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 Julia 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 has been involved with the Festival as a volunteer and three-time volunteer coordinator since 2004. With each passing year, she is increasingly in awe and admiration of the dedicated community members that keep the festival going, which in no small part inspired her recent graduate work on Oppenheimer Park, completed through York University’s Programme in Communication and Culture.

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.

Chisaki Muraki-Valdovinos is as an urban planner who has worked at the City of Vancouver in Development Services, Cultural Services, and Planning over the past six years.  She collaborated with PSFS and other community partners in the inception and implementation of the Open Door Project in 2009 and 2010.  With a degree in Government, she went on to earn a Master in Urban Planning after being inspired by the broad impact of local-level work.  As a “third culture kid” (TCK), Chisaki has led a rather nomadic life so connections to her Japanese culture are what keep her “rooted”.  She is excited to take on the next level of commitment as a Board member after several years on the Advocacy Committee.

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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