Dear Readers, Where does time go? That’s what I feel nowadays. My 10 year-old daughter often recites lines from her favourite movie, Spy Kids: “No one notices time until it’s gone!”, and then goes on, “If kids are feeling this way, then adults must feel even more!”   Sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. As such, let’s embrace the moment and enjoy springtime!  Many lovely events in the community are happening this month! This April is packed with exciting events and news. First of all, Kerrisdale IS the hottest destination in Vancouver, it seems, according to the Courier’s Stars of Vancouver Readers’ Choice Awards. See all the winners!!   –  Kerrisdale Community Centre has been voted #1 Community Centre  – Kerrisdale Village Farmers Market has voted #1 Farmers Market   –  Kerrisdale Days has been voted #2 Street Festival in Vancouver – Kerrisdale Village has been voted #2 Neighbourhood in Vancouver – Moore’s Bakery & Delicatessen (only in Kerrisdale) has been voted #1 Bakery – Faubourg (in Kerrisdale and elsewhere) has been voted #1 Dessert – Ajisai Sushi Bar (only in Kerrisdale) has been voted #1 Sushi Restaurant – my favourite sushi place;) – Bean Brothers Cafe (only in Kerrisdale) has been voted #2 Sandwich Place – Yes we often cater yummy sandwiches from them!   – The Kerrisdale Lumber Co. Ltd (only in Kerrisdale) has been voted #1 Hardware Store – Legato Tea & Coffee (only in Kerrisdale) has been voted #1 Coffee Shop, followed by Starbucks and JJ bean! I would like to congratulate to all of our area’s hardworking and innovative local businesses and people behind the scenes! Thank you for making Kerrisdale so vibrant and livable each and every day!  Secondly, our 1st Cherry Blossom Festival in Kerrisdale is coming up on Sunday April 26th!! This is what Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival...

Building Intergenerational Connections Through Creativity and Culture...

By Melody Pan   On the grounds of the Vancouver City Hall stands a Friendship Tree: a small cherry tree with a tremendous story to tell.   “It was August of 2003, as the BC forests were raging,” recalled Joy Kogawa as the time she first discovered the childhood home she had to leave behind at Marpole, the Kogawa House, was for sale. It was then she discovered an ailing and battered cherry tree and fell in love with it.   One strong branch of the tree had been held up with a trestle. Other branches were bound and wrapped with twine and cloth. Joy felt greatly drawn to the tree for all that it symbolized in all of its brokenness. While she could not recall if this was the same tree that had been there in her childhood―there was one that bore dark red cherries―she remembered feeling a sense of awe at such an old tree standing right before her eyes. It was at that moment she felt a powerful connection with the tree. This tree represented her family and community. It became known as the Friendship Tree, and served as a source of inspiration for Joy, both in life and in her works. In particular, there is her children’s book, Naomi’s Tree, which tells a story of loss and return.   Joy recalled that the tree itself was a landmark on her spiritual journey. There was one particular occasion that she recalled having a profound impact on her. One day, as she was there writing poems for the tree, she happened to place her right arm on its trunk. Just as she did so, she felt a ‘heat’ running down her arm, from the hand all the way down. She described feeling...

By Lauren MacFarland   It’s a goal of any artist and Stuart Ward has managed to achieve it: to create something truly original. Based in Vancouver, Stuart is the head of Hfour, a design company which pushes the boundaries of art as an immersive medium, bringing his installations out of the confines of galleries and into public venues, making his work more accessible and interactive, introducing the public to art they might never have discovered. It’s a fine balance to strike, to create innovation while keeping it approachable, as he explains, “if it goes so far that you need to have a large explanation to understand it, then maybe the visual communication is missing something.” Public art which is funded by taxpayers should especially be something that can be appreciated by anyone of any age.  “I don’t think there’s going to be a great big cultural shift, but if one person who doesn’t want to go to the art gallery has an interesting art experience…they might wonder what there might be in the world.”  This year, Stuart’s work ranges from a light installation at the annual Cherry Blossom Festival to working with performance artists, merging the physical beauty of dance with projection mapping technology that turns the sky into a stage. But perhaps the most exciting project Stuart has in development is ‘Divine Lights’, a stunning mix of craftsmanship and video art that comes together to create art pieces that are both state-of-the-art and a callback to the stained glass masterpieces of centuries before. It starts with projection mapping technology, the projection of video onto a solid piece, but Stuart takes it one step further, displaying video on LCD screens behind an overlay. The video displayed corresponds to the lattice, and the result is...

 By Dave Wheaton Photos by Alison Verghese   A few weeks back I was given the chance to meet with the inspiring and ever-intriguing Bill McMichael. For the uninitiated, Bill played and continues to play prominent roles in several non-profit organizations across Vancouver. In addition to volunteering as the Board Vice President at the Pacific Community Resource Society, which offers social services and strives towards community development, Bill is the events coordinator for The Canada Japan Society of BC, the past President of the TESL CanadaFederation, the past President and Founding Director of the Vancouver Mokuyokai Society, and the project manager of Vancouver Yokohama Golden Jubilee. I could go on, but suffice it to say that Bill has had a tremendous impact on educational services and various communities here in Vancouver. Despite the impressive catalogue of achievements, Bill’s career came from simple beginnings. After travelling the globe in his late teens, Bill returned to Vancouver and began teaching basic literacy to refugees. Today, after having served a number of directorial and managerial roles, Bill has returned to the non-profit sector to continue doing what he loves; empowering marginalized groups to a communal level. “It’s kind of like going backwards”, he chuckles, thinking back on how it all started. “I was president of the national organization of teachers, a group that creates standards. I did that for many years and then I moved right back into the neighbourhood stuff” Bill considers his job to be the best in the world and I was eager to discover why. “There’s nothing like teaching”, he says, “My hobby is meeting other people and this is a great way to do it”                   Bill speaks with the honest energy of someone who loves what he does. He flies from...

By Lauren MacFarland     It’s not too common to meet a poet in today’s world, but Kevin Spenst is proving that this form of the written word won’t be dying off anytime soon. It started when he was five, pretending to write and putting the pen to page that started him down the path to authorship. “I grew up with a schizophrenic father, so there were a lot of question marks all over my life, and I think I was trying to find some sort of answer, decipher the uncertainties of my world.” These uncertainties led him to explore religion for some years, before he began meandering through the arts at the age of sixteen. Kevin developed skills in different mediums before settling on poetry around seven years ago. When Kevin moved to Vancouver, he was encouraged to audition and participate in theatre, getting roles in professional productions which let him fall into the world of film and television, collaborating with a group to create short films. While writing these scripts, Kevin found his niche. “I really liked the fact that I could just write a story every day, which is what I started.” It’s no small feat to commit to a daily output, but Kevin held himself to his work and found the traction he needed to develop his craft as a writer. “I’d wanted to write since I was a kid but I’d never found the right circumstances and the support of these people in Vancouver kind of gave me that encouragement to set up on my own and set up my own website.” His website is a collection of poems, drawings, prose, all lending to the growth of his own personal voice. “It was fun to write in this short,...

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    Dear Readers, Our March issue is full to the brim with film, featuring some of the fantastic film events heading our way this month. We are incredibly excited to host a Canadian premiere of “Plant This Movie“, a documentary film on global urban farming movement, for which director Karney Hatch from Portland Oregon will be in attendance for a Q&A after the film! This will be on Friday, March 20th at 7pm at Kerrisdale Community Centre as well as Saturday March 21st at 7pm at Kitsilano Community Centre. Please don’t miss it.  Another exciting features are Paralympic athlete Andrea Holmes’s “Favourite Leg“ at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, filmmaker Oliver Hockenhull‘s compassionate and pioneering film “Citizen Planet: Cybernetic Governance in the Anthropocene“, and filmmaker Pia Massie‘s new “Screening+Discussion Series” around the theme of love/resilience at Kerrisdale Community Centre staring this Spring. Aren’t we lucky to “meet” those very committed individuals who are passionate about making a difference to the lives of people and seeking a deeper connection to place and community, and more sustainable ways of life? March is a month of “planting the seed” of community and creativity, so to speak! As a member of the Residence Advisory Committee of Vancouver Foundation’s Neighbourhood Small Grants, I would like to encourage all community members to apply! The deadline is March 31st! Last but not least, “Hanami” (cherry blossom viewing) is in full swing here. Please mark your calendar to come on out for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival happening in KERRISDALE on Sunday April 26th! We will surprise you!   Cheers! Keiko Honda, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief and Chair of Community Engagement  ...

Interviewed by Keiko Honda (Editor-in-Chief) Photos by Karney Hatch   An exciting time for urban farming and Vancouver! Prior to the upcoming Canadian Premiere of his documentary film, Plant This Movie, at Kerrisdale Community Centre in the evening of Friday, March 20th (Mark Your Calendar!), I interviewed filmmaker Karney Hatch about his incredible journey with Plan This Movie.    1. Where did the idea for the film come from? Something you knew a lot about? What attracted you to the world of urban farming as a setting for your new film? Why was it important for you to do a film about urban farming?   I grew up on a farm in Idaho, and when I was living in Los Angeles, I became aware of that city’s water issues, how they essentially steal most of their water from Northern California and neighboring states.  So then when you’re driving around the city and see all those green lawns, it doesn’t really add up.  They’re stealing all that water and not even using it to grow food.  I mean, the statistic that still freaks me out to this day is that lawn grass is the #1 irrigated crop in the U.S.  Talk about a terrible waste of resources!  So I started spending time and filming with the Food Not Lawns chapter in Claremont, a suburb of L.A., and it took off from there.  I also read Heather Flores’ book, “Food Not Lawns”, which was very inspiring as well.   2. What sort of research did you do with regards to urban agriculture movement (e.g., its history and economics, multiple stakeholders, city regulations, technology development, local economy development and marketing, community building, land use etc.) and how is this research represented in the storyline of the film?     I did quite...

    By Oliver Hockenhull  Photo Courtesy of Oliver Hockenhull         Beginning with some key definitions: 1.  The technological singularity is the hypothesis that accelerating progress in technologies will cause a runaway effect wherein artificial intelligence will exceed human intellectual capacity and control, thus radically changing civilization in an event called the singularity.   2.  Norbert Wiener, mathematician and philosopher, defined cybernetics in 1948 as “the scientific study of control and communication in the animal and the machine.”  The word cybernetics comes Greek κυβερνητική (kybernetike), meaning “governance”, i.e., all that are pertinent to κυβερνάω (kybernao), the latter meaning “to steer, navigate or govern”, hence κυβέρνησις (kybernesis), meaning “government”, is the government while κυβερνήτης (kybernetes) is the governor or the captain.   3.  The Anthropocene for the current geologic chronological epoch that began when human activities had a significant global impact on the Earth’s ecosystems.   We’re navigating rough waters, living in highly accelerated times and we haven’t caught up socially, culturally, intellectually, institutionally, economically nor ethically to the incredible capabilities of our computational technologies. It bares repeating —each of us is wandering around with the power of devices that are more powerful than the computers used to help land Apollo 11 on the moon — and what do we use them for? Typing to one another and downloading cute videos of our feline overlords. Our society and our politics are becoming increasing polarized, contentious, violent — though most of us would agree that our government system is falling to successfully manage our today let alone to envision a livable future  — and that our politicians and pundits are grotesquely over paid windbags of one sort or another — whose decisions are rarely wise. We will soon have the capabilities to realize the utopian dreams of generations — a united world living sustainability in creativity, peace &...

By Katja De Bock* Photos Courtesy of Coni Martin   A young woman sits on a racetrack, holding a prosthetic leg in her hand. “This is my everyday leg,” she says, “The toe is split, so I can wear thongs.” Then she looks over to a metal leg adjusted to her left knee. It looks a bit like the “blade runner” tool that gave Oscar Pistorius his nickname, but it is prettier. “This is my running leg,” she explains, with my new, beautiful cover over it.” Using those legs is what made North Vancouver’s Andrea Holmes famous. She is an award-winning Paralympian. Holmes was born with a condition of her left foot called fibular hemimelia. Her parents made the difficult decision of amputating her foot, so she could have an active lifestyle while using a prosthetic leg. She represented Canada in Athletics from 2002 to 2007, winning a Bronze Medal in long jump at the Para-Pan American Games in 2007. She has also competed on the BC Para-Alpine ski team. Holmes is a four-time Canadian long jump champion, three-time 100m champion and a Canadian record holder in high jump. Five years after her retirement as a professional athlete, a Langara College graduate of the Documentary Film Production program made a film about her. Coni Martin’s fine short My Favourite Leg recently screened at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (#VIWIFF2015). It will also be shown as part of the Just Film Festival, an annual festival of short films made by students in the Langara College Documentary Film Program. That screening will take place Sunday March 22 at 12:15 PM, at Langara College, 100 West 49th Avenue. “It made me cry,” says Holmes about the film, hardly 15 seconds into our interview for Kerrisdale Playbook. “She so eloquently was...

  By Pia Massie  Movies tell stories in the most profound way possible.  The images flicker like a fire – throwing light on the human condition.  The sound and music surround us, enveloping us in feelings ranging from pleasure to terror, depending on the genre we are in the theatre to watch.  Every frame, every picture tells a story that we read and file according to our own experience, our own individual set of associations, questions and desires.   We live in a global community of storytellers; all trying to make sense out of the ongoing chaos of our daily lives. Movies since their earliest moments have provided us a roadmap, a template of how to be.  Or not to be.  Opening a window on another point of view, whether it is from across the tracks or on the other side of the globe, movies help us understand how to live. They help us make meaning.   People have learned how to love, how to forgive, how to steal the show or start a revolution – all from watching movies. As audiences have become more adept at understanding film language, stories have naturally become more complex – speeding up, breaking apart into fragments, reversing themselves, even playing backward.   In this vast ocean of moving images, documentary films have become ever more important, ever more resonant in this quest of making sense and meaning of our lives.  Our hunger for real life stories has increased in direct proportion to the declining sense of community that all our high tech cities with their sleepless, rushing populations have fallen prey to.   This hunger for truth and shared storytelling, have given rise to a frenzy of documentation. Does an accumulation of tiny proofs : I was...

  ~ Canadian Premiere ~ The International Urban Farming Documentary “PLANT THIS MOVIE” at KCC on Friday, March 20th, 2015 After the World Premiere at the Portland Film Festival, the film has screened in Barcelona, Los Angeles, Phoenix, UC Berkeley, at an urban farm in Portland, and will be screening at Kerrisdale Community Centre! When: Friday, March 20th, 2015, 7-10pm Where: KCC Senior Centre’s South Room (5851 West BLVD.) The filmmaker, Karney Hatch from Portland OR, will be present for Q&A. Light refreshments will be served. FREE and open to the public (all ages) DON’T MISS IT!!! “Plant This Movie” explores the zeitgeist of urban farming around the world, from the incredible story of Havana, Cuba to communities of urban farmers in cities as diverse as Shanghai, Calcutta, Addis Ababa, London, and Lima. In the US, the story focuses on communities in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. The film is narrated by Daryl...

(From Left), Taylor Lecky (staff writer), Keiko Honda (Editor-in-Chief), Linda Poole (Executive Director of Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival) Special thanks to Noriko (photography) and Visual Space (film location)     Dear Readers, We are already in the second month of 2015.  In Japan, February 3 marks the yearly Setsubun celebration (literally means “division of seasons”), implying the day before the first day of spring (surprisingly, despite the chills!). Traditionally people in Japan throw roasted soybeans inside and outside their houses to drive away evil spirits and misfortune, chanting “Out with the Demon! In with Fortune!“. Why not take another moment to reflect beyond the New Year’s Resolution? What we can do today to improve, energize, thrive, grow and love more? I think the deepest reflection is actually an ongoing process. I first met Linda Poole in the planning committee meeting of Vancouver – Yokohama Golden Jubilee (1965-2015), for which I am very excited to share some of what’s been happening with all of you as time goes by. Meeting Linda was like the cherry blooming front finally come around! Her passion is so contagious that I am running a sakura fever, and so will you! This year for the first time, Kerrisdale Community Centre’s Centennial Park will be hosting the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival on April 26th. Please mark your calendar and be sure to attend!! In addition, in this issue, our “one-of-a-kind creators” feature will inspire you with some great wood work artist, Russ Gray, a youth leader, Maya Reisz, and a fashion designer and beyond, Terry Sasaki – a new addition to our Best Of list!  Last not but least, our AGM is just around the corner! Please mark your calendar for February 18th,7:30pm.   Happy February and Happy Valentine’s Day!   Keiko Honda Editor-in-Chief Chair, Community Engagement Kerrisdale Community Centre Society          ...

By Taylor Lecky Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Special Thanks to VISUAL SPACE (film location)  Kobayashi Issa once wrote, “there is no stranger under the cherry tree.” Before my interview with Linda I knew I appreciated the sentiment behind the saying but I didn’t fully understand it. In honesty, when I was first asked to write an article on the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, I had no idea what to expect. Apologetically, I stereotypically made an assumption that an individual of Japanese descent would walk in the Visual Space Dunbar gallery that rainy Vancouver Tuesday afternoon. However, I was extremely naive. Linda Poole, with all her golden haired glory, glided into the room as an elegant cherry blossom-like individual herself. Wearing a fuchsia pink skirt with matching leather shoes, a cherry blossom pendant and bracelet, you could not deny that she exuded passion for Vancouver’s sweetheart of tree’s.   “Is pink your favourite colour?” I asked while wearing my daily uniform of head-to-toe black. “No, I enjoy many colours. However, CBC did once interview me on T.V in which they started the session by filming these exact pink shoes. I don’t wear them much anymore,” Linda laughs. “But I do think pink looks good on everyone.” Linda’s demeanor is energetic and passionate while at the same time extremely calming.   Having lived abroad with the Canadian Foreign Service with her husband, a Canadian Ambassador, Linda says at the beginning she asked herself, ‘what does an ambassador really do? Let alone what does an ambassadors wife do?   “It was a fantastic experience and a privilege. I didn’t want to leave. Everyday I would see the Canadian flag flying above our official residence and I would just choke me up. You’re so far from home but your...

By Emily Cheung Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Special Thanks to KIKORI (film location) When wood work artist Russ Gray moved to Vancouver with his wife 18 years ago, he developed a fondness for Vancouver’s unique climate, referring to the rain as “liquid sunshine.” It is this sanguine disposition which has been the vehicle behind his unconventional career path to date. Having grown up in Ontario, it was Russ’ high school art teacher who became the inspiration behind his passion for art. He was motivated by perspective drawing and the eclectic persona of his teacher. Meanwhile, his interest in Japanese culture stemmed from practicing martial arts, specifically Judo and Kendo, ever since he was a young boy. After high school, Russ spent some time in the military. He sang with the Canadian Armed forces as a lead singer. Russ recalls the days when he sang rock and swing, and often travelled across different countries including Germany, Israel, and bases across Canada. Afterwards, Russ travelled to Japan and it was there that he cultivated his skills in Japanese wood work. He began his training in Japan in the 1980s and deepened his woodworking expertise through experimentation and applying Japanese concepts into his own work. Russ adds, “Mistakes are part of the growing process.” Russ specializes in screens, lamps, paper shoji (paper sliding doors), panels, and other custom interior goods. Reflecting upon the paths he has taken in life, Russ muses, “Where you go determines where you will end up”. He believes that reinvention is achieved through circumstances. As for the origins of Kikori, a Japanese antiques and furnishings shop run by Russ, it started when his current business partner, Carol Yamamoto, came looking in his furniture workshop in Langley. The two later found out Carol’s husband, Robert...

  By Maya Reisz Photo Courtesy of Kitsilano Neighbourhood House     YEA? The Youth Evening of Arts was mini arts festival planned and presented by Westside Youth, ages 10-25, as part of the grand re-opening celebration for The Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. Over the course of 6 months, 52 youth were involved as committee members, performing artists and general volunteers, making it a unique for-youth-by-youth experience. At the event itself, 40 youth volunteered, 18 performed, 11 learned to speed paint and 8 participated in the live speed painting competition. 72 pieces of artwork were displayed in the youth designed gallery, not including the geometric art installation representing 150 individual pieces from Westside community members.                 Dear Reader,   I took a big chance last May. With no experience in program planning, I created the Youth Evening of Arts for Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. Why? In the aftermath, I can rationalize it as:   I was inspired by Kit’s houses’ history of community led programming. I wanted to do work that felt meaningful. I thought it would be fun to work with a bunch of young artists. Someone needed to do it. Why not?    Truly, at the time I accepted the offer, I just had a strong gut feeling, one that tickled my imagination and catalyzed my heartbeat. I felt the possibility and wanted to see it happen. Mary Bennet, the celebration planner, gave me complete creative control and a shoulder to lean on. So, I dedicated six months of my life to a possibility, witnessing frustrating moments in juxtaposition with creative successes and a host of tiny miracles. Now, I carry with me a sublime feeling of nurturing a notion I held on my own into a vibrant success shared by many....

By Lauren MacFarland Photos: Noriko Nasu-Tidball Special Thanks to Terry Sasaki Gallery (film location) Bursting with light and colour, Terry Sasaki’s gallery and clothing store are a unique blend of different cultures and versatile creativity, art of different mediums all telling the story of the man behind these beautiful works. For more than twenty years, Terry has been travelling the world, bringing his experiences to his work, and fusing the styles of East and West, the perfect mix for the Vancouver art scene, where so many different cultures collide. Relocating in the Lower Mainland presented new challenges and inspirations, allowing Terry to avail himself of new techniques and textures, always learning and evolving as an artist, constantly creating art that has inspired people the world over. Paintings are the main focus of Terry’s gallery in the Pan Pacific Hotel in Downtown Vancouver, his art instantly eye-catching and evoking his Japanese background, mixed with Western influence. “I get my energy from a lot of different places,” he explains, “and when my energy is good, then my art reflects that. If I ever feel tired of a painting, I move on, I try new things, because the most important thing about my art is that it reflects who I am and makes me happy.” In addition to his own pieces, the gallery also holds work from other local artists, as Terry recognizes the importance of giving back to the art community and giving other artists a chance to have their work seen. Interpersonal relationships hold a great amount of importance to him, and he counts friends from all over the world, including other many other diversely skilled artists. “When you take from different cultures, you have to give back to it as well,” he explains, and...

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    Dear Readers, Good luck to a New Year, New Goals, and New Opportunities! What are your New Year’s resolutions? I have parenting goals, relationship goals, health goals, friend goals, budgeting goals, reading goals, hobby goals, work goals, and even pleasure goals….for all facets of life………I am getting after it…….Failure is a given…..Another chance to start, of course…. After all. life IS improvisational, as we never know exactly what is coming, but having a plan is comforting. In choosing an entrepreneur, Dr. Lee Van Horn, an emerging writer, Rachelle Chartrand, an artist Mariko Ando, and community connectors, Katherine Allen & Laura Kosciecha as our feature for the January issue, we found ourselves in good company. I see a creative abundance in all areas of life, including realizations of ourselves.  As Dr. Van Horn said in his interview, “In your community, there are a million ways to give back and the only reason you don’t see them is because you are not looking. After all, it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”.  The key, again, is effort. Kudos to Bernie Percy and Mary Dopson, 2014 recipients of the Volunteer Award of Kerrisdale Community Centre. We awarded two awards to long time volunteers who have made great contributions to our community. I would like to highlight here some noteworthy achievements: Bernie Percy joined the knitting group 12 years ago and leads the group. Bernie was born in Dublin, Ireland, one of 10 children.  Bernie is very proud of her involvement with the Book of Kells, an ancient book from Ireland which dates from the 6th Century BC.  There were a few replicas made and Bernie organized a committee to purchase the only copy in Canada.  It is now on permanent display in the UBC library, and it is the most popular...