From Oct.31 to Nov. 8, the Heart of the City Festival features more than 100 events – music, stories, poetry, theatre, ceremony, film, dance, readings, workshops, discussions, art talks, history walks and more – all rooted in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). Among the performers is award-winning counselor and stand-up comic David Granirer, founder of Stand Up for Mental Health, which teaches stand-up comedy to people with mental illness as a way of building confidence and fighting stigma.
On Nov. 5, 4 p.m., at Carnegie Community Centre’s theatre, Granirer, with comedians from Stand Up for Mental Health, will look at the lighter side of taking meds, seeing counselors, getting diagnosed and surviving the mental health system.
The festival kicks off on Oct. 31 at Carnegie’s theatre with a Halloween event. Dress in costume, walk the red carpet, enter the costume contest to win a prize, and gear up for disco-ball dancing with DJ Maxi and crew spinning tunes. Hosted by Lance Lim of the Pigeon Den Art Collective, there will be masquerade magic and community fun for friends and families alike, refreshments provided.
Some other highlights in the upcoming festival are:
• Gerardo Avila’s theatrical performance Spirit Encounters celebrates Día de Muertos and features shadow puppetry, comedy, flamenco and Mexican dancing and music.
• Indigenous Cultural Exhibition with dancing, drumming and community, featuring Two-Spirit grass dancer Larissa Healey and Powwow dancer Pavel Desjarlais.
• Finding My Own Voice, a new folk opera work-in-progress presentation by Beverly Dobrinsky.
• Theatre in the Raw presents staged readings of two award-winning plays from their Biennial One-Act Playwriting Contest.
For more about this year’s festival, visit heartofthecityfestival.com.
– Courtesy Heart of the City Festival