“I love the Downtown Eastside community because of its beauty and its strength, its refusal to SHUT UP and its insistence upon justice.”
Na, Megwich, “X”, 2001, The Soul of Vancouver
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WELCOME TO THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE
HEART OF THE CITY FESTIVAL
Celebrating our 10th Anniversary
23 October – 3 November, and special post-Festival events on November 8 – 10, 2013
This is an exciting year for the Heart of the City Festival as the upcoming festival will be our Tenth Anniversary!
What an amazing last decade it has been since the founding of the festival in 2004: our collective vision – to become a leader in community art practice in Canada; and our mandate – to support and promote the diverse culture, heritage, artists, activists and great stories about Vancouver’s incredible Downtown Eastside community.
We have much to celebrate since our founding. The festival, and the Downtown Eastside community, is now recognized across Canada as a leader in community arts; and since our founding the festival has presented over 1,000 events featuring approximately 10,000 artists of all ages, backgrounds, ability, cultural background and art forms – from Chinese seniors to housing activists and historians, from cultural treasures to students and emerging artists, from visual artists to media and spoken word artists, and from local street musicians to First Nation showcases.
We are now working on the 10th Anniversary Festival and have some exciting plans and projects in the works: from profiling the history of Chinatown around the corner of Pender and Carrall Streets; to cultural activity along Hastings Street; and to special music concerts events that will profile local artists, residents and commemorative milestones. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months as we confirm our plans.
While you are visiting our site, please enjoy our new addition to the home page of this website – DIGITAL STORIES: Eastside Stories- The People. The Voices. Here you will find four fascinating oral history digital stories on the legendary Hogan’s Alley; the fight to stop the freeway; the fight to gain recognition of the Downtown Eastside as a community; and on the urban aboriginal experience in the Downtown Eastside.
And if you are curious about last year’s festival, over in the right sidebar you will find a link to the 2012 Festival interactive program guide. This guide profiles all the events of last year’s festival and features a number of articles on the arts, culture and heritage of the Downtown Eastside.
See you at the Festival!
As always,
Terry Hunter
Executive Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre
Artistic Producer, Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival
P.S. This year we are also celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Vancouver Moving Theatre!
