail Bowen.
    Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main. Fri Nov 2, 7:30pm. Free
12. Kutz & Dawgs, a new Hip Hop Musical: Inspired by the story lines of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, culturally and socially diverse youth cast members in collaboration with professional artists created an original hip hop musical. In this thought-provoking work, the young performers portray rivalling Kutz (alley cats) and Dawgs (junkyard dogs) in a cautionary tale that explores the destructive force of gang violence. Artistic Director Elaine Carol directed and co-wrote the script with original music by composers Paul Bray, Ndidi Cascade and Cris Derkson, choreography by Dianna David and fight choreography by David Bloom.
    Russian Hall, 600 Campbell, Friday November 2, 8pm. Sliding scale $5 – $20
13. Dal Richards Combo & Carnegie Jazz Band with special guests: The legendary Dal Richards Combo kicks of this evening of hot jazz; followed by the Carnegie Jazz Band, the Downtown Eastside’s enthusiastic amateur jazz band under the wonderful tutelage of multi-instrumentalist and composer Brad Muirhead. Joining the Carnegie Jazz Band is special guest vocalist Dalannah Gail Bowen and Juno award winning trombonist Hugh Fraser. Bring your dancing shoes! 
    Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender. Sat Nov 3, 8pm. Sliding scale $2 – $20
14. Ukrainian Hall’s Community Concert, Supper & Community Dance: The festival ends on a high note with three special events on one day at the Ukrainian Hall. Start your afternoon with the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians Community Concert, featuring the Barvinok Choir, the Vancouver Folk Orchestra and the Dovbush Dancers. Lively music, invigorating dance and colourful costumes beckon us. Special guests include Axe Capoeira with dynamic Brazilian dances and percussion; brilliant spoken word artist Zaccheus Jackson; and a thrilling aural treat of gamelan, bagpipes and Ukrainian singing with Mearingstone and guests. Immediately after the concert is a delicious traditional Ukrainian Supper, followed by the Community Dance with the musical fun of Russell Shumsky (marimba, percussion), Bud Kurz (guitar), Kathleen Nisbet (fiddle) and dance caller Marlin Prowell. Grab your friends, neighbours, the whole family, and head on down to this toe-tappin’ heartwarming event.
    Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender. Sun Nov 4, Concert 3pm, Supper follows. $20
    For advance sales contact 604-254-3436.
    Dance 7:30pm, pay what you can

Most events are free or by suggested donation.

The 2012 Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival has been made possible with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming, City of Vancouver Cultural Services and Great Beginnings Program, Friends of the Downtown Eastside, VanCity Savings, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BCGEU, program guide sponsor Port Metro Vancouver, and media sponsors Georgia Straight and CTV.

For information about the Festival events or to set up any interviews, please contact Festival Publicist Jodi Smith, JLS Entertainment. Tel: (604) 736.4939. Email: jlsmgmt@lightspeed.ca

presents

The 9^th Annual Downtown Eastside
Heart of the City Festival

Wednesday 24 October to Sunday 4 November, 2012

Over 80 events at over 25 venues throughout the Downtown Eastside

With a focus on the rich and diverse communities of the Downtown Eastside, the ninth annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates the creative and committed artists and activists who thrive in the heart of Vancouver.

The festival features twelve days of music, stories, songs, poetry, cultural celebrations, films, theatre, dance, processions, spoken word, forums, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, mixed media, art talks, history talks and history walks, and a diverse array of artist showcases.

To celebrate the talents, wisdom and power of our home community, the 2012 Festival theme is: “Voices from the Heart.” The Downtown Eastside is the heart of the City, the founding neighbourhood where Vancouver began, and is the home of choice for thousands of the City’s residents; this year’s Festival reflects the essence of the Downtown Eastside – its local artists and diverse art forms, history, people and cultures.

The Festival takes inspiration from the words of Downtown Eastside poet and historian Sandy Cameron:

Each of us has something to tell, something to teach. We speak the language of the heart – here – in the Downtown Eastside – the soul of Vancouver.

A special partnership this year with Miscellaneous Productions presents Kutz & Dawgs, a new Hip Hop Musical, directed by Elaine Carol. WithRomeo and Juliet and West Side Story as inspiration, the young performers portray rivaling Kutz (alley cats) and Dawgs (junkyard dogs) in a cautionary tale of the destructive force of gang violence.

Media contact: Jodi Smith, JLS Entertainment, 604.736.4939 jlsmgmt@lightspeed.ca

By Savannah Walling and Ruth Howard

In November 2009, Vancouver Moving Theatre and Toronto’s Jumblies Theatre joined hands across Canada to present the Downtown Eastside Arts4All Institute—six days of learning, idea-sharing, films, panels, art-making, mutual support, and inspiration. Produced for the first time in western Canada, and specially tailored for the Downtown Eastside community, the institute provided an in-depth introduction to principles and practices of art that engage with and build community.

Host director Savannah Walling and lead artist and facilitator Ruth Howard joined forces to adapt an intensive course developed by Jumblies in Toronto over the past three years as part of the Jumblies Studio. The name 4All springs from a close relationship between this initiative and Jumblies Offshoot project, Arts4All, at Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre.

Joining Savannah and Ruth as facilitators were Canadian community play movers Terry Hunter (VMT), Varrick Grimes (Toronto/Newfoundland ), Keith McNair (Jumblies), Cathy Stubington (Runaway Moon Theatre, BC), and Lina de Guevera (Puente Theatre, BC). Panels on forming community partnerships and making room for diversity reflected a spectrum of community-engaged arts as practiced by Judy Marcuse (ICASC), Rosemary Georgeson (urban ink), Bruce Ray (gallery gachet), jil p. weaving (Vancouver Parks Board), and others. Coordinator Susan Gordon organized nourishing lunches. Community partners included Carnegie Community Centre, Community Arts Council of Vancouver, DTES Heart of the City Festival, UBC’s Humanities 101, Ukrainian Hall, and Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.

Reflecting most community art projects, the twenty-one participants represented a diversity of backgrounds, skills, interests, and purposes. Most were local, but some arrived from other neighbourhoods, from Victoria, from Kamloops. All shared an interest in gaining skills and in processes that engage with community. Participants included veterans in the field wanting to revisit basics, challenge skill-set weaknesses, learn from and share with peers; professional and emerging artists wanting to engage more effectively with communities and learn how this differs from mainstream arts presentations; and others who’ve participated in a variety of arts-related community activities wanting to learn how to go about becoming professionals in the field.

Some wanted to put Downtown Eastside-created projects onto the road to share with friends and relatives, to shed light on realities of city life, and to inspire other communities to put on their own plays. Most had big or small projects in mind and were ready for tips and tools on project start-ups; on facilitation, communication, conflict-resolution, delegation; on preparing (and maintaining) budgets, business plans, and funding proposals; on forming partnerships; on assembling collaborative creative relationships; and on documentation, evaluation, and legacies.

Big questions were addressed. What do artists need to know to work successfully with community members on arts projects? How do we create projects accessible to diverse levels of experience, age, cultural and social backgrounds, and openness? How do we ensure that community-engaged artists focus on a community’s real issues and understand that when we risk opening up old wounds with tough themes, we must ensure that these communities and individuals will be okay after we leave?

The energy and enthusiasm during the institute were contagious. Collaborations were great fun. Participants appreciated the diversity and willingness of people to be themselves, the respect and humour displayed throughout, and the shared wealth of resources and breadth of life and artistic experience. Everyone learned.

BIOS

Savannah Walling is Artistic Director of Vancouver Moving Theatre, and interdisciplinary company producing community-engaged art and the DTES Heart of the City Festival.

Ruth Howard is a theatre designer and creator and founding Artisitic Director of Jumblies Theatre, a company that makes art with, for, and about people and places of Toronto. Contact: Info@Jumbliestheatre.org www.jumbliestheatre.org

What a great day! Oh boy. Had an amazing rehearsal with His Honour Steven Point, learning one of his songs which we will perform together at the Carnegie Volunteer Christmas Supper in December. Then had our Carnegie Jazz Band gig to a full packed house of jazz fans.  This is my church.

And if that wasn’t enough. The artists at the Aboriginal Artist Showcase blew me away. Such depth. Power. Commitment. Spoken from the heart.  So great to see our DTES own Muriel ‘X’ Williams up there with her powerful poem: “I love the Downtown Eastside community because of its beauty and its strength, its refusal to SHUT UP and its insistence upon justice.”

~ Terry

What a screwy wonderful day. Had a completely wacky morning complete with miscommunication. Missed the Carnegie Jazz Band rehearsal as I had understood it started at 12:30. Alas it was 11:30. A little hair raising as tomorrow we play our big gig – with guest Dal Richards – for His Honour Steven Point.

Then off to the Aboriginal Friendship Centre to see the film The Squaw Hall Project: A Community Remembers (urban ink/Twin Fish) and to meet the three young native (Chilcotin) woman who worked with these two wonderful companies to produce this film. So inspiring to see the work that Rosemary Georgeson, Nicola Harwood and the other artists from these two companies did together with the folks with Williams Lake area. And such a pleasure to help out to bring these three young woman – and their supporter Sage Birchwater – to Vancouver to show their work.  Youth learning from elders. Elders passing on knowledge, history and wisdom.

Exhausted at the end of the day. Slept nine hours.

~ Terry

Another stressful morning.  Up dark and early to prepare for the day, especially an afternoon rehearsal of songs from We Are the People, which we are presenting on Monday night at the CUPE national convention.  Too much on my plate, including preparing all the contracts for the folks in the CUPE gig. But saved by Savannah Tennessee who kindly took over hosting a walk I was supposed to do.

Got to the 2pm rehearsal at the Canadian Memorial Church with a very talented group of 10 DTES and pro musicians we have brought together to do the gig, led by the amazing Neil Weisensel.  It was so great to listen to the group rehearse, to relax,  and to do some yoga while the group practiced. They sounded fantastic. I was blown away, yet again, by the depth and power of the songs that are coming out of our community. And the talent of people from our community: Mike Richter, Gena Thompson, Robyn Livingstone, Andy Kostynuik and Rosanne Gervais. Really looking forward to this gig.

Despite my trepidations about doing this gig in the middle of our festival, I am now very glad to have made the choice to take it on.

~ Terry