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New day school opens

Tamim Academy of Vancouver is accepting kindergarten through Grade 5 applications for the 2025-2026 school year. (photo from TAV)

Tamim Academy of Vancouver, a new Jewish day school, is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 school year.

Located at Granville and 62nd, in what was the premises of Vancouver Hebrew Academy, Tamim will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes.

Vancouver Hebrew Academy had been struggling financially. Several VHA staff members will help as the transition to Tamim takes place. New staff will also be joining the team and “will undergo intensive summer training to prepare for Tamim’s unique, child-centred educational approach,” Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu, who sits on the board of the school, told the Independent.

Open to all Jewish families, no matter how observant, Tamim will start this fall with a kindergarten through Grade 5 program and expand to include Grade 6 in 2026 and Grade 7 in 2027. Additionally, Ner Atid, a full-day early-years program for children 5 years old and under, just launched, with the aim of providing a smooth transition into the elementary school. Spots for younger siblings in the Ner Atid daycare program, adjacent to the school, are available as well.

“Together, Tamim and Ner Atid offer a seamless educational journey rooted in tradition and ready for the future, beginning in infancy and extending through the foundational years of learning and growth,” said Yeshayahu, who is also the director the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel.

The school day will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with optional extracurricular activities – an hour before and/or an hour after those times – included at no extra cost.

“Our objective is to create a school that offers a unified, child-centred and future-ready approach to Jewish education, where academic excellence and spiritual development go hand in hand,” Yeshayahu said.

“At Tamim, general and Judaic studies are integrated, not compartmentalized – reflecting the belief that students should be empowered to live as their whole selves in every environment. We educate the whole child,” he said, “nurturing intellectual growth, emotional well-being, social responsibility and Jewish identity in equal measure.”

Yeshayahu emphasized that each student at the school will have their own learning plan, developed to meet their unique strengths, interests and areas for growth. Tamim offers an educational model that is personal, and designed for the real world, he said.

According to Yeshayahu, the school will include Hebrew taught by native speakers; a values-based culture that stresses kindness, responsibility, resilience and leadership; a nutritious hot lunch; and a diverse community.

photo - Tamim Academy of Vancouver will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes — Tamim Academy of Vancouver will offer an integrated Judaic and general studies curriculum, with small class sizes. *(photo from TAV)*

Among some of the additional program highlights will be gardening, nature exploration (hiking and wildlife observation) and art across several media. The school, with access to a large field and playground, will also feature outdoor play.

“Tamim students don’t just learn, they flourish,” said Yeshayahu. “They leave school each day feeling capable, connected and proud of who they are.”

Yeshayahu made clear that, while the Tamim Academy is situated on the location of the former Vancouver Hebrew Academy, it is a completely new school with a distinct vision, leadership team and educational model.

“Tamim Academy of Vancouver is part of a growing international network of schools that are reimagining Jewish education for today’s world,” he said.

“We honour the legacy of Jewish education in this city,” said Yeshayahu. “Tamim carries that commitment forward with renewed energy, a modern educational philosophy and a warm, inclusive community. We welcome Jewish families of all levels of observance and are proud to offer a space where every child is supported, celebrated and inspired to grow.”

Laen Hershler, the school’s director of education, is currently a teaching associate and mentor for pre-service teachers at the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on literacy education, creative pedagogy and inclusive teaching methods. He has previously served as a Judaic educator at King David High School, developed interactive and performance-based learning programs, and contributed to curriculum development across K-12 and post-secondary education.

Itay Reuven – a former army officer and commander, with a background in business studies – is the school’s operations and safety coordinator, and Preet Brar serves as director of student life, innovation and learning enrichment.

Khezia Gibbons is the manager of Ner Atid Early Childhood Centre. She brings more than a decade of experience in early childhood education and, most recently, worked with the Township of Langley, where she guided young learners.

Tamim Academy of Vancouver will be the third Tamim in Canada after those established in the York region north of Toronto and the Kineret Tamim Academy, which opened in Victoria last year. (See jewishindependent.ca/groundbreaking-may-26.) There are 20 such academies in North America, and others around the world. The name stems from Tomchei Temimim, the first formal yeshiva system of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement that was founded in 1897 by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Schneerson in Russia. Each student was referred to as tamim: pure, perfect or complete. The assumption is that each child is inherently holy and good, with the concept of “wholeness” being the foundation of the education model.

For more information, visit tamimvancouver.org.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

An ever-changing city

Summer is a time when our routines are happily disrupted. Kids are out of school and many of us take time off from work to enjoy the hometown that draws tourists from around the world. Maybe we wander off the beaten path and see parts of our own city we usually miss on our repetitive commute. Perhaps we leave town for a week or two and return with fresh eyes.

Anyone who has lived in Vancouver and environs for more than a few years can’t help but see change at every turn. Many of us are watching our old elementary and high schools being replaced with new structures, memories being ploughed under with the old bricks. Community centres throughout the city are seeing replacements. Canada’s oldest business, the Hudson’s Bay Company, is being liquidated, leaving another gaping hole (for now, at least) in the retail landscape at the heart of downtown. Woodward’s is a distant memory. And, of course, what old-timers call “the new Oakridge” is being redeveloped into the new new Oakridge, as anyone trying to navigate by car or bus along 41st or Cambie cannot help but be reminded.

Not everyone likes change, put mildly. But, it is inevitable.

It is simplistic to say there is only one way to go – up. There is an alternative, albeit not a good one. We could continue a 20th-century trend to suburban sprawl, in which we lay housing and concrete across precious arable land.

Novelties like laneway houses have attempted to increase capacity in erstwhile single-family neighbourhoods. Along arteries like Oak, Cambie and Granville, single-family homes are giving way to four-, six- and eight-unit developments. As was always the plan, mixed residential and commercial hubs are skyrocketing from the ground up around transit stations, as evidenced most profoundly around Brentwood, Metrotown, Marine Drive and Oakridge.

Which brings us back to what, for most of the past century, has been the “Jewish neighbourhood.”

That term is a bit of a misnomer. A place where most Jews live does not equate to a place where most people are Jews. Even in the most Jew-dense neighbourhoods, we remain single-digit or low-two-digit proportions of the population. Emotionally, traditionally, spiritually and institutionally, since the 1950s at the latest, the rough area around Oakridge, down Oak and Granville and the surrounding blocks, have been home to Metro Vancouver’s Jews.

This reality began fraying about three decades ago, when housing prices began their notorious upward escalations. (Great for homeowners. Not great for first-time buyers.) And the Jewish community became more geographically dispersed, with inevitable positive and negative consequences.

While the City of Vancouver still holds the largest share of the BC Jewish population (at 58%), other municipalities now have significant Jewish populations, including, in order of size, Richmond, Surrey, the District of North Vancouver and Burnaby. Greater Vancouver’s proportion of the BC Jewish population has decreased, though, from 81% in 2011 to approximately 75% in 2021. (For much more data, see jewishindependent.ca/quick-look-at-canadian-jews.)

For Jewish institutions, this reality has demanded accommodations, with services becoming less geographically rooted. Many agencies, notably the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, Jewish Family Services and even the Jewish Community Centre, which by its nature is geographically rooted, are successfully delivering programs across the region.

For Metro Vancouver’s Jews, and for every cultural group, this relentless change has personal and collective impacts.

The JWest development on the 41st and Oak JCC site will include – among other things – hundreds of new homes, notably purpose-built rentals, the scarcity of which is a major contributor to the crisis in the housing market. These hundreds of new homes will not, of course, all be occupied by Jews. But they will be a dramatic increase in available homes in what was, and may again become, the heart of a “Jewish neighbourhood.”

This does not take into account the thousands of other new homes being developed within a radius of a few kilometres, not least at the Oakridge site. Will these be affordable housing? In Vancouver, that term has perhaps lost all meaning. Everything is relative. But volume and variety of housing options are the key to what approaches the concept of affordability.

We can only remotely predict the sociological impacts these dramatic physical changes in our city will have on our day-to-day life, including the vibrancy of Jewish life – not only here, but around the Lower Mainland and the rest of the province.

Marazzi at VHEC helm

Hannah Marazzi is the new executive director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. (photo by Alina Ilyasova)

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, which is marking three decades of educating about and commemorating the Shoah, has a new executive director: Hannah Marazzi. She is the first person of non-Jewish background to hold the role.

Barry Dunner was the first executive director of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society for Education and Remembrance, the not-for-profit organization that operates the VHEC. Ronnie Tessler then helmed the centre, followed by the late Dr. Roberta Kremer, then Frieda Miller. Nina Krieger served more than a decade as head of the institution before successfully running for the British Columbia legislature last fall. (See story, jewishindependent.ca/krieger-takes-on-new-roles.)

Marazzi had been the VHEC’s director of communications and special projects for about 10 months before being appointed interim executive director. Her permanent appointment was announced on June 17, at the annual general meeting of the society.

The organization’s president, Al Szajman, credited Marazzi’s background as a good fit.

Formally announcing Marazzi’s appointment, Szajman noted her role as “Irwin Cotler’s right-hand person” and her existing relationships with partner groups like the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and with various foundations, government leaders and influencers locally, nationally and internationally.

“In short, we’ve come to recognize Hannah as a leader, someone with passion, vision and maturity. Her Italian-Mennonite background reminds everyone that you don’t have to be Jewish to stand against antisemitism and advance the lessons that everyone should have learned about the Shoah,” he said.

Marazzi has an undergraduate degree in history, political science and government from Trinity Western University and a master’s degree in public policy from Cambridge, where she served as an assistant editor of the Cambridge Review of International Affairs.

Early in her career, she was working on Parliament Hill when Cotler reached out to her boss, then-MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country John Weston, to become involved in the case of a woman sentenced to death in Iran. Through the Cotler connection, Marazzi went on to help organize the Nuremberg Legal Symposium. The gathering, which was co-created by March of the Living and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, in 2016, educated legal professionals and the next generation about the lessons of Nuremberg and how to apply them today, especially as the legal sector addresses hate, denial and incitement. Marazzi became administrative coordinator for the event.

She went on to work for the Cardus Institute, a Christian think tank, and then for United Nations Volunteers, in Amman, Jordan, before Cotler coaxed her to join him when he was appointed to inaugurate the office of Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.

Marazzi returned to the West Coast – she grew up in the Fraser Valley – to be closer to her family when her father faced a health crisis.

Addressing the VHEC annual meeting, Marazzi paid tribute to the founders of the organization, who opened the doors to the centre 30 years ago, including Dr. Robert Krell, the founding president, who was present at the meeting.

She reflected on her first visit to Auschwitz, at age 22, 10 days after graduating from university.

“I did not know then that I would return to places like Auschwitz, Treblinka and many other sites of memory and begin learning in my own country at places like the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre,” she said. “I feel strongly in my bones that we must not allow the lessons of the Holocaust to fade from memory. As my mentor Irwin Cotler says, ‘No one can say that we did not know. We knew. But we did not act.’ This is why I believe so resolutely in the power of Holocaust education to awaken us to the reality of what happens when a society, through silence and inaction, allows evil to flourish unchecked.”

The VHEC has become Western Canada’s leading Holocaust museum dedicated to the promotion of social justice, human rights and genocide awareness. It is at a turning point in its history, as all such facilities prepare for an era when there are no longer eyewitnesses to the events who can share their narratives.

Holocaust museums have increasingly used technology to capture and immortalize those stories – and Marazzi credited Krell as a pioneer in that field, having begun one of the world’s earliest archives of video-recorded survivor testimonies, beginning when the technology was fresh.

Broader developments in the community will have a profound impact on the VHEC. The centre is slated to double in size and attain a new visibility thanks to JWest, the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, where the VHEC is located.

Marazzi emphasized the importance of partnerships in the VHEC’s success, including local connections, such as with the Roma and Rwandan communities. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the VHEC partnered with the University of British Columbia to bring to Vancouver

Dr. Nataliia Ivchyk – an expert on Holocaust studies in Ukraine and East-Central Europe, focusing on gender, memory politics and the experiences of Jewish children during the Holocaust – who was identified as a scholar-at-risk. At the VHEC, Ivchyk took on the Russian-Language Holocaust Testimony Project, conducting interviews with Russian-speaking survivors in the Lower Mainland.

Internationally, World Jewish Congress has reached out to borrow the centre’s current exhibit, Age of Influence, which focuses on how the Nazi regime used propaganda specifically targeted at raising and indoctrinating young Germans. Demand for this exhibit, an original VHEC creation, has led to the creation of traveling versions.

Marazzi acknowledged that, when she tells people where she works, they sometimes suggest it must be a depressing daily grind.

“It’s actually the most hopeful place you can be at this time,” she said. “You have the survivors who have experienced unimaginable horrors and yet not only are they here with us contributing to society in extraordinary ways, they are willing to dig deep into what was the worst experience of their life and share it to educate students.”

The VHEC has never been busier, she added. Hundreds of kids, teachers and adults, including elected officials and diplomats, law enforcement, groups of coworkers, unions and others, attend the exhibits every week. At national and international conferences, Marazzi has discovered this is not the case in all such institutions. Security fears and possibly other factors have seen attendance drop in many Holocaust education institutions, she said, even amid a flourishing of antisemitism and intolerance, the phenomena they are intended to address.

Marazzi credits the trajectory of success with the work that the VHEC has done for the past 30 years in creating relationships based on trust and mutual respect with other communities, school districts and educators across the province.

“We are completely inundated and it’s exhausting but it’s delightful,” she said.

The confluence of events – Marazzi’s appointment, the impending expansion of the VHEC and the global increase of antisemitism – place the organization at a moment of challenge and opportunity, said Szajman.

“The moment is – I was going to say big, but it’s huge,” he said. “In my lifetime, I’ve never seen the kind of antisemitism that I’m witnessing now. It sounds horrible, but I’m glad my father, a Holocaust survivor who passed away a few years ago, doesn’t have to see it. I think there’s been a very overt and visible right-wing antisemitism for decades. What we’ve witnessed over the last few years in particular is this explosion of left-wing antisemitism, sometimes overt, sometimes veiled – and thinly veiled at that.”

The organization’s work has never been more important, he said.

While the eventually expanded VHEC will accommodate more visitors, Szajman noted that the centre has always reached beyond its walls, going to audiences where they are – both in-person and through virtual technologies even before these became everyday tools during COVID.

Szajman used to call the VHEC “the little engine that could.”

That’s not true, though, he said.

“It’s the little engine that does. It’s remarkable. This tiny little group of people who bust their butts every day putting in incredible hours, are so committed, including not just Jewish staff. It’s non-Jewish staff, too, that are so committed to this that, as a board member and as president, I couldn’t be any more motivated if you paid me,” he said, adding with a trademark laugh: “And they don’t.”

Editor’s note: This article is different than the print version that ran July 25, 2025, to reflect more fully the list of executive directors who helmed the VHEC.

Victoria’s new market

The grand opening of Essential Kosher on March 26. Cutting the ribbon are Rebbetzin Chani and Rabbi Meir Kaplan, centre, and Essential Kosher co-managers Zev Kantorovich, left, with wife Andrea and daughter Stephie, and David Franco, second from the right, with his wife, Claudia, and son, Jacob. (photo by David J. Litvak)

Victoria’s observant Jewish community can now do one-stop shopping – at a new kosher market.

Essential Kosher opened March 26. The brainchild of Rabbi Meir Kaplan of Chabad of Vancouver Island, the market is co-managed by two Mexican Jews, David Franco and Zev Kantorovich, who came to Victoria with their respective families to embark on a Canadian adventure together.

Until now, Jewish residents of Victoria had limited options in purchasing kosher food. They could buy challah from Chabad before Shabbat, a selection of kosher products from Fernwood General Store, and products with hechshers (kosher certifications) in various local supermarkets. Kosher meat and poultry would have to be shipped in from places like Omnitsky’s in Vancouver.

photo - Essential Kosher in Victoria, adjacent to Chabad of Vancouver Island, is open Sundays to Fridays — Essential Kosher in Victoria, adjacent to Chabad of Vancouver Island, is open Sundays to Fridays. *(*photo by David J. Litvak*)*

Kaplan said he conceived of the idea of a kosher market after concluding that “no affordable kosher food was available on the island, which made it very difficult for people to keep kosher in Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island.

“The idea became a reality once we realized that we had a space next to the synagogue that could accommodate a market, and we had two Jewish families who moved here from Mexico and who were looking to do something for the community,” he said. “It turned out be a great opportunity and a match made in heaven for all of us.”

Both the Franco and Kantorovich families had established businesses in Mexico.

Kantorovich’s grandfather, Kiva, migrated from Russia during the Second World War and, starting from scratch, opened a hardware store in downtown Mexico City. The store survived for more than 70 years and could have continued, but, after managing it for 30 years, Kantorovich decided to sell the business, hoping for a fresh start someplace else.

Franco had a company that sold plastic bags used for food packaging but decided to leave Mexico, he said, because of “the growing insecurity and increasing crime rates” and out of a desire “to look for a better place for our son to grow up.”

The two families chose to move to Victoria because Franco’s wife, Claudia, and Kantorovich’s wife, Andrea, both had an opportunity to pursue master’s degrees at Royal Roads University. While the Franco family had never been to Victoria before, the Kantoroviches had fallen in love with the city when their cruise ship to Alaska stopped there for a day. This short stay was the catalyst for the two families, who are close friends, to move to Victoria together.

The families were invited by Kaplan for a Shabbat dinner, and their connection to Jewish life in Victoria began.

The Chabad community “has been especially kind to us, even though we are not Orthodox,” said Franco. “They include all kinds of Jewish families in their programs and events and make everyone feel at home.”

Franco likes that the Victoria Jewish community is growing, and offering more educational opportunities and activities for children. He remarked “how warm and welcoming people have been here.

“Back home, people tend to be a bit more distant or indifferent,” he said.

Mexico City’s Jewish community is much larger than that of Victoria.

“Victoria feels calm, friendly and full of nature,” said Franco.

Initially, Franco and Kantorovich were thinking about opening a business on their own, however, Kaplan convinced them to open a kosher store “because the community really needed one and he also explained how kosher supplies were missing.”

The three of them decided to run the store together.

“Rabbi Kaplan supports and guides the store, and we manage the store on a day-to-day basis,” said Franco.

The market, which is open Sundays to Fridays, offers a variety of kosher items, including meat, cold cuts and poultry, Chalav Yisrael dairy products, grape juice and gefilte fish, Israeli snacks and fresh baked challah every Friday, which is baked by Rebbetzin Chani Kaplan, with her family sometimes sharing baking and cooking duties with her. Soon, customers should be able to shop online, and additional products will be available. Opening just prior to Passover, Essential Kosher offered customers kosher-for-Passover items.

For more information about the market, visit chabadvi.org or email [email protected].

David J. Litvak is a prairie refugee from the North End of Winnipeg who is a freelance writer and publicist, and a mashgiach at Louis Brier Home and Hospital. His articles have been published in the Forward, Globe and Mail and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His website is cascadiapublicity.com.

Tikva secures 45 rental units

Anat Gogo of Tikva Housing unveils the sign for the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences, with Tikva board co-chairs Andrew Charney and Penny Gurstein, former minister of housing and municipal affairs Ravi Kahlon, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Richmond city councilors, and Bernard Pinsky of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation with staff and board members. (photo by Alina Ilyasova)

Tikva Housing has acquired a 45-unit apartment building in Richmond, now officially named the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences. The purchase marks the largest acquisition in Tikva’s history and secures 30 two-bedroom and 15 one-bedroom units as long-term affordable housing.

This acquisition was made possible through a transformational gift from the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation and capital funding from British Columbia’s Rental Protection Fund, which enables nonprofit organizations to purchase rental housing at risk of being lost to private redevelopment.

“We’re working on every front to address the housing crisis and rising costs, so people have an affordable home in the community they love,” said Ravi Kahlon, who was at the time BC minister of housing and municipal affairs. “When a building changes hands, residents worry whether they will be forced to move or pay much higher rent. By helping nonprofits to buy these buildings, we are protecting the people who have lived there for years, close to their families, their jobs and the activities they enjoy.”

Located at 8660 Westminster Hwy., rents at the property average approximately $1,500 to $1,600, or about 42% below community averages, and will remain below local market rates, providing stability and peace of mind for more than 110 residents.

“It’s a relief that Tikva has stepped in to secure the future of the Ronald S. Roadburg building. It’s helped me set aside a nagging fear of needing to relocate due to redevelopment or similar,” said tenant Timothy Schafli. “I’m happy to have called Richmond home for over a decade and that I’m confident I’ll be able to continue to do that. Thanks to Tikva for the excellent communication during the transition as well.”

The property in central Richmond offers residents access to amenities like transit and schools, along with opportunities for individuals and families to engage in religious, cultural and social networks.

“This momentous acquisition embodies the core of Tikva’s mission to provide access to innovative housing solutions – giving new hope to individuals and families in need, transforming lives and strengthening the community,” said Anat Gogo, executive director, Tikva Housing. “We are deeply grateful to the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation for their extraordinary generosity and to the Rental Protection Fund for ensuring these 45 homes will remain protected and affordable for generations to come.”

The building is named in honour of the late businessman and philanthropist Ronald S. Roadburg.

“Providing secure and affordable homes strengthens the entire community, and we are honoured to help make this happen,” said Bernard Pinsky, chair of the foundation.

photo - Bernard Pinsky, chair of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, helps Chabad Richmond Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman hang the mezuzah at the entry of the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences — Bernard Pinsky, chair of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, helps Chabad Richmond Rabbi Yechiel Baitelman hang the mezuzah at the entry of the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences. *(photo by Alina Ilyasova)*

The project also received support from the BC Rental Protection Fund. Marking its first acquisition in the City of Richmond, the fund contributed $5 million toward the purchase, helping keep housing affordable for tenants. This includes $1.2 million in renewal grants to help with building improvements to keep the homes safe and comfortable.

“Investing in protecting the affordable housing we already have means we spend less while achieving more – more capacity, more resilience, more opportunity,” said Katie Maslechko, chief executive officer of the Rental Protection Fund.

According to the Metro Vancouver Jewish Housing Registry, of its 450 applicants, 200 are specifically seeking affordable housing in Richmond.

“Today’s announcement of Tikva acquiring 45 units of rental housing at the Ronald S. Roadburg Residences is great news for Richmond residents, as these 45 units will provide much-needed rental tenure housing for seniors, families and members of the local workforce for years to come,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

Tikva’s rental portfolio includes a mix of rental rates, ranging from shelter to below market and adhering to relevant provincial and federal social housing standards.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment in long-term affordability and community stability in a region where purpose-built rental housing is increasingly scarce,” said Wei Liu, Tikva’s housing development manager.

For more information, visit tikvahousing.org.

– Courtesy Tikva Housing Society

Broadway for a good cause

(photo from omershaish.com)

Omer Shaish brings My Broadway Shpiel to Vancouver Aug. 21, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Sholom. In addition to offering a night of Broadway tunes, popular Hebrew songs and his own original music, the performance will raise money for Temple Sholom’s campership program. To read more, see jewishindependent.ca/enjoy-the-best-of-broadway.

For tickets, visit tickettailor.com/events/templesholom/1702794. Buy now to make sure you don’t miss out on this fun evening for a good cause. Won’t be in town? Consider buying a ticket or two for someone who can’t afford it.

– Courtesy Temple Sholom

The Mousetrap run extended

Beatrice Zeilinger, Zander Eke, Charlie Gallant, Anthony Santiago and Melissa Oei in The Mousetrap, which runs to Aug. 24 at Arts Club Theatre’s Granville Island Stage. (photo from Moonrider Productions)

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who did not know who Agatha Christie was, the most prolific mystery writer of all time. She gave the world those iconic detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also gave us The Mousetrap, the longest-running play, having been presented at St. Martin’s in London’s West End for 73 years (with only a brief hiatus during the pandemic) with 30,000 performances and more than 10 million tickets sold.

The Mousetrap is the quintessential 1950s British whodunit, and Arts Club Theatre Company has brought the production to its Granville Island Stage so Vancouver audiences can be part of its legacy – which includes an audience promise to keep the identity of the murderer a secret.

The action takes place in a remote, snowbound English guest house, Monkswell Manor, run by newlyweds Mollie (Ming Hudson) and Giles Ralston (Jay Clift). Five guests arrive to stay for a weekend amid the news of a woman strangled 30 miles away in London. When Detective Sergeant Trotter (Charlie Gallant) arrives on skis to advise the vacationers that the murder is somehow connected to them and one of them could be next, suspicions and accusations abound.

The guests are a cross-section of eccentric characters, starting with the verbose but vulnerable Christopher Wren (Zander Eke), a young wannabe architect; demanding former magistrate, middle-aged Mrs. Boyle (Beatrice Zeilinger), for whom nothing is good enough; Miss Casewell (Melissa Oei), a diehard feminist; and the retired Major Metcalf (Anthony Santiago). Add to the mix the unexpected guest, foreigner Mr. Paravicini (Andrew McNee), whose Rolls Royce just happens to break down on the road leading to the manor, and the drama begins. Staircases are tramped, doors slammed, curtains yanked, phones go dead and, as the stage darkens, one of the guests is murdered in the parlour.

Trotter starts the usual questioning of all suspects – including the now cliché, “Where were you when the lights went out?” – and sets out to reconstruct the crime in the hope of trapping the murderer. Dribs and drabs of information trickle out regarding each of the guests’ pasts, confirming that any one of them could have “dunit” but who did do it? And it’s possible there could be a third murder – cue the children’s nursery tune “Three Blind Mice,” which hauntingly reverberates throughout the play.

This is a real ensemble cast and all the actors are terrific in their roles; all have mastered their English accents, which provides added authenticity to the production. However, special mention must be made of Gallant, as well as Eke, with his quirky mannerisms; McNee, with his Italian accent, whose witty comments inject light-hearted levity into what appears to be an ominous situation; and Hudson, with her quiet but determined demeanour as she strives to be the perfect hostess amid the chaos.

The set by Patrick Rizzotti is spot on as a posh country house, with its rich, brown wall paneling; large, curtained windows; an ornate chandelier; potted ferns; brick fireplace, with the obligatory roaring fire; and plush brocade furniture.

Jewish community member Itai Erdal’s lighting design spans the spectrum, from warm light to dark voids, providing the right mood for the right moments.

Nancy Bryant’s costumes reflect the classic elegance of the 1950s, with three-piece suits, long overcoats and fedoras for the men and tailored suits, dresses or pants for the women.

In a YouTube interview, director Stephen Drover said he wanted to keep the play as authentic as possible, without any adaptations, and so was just doing it as written. His advice to the audience: don’t just watch it, solve it. At the end of the play, one of the actors exhorts the audience to keep the murderer’s identity a secret so that others can have the experience of figuring out the puzzle.

I saw The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s in London 20 years ago and I can say that this production is just as good. You don’t have to go abroad to see good theatre. You can stay right here at home. The play has had its run extended to Aug. 24. Tickets can be purchased at artsclub.com or from the box office at 604-687-1644.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of history and enjoy an evening of gentle entertainment – and please remember to keep the ending a secret.

Tova Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.

* * *

Fun facts about Mousetrap

The Mousetrap was originally written by Agatha Christie as a short radio production for Queen Mary’s 80th birthday in 1947, and titled Three Blind Mice.

Christie, when asked about The Mousetrap’s potential longevity, thought the play would only run for about six months before it closed.

Christie’s estate has a provision that no movie can be made of the play until it stops running in London. That may not happen for a very long time.

– TK

Family Day at the farm

Family Day at Stable Harvest Farm was educational – and fun! (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

Sunday, July 6, was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect for a visit to Stable Harvest Farms, in Langley, to enjoy one of its Family Days.

My wife and I joined the first tours of the morning. Our group of maybe 50 people, including lots of young children, was split into two, after a brief introduction by one of the university student interns who work on the farm over the summer. We were then led through some of the fields, where we learned a bit about the vegetables and flowers being grown there, while the other half of the group started at the petting zoo.

photo - two pigs at Stable Harvest Farm — Just two of the many animals at Stable Harvest Farm. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)

Stable Harvest Farms, a nonprofit founded by Syd Belzberg, welcomes more than 15,000 visitors a year – families, educators, students, volunteers, members of various groups. Several Jewish organizations have participated in the educational offerings. For example, Vancouver Talmud Torah has been involved since the farm’s establishment five years ago, with students from grades 2 to 7 visiting once or twice a year.

“We continue to feed and support organizations both Jewish and non-Jewish through JFS [Jewish Family Services] and Meals on Wheels, and countless other nonprofit organizations,” Belzberg told the JI.

Stable Harvest has donated well over 360,000 pounds of produce since 2020 to various communities in Greater Vancouver. On our tour, we found out how that produce is grown and harvested organically, stopping at some of the 12 education stations that have been created for visiting schoolchildren and others. The stations cover a wide range, from what’s in a seed, to what organic agriculture is, to methods of irrigation. One of the coolest stops was the bat boxes, houses for owls and bug hotels station. But, I have to admit, feeding the sheep and the Nigerian dwarf goats was the most fun. And we got to see the beekeeper in action.

photo - On our tour, we found out how that produce is grown and harvested organically, stopping at some of the 12 education stations that have been created for visiting schoolchildren and others — On our tour, we found out how that produce is grown and harvested organically, stopping at some of the 12 education stations that have been created for visiting schoolchildren and others. *(photo by Cynthia Ramsay)*

In addition to the learning stations, there are signs everywhere. All the crops are labeled with what’s being grown and fun facts abound. Did you know that there are some 27 different types of broccoli, for instance? Or that snapdragons are edible, and can be used for dyeing cloth?

Farmer Maya led our group, making sure we all had enough water and were faring well in the heat. All the staff are “mentored by an experienced educator to develop and deliver impactful, age-appropriate learning experiences aligned with BC’s Ministry of Education goals,” Belzberg told me later.

The focus, he said, has been making sure the learning stations “link directly to the BC curriculum’s ‘Big Ideas’ and core competencies (e.g., communication, thinking, social responsibility),” as well as being sensory- and inquiry-based.

photo - The beekeeper in action at Stable Harvest Farm — The beekeeper in action at Stable Harvest Farm. *(photo by Cynthia Ramsay)*

“Students engage through touch, smell, sight and movement – using storytelling, questioning and games to spark curiosity,” he said.

As our Family Day tour proved, the activities offered are inclusive and adaptable for diverse needs, and the staff are well-trained to keep visitors young and old, with varying levels of physical and mental nimbleness, engaged. My wife and I had both an educational and entertaining time. It was well worth the drive from North Vancouver, where we live. Most everyone would enjoy the fresh air and welcoming atmosphere, I think.

To keep track of the many things going on at the farm, including volunteer opportunities, follow it on Instagram and check out the website, stableharvestfarm.com, every now and again. You can find out when the next Family Day is and book a visit on the website or by email, [email protected].

Bard mounts two comedies

Jennifer Lines as Beatrice and Sheldon Elter as Benedick in Bard on the Beach’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. (photo by Tim Matheson)

For a Vancouver summer experience, almost nothing beats an evening at Bard on the Beach. The appearance of the red and white tents in Vanier Park signals the start of the Shakespearean season. This year, two comedies – Much Ado About Nothing, done in its proper period, and Two Gentlemen of Verona, set in the 1980s – are featured alternating days on the BMO Mainstage.

There was much excitement in the air on Much Ado’s opening night. From the moment I walked into the tent and saw the stunning set (kudos to Pam Johnson), I knew I was in for a treat. The scene is 17th-century Mediterranean Messina with an elevated balcony, vined pillars, terraced gardens and a flagstone wishing well, all drenched in a cornucopia of brilliant colours.

One of the Bard’s most entertaining comedies, the story revolves around two couples, one young and naïve, for whom love is just one romantic whisper away, and one mature and skeptical of what love can bring into their lives. Jennifer Tong and Angus Yam play the young Hero and Claudio while Jennifer Lines and Sheldon Elter, the more experienced Beatrice and Benedick.

The action starts off with a trio of soldiers, Don Pedro (Matthew Ip Shaw), Benedick and Claudio, who, upon returning from battle, stop to rest at the home of Lord Leonato (David Marr), Hero’s father and the governor of Messina. There is instant chemistry between Claudio and Hero, but, while it initially appears that the younger couple will be the main protagonists, it becomes apparent that the play is really about the older two. Lines, with her mass of red hair, comes across as a fiery feminist and is sublime in her role as she exchanges witty bons mots with Elter’s Benedick, a confirmed bachelor. They both mock love and he makes it very clear that marriage is not on his agenda. However, they both “doth protest too much” and it really comes down to “will they or won’t they?”

The journey to their final epiphany is a furious romp through a masked ball (with an erotic pas de deux), mistaken identities, athletic eavesdropping, false allegations of infidelity and a faked death. The language is peppered with double entendres.

Don Pedro attempts to play cupid (“some cupids kill with arrows some with traps”) for both couples but is hindered by his dastardly half-brother Don John (deliciously played by Karthik Kadam), who tries to sabotage the Hero/Claudio nuptials. Cue a motley crew of the local watch, helmed by Bard veteran Scott Bellis as the inept Constable Dogberry, who are tasked with bringing Don John and his co-conspirators, Borachio (Tanner Zerr) and Conrad (Kristi Hansen), to justice. Steffanie Davis, as one of the watch team, entertains with priceless facial expressions and physical antics and, along with her cohorts, injects slapstick comedy into this rom-com.

A prologue precedes the first act, with the inclusion of text written by Erin Shields that is meant to provide a counterpoint to 400-year-old misogyny, including with respect to a woman’s supposed holy grail – the snaring of a husband. Lines challenges the audience with her passionate monologue while Tong mimes the actions from the balcony. As Shields notes in the program, “this additional text both gives an opportunity for a limited character to reach her heroic potential and provides a framework for this incredibly successful comedy to reach contemporary audiences in an even deeper way today.”

In addition to the gorgeous set, the show boasts fabulous costumes by designer Mara Gottler – leather doublets and earth-toned breeches for the men, corset frocks for the women, including frothy gowns and veils for the wedding scene. Jewish community member Mishelle Cuttler provides the sound design.

The production is fun – and it makes a powerful statement. But I have a problem with the script and the suggestion that virginal Hero might risk her marriage to Claudio by having a pre-wedding night tryst with someone else, and with Claudio’s readiness to believe the gossip, leading him to abandon her at the altar. Her subsequent fainting “death” and ultimate resurrection, leading to their reunion, does not account for the wrong that was so easily done to her. Even her final monologue, describing her pain and path to reconciliation, does not ease the blow.

The Much Ado cast shifts gears on alternating nights and pivots to 1980s Verona, with all the colour and decadence that entails.

photo - Matthew Ip Shaw as Valentine, Agnes Tong as Silvia, and Tanner Zerr as Turio in Bard’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona — Matthew Ip Shaw as Valentine, Agnes Tong as Silvia, and Tanner Zerr as Turio in Bard’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona. *(photo by Tim Matheson)*

In Two Gentlemen of Verona, best friends Proteus (Jacob Leonard) and Valentine (Ip Shaw) separate, as Valentine goes to Milan to find excitement while Proteus stays behind to be with his girlfriend Julia (Tess Degenstein). However, Proteus’s parents, Antonio (Craig Erickson) and Ursula (Jennifer Clement), think it best that he follow his friend to Milan, to stay out of trouble. So, off he goes with his manservant Launce (a terrific Bellis) in tow and Crab, Launce’s dog (Mason in real life and artistic director Christopher Gaze’s own yellow Lab). As expected, Crab steals every scene he is in, without making a sound. On opening night, he even stopped to nuzzle some front row patrons as he exited the stage.

Valentine, on arrival in Milan, is immediately smitten with Silvia (Tong), the daughter of the Duke (a mafiosi-like Elter). When Proteus arrives, he conveniently forgets about his girlfriend Julia and is equally taken with the glamorous femme. So, when Valentine tells his best bud that he intends to elope with the duchess, Proteus, to have Silvia for himself, tells the Duke. After all, as Proteus states, “in love, who respects friends?” Meanwhile, the Duke wants Silvia to marry Trurio (Zerr), although who knows why, because he comes across as a big, dumb athlete.

Valentine is banished from Milan and Proteus attempts to woo Silvia, who makes it quite clear that she is not interested. Julia arrives, disguised as a man, to check up on her boyfriend and the fun/intrigue begins with swapped rings, torn love letters and a gang of Gothic outlaw rockers armed with various weapons, including a chainsaw, who intervene and provide for a surprising ending.

The production values are high and the designers have done a great job in creating a 1980s vibe, from Johnson’s multi-arched set to Gerald King’s lighting design. Costume designer Carmen Altorre highlights exercise leotards and leggings à la Jane Fonda, padded shoulders, caftans and tennis whites, as well as Miami Vice pastel-coloured suits to clothe the posh crowd. Of course, there is the hair – voluminous back-combed dos for the women and mullets for the men. A lot of the action takes place around the pool house, with props including a floating pink swan, multi-coloured beach balls, boom boxes and skateboards.

Malcolm Dow’s sound design brings back all the 1980s oldies and goldies, including theme songs from Dallas and St. Elmo’s Fire, with some funky choreography courtesy of Nicole Spinola.

Director Dean Paul Gibson has taken liberties with the script and not just a nip and tuck here and there, but major surgery, particularly with the ending. Purists may be appalled but the #MeToo generation will applaud the final scene.

Running on the smaller Douglas Campbell stage are The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again], a 90-minute romp through all 38 Shakespeare plays and 150-plus sonnets, including a version of Hamlet done backwards, and The Dark Lady, about Shakespeare’s supposed muse, collaborator and lover, Emilia Bassano, a Crypto-Jew.

For tickets, visit the website bardonthebeach.org or call 604-739-0559. The festival runs to Sept. 20.

Tova Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.

Looking for volunteers

Israel Connect is once again seeking English tutors.

Have time to volunteer? Consider Israel Connect, a program where local adult volunteers connect one-on-one, via Zoom, with Israeli high school students to help them improve their English conversation and reading skills. The program starts in November and is organized by Chabad Richmond, with Israel Connect and the Israeli Ministry of Education. It entails a commitment of 45 to 60 minutes once a week for the school year.

“No previous tutoring or teaching experience is necessary, and the curriculum is provided,” said Shelley Civkin, local Israel Connect coordinator.

The only requirements are that the volunteer be an adult, fluent in English, have basic computer skills and own a computer with a camera – for continuity reasons, a minimum commitment of one school year is requested. Volunteers do not need to speak Hebrew and can tutor from home. Basic training and technical support are available. A criminal background check is necessary for all tutors and will be arranged through Israel Connect. Time preferences of volunteer tutors/mentors will be coordinated beforehand.

To register as a volunteer, go to chabadrichmond.com/israelconnect. For more information, contact Civkin at 604-789-5806 or [email protected].

To support the Israel Connect program, contact Chabad Richmond at 604-277-6427 or [email protected].

– Courtesy Chabad Richmond