The Intergenerational Creativity Project, developed by Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society and mentored by Musqueam weaver, Debra Sparrow, used weaving as a cornerstone of intercultural and intergenerational learning. Traditional and yet contemporary blanket were woven from our root and shared dreams. Please come take a look at those beautiful blankets created by our participants displayed in the main lobby of Kerrisdale Community Centre. Dear Readers, As millions of Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I am reminded of happy holiday memories during my decades-long residence in New York City. It is always a special time of reflection for me, and I thought it would be fun to share what our community is thankful for this season. In this issue, we’re taking the concept of “thanks” to a new level by shedding light on unique and yet the same “ingredients” of inspiring immigrant stories to remind us of the importance of immigrants to Canada’s history.  My hats off to all our features, Tony Tabarsi, Masa Shiroki, and Andy Yuen; they are pretty unique individuals in their own right and the truly remarkable backbone of our society. I am extremely thankful.  On a related note, I would like to take this opportunity to extend both my personal gratitude and that of our entire Playbook team to you, dear readers. We have received many wonderful comments over the last four years, which led to the birth of “Kerrisdale Playbook ReCollection 2012-2015” limited edition publication. It finally came out! Please join us in celebrating this exciting milestone!    I hope you enjoy this season of thankfulness. May your holiday season be blessed with joy and love.  Keiko Honda Editor-in-Chief Chair, Community Engagement Kerrisdale Community Centre Society...

By Anonymous Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball Tony Tabarsi is a husband, a father and a respected pharmacist, who has been living and practicing in the Kerrisdale area for more than 20 years. Southland Pharmacy, serving the Dunbar-Southland neighborhood and beyond, is a successful pharmacy owned and managed by Tony for more than two decades. He is also an active community volunteer and has been teaching at English classes for the new immigrant population for over 10 years, without pay. However, Tony’s road to success, as you may be surprised to learn, has not been the smoothest of roads. Going back in time to the decade of bell-bottoms and disco, Tony was a young bright high-school student in the graduating class of 1976 in his home country of Iran. Although he had applied to and gotten accepted at the University of Tehran’s school of medicine, he was later refused a seat simply because of his less conventional religious faith. Disappointed yet determined, Tony saw no choice but to archive his first university acceptance letter and follow to embark on a journey to the Philippines in the hopes of realizing his dreams of higher education in the health care field. Although not happy with the quality of the education he was receiving, Tony was enrolled in a Dentistry program for three years in the Philippines until the new, post-1979 revolution government of Iran, ordered that Iranians studying abroad including Tony, return to the country immediately. Afraid of religious persecution upon returning, Tony decided to seek asylum at the Philippines’ office of the United Nations in Manila. More than midway into his studies in the Philippines, Tony was yet again moving; only this time, he was preparing for life as a refugee with a one-way ticket to...

By Sean Yoon Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball     If I were to ask you the question, “What is sake?” How would you respond? I think the prevailing image in most of our minds would be of something poured from a small, slender flask container called a tokkuri into small cups to drink exclusively with Japanese cuisine at a Japanese restaurant. This is arguably the more traditional image of sake, but rejecting this image and pouring sake from a Bordeaux style wine bottle instead is Masa Shiroki, an artisan sakemaker based in Granville Island. To Masa, sake is wine and it can be enjoyed in many different settings, not just as an accompaniment to Japanese cuisine. “I wanted people to consider sake as wine because it is called rice wine in the first place and people know that. Every time I ask the question to people, ‘So how would you translate sake to English?’ People pause for a second and reply, ‘It’s a rice wine right?’ You just said it. It’s a wine. So think of the sake I’m pouring for you as wine and in order to do that, I thought it would be important to change the image of sake visually, so I decided to use Bordeaux style wine bottles. At his store in Granville Island which is titled, “Artisan SakeMaker,” Masa currently produces fresh domestic premium sake called “Osake,” sourcing purely local ingredients from BC and is the first of its kind in Canada. The rice used for the sake is grown on leased land with partnering farms in Abbotsford and South Surrey, totalling 16 acres of farmland. Sustainability is a major concern for Masa, who takes special care to ensure that all of the sake being produced under his business...

By Sean Yoon Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball On the corner of West 4th Avenue and Stephens Street is a clothing business that strives to produce premium quality men’s casual/dress shirts, jeans, suits, coats and accessories personally tailored to meet your needs and fit you comfortably. A clothing label which began in 2002, this brand is Andy Yuen Couture, where Couture stands for tailoring using superior quality fabrics and materials. Alongside the use of premium materials is the quality of customer service with a focus on person to person, face to face interaction that is provided by Andy Yuen, who is currently functioning as the tailor, designer and CEO for the brand. Andy asserts that, “Great clothing starts with great fabric.” The Andy Yuen Couture label uses high quality fabrics such as Supima and Egyptian Giza 45 or 87 cottons carefully selected for their softness, strength and lustre, or brilliance of colour. New pure wools are also used, which are chosen for their long staple yarns, double twisted and milled in Italy for superior durability. In addition, they are certified to be clean and skin friendly. For Andy, clothing can often be described in terms of taste, where he says, “With food, you pay for the quality of taste and in clothing, it’s the feel and touch.” Andy devotes himself to bring awareness to and educating customers about the advantages in quality that premium fabrics can provide. Andy Yuen was 3 years old when he arrived in Canada with his family from Hong Kong. Having settled in a small town in the prairies with a population of around 1100 people, Andy’s father was looking for tailoring jobs as he was an experienced tailor by profession, but there simply were no opportunities available at the time....

  Announcement     Dear Kerrisdale Friends,  KCCS Community Engagement Committee is delighted to announce that we have granted the Park Board permission to move ahead into the detailed design phase of “Kerrisdale Permaculture Garden (tentative name), which was proposed to be located in the south-west corner of the Kerrisdale Community Centre building (5851 W. Blvd.) near the playground. We are in the process of team building and community involvement prior to the anticipated official approval in January 2016. Kerrisdale Permaculture Garden, will be a collaborative garden and maintained collaboratively by the KCCS Community Engagement and Garden committees, community volunteers and our community partners including, but not limited to, Vancouver Edible Garden Society (VEGS), Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society (VACS), Frisch Farms, Southland Farms, and Kerrisdale Lumber. We will be hosting several public meetings in the next coming month. We need your involvement. Please stay tuned. Thank you,  KCCS Community Engagement and Garden Committees (Chair: Keiko Honda) About the naming,,,,, Permaculture garden emulates patterns in nature. The three ethical principles of Permaculture are as follows: Care of the Earth  Care of People  Return of surplus to Earth and people (also called “Fair Share”)  The ancients knew that humans needed community. All living things are interdependent on each other, including people. We humans are communal and social animals, and just like the rest nature. When we share our surplus produce, when we share our skills, knowledge and experience, these actions builds bonds between people which all works to foster a sense of stable collaborative...

  What were the most memorable events of 2015?     Watch our 6 minute highlight reel of the Year in Review!       Best wishes for 2016 Kerrisdale Community Centre  ...

      The Kerrisdale Community Centre Society invites you and your friends to the “Explore Neighbourhood Empowerment” presentationon Sunday, January 24, 2016 at the Kerrisdale Community Centre Auditorium.   Background A 2012 Vancouver Foundation study found that, while many residents are collaborating and working hard to create a vibrant and healthy community, far too many have retreated from civic life and do not participate in the many community activities. About 20 years ago, the City Council of Seattle established a very successful mechanism for citizen, neighbourhood, and community input into neighbourhood initiatives and planning processes.  The system continues to flourish today. Vancouver today The City does not appear to have an overall plan for growth and development.  Development has been undertaken with minimal neighbourhood consultation.  Decisions appear to be made on an ad hoc basis with little or no regard to the Community Vision plans developed through extensive citizen involvement a decade ago. The Neighbourhood Integrated Service Teams, a 2001 award-winning initiative to establish a holistic neighbourhood focused approach to local issues, has been disbanded. Centralization is now the watchword.   The Explore Neighbourhood Empowerment presentation led by Mr. Jim Diers will address: Advantages of neighbourhood involvement and empowerment, and how they can be measured. How you can keep your community strong. Participants will leave with an appreciation of the benefits of involvement in the decision-making processes of neighbourhood planning and developments, and an understanding on how to achieve them. Please join us and pre-register your attendance by emailing: kerrisdaleccsociety@gmail.com or calling 604.257.6904. Admission is free. See you on Sunday, January 24, at 2 pm. Kathleen Bigsby President – Kerrisdale Community Centre...