Art & Culture
February 10, 2021

How the Notorious Kingsway Triangle Became a Public Park Space

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CBC Journalist Justin McElroy visited EVERY  park  in Vancouver and published his  ranked visits here. One of those parks is a little strip of land that used to be called “the triangle” located at Kingsway and  Fraser Street.

The park is now officially called McAuley Park, after the wonderful couple Harvey and Theresa McAuley who showed up at every public process event that involved their community at city hall, and were legendary as Neighbourhood Watch volunteers.  Their community in east Vancouver has this couple volunteer their time and talent to whatever needed doing.  In fact one Vancouver Police Constable who was the “go to ” person with Neighbourhood Watch said it was not unusual to receive up to nine calls a day from Theresa. They got things done, and they continued to politely question until they got the answers. They are both retired now, but I am sure they are still deeply involved in the community that they loved and that loved them.

There is another story about how McAuley park came into being, and it is more unusual.

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Art & Culture
February 1, 2021

Toronto Area Libraries Reach Out to Pandemic Isolated Seniors Through Library Cards

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Who touches every household during the pandemic and knows where seniors live? Canada Post still goes door to door in many areas, and knows whether mail is being picked up or not.

But libraries in the metro Toronto area went one step further during the pandemic when their public areas were closed down.

They called their senior library card holders-who number over 20,000-to ask how they were doing.

Starting last summer, twenty staff members made a list of their clients between the ages of 80 to 100 years and  have made calls to 10,000 individuals. That was so effective,  library staff are now calling the next cohort, those aged between 70 and 79.

The library staff ask how the senior is doing, and also lets them know what library services are available to them during Ontario’s lockdowns, and how they can continue to access reading materials. The staff explain how the curbside pickup service works, and also how ebooks can be borrowed. There is also a delivery service for those who are immobile.

Each call takes about ten minutes of staff time.

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Art & Culture
January 5, 2021

The Secretive Fountain,the Hideous Hoarding & the Public “Paint~In” at the Vancouver Court House~April, 1966

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April 1966 was a heady time in Vancouver~it was the year before Canada’s centennial year, and was the City of Vancouver’s 80th birthday. Oddly it was also the  80th anniversary of the so called “colonial” union between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and that’s what the  Provincial government wanted to celebrate.

At the time, Premier Bennett  of the Social Credit party had planned to create a “legacy public work” by building in secret a large water fountain on the north side of  what is now the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was still functioning in 1966 as the Court House. (The building became the Vancouver Art Gallery in 1983.)

The fountain with its very mod mosaic patterned floor and large spouts of water was truly an expression of the 1960’s. The fountain was supposed to be never turned off, and was designed by Alex von Svoboda who was an Austrian count that immigrated to Canada after World War Two.

Twenty years later, visiting  Architect Michael Turner, the  UNESCO Chairholder in Urban Design and Conservation Studies pondered at the UBC architecture school why a city in a pretty damp rainforest climate needed to have a large fountain continually spewing water. The fountain was plonked directly in what had formerly been a large gathering place for Vancouver citizens. The students in his class had no answers.

During the secretive construction of the fountain, the public space in front of the Court House was cordoned off by large wooden hoarding painted green and white, which just happened to be the colours of the Provincial party in power. The Berlin Wall had been constructed commencing in 1961 and the Mayor of Vancouver Bill Rathie wanted to ensure that everyone knew he was not responsible for the usurping of  this much used public space.

There was no love lost between the Premier and the Mayor.

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Art & Culture
January 4, 2021

Staying Lit through the Long Metro Vancouver Winter?

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The Duke of Data at Simon Fraser University’s City Program Andy Yan suggested it first: if you have Christmas lights up on your condo railing or your abode, why not keep them up longer this year to get through the dark, dull, rainy part of each Metro Vancouver winter. No one will judge you, especially this year.

This idea of bringing in more light in the darkest part of winter is feasible too with the energy efficient outdoor lighting now widely used. And the idea of keeping Christmas lights up (or jazzing them up with colours that are not so directly Christmas festive) has been adopted elsewhere.

The City of Kitchener Ontario’s mayor Berry Vrbanovic is encouraging people to keep their Christmas lights up through January stating: “Seeing our neighbourhoods lit up with lights and decorations has been a wonderful way to feel connected as a community – I love the idea of stretching that festive atmosphere into the new year as we continue to get outside for safe neighbourhood walks and physical activity.”

And in Salem Virginia, residents are urged to keep Christmas lights up to honour the front line healthcare workers through January. This is part of a national campaign urging municipalities and organizations across the United States to keep Christmas lights up until January 31, and to spread the word on social media with the hashtag ##LightsUp4Heroes. In Colorado,the initiative is being embraced state wide.

There is also a historical precedent~in Great Britain, the feasting, decorations, Christmas cakes and puddings used to continue for a much longer period than what we typically do today, in tucking everything away by early January.

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Art & Culture
January 4, 2021

“2020 Get Lost”~ Songwriter “Son of James” Sums it All Up

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Via historian and author Catherine Clement, Son of James with musician Shon Wong sings for many in his latest song on the YouTube video below filmed in downtown Vancouver. Mr. Wong is from a musical and performing family, and Son of James has performed all over Vancouver, San Francisco, Nashville, Memphis and Europe.

Son of James penned and performed their original hybrid Chinese Rock Opera “Tale of the Eastside Lantern” to a capacity crowd at CBC’s  Studio 700. You can read about this groundbreaking work in this Georgia Straight article by Alexander Varty. There’s more about Son of James at the band’s official website here.

 

 

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