THE TALK OF THE TOWN

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What Do We Have For You This Month?

Welcome to “The Talk of The Town” for February, 2023. Scroll through the following features to find (and click on images to enlarge):

  • Our Lead Story: Park Board Moves To Change Lord Roberts School’s Name.

  • West End News & Notes: A new post for Spencer Chandra Herbert, a call for artists for Art In The City, seasons tickets on sale for Western Gold, and a new appontee to the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh residency in Stanley Park. 

  • West End Street Names: Pender is named for a 19th century BC coast surveyor.

  • The West End - Coal Harbour In The News: In case you missed it, West End and Coal Harbour news as reported in local media this January.

Our Lead Story

Lord Roberts Elementary School at 1100 Bidwell Street.

VSB VOTES TO CHANGE SCHOOL NAME
Lord Roberts Elementary School

The Vancouver School Board (VSB) at its January 30 meeting voted unanimously to approve changing the name of the West End’s Lord Roberts Elementary School. Built in 1900, Lord Roberts is one of Vancouver’s oldest schools.

The vote followed a multi-year process that now allows the VSB to consider school name changes. In this case, the request to do so was initiated by the school’s Parent Advisory Committee (PAC).

Lord Frederick Roberts (1832 - 1914) was a British general during the Boer War, during which the British defeated independent republics in southern Africa. Many pushing for a name change for the school were concerned that not only had Roberts no connection to Canada or Vancouver but was known for having ran concentration camps in Africa during the war.

“Lord Roberts hasn’t made sense for as long as people have been against naming schools after people who ran concentration camps,” said Ian Rowe. Rowe is currently a member of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council and was chair of the Lord Roberts PAC in 2019 when the campaign to change the name began.

Now that a name change has been approved, a committee will be formed to consider potential new names for the school. Final approval rests with the VSB, but the guidelines for renaming recommend a "place-based name," rather than one that honors a person. The Lord Roberts PAC has already identified its preferred candidate: West End Elementary.

It is not known how this will affect the name of Lord Roberts Annex at 1150 Nelson, but plans to replace that school following the construction of an adjacent underground BC Hydro sub-station will provide an opportunity to give that replacement school a new name as well.

You can read Rowe’s “West End Voices” editorial on the subject in the September 2022 issue of The West End Journal here.

West End News & Notes

CALL FOR ARTISTS FOR ART IN THE CITY
Registration Closes February 17

Registration is now open for the 2023 "Art In The City" exhibition and sale.

This popular West End Community Centre annual event returns this May 5 to 7. Hundreds of West Enders and visitors from all over Vancouver have enjoyed this event in past years.

It’s an excellent chance for everyone to find that unique, fine, or decorative art to add to your collection, gift to a special someone, or spruce up your home decor while supporting local artists. For artists, it’s a great opportunity to meet new art lovers and make a few sales.

The deadline for applications is Friday, February 17. For an information and registration package email westendartinthecity@gmail.com or call 604.257.8344.

T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss

NEW CREATIVE HUB IN STANLEY PARK

The Vancouver Park Board has announced four new cultural residencies in parks across the city, including Stanley Park, as part of their Fieldhouse Activation Program. Since 2011, the program has repurposed former caretaker suites into active, creative community spaces. The program now includes 22 residencies, which form a vibrant network of arts, culture, local food, and environmental stewardship projects in parks and neighbourhoods across Vancouver.

The new Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh residency in Stanley Park will be held by T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss, an educator, interdisciplinary artist, and Indigenous ethnobotanist engaged in community-based teaching and sharing.

PAL Studio Theatre at 581 Cardero is the home of Western Gold Theatre Company.

SEASONS TIX TO WESTERN GOLD

Western Gold Theatre, the resident company with the West End’s Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) have announced their three-show 2023 season and are offering a special season’s pass.

This year’s productions will include: Opening Night by Norm Foster (March 17 - 19); The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (June 2 - 4); and A Doll House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath (November 9-26).

Western Gold Theatre is the premier Canadian company focused on sharing and celebrating the talents of senior professional theatre artists (age 55+). The company also mentors emerging younger professional artists as they ‘share the boards’ with veteran performers. They provide a vibrant, creative gathering place for artists and audiences, young and old, living up to their motto that “creativity has no expiry date!”

Find information and tickets here.


West End - Coal Harbour MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert is the premier’s liaison for renters.

𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 & 𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗥 CHANDRA HERBERT

At a January 12 media conference in Burnaby, Premier David Eby announced the creation of a $500-million Rental Protection Fund and the appointment of West End - Coal Harbour MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert to the newly created position of Premier's Liaison for Renters.

According to the announcement, more renters in B.C. will be protected from housing speculators and profiteers through the creation of this new fund, dedicated to protecting tenants and preserving affordable rental homes for decades.

“Today, we’re taking action to protect renters who found an affordable place to live, but are worried their building will be bought out from underneath them,” said Eby. “This fund will allow non-profits to secure older rental buildings and protect vulnerable renters from speculators who can drive up rents and evict tenants who have lived there for years. Instead, community non-profits will now be able to work with tenants to make improvements or expand to house more people, and at the same time protect affordable housing.”

Read the full announcement here.

West End Street Names

Captain Daniel Pender.

WEST PENDER

Pender Street was named by surveyor L.A. Hamilton after Pender Island, which in turn was named for Captain Daniel Pender who surveyed the B.C. coast aboard several vessels from 1857 to 1870.

Pender was recorded as the second master of the admiralty survey vessel, HMS Plumper, in 1857 when he arrived at Esquimalt. He was promoted as the ship's master in 1860 and was transferred to HMS Hecate a year later after the Plumper was deemed too small and unsuitable for the coast's waters. When the British government commissioned the Hudson Bay Company to continue the hydraulic survey of the coast, Pender was given command of the company's Beaver, replacing Captain George Henry Richards (not the namesake of Richards Street) who was recalled to Britain after he was appointed as the Hydrographer of the Royal Navy.

After his 1871 return to London, Pender continued as a hydrographer, mapping waterways in England for the London Hydrographic office until he retired in 1874.

As a note of interest, the portion of East Pender that runs through Chinatown was originally named Dupont after Major Charles T. Dupont, a member of the Vancouver Improvement Company. There is some speculation that because that strip of Dupont Street was known as a red-light district, also housing gambling and opium dens, renaming it Pender in 1907 may have been an attempt to clean up the street’s image. Regardless, the West End’s share of Pender Street has always been Pender.

The West End - Coal Harbour In The News