Mandate: to promote the profile of the organization to the cultural, social, political and mainstream communities; and participate in Downtown Eastside revitalization efforts

Actions

• Liaises with other arts and community organizations to foster awareness and partnerships
• Liaises with local and national Japanese Canadian cultural and social organizations
• Meets with community leaders
• Identifies issues around location (specific concerns of the Downtown Eastside)
• Works cooperatively with other neighbourhood organizations (such as Oppenheimer Park Committee, DTES Community Arts Network, Heart of the City Festival) to promote change and support to renew the area

If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact Kristen at gm at powellstreetfestival.com or 604.683.8240.

Current Members

Julia Aoki :: Chair
Miko Hoffman
Greg Masuda
Chisaki Muraki-Valdovinos
Reiko Tagami
Rika Uto
John Yamazaki
Andrew Yan

Members’ Bios

Julia Aoki is currently pursuing a PhD at Simon Fraser University’s School of Communication. In the course of her schoolwork and, concurrently, her work as the volunteer coordinator for the Powell Street Festival, Julia developed an interest in the impact of spatial organization and regulation, collective spatial practices, and historical narratives on the construction of social identities. She has explored these issues academically through her MA work on historical narratives in Oppenheimer Park and creatively through the Toronto-based LOT Group’s project on mid-century bungalows in Willowdale.

Miko Hoffman is currently the Executive Director for the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, after spending eight years as General Manager for the Powell Street Festival Society. She has been involved in the local non-profit arts community for more than 15 years in curatorial, programming and volunteering capacities, and writes and performs in various musical projects.

Greg Masuda is a community-involved professional photographer and filmmaker who has been volunteering in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside for over two years. Besides the Powell Street Festival Society and National Nikkei Heritage Center, he has worked with community organizations such as the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, Pivot Legal Society and Gallery Gachet. Greg moved to Vancouver from Calgary in 2007 and he is in the process of rediscovering his family’s history – from their immigration from Japan in the early 1900’s to their confectionary store adjacent to Oppenheimer Park in the 1920’s to their eventual forced migration to the sugar beet farms of Southern Alberta during World War II.

John Yamazaki has been a part of the Powell Street Festival for as long as he can remember (which is approx. 7 years now). He is currently a co-owner of two furniture stores and is hoping for a third in the near future. One of his goals is to finally learn the Japanese language and be able to communicate with his grandmother fluently. 

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