By Lara-Sophie Boleslawsky Photo by Noriko Nasu-Tidball     “When I teach, I am motivated by the students, rather than the content.” Bassett begins her interview citing her teaching doctrine. Her remarkable journey is peppered with people, daily encounters, art…in short, a cultural interaction with the Japanese language.           Nestled in the midst of the vibrant neighbourhood of Kerrisdale, Martha Bassett and I sit, enjoying the view of misty trees and dew-covered leaves and bushes before us. Bassett is currently a Japanese language teacher at the Senior Campus at St. George’s School in Vancouver. Yet, she is far from just an instructor in the language: Bassett is responsible for the inauguration of the Japanese language program at St. George’s. Since 1992, Bassett has been sharing her love of Japanese language and culture with her students. “In order to sustain interest, there is a lot of other stuff we do, other than language,” Bassett remarks. Indeed, in addition to the language itself students in her classes are exposed to Japanese food, film, history and art, to name a few.            We enjoy green tea, imported from Japan; its delicate simplicity seems to reflect our tranquil surroundings. It is here that we begin Martha Bassett’s remarkable journey. And it is here that we return full circle, like the ever-rising sun.                      Despite being born and raised in Southern California, Bassett remarks that Japanese culture was always a part of her early childhood. Her father, being a soldier in the Second World War, regarded the Japanese as a “worthy enemy” and Bassett recalls, “Asia was always in the background”. Her appreciation for Asian culture suited her well in her early adult years when Bassett found herself wanting to travel. With little formal education, Bassett was inevitably drawn...

  By Leonni Antono             “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” – Jane Jacobs             Guest speaker Jim Diers draws on his past experience as the Director of Neighbourhood Development in the City of Seattle to highlight the importance and viability of neighbourhood empowerment in improving quality of life and solving community problems. By examining the existing crises – such as economic, social and environmental – he explains the reasons behind people’s estrangement from their communities and thus posits that a strong local community is the essential basis for change, which begins with community involvement in neighbourhoods, leading eventually to a collaborative effort from both the government and groups of individuals in order to promote sustainable asset-based development at a community level.             Delving into the main reasons behind the divide between the government and the individuals of society, Diers sheds light on the various roles that can be played by both parties respectively, and concludes that in order to engage the government in the community, it is indispensable to change the government and how it views its citizens. Ideally, the government “supports the community to work on its own priorities through its own associates”, and the citizens in this case become what Diers calls the “producer”, which implies people’s involvement in and contributions to changing the community for the better. In the words of Diers, people nowadays have forgotten about the role of community. Due to this, many human resources are squandered and not utilized.             However, the aforementioned crises have made people more cognizant of the importance of neighbourhood, and to change the community for the better – to solve societal issues like safety, etc. – it is requisite...

Lunar New Year Celebration Concert All are Welcome!...

    Hi all – Neighbourhood Small Grants and Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants 2016 is launching in one week on Monday February 15th! Please find more information and apply online atwww.neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca And please help us spread the word! The deadline for applications this year will be Monday April 4th.  This means you’ll have a full 7 weeks to get your applications in. We look forward to seeing all of your ideas! As always, please review the application guidelines carefully before applying. If you have any questions or need help with your application, please don’t hesitate to email me at faithg@kitshouse.org Faith Greer | Coordinator of Volunteers Kitsilano Neighbourhood House 2305 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC   V6K 1Y4 P:  604 736-3588 | Ext. 124...

  Hello, Opera Zone Series is Here Every 1st Sunday afternoon! Bring your friends and come listen and sign along with professional opera singers! Amazingly beautiful pieces are on the program. Tea and cookies at intermission   March 6th, April 3rd, May1st, June 5th, July...

Copies of “The Limited Edition” are now available for $10 each.  You can now reserve your copy by calling 604-257-8100 or email to hondakeiko@gmail.com, and pick up at the Kerrisdale Community Centre reception desk during 2016. First-Come, First-Served!   Acknowledgements    “Three years on a stone (will make a stone warm)” is the Japanese proverb meaning that perseverance will win out in the end. THE KERRISDALE PLAYBOOK RE-COLLECTION is the celebration of cultural transformation with our last full four years of continuous convivial “conversation” with the community. In this limited edition, we have selected 16 articles out of over 150, which represent a unique expression of the life force coursing throughout our community. Acknowledgments almost always begin by saying there are countless people to thank. This is particularly true this time. I want to thank all of the people, the interviewees, and readers over the past four years who have contributed to the Kerrisdale Playbook for great conversations. They have all inspired me. In particular though, I want to thank my team comprised of the 30 devoted young and the young-at-heart over the last four years. They all have brought their wholehearted work and created a new culture – the equivalent of what Barbara Ehrenreich would call – “Dancing in the Streets.” The new culture is symbolically a collection of community stories that evoke joy and exuberance in taking time to appreciate what’s around us, finding connections with people and nature, and expressing creativity in everyday life. Each and every article has offered a genuine, life-affirming and community-engaging conversation that allows us to find joy in the other fellow. Bravo to the team and what a pleasure to work with all of you! Of course I want to thank the Kerrisdale Community Centre Society...

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...

  Dear Readers, I recently traveled to DC for business but actually had the time to revel in the natural wonders of the East Coast hustle and bustle, not only because I used to live in the East Coast and felt at home, but because of the contrast effect of living in Vancouver. Whether or not I am deprived of vibrant environment for arts or cultural diversity here in Vancouver, I was breathing air of freedom and excitement there as if I have never breathed before 😉 But at the same time, I often catched myself saying, “We are so lucky to live in Vancouver!”, because of the incredibly humane and intelligent community we live and contribute together.    So here we are! The October issue is notable for its collection of authentic stories of our diverse and creative features including a centenarian Irene Ronnie, our beloved former board member! Irene’s message that we only do the things we enjoy is something to remember. Many congrats to Colleen Barlow for her stunning exhibition, Whale Dreams, at UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum, as well as to Vancouver Island filmmaker Connor Gaston for his 2015 VIFF BC Emerging Filmmaker Award!!  A high school senior, Jasmine Teng, is a girl on fire on her sustainable WaterMe project. Vancouver Asahi is truly a beacon of hope for our children.  As Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner, there’s no shortage of ‘things’ to be grateful for during the long weekend, starting with delectable meal and wonderful company to toast!      Cheers! Keiko Honda, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief Chair, Community...

By Josh Coward Photos courtesy of Josh Coward   Seventy years ago, on the baseball diamond located on Oppenheimer Park, in what used to be the heart of “Japan town” in Vancouver, the great Vancouver Asahi Baseball Team played it’s last game. In their daily lives, those Canadians of Japanese descent were not allowed access to certain jobs no matter how well educated they were. They were socially segregated at public places all the time. Only on the ball park were these “Japs” able to prove themselves as equals. The story of the Vancouver Asahi Baseball Team is not just about baseball, it was also how they played the game. In order to counteract the adverse conditions, the manager, Harry Miyasaki introduced a strategic style of offence and defense, putting great emphasis on discipline and training. This new type of baseball came to be known as ‘smartball’ or ‘brainball.’ The Asahi baseball team was a symbol of the Japanese Canadian struggle for equality and respect, and despite being disbanded and interned, left a legacy of inspiration for future generations of all Canadians.  Now, 70 years after the disbandment of a great team, a new spark begins to flicker. On October 11, 2014 a group of Japanese Canadian and Japanese people got together to revive this legendary team and formed the Canadian Nikkei Youth Baseball Club (CNYBC).   The CNYB is dedicated to creating healthy communities through the game of baseball. Inspired by the legacy of the Asahi Baseball team, for their skill, perseverance and accomplishments, it is our dream to bring back the Asahi Baseball Team to the Nikkei Community and Canada. We are a new club and are open to all, without regard to gender, ethnic origin or residency.   At the CNYBC we are...

By Katja De Bock Have you ever been in a situation of déjà vu before? Have you sometimes recognized places, tastes, smells or faces even though you’re sure you’ve never seen them in your life? In your present life, that is.   When Vancouver Island filmmaker Connor Gaston was four years old, he told his parents that in a past life, he was a carpenter named Peter, and fell off a roof. Gaston grew up in a Christian household and his parents had their faith challenged when they started looking into their son’s stories.   Some twenty years later, Gaston, an accomplished director of short films, researched cases of presumed reincarnation for a feature film screenplay.   The result, the buzz-making BC feature film The Devout, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) on October 2nd and director Connor Gaston promptly won the BC Emerging Filmmaker Award at the festival.   “I’ve always been interested in supposed accounts of reincarnation, and in theories about the afterlife in general,” says Gaston. “I read about a specific case where a little boy remembered a past life with incredible detail. He grew up in a Christian household and the parents had their faith challenged when they started looking to their son’s stories. This crisis of faith the family faced was so enticing to me. ‘What a great premise,’ I thought. The idea of reincarnation is so prevalent in society’s hive mind, but there really aren’t many movies about it. So I started writing.”   The Devout follows a young, devoted Christian family in a small Bible belt town, where the unthinkable happens. Darryl and Jan’s four-year-old daughter, Abigail, has terminal cancer with only weeks to live. Bedridden at home, Abi, while playing with her rocket ship toy, mumbles...

By Kenta Motoike Photography by Alan Peng November 2nd will mark a significant milestone in Irene Ronnie’s life as she will become a centenarian and will be receiving a letter from the Queen herself. This distinction is a turning point for Irene that recognises her as a both a subject and a person. However, in order to appreciate such a milestone, the significance of this milestone can only be conveyed through context. At one point Irene even jokingly mentioned the Queen’s letter is just “for your own ego and no other reason”. Thus, the Playbook has decided to provide this context and insight through a personal interview of Irene and her experiences. What was it like growing up? Same as school kids as everywhere I suppose. Everyone was Scottish there; the atmosphere was filled with “Scottishness”. Is that a word? I was born in Aberdeen and went to school in there. Nothing unusual about the school, I had the usual courses and exams. I was not a great sportswoman, more of the bookish type. What was it like in school? The courses were the regular courses, we learned according to our age and we had the usual examinations. All together I enjoyed school as I’m quite studious by nature. Speaking through my own personal experience, I simply liked school; I liked the discipline that gave me a sense of direction. It directed you in your thinking and you could argue there was never anything to stop you from discussing what you wanted to talk about. You had the chance to argue with the teacher if you didn’t agree what they said. How did you get involved with the Air Force? At a certain age you had to decide what you were going to join,...

By Jasmine Teng Photogtaphy by Jasmine Teng The WaterMe project is created by Jasmine Teng, a high school senior at Crofton House School. Jasmine grew up in Shanghai and moved to Vancouver five years ago. Ever since then, she has been an active member of the community and student at her school. Strongly connected to nature and the environment, Jasmine has always wanted to contribute to the community by bringing a little green into the city. Jasmine Teng is very involved in her school; she is a student leader and an active member of numerous extra-curricular. As it is her final year in high school, Jasmine has set a goal for herself to be more active in her community outdoor the ivy walls of Crofton House. With her involvement in local senior homes and this project along the way, Jasmine Teng hopes to leave an impact in her community before she goes off to college. Currently in her grade twelve year, Jasmine is putting together an art portfolio for college applications. Interested in both creative and academic aspects of design, Jasmine hopes to study both facets in university which consequently is actually how the WaterMe project came about. The WaterMe project was originally created in response to a prompt of an admission challenge. The prompt was to created a three-dimensional gift that demonstrated human spirit. When the word “gift” came to mind, Jasmine immediately thought of an interactive project. Being a student leader at her school, Jasmine has always been involved with her community. In her grade ten year, Jasmine was part of an outdoor education program at her school in which she spent a lot of time in nature and its surroundings. Ever since, Jasmine has tried to keep a conscientious mind and incorporate...

  By Sean Yoon   Having been invited by artist Colleen McLaughlin Barlow to attend the opening of her latest exhibition, “Whale Dreams” on September 30th, 2015, I arrived at the UBC Beaty Biodiversity Museum mindful of images I had seen of her work through her website. So in a sense, before I walked into the exhibition, I carried preconceived ideas of what I was to see and experience. The exhibition turned out to be highly different from what I expected, in a visually heightened, enlightening way to be able to experience her artwork in person. In particular, I recall being fascinated to observe the guests engaging with her art by taking pictures, conversing about her artwork in groups, as well as participating in some of the activities set up in the exhibition such as a drawing station where guests are instructed to draw blind contours of whale bone structures set up in front of them. Just as the Beaty Biodiversity Museum emphasizes how important the interconnectedness, or connection between human beings and nature is, Colleen’s art revealed a similar vein of thinking as we the spectators are made to contemplate the whale bones not just as one animal’s remains, but as a spectral symbol of our own mortality, our own bones residing within us. The exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to experience this in person, as well as check out the huge 26-metre long blue whale skeleton suspended in the museum’s atrium. If you have the chance, I would definitely recommend taking the time to visit the exhibition at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum in UBC before it ends on February 14th, 2016.   October 1, 2015 – February 14, 2016 Beaty Biodiversity Museum 2212 Main Mall Website beatymuseum.ubc.ca  ...

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