Image from Creative Commons by Eileen Chen Having a life while being in medical school sounds a bit like a paradox, but first year medical student Joshua Yoon is here to prove that it can be done. While studying as a full-time student, Joshua also serves as the chair of the Kerrisdale Community Centre (KCC) Youth Committee. He began volunteering for KCC as a youth leader since he was in high school and says that the community is “dear to his heart.” The original Youth Leaders in Action program that he participated in emphasized leadership, professionalism, and interpersonal skills, and involved collaborative event planning for various holidays and special occasions. Today, the Youth Committee still runs several community events in spite of COVID-19, such as an intergenerational tech workshop that pairs high school volunteers with seniors in the community. Joshua was initially surprised by the level of interest shown by both seniors and high school students to return to these events after the pandemic put it on hold. They followed strict COVID-19 protocols for masking and distancing, and have had several successful sessions this summer. “There are more avenues for intergenerational dialogue now, whether digital or remote or not,” said Joshua. The seniors in the program have always been more than willing to divulge experiences beyond laptop and smartphone trouble-shooting, and the pandemic has only highlighted the importance of social interaction in a time of physical distancing. Joshua notes that intergenerational dialogue isn’t emphasized by most school curriculums, which makes these community activities especially valuable to the youth. Even as a medical student, interpersonal skills are indispensable. During practicum at the Vancouver General Hospital, Joshua has to...

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By Tatiana Zamorano Photos by Syed Mustafa Permission to reprint granted by the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society Community is necessary and a crucial element that society requires in order to thrive as community has the power to create culture and sense of belonging, which produces unity amongst individuals and fosters compassion for one another, that then contributes to the wellbeing of individuals and the regeneration of sustainable communities. However, over the years the values and dynamics of communities have changed due to the framework that encompasses us, which has worked to generate a society founded on profit and individualism. This urbanized society has increased the levels of social isolation and self-interest within our societies, which has broken the necessary bonds needed to keep community and culture alive and thriving. So the question that remains is how can we combat social isolation and reignite sustainable communities? Well the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society (VACS) believes that art is a central tool in creating this vision of sustainable community as, art is rooted in culture which has the capacity to bind people together through profound relationships, that produce bounded solidarity amongst community members that then incites change and builds strongly connected communities.  Therefore, through VACS’s mission art has played a pivotal role in building community and in nurturing and cultivating culture, which VACS wanted to share with the public but not solely through their initiatives. Instead VACS wanted to take their idea centered on the vitality of art even further and focused on how they could relay this revelation of art to others in order to make others comprehend their vision in which art is an essential component in generating sustainable communities and culture. However, the hurdle that stood in their path was formulating a method that...

By Tatiana Zamorano-Henriquez* Photos by Syed Mustafa* My background is Chilean-Canadian and having a Chilean family the values and morals that many Chileans have are profoundly rooted in family, social interactions and relationships. In the older generations of Chilean culture the collective and community was what bonded people together and was always cherished over individualist aspects of life and over the work life. An example of this in Chile that still occurs is the entire city shuts down for dinnertime. The workplaces close and people are given an hour to two hours to go home and sit down with family friends and coworkers and are encouraged to socialize over a meal. This system in Chile is a structure that promotes and inspires social interactions and forging social ties to fortify the sense of community, and although Chile’s structure has evolved and has been influenced by consumerist and individualist ideals from North America it still holds true to this system where social interactions and community is of central importance and as a result, sense of belonging and community has not dissipated in Chile and these principles can be found across the country. Thus, these ideals that made these interactions and community priority were always a part of my life. When I was young my days were filled with love, laughter, stories and endless conversations, these days were the happiest days of my life. Growing up I was encompassed by my family, we lived in East Vancouver on Venables Street in a vintage white house bordered with a light blue trim. I remember it as if it was only yesterday, walking up the blue steps of the house I opened the giant wooden door to my grandparents house, I remember my heart was always filled with happiness...

By Liam McLean* Photos by Syed Mustafa* Arriving in Vancouver from Hong Kong in 1980, Kevin Wong understands the difficulty of learning a new language in a foreign place. As we sit in the Kerrisdale Community Centre, his hand holding a book that will foreshadow the content of our conversation, he tells me about his first encounters with the English language in Hong Kong and in Vancouver. “When we were in Hong Kong we had English classes, but they are just basically grammar,” said Kevin, “Because every day we just spoke the Chinese [Cantonese]. We seldom used English in writing, speaking. So, basically when we came over here […] it was quite difficult to communicate.” After arriving in Canada, Kevin first attended Langara where his struggles with English continued, failing his first two attempts at a required first-year English course offered by the English as a Second Language (E.S.L) program. For Kevin, those early days of learning a new language were made more difficult since “everyday you have to encounter people [who speak English] and some people they talk really fast and don’t have the patience to say it again. Then you just have to guess what they’re talking about and half of the time you guess wrong.” With his sights set on attending Simon Fraser University, it was vital for him to understand English well enough to acquire the necessary transfer credits from Langara and to communicate in daily Vancouver life.          Kevin’s struggles diminished during his third attempt at the English program when he received the proper aid to accommodate his learning style. “The turning point was the teacher,” Kevin said, looking back at that third class, “She actually taught me the basics of grammar and she had the...

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Involvement, engagement, collaboration, and leadership, these are the terms that describe Barb, a director of the Kerrisdale Community Centre Society.  She is a retired educator and during her 32 year career in Vancouver, she taught primary and intermediate students and coached youth in volleyball, badminton, softball, track and field, also Odyssey of the Mind teams (provincial winner). Barb currently serves as a Director on the Board of the BC Retired Teachers Association, chair of the BCRTA Heritage Committee, member of the Finance Committee and has served on the Membership committee and Health and Housing committees. She is a BCRTA delegate to BC Teachers Federation AGM, and represents them on the Board of BC FORUM (Federation of Retired Union Members). She is past president of the Vancouver branch of the BC Retired Teachers Association. Through COSCO (Council of Senior Citizens Organization of BC) Barb serves as General Vice-President and Housing Committee Chair and Strategic Planning committee member.  Barb is a facilitator for the COSCO Wellness Institute and regularly presents workshops on health issues to seniors groups in the Lower Mainland. She contributes articles to: Postscript, COSCO News, NPF newsletter and Vancouver Tabloid. Barb served on the planning committee for the recent COSCO 2016 conference, held in September, 2016. At the NPF (National Pensioners Federation) AGM in September, 2016 she presented an ‘Action Plan for Housing’ as chair of the Housing committee.  This followed the national ‘Housing Policy’ paper which she prepared, and was adopted at the NPF convention last year in Ottawa. Barb also served on the action committee for Canada ‘Healthcare Declaration’ which is endorsed by groups across Canada. Locally she is on the Board of the Metro Vancouver Cross Cultural Senior Network and has served as their secretary. This group won the SFU...

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By Lara Boleslawsky Photograph by Raine Gauthier What does the word ‘community’ mean to you? Initially, the question poses a daunting task: putting into words the magnitude of emotion, passion and dedication that is held by the diverse individuals that are a part of that community. Nonetheless, it was a question I posed to Kerrisdale local, Doloris Hyrnkiw, and her response triggered a discussion probing into the concepts of ‘safety’ and ‘isolation’ and their relationship to the building blocks of society and the relatively uncharted territory of community engagement. [Our conversation left a sincere impression on me, and I felt myself inspired by Doloris’ story. Not only was I able to reflect upon my own life thus far, but our interview left me to ponder how I myself might answer the question I so often posed to my interviewees.] Doloris’ background, working with disabled and disadvantaged youth has given her the profound ability to tap into the role of emotion in the creation of a healthy and sustainable community. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Doloris began her career in social development in high school. Having been asked to work at a Special Needs School in her mid-teens, Doloris credits this experience as having been the spark for her determined efforts to increase awareness of the role of isolation in the hindrance of social development.  “The institution was quite sad,” Doloris recalls, remembering that children were kept in big warehouse, like buildings in small rooms with locks on the other side of the city, effectively isolating them from the daily rumblings of metropolitan life.  “I remember reading an article by Wolfensberger [a prominent German sociologist], saying, you know, that ‘people should have a normal life. So I became an advocate at 17, when I went...

By Sean Yoon   Every life is sacred. Choosing to embrace non-violence, peace and love as a way of life, Magdaleno “Leno” Rose-Avila is a human rights activist. After Martin Luther King Jr.’s death in 1968, someone came to him and said, “You have to stand up today. If you love Martin Luther King, then you have to defend what is right.” That is when Leno made a promise to himself that he would dedicate his life to helping people. From that moment forward, he became an activist and started demonstrating and defending human rights.   “If you don’t value other people’s lives, why should they value yours?”   For over a decade, Leno has worked with former gang members in El Salvador and LA through the organisation he started called “Homies Unidos,” or “Homeboys United.” Homeboys United worked with former gang members and youth to help them break away from violence and gain life skills through education programs, employment programs and various forms of mental health support. Leno recalls listening to former gang members for 90 days before he even said anything to them. “How can I talk to them if I don’t know their reality?” He said. “Most of the time we don’t take the time to listen, we always have an answer for somebody. What about listening? What is your pain, what are you thinking, where are you?” Leno came to discover that the people he met with were often very smart, but they were poor and have had very few opportunities to lead lives other than through violence.   What is the value that we place on a person’s life? Leno once had 70,000 dollars in his retirement account. He spent it all to start Homeboys United, and then put...

  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...

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...

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 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 Sean Yoon Photo Courtesy of Colleen McLaughlin Barlow   Despite exhibiting artistic talent early in her childhood, artist Colleen Barlow had been channeled towards becoming an English teacher or journalist by her family based upon her aptitude in reading and writing with the idea that an education should lead to a job. Colleen would follow this thought process throughout the early stages of her education, going on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Carleton University in 1976. What she encountered in studying journalism was that the field of journalism quickly proved to be an extremely rigorous and competitive environment as Colleen recalls, “Fifty percent of your mark in 3rd year reporting was running the C.B.C. News Room for one afternoon in Ottawa and you were being watched by professional journalists who at the end of the day, would say whether you passed or not. You might’ve been working for three years on a degree and you could have just been cut right then.” Ultimately surviving the competition, Colleen began her career as a journalist at the age of 21 after graduating in a class of only 42 students from a starting pool of near 400 first year students.   The stress that came from a rigorous, competitive environment would persist throughout Colleen’s career as a journalist, which culminated in instances where her moral values were skewed negatively. Colleen recalls a particular instance of this phenomenon stating, “It’s very stressful and you start to get some very odd values like I actually remember being in a war zone in the Bekaa Valley. Nothing had been happening for about three or four weeks and then suddenly there was some skirmishing going on and I thought to myself: ‘Great we’ve got something for...

  By Kenta Motoike   Purpose and Overview  The goal of the intergenerational creativity project, led by Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society, is to strengthen the connection between youth and seniors through the sharing of their experiences and stories in a collaborative manner. These stories and experiences are conveyed and expressed through multidisciplinary formats in order to facilitate interactions between youth and seniors. The project chose “placemaking” as multidisciplinary format to inspire people to collectively reimagine and reinvent everyday spaces as the heart of every community, including public and semi-public spaces such as boulevards and front yards.  The Placemaking Team comprised of all ages is directed towards addressing the intergenerational and intragenerational distance faced by youth and seniors due to their differences in age, culture and experiences. While youth and seniors at times have trouble relating to each other due to their perceived differences, this distance is further exacerbated by the fact that we live in an increasingly privatised world. Public sites; places for people to converge and congregate such as parks and public parks are dwindling. This matter is compounded by the systemic tendency to prioritise personal and corporate privacy at the expense of the community. Some may say we live in a state of communal limbo, where people are in proximity to each other physically, yet we remain emotionally distant and disconnected. Large scale systematic change on society is daunting yet achievable, but it must begin locally with a social ripple. The article intends to elaborate on the progress in the Placemaking Team through the process involved in the completion of one boulevard located near 23rd and McKenzie St, namely Oliver’s boulevard. Concept and Execution On Sunday March 31st, work on Oliver’s boulevard commenced, however prior to actually working on the garden itself,...

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 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 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 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....