I hope that your holidays were more cozy than icy! I am catching the first glimpses of grass since my return from Japan, prompting me to think of spring and the summer to follow.
I'm bursting with inspiration from my artist residency in the Japanese mountains – a month of living amongst bamboo forests, poisonous spiders, monkeys, and wild boars.
I feel fortunate to be in a position in which my inspiration can manifest through the festival and other programming. Thanks to my co-workers for holding down the fort while I was away.
Looking forward to what brings us together in 2017.
あけましておめでとうございます！
We’re launching a new Membership Reward program with Catfe, Coconama Chocolate, Kyzock Sushi Bowl and Tama Organic Life! Read below or give us a call for more details.
Our New Annual Membership Top-Up!
You are invited to take part in our reinvigorated membership program! Sign up now on eventbrite! In addition to our affordable Lifetime Membership for $12, you now have the option to “top-up” to an Annual Membership for an additional $12. Annual Members receive a Membership Card valid through 2017, entitling you a 10% discount at:
Coconama Chocolate, first ganache chocolate shop in North Vancouver. Discount at retail location;
Catfe, part cafe, part foster home for cats, and a space to hanging with kitties! Discount on food, drink and 'meowchandise';
and on Powell Street Festival Society merchandise at any event and online throughout the year.
Your membership card also gets you:
An invite to an Members Only Party following the Annual General Meeting on March 9, 2017;
Discounted rates at PSFS art presentations including Spatial Poetics in July.
Prices:
Annual top-up for current Lifetime Members......................$12
Annual top-up & new Lifetime Membership........................$24
Lifetime Membership only, no Annual Top-up.....................$12
Sign up now on eventbrite or email, fax (604.683-7911) or phone (604.683.8240) us! To become a member via fax or mail, please print out this Membership Form and mail it to us with your membership fee. Donations above and beyond the cost of membership are graciously accepted, and can be made through Eventbrite or Canada Helps.
Community News
January Screenings of The Apology
January 15 at 7:45pm and January 17 at 5pm Vancity Theatre at 1181 Seymour Street Buy tickets here
Runner up in the Audience Awards at Hot Docs this year, The Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment in so-called “comfort stations,” the three “grandmothers”– Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines – face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology from the Japanese government or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
"The Apology is a simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, devastatingly powerful experience." Hollywood Reporter
"Timely and profound… A landmark film for its subject matter and the sensitivity with which Hsiung approaches it, The Apology is one of the best films ever produced by the NFB." Patrick Mullen, POV magazine
The Special Events Hall at Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby
Free Admission
A partnership with SFU's David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication, The Centre for POlicy Studies on Culture and Communities in SFU's Faculty of Communications, Art and Technology, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, and Powell Street Festival Society.
In this event, filmmakers from Canada and the United States will come together to engage in discussion on documentation of Nikkei (the Japanese diaspora) histories. The discussion will be center around the history of the internment of Japanese Canadians and Japanese Americans, but will also explore the following themes:
- Film as a medium of historical storytelling
- Cinematic genres
- Filmmaking as community engagement
- Inter-generational & inter-community relations
- Implications for contemporary racism and xenophobia
The Powell Street Festival Society’s (PSFS) mission is to cultivate Japanese Canadian arts and culture to connect communities. Our main activity is producing the Powell Street Festival (PSF) in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood. PSF is an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture. It is the largest event of its kind in Canada and the longest running festival in Metro Vancouver, entering its 41st year. The Society also produces its own programming as part of an annual season and participates in co-presentations with other arts organizations throughout the year.
Powell Street Festival Society seeks a dedicated team player for the position of Volunteer Coordinator for the 41th annual Powell Street Festival. This temporary position is a full-time position and will start the week of May 1th and end the last week of August 2017.
Working with the PSFS staff, Board of Directors and festival core committee, the Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible primarily for filling all volunteer slots during Festival weekend and pre-Festival events. Read more…
Powell Street Festival Society seeks a dedicated team player for the position of Production Associate for the 41th annual Powell Street Festival. This temporary position is a full-time position and will start the first week in May and end the last week of August 2017.
Working with the Executive Director (ED), Artistic Director (AD), Administrative Assistant (AA), seasonal staff (Volunteer Coordinator, Production Coordinator (PC) and Communications Coordinator), Board of Directors and Festival Core Committee, the Production Associate will be responsible for assisting with the details of Festival coordination with direction from the Production Coordinator. Read more…
Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) seeks a publicist on contract for the 41st Powell Street Festival and its lead-up events in May, June and July. The contract will start May 1st and conclude August 15, 2017. The contract must encompass the following responsibilities, however, PSFS is open to proposals that bring a vision of partnership and might also include involvement in content development and innovative promotions. Read more…
Do you have a Japanese Canadian or Downtown Eastside community related event? Powell Street Festival Society is pleased to offer our community partners the opportunity to submit their own special events. We will publicize suitable events and activities. It’s our little way of saying thank you for your hard work in our community! Send us via Community Event Submission Form.
Message from the Artistic Director
Runner up in the Audience Awards at Hot Docs this year, The Apology follows the personal journeys of three former “comfort women” who were among the 200,000 girls and young women kidnapped and forced into military sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Some 70 years after their imprisonment in so-called “comfort stations,” the three “grandmothers”– Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China, and Grandma Adela in the Philippines – face their twilight years in fading health. After decades of living in silence and shame about their past, they know that time is running out to give a first-hand account of the truth and ensure that this horrific chapter of history is not forgotten. Whether they are seeking a formal apology from the Japanese government or summoning the courage to finally share their secret with loved ones, their resolve moves them forward as they seize this last chance to set future generations on a course for reconciliation, healing, and justice.
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