The 2011 PuSh International Performing Arts Festival kicks off next week and will run until mid-February. The festival’s mission is to engage and enrich audiences with “adventurous contemporary works in a spirit of innovation and dialogue.” For three weeks PuSh will present dozens of performances and productions, from karaoke and musicals to visual art exhibits and speed dating.
The following is a rundown of this mega, multi-venue, city-wide festival happening January 18 – February 6, 2011:
Club PuSh Club PuSh at Performance Works on Granville Island will have experimental and cutting-edge work in various formats. Marquee acts begin at 8:00pm and a live band will play nightly at 10:00pm. It’s being called the “social hub” for the festival where you can grab a drink, chill, and chat. Tickets for ClubP PuSh (January 26–30 & February 2-5) are $25 or included in your full PuSh Pass. A full schedule of acts is posted online.
General Information
Venues include the Zero-hundred block of Water Street in Gastown (between Abbott & Carrall), The Royal Canadian Legion (2205 Commercial Drive), The Cultch (1895 Venables), Heritage Hall (3102 Main), The Dance Centre (677 Davie), and Performance Works on Granville Island. Tickets range from free, to $115 for a 4-show PuSh Pass.
The festival will also celebrate and recognize Vancouver’s upcoming 125th anniversary through several events. Follow the festival on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube. The Georgia Straight will have extensive coverage and the festival is also looking for bloggers to help cover events.
Last summer Maxine’s Hideaway in the West End closed its doors to make room for a 21-storey apartment building that will be going in at Davie and Bidwell. While many recently knew it as a restaurant lounge (as Balthazar) or a cabaret, the small structure’s past has a big story to tell.
Named after Madam Maxine McGillvary, the building on Bidwell was built in 1905 and soon after rumours of secret tunnels, rum running, a brothel and the gentlemen’s club tied together most of the West End.
Gabriola 1900s. Photographer: Philip Timms. VPL Accession Number: 7624
From Gabriola (the Rogers Mansion) at Nicola and Davie, down to Maxine’s on Bidwell, then over to English Bay. Buildings were rumoured to be linked by underground passageways, linking the men at Grabiola to the ladies at Maxine’s brothel just down the street. From Maxine’s, they could also access another tunnel that would get them their rum supply coming from ships in the bay during prohibition.1
I wrote a post a few years ago about the tunnels and haven’t found much evidence to support the rumour. It appears that the tunnel to English Bay was only closed up a few years ago, with its opening near the bath house and long underground stretch all the way up to Bidwell. Other ‘folklore’ about Maxine’s includes a tale about two FBI fugitives hiding out at the brothel only to have one caught by J Edgar Hoover himself2.
Maxine’s 1936. Photographer: Stuart Thomson. Vancouver Archives Item#: CVA 99-4477
Maxine’s 1936. Photographer: Stuart Thomson. Vancouver Archives Item#: CVA 99-4476
The building expanded in the 1930s and became home to a boarding house, beauty school, lounge and restaurant over the years. Those who knew the history of Maxine’s (and who simply didn’t want more tower expansion in the West End) even held a wake for the building this past summer. Geist Magazine also wrote a eulogy3:
“I told the people how sad it was that the city was going to destroy this place and that I was a testament to the draw these places have over people, and how nobody is ever going to move to Vancouver and look at that glass highrise and say â “Boy, that place looks interesting. I bet there’s a lot of history in that place.”
The passion that the West End Neighbours have for the preservation of heritage is admirable, but unfortunately their hope that the stories and memories and secrets that they feel are contained within the walls of 1215 Bidwell will be enough to save her is misdirected, because sadly these things are all gone, locked up in the hearts and minds of the people who experienced them, and not behind the empty shell that still stands there waiting to be demolished.”
It’s recognizable facade will be preserved by the new tower development and the mockups depict a glass tower with the yellow and red Mission Revival-style heritage structure at the front. While the North West corner of Davie and Bidwell is boarded up today, it will still be interesting to see how this all pans out. I can only imagine that Madam Maxine’s famed ghost will also be curious to see the outcome.
SportBC will host its 45th annual Athlete of the Year Awards next month and while finalists are usually selected by a committee (of which I am a member) the Best of BC category has been opened up for public vote. Starting today, you can select your favourite BC athlete from the 2010 season in an online vote.
The Best of BC finalists are: Ashleigh McIvor Ski-cross gold medallist at Vancouver 2010 Danielle Lawrie Named NCAA National Player of the Year in 2010 Lauren Woolstencroft Collected 10 Paralympic medals at Vancouver 2010 (8 of which were gold) Duncan Keith Olympic gold in men’s hockey, Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, NHL’s most outstanding defenseman Maëlle Ricker 1st woman to win Olympic gold on home soil, 2010 Crystal Globe recipient overall & snowboard cross
The other night John and I took to the skies to dine 42 storeys up at Cloud 9 in the Empire Landmark. Aside from Seasons in QE Park, it has the most amazing view of Vancouver. It takes almost exactly one hour to do a full circle in the rotating restaurant, which almost feels like a ride as there’s so much to see. Every few minutes a new breathtaking scene appears – the glow of Granville’s entertainment district, Gracie’s Necklace adorning the Lions Gate, and the night skiing lights on Cypress hanging over the city like a halo.
While we managed to snap a few photos throughout our meal I thought a nighttime photo compilation from the Miss604 Flickr Group would make for a great theme this week.
“It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE is a transgressive yet tender psychosexual tale of disability and fantasy starring the late screenwriter and cerebral palsy sufferer Steven C. Stewart.” [source]
Each screening will be preceded by an hour-long audiovisual performance/presentation by Mr. Glover and following each screening there will be a Q&A session and a book signing with Mr. Glover’s books available for sale in the lobby.
Dates: January 14, 15, 16, 2011 at 7:00pm
Tickets: $20 (event is for those 18+)
Location: 1131 Howe Street, Vancouver
![[171/365] Inspirational Pickup](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5085908558_1c467b361a.jpg)
“It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE is a transgressive yet tender psychosexual tale of disability and fantasy starring the late screenwriter and cerebral palsy sufferer Steven C. Stewart.” [