With over 100 events scheduled, the 20th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival is packed with cultural events and artistic activities to attend, participate in and enjoy.
Photo by David Cooper
Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival 2023
When: October 25 to November 5, 2023
Where: Various Downtown Eastside locations and online
For twenty years, the Heart of the City Festival has been focused on listening and learning from the cultural practices of the community. Working with, for, and about the Downtown Eastside community to carry stories, ancestral memory, cultural traditions, lived experiences, and artistic processes to illuminate pathways of resistance and resilience.
Here are a few event highlights coming up:
9th Symposium on Reconciliation & Redress in the Arts Thursday, November 2, 10:00am | Creekside Community Recreation Centre Bringing together Coast Salish cultural leaders and accomplices to share lessons, build settler and Indigenous solidarity practices, and create training opportunities for those seeking to practice place-based redress in the arts and culture context. Tickets available here.
We Live Here II November 1, 2 & 3, 8pm – 9:30pm | Keefer & Columbia, NE corner A breathtaking, large-scale outdoor installation of hyper-speed videos run twenty minutes on a continuous loop and projected onto a large wall of a local building. This year the installation features new artwork by local BIPOC youth along with other Downtown Eastside artists, all inspired by the phrase “we live here.” Produced by Radix Theatre, with curator Gunargie O’Sullivan. Free.
Once Upon a Time on a Chinatown Night Friday November 3, 7:30pm | STRETCH Studio, 180 E Pender 2nd floor This follows the personal journey of Shon Wong and his search for family, identity and purpose. The production features original Chynatruckerfunk music by the Son of James Band, historical projections by Elwin Xie, story by Shon Wong, with narrator Ramona Mar and special guests. A Son of James production in association with Vancouver Moving Theatre. Get tickets here.
Smokey Devil – Underworld Street Reporter Saturday November 4, 7:30pm | Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main An insightful and engaging film by Nathaniel Canuel, focuses on the life of Smokey D, a locally-renowned Downtown Eastside icon and street artist known for his murals that depict memorials, the toxic drug crisis, MMIWG2S and other issues. Followed by a conversation with the artist and filmmaker. Free.
Space Explorers: The Infinite provides an incredible opportunity to delve into the mysteries of space while keeping your feet planted on Earth. This unparalleled extended reality experience is coming to Vancouver from November 15th until mid-January, 2024.
Space Explorers: The Infinite
Date: Opens November 15, 2023 until January, 2024
Location: Rocky Mountaineer – Vancouver Station (1755 Cottrell St, Vancouver)
Age requirement: The experience is accessible to those who are 8 years of age or older. Children aged 8-12, will need a waiver signed by their parent/guardian before starting the experience.
After leaving audiences starstruck in Montreal, Houston, San Francisco, and beyond, Space Explorers: The Infinite is preparing for its cosmic debut in Vancouver. This out-of-this-world exhibition is an extension of Emmy Award-winning series Space Explorers: The ISS Experience.
This journey allows visitors to venture into space, offering a virtual tour of the International Space Station (ISS). Through a series of never-before-seen 360° videos captured using advanced technology, participants will gain a rare perspective on life aboard the ISS, interact with the real-life crew, and witness breathtaking views of our precious blue home as seen from outer space. Gain a unique perspective into the daily life of astronauts through exclusive encounters with the international crew.
The Anvil Theatre in New Westminster presents a Bouge de là dance production, Through My Eyes, November 17-18, 2023 – and you can win tickets! This performance is a topsy-turvy playground where dance continually shifts with the context, inviting audiences to see the world afresh through the eyes of a child who explores.
Through My Eyes – Photo Rolline Laporte
Through My Eyes on Stage at the Anvil Theatre
Date: Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18, 2023
Showtime: 1:00pm
Location: Anvil Theatre (777 Columbia St, New Westminster)
An ode to the power of imagination, Through My Eyes stimulates the child’s senses and brings us back to one of the loveliest things about childhood – a tireless capacity for wonder.
A dancer enters the stage and discovers a ball. Intrigued, she moves toward it, carefully. As soon as she touches it, the magic of the stage is unleashed – the lights go up, the décor appears all around her, shadows play their tricks and transform one dancer into many! Now there are four of her to play together and discover a constantly changing environment: a graphical world made up of forms, colours, textures, sounds, and illusions.
Bouge de là’s mission is to create and perform prime quality dance pieces for young audiences and to develop a multitude of cultural mediation activities that promote dance. This action is deployed nationally and internationally. Children are at the heart of the company’s approach. Bouge de là offers them a beneficial and joyful dance experience, eliciting the full range of their senses and awakening in them the desire to embrace movement.
This weekend Miss604 is proud to sponsor Haunted Village at Burnaby Village Museum. There’s also a great lineup of family Halloween fun, concerts, theatre, and more. Find these and many more events and things to do around Metro Vancouver listed below:
To kick-off their biggest season to date, Zee Zee Theatre presents a free, one-on-one storytelling experience. Queer Asian Stories Collection promotes individual stories that provoke and inspire, platforming perspectives that transcend our understanding of the human condition.
Queer Asian Stories Collection From Zee Zee Theatre
Date: November 18-19 and 25-26, 2023
Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: Third floor of Vancouver Public Library Central Branch (350 Georgia St, Vancouver)
Admission: Free
For this edition, like a book, participants can ‘check out’ a human for a candid 20-minute conversation about their life experiences, culture and beliefs- including such titles as My Children of the Revolution, The Boy’s Department, (Content Warning:) Real Hot Girl Sh*t, and Maroon Mountain.
Produced by Jordy Matheson, these stories are curated by: the mother of the House of Rice, Shay Dior; Event Producer and Co-founder of Theatre as a Second Language Society Yanting Qiu; and Theatremaker and Storyteller Jaylon Han.
By checking out a title for the Queer Asian Stories Collection, participants are given a glimpse into the life and history of someone they may have not otherwise crossed paths with. “Most of the time, Asian queer people are not very comfortable in public presenting as themselves,” says curator Yanting Qiu. “There is concern in getting too personal. This project is very encouraging, and a safe setting for storytellers to be confident in connecting with their audience.”
Artistic & Executive Director of Zee Zee Theatre, Cameron Mackenzie adds: “Over the past four years, each season we work with a specific curatorial focus for the project. This year in response to the Anti-Asian hate that erupted in response to COVID we decided to focus on Queer Asian stories and have assembled an exciting curatorial team to gather and support our storytellers. This project more than any has the power to change hearts and minds which ultimately can change the world. And we really need some help with that right now.”
For more information about Zee Zees and their upcoming shows, follow their Facebook & Instagram.
