TELUS TaiwanFest 2012 Vancouver on Sep 02, 2012. 研科台灣文化節. The award-winning O-Kai Singers 歐開合唱團 from Taiwan was founded in 2004 with members from one of the Taiwanese Indigenous groups, the Taiya Tribe. This aboriginal A Cappella singing group has three siblings who inherited their vocal talent from their aboriginal ancestors. They often perform Atayal traditional tunes and are known as Lahuy Ta – Our Children, Our Voice.
O-Kai Singers A Cappella group
Vancouver Art Gallery – 800 Georgia Street, Vancouver BC
Form July 8-10, 2011, native Indian bands from BC and elsewhere congregated at a Pow Wow held at the Capilano Indian Reserve in North Vancouver. They come to meet and greet each other and celebrate their culture together at this annual event.
Aboriginal men and women in full regalia danced in the Grand Entry and participated in the Invocation. Later, they competed as individuals in various categories with each other. The modern day Pow Wow is also very much a family affair. The event presents an opportunity to recognize the work and contribution that native women have done for the community. At the same time, the role that the younger ones can play is also very much on the agenda.
Nowadays, many native youths live in urban areas and are increasingly alienated from the Land that the aboriginal society has such an affinity with. The Pow Wow therefore becomes a perfect place for the youngster to reconnect with their cultural identity and way of life, thus preserving the native tradition that goes back to thousands of years.
The Squamish Nation of BC was also one of the Four Host First Nations, a very important partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
The city of Vancouver is celebrating its 125th Birthday with a special event at the city’s world famous Stanley Park where First Nations totem poles stand tall at Brockton Point from July 8-10, 2011.
The Squamish Nations being the aboriginals of this part of the traditional Coast Salish territory opened the weekend of events with a parade of chiefs and native youth singers together with Mayor Gregor Robertson and TV news host Mike Killeen.
The three-day celebration featured arts and culture of the local multicultural communities and the events at Brockton Oval is jam-packed with musical performances by such artists and cultural groups as The Be Good Tanyas, Beat Nation Live, Taiwan Taiyuan Puppet Theatre, Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts, Blues & The Gospel Truth, Birds of Paradox, The New Pornographers and many more.
The Good Tanyas jammed some popular folk and soft rock music that delighted the Vancouver audience, some of whom hadn’t seen their favorite band playing locally in years.
VIDEO – Be Good Tanyas at Vancouver 125. July 08, 2011.
On April 26, 2011, Vancouver celebrated the city’s 125th birthday (1886-2011). A special ceremony was held at the Jack Poole Plaza right next to Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Cauldron being relit. BC Premier Christy Clark, Mayor Gregor Robertson, First Nations chief Ian Campbell and tens of thousands of others were there to help celebrate this special occasion. Local rock band 54-40 performed some of their hit songs including Ocean Pearl & Crossing A Canyon presented here.
At the Vancouver 125th Birthday on April 06, 2011, Leela Gilday, a Dene/Canadian singer-songwriter from Yellowknife, NWT, sang some of her signature songs including One Drum, At The End of The Day etc. This Juno-nominated artist writes of her native urban experience with the hallmark free spirit of the True Canadian North. The Vancouver 125th birthday bash was held at the Jack Poole Plaza near Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre. In attendance were BC Premier Christy Clark, Mayor Gregor Robertson, First Nations chief Ian Campbell and others.
VIDEO – NWT Leela Gilday at Vancouver 125th Birthday
Squamish Nations Chief Ian Campbell held the talking stick and spoke at the Gala Opening of the Talking Stick Festival 2011. Later Campbell lead a group of performers including the Git Hayetsk dancers who provided a number of traditional masked dances for a Gala Opening night on February 01, 2011.
It has long been a tradition In native North American culture that in order to speak in a council meeting, only the person with a talking stick is allowed to speak. The talking stick is a ceremonial item that is held in very high regard. It is very rude to interrupt the speaker and would be looked upon disapprovingly. When that person is finishing talking, the stick is then passed onto another council member who will then express his/her mind.
It is also a great honor to be in possession of the talking stick. It vouches for your status in the community, allows you to set the agenda, make an impression on those who are there to listen and over time leave a legacy behind.
The annual First Nations festival celebrates Canada’s First Nations people, their arts and culture and shares with the public the contribution and welcoming spirit of the people who were the aboriginal population that lived here for at least thousands of years. Namely, Squamish, Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh, the Four Host First Nations (FHFN) which was an integral partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games that operated on the traditional territories of these native people.
Talking Stick Festival 2011, February 1-13, 2011 at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre and other locations. Full details available at http://www.talkingstickfestival.ca VIDEO – Talking Stick Festival 2011 Gala Opening
Digawolf performed at the Talking Stick Festival Gala Opening on February 01, 2011 and sang a few of his own songs he wrote about life in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT). Landscape, lifestyle, the people, nature etc. The live mini-concert at the Roundhouse gave the audience a sense of what the Canada True North was about.
Talking Stick Festival 2011 at the Rounhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Vancouver. February 1-13, 2011. Canada’s First Nations, aboriginal and urban native arts and cultural event. Full details available at http://www.talkingstickfestival.ca VIDEO – Digawolf performs at Talking Stick Festival 2011
Combining the haunting cello sound of Cris Derksen and the flowy dance-steps of fancy shawl dancer Shyama-Priya Singh yield a very moody and unique First Nations stream-of-consciousness. The live performance reflects a multicultural urban native experience that feels very contemporary and yet with a distinct connection to a rich aboriginal background.
Talking Stick Festival 2011 at the Rounhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Vancouver and other venues. February 1-13, 2011. Canada’s First Nations, aboriginal and urban native arts and culture event. Complete details at http://www.talkingstickfestival.ca VIDEO – Talking Stick Festival 2011, Cello and Fancy Dance
The band’s name maybe Snowy Owl, but this group of all female First Nations drummers and singers lead by singer/poet/drummer Dalannah Gail Bowen can warm your heart as they did during the Heart of The City Festival on October 31, 2010. Music In The Street is a program made up of three musical groups: Snowy Owl Drummers, Deet Streets, a new upbeat six-piecve street band lead by trombonist Brad Muirhead and singer Beverly Dorrinsky conducting the Carnegie Village Choir. These musicians are dedicated members of a musical movement committed to training, mentoring and performing with local residents to serve the Downtown East Side (DTES) communities of Victory Square, Gastown, Chinatown, Oppenheimer Park and Strathcona. The Snowy Owl, Deet Street and Carnegie Village Choir can be seen and heard performing daily during the festival along Hastings, Main and Carrall street in the heart of the city of Vancouver.
Bernadine Fox is an artist/painter/writer/teacher whose life-long work is for women and about the female gender living in a modern world. Though she sometimes paints flowers and other still life but life is not a bed of roses for her. Her work ‘Not My Love[r]’ on display at the Inter-Urban Gallery from Oct 26 to Nov 13, 2010 explores the broken heart and the sadness and painfulness of having to walk away from love. In many ways, Bernadine Fox’s work reflects the harsh reality facing the single woman living in the Downtown East Side. That makes her the perfect artist in residence that spring out of community with hope, renewal and what it means to be alive.
Inter-Urban Gallery, 1 Hastings Street East, Vancouver BC
