Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival

If you love checking out the “East-Van” culture, volunteering on the Downtown East-side, tend to avoid Main & Hastings out of undertainty, or just are interested and intrigued by the mystery that the DTES presents… you should definitely come check out the Heart of the City festival. Starting on Wednesday, over 80 events will be taking place across this corner of the city, squeezed in between Gastown, Strathcona, Chinatown and the ocean. This tiny geographical niche, only a few blocks wide, is widely debated and celebrated in Vancouver. For the 8th year, the DTES’s artists and activists will have their works on display to the rest of the city.

Photo Credit: Beth Taylor (Tiddlywinkervia Flickr)

This year, the festival’s theme will coincide with Vancouver’s 125th anniversary, “Telling Our Story, Building Our Community.” The story-telling part will largely involve documentation and preservation of history. As a very early and foundational part of the city, the DTES is history-rich and it’s story is vital to the picture of Vancouver. The community building part has to do with the continual development within the DTES and all of the contributing players: volunteers at non-profit organizations, students and artists, professionals, and a variety of merging cultures including Aboriginal representatives from the community, and Chinese representatives from the neighbouring (and merging) community of Chinatown.

The festival features twelve days of music, poetry, spoken word, stories, visual arts, cultural celebrations, outdoor festivities, films, dance, processions, forums, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, mixed media, hip hop, art talks, history walks and a diverse array of artist showcases.

There are many activities to do at this festival besides be astounded by the complex intricacies of the community. One of the top picks of the events is happening on the opening night: Sweet Soul Sisters of the Downtown Eastside, playing at the Carnegie Hall at 7:3oPM for free (like many of the events of the festival!) A variety of music from jazz to international, and even an accordion concert will happen over the week.

One of my (Jessica’s) favourite events (in any city for any occasion) as well: Walking tours! Yes – by exploring a space by foot and the ability to touch, feel, smell, and listen to a knowledgeable guide, one is able to more comprehensively understand it. These are very popular events, and an entire selection will be available! One of the very coolest, in celebration (again) of Vancouver’s 125th anniversary, is all about Vancouver 125 years ago. How well can you conceptualize the city in 1886? This tour will help you! For the artists out there, there is also a mural tour of the area. Each tour is priced differently, usually locals are free or pay-as-you-can.

The festival runs from October 26 – November 6. Most events are free, but some prices vary.

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