Saturday October 30

Walking Tour
HOMELESSNESS AND GENTRIFICATION with CCAP

Saturday October 30, 11:30am–1pm
Meet at steps of Carnegie Community Centre, 401 Main

Learn for yourself how gentrification causes homelessness in the Downtown Eastside. Led by Wendy Pedersen and volunteers from the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP), this walking tour will go past new market housing that is pushing up land values and rents in 100 year old hotels. Learn how low-income residents are organizing to slow gentrification and preserve the good things about their community while working for more social housing. CCAP is building consensus within the community for a vision of the Downtown Eastside that hopefully the city will adopt. Visioning reports and information on gentrification can be found on their blog: www.ccapvancouver.wordpress.com. $10 for non-residents, pay what you can for local residents

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Workshop
SEED SAVING IN THE CITY
Saturday October 30, 10am-1pm
Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer

Join Maria Hunter (Dragonfly Seeds), Mojave Kaplan (Planting Seeds Project) and Robin Wheeler (Edible Landscapes) to learn seed saving basics, how to select for good traits, the politics of seeds, and how to build a seed collective. You will also learn about isolation distances, small business creation, hear stories, and work together to establish the base for a local seed chapter. This workshop is part of Cultivating Food, Cultivating Community, a fall workshop series at Strathcona Community Centre. Visit www.bcseeds.org for more information. To register, please call 604-713-1838 and quote #45504.401. Fee: $30 suggested donation; no one turned away for lack of funds.

Retreat
STUDY THE GITA: BRING BALANCE INTO YOUR LIFE
Saturday October 30, 11:30am-1pm
radha yoga & eatery, 728 Main, 2nd floor

Renew, focus and clarify at this retreat at radha that offers reflection, spiritual practice, and a path to self-knowledge. This retreat is an introductory study of the Bhagavad Gita with a focus on its application to your daily life. The Gita is an ancient sacred scripture that lives on today and addresses the balancing of outer and inner work, making emotional and devotional choices, and bringing quality to relationships with family, community and your Highest Self. For more information: 604-605-0011 or www.radhavancouver.org.
Pay as you can

Music in the Streets
DEET STREET
Saturday October 30, 12pm & 1:15pm
Starts at Carnegie Community Centre
401 Main

Four years ago, the idea formed to create a local jazz band able to make music outside on sidewalks and in outdoor areas of the ‘hood. That time has arrived! Welcome to the newest band in the DTES – Deet Street (a play on DTES Street), a fun upbeat six-piece with Brad Muirhead on sousaphone, Dennis Esson on trombone, on trumpet Malcolm Aiken and Phil Smith, Mark Boreen on saxophone, and Gary Wildeman on drums. Playing classics, jazz, a little bit of everything. Listen for them coming down the street! Free

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Open House
ST. JAMES’ ANGLICAN CHURCH
Saturday October 30, 12pm-5pm
St. James’ Anglican Church, 303 E. Cordova

Open Houses at St. James’ are a wonderful opportunity to see first hand this heritage building and to take in a variety of parish activities! At 1:30pm come and wander around the unique architectural structure, built in the 1930s, and talk with Church historians.
2pm Public Talk Listen to Art Historian, Dr. Barry Magrill, give a public talk about the church’s architecture entitled: A Victorian Knight at the Medieval-Inspired Church of St James’. Dr. Magrill will demonstrate both how the architecture is significant in Vancouver and Canada and situate the design in an overall historical context between the final days of the Gothic Revival and the new days of concrete and massing of forms found in the early skyscrapers of New York and Chicago. There will be time for questions and discussion following the talk.
3pm Guided Tour Long-time parishioner Allan Duncan will conduct a guided tour of the Church that includes fascinating details, century-old artifacts and intriguing stories about its construction and the parish itself, which dates back to 1881.
4pm Songs and Arias for a Fall Afternoon Relax in the splendid acoustic and divine inspirational environment of St. James’ and be soothed by the heavenly music of Maestro Gerald Harder, the emerging artist Ruth Greenaway-Robbins (soprano) and a special guest. You will be amazed by what you hear! A collection will be taken in support of the St. James’ Music Academy, an initiative that offers classical music training for inner-city children. Everyone welcome.

Music in the Streets
SNOWY OWL DRUMMERS
Saturday October 30, 2pm-3:30pm
Starts at Pigeon Park, Carrall & Hastings

A Music in the Streets project, the Snowy Owl Drummers drum the community’s heartbeat. Feel the rhythm, sing the songs! Free

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Presentation
LEARNING THE ART OF TAIKO
Saturday October 30, 4pm-5pm
Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main

During the month of October members of the DTES based professional taiko group Uzume Taiko have worked with the Seymour Elementary Youth Taiko group and students from the Uzume Taiko Drum Studio. They’ve trained in basic drills and form, as well as performance of taiko songs. (www.uzume.com) Join them today as the pros and the students share their experience in the practice of the art form of taiko. Free


Film/Video
EVENING OF DOCUMENTARIES #2
Saturday October 30, 6pm-10pm
Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main
Free
Four years ago, in association with Humanities 101 and with help from the Neighbourhood Small Grants program, Colleen Carroll established a film series especially tailored for the Downtown Eastside. Documentaries for Thinkers has become a regular Saturday evening program at Carnegie. The festival is pleased to collaborate on this evening of memorable, exciting and thought-provoking films and videos.

6pm-6:50pm Cedar and Bamboo, 1788 (2010)
Chinese people arrived on the Western shores of Canada many generations ago and have formed unique relations and shared many experiences with indigenous people. Cedar and Bamboo explores those relationships through the lives of four people of Chinese and Aboriginal roots in BC. Their stories reveal the difficult circumstances of aboriginal people and early Chinese immigrants that both led to these unions but also challenged these families to stay as a whole. Directed by Dianna E. Leung and Kamala Todd, produced by Karin Lee and Jennifer Lau, with the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC. (22”) As a companion to Cedar and Bamboo, 1788 provides academic commentary from Harley Wylie of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation and Professors Jean Barman and Henry Yu of the University of British Columbia on the shared histories in British Columbia of these two peoples. (10”) Producer Karin Lee and Harley Wylie, who appears in 1788, will attend.

6:50pm-7:38pm I am the Canadian Delegate (2007)
Director Wesley Lowe’s inspiring documentary tells the story of BC’s Douglas Jung (1924-2002), a World War II veteran who was Canada’s first Chinese Canadian Member of Parliament. Jung’s story embodies the struggles and victories of many early Chinese Canadians. Born and raised in Victoria at a time when ethnic Chinese were denied the rights of full citizenship, Jung nonetheless volunteered to fight for his country. The wartime service of Jung and others like him saw Chinese Canadians finally gain equal rights, including the vote in 1947, opening the door for Jung’s groundbreaking political career. (48”)

7:45pm-8:25pm A Tribe of One (2003)
“I will tell you once, but you must never ask me again.” With these words from her mother, Rhonda Larrabee discovered the startling truth about her family. She was not of Chinese and French descent, as she had been told while growing up in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Rhonda’s mother was First Nations and was hiding her roots because of the prejudice she faced. With beautiful archival footage and compelling interviews, this documentary directed by Eunhee Cha captures Rhonda’s quest to embrace her hidden history. As she works to restore the land, culture and pride of the Qayqayt First Nations, she becomes an inspiration to the generations that follow. Thank you to the National Film Board of Canada. (40”)

8:30pm-9:11pm Wayson Choy: Unfolding the Butterfly (secrets and memories) (2000)
“If no one preserves and treasures what has happened here before, it will all disappear… the human voice that tells the story is one of the essential ways by which we connect with each other…we must treasure that.”  – Wayson Choy
This inspiring documentary explores the rich and extraordinary life of storyteller, sage, writer and activist Wayson Choy through his own words. He recalls his childhood in Vancouver’s Chinatown and talks about the process of writing, memory, racism and the importance of history. While Wayson’s writing focuses specifically on Chinese Canadians, his message crosses the barriers of ethnic origin. Directed by Michael Glassbourg. (41”)

9:15pm-10:10pm Today is a Good Day: Remembering Chief Dan George (1998)
This uplifting film goes to the very soul of the late Chief Dan George to tell the story of this unassuming man who didn’t become an actor until he was nearly 60, yet managed to change forever the very image of Aboriginal people in popular cinema. Using a deft combination of family stories, interviews, film clips and poignant re-creations, the film takes us inside the life of Chief Dan George. Writer and director Loretta Todd is a skilled Cree/Métis filmmaker who skillfully weaves a narrative that examines the whole man, from his deep and abiding love for his wife, to his determination to provide for his family and his sense of humour. The result is a warmly personal and emotional film. (55”)


Community Celebration
3rd ANNUAL FAMILY HALLOWE’EN DANCE
Saturday October 30, 6:30pm-9pm
Strathcona Community Centre Gymnasium 601 Keefer

Join all the spooks in this spooktacular evening of dancing and fun at this all ages community event. Come dressed in costume, pose with your family and receive a free 4×6 photo print to take home. There will be prizes for best costumes, as well as artfully carved pumpkins, festive goodies and ghoulish punch. This community event is organized with love by neighbourhood parents and sponsored by the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program. For more information visit www.strathconaevents.ca. Everyone welcome. Free

Multi media Performance
SHADOW MACHINE Closing night
Saturday October 30, 8pm
W2 Storyeum, 151 W. Cordova

See PreFestival for show description.
For tickets call 604-684-2787
or www.ticketstonight.ca

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Opening Reception
PANDORA’S TOY BOX Diane Wood
Saturday October 30, 7pm-9pm
Lolo’s Café, 611 Alexander
Exhibition October 30 to December 24

Why is the Bad Girl always blamed for the evils of the world? An exhibit of new artwork by Diane Wood—mixed media painting, collages and dolls from the dark side—exposes the unspeakable danger that lurks in little Pandora’s childhood playthings. Diane is a DTES resident, poet, community activist and gardener. ‘Hope’ you can join us on Opening Night for a poetry reading with Diane, Shauna Paull, Joanne Arnott and Beth Buchanan. Thanks to Lolo and Chef a la Carte. Regular business hours at Lolo’s are Monday to Friday, 11am to 2pm. Everyone welcome. Free

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DJs and Dancing
HI-5
Saturday October 30, 11pm-3am
W2 Storyeum, 151 W. Cordova

A stacked lineup of Vancouver’s most talented and beloved DJs. Two separate rooms with lots of DJs, visual images and projections throughout the course of the night to keep you dancing. It’s a high energy weekend in the DTES and what better way to end Saturday than by dancing the night away! $10 at the door