THE TALK OF THE TOWN
/What Do We Have For You This Month?
Welcome to The Talk of The Town for September 2020. Scroll through the following features to find:
The Month That Was & The Month Ahead: A roundup of West End-Coal Harbour community news, announcements, and other local gossip.
West End Moments: West End people, pets, places and events captured by some the many great shutterbugs in our neighbourhood.
Stanley Park Notebook: A new monthly feature by Jacqui Birchall will take you on walks about Stanley Park and share stories and news of its many features and attractions.
Name That Lane: Three years ago the City started naming eight of the laneways that run east and west through the West End. In the first of an eight-part series, Lucas Pilleri shares the story behind Rosemary Brown Lane.
West End-Coal Harbour In The News: Links to reports in BC’s leading news outlets relating directly to our community.
The Month That Was & The Month Ahead
The new reader board was installed August 30 in front of the West End Community Centre on Denman, greeted by a masked welcoming committee that included (from left) programmers Darilyn Dennis and Darko Kulic, business manager Debbie Coulson, West End Community Centre Association president Linda Johnston and vice-president David Scott, and programmer Randy Chan. (click image to enlarge)
WEST END & COAL HARBOUR
COMMUNITY CENTRES REOPENING
The reopening of three of the West End’s most active community facilities, with limited programming and all the necessary COVID-19 precautions, has been announced by the West End Community Centre Association, which manages the Centre on Denman Street, the Coal Harbour Community Centre, and Barclay Manor.
A limited selection of programs will resume at the Denman Street centre on September 14. Hours of operation, designed to coincide with the child care licensed programs, will be Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Office hours will be Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Programs will be limited to the main floor rooms and the fitness centre will remain closed until further notice. The arena is scheduled to reopen on October 5.
For information on changes to the current pick-up hours at Joe Fortes Library check their website here or call 604.665.3972.
Barclay Manor will also open on September 14, with the main room in the basement used to restart yoga and an activity to replace the normally scheduled bridge sessions. Details will be announced shortly.
The Coal Harbour Community Centre, which was used as a homeless shelter earlier in the pandemic, will reopen September 21 once repairs and restorations are completed. Operating hours there will be Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The office will be open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Both centres will be closed Saturday and Sunday.
Staff and programmers have identified several priority programs to begin, with a focus on child care, children, seniors and youth. Among the programs that will be available, with limited enrollment to allow for proper distancing, will be group fitness, therapeutic strength training, arthritis fitness, chair yoga, drawing and sketching classes, tai chi for beginners, and yoga for over 50s.
Kids soccer will be available, as well as preteen after school programs.
Registration for all programs will be online (www.westendcc.ca) or by phone (604-257-8333), except in exceptional circumstances. Online registration begins Sept 10 at 9 a.m., followed by phone registration on the 11th, and in-person for those who need it on the 14th.
Pre-registration is required as there will be no drop-ins for courses, special events, or birthday parties until January at the earliest.
Updates on West End Seniors’ Network programs and events at Barclay Manor can be found on their website here and their Facebook page here.
A heated but non-violent debate ensued when protesters met anti-gay preachers at English Bay August 30. (Mikul Culver Photo)
HATE MEETS PUSHBACK AT ENGLISH BAY
West Ender Justin Morissette, a local sportscaster, was tackled and thrown to the ground and his leg was badly broken last month on Davie Street. Justin was standing up to street preacher Dorre Love whose well-documented anti-gay rants have been occurring on Davie Street and at English Bay for the past month or two.
Since the incident on Davie Street, members of Love’s ministry from Toronto travelled to Vancouver and Victoria to continue the proselytizing of their hate-filled creed, and were confronted by neighbours, members of the LGBTQ community and supporters, making it clear that hate has no place in our West End. To the best of our knowledge, no further instances of physical violence have been reported.
A Facebook group calling themselves Disco Task Force has been organizing peaceful push-back protests wherever Love’s ministry appears, most recently holding a dance party in front of the preachers at English Bay on August 31. Surrounded by at least a dozen VPD officers, the preacher got to ramble on as much as he wanted, and not a word was heard above the singing, dancing, and chanting crowd. Disco Task Force is a closed group, but we publish the link above in case you’d like to apply to join.
Balance concerns about crowds at this time with our pride in seeing peaceful push-back against hate, and draw your own conclusions.
YOUR THOUGHTS ON ROAD CHANGES
The City of Vancouver is seeking feedback on temporary road reallocation measures implemented in response to the pandemic. This includes temporary patios, pop-up plazas, “slow streets,” making more room for bus line-ups at key stops, repurposing Beach Avenue, and making room for queuing on narrow sidewalks.
The survey closes September 7, though the controversy is bound to continue, so take it here.
West End Moments
MURALS AT THE CLEANERS
(click on photos to enlarge)
Nicola Dry Cleaning at Nelson and Nicola has received a bright facelift by artist Carson Ting (who signs his artwork “Chairman Ting”) and collaborator Annie Chen (aka Lemonni) with a colourful mural depicting West End legend and restaurant and library namesake Joe Fortes.
The work was commissioned by the building’s owners, the Kang family, whose son Hubert shares studio space in the building with Carson and is married to Annie. The whole place is a hothouse of creativity!
The mural covers both the Nicola and the Nelson sides of the building and in addition to the tribute to Fortes you’ll find a number of little West End “critters” such as a heron and a raccoon, which Hubert, a King George Secondary School alumnus, explains was conceived as an original way of representing the community’s diversity. We thank them all for a wonderful addition to the neighbourhood!
Mikul Culver Photos
CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE?
We couldn’t guess what these amazing machines were designed to do that regular bikes couldn’t or wouldn’t, except attract curious looks and questions from passers-by and regulars at the Blenz on Denman at Barclay. Your editor was sitting on the patio, but didn’t take the time to get up and ask — partly for fear of losing his coveted patio chair — but the owners were happy to discuss their unusual vehicles with others. Maybe someone can write in and explain what we’re looking at!
Sarah Jardine Photos
CHANGES
Are you too enjoying the changing colours and textures as the remains of summer take one final bow and autumn’s leaves commence their inevitable descent?
And how many unusual sights have you noticed around the neighbourhood that reflect some of the other changes we are going through during this most unusual year of our times?
James Oakes Photos
Stanley Park Notebook
by Jacqui Birchall
LOST LAGOON is the West End’s oasis of beauty, calmness and wildlife. It is where we city dwellers find sanctuary. Where we observe the fighting carp, the creepy looking catfish, a myriad of beautiful birds and animals; the shy ones and those demanding nuts. A sanctuary where we can delight in our movie star beavers and the tiny squirrels around the concrete bridge. They may look like chipmunks to some but they are Douglas Squirrels.
The Lagoon was artificially created in 1916 when the Stanley Park causeway was created. Up until. then it had been a tidal part of Coal Harbour, and officially named Lost Lagoon in 1922. The name was taken from a poem by First Nations poet Pauline Johnson who wrote: “I have always resented that jarring unattractive name (Coal Harbour) for years. When I first plied paddle across the gunwale of a light canoe and idled about the margin, I named the sheltered little cove, Lost Lagoon. This was just to please my own fancy for, as that perfect summer month drifted on, the ever-restless tides left the harbour devoid of any water at my favourite canoeing hour and my pet idling place was lost for many days; hence my fancy to call it Lost Lagoon.”
The denizens of Lost Lagoon are many and diverse.
The Lagoon has experienced several changes since its conception. It was originally salt water fed but then it was changed to freshwater. The northeast side of the Lagoon is a bio-filtration marsh filtering causeway run-off through a series of holding ponds. The Lagoon was originally filled with trout for fishers and then became a bird sanctuary. Little boats and canoes could be rented for the fishers and later for the average visitor, but no more. The fountain was installed for Vancouver’s Jubilee Year in 1936 and refurbished for Expo ‘86.
The boat rental building is now the Lost Lagoon Nature House, run by The Stanley Park Ecology Society. The Stanley Park Ecology Society is a non-profit organization that works with the Vancouver Park Board to promote stewardship and conservation in Stanley Park. Check out their website here. They offer volunteer opportunities and wonderful workshops with topics as diverse as Stanley Park Owls, Wonderful Weeds, Old Growth Forest, Beautiful Bats, and Rambunctious River Otters. During the pandemic the workshops are on-line but in normal times, on-site. Many of their events and workshops are listing in The West End Journal’s “Community Calendar” section here.
LAGOON MEDITATIONS … Speaking of Lost Lagoon, West End author, poet, and educator Betsy Warland’s latest book Lost Lagoon/lost in thought came out this spring and shares her roving observations in and around Lost Lagoon. Betsy is the featured artist in this month’s “Artists Among Us” which you find here.
Beaver Lake is partially blocked until December.
BEAVER LAKE WORK UNDERWAY …The Park Board is enhancing Beaver Lake in Stanley Park to reduce flooding damage. Beginning Aug. 13, fencing will be installed, one access point to Beaver Lake Trail closed and Beaver Lake Loop partially blocked. Work is expected to be completed by December.
Stay tuned for more on our lovely, mystical, Stanley Park.
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Name That Lane
ROSEMARY BROWN LANE
In 2017, the City of Vancouver started to rename eight laneways in the West End after local prominent figures. Who were these people? Why are we honouring their name? What legacy did they leave behind? Let’s find out about the little-known stories of some of our greatest leaders, activists and pioneers with a new monthly series, beginning with Rosemary Brown Lane.
Located between Robson and Haro streets, Rosemary Brown Lane runs from Burrard Street to Lagoon Drive.
by Lucas Pilleri
A politician, social activist and feminist, Rosemary Brown left an impressive legacy in Canada women’s history: she was the first black woman to be elected to a Canadian legislature and to run for leadership of a federal party. Her lifelong determination opened the path for subsequent generations of female leaders, showing them they could make a difference.
Born in Jamaica in 1930, Brown came to Canada in 1951 to complete a Bachelor of Social Work at McGill University, then a Master of Social Work at UBC. Her time as a black female student was not easy, as she faced both sexism and racism – she, for instance, had to stay in a private dorm as other students refused to share a room with her. This experience helped her find her purpose through adversity, as she later said: “I am twice blessed: I am Black and I am a woman.”
After graduating, Brown helped found the British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (BCAACP) and Voice of Women, two social groups that would sharpen her activist mindset. As soon as the 1960s, she became an advocate in Canadian politics against discrimination.
During the 1970s, Brown entered the political scene with great success. In 1972, she won a seat in the riding of Vancouver-Burrard for the New Democratic Party during the provincial elections, becoming the first black woman to be elected to a Canadian provincial legislature and to sit in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
During her 14-year role as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Brown worked towards eliminating sexism, as well as improving services for marginalized groups such as immigrants, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
Some of her speeches remain memorable to this day. In a 1973 speech delivered on the occasion of the National Congress of Black Women in Canada, she said: “To be black and female in a society which is both racist and sexist is to be in the unique position of having nowhere to go but up.”
In 1975, Brown went further by running for the leadership of the federal NDP with the slogan “Brown is Beautiful.” She was the first black woman to run for the leadership of a Canadian federal party. Remarkably, she ranked a close second with over 40 % of the votes.
When she ended her political career in 1988, Brown shifted her focus to international advocacy, serving three years as CEO of MATCH International Women’s Fund. She travelled a lot, delivered many speeches worldwide, and became the chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission in 1993. During this same period, she started a university career as professor of women’s studies at Simon Fraser University.
Brown received many distinctions for her exceptional contributions to Canada’s politics and social life. To name a few, she was awarded the United Nations’ Human Rights Fellowship in 1973, the Order of British Columbia in 1995 and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996, the highest level of distinction in the Canadian Honours System. Over the span of her career, she received 15 honorary doctorates from Canadian universities.
Brown passed away in 2003 in Vancouver. More than one thousand people attended her funeral. In 2009, Canada Post featured her in a commemorative stamp standing in front of the British Columbia Legislative Building.
To learn more about the extraordinary life of Rosemary Brown, you can read her autobiography, Being Brown: A Very Public Life, published in 1989.
West End-Coal Harbour In The News
Each issue of The West End Journal we will bring you a summary of the previous month’s stories in local media about West End and Coal Harbour events and issues, with links to the articles — just in case you missed them.
West End Grocery Stores: Staying safe in the COVID era. (The Province / August 31)
Robson Business News: A Robson Street landlord won’t apply for the small business rent-relief program, and tenants are paying the price. (The Province / August 27)
Trump Hotel Closes Permanently: The embarrassing signage on this West Georgia building may soon be gone. (The Globe and Mail / August 28)
Preacher’s Victim Speaks Out: The victim of a violent incident on Davie Street tells his story. (Global News / August 14)
Overdose Prevention Volunteer Murdered: The man murdered outside St. Paul’s Hospital earlier this week is a long-time volunteer at overdose prevention sites, with colleagues saying his death is a blow to their efforts to save lives during the opioid crisis. (CTV News / July 31)
