Community Board
OPINION: Walking the Whalley Strip
I live in a beautiful relatively new glass tower adjacent to King George Skytrain. It’s a Concord Pacific development. My building has a concierge, games room, movie theatre, bowling alley, fully-equipped gym, steam room, among other amenities.
Holland Park, SFU Surrey, and Central City Mall are all across the street. I have a secure underground parking spot in the heart of the new Surrey City Centre. I basically have been living in my own protected bubble for the last couple of years.
I decided to step out of my comfort zone recently to discover the neighbourhood and get into shape. I started walking down King George Boulevard and explored the new City Centre Library, City Hall, North Surrey Recreation Centre, and Surrey Civic Plaza. Everything was impressive.
Then I ended up on 135A street or the Whalley Strip. My God! I basically walked into Surrey’s own mini-Downtown Eastside! There were at-least 100 tents and each tent had 3-4 homeless people inside. A lot of the people were apparently driven out of Vancouver and other parts of the Lower Mainland and ended up in Surrey. I guess Surrey is a convenient destination as it has a tent city community and is accessible via Skytrain.
Unfortunately, many of the homeless people were noticeably sick with either drug and alcohol addiction, malnourishment, or mentally ill. There was a lack of hygiene and stench of urine. I am sure this is a breeding ground for disease and infection.
I was surprised to see so many young people. I found this very sad as it’s a reflection of the new reality for some of our next generation with an out of control inflated housing market and combined opioid drug crisis and I guess perhaps a lack of good paying jobs for youth.
My friend stated that most politicians probably don’t care if homeless drug addicts die of an overdose. Apparently, they don’t have value as human beings in the eyes of the decision makers. If they did there would be long-term solutions proposed and acted on to help the poor and homeless.
The local authorities are doing something, however. I discovered that the Surrey RCMP clear out the tents and homeless people almost every day. They force them to move but they have no where to go! This is a really a poor and pathetic attempt to clean up this tent city in the heart of Whalley.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”justified” border_style=”solid”]The local residents and businesses want the Whalley Strip cleaned up. It’s a black mark on Surrey and more so on the British Columbia Government I would argue as housing and social services is largely a provincial responsibility.
I am curious to know Premier Christy Clark’s solution to her government’s neglect of the most marginalized and vulnerable in our city?
As a social worker, I felt deeply moved about what I saw. I don’t believe in being critical of an issue without proposing a solution so I will present one idea.
First, some people say that even if the poor and homeless on the strip were offered housing they would end up back on the strip because of the social support, relationships, networks, daily routine, and lifestyle they have made there.
For example, they become street entrenched and there are benefits to this such as access to free food and easy availability of drugs. I feel there is probably some truth to this. So, what is the solution?
I would recommend that the various levels of government consider developing “transitional housing” in Surrey where people can benefit from a similar social support network they receive on the strip while learning to live more independently with a healthier lifestyle in a supported housing model.
The goal eventually would be for people to move out and settle into good quality housing with supports in neighbourhoods throughout the Lower Mainland when they are back on their feet and can more successfully integrate back into society.
I feel its next to impossible to effectively treat the mentally ill or provide drug and alcohol daytox or detox or eventually help people find jobs if they are homeless and living in tents.
The British Columbia Government needs to look at transitional housing models around the world and determine what would be a good fit for Surrey and the Lower Mainland.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of hope in the BC Government developing any new housing for the poor and homeless in Surrey. Maybe an incoming new NDP government will have a change of heart. We will see!
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INDIAN SUMMER FESTIVAL: 11th EDITION LINEUP AND DATES ANNOUNCED
Festival to feature five weeks of online and hybrid events from June 17 to July 17, 2021
Vancouver, BC (May 20, 2021) – Indian Summer Festival, Vancouver’s ‘festival for the curious mind,’ marks its 11th anniversary with five weeks of ten carefully curated events. Most events will stream on digital channels with premieres at 7:00 pm PDT every Thursday and Saturday from June 17 to July 17 (except July 1st). This year’s festival includes door-delivered food and special gift boxes, bringing a delicious and delightful tangible element to them. Two special projects allow for Covid-safe hybrid experiences with digital and in-person components. For event details, access and ticketing, please visit indiansummerfest.ca
Early bird pricing for the Limited Edition ISF2021 Premium Pass is $285, which provides access to all ISF2021 digital events, including the Opening Party with amazing performances, exclusive access to the chatroulette afterparty, food from Vij’s, and wine from Volcanic Hills all delivered to Lower Mainland residences, and a special artist-curated Punjabi Market Premium Gift Box. Early bird pricing is valid until May 31; regular price is $325. A Digital Pass to access all online events at the festival (without the tangible elements) is $50. Individual tickets to all ISF2021 events are available on a sliding scale of no fee, $10 or $20, as the festival understands that this is a difficult time for many.
“For this 11th year for the 2021 Indian Summer Festival, we thought that our theme should be “Shapeshifting,” says Sirish Rao, Indian Summer Festival’s Artistic Director. “It’s something that we’ve all had to do in the last year, and shapeshifters have existed in almost every culture.”
“For ISF2021, we have created ten distinct events for all of us to experience music, performing arts and literary discussions so we can experience the true transformative power of the arts. The arts give us levity, solace and help us make sense of our predicament and imagine our futures.”
“As with most of us working in arts and culture, we’ve become very creative this year with ways that our audience can experience Indian Summer Festival,” adds Rao, “From premium passes that include door-delivered dinner and wine, to digital passes to access shows, we’ve become our own Shapeshifters to deliver an innovative digital and hybrid experience.”
This year, the festival offers live digital event premieres (where audiences can interact through chat functionality) with an on-demand digital platform that makes it possible for events to be viewable until the end of the festival. The festival sees a stunning global cast of talent from beatboxers to tabla maestros, novelists and actors.
2021 Indian Summer Festival event schedule includes:
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Indian Summer Festival Opening Party – Metamorphosis featuring Laydy Jams, Shamik Bilgi, Her Tribal Roots and Kamal Pandya. Sponsored by Concord Pacific.
Hosted by ISF’s Sirish Rao and CBC’s Anita Bathe, opening night features brilliant, beautiful performances by some of Vancouver’s finest talents.
ISF2021 Premium Pass Holders get exclusive access to an online afterparty where they’ll be paired with other ISF friends and artists for multiple one-on-one conversations and performances, and a special box of goodies, featuring a meal for two by Vikram Vij paired with a bottle of wine from Volcanic Hills.
Date: Saturday, June 19, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Anoushka Shankar – The Musical Journey of a Shapeshifter. Sponsored by Nature’s Path.
An evening of music and stories with genre-defying musician and seven-time Grammy Award nominee Anoushka Shankar, who unveils a very special project for Indian Summer Festival.
Date: Wednesday, June 23 – Saturday, July 3, 2021
Event: VOX Infold. Produced in partnership with Vancouver Jazz Festival and LOBE Studios.
Address: Lobe Spatial Sound Studio, 713 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
This special project is a rare chance to experience the music of powerhouse vocal ensemble Vox Infold in the form of an immersive sound experience. Presented at the groundbreaking Lobe Spatial Sound Studio and using Lobe’s 4DSOUND system, this is music not just as sound but as a profound experience of space and dimension. Consider it a healing sound bath. Advance booking required and experienced as an individual or in a ‘household bubble.’ Book your slot online at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/voxinfold-tickets-150267575363
Date: Thursday, June 24, 2021, 7pm PDT
Flames and Portals – Literary discussion with Kamila Shamsie and Mohsin Hamid, Moderated by Sirish Rao. Presented by SFU Library.
In 2017, two of the most exciting writers of our times – Kamila Shamsie and Mohsin Hamid – published novels that have proved to be uncannily accurate about the direction the world would take. They warned of the future of nationalism, the tightening of political and social borders, and how our realities can become unrecognizable overnight. ISF meets them four years later to talk about their prescient works.
Date: Saturday, June 26, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Zakir Hussain – Alone Together – Zakir Hussain, featuring Mickey Hart and Rakesh Chaurasia. Sponsored by Odlum Brown.
An intimate evening with the tabla maestro, this online concert features Zakir Hussain performing solo and joined virtually by special guests collaborating in real-time from different parts of the world – Grateful Dead legend Mickey Hart and bansuri virtuoso Rakesh Chaurasia. The concert is preceded by a special interview with the maestro.
Date: Saturday, July 3, 2021
Event: Walking Tour of Punjabi Market
Presented by RBC.
Guests are invited to take a self-guided walking tour of the Punjabi Market using their own mobile device. The audio tour, narrated by artists, shop owners and community members, will give an insight into the past, present and vibrant future of this significant Vancouver neighbourhood.
Punjabi Market Premium Gift Box
Specially curated by artists Minahil Bukhari and Mustaali Raj for ISF2021, the Punjabi Market Premium Gift Box features gorgeous items hand-picked from Vancouver’s vibrant Punjabi Market. At a cost of $125, including taxes and shipping, the gift box will be delivered to your door via Canada Post to Canadian addresses only. Available for order here:
https://www.goelevent.com/IndianSummer/e/PunjabiMarketBox
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021, 7pm PDT
Ancient Futures – Musical Inheritances – Ruby Singh, Khari Wendell McClelland and PIQSIQ.
Supported by TELUS.
Documentary premiere on the music project Jhalaak, followed by a conversation with some of Canada’s most innovative musical voices.
Date: Saturday, July 10, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Knives and Sugar – Avni Doshi with Souvankham Thammavongsa, moderated by Anna Ling Kaye.
A meeting of two of the most electrifying literary voices of recent times, one joining from Dubai and the other from Toronto – meet for the first time on ISF’s virtual stage.
Date: Thursday, July 15, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Transcendence by Anosh Irani feat. Lois Anderson, Munish Sharma and Laara Sadiq.
From the three-time Governor General’s Literary Award finalist and two-time Dora
Award-winning playwright comes a new work that sits in the exciting space between theatre and
film.
Date: Saturday, July 17, 2021, 7pm PDT
Event: Indian Summer Festival Finale – A Night at the Orpheum- musical performance by Naadaleela Ensemble and Mohamed Assani & Friends.
ISF’s 11th edition ends with a grand, one-night-only finale performed at the historic Orpheum Theatre and delivered digitally to your living room. This double-bill features internationally recognized musicians and features the worldwide premiere of two new musical works.
About Indian Summer Festival
Established in 2011, Indian Summer Festival is a multi-disciplinary arts festival produced by Indian Summer Arts Society, a not-for-profit charitable arts organization based in Vancouver, Canada, on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. This year’s festival runs from June 17th to July 17, 2021. Its mission is to offer daring, multi-arts events that bring together diverse artists, audiences, and artists in a global dialogue and citizenship spirit.
For monthly festival highlights, full event lineup and access to events, please visit indiansummerfest.ca
Follow us on:
Twitter: @IndianSummerCND
Facebook: @IndianSummerCanada
Instagram: @indiansumerfestival
Youtube: Indian Summer Festival Canada
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#liveoffthefloor concerts feature Surrey bands with nowhere else to play
The Longest Intermission – Getting musicians back into the swing of performing their new music and fans a chance to experience it.
With the support of the Province of British Columbia and the City of Surrey , Penmar Community Arts Society (Penmar), is launching The Longest Intermission, a virtual concert mini-series featuring local bands recorded live off the floor in Ocean Park Community Hall.
Since covid has shut down live music for over a year, bands have struggled to make a living, but continue to create and put out new material. The Longest Intermission gives bands the chance to rehearse in preparation for a return to touring and share it with fans through livestreaming.
Each band receives a copy of the professionally produced audio and video files that they can use to promote themselves and apply for other performance opportunities, both during and post covid. Each performance will be marketed to fans and potential fans throughout BC and livestreamed as a special event.
The Longest Intermission features two bands – Sleepy Gonzales and Brass Camel – all musicians that originated from Surrey or still live there.
The rehearsal will be produced, marketed and streamed as two virtual special events by Penmar with Partner Tradable Bits , who has sponsored us with use of their state-of-the-art marketing and streaming platform as a way to support emerging musicians.
The project received additional support from Long & McQuade (White Rock) that supplied lights for the production, Face The Music that is sponsoring each band with a video marketing package, and Music Lottery who is also providing financial support.
The goal with these special events is to work with the bands to promote their latest music which they created while unable to perform during covid. We are able to stream into communities that the bands are currently unable to tour to, with an opportunity of reaching new audiences.
Live from the Floor special event broadcasts take place on May 1st and May 8th and will feature a video of the Ocean Park Hall performance and a chance to interact with the bands.
Accessible for everyone. Registration is required and there are free tickets available and paid options to support the musicians in this series and bringing back live!
Event Information and link to register – https://bit.ly/2Q71JHG
Sleepy Gonzales video “aliens exist” – https://bit.ly/32cr8SP
Brass Camel video “Pressure Cooker” – https://bit.ly/3uRhK3r
Contact:
Dione Costanzo
Event and Marketing Specialist
Operations Manager, Penmar Community Arts Society
Office – 604-535-1162
Cell – 604-817-1526
Canadian musicians have a great opportunity to get radio play right here in Vancouver. Mary Kirk of Durham Radio has applied for a Vancouver license. With a new, local radio station artists will have a greater range of options to be heard, played, and paid for their music.
Durham Radio needs our help to get their application accepted. I’m reaching out to all musicians to send a letter of support for Durham Radio’s application.
Here is a message from Mary and Doug Kirk:
Dear members of our Wave artist family,
We at Durham Radio Inc. have applied for a new FM license to broadcast The Wave on 98.3FM in the heart of Vancouver, Canada’s second-largest English-speaking market and a perfect backdrop for Canada’s Smoothest Groove!
Our application was publicly posted Monday, March 22nd on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s site (CRTC). In order to be successful, we now need huge public support, especially from our wonderful Wave family of artists. We hope you will add your own letter of support, documenting your past experiences with The Wave and with us personally, emphasizing our commitment to our artists, especially our Canadian vocalists and instrumentalists. If you have a personal story that will illustrate the impact the Wave has had on your career in the music industry, we would so appreciate your sharing it with the Commission.
Please begin your letter with a clear statement of support for our application. Then explain why you think that our “Smooth Groove” format would be a welcome addition to the Vancouver market. You may have some thoughts beyond the obvious arguments that we’ll be adding diversity of choice for listeners and a new fresh sound, primarily from artists who do not get played on any other stations in Canada. Our dedication to live music around town and major show production will of course continue, once attending concerts is allowed again!
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your efforts to make “Vancouver’s Smoothest Groove” a reality! Our West Coast Wave will play an even balance of instrumental and vocal music and will be 40% Canadian in content. We are eager to get all our artists back on FM radio in Canada and introduced them to so many new fans.
With your help, we hope to be able to report on a favourable CRTC decision by late summer.
To mail your support: CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2 To fax your support please send to 819-994-0218 for further instructions contact Cat Levan at catlevan.music@gmail.com. www.wave.fm
Many thanks for your support,
Cat Levan
Community Board
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Community Board
2009 successful fight to keep road out of Bear Creek Park breached by present Safe Surrey Councillors
The Mayor and Council, City of Surrey, B.C., at meeting Monday, February 22/21, passed 5-4—an amendment to the 10-year plan and project #7065 (84th Avenue through Bear Creek Park)—to be fast-tracked to give 84th Avenue extension through Bear Creek Park a 2-year priority.
Clrs Pettigrew, Locke, Hundial and Annis questions:
- the successful 2009 community fight to keep 84th Avenue from going through the south end of Bear Creek Park
- community opposition in the past to the environmental impact on the two Class A red-listed salmonid creeks (“Bear Creek” at about 13720 and “King Creek” at about 13800)
7 shows you didn’t know were filmed in Surrey
Surrey’s Sullivan Heights Secondary opens new expansion for incoming students
This Surrey cafe offers a delicious Bombay brunch
6 events you need to attend in Surrey: Aug. 6-14
