The 20th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival announces lineup
From a new musical about a historic battle to Chynatruckfunk music to cultural gatherings looking at climate action, more than 100 events happen in the neighbourhood and online
Once Upon a Time in Chinatown, Son of James.
Battle of Ballantyne Pier.
Vancouver Moving Theatre in association with Carnegie Community Centre and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians present the 20th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival at various venues in the Downtown Eastside and online from October 25 to November 5
THE 20TH ANNUAL Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival has announced a full slate of progressive, far-ranging, thought-provoking programming. With Vancouver Moving Theatre as the festival’s lead producer, the news comes on the heels of fest and VMT cofounders Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling being appointed to the Order of Canada.
This year’s theme is Grounded in Community, Carrying it Forward.
More than 100 events at over 40 DTES venues indoors and out, along with online happenings, will take place, featuring emerging, student, community, and pro artists.
Among the highlights: We Live Here II, a large-scale outdoor installation of hyper-speed videos projected onto a building wall. Produced by Radix Theatre with curator Gunargie O’Sullivan, it features new works by Downtown Eastside artists inspired by the titular theme.
Spontaneous Street Poetry is back by popular demand after last year’s launch. Poet, writer, and activist Gilles Cyrenne will lead three days of responsive writing on the sidewalks around Carnegie. Battle of Ballantyne Pier is a new musical about the violent conflict known by the same name that ensued during the 1935 Vancouver longshore workers’ strike. Guitarist and composer Tony Wilson leads The Homeless Project, a multimedia offering with original music, film, and narration that looks at housing issues in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.
The Chinatown rock band Son of James performs original Chynatruckfunk music at Once Upon a Time in Chinatown. Narrated by Elwin Xie and Shon Wong, the show explores how the pandemic affected Chinatown while celebrating Chinese-Canadian identity, resistance, and resilience.
Nathaniel Canuel’s film Smokey Devil – Underworld Street Reporter puts the iconic Downtown Eastside muralist in the spotlight. The artist is known for works depicting the toxic drug crisis and MMIWG2S, among other pressing issues.
Rosemary Georgeson and Lara Aysal are the guides for Etuaptmumk / Two-eyed Ways of Being & Seeing. Produced by The Only Animal with Firehall Arts Centre and Vancouver Moving Theatre, it brings together Indigenous knowledge holders, environmental activists, academics, and community members for cultural gatherings focused on the climate crisis.
A public talk by Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and artist Leanne Betasamosake Simpson called Listening in Our Present Moment is on the program, presented with SFU Office of Community Engagement.
For full details, see Heart of the City Festival.
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