BC Culture Days are almost here and in Metro Vancouver you can enjoy three creative and colourful weeks of cultural, artistic, and community-based celebrations! Immerse yourself in creative and interactive programs (either free or pay-what-you-may) that highlight the artistic and cultural personality of every community. This is Canada’s largest public participation campaign for the arts!
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BC Culture Days Events in Metro Vancouver
- When: September 22 to October 15, 2023
Celebrate arts, culture, and heritage in your community through interactive events. The celebratory spirit in British Columbia is thriving, evidenced by growing registration and over 400 events across 50 diverse communities across the province.
Highlighted events in Metro Vancouver can be found below. For a full list of events throughout the province, visit Culture Days online.
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The #CHVCatchUp is a monthly series featuring the latest updates and news from Covenant House Vancouver (“CHV”). Miss604 is proud to be the Official Blog Partner of CHV. This month’s post has been written by Jason Bosher.
With your support, the young people of today can become the community leaders of tomorrow.
About Covenant House Vancouver
Covenant House Vancouver (CHV) offers a continuum of services that incorporate evidence-informed theories and practices to ensure that they care for the whole person — mind, body, and spirit. Services and programs range from Outreach and our Drop-In Centre to short- and long-term housing and support services, like counselling, that enable youth to successfully transition to independence. CHV staff work with youth individually to develop case plans that are tailored to each youth’s specific needs and goals.
One way that CHV helps youth pursue the futures that they envision for themselves is by enabling them to receive the education that they require to make their visions a reality.
CHV is over 90% privately funded, which means that youth who come to CHV thrive because of community support. As such, CHV would like to share a few stories to illustrate how it truly takes a community to raise a young person.
Meet David
David is a refugee whose parents were killed by rebels, in his homeland. He was hidden by family and made his way to Canada on a student visa…
David is a refugee whose parents were killed by rebels, in his homeland. He was hidden by family and made his way to Canada on a student visa.
David started his life in Canada with nothing. He found CHV and entered the Crisis Program.
David learned English, he went back to school, and after six months, he entered the Rights of Passage program. Here he learned life skills that would equip him for the next part of his journey.
David is now in the Hollyburn program and is now a permanent resident. He has graduated from the Community Support Worker program and works casual shifts. David also works at Deltaport. He is applying for scholarships as David wants to be a heavy equipment operator.
“I stared from zero. Everything I now know, I learned at Covenant House. They are a family to me—they taught me life skills, gave me direction, taught me what was right and wrong in Canada, they helped me get a job and go back to school.”
Meet George
George had a dream. He wanted to be a counsellor…
But, his dream didn’t fit with his parents’ plans for him. They had aspirations for their son to be a doctor or a mechanic. In an attempt to make their son concede and go along with their wishes, they restricted his TV, Internet, and even food access, so that he could not engage in his post secondary dreams. “They did everything to try and destroy my dreams.” George said.
Wanting to pursue his dream, George became estranged from his family.
George’s first engagement with CHV came through interactions with their Outreach team. The team referred him to the Crisis Program. While in the Crisis Program, he participated in cognitive behavioural therapy and regularly met with counsellors. He eventually moved into the Rights of Passage program, and has now transitioned into Hollyburn. He was initially connected to Foundry for additional support, who, in turn, connected him to a clinic closer to his home.
Thanks to generous donors who fund educational opportunities at CHV, George received a scholarship and is now in the Child and Youth Care program at Douglas College. He is on his way of fulfilling his dream of becoming a counsellor.
Meet Amalie
You have to leave everything and everyone that you know behind…
Imagine, you’re a teen who has just graduated from high school. You love your city, and you have your network of friends. Your father is known in the community as a supporter of women’s rights. Then things change. Your dad becomes a person of interest to a group in power. Suddenly, every night, one of your siblings has to stand watch, while the rest of you sleep. One day, there is a direct threat against you. What do you do?
Amalie found refuge in CHV’s Rights of Passage program. She believed in the importance of education, but there were many hurdles, such as a new language, technology, and the fact that her high school certification was not recognized here, so she had to take courses from grade 10 to 12 over again.
Amalie aspires to become a dental hygienist because she know that newcomers to Canada often suffer from poor dental hygiene and she wants to make a difference.
Amalie is one course away from being able to apply to university. A detailed account of Amalie’s journey is available on CHV’s website.
Back to School with Covenant House Vancouver
Youth who access CHV’s programs and services are resilient and highly motivated, but require community support to succeed. There are many ways in which you can support youth on their educational journeys: you can make a monetary donation to one of CHV’s programs, you can help youth with school supplies and electronics, and you can get involved by becoming a mentor.
September 30th marks the third official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to recognize and reflect on the legacy of residential “schools” in Canada. As of 2023, this is now also a stat holiday in BC. Below you’ll find a list of events around Metro Vancouver as well as additional actions and resources.
Events | Actions | Resources | Orange Shirt Day History
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Events Around Vancouver
If you are looking for a way to commemorate and recognize this day of active listening, and action (on top of wearing an orange shirt, which is a good start!) here are a few events in which you can participate around Metro Vancouver.
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For those who want to escape the city for an afternoon, evening, or even a week or two, Sage & Solace Farm’s 20-acre organic flower farm in Langley might be just the ticket. From flower foraging and yoga workshops, to dance parties under the stars, weddings, and two Airbnb suites, Sage & Solace lends itself to exploring, creating, and relaxing.
Events at the Farm in Langley
This small family farm works hard to create a safe haven for all creatures. Pull off the main road and make your way down the gravel lane toward the heritage barn, flanked by fields of flowers and you’ll feel the stress melt away.
Coming up this month, Sage & Solace is hosting the following events:
Sustainability and Conservation
“Flowers are a good way for me to get people to talk about farming,” says founder Barb Pearson. As stewards of the Fraser Valley Conservancy, Barb’s family has worked with UBC to save sick bee hives, and with SFU providing homes for the endangered barn owl. They have thousands of pollinators, birds, insects, and other creatures now inhabiting the farm due to their attention to creating an environment where wildlife thrives rather than perishes. They use no herbicides or pesticides and farm sustainably.
Be a Garden Guardian
Want to get your hands dirty? Every Wednesday and Saturday (for a minimum of 4 hours) you can come together in kinship as a Garden Guardian. As a thank you, those who donate enough hours are valid for a 30% discount on upcoming event tickets.
The farm is located at 2768 256 St in Langley and is not open to the public, it’s by appointment only or for these events. Follow the farm on Facebook and Instagram for more info.
Find more events in the Fraser Valley this fall »
