Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival unveils 22nd edition spanning Day of the Dead shadow puppetry, Mayor of Oz, and more

Also in store at the celebration running from October 31 to November 8 is SHELTER, an exhibition featuring works by 30 marginalized artists

Carnegie Learning Centre’s *Mayor of Oz.* Photo by Tracy Moromisato

*Spirit Encounters*. Photo by Tracy Moromisato

MORE THAN 100 arts and culture events are taking place at 40 local venues this fall as part of the 22nd annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival.

This year’s theme is Dignity in Community, which will highlight the everyday ways folks work together to support each other and resist displacement. The events in store from October 31 to November 8 range from dance, music, and theatre performances to gallery exhibitions, history walks, film screenings, ceremonies, workshops, and beyond. Vancouver Moving Theatre is presenting the festival in association with the Carnegie Community Centre and the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians.

Among the just-announced offerings is the community-engaged art show SHELTER, produced by Radix Theatre, which features works by 30 marginalized artists from culturally and socially diverse backgrounds. Large-scale transit shelter ads offer striking reflections on housing and homelessness in the project led by Gunargie Ga’axstasalas O’Sullivan.

Elsewhere, Gerardo Avila’s Spirit Encounters honours the Day of the Dead through a theatrical performance that involves shadow puppetry and masked characters. Flamenco dance and music are paired with storytelling and comedy elements as the veil between the living and dead is lifted.

More theatrical offerings include fringe veteran Jonathan Paterson’s award-winning comedy How I Met My Mother, an autobiographical solo show that flips between his Winnipeg upbringing and his recent experience caring for his mother with dementia; and Mayor of Oz, a grassroots play developed and performed by volunteers from the Carnegie Learning Centre that sets The Wizard of Oz on the Downtown Eastside. Mayor of Oz was a fan favourite at last year’s festival and is back for a remount.

Two-Spirit grass dancer Larissa Healey and powwow dancer Pavel Desjarlais will host an Indigenous Cultural Exhibition. Beverly Dobrinsky’s folk-inspired Finding My Own Voice: Snake Sviy Holos’ Opera will debut as a work in progress. And Chinese seniors from the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre will perform a fan dance called Winter Jasmine, Good Spring.

There’s tons more happening—check out the DTES Heart of the City Festival website to browse the full lineup.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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