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PSFS - February 2023 E-Newsletter
Photo by Tamio Wakayama
Dear Powell Street Festival Friends,

Welcome to February! While some groundhogs might disagree, we can feel a slow inch towards the spring season as we prepare for a short but busy month!

In this issue:
  • Upcoming Events: Join us on Feb. 5 for Setsubun, and on the 18th for a day of Taiko centred around a special screening of Finding Her Beat!
  • Open Applications: 47th Annual Powell Street Festival applications are open! Plus, apply to join this year's Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort before the deadline
  • Society Updates: our Winter Care Package project and a new issue of the paueru gaizette zine; and
  • Announcements from the Community
Keep an eye on our social media as we get ready for what's to come! We are easy to find as @powellstfest on Instagram and Twitter, Powell Street Festival on Facebook, and as Powell Street Festival Society on YouTube.

Upcoming Events

THIS WEEKEND: Setsubun

Sunday, February 5 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Oppenheimer Park - 488 Powell St. at Jackson Ave.
FREE community event!

Join us for Taiko alongside elder Veronica’s Sacred Fire, followed by a Paueru Mashup Lesson and community dance, complete with special appearances and a community meal of Japanese Curry Rice and hot apple cider. Now at Oppenheimer Park, this continuation of our New Year’s event features a nod to Setsubun traditions like mamemaki, alongside Powell Street Festival twists as we celebrate a turning point towards a new season at this FREE event on Sunday, February 5.

Thank-you to Oppenheimer Park, Vancouver Japanese Language School & Japanese Hall, and WePress for their support of this event.

Read More

Finding Her Beat

Saturday Feb. 18 12 Noon to 6:00 PM

Free & Ticketed Events
SFU Woodward's

Join in this packed day of events celebrating the Taiko community in Vancouver! Begin the day with a 30-minute free public Taiko performance at 12:00 noon by Vancouver’s Sawagi Taiko, the first all-women Taiko group in Canada, at Woodward’s Atrium. Following the performance at 1:30 PM, DOXA, SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, and Powell Street Festival Society have partnered for a ticketed screening of the film Finding Her Beat—a documentary about a drum master from Japan and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota boldly convening an all-female troupe to perform Taiko, the Japanese drumming art that had been off-limits to women for centuries. The film will be wrapped with an exciting conversation between Executive Director of TaikoArts Midwest and Executive Producer of the film, Jennifer Weir and animator, director, designer, performer, and Assistant Professor of Theatre Production and Design at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts, Miwa Matreyek. Tickets are $10-15 dollars (plus fees) on a sliding scale. This day of femme Taiko will be bookended with light refreshments at a free, informal talkback at 4:00 PM with Jennifer Weir and Vancouver Taiko Society at KW Studios’ Production Studio.

Screening tickets and full information on each event are available now at our website below!
Read More

Call for Volunteers

Interested in volunteering at our day of Finding Her Beat Taiko events, at the next Powell Street Festival, or another special event? We'd love to hear from you! Let us know by filling out a quick 3-mintue survey below.
I'm Interested!

Open Applications

Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort

Applications Now Open


Powell Street Festival Society is accepting applications for the 2023 Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort!

This program offers an expenses-paid opportunity for young Japanese Canadians, age 19 to 29, who were raised outside of British Columbia to attend the Powell Street Festival, participate the production of the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival, attend training sessions, and create an embodied experience of Japanese Canadian identity as vibrant and vital. 

The Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort is an annual offering, created to facilitate a tangible connection to Japanese Canadian history and one’s furusato (hometown) for young Japanese Canadians raised outside of British Columbia.

This is a hybrid program spanning early May to mid-August, with weekly online remote training sessions, culminating in an in-person Production Residency in Vancouver, Sunday, July 30th to Wednesday, August 9th. Travel, accommodation, and per diem costs will be covered for intra-Canadian travel. International travellers must cover their expenses to Canada.

Don't miss your chance to participate! Applications accepted through February 28, 2023. Click below for full details and instructions.

Read More and Apply Now

Festival Applications are now Open!

Apply now to participate in the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival


Applications to perform and participate in the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival are now live on our website for professional & community artists, martial arts groups, community & display booths, food vendors, and craft & food marketplace vendors! Filling out an application is the first step to joining the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival as a new or returning participant.

As always, Powell Street Festival is free to attend; applications are only required from those participating in the above categories. Watch for volunteer applications in late spring—we'll be sure to let you know here when they're ready!

Click the link below to read more and apply now! Applications are due by March 10, 2023.
Apply Today

Society Updates

Winter Care Package Update

This past week, Powell Street Festival Society staff, volunteers, and community peers helped assemble 250 care packages full of winter essentials for unhoused and precariously housed community members in the Downtown Eastside (Paueru Gai). The contents of these packages include warm socks, hot beverage mixes, hand warmers, hygiene products, snacks and other items selected in consultation with community members during Minori Harvest, our autumn Oppenheimer Park event.

Part of our ongoing community care programming, these packages are set to be distributed around this Sunday's Setsubun event and beyond.

We are able to assemble and distribute these needed care packages, our third round since 2020, because of the generous support we received from our Winter Care Package Fundraiser. We sincerely appreciate all who helped us exceed our goal by donating to the campaign, sharing it on- or off-line, or mentioning it in passing! We are also grateful to Washington Community Market for their support of this initiative.
Thank you for your support!

Pauru Gaizette no 2

The second edition of our Advocacy and Outreach Committee (AOC)'s zine, the paueru gaizette has been released! On the theme of "what do we harvest?," members of the AOC wanted to engage with what the change into fall and winter means to different members of our community.
Read this issue on our website below!
Read Now

Community Announcements

VIM Presents: Aki Takahashi / Mohamed Assani Trio

February 17, 2023 7:30 PM
Fox Cabaret

Catch this magical evening of shamisen and sitar featuring Mohamed Assani Trio and Aki Takahashi (Toronto) at the Fox Cabaret. Presented by Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society (VIM) in partnership with the Fox Cabaret. Advance tickets available below on a sliding-scale from $15-$25, or pay what you can at the door, subject to availability (advance tickets highly recommended).

Aki Takahashi (Toronto) will perform a solo set featuring shamisen and vocals for her project 10-10-20. In commemoration of her 20th anniversary of performing in Canada, she is planning 20 solo performances this year.

The Mohamed Assani Trio takes music to new realms while remaining committed to the rich roots of South Asian traditions. Mohamed Assani, twice Western Canadian Music Awards nominated artist for Instrumental music, is a dynamic performer and composer known for his genre-defying music.

More Details and Tickets

Job Notice: Japanese Canadian Legacies Outreach Workers

The Japanese Canadian Survivors Heath & Wellness Fund Society (JCHSWFS) is looking for motivated outreach workers across Canada to be part of an exciting team dedicated to finding and assisting survivors with their online application for individual health support funding. Sound like you? Click below for details!

Read full details

Beyond the Disciplinary Narratives of the Colonial Settler State and Empire

New Critical Directions and Methodologies

February 7, 2023 6:00 PM.

Check out this free in-person panel at SFU Harbour Centre! See details in the above poster or click here for the PDF.

Best wishes for the new season!

Thanks again for your support and for keeping in touch - we hope to see you soon at one of our events! You can also stay in touch with us through our social media - check the links in the footer of this message!
よろしくお願い致します
パウエル祭協会より。
click to donate click to become a society member click to shop merch
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Thank-you to our individual monthly donors for January:
Beth Carter, Colin Yakashiro, Edward Takayanagi, Emily Yakashiro (in memory of Bryan Yakashiro), Gerald Joe, Kathy Shimizu (in memory of Mio and Victor Shimizu), Kyle Yakashiro (in memory of Kazuyo Yakashiro), Judy Hanazawa, Laura Ishiguro, Randi Edmundson, Rebecca Ho, Rieko (Rachel) Enomoto, Rika Uto, Shaena Kobayashi, Shaunn Watt, Shinobu Homma, Susan Doi (in memory of Tomoaki and Mitsue Doi), Teresa Vandertruin
click to Join the Japanese Canadian Artist Directory

Powell Street Festival Society is proud to present this resource in partnership with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (Toronto) and the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
Copyright © 2023 Powell Street Festival Society, All rights reserved.


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