The Powell Street Festival Society publishes 2 newsletters every year, one in February and one in July.

Powell Street Festival Society
Summer 2010 Newsletter

Download a pdf of this newsletter by clicking on the following link. You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader which you can download here.

Volume 16, Number 2 – July 2010 (1.1 MB)

Powell Street Festival 2010
By Kazuho Yamamoto, Production Coordinator

Photo by Noah Photography

Greetings everyone! Powell Street Festival is just around the corner! This year, we are going back to the newly renovated Oppenheimer Park – located in the heart of Japantown. Although the loss of two Sakura, or flowering cherry trees in 2009 caused pain for many, this event raised awareness of their particular significance to the Japanese Canadian community. The trees also drew attention to the community’s historical and contemporary relationship to the park and to the neighbourhood. Since our relocation to Woodland Park last year, we have received some suggestions that we permanently relocate away from Oppenheimer Park. But like many, I think that maintaining the Oppenheimer Park site is important. The cherry tree debate reiterated the importance of staying and maintaining a continuous presence in the neighbourhood. It reinvigorated our commitment to the Downtown Eastside.

For some Japanese-Canadians, losing these trees was like a personal injury. They felt that the Oppenheimer Park’s cherry blossom trees were like extensions of their bodies. An emotional and physical attachment has been passed on through generations. The park itself is also much more than just a recreational space; it is a historical, memorial and spiritual space. It is also a meeting place for different communities. The Powell Street Festival has strong ties with the current neighbourhood residents and workers. Every year, we recruit, and more importantly depend upon volunteers from the Downtown Eastside (DTES), including people from the Lifeskills Centre—an education centre where DTES residents overcome multiple barriers. Many DTES people look forward to getting involved in our festival, as we look forward to their participation. One of the reasons the Festival is so successful is because of the commitment by people from diverse backgrounds. This kind of inclusivity and collaboration is in many ways unique to our Festival. It is with great pride that we can share our cultural tradition with people from all sorts of backgrounds, and that people take great interest in participating and becoming a part of our community. The bonds that are built at the Festival go beyond this once-a-year event. I feel very fortunate to be a part of Powell Street Festival.

This year’s theme is “Koen/ Park Debut”, so why not bring new people to the Festival and assist their first debut? Share your excitement for the Festival. In the meantime, spread the word to your neighbours, co-workers, or perhaps even your hair dresser…whomever you want to share your excitement with! I look forward to having wonderful time with all of them at this year’s Powell Street Festival!

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Special thanks to our 2010 donors
(from January, in alphabetical order)

Anonymous (3) • Hideko Arai • Midge Ayukawa • Nobu Ellis • Kiyoo Goto • Jim & June Nishihara • Tokuko Inouye • Mickey Hayashi • Mitsuo & Emmie Hayashi • July Ono • John Philip & Reiko Richardson • Bryan Uyesegi • Marlene Yuen

The Powell Street Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Department of Canadian Heritage, Human ResourcesDevelopment Canada: Canada Summer Jobs Program, the Province of British Columbia through Direct Access to Charitable Gaming, the BC Arts Council, the City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs, The Hamber Foundation, Sunrise Soya Foods, the Strathcona Business Improvement Area, CTV, The Georgia Straight,
and the Bulletin Magazine.

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