Jason Bouchard is the lead artist for the CACV Creative Pathways contribution to the annual Spring Festival event to celebrate the Lunar / Chinese New Year.

photo: Todd Wong

Our event started at Victory Square with musicians and performers and parade to Chinatown to be part of the celebration.

Jason facilitated workshops so that community members can be part of the preparations for this event. See our online community centre for photos. Click here.

CACV’s Activities Committee organized rabbit ear making crafts at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. This is the third community arts activity we’ve done at the garden and we look forward to many more happy collaborations.

On Thursday, February 3, the Thursdays Writing Collective used some “rabbit prompts” for their writing. You can read several of the pieces by clicking here.

Some interesting links:

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden

See photos of the mosaics of the 12 animals at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden.

Here’s the story of the 12 animals:

The Story is as Follows:

Long ago, the Jade Emperor of China decided to create a means of deciding time so he told all the animals that the first twelve animals across the river would be the winners and they would have a year of the zodiac named after them.
The Rat and the Cat jumped onto the Ox’s back and had almost reached the other bank when the rat pushed the cat in order to be first, this is the reason cats neither like mice or water and never attained a position on the zodiac. Just before the Ox was about to climb ashore, the Rat jumped onto land to become the first animal on the zodiac, the Ox was the second. The Tiger clawed his way to the river bank to claim third place.
Fourth place was awarded to the Rabbit who had hopped across on stepping stones a floating log.
The Dragon was fifth because he had been delayed helping the other animals.
The Horse would have been sixth if not for the Snake who had clung onto one of its hooves and startled it backwards. Therefore the Snake took the sixth position and the Horse the seventh.
The next animals to arrive were the Goat, Monkey and Rooster who had worked together to cross, the rooster had found a raft and the goat and monkey had pushed it and cleared the weeds that were holding them back. Therefore the Goat became Eighth, the Monkey the Ninth and the Rooster the Tenth.
The dog was Eleventh because he had taken a bath.
Lastly, the Boar became the last animal of the zodiac. He had been late after snacking and falling asleep along the way and was therefore named the final animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

So it’s the Year of the Dragon in 2012. Start thinking about your mask!

The halos are up at  four DTES parks. Check them out at Victory Square, Pigeon Park, Oppenheimer and Strathcona.

They will be up over the winter and you just need to look up to see them!

They are the culmination of eight community workshops and hours of work by a number of local artists.

The halos will be shining all winter long nicely launched on Thursday December 16th with the Illuminations Parade and Celebration starting at Victory Square. Led by the DEET Street Band (thanks to BC Arts Council for the Artists in the Streets Program) we ended at the Strathcona Community Centre.

See photos below of the halos under construction in workshops.

The Neighbourhood Illumination Project is a Creative Pathways/  Community Arts Council of Vancouver and produced by the  Still Moon Arts Society.

Photos from Stillmoon Blog at:

http://stillmoon.org/?p=1321

Follow the history of this project at:

http://stillmoon.org/?p=1273

with more photos of the creation process.

At our AGM, Ashley Hardill was elected for a one-year term as Treasurer  of the CACV board.

STEPHEN’S TALK – COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL AGM

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2010

(to follow Aboriginal greeting and acknowledgement of territory)

I would like to tell you a little about my involvement in the arts, how it has affected me, and how I believe the arts can affect a community such as the Downtown Eastside.

I grew up in Lytton, British Columbia,and moved to Vancouver in 1978, while in my early 20s. In 1992, I moved to the Downtown Eastside. I found some aspects of life in this area frightening at first, but soon made friends and became comfortable here.

In 2003, the building that houses the Carnegie Centre reached 100 years of age and the Carnegie Centre, headed at that time by Michael Clague, decided to celebrate that milestone anniversary throughout the year. The first big event was a parade, held in April of 2003. Friends of mine encouraged me to participate, which I did, along with many community members who became involved in preparing for this event. The parade took place over a four block stretch of Hastings Street and the celebration included everything from horse-drawn carriages, a pipe band and stilt walkers to a mummy float, bubble blowing, poetry reading and drum troupes.

Later that year, our community, with the support of the Carnegie Centre, the expertise of Terry Hunter and Savannah Walling of Vancouver Moving Theatre Company, and the assistance and efforts of many other organizations and individuals, came together to stage “In the Heart of a City, the Downtown Eastside Community Play” at the Japanese Hall. I had the privilege of portraying the character called “The Old One”, a First Nations man with memories of the Downtown Eastside, its stories and its residents, both past and present.

Putting on the community play was a huge undertaking. Most of the participants, like myself, were community members without prior experience as actors, singers, makers of costumes and props,etc. There were many challenges, and putting together a production of such magnitude was a risk, there was a lot at stake for our community. However, with a great deal of work and the support and expertise of a number of professionals, we did it!

My experience in the community play has led to other acting opportunities in the years since. I have been involved in such productions as The Shadows Project,Crime and Punishment and MinotaurDreams. I have also been inspired by our community to write poetry discussing the issues facing us in this part of Vancouver that is so often described as a place of poverty and despair but is truly a community of great warmth, acceptance and strength, despite its problems. Currently, I am a member of a community choir and a traditional drum group.

I became involved in the community play for several reasons, including wanting to change the attitudes of people who discriminate against Aboriginal people, to learn from the community, and to change the “fear factor” of those outside the community. I am a board member of an organization of Aboriginal people that is based in Victoria. The other board members feared coming here for a conference and only came after a lot of persuasion. I believe that kind of attitude can be changed by our community building bridges through the arts.

Taking part in the community play and the other projects and plays since then has increased my connections within, and knowledge of, the Downtown Eastside community and has also enabled me to meet people from other communities in Vancouver who are in the arts, or interested in the arts. I am proud to represent Aboriginal and disabled people and feel I have gained a voice to speak about the issues we face both within our community and in the larger community.

I think that the opportunity to take part in arts initiatives in our community gives people a voice to express their views, pride in their cultures and an opportunity to reach out and connect with others within and outside our area. The discipline and commitment required to take on a role in a theatre project helps to build dignity, self-confidence and pride and, with most residents on limited incomes, any monetary compensation is important and appreciated.

My involvement in Downtown Eastside arts projects has provided me with an opportunity for personal growth and skills development, has developed my understanding of people and issues in our community and has allowed me to meet and work with professional artists. I believe the Community Arts Council initiative for the Downtown Eastside will play a vital role in bringing together and strengthening our multi-ethnic, multi-talented community.