32nd Annual Powell Street Festival - Aug 2 & 3

OPPENHEIMER PARK, 400 block of Powell Street

Taiko extravaganza featuring several Vancouver-based taiko groups and Jodaiko, featuring Tiffany Tamaribuchi from California • Martial arts demonstrations • New work by Kokoro Dance commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Japanese Canadian redress • Dress me up in your love, an intimate theatrical experience by Theatre Replacement • Dance performances by Hiromoto Ida/Ichigo Ichieh Dance (Nelson) and mask and mime artist Yayoi Hirano • Launch of pH6,a collection of haiku-inflected poetry by six Asian Canadian writers • Jazz by Yuji Nakajima’s Coracao Boemio • Historical Walking Tours of the Powell Street area • Animated shorts by Japanese Canadian filmmakers

Sensu: An all-encompassing, modern Japanese word meaning “style,” derived from the English word “sense.” Also literally translated as traditional Japanese fan, a symbol of Japanese functional art.

Design is a process of relating. Whether to our time, our place, or each other, every moment of relating is an opportunity for interaction and with interaction, an opportunity for design. By attempting to describe how we live while defining our limitations, design allows us to form our ideas so that they may meet in a level field and be sculpted by those at play. Design from Japan is refined. A limitation of resources combined with an ongoing dialog between the tradition of craft and the chaos of play has created recognizable artefacts from centuries past to the present day. It is both a reaction to the world which has formed it as well as an exemplary method for living in that world.

Sensu will explore how on one side of the field stand the history, tradition, and limitations that have formed our past; and on the other side, stands the contemporary reaction to a modern climate of technology and excess. Where the two interact, stands opportunity. A focus on visual arts, media arts and performances that interact with other media will be evident in Sensu.

http://www.powellstreetfestival.com/festival/this_fest.html

explorASIAN is a Community Partner of the Powell Street Festival

Paul Bae & Jeffery Yu - July 31 to Aug 2 - 8:30pm

It's time for the Asian Invasion!
Two Headliners for the price of one!
Double the laughs for regular price.

604-696-9857

Crash & Burn Tuesdays $5
Pro-Am Wednesdays $5

Century Plaza
Hotel & Spa
1015 Burrard Street, Vancouver

http://www.yukyuks.com/location.aspx?LocationID=12

CBC NEWS: VANCOUVER Launches Chinese Language Website

CBC News: Vancouver, in association with Radio Canada International (RCI), enhances its news delivery to British Columbia’s Chinese communities with a comprehensive news website in Chinese. The news site brings together the best of CBC’s local, national and international news in simplified and traditional Chinese characters. The site (www.cbc.ca/bc/chinesenews ) features the day’s top news stories with content updated several times daily.

“We are always looking for ways to serve the rich diversity of British Columbia, not only in the content of our news but also in the way we deliver it,” explains regional director for CBC British Columbia Johnny Michel. “While the site includes both national and international news it also makes the high quality local journalism CBC News: Vancouver is known for, more accessible to our Chinese communities than ever before.

According to Statistics Canada’s 2006 census, B.C.’s visible minority population grew 21 per cent between 2001 and 2006 and represents 25 per cent of the province’s population of more than four million. Our Chinese communities are the largest of the visible minorities in B.C., making up 40 per cent of this group. Solutions Research Group data indicates that Canada’s Chinese population has the highest online usage amongst Canadians.

CBC News: Vancouver provides the most complete local coverage of the events that shape Vancouver. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, CBC delivers the most up to date and accurate news and weather on TV, Radio and Online. RCI has broadcast around the world since 1945, increasing awareness of Canadian values internationally, as well as its social, economic and cultural activities with new immigrants to Canada.

Radio Canada International presents 'A NEW FACE FOR BEIJING'

Radio Canada International presents a unique and innovative web series 'A NEW FACE FOR BEIJING'.

The series is about a 25 year-old Chinese-Canadian, Jennifer Hsiung, who moved to China to work for CCTV international as their sports anchor 2 years ago. The series documents her integration into the Chinese community and the transformations of Beijing in the last few months.

The atmosphere is Beijing is electric, and the series captures the environment and mood of the people in the capital as the Olypic Games' Opening Ceremony fast approaches.

The series is shot by Jennifer's sister, Tiffany, and together they offer a different lens through which to view Beijing from the point of view of CBC's (Canadian born Chinese) and ABC's (American born Chinese) living in the city. This unique viewpoint has made the series a great success so far.

We invite you to look online and make your own opinion heard at
www.rcinet.ca/rci/pekin

Lehera - July 31 & Aug 1 - 7:30pm

Lehera at the Rhizome Cafe
July 31st
7:30 pm
$10-5
www.Lehera.net

Sun Yat Sen Gardens with guest tabla player
August 1st
7:30 pm
$15

Direct from Bangalore,India,LEHERA brings together their roots in North and South Indian classical music and Western musical forms to create a genre – tripping vibe both energetic and contemplative. Vocals in English and Classical Indian styles intertwine with Hindustani slide guitar, violin, and bamboo flutes driven by exciting Ghatam (Clay pot drum), Konnakol(Carnatic drum language)peppered with funky and bluesy guitaring.

www.tandava.com
www.lehera.net

MADELEINE THIEN Reading - July 17 - 3pm

THE IRVING K. BARBER LEARNING CENTRE, UBC

Born in Vancouver, Madeleine Thien is the youngest of three children of Malaysian-Chinese immigrants. Her first work of fiction, /Simple Recipes/, won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in 2001 and was named a Kiriyama Prize notable book. That same year she published "The Chinese Violin", a children’s book based on the true story of a young girl who emigrated from China with her father. Thien's first novel, "Certainty", was named a Kiriyama Prize finalist in the spring of 2007, just before it was published in the United States. Thien has also received the Canadian Author's Association/Air Canada Award for the most promising writer under the age of 30. The event takes place on Thursday, July 17, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Lillooet Room (Room 301) in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall.

A Tribute to HARRY AOKI - July 20 - 2pm

Date: Sunday July 20th
Time: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m
Place: The Firehall Arts Centre, 280 Cordova Street, Vancouver

Harry Aoki, musician/composer/ethnomusicologist, has devoted most of his life to the presentation of world music and intercultural dialogue to promote harmonious diversity in society. Harry continues to pursue this goal of integrating music with other mediums, such as storytelling, poetry, dance or dialogue, for the purpose of celebrating and promoting intercultural understanding on the First Friday of each month at the Nikkei Centre.

A committee of friends and admirers have come together to organize a tribute to Harry and to ensure the continuation of his First Friday Forum.

Please join us for our celebration of Harry's achievements with a special program of multicultural music, storytelling and more by his friends.

Tickets ($26 per person, food & refreshments will be served) are available through the Firehall Arts Centre box office 604-689-0926

THE ODD COUPLE - July 17 to 27

Latest VACT comedy asks: Can two polar-opposite Asian guys live together?

This summer, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (VACT) is bringing a fresh and unique twist to the classic Neil Simon play, THE ODD COUPLE. In this hilarious version, the cast will be predominantly actors of Asian-heritage – and for the first time for the theatre company, all performances will include Chinese subtitles. Also, the show will run in two locations – in both Richmond and Vancouver. Through July 17 to 27, the play will be at the Richmond Cultural Centre and through August 13 to 21, the production moves to Vancouver’s Roundhouse Performance Centre.

Tickets are available in advance online at www.vact.ca and at the door

VACT, now in its ninth season continues its run as Western Canada’s only theatre group devoted solely to staging cultural stories focusing on the modern Asian experience in North America. With its new production of Neil Simon’s 1965 smash hit, THE ODD COUPLE, VACT is hoping to bring several segments of the community together. “We really have an opportunity here to grow our audience base in a big way,” says producer and VACT president Joyce Lam. “This production appeals to our core audience of first generation and “Generation 2.0” young acculturated Asian Canadians, but we think we’ll also attract recent immigrant Chinese especially those living in Richmond, plus older Asian Canadians and parents especially those who are familiar with the works of Neil Simon, and then finally every one else who aren’t Asian Canadian but are looking for a unique and entertaining cross-cultural experience.”

THE ODD COUPLE, first performed in 1965, is about two men – one divorced and one estranged and neither quite sure why their marriages fell apart – move in together to save money for alimony and suddenly discover they’re having the same conflicts and fights they had in their marriages. Oscar is a messy, slovenly sportswriter who takes in Felix, a neurotic neat freak news writer. They skip the honeymoon phase of their new arrangement and go straight into the hilarious bickering.

THE ODD COUPLE is directed by actor/director Raugi Yu. Most audiences will recognize him as the hilarious gangster Kam Fong from the CBC Television series, jPod. Oscar is played by actor/journalist Ron Yamauchi and Jimmy Yi plays Felix. In the supporting roles as the poker buddies are Sean Cummings (Speed) and past Sex In Vancouver members Jono Lee (Murray), Tom Chin (Vinnie) and Ed Fong (Roy). And rounding out the cast as the sexy Pidgeon sisters are Carmine Bernhardt (Gwen) and Lissa Neptuno (Cecily).

The Odd Couple by Neil Simon

Venue #1
Richmond Cultural Centre
7700 Minoru, Richmond

July 17 through 27
All evening performances at 8:00 PM, matinees at 2:00 PM
Thursdays to Saturdays (evenings) + Sundays (matinees)

Venue #2
Roundhouse Performance Centre
Pacific Blvd & Davie (Yaletown), Vancouver

August 13 through 21
All evening performances at 8:00 PM, matinees at 2:00 PM
Tuesdays to Saturdays (evenings) + Sundays (matinees)

Ticket prices
$23 in advance (www.VACT.ca)
$25 by reservation (cash only, pickup at the door) (Phone 778-885-1973)
$25 at the door (cash only)

Service charges are included
Please call for Group Rates

For more ticket information please visit http://vact.ca

VACT (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre) aims to produce quality plays in which Asian-Canadians take on culturally or artistically significant roles. VACT works to dispel Asian stereotypes by producing leading and/or supporting roles where Asian-Canadians are depicted realistically in the performing arts.

explorASIAN is a Community Partner of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (VACT)

SPATIAL POETICS VII - July 12

OPENING Saturday, July 12th, 2008 with performances at 7:30pm at Hunt and Gather, and at 8:00pm at Nouvelle Nouvelle
Hunt & Gather, 225 Carrall Street
Nouvelle Nouvelle, 209 Abbott Street
Various poster-boards around Gastown
More information: 604 683 8240

Featuring premieres of collaborative pieces by
Vanessa Kwan & Diyan Achjadi: So long we miss you forever
Madoka Hara & Lee Hutzulak: Shizuku
Natalie Purschwitz & Kimberley Cooper: Street Surgery

Powell Street Festival Society presents the seventh annual Spatial Poetics, an interdisciplinary event which celebrates collaboration, experimentation and innovation by a diverse line-up of artists. The end result will be a collection of new works exploring community, identity, boundaries, and the nature of performance by emerging and established Asian Canadian artists, building on the successes of previous Spatial Poetics events. Contributing greatly to the 2008 Festival theme of SENSU, this edition of Spatial Poetics will allow artists to present design-influenced works in a critically engaging, anything-goes environment. On opening day, Saturday, July 12, the event will be presented as a walking tour during which the audience can view each installation and poster piece in one wander. Performances take place at Hunt and Gather at 7:30pm and at 8:00pm at Nouvelle Nouvelle.

Spatial Poetics VII combines works by partnered artists, Vanessa Kwan & Diyan Achjadi, Madoka Hara & Lee Hutzulak, and Natalie Purschwitz & Kimberley Cooper. These three groups will present an eclectic mixture of print-based works, textile art, dance, music and installation art in various sites throughout Vancouver7rsquo;s Gastown and Downtown Eastside.

So long we miss you forever is a poster project by Vancouver artists Diyan Achjadi and Vanessa Kwan. Focussed in the Downtown Eastside/ Chinatown area, the work imagines a fond farewell from the old signs in the neighbourhood; in the wake of rapid development in the area, they are old friends bidding adieu. Natalie Purschwitz and Kimberley Cooper will create Street Surgery, a lighthearted attempt to investigate the theme of construction in Vancouver. Inspired by the long lasting Vancouver drizzles, Shizuku is an installation by Madoka Hara and music performance with Lee Hutzulak. The project is a reflection of interest in repetitions.

This is a pre-festival event for the 32nd Annual Powell Street Festival, held in Oppenheimer Park and the Firehall Arts Centre on August 2nd and 3rd, 2008.

http://www.powellstreetfestival.com/season/2008/spatial_vii.html

The Konspiracy Group - July 11 - 8pm

Hataken (Tokyo), Gunshae (Vancouver), Connect_icut (Vancouver)

Blim
197 east 17th Avenue, Vancouver

Friday, July 11, 8 pm $7

The Konspiracy Group with support from PSFS presents “a little night music” for your summertime listening pleasure. In anticipation of this year’s Powell Street Festival, we open a cross cultural dialogue between Vancouver and Tokyo. Join us for an evening of electro acoustic collaboration with Pacific Rim ambienteers, Hataken (Tokyo), Gunshae (Vancouver), and Connect_icut (Vancouver).

8th Chinatown Arts & Cultural Festival - July 5, 12, 19, 26

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Park Courtyard
578 Carrall Street, Vancouver

Saturdays in July starting July 5

Art and culture enrich the heart of historic Chinatown! Enjoy four colourful and diverse cultural showcases on July 5 (Asia Day – co-programmed by PSFS), 12 (Africa Day), 19 (Drums Around the World), and 26 (Traditions of Old Russia).

This festival enhances Chinatown’s role as the host of arts and cultural events in the City, promotes the diversity of art forms, and strengthens neighborhood collaborations.

www.vancouverchinesegarden.com