Please join the First United community and friends in a celebration:

Party in the Park

When: Saturday, June 4th from 1pm to 5pm

Where: McLean Park in Strathcona (Keefer & Heatley)

Spend an afternoon with friends & family, enjoy live music, see artisans at work, children’s activities, historical presentations, and barbeque lunch.

On Saturday, June 4th at 6 pm the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts will be hosting a fundraising dinner in the  generously donated home of one of our supporters. There will be an incredible and delicious menu prepared by a local gourmet chef. There will also be a musical performance and presentations about the Downtown Eastside Centre fo the Arts

Tickets are $100 per person and all the proceeds will go to benefit the work of the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts.

Call or e-mail Mel Lehan for information and tickets for this amazing meal!  Because it is in a private home, tickets are limited.

Thank you for your support!

Contact: Mel Lehan - 604-842-4657

mel.lehan22@gmail.com

SONGS OF MAHALIA JACKSON

Friday, April 15 @ 8 pm

St. Andrew’s Wesley Church, 1022 Nelson

TICKETS: Firehall Arts Centre Box Office 280 E Cordova 604-689-0926   $25 general seating, $40 reserved seating www.firehallartscentre.ca

Dalannah Gail Bowen

The “Songs Of Mahalia Jackson” featuring Dalannah Gail Bowen, and this year’s Juno nominated group The Sojourners with musical director, Grammy-nominated keyboardist Michael Creber will bring to life some of the most familiar songs made famous by the well-known gospel singer. The evening’s presentation will include old standards such as “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” and “His Eye Is On The Sparrow” to more modern gospel songs such as “In The Upper Room” and more.

On October 26, 1911, a child was born who would change the face of gospel music for all time. Born in New Orleans and living most of her life in Chicago, Mahalia Jackson is considered by many to be the greatest gospel singer of our time. Her vocal style, resounding passion and her devotion to the church left an impact on everyone who heard her by recognizing her as the single most important influence on modern-day gospel.

Her many recordings continue to be popular with audiences; young and old alike.

The Songs of Mahalia Jackson is a fundraiser for two important organizations in the Downtown Eastside.

-The Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts http://www.decentreforthearts.com/

-Downtown Eastside Arts Trust Fund of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver http://www.cacv.ca/

The focus of these organizations is to provide artistic opportunities to the members of the Downtown Eastside community.

This musical tribute to Mahalia Jackson is a celebration of gospel music and Mahalia’s legacy. With an all-star cast, this concert is sure to inspire and uplift with a showcase of the best of the  “Songs Of Mahalia Jackson.”

Where: The Interurban 1 East Hastings Street

What: A series of artworks from individual artists, as well as group works from women in the Downtown Eastside community. The drum group Harmony of Nations  will perform and speakers from Women’s Memorial March Committee.

Exhibit runs Feb 7th to Feb 12th from 12-5pm.

Where: The Interurban- 1 East Hastings Street

What: Great food, and of course art and arty things. Some of the artists featured are; Garnett Tobacco, Ben Houstie, Richard Tetrault, Laurie Marshall, Carl Simeon, Diane Jacobs, Diane Wood, Ali Lohan, Pat Davitt, Famous Empty Sky,Karenza Wall, Alannah Atley and the WISH Aboriginal Program,and many more.

Hope to see you there!

Two weeks of commemoration events starting Jan 30 2011

Annual Women’s Memorial March on Monday, February 14 2011.

Highlighted events below are hosted by the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts

Sun Jan 30: Women’s sweatlodge ceremony from 2-6 pm. By the DTES community garden (Hastings between Columbia and Main). Women-only sweat, open to all women. Followed by feast at Aboriginal Front Door (384 Main St)

Month of Feb – Community Archival Display, 3rd floor Carnegie Centre (Main and Hastings). Carnegie is under construction and the 3rd floor is regrettably not wheel-chair accessible.

Wed Feb 2 – Women’s Talking Circle at DEWC (302 Columbia) 5 – 8 pm. Dinner served at 5pm. Open to all self-identified women residents of the DTES.

Thurs Feb 3 – Art Auction Fundraiser at Interurban (1 E. Hastings) from 6 – 9 pm

Fri Feb 4 – Craft Night at WISH Drop-in 6 pm. Open to members of WISH Drop-in.

Sat Feb 5: “Women’s Expressions” Art Opening at Interurban (1 E. Hastings) from 4-6 pm with drum group Harmony of Nations and speakers from Women’s Memorial March Committee. Exhibit runs Feb 7th to Feb 12th from 12-5pm.

Sat Feb 5 – “Honouring Our Women”: Poetry Night, Carnegie Centre (Main and Hastings). 7 pm

Mon Feb 7 – “Native Women: Power, Beauty, Resilience” at Aboriginal Front Door (384 Main St) from 2-6 pm. Open event for everyone to attend. Speakers, food, traditional Grandmothers and Mothers will drum.

Tues Feb 8 – BWSS Women’s Craft Night at DEWC (302 Columbia) 5 – 8 pm. Dinner served at 5pm. Open to all self-identified women residents of the DTES.

Wed Feb 9 – “Strength, Survival, Sisterhood”: Launch of DTES Power of Women movie, speakers from DTES, screening of “Finding Dawn”. Vivo Media Arts Centre (1965 Main Street). Doors at 6pm. Free and open to all.

Thurs Feb 10 – Fundraiser at Langara College with Film Screening including “Finding Dawn”. Cosponsored by ReelCauses.

Fri Feb 11 – Night of Music at W2 (151 W.Cordova) w/Bitterly Divine, Murray Porter, Faith Nolan, Little Hawk & more. Doors at 7pm. Given limited space, event is for the DTES community only. We invite DTES agencies wishing to reserve free tickets for their members to email us at endingviolence@bwss.org.

Mon Feb 14 – 20th Annual Womens Memorial March. Noon in Carnegie Theatre for families, friends, and DTES residents, 1 pm march starts at Main and Hastings – all welcome.

http://missingwomen.blogspot.com/

http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

The NightHawk Aboriginal Arts and Music Festival is the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts contribution to Bright Light, the City of Vancouver’s Olympic and Paralympic public art program.

Bright Light brings together the creative energy of fourteen arts organizations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to animate the historical heart of the city with outdoor performances, video projections, urban planning demonstrations, social events and a parade.

For more information
http://bright-light.ca

As part of the World Tea Party Celebration, the Arty World Tea Party Live and Silent Auction will be an exciting and fun evening featuring exceptional pieces of art including jewelry, ceramics, paintings, indigenous art, spa packages and more.

A sampling of some of the art

Live reading by David J Adams, best selling author of Good Night Vancouver

Award-winning chef Karen Barnaby offers a private cooking class and a signed cook book

Beautiful jewelry by local jewelers such as Christi York, Bernie Williams and Silver Blue Trading Company

International indigenous artist April White’s beautiful art work and a Skype interview with her during the evening

Pat Bruderer’s now-famous birch-bark bitings and a demonstration/lesson to the winning bidder

Woodscraftsman Doug Fleming’s exceptional Charlie Parker CD cabinet

You’ll find all this and more at the Arty World Tea Party Live and silent Auction.

Hope to see you there.

Evening Events

January 19
To Honour Our Mother: Do Our Stories Lie with Farley Mowat
Matriarch and elder Ilse Schweder Bruderer Clements joins with her daughters and grandchildren to tell their stories and explore the consequences of story and historical manipulation and exploitation, with particular focus on the stories of Farley Mowat as they pertain to them. This is about setting the record straight in art and history.

January 20
Opening Night: Bruderer Fashion Show – Musical Performances
Indigenous inspired fashions by Sandra and Pat Bruderer, as well as up and coming designer, 19 year old Heather Williams. Musical performances by Tara Willard and Camillia.

January 21
Birch Bark Biting: One of the Rarest and most threatened Indigenous art forms.
Pat Bruderer is one of the last remaining practitioners of this art form, bringing it to a level of articulation never before witnessed in history. Single layers of bark are painstakingly harvested, then folded and bitten with the teeth to produce elaborate stories and patterns. Discussions about history, traditional uses, as well as participatory demonstrations.

January 22
Hereditary and Traditional Perspective: Conversations on issues of the day
Come listen and participate in conversation with traditional peoples and spiritual leaders about the issues facing us all.

January 23
She Keeps The Door – Sandra Bruderer & Splitting The Sky with John Boncore
In Conversation
This dynamic couple will be presenting their views and current work, including Splitting the Sky’s upcoming historic court case pertaining to the war crimes of George W. Bush, as well as readings from their book.

January 27
Make it Real: Authenticating and protecting indigenous art forms
Conversations with people involved in the indigenous arts movement discussing the recognition, authenticating, and support of First Nations arts and crafts. Panelists include Pat Bruderer, who as worked on this issue for years, and guest keynote presenters working on behalf of Norval Morrisseau, including: Gabe Vadas (Weekan) who was Norvals agent for 20 years; Bryant Ross of Coghlan Art who continues to represent Norval for over 20 years; and Mark Anthony Jacobson.

January 28
Food, Clothing, Shelter, Youth, Art
What does our future look like? Conversations surrounding our collective future, with particular focus on the necessities of life and the plight of today’s youth, finding our way back to a meaningful existence. Jadeon Rathgeber will discuss his experiences and perspective from his own life, and will be joined by Thom Evans with analysis of the big picture.

January 29
Five Ring Circus: The Olympics portraying a false image of indigenous reality
Conversations exploring false images in promotion and culture, with particular focus on the Olympics and the realities facing indigenous peoples

January 30
INDN ART ‘N ACTION FINAL SALE AND AUCTION
Includes art by Mark Anthony Jacobson, Pat Amos, Jadeon Rathgerber, Cyrile Derrick

All events take place at the InterUrban Gallery at One East Hastings at 7:30 p.m

For more information, please contact the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts and Dalannah Gail Bowen at 604-689-2787 or dalannah@decentreforthearts.com or Thom Evans at 604-999-2182 or symmetryasmagic@yahoo.ca.