The Georgia Straight - Year of the Tiger - January 27, 2022

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022 | FREE Volume 56 | Number 2815

YEAR

HOUSING FRENZY Bidding up a townhouse

PuSh FESTIVAL

OF THE

Theatre, dance, and music

TIGER

Taiwanese painter Hung Tung is one of several accomplished artists whose work is appearing on LunarFest lanterns in Vancouver SENIOR TENANTS

•

PEACH PIT

•

TAYLOR SWIFT

•

ADOBO WAR

February 6-10

CONTENTS

January 27 - February 3 / 2022

8

COVER

LunarFest Vancouver will ring in the Year of the Tiger with giant lanterns at two locations, a concert at the Orpheum, and a West End artistic installation.

By Charlie Smith Cover painting by Hung Tung

FEATURED AUTHORS Dara Horn Pnina Granirer David Baddiel Hal Niedzviecki Heather Morris Jon Papernick Gary Barwin Michaela Carter Jai Chakrabarti Meg Waite Clayton Isa Milman Lisa Richter Rachel Rose Rachel Mines $PL 6DQGV %URGRƫ Daniel Sokatch Menachem Kaiser Riva Lehrer Leah Garrett Rachel Seelig M. Evan Wolkenstein

6 Sigal Samuel Robert Krell Alan Twigg Judith McCormack Carol Matas Richard Stursberg

16

MUSIC

Taylor Swift is long known as a friend to the little guys, which explains her being named the global Record Store Day Ambassador for 2022.

e Online TOP 5

e Start Here

Seeking LGBTQ2SAI+ volunteers at Jewish Seniors Alliance (JSA) Seniors are facing difficult times. Our JSA Friendly Visitor Program offers peer-to-peer social support to all kinds of seniors including lesbian, gay or trans seniors wanting more connection to their own communities.

We need volunteers to match with isolated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Two-Spirit, Asexual and Intersex (LGTBQ2SAI+ ) seniors. Isolated seniors are waiting for your call.

Volunteers are trained in our Friendly Visitors Program to connect by phone (and after the pandemic, to visit senior’s homes, long term care facilities or accompany seniors on small outings). Jewish Seniors Alliance is nonreligious & inclusive.

Many LGTBQ2S+ seniors say they feel lonely, disconnected from loved ones, or suffer from age-related health challenges, grief & loss, or cognitive impairment.

Are you interested in learning new communications, self-awareness and boundary-setting skills? Join our inclusive team of volunteers at Jewish Seniors Alliance.

TRAINING TO START ON TUESDAYS 4 PM- 8PM STARTING IN FEBRUARY 2022.

TRAINING is on ZOOM at NO COST CONTACT JSA Charles Leibovich - charles@jsalliance.org Facilitator Grace Hann - grace@jsalliance.org

604.267.1555 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

By Carlito Pablo

By Mike Usinger

jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival

2

REAL ESTATE

Homes of all kinds continue to be a hot commodity, with a townhouse in Surrey fetching more than $1 million after getting 36 offers.

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

14 18 13 7 4 17 17 12

ARTS CLASSIFIED ADS DANCE FOOD HOUSING MOVIES SAVAGE LOVE THEATRE

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 56 | Number 2815 #300 - 1375 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6H 0B1 T: 604.730.7000 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com DISPLAY ADVERTISING: T: 604.730.7020 E: sales@straight.com

CLASSIFIEDS: T: 604.730.7000 E: classads@straight.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: 604.730.7000

Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

Photos: Cottage-style home gets 26 offers and sells for $580K over asking price.

Convoy organizer says the plan is for truckers to shut down Ottawa.

Video: Police seek suspect in random stabbing at downtown Tim Hortons.

The great resignation has people seeking jobs that align with their values.

Linh Café’s Kitsilano site listed for sale for $225,000.

DISTRIBUTION: 604.730.7032

EDITOR Charlie Smith GENERAL MANAGER Sandra Oswald SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li

@GeorgiaStraight

ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald GRAPHIC DESIGNER Miguel Hernandez PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Mike Correia ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Glenn Cohen, Luci Richards, Catherine Tickle, Robyn Marsh, David Pearlman (On-Leave) MANAGER, BRANDED CONTENT AND MARKETING LEAD Rachel Moore CREDIT MANAGER Shannon Li ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR Tamara Robinson

PETER WALL’S SHANNON MEWS 1515 W. 57th Avenue, Vancouver • 604.261.0732

OPEN HOUSE

SAT & SUN 9AM-5PM NOW RENTING Studio

■

1 Bedroom

■

2 Bedroom

■

Townhouse

Stunning, historical neighbourhood with many urban amenities. Close to shopping. www.pw-shannonmews.com | suites@pw-shannonmews.com

PETER WALL’S YALETOWN 1310 Richards Street, Vancouver • 778.903.5066

OPEN HOUSE

YALETOWN’S FINEST LIVING Studio ■ 1 Bedroom ■ 2 Bedroom

SAT & SUN 9AM-5PM NOW RENTING

Located in the heart of Yaletown, overlooking English Bay and False Creek, Peter Wall Yaletown is a rare residential leasing opportunity www.pw-yaletown.com | suites@pw-yaletown.com JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

3

HOUSING

Seniors advocates allege housing discrimination

A

by Charlie Smith

Vancouver seniors advocate has alleged that some landlords are discriminating against older tenants seeking apartments. Gail Harmer, 80, made this declaration in an hourlong January 20 webinar on housing hosted by the South Vancouver Seniors Network and attended by Vancouver-Langara B.C. Liberal MLA Michael Lee. “Seniors have very lengthy tenancies because it is our last home,” Harmer said. “We are discriminated against when it comes to applications for housing in a market that is free market–driven and where landlords actually benefit from certain turnover.”

It was one of many statements at the forum highlighting discriminatory treatment that seniors face on the housing front. Harmer went so far as to declare that ageism is “endemic”. She added that landlords are “certainly uncomfortable with any applicant who’s going to be there for 20.5 years”, which is the average length of tenancy for seniors in the West End. “Politicians like Michael know how important we are because we vote,” Harmer noted. “We have incredible power if we start to use it.”

4

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

B.C. Liberal MLA Michael Lee helped launch the South Vancouver Seniors Network.

Lee noted that COVID-19 has shone a light on the treatment of elderly people, whether it’s in care homes or living at home in isolation. “We are all in this together, as is said often,” Lee said, “and I’m grateful for each of you to lend your voice.”

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

One of the more horrific tales at the forum came from Grace Hann, trainer and manager of volunteers at the Jewish Seniors Alliance. She shared a heartbreaking story of an 85-year-old woman living with cancer in a B.C. Housing unit. According to Hann, this senior has difficulty walking and spends most of her time at home.

“The biggest thing with her—and it’s quite heartbreaking to hear—is when she’s eating dinner,” Hann said. “There are mice crawling up her leg.

“I want us to stop for a moment and visualize if that would be us or if it would be our mom or dad or if it would be our grandparents,” she added. “I took that very seriously on behalf of Jewish Seniors Alliance.”

Hann said that the situation was only addressed after the Jewish Seniors Alliance intervened on behalf of the tenant.

“We did get the problem eradicated, but my question is why did it take all of us to be involved?” Hann said. “Why are they not listening to seniors?”

Andrea Krombein, seniors outreach coordinator for Marpole Oakridge Family Place, presented pictures of a mice-ridden unit in Marpole. She revealed that this went on for more than three years, with management of the situation primarily left to the senior tenant.

Krombein pointed out that advocacy organizations often receive calls from seniors struggling with other issues in their building. That includes being treated in ageist ways by landlords or building managers and not getting repairs done or services in a timely manner.

“Listening carefully to these situations, we find a mix of problems,” Krombein said. “Seniors are often lonely and without family or connections and on low income.

So they don’t want to rock the boat with landlords. They don’t want to be evicted or victimized. These are real fears.”

According to Krombein, sometimes these fears are rooted in mental-health issues or insecurity, but on other occasions,

she noted, they are based on things that can really happen.

As an example, Krombein related that one senior using a mobility scooter had to pay $10 to a building worker every time she wanted to leave. The building worker took advantage of her because the automatic door had remained broken “for ages” and she had no choice.

Krombein also emphasized that senior tenants often don’t want to challenge bad behaviour by other tenants—such as drug use, smoking, loud music, or criminal behaviour—for fear of reprisals. And when they do phone the police for problems in the building, they have reported that sometimes they feel that officers are not sympathetic or sensitive to seniors’ issues.

“A crisis point is reached in the neighbourhoods when a landlord or building managers become abusive verbally or neglectful and are unable to control unruly tenants—and seniors feel afraid for their physical and emotional safety,” Krombein said.

Seniors in these situations will call different offices—such as the Jewish Seniors Alliance or the MLA’s office or police—which means there is no one database record of what has taken place at a specific building.

“A senior tenant told me, ‘B.C. Housing needs to make a plan so there’s a single number to call,’ ” Krombein said.

In the meantime, Marpole Oakridge Family Place is looking at providing training for tenants and landlords about their respective responsibilities and educating them about elder abuse and neglect.

“South Vancouver Seniors Network partners want to make sure that seniors feel safe in their housing situations,” Krombein stated.

The South Vancouver Seniors Network was launched by MLA Lee and Krombein.

The weekly webinars, hosted by Krombein and Hann, aim to connect seniors with government, community leaders, and other decision makers in real time. g

CANADA’S PREMIER CANNABIS BUSINESS CONFERENCE

JUNE 1-3, 2022 • IN-PERSON

PRESENTED BY

CONFERENCE • AWARDS • EXPO PRIME BOOTH LOCATIONS AT O’CANNABIZ 2022 STILL AVAILABLE RETAIL EXPO

RE REGISTETRAIFLOERS R visit ocannab iz.com/reta FREE ile rmation rs

for more info

RESERVE YOUR TORONTO 2022 BOOTH TODAY 5000 ATTENDEES• 100,000 SQ. FT. • 350+ EXHIBITORS • 200 SPEAKERS • 3 DAYS 2022

O’CANNABIZ INDUSTRY AWARDS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2022 CASA LOMA TORONTO 1 AUSTIN TERRACE, TORONTO, ON. M5R 1X8

2022 HOST: GERRY DEE AWARDS HOST: GERRY DEE HOST FAMILY FEUD CANADA

RESERVE YOUR BOOTH TODAY PRESENTING PARTNER O’CANNABIZ’S OFFICIAL PACKAGING PARTNER

HOST OF FAMILY FEUD CANADA AND STAR OF AWARD-WINNING SITCOM, MR.D.

RESERVE YOUR TABLE: 416-543-4749

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

VOTED #1 CANNABIS EVENT IN CANADA

PLATINUM PARTNERS

GOLD PARTNERS

RETAIL PARTNERS

GROUP

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

5

REAL ESTATE

Million-dollar Surrey townhouse drew 36 offers

R

by Carlito Pablo

ealtor Alex Tom has never seen anything like it.

The eXp Realty and Velmont Real Estate Team agent said that some of his previous listings had received up to 10 offers or so.

But the recent one Tom had in Surrey was something else—he said the townhouse got 36 offers.

Not surprisingly, the three-storey residence with four bedrooms and three baths sold quickly and over the listed price. It went for $1,108,000.

The property is a corner unit at 306– 16433 Watson Drive in the Surrey neighbourhood of Fleetwood. Tom said the townhouse had more than 120 showings after it came on the market on January 10, 2022.

“There’s just too little supply of homes for sale for the number of people looking to buy,” Tom told the Straight in a phone interview.

The property was listed for $798,000, which was below the assessed value. The townhouse has a 2022 assessment of $808,000.

After seven days on the market, the home sold on January 17 for $1,108,000.

The sold price was 37 percent and 38.8

This Surrey corner townhouse has four bedrooms and three bathrooms on three floors and attracted 36 offers after more than 120 showings.

percent over the assessed and listed prices, respectively.

Tom noted that the property has a lot of things going for it. One of these is that it is a relatively new home, part of the Fleetwood Rise development of Anthem Prop-

Are You Looking For A Meaningful Volunteer Opportunity?

Our Peer Support Services is accepting applications for our Friendly Visiting Program at Jewish Seniors Alliance (JSA).

This volunteer training will prepare you with the skills to interact with seniors in our community and will enhance employment opportunities and personal growth.

The program is available to people 18 years and older.

Training will consist of four consecutive sessions, evenings 4pm - 8pm for a total of 16 hours. You will become more skilled with age-related challenges, grief and loss, isolation, loneliness and many other issues facing older adults including helping seniors cope with their increased anxiety and isolation caused by of COVID-19 JSA is an inclusive organization and reaches out to all seniors from all ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds.

This training is being offered at no cost.

At the end of the training you will get a certificate.

The sessions are starting on Tuesdays in February from 4pm - 8pm on ZOOM. For more information please call Charles Leibovitch at 778-840-4949 or email: charles@jsalliance.org

6

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

People who identify as part of the LBGTQ community are invited to apply.

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

erties. According to B.C. Assessment, it was built in 2017.

Tom also said that people who went to view the property were talking about the future SkyTrain that is planned nearby, a reference to the 16-kilometre Surrey-Langley rapid-transit project.

The SkyTrain will run on an elevated guideway along Fraser Highway, which is near the townhouse complex where Unit 306 sold. The system will connect the Expo Line’s King George Station to Langley Centre.

Tom noted that residents of the townhouse development will be able to walk to one of the eight planned stations.

As well, the COVID-19 pandemic has made work from home possible for many employees. “Now that we can work from home, people have more ability to choose where they want to buy property,” Tom said.

Tom noted that it used to be that many wanted to purchase a home near where they work.

The Straight learned about the Watson Drive sale after it reported on January 21 about a deal for a piece of Vancouver real estate.

That was 950 Ringwood Avenue, which came on the market with a listed price of $1,249,800. The detached home received 26 offers and sold for $580,000 over the asking price of $1,830,000.

A reader who goes by the Twitter account of @PartPhil, commented on the social-media site that paying $580,000 over asking is “absolutely bananas”.

The remark attracted the attention of another reader, who goes by @alex60494.

“How about $310k over on a fleetwood townhouse” they wrote, adding an emoji of a face with tears of joy.

One of the 26 offers for the Ringwood Avenue home in Vancouver was madhus-

It’s all a spending party right now, but what I’m afraid of is the hangover.

– realtor David Hutchinson

band and wife who are clients of Vancouver realtor David Hutchinson.

Hutchinson’s clients didn’t get the property, even though they placed a bid of almost $300,000 over the asking price.

After speaking with Tom about the 36 Surrey bids, the Straight circled back to Hutchinson.

“When 2022 started, nobody knew what was going to happen,” Hutchinson said by phone. “But suddenly,” the Sutton Group– West Coast Realty agent noted, “this particular market detached; the half-duplexes and townhouses just exploded.”

With the 36 offers on the Surrey townhouse and 26 bids on the Vancouver real estate that his clients didn’t get, Hutchinson said that this means one thing. “There are 60 hungry buyers out there among countless others that are actively swirling the waters of real estate and ready to throw more money at it,” he said.

“The question is, is what you’re paying today going to be what it’s going to be worth when this world returns to normal?”

Hutchinson asked.

The Vancouver realtor added, “It’s all a spending party right now, but what I’m afraid of is the hangover.” g

FOOD

VCC chef is well aware of short-lived “adobo war”

L

by Carlito Pablo

ast year, a government agency in Manila provoked what the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper later described as an “adobo war”.

The ruckus started when the Department of Trade and Industry announced that it wanted to standardize the recipe for adobo.

Adobo is one of the best-loved dishes among Filipinos anywhere in the world.

It’s typically pork or chicken stewed in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and peppercorns.

Critics heaped scorn on the standardization plan and called on the government to leave their adobo alone.

The backlash prompted the agency a couple of days later, on July 11, 2021, to say in a statement that it is not looking to impose a mandatory standard but only for purposes of “promotion abroad”.

That’s “because there are thousands or millions of different ‘lutong adobo’ [adobo dishes]”.

“To many Filipinos,” the agency acknowledged, “the best adobo is the one ‘cooked at home’ or ‘cooked by their parents or lola [grandmother]”.

Although adobo is often referred to as the unofficial national dish in the Philippines, it is done differently in practically every household.

As well, even people in the same family could have different versions or preferences of how the dish is prepared.

One example is the household of Helen Orimaco-Pumatong, a chef instructor in hospitality management at Vancouver Community College (VCC).

She related with amusement that she and her husband don’t agree on what is a good adobo.

“Me and my husband don’t have adobo the same way,” Orimaco-Pumatong told the Straight in a phone interview.

Her spouse likes one that’s cooked long until the fat is released and the meat fries in its own grease.

“I like it in a syrup that’s kind of sweet,” Orimaco-Pumatong said. She also said she prefers her adobo with caramelized red onions.

The two met in the Philippines when she was already a chef in Canada. They have two kids, both boys, one 14 and the other seven.

The instructor was only six when her family immigrated to Canada during the 1970s. Orimaco-Pumatong learned to cook Filipino dishes from her mother, who was a home-economics teacher in their native country.

“We would always have people over at our house, like 20, 30, 40 people in a tight house,” she recalled of the family’s early days in Canada.

Helen Orimaco-Pumatong has been teaching at Vancouver Community College since 2001, and she learned to cook from her mother, who was a home-economics teacher in the Philippines.

“And we celebrated every birthday, every holiday, and so my mom would always be cooking.”

Orimaco-Pumatong went to Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School and David Thompson Secondary School, both in Vancouver. In high school, she took a lot of food courses.

“It was just something that interested

Me and my husband don’t hav adobo in the same way.

– VCC chef Helen Orimaco-Pumatong

R aga RIDES INTO SUNSET Ricky Sharma and his uncle, Raj Sharma, have shut down their West Side restaurant.

d A LANDMARK VANCOUVER restaurant has served its final meal.

Raga Restaurant closed because of the pending sale of its building at 1177 West Broadway, according to owner Raj Sharma.

The restaurant is on the first floor of the office tower on the site, which was owned by businessman Ronald S. Roadburg until his death on May 17, 2021.

It’s now owned by the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, a registered charity created to strengthen the Jewish community, alleviate chronic problems in society, and help shield at-risk communities from racism and violence.

Sharma told the Straight by phone that

the charity offered him a lease, which would give a new buyer an opportunity to terminate it by giving one year’s notice.

Sharma declined the offer.

“Hopefully, we find a smaller spot,” he said. “And then we will carry on with our name. Not right away. We’ll take a break.”

Raga opened in 1981 and was taken over in 1988 by Sharma, who served authentic North Indian cuisine in a mellow and tastefully designed room.

It’s the second long-standing restaurant to close on Vancouver’s West Side this month due to a change or pending change in ownership of a building.

John Bishop shuttered his iconic 36-year-old dining establishment, Bishop’s, after a new building owner demanded what he called a “whopping rent increase”.

Over the years, Raga hosted many celebrities—such as Goldie Hawn, Sarah McLachlan, Mel Gibson, and Ravi Shankar—and a who’s who in the Indo Canadian community.

In the words one of those diners, wellknown broadcaster Shushma Datt, it’s “very sad to hear they have closed”. g

by Charlie Smith

me, or maybe it was because I was in it already, cooking for the family,” she said.

She later started working as a cook and dietician at hotels as well as hospitals and health facilities operated by Providence Health Care.

Meanwhile, Orimaco-Pumatong also entered VCC’s culinary program, eventually earning her credentials, including a Red Seal certification. “I do a lot of things all at once,” she said about working and going to school at the same time.

She started teaching at VCC in 2001 and said she has been in the kitchen for so long that she’s comfortable preparing most dishes, no matter which culinary tradition these come from.

“My thing is, it’s about cooking techniques,” she said.

Asked about a classic French dish, beef bourguignon, and a near equivalent in Filipino cuisine, beef kaldereta (for which she sometimes gets requests through her private catering business), OrimacoPumatong said both dishes use the same cooking method.

The Filipino dish is beef stewed with tomato sauce, potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers, and the French stew uses red wine for braising.

“It’s the technique of stewing, so it doesn’t matter what culture it is,” she said.

“It’s actually like a curry, too. So it’s the same process.”

She went on to note that what makes beef kaldereta distinct from beef bourguignon is that Filipinos add liver paste, which is, essentially, French pâté, giving the dish a “very earthy flavour”.

For special occasions, Filipinos put olives in the dish, bringing a “western style or western flair to it”.

With adobo, Orimaco-Pumatong noted that a lot of non-Filipinos have become familiar with the dish.

“My Chinese friends or colleagues, the first thing they’ll say is adobo, because everybody [Filipinos] cooks it at home,” she said about what happens during potluck parties with Filipinos.

Her family hails from Tagbilaran City in Bohol, a province in the central Philippine region known as Visayas.

Among people there, their adobo version is called humba, which features the addition of sliced pineapples and dried banana blossoms.

Orimaco-Pumatong believes that although adobo is prepared in different ways, the dish always presents as a “balance” of savouriness, tartness, and sweetness, which makes it appealing. g Visit Straight.com to read Helen OrimacoPumatong’s personal adobo recipe, which uses pork belly.

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

7

LUNARFEST

Inclusive LunarFest launches the Year of the Tiger

T

by Charlie Smith

he managing director of the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association, Charlie Wu, says he wants every one of his company’s LunarFest Vancouver celebrations to have a purpose. And that’s certainly on display with a series of events and displays ringing in the Lunar New Year. To bring in the Year of the Tiger, the theme is “Together, Stronger!”.

“This year, we want to take it in a different direction than we have done in the past,” Wu tells the Straight in an interview over coffee on the patio of the Prado Cafe near Granville Island. “It will be a celebration for everyone, not just communities like the Chinese or the Taiwanese or Koreans and Vietnamese.”

Wu emphasizes that he appreciates the way individual Asian countries embrace the Lunar New Year. However, he feels it’s important to make this year’s celebration even more inclusive in the face of the pandemic. To help accomplish that, there are four different destinations for this year’s LunarFest Vancouver, each appealing to the sensibilities of local residents.

Festivities begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday (January 29) with a workshop for children at Granville Island, following the opening ceremony for LunarFest. According to Wu, there will also be a street team from Cirque du Soleil on the island in advance of its March performances of Alegria in Vancouver.

On February 1, the Vancouver Zion Mission Choir, which originated in the local Korean community in 1982, will perform at the Orpheum with the Harmonia

LunarFest Vancouver promotes greater awareness of conservation by making crafts available to local schoolchildren, enabling them to learn about bobcats in Canada and leopards in Taiwan.

Orchestra. This show will also be available online. “They will be performing pieces that you don’t normally hear in a Lunar New Year celebration,” Wu says.

Then there’s an installation celebrating Lunar New Year at the corner of Cardero and Robson streets (see separate article on this page). And the Lantern City exhibition, done in collaboration with the Society of We Are Canadians Too, returns to the

north plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery from Thursday (January 27) to February 9.

The Lantern City exhibition will feature works by two high-profile South Asian artists in Vancouver, Jag Nagra and Sandeep Johal, and nonbinary artist Paige Bowman, which will be murals wrapped around giant cylinders. Two other large pillars on the site will feature works from the Red Paper Series by one of Taiwan’s most

famous artists, Hung Tung, who pioneered the postmodernist movement in the island nation before he died in 1987.

Wu tells the Straight that Hung didn’t even begin painting until he was about 50 years old, making him a really late bloomer.

“His work is very, very colourful,” Wu says, “and because of these colours, his work is seen as spiritual as well.”

Another exhibition of lanterns will be at Granville Island from January 29 to February 21 in an exhibition called Forever Young. Coast Salish artist Jody Broomfield’s Honouring the Spirit of the Children and Taiwanese Indigenous Rukai artist Pacake Taugadhu’s Lrikulau are two of the large murals there. Lrikulau features the famous Formosan clouded leopard, which is believed to have gone extinct (though there were alleged sightings in 2018). Other lanterns at Granville Island will feature art

by Heather Sparks, Quw’utsun muralist Charlene Johnny, and Filipino Canadian painter Danvic Briones.

The lanterns at both locations will be accompanied by Taiwanese composer ChaoMing Tung’s “Woven Melodies”, which incorporates the pipa, a traditional Han instrument, performed by Hui-Kuan Lin. The song was created for this year’s LunarFest.

All of this is in addition to online art exhibits, crafts distributed to schoolchildren, and virtual programs, including a puppet-making show, fortune-telling, and a screening of the film Emergence: Out of the Shadows, celebrating queer activists with Sher Vancouver. g

West End Wishes brings neon glow to lower Robson

T

by Charlie Smith

and Hao (Good). We decorate our homes and workplaces with couplets during Lunar New Year. We will be displaying the lantern version of them outdoors in the street at Cardero Street and Robson.

his year, LunarFest Vancouver has with three West End restaurants on a special menu to bring in the Year of the Tiger. In addition, LunarFest has partnered with the West End Business Improvement Association to display an installation, West End Wishes, at the corner of Cardero and Robson streets from January 30 to February 15. Below is an interview with installation artist Lady Hao Hao, conducted with the help of a Mandarin-language translator.

Georgia Straight: What were you trying to say with the art?

Georgia Straight: What was the inspiration behind the West End project?

Lady Hao Hao: The West End BIA has expressed interest in being part of the LunarFest and the Lantern City (see article above) over the past two years. We had a lantern installation at English Bay last year; however, we couldn’t do one this year. To continue the partnership, we are 8

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

Taiwanese-born artist Lady Hao Hao created couplets in LED-style “neon” for LunarFest.

showcasing West End Wishes, which features my work from 2020 with three large couplets: Man (Fulfilled), Fu (Fortune),

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

Lady Hao Hao: I really like to share tradition with a contemporary context.

Vancouver used to be known for its neon signs in the entertainment district, and these three couplets are made with the LED version of neon lights. Robson Street is known for some great Asian cuisine. I think the three words really speak well to the kind of experiences one would get by visiting Robson Street for great Lunar New Year dinners.

Georgia Straight: What do you want people to think about when they look at the image?

Lady Hao Hao: I hope people really try to reflect on things or memories that speak to the three words. We need lots of optimism after two years of pandemic; we all need to see the light at the end of the tunnel and hope for a brighter future.

Georgia Straight: Is there anything you would like to say about the restaurants that LunarFest has partnered with?

Lady Hao Hao: The three restaurants are Dinesty Dumpling House (1719 Robson Street), Banana Leaf (1779 Robson Street), and Forage (1300 Robson Street).

All three restaurants have Asian connections but they also represent our diversity in Vancouver. Dinesty highlights the tradition, Banana Leaf shares the flavor of Southeast Asia, and Forage focuses on being sustainable and green. I think they really reflect Vancouver well—its past, present, and future. g

LUNARFEST

South Asian art spices up East Asian celebration

T

by Charlie Smith

his year’s LunarFest celebrations in Vancouver will have a touch of masala. That’s because two celebrated Vancouver artists of Punjabi ancestry, Jag Nagra and Sandeep Johal, have created lanterns that will be on display on the north side of the Vancouver Art Gallery from Thursday (January 27) to February 9. The Lantern City exhibition, called We Are Family, is a collaboration of the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association and the Society of We Are Canadians Too. “I’m really grateful that they are including South Asian voices and stories this year,” Nagra, creative director of the Punjabi Market Collective, tells the Straight by phone.

Last year, Nagra generated nationwide attention for designing a colourful Vancouver Canucks practise jersey timed for Diwali. Nagra’s work for Lantern City, Nazar Battu, features vibrantly painted masks, which are sometimes left at the entrances of South Asian people’s homes or businesses to ward off the “evil eye”.

“Most of my artwork that I typically do— if you’ve seen it—is very bright,” Nagra says.

“And the reason I do that is because I suffer from seasonal depression.… For my own mental health, I like to saturate my artwork really heavily with colours.”

Johal had an exhibition at the Surrey Art Gallery last year celebrating trailblazing South Asian women. In a phone interview

The creative director of the Punjabi Market Collective, Jag Nagra, says she’s really grateful that LunarFest included South Asian imagery like her Nazar Battu painting (left) on its lanterns.

with the Straight, she says that she features a great deal of tiger imagery in her work, so it made sense to incorporate one of these paintings into a Year of the Tiger lantern.

Her piece, One Day, features a multicoloured big cat on a branch leaning into a woman wearing a bold black-and-white pattern. They’re holding hands, completely comfortable with one another.

According to Johal, the painting was done at a time when people were being told to stay away from each other and not

C oexistence IN HARMONY

d VANCOUVER ARTIST and fashion designer Cindy Wu has long had an interest in sustainability. So when she was asked to present a painting to this year’s LunarFest Vancouver celebration, it had an environmental theme.

Wu’s painting, Coexistence (above), incorporates the imagery of two hands being clasped together, which is commonly done as a new year’s greeting.

But she included a twist: one of the hands actually represents the natural world.

“It symbolizes that we are tightly bonded with nature,” Wu tells the Straight by phone. “And during my creative

process, I tested out different gestures with my own hands.”

The painting will be available on the LunarFest Vancouver website (LunarFest. ca), according to one of the festival organizers.

Growing up in the large southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Wu learned her love of art from her father, a Chinese film director. She was inspired by seeing how actors could change their looks with the help of fashion, makeup, and different camera angles.

Wu spent three years as a part-time designer for one of China’s largest swimwear brands before graduating with a master’s and striking out on her own.

“In my fashion, I like to use hybrid elements as well,” Wu says. “I incorporate Chinese paintings with western-style geometric shapes into cutting and sewing.”

Last year, Wu was crowned Miss Chinese Vancouver in a competition broadcast on Fairchild Television.

“I wish to use my artwork to let people know there will be balance of bio-integration of humans and the environment—and to coexist in harmony is important,” Wu says. g

by Charlie Smith

to touch, due to the pandemic. “So I titled it One Day, thinking about that day when this would end and we would all be together again,” she says.

The initial drawing was auctioned off by the B.C. Women’s Health Foundation.

And there’s a reason why Johal is attracted to the juxtaposition of women and tigers.

“I think about them all the time,” she says. “When I did my first mural for the Vancouver Mural Festival, I had a blackand-white woman standing on a tiger.”

Even though Johal is Sikh, she’s been drawn to tigers in part because of the Hindu goddess Durga, who is the protective mother of the universe. Durga is represented in Hindu mythology as riding on a tiger, unleashing her divine wrath against oppressors.

The Vancouver Mural Festival piece, Johal says, was a “loose embodiment of Durga”.

“The title of the mural was Fierce Like Tigers, and I found that quote on the side of a convenience store,” she recalls “It was on some kind of poster. It said, ‘Girls are fierce like tigers.’ I thought that was an incredible sentiment.”

Some of her work addresses men’s violence against women. And in South Asia, the tiger has come to represent women’s liberation, including in the graphic novel Priya’s Shakti, which left a lasting impression on Johal.

“I mean, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger,” Johal says. “And I really hope that encourages people to really sit in their power and make good choices and be generous and support one another as we navigate this global pandemic.” g

12: 21 9,(: | TICKETS AT VANARTGALLERY.BC.CA

JAN 15 MAR 20, 2022

Major Sponsor

Community Partner

Media Partners

For All Time: the Shakespeare First Folio is co-organized by the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Art Gallery and is curated by Dr. Gregory Mackie, Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literatures and Katherine Kalsbeek, Head, Rare Books and Special Collections, UBC Library Image Credit: Yangos Hadjiyannis, at Kre.is Immersive

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

9

10

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

11

PuSh FEST

Aalaapi director embraces the rhythm of Inuit life

I

by Charlie Smith

n 2017, musician and actor Laurence Dauphinais and radio documentary maker Marie-Laurence Rancourt decided to do something that most artists would never consider. The two women set out to make a theatre production concerning a topic about which they were completely ignorant: contemporary Inuit life in northern Canada.

“It was the 150th anniversary of Canada, and there were these very interesting grants at the Canada Council for the Arts,” Dauphinais explains by phone from Montreal. “They were basically programs inviting artists to take risks and get out of their comfort zone and dream big.”

Dauphinais and Rancourt quickly discovered that radio was an extremely important social and cultural aspect of everyday life in the North. Moreover, radio is available in Inuktitut—which is the language of Inuit communities—as well as in French and English.

People play bingo on the radio, share stories on the radio, and hold political and community meetings live on the radio.

“Radio is on all the time in Inuit houses,” Dauphinais relates. “It’s really, really the centre of community in a way.”

So Dauphinais and Rancourt decided to make this Inuit love of radio a centrepiece of their show, Aalaapi, which aims

Radio is on all the time in Inuit houses. It’s really, really the centre of community in a way.

– Aalaapi director Laurence Dauphinais

The set of Aalaapi has the frame of an Inuit house doubling as a screen for multimedia images, with much of the action taking place inside the window frame. Photo by Anne-Marie Baribeau.

to convey what contemporary life is really like up North. They gave the microphone to Inuit women to share their realities in a “very antisensationalist way”.

“They’re for the most part extremely attached to their culture but also are connected to the global realities that we all know,” Dauphinais says.

The set is a façade of a house with a small window, through which the audience can see the women living out their lives. The exterior of the house functions as a screen, allowing Dauphinais, the director, to project multimedia images, live

animation, and words and subtitles.

“I kind of knew that it was going to work,” she says, “because all of a sudden, we had the space; we had the sensation of voyeurism, of distance. People had to engage and be patient to get access to the culture they were watching.”

Through her research and the time she has spent with Inuit people, she’s learned that they have a different relationship to language than people down south. In Inuit culture, she maintains, there’s a lot of room for silence.

The title of the production, Aalaapi, comes from the Inuktitut word meaning “creating

silence in order to hear something beautiful”.

“You teach through what you do more than through what you say,” Dauphinais says. “So we thought that was pretty radical—the relationship to silence.”

She points out that Inuit communities have a slower rhythm, which she tried to mirror with a contemplative and poetic theatrical piece. The goal was to put the audience in a head space of deep listening, which is really the theme of the show, so they can appreciate a part of Canada that most of us don’t even know.

“We think we are a northern country, but 95 percent of our population lives in this tiny sliver in the south,” Dauphinais says. g The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival will present Collectif Aalaapi and La Messe Basse’s Aalaapi at the Waterfront Theatre from January 29 to February 2.

Shakespeare’s As You Like It gets a Cardinal twist

W

by Charlie Smith

hen reached in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, Chris Abraham isn’t in a mood to give away details about his company’s adaptation of a William Shakespeare play at this year’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

“We don’t actually announce the cast of the show until the night of the performance,” Abraham tells the Straight.

However, the artistic and general director of Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre is happy to explain why he commissioned Indigenous playwright, musician, and satirist Cliff Cardinal to develop his interpretation of As You Like It, which will be performed at the York Theatre. In the past, Cardinal wrote and performed the critically acclaimed and searing oneman play Huff, about youths who abuse solvents. According to Abraham, Cardinal is a cultural critic and “an examiner of the habits and rituals that we have of theatregoing”.

“Cliff’s gift as a writer—and you’ll certainly see this in his adaptation—is really to step right into the middle of controversy,” Abraham says, “and to write incredibly personally and candidly about the world in which he’s living in.”

In As You Like It, Shakespeare’s character Rosalind and her cousin venture into the forest of Arden to find her true love, Orlando. Abraham, an old hand at directing Shakespeare plays, says that he’s never seen anyone adapt a Shakespeare play as confidently and brazenly as Cardinal has.

According to Abraham, this play offered Cardinal an opening to look at “the tradition of the wise fool”, as well as

12

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

Cliff’s gift as a writer…is really to step into the middle of controversy…

– Crow’s Theatre artistic and general director Chris Abraham

Indigenous theatre artist Cliff Cardinal will deliver a radical retelling of a William Shakespeare classic. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

the relationship that people have to society versus nature.

“I think where there are some similarities between Cliff and Shakespeare is that Cliff is a subversive writer,” Abraham notes. “He is what he seems to be saying on the surface…but he’s often saying something hidden underneath it.”

Nowadays, Shakespeare is coming under criticism in

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

some academic circles for his portrayal of women and minorities in his plays, which were written in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Just last year, for example, Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival commissioned a film, Done/Undone, which shone a light on this scholarship.

So why would Crow’s Theatre commission Cardinal to offer his interpretation of a Shakespeare play at this time?

“I would say Cliff Cardinal’s radical retelling of As You Like It is a really provocative answer to that question,” Abraham says.

Again, Abraham offers no details. “You have to come to see the show to find out.” g The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival presents Crow’s Theatre’s William Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Radical Retelling by Cliff Cardinal at the York Theatre on February 4, 5, and 6.

PuSh FEST

Quebec performer brings a circus to mystery mansion

by Carlito Pablo

JAN

28/29

Chopin, Fauré & Bologne* Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

THIS WEEKEND! This (almost) all French concert features award-winning Canadian Chopin specialist Charles Richard-Hamelin in a ravishing program led by Maestro Tausk.

Charles Richard-Hamelin

Hear it. Feel it.

Mendelssohn & Satie*

Quebec interdisciplinary artist Claudel Doucet has extensive circus-performance training, and she brings that into a mixture of dance, performance art, and theatricality titled Se prendre.

A

nyone who has ever been with someone knows that one doesn’t have to be alone to feel lonely. It gets lonesome sometimes despite the presence of another.

Claudel Doucet describes this as the “loneliness of being next to someone”. It’s as if a bond was broken.

Doucet is the cocreator and principal performer of Se prendre, which is a (now sold out) show running from January 29 to February 4 at the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

The French title provides a hint of what ticket holders may expect during the 75 minutes of Se prende.

Reached at her home in Montreal, Doucet explained that the phrase means “something between ‘to hold’, ‘to get tangled’, or ‘to take’ ”.

“So for a title it refers to this idea of trying to reach out to the other or to another being, and the complexity of that,” Doucet told the Straight in a phone interview.

It seems complicated, in that Se prendre uses minimal dialogue while following two performers as they move from room to room in a “secret” Shaughnessy mansion venue.

As Doucet noted, even the spoken words used in the show might sound “disconnected” from the conventional use of speech for communication.

The interdisciplinary artist comes from the world of circus and acrobatics, and this background informs the distinct language of Se prendre. “The vocabulary that we use is mainly physical,” she said.

The work explores ideas of intimacy and relationships through movements that cross the lines of acrobatics, dance, and performance art. It also includes what Doucet called a “little bit of theatricality”.

“Basically, we see two beings that try to craft a way to be together and around each

other and break their loneliness through different strategies,” she said.

Doucet is a 2004 graduate of the National Circus School in Montreal. She also has a degree in performance creation with Concordia University. She has performed with Cirque du Soleil and Circus Monti of Switzerland.

In 2019, Doucet founded her own company, called Lion Lion. Se prendre came out in the same year, had an initial presentation in Montreal, and officially premiered in Norway.

The production cocreated by Doucet and colleague Cooper Lee Smith was touring Europe before the COVID-19 pandemic started. The show was last presented in Prague in February 2020.

The staging of Se prendre at the PuSh Festival will mark its return, which is one reason why Doucet is thrilled about coming to Vancouver. Another is that she has never performed as an artist in this western Canadian city, making this her debut, of sorts.

In addition, this will be the first time that a new version of Se prendre will be presented to the public. It was originally written with a male and a female performer. This time around, though, Doucet will be doing it with another woman, Christine Daigle.

“So it is now a female duet, which brings a new breath to the creation,” Doucet said.

She added that although the casting has changed, the roles remain the same, with the interpretation having “more of this feminine energy”.

Ticket holders will be notified about the location of the Shaughnessy residence 24 hours before showtime.

In delving into the theme of togetherness, Doucet recognizes that human beings are complicated creatures.

This is where the challenge lies.

“You might not even be able to know really what you are yourself,” she said. g

FEB

3/4/6

Andrew Crust

Fri, 7pm | Orpheum Thurs, Sun, 2pm | Orpheum

Let the VSO transport you to Europe with a program that showcases the colours of French Impressionists (Satie’s Gymnopedies), and the beauty of the British Isles and Italy through Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Italian Symphony No. 4.

Paul Shaffer Live!

FEB

Fri, Sat, 8pm | Orpheum

11/12

Paul Shaffer Thunderbird by Doug Lafortune, Coast Salish | Courtesy of Native Northwest

Paul Shaffer, former music director to David Letterman, shares symphonic renditions of his favourite pop, R&B, and jazz tunes plus anecdotes and reminiscences from a remarkable career.

FEB

13

Carnival of OUR Animals Sun, 2pm | Orpheum

A special collaboration with the VSO Indigenous Council presents a new take on Saint-Saëns’s famed composition and adds new music inspired by animals of the Pacific Northwest. *Note: Large symphonic pieces require more musicians on stage. To keep the musicians safe and provide increased physical distancing on stage, the VSO has changed the programming of its Jan 28–29, and Feb 3–6 concerts.

VancouverSymphony.ca JAN 28, 29, MASTERWORKS DIAMOND SERIES SPONSOR

FEB 3 TEA & TRUMPETS SERIES SPONSOR

BROADCAST MEDIA PARTNERS

MEDIA SPONSOR

SYMPHONY SUNDAYS SERIES SPONSOR

604.876.3434 FEB 11, 12 VSO POPS SERIES SPONSOR

FEB 13 KIDS CONCERTS SERIES SPONSOR

Concerts presented at 50% capacity, in adherence with Provincial Health Orders

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

13

PuSh FEST

Club PuSh nights promise cabaret-style adventures

P

by Steve Newton

rogramming a major arts festival has to be a daunting job at the best of times, but throw a global pandemic into the mix and the challenges really ramp up.

Nobody knows that better than Gabrielle Martin, director of programming of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. The rise of the Omicron variant has been causing havoc with the annual event, the latest casualty being the cancellation of Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop’s Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers, and Little Brothers. Before that, Martin had to scrap the festival’s copresentation with Music on Main of Leah Abramson’s

nine-song cycle, Songs for a Lost Pod, as well as The Café, a collection of plays by ITSAZOO Productions and Aphotic Theatre.

“They were two shows that were in their final stages of production,” Martin says on the phone from the PuSh Fest’s downtown office, “but there was just too much of a financial and health risk for these large casts coming together. So that was emotionally hard, because we were just sad to see them go, and we were worried about that being a trend.

“That said,” she adds, “the majority of our program is going forward, so 11 shows in eight venues. We’re just really happy that we can move forward with these shows be-

On NoStag w e

DJ Kookum is among the performers at Night Two of Club PuSh, which is cocurated by Full Circle: First Nations Performance and features Indigenous musicians. Photo by Chris Randle.

...you won’t necessarily know exactly what you’re gonna get.

– PuSh director Gabrielle Martin

I SWALLOWED A MOON MADE OF IRON

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S AS YOU LIKE IT: A RADICAL RETELLING

BY CLIFF CARDINAL CROW’S THEATRE (TORONTO)

With this subversive updating of the Bard’s classic, cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal aims to surprise and provoke.

FEB 4-6 | YORK THEATRE

䧮ㅱ♴♧卐꜈⨞涸剢❭

A MUSIC PICNIC (TORONTO) PRODUCTION, IN ASSOCIATION WITH POINT VIEW ART AND CREATIVE LINKS (MACAU)

Based on the poems of an immiserated factory worker, Njo Kong Kie’s song cycle uses imagery, piano, the human voice, and more to create a tragic but beautiful cry of protest.

FEB 4–6 | WATERFRONT THEATRE & SELECT ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

AALAAPI | ̈́Дͪ

COLLECTIF AALAAPI | LA MESSE BASSE (NUNAVIK | MONTREAL)

Set in Nunavik, and ingeniously combining the aesthetics of radio and theatre, this collectively created work is an interrogation of language—and a forward movement towards true reconciliation.

JAN 29-30, FEB 1-2 | WATERFRONT THEATRE & SELECT ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

Jan 20 - Feb 6, 2022

14

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

PUSH FESTIVAL .CA

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

cause we believe in each of them—that’s why we programmed them.”

Martin is particularly pleased that COVID-19 hasn’t put the kibosh on Club PuSh, which takes place over three nights at Performance Works on Granville Island.

“We’ve partnered with other arts and theatre companies to curate each of the nights,” she explains. “So February 2 is the frank theatre company, and we’re describing the event as ‘a celebration of the queer art of failure’. It also comes directly after the show How to Fail as a Popstar by Vivek Shraya, so they’re kind of taking that theme on into the night.”

According to the PuSh Festival website, that first Club PuSh night features drag artists Rose Butch, PM, Continental Breakfast, Maiden China, Kara Juku, Edzi’u, and DJ Softieshan, but Martin can’t say which of those performers she’s most psyched to see.

“I wasn’t involved in curating this,” she says, “but frank theatre has taken the lead on it, and I absolutely trust that they have put together what will be a fun night. To be honest, I know about as much as you from reading the names, but the names themselves have me intrigued. Maiden China and Continental Breakfast—those are really piquing my interest.”

The second Club PuSh, on February 3, is cocurated by Full Circle: First Nations Performance’s Nimkish Younging and Rob Thomson and features a lineup of Indigenous artists performing everything from burlesque to hip-hop music. The third and final Club PuSh, on February 4, is a “dance battle” featuring interdisciplinary arts collective Immigrant Lessons.

“This is actually something that [the festival] had done in previous years that was really successful,” Martin says. “There’s a spirit of exchange, and it’s improvised, and my understanding is that the root of it is to try and mix up people’s perceptions of what dance is and bring dancers together across disciplines. So whereas originally audiences could jump up and join in, it’ll be organized in advance where dancers will sign up to show their stuff.”

Martin notes that due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be a cabaret-style seating arrangement at Club PuSh, and patrons will remain seated.

“People will not be mingling with their drinks in hand throughout the room,” she points out, “but the cabaret seating also allows for something different. I know with the frank theatre night, they’re really gonna use that to their advantage in that some performances take place in different areas of Performance Works. It’s a little bit hyperlive in that sense.

“It’ll be an adventurous night,” Martin promises. “All of the Club PuSh nights will be adventurous in spirit, so you won’t necessarily know exactly what you’re gonna get.” g Club PuSh takes place February 2 to 4 at Performance Works as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Tickets are $10 at the door, but admission is free with a ticket to any PuSh show.

CHILL.

Enjoy stress-free reading without the noise on CreatorNews.

ARTS | CULTURE | LIFESTYLE ,QWURGXFLQJ WKH ŦUVW QHZV DJJUHJDWRU GHGLFDWHG WR WKH DUWV JOREDO FXOWXUH OLIHVW\OH DQG FUHDWLYH QHZV /HDYH GLYLVLYH SROLWLFV FULPH DQG IDNH QHZV EHKLQG ZLWK H[SHUWO\ FXUDWHG UHOD[LQJ UHDGV

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

15

MUSIC

Record Store Day taps Taylor for a global first

A

by Mike Usinger

dding further fuel to the argument that she’ll one day be the Queen of Everything, Taylor Swift has been named Record Store Day Ambassador for 2022. And not just North America, but the world.

That’s a first for the singer-songwriter, who originally surfaced in her mid-teens as a big-haired Nashville country star, effortlessly transitioned into multi-pop during her 20s, and has made it a mission to stick it to the musicindustry machine in her 30s.

Taking to the Record Store Day’s website to comment on her Global Ambassador crown, Swift said this: “I’m very proud to be this year’s Global Ambassador for Record Store Day. The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me. Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion. They create settings for live events.

“They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely,” she continued. “Those people and shops have had a rough few years and we need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric, and stay individual. It’s been a true joy for me to watch vinyl sales grow in the past few years and we, the artists, have the fans to thank for this pleasant surprise. Happy Record Store Day, everyone! Stay safe out there.”

Before you go suggesting that Swift’s PR team wrote the above, consider that the singer has not only been vocal about her support for independent record stores in the past, but has also helped out on a grassroots level. The 32-year-

old made headlines in 2020 at the start of the pandemic by stepping up for the staff of Nashville’s iconic Grimey’s New & Preloved Music store.

Swift donated an undisclosed amount of money to the store’s full-time staffers after they were forced home during lockdown measures.

Later in the summer she shipped signed copies of her 2020 album Folklore to help generate traffic at a time brick-and-mortar stores across the globe were hurting.

To the surprise of no one, Grimey’s owners Anna Lundy and Doyle Davis were quick to endorse Record Store Day’s choice for 2022 ambassador.

In a statement, Grimey’s said, “Swift has shown her love and support for independent record stores by not only supporting our shop specifically during the dark, early days of the pandemic, when she directly donated to help us support our staff, but also by steering her eager, excited, and dedicated fans to independent record stores, places that many of them visited for the first time while in search of her signed CDs.”

Past Record Store Day Ambassadors for North America have included Jack White, St. Vincent, and Pearl Jam. Fred Armisen wore the crown in 2021, while Brandi Carlile served as Ambassador in 2020. Record Store Day has never had a global ambassador until now.

Swift’s been busy during the pandemic, releasing two albums of new material in 2020 (Folklore and Evermore) and winningly re-recording her older records (Red and Fearless) as part of a fight over rights to the masters in her back catalog.

All those albums have been released on vinyl, helping oldfashioned records outsell CDs over the past two years.

Swift has promised a special Record Store Day vinyl release for fans which will be announced in the coming weeks.

And, as always, expect special drops from a whole host of artists who rightly understand that physical records smell better than MP3s, not to mention streaming services.

Record Store Day returns for its 15th year on April 23, 2022. g

Peach Pit delivers mixed emotions on “Vickie” vid

A

by Mike Usinger

t the risk of reading too much into it, Peach Pit’s video for “Vickie” seems very much a product of its time, which is to say the fall of a less-than-memorable 2021.

You might remember that as a period when the rains started in late-September after a Death Valley-like summer, and then didn’t stop until half the Fraser Valley looked like Genesis Chapters 6-9.

And a time when leaving the house was something that came with a calculated risk, namely the very real possibility of catching a virus that’s refused to fuck off for what seems like forever. And a time when going to shows was possible, but only if you were willing to sit in a chair with a facemask on no matter how much you felt like ripping up the nonexistent dance f loor.

Maybe it’s all that and everything else that makes “Vickie” seem like it’s conveying mixed emotions. When Peach Pit singer-guitarist Neil Smith picks up and runs out of a modest bungalow at the beginning of the song, he takes just seconds to establish himself as a man thrilled to 16

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

When someone cuts it in the middle of a road trip, you either pull over and air the car out or you break into a singalong of the Cranberries’ classic “Linger”. Photo by Mackenzie Walker.

be out of the house for a walk. And walk he does, acoustic guitar in hand, cover-

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

ing a lot of Lower Mainland ground, from the muddy pumpkin-patches of

Delta’s Westham Island to the rainy streets of East Van. If you’re going to sum up Smith’s demeanor as he jumps, jives, shuff les, and modified-duck-struts his way across the screen, it’s dialed in, his eyes almost always on the horizon. Same goes for leadguitarist Christopher Vanderkooy when he pops in a couple of times in relief, and promptly proves himself one of the best musicians not only in the city, but perhaps the country.

The weather in “Vickie” falls somewhere between gloomy and West Coast grey. But the song’s gorgeous and breezy enough to make you feel like you’re walking on sunshine during the first warm day of spring. All of which is to say that life’s sometimes confusing and you don’t know whether to feel happy or sad.

Except then you get back from an all-day walk and Vickie’s not only waiting on the couch, but ready with a blazing bomber.

That’s when, against all odds, everything somehow seems okay. Don’t forget to get out of the house this week.

Watch for Peach Pit’s upcoming third album, From 2 to 3, this March. g

MOVIES / SAVAGE LOVE

True crime, cartoons, cannibals come to Netflix

H

by Norman Wilner, Richard Trapunski, and Glenn Sumi

fussy Dr. Mallory get through an episode without sputtering in frustration? Will Tawny Newsome’s helicopter pilot–turnedastronaut Angela Ali and Jimmy O. Yang’s astrophysicist Chan Kaifang get to pick up on their genuinely sweet chemistry, which was a highlight of Season One? Will the writers figure out a way to get Naird’s awkward daughter Erin (Diana Silvers, another firstseason highlight) into more stories? These are all valid questions, Space Force. Don’t let us down again. (NW) February 18

ere are some animated, fictional, and reality shows—some new, some continuing—coming to Netflix Canada in February 2022.

INVENTING ANNA

With the ubiquitous Shonda Rhimes at the helm as creator and producer, this bingeable true-crime series should get you through the cold months. Multiple Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark) plays Anna Delvey, a woman who pretended to be German royalty, tricking Manhattan glitterati until she finally got caught. The stellar cast includes Anna Chlumsky, Laverne Cox, and Arian Moayed.

(GS) February 11

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

THE CUPHEAD SHOW!

The Oakville-made indie cult smash video game Cuphead is heavily inspired by 1930s Disney and Fleischer cartoons, but now it has a cartoon show based on the game. It’s a big, jazzy circle. Now magazine put Cuphead on the cover of its video-game issue (actually, they drew it for them) in 2020 for good reason: that stinker Cuphead and his sidekick Mugman have some seriously fun style, and a Netflix animated show seems like almost too perfect of a fit. (RT) February 18 MURDERVILLE

In this American reworking of the experimental BBC comedy Murder in Successville, hard-bitten investigator Terry Seattle must cope with a new corpse and a new mystery each episode—all while being shadowed by a new trainee played by different celebrity guests who have no script to follow and must solve the crimes themselves. Ken Jeong,

Julia Garner stars in the true-crime series Inventing Anna, which comes to Netflix in February.

The new series is about a woman who passed herself off as German royalty in New York City.

Marshawn Lynch, Annie Murphy, Kumail Nanjiani, Conan O’Brien and Sharon Stone are the trainees; Will Arnett is Terry Seattle.

It’s gonna get silly. (NW) February 3 LOVE IS BLIND: JAPAN

International versions of hit reality shows are fascinating. The dynamics often work entirely differently in another culture. We think this version of the meet-date–get engaged show could work really well in Japan, where other reality shows—notably Terrace House—have garnered cult followings. (GS) February 8 LOVE IS BLIND SEASON 2

It’s going to be hard to top the first season of this dating reality show in which singles get to know each other and even propose

marriage, sight unseen. How will anyone top the chemistry of Lauren and Cameron (who married and are still together)? Or the white wine–drinking train wreck that was Jessica?

The producers, as well as hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey, will definitely try to create magic for a second season. (GS) February 11 SPACE FORCE SEASON 2

Two years after a first season that did not exactly win the hearts and minds of America, Steve Carell and Greg Daniels’s workplace sitcom about the wacky folks trying to make sense of Donald Trump’s astromilitary initiative returns for another round of foolishness. Will Carell’s by-the-book General Mark Naird keep speaking in that gravelly voice nobody liked? Will John Malkovich’s

Yes, we know, there have been a lot of disappointing follow-ups to Tobe Hooper’s 1974 masterpiece about some unfortunate young people who stumble onto a house of redneck cannibals. But this latest entry is cowritten and produced by Fede Alvarez, whose Evil Dead reboot was kind of amazing. And Eighth Grade’s Elsie Fisher is among the new teens who may or may not be meat for the Sawyer family grinder. So, once again, we’re cautiously optimistic. (NW) February 25 CAT BURGLAR

Netflix describes this series as “Classic cartoon craziness meets an interactive quiz in a new series from the creators of Black Mirror”, which could mean anything, Are Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones even the creators that Netflix is talking about? Having watched five seasons of Brooker and Jones’s nihilistic cultural commentary, my guess is that it’ll be some sort of choose-your-own-adventure experience where viewers are made complicit in the level of violence inflicted on animated characters. (NW) February 22 g

Fetishization of prostate exams a rare occurance

by Dan Savage

b I’M A HETEROSEXUAL cisgender male who loves prostate stimulation. I discovered it later in life, but it’s been a staple for the last 15 years. I’m worried I’m pushing the envelope too much and need your advice.

Lately, the last six months or so, I will have an orgasm that’s so intense I have pain just to the right of the base of my penis and balls immediately afterwards. If I push a finger in toward the centre of my body, it’s tender. It goes away after a few minutes, but sometimes my right ball remains sensitive. I’ve even taken an ibuprofen to lessen the pain and I’ve had a prostate exam when it’s happening and I do self-exams of my testicles regularly, and I’ve noticed no changes. Usually my next orgasm is normal, and there’s no pain or sensitivity afterwards.

As I said, though, it happens after intense sessions with a lot of prostate stimulation. While I’ve been practising butt stuff for a long time, I feel as I’ve only perfected it in the last year or so. I should also state that my sessions last up to two hours, and I’m erect during most of that time. I obviously don’t want to hurt myself, and I don’t think I am, but it’s a concern. It’s very hard to stop something that feels so incredibly good.

I’m a little uncomfortable talking with my urologist

because he treats me like a long-lost uncle. At our first visit, I told him very directly that my father had prostate cancer and I really wanted him to take his time with the exam and to really make sure all is well with my prostate. I added that the last exam I got from my primary-care physician didn’t last long enough to feel very accurate and encouraged my urologist to take as much time as he wanted up there. He did not. Hoping you can help me out.

- Pain Around Balls Concerning

a patient specifically say they wanted me to ‘take my time’ with a prostate exam,” said Dr. Ashley Winter, a board-certified urologist in Portland, Oregon. “But on numerous occasions, I’ve had a patient say, ‘Wow, that was way more detailed of a prostate exam than my primarycare doctor did.’ And, generally, that comment is meant as a ‘thank you’, as in, ‘Thank you for being detail-oriented.’ ” To be perfectly honest, PABC, I shared your letter with Winter because I suspected the request you made—take your time up there, doc—might’ve been the reason your doctor rushed through that prostate exam. Winter assures me that was unlikely.

“I’ve never had

“I understand when someone wants their doctor to do a thorough exam,” said Winter. “A detailed exam shows the clinician is actually intent on collecting information about their body apart from lab tests and imaging studies. The patient feels ‘seen’. Or touched. You get my point.”

But just as a prostate exam that ends quickly isn’t evidence a doctor is worried a patient might be perving, an exam that ends quickly also isn’t evidence a doctor isn’t being thorough.

“Some patients have a very ‘high-riding prostate’, for example, and that’s difficult to feel except for the apex, or the tip, of the prostate,” said Winter. “And I have long fingers! In those cases, I will probably do a quick in-and-out because taking longer would just involve me massaging the anus with no specific information being gathered.”

There’s nothing wrong with massaging an anus for the sake of massaging an anus, of course, but no one needs to go to med school and/or to the doctor for that. But while I had her on the phone, I asked Winter again if some people do go to the doctor for that.

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

see next page

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

17

Some argue that adult babies may or may not become a bedwetter and/or incontinent from continual diaper use. The ABDLs who claim to have been successfully “un–potty trained” are loudly decried as liars by other members of their community.

Naturally, there aren’t a lot of medical studies on this (there aren’t any), and I’m not going to ask my family doctor. Can you figure this out?

from previous page

“In extremely rare instances, patients are manipulative or fetishize their exams, but this is extremely uncommon,” said Winter. “And while I can’t rule out the possibility that the urologist who saw PABC was ‘weirded out’ by his comments, it seems more likely that PABC is projecting that onto his doctor. There is so much shame around ‘butt stuff ’, and so I can easily see how this happens.” (It’s also possible that I’m the one doing the projecting here, as I was the one who raised the issue.)

That said, while intentional perving is rare, some people do get aroused during exams.

“Unintended genital responses—whether erection, or prostatic secretion during a rectal exam—are normal and occur on occasion,” said Winter. “It is the role of any self-respecting sex-positive clinician to acknowledge that these things are normal and move on. But it’s super uncommon, and when it happens, the patient is usually stressed out and very apologetic about it.”

As for your problem, Winter thinks you might need a different sort of exam altogether.

“It sounds like what he’s having is a pelvic-f loor muscle spasm,” said Winter.

“People tense and contract muscles in their pelvis—muscles at the base of the penis— during periods of prolonged stimulation.

He’s not doing anything wrong, and he doesn’t have to stop. But he might want to take a warm bath after. And if it’s too uncomfortable or gets worse, he should ask

- In Nappies Cancels Out Nocturia

Nope.

YOUR AGENCY SLOW? We are BUSY! YOUR AGENCY SLOW? We are BUSY! -Too Many calls! WE NEED YOU! What we're -Too Many calls! WE NEED YOU! What we're

for: Mustwho be nineteen+. have a valid Ashley Winter is alooking urologist saysMust physicallooking for: Must be nineteen+.

Must have a valid photo ID. Must be attractive, outgoing, photo ID. Must be attractive, outgoing, examination arousal is normal but alsoNewcomers rare. and healthy,reliable and very hygienic. healthy,reliable and very hygienic. Newcomers and students are welcome! WHAT WE OFFER:

students are welcome! WHAT WE OFFER: to be referred for pelvic-f exam and Cashapaid.

Calls everyloor shift. Smaller staff so you Cash paid. Calls every shift. Smaller staff so you are a priority. Security & client screening. All fepossible pelvic-fmale loor physical therapy.” are a priority.

Security & client screening. All fesupport staff. Flexible scheduling. Personal male support staff. Flexible scheduling. Personal Driver Booking /Advertising.on ON CALL FROM Follow Dr. Ashley Winter Twitter Driver Booking /Advertising. ON CALL FROM HOME. We will take care of your photos, and We will take care of your photos, and @AshleyGWinter.HOME. advertising and much more. No Hidden Fees, advertising and much more. No Hidden Fees,

Employment EMPLOYMENT Employment EMPLOYMENT Careers Careers

Amra Amra Bakery Bakery Inc. Inc.

o/a European Breads Bakery is hiring Bakers. o/a European Breads Bakery is hiring Bakers.

Shifts, Weekends, Perm, F/T. Wage: $15.20 /hr Shifts, Weekends, Perm, F/T. Wage: $15.20 /hr Requirements: Good English, exp. as a baker is Requirements: Good English, exp. as a baker is an asset, high school education. On-the-job an asset, high school education. On-the-job training will be provided by employer. training will be provided by employer.

Main duties: Measure and combine ingredients Main duties: Measure and combine ingredients according to recipes; Prepare dough; according to recipes; Prepare dough; Prepare and operate equipment for baking; Prepare and operate equipment for baking; Set and monitor temperatures and bake items; Set and monitor temperatures and bake items; Ensure product freshness and food safety; Ensure product freshness and food safety; Keep work area clean and tidy.

Keep work area clean and tidy.

Company’s business address and job location: Company’s business address and job location: 4320 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4G3 4320 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4G3 Please apply by e-mail: Please apply by e-mail: european.breads.amra@gmail.com european.breads.amra@gmail.com

SIBER SIBER FACADE FACADE GROUP GROUP INC INC is hiring a Procurement Manager. Perm, F/T.

is hiring a Procurement Manager. Perm, F/T. Wage: 45 $/hr. Requirements: 2-3 years of exp.

Wage: 45 $/hr. Requirements: 2-3 years of exp.

A college diploma, Excellent English A college diploma, Excellent English Main duties: Plan, manage and oversee Main duties: Plan, manage and oversee purchasing activity of the company, Develop purchasing activity of the company, Develop and implement procurement policies and and implement procurement policies and procedures, Control the budget; Evaluate procedures, Control the budget; Evaluate suppliers, Negotiate policies with suppliers suppliers, Negotiate policies with suppliers Evaluate and control contracts, Attend meetings, Evaluate and control contracts, Attend meetings, trade shows and conferences, Maintain and trade shows and conferences, Maintain and review records, Interview and hire new review records, Interview and hire new personnel, Process claims against suppliers personnel, Process claims against suppliers Company’s business address and job location: Company’s business address and job location: Unit 230, 7270 Market Crossing, Unit 230, 7270 Market Crossing, Burnaby BC, V5J 0A3 Burnaby BC, V5J 0A3 Please apply by email to Please apply by email to hr@siberconstruction.com hr@siberconstruction.com

and a very fair commission structure. and a very fair commission structure.

Please reply with: photos, previous experience

Please reply with: photos, previous experience (if any, but not necessary) controversy & contact number b THERE’S A LONG-RUNNING (if any, but not necessary) & contact number or text us lovemyjobgmail.com / 604-518-1990 or text us lovemyjobgmail.com among the adult baby/diaper lover/ 604-518-1990 (ABDL) community about the long-term impacts of continuously wearing and using diapers.

1097130 1097130 B.C. B.C. LTD. LTD. dba Banter Room dba Banter Room is HIRING Line Cooks. Perm, F/T, Shifts, Week-

is HIRING Line Cooks. Perm, F/T, Shifts, Weekends. Wage: $19.00 /hour. Requirements: Exp. ends. Wage: $19.00 /hour. Requirements: Exp. min. 1-2 years, good English, high school min. 1-2 years, good English, high school Main duties: Prepare and cook complete meals Main duties: Prepare and cook complete meals or individual dishes, Set up and stock food or individual dishes, Set up and stock food items and supplies, Operate standard kitchen items and supplies, Operate standard kitchen equipment, Ensure cleanliness and hygiene is equipment, Ensure cleanliness and hygiene is maintained, Maintain inventory and records of maintained, Maintain inventory and records of food, supplies and equipment, Perform kitchen food, supplies and equipment, Perform kitchen work station opening and closing duties, work station opening and closing duties, Supervise kitchen staff and helpers.

Supervise kitchen staff and helpers.

Job location and business address: Job location and business address: 1039 Mainland St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5P9.

1039 Mainland St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 5P9.

Please apply by e-mail: Please apply by e-mail: employment.banterroom@gmail.com employment.banterroom@gmail.com

9258604 Canada 9258604 Canada Corporation Corporation dba Metropolitan Movers

dba Metropolitan Movers is looking for a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor is looking for a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Requirements: high school, good English, Requirements: high school, good English, 1-2 years of experience. Main duties: 1-2 years of experience. Main duties: Supervise activities of employees, assign Supervise activities of employees, assign workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of drivers and movers; Prepare work schedules, drivers and movers; Prepare work schedules, control and monitor routes; Recommend on control and monitor routes; Recommend on hiring new employees and train staff; Ensure hiring new employees and train staff; Ensure health and safety regulations are followed; health and safety regulations are followed; Schedule repairs and maintenance works; Schedule repairs and maintenance works; Order supplies;Resolve work related Order supplies;Resolve work related problems, maintain reports. problems, maintain reports.

Company’s business address and job location: Company’s business address and job location: 1102 - 1068 Hornby St. Vancouver BC V6Z2Y7 1102 - 1068 Hornby St. Vancouver BC V6Z2Y7 Please apply by e-mail: Please apply by e-mail: vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com

YOUR AGENCY SLOW? We are BUSY! YOUR AGENCY SLOW? We are BUSY! -Too Many calls! WE NEED YOU! What we're -Too Many calls! WE NEED YOU! What we're looking for: Must be nineteen+. Must have a looking for: Must be nineteen+. Must have a valid photo ID. Must be attractive, outgoing, valid photo ID. Must be attractive, outgoing, healthy,reliable and very hygienic. Newcomers healthy,reliable and very hygienic. Newcomers and students are welcome! WHAT WE OFFER: and students are welcome! WHAT WE OFFER: Cash paid. Calls every shift. Smaller staff so you Cash paid. Calls every shift. Smaller staff so you are a priority. Security & client screening. All feare a priority. Security & client screening. All female support staff. Flexible scheduling. Personal male support staff. Flexible scheduling. Personal Driver Booking /Advertising. ON CALL FROM Driver Booking /Advertising. ON CALL FROM HOME. We will take care of your photos, and HOME. We will take care of your photos, and advertising and much more. No Hidden Fees, advertising and much more. No Hidden Fees, and a very fair commission structure. and a very fair commission structure.

Please reply with: photos, previous experience Please reply with: photos, previous experience (if any, but not necessary) & contact number (if any, but not necessary) & contact number or text lovemyjobgmail.com / 604-518-1990 or text lovemyjobgmail.com / 604-518-1990

b I’M A 74-YEAR-OLD straight male. I don’t have a problem for you. Instead, I am writing to share an idea with you with potential benefit to society. But, unlike you, I don’t have the means to spread the news.

Based on the success of your “It Gets Better” project, you seem like the perfect person to publicize it.

My idea and my proposal to you is this: International Come Out of the Closet Day. It would include coming out about your sexual orientation but not be limited to sexual orientation. It would include all long-suppressed “secrets”, including affairs, crushes, no longer being in love with your spouse, or anything else a person might have kept hidden. I even have a suggestion for when to celebrate International Come Out of the Closet Day: March 4. The slogan would be “March Forth on March Fourth!” What do you think?

- Movement About Really Changing Hearts

a National Coming Out Day (NCOD), MARCH, when closeted queer people everywhere are encouraged—if they can do so safely—to come out to their families, friends, neighbours, and coworkers.

NCOD is not a new thing; it’s taken place on October 11 every year since 1988. And while I appreciate the spirit of your proposal— let’s all get those long-suppressed secrets off our chests—I’m not sure you’ve thoroughly thought this one through.

If one day a year we blurt out our secrets—affairs and crushes and secret second families included—the result would probably look less likeCompanion National Coming Companion Out Day and more like The Purge. And since most people regard breaking up on an annual holiday as a needless and avoidable cruelty, people who confess to affairs or no longer being in love on International Come Out of the Closet Day will not be seen as courageous truth tellers, MARCH, but as inconsiderate assholes.

It’s fine to dump someone. But no one thinks it’s okay to dump someone on Thanksgiving or Christmas or Valentine’s Day. Because then the person whose heart you stomped on winds up being reminded every year. So, for the same reason it wouldn’t be okay to blurt out terrible secrets on the holidays we already have, it wouldn’t be okay to blurt them out on a day dedicated to blurting out terrible secrets. g We already have

Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage. Email: mail@savagelove.net. Columns, podcasts, books, merch, and more at www.savage.love!

Professional EMPLOYMENT Services Professional EMPLOYMENT Services

EMPLOYMENT Personals EMPLOYMENT Personals

Personal EMPLOYMENT Services Personal EMPLOYMENT Services

Dating Dating Services Services

Bodywork Bodywork

Men Men Seeking Seeking Women Women

Milano Milano Dating Dating Services Services

HOT HOT Filipino/East Filipino/East Indian Indian Lady Lady Burnaby & Vancouver.

Burnaby & Vancouver.

In/Out In/Out calls calls & & All All hotel hotel service service Mina 604-512-3243 604-512-3243 No No Text!

Text!

Mina

Mature, employed Mature, employed gentlemen gentlemen is looking for a girlfriend. Hobbies are

Lonely?

Lonely? Don't Don't Give Give up! up!

Date Date Local Local Russian Russian & & Ukrainian Ladies Ladies Ukrainian 604-805-1342 604-805-1342

TO: TO: JOHN JOHN DOE DOE and/or and/or Jane Jane DOE DOE as as Personal Personal Representative(s) Representative(s) of the Estate of TROY VAN BASINGER. of the Estate of TROY VAN BASINGER. RE RE Supreme Supreme Court Court of of British British Columbia, Columbia, Vancouver Vancouver Registry Registry action action number number S190537, S190537, involving involving personal personal injuries injuries to to the the Plaintiff, Plaintiff, Troy Troy Van Van Basinger, Basinger, deceased. deceased. On On January January 13, 13, 2022, 2022, the the Defendant, Defendant, Salvation Salvation Army Army 22188 22188 Lougheed Lougheed Hwy., Hwy., brought brought an an application application to to dismiss this this action. action. In In response response to to the the Defendant’s Defendant’s Application, Application, Master Master Bilawich Bilawich granted granted dismiss an an Order Order on on the the same same date date that that any any representative representative of of the the deceased deceased Plaintiff Plaintiff must must take take steps in the litigation within 6 months of this advertisement date or the deceased’s steps in the litigation within 6 months of this advertisement date or the deceased’s acaction will will be be dismissed dismissed for for want want of of prosecution. prosecution. To To obtain obtain a a copy copy of of the the Notice Notice of of ApAption plication plication and and the the Affi Affidavit davit in in support support of of the the Application, Application, contact contact Laura Laura Funk, Funk, Paralegal Paralegal at Aviva Trial Lawyers, 1100 – 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, telephone at Aviva Trial Lawyers, 1100 – 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, telephone number number 604-895-5631, email: email: laura.funk@aviva.com. laura.funk@aviva.com. If If you you fail fail to to respond respond to to this this notice notice by by 10:00 10:00 604-895-5631, am am on on August August 8, 8, 2022, 2022, the the Defendant Defendant will will apply apply to to Court Court for for a a dismissal dismissal of of the the action. action.

THE STRAIGHT JUNE 2 18 THE GEORGIA GEORGIA STRAIGHT JUNE 25 25 – – JULY JULY 2/ / 2020 2020 18 18 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022

is looking for a girlfriend. Hobbies are singing, dancing and making videos. singing, dancing and making videos.

Please call Kevin at 604-291-9364 Please call Kevin at 604-291-9364

Gay EMPLOYMENT Personals Gay EMPLOYMENT Personals Massage Massage

MAN MAN TO TO MAN MAN BODYWORK BODYWORK with with Jim. Jim. Vaccinated!

Vaccinated! www.Handsomehands.ca www.Handsomehands.ca Massage Massage

emax ax MA MASS MASSAGE S E MASS MA MASSAGE S AGE AGE E Totally Renovated!

Totally Renovated!

Welcoming

Welcoming Old Old & & New New Clients!

Clients!

604.568.5255 604.568.5255 3-3003 3-3003 KINGSWAY KINGSWAY @ @ RUPERT RUPERT

STAY STAY CONNECTED CONNECTED

@GeorgiaStraight @GeorgiaStraight

NEW MANAGEMENT!

Green Spa BIRTHDAY

$180 / 7 HRS (Only $25/HR) $67 (Tip inc.) 2 for 1 Free

PROMO

No charge for the room, only pay the tip!

$10 Off! with this ad

✄

(FREE HOT STONE)

8263 Oak St. Van

BIRTHDAY MASSAGE

Companion

8642 Granville & 71 Ave., Van. 10AM MIDNIGHT

604-568-6601

NEW OWNER + NEW GIRLS! NOW

HIRING

cash

e-transfer

378 E.5 Ave. N/Van • 9AM-9PM

604-957-1030

MING, Nice & Mature.

◆ Luxury Rooms ◆ Best Massage ◆ Best Service $100/30 mins

115-511 West 7th Ave.Van. 604.423.5880

Call 604-568-2248

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 10AM - 10 PM

604.568.9238

(HIRING) / AIR-CONDITIONED

#3-3490 Kingsway

NEAR TYNE ST. NEXT DOOR TO SUBWAY

International

www.amnesty.ca

Celebrating 25 Years! Best Experience!

Best Service! Best Choice! Steam Room & Infra Red Sauna.

2525 Arbutus Street Van.

604-738-3302

872 Seymour St. Downtown, Vancouver

$80/30 min (incl. tips)

604.568.1112 7 DAYS 10AM -11PM

5 VISITS - 1 FREE 10 VISITS - 3 FREE

Stay C onnec ted @ GeorgiaStr aight

SWEET YOUNG INTERNATIONAL GIRLS (100% 19+)

Phone Services

AMNESTY

NOW HIRING

BEST MASSAGE ♦ BEST SERVICES Newly Renovated.

New management & staff.

Validated parking at rear.

Outcall + male massuese avail.

Pls. call for Appt. & Details.

THE REAL RELAXATION PLACE ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

I am FULLY VACCINATED and carefully resuming my availability.

Spa

NOW HIRING

I SPA

GENTLEMEN

604-451-0175 www.EuropeanLady.ca

BEST BES S RELAXATION

604.998.4885

DISCREET ATTRACTIVE MATURE EUROPEAN LADY OFFERS DELIGHTFUL RELAXATION SESSIONS.

MANSION one

GRAND OPENING WEST SIDE

10am m - 10pm

EAST VANCOUVER

5281 VICTORIA DR.

604

(Across Macpherson Ave)

th

spa

ĂŶĂĚƵ

438-8979

101-5623, Imperial St. BBY

zmadultdoll.ca

X

Text David 778.956.9686

604.256.4568

FREE

Massage

OFF with this ad

✁

$28 / 50mins

20 Sex Dolls 1/2 Price 100cm - $290 135cm - $590 170cm - $980

$10 - $20

10am - midnight • 7 days

TOKYO Body

ADULT SEX DOLL

JANUARY SALE!

FREE Parking at Rear •

HIRING

WELCOME BACK! to the city’s oldest, most exclusive massage parlour.

NEW OWNERS ◆ UPDATED HOURS Monday to Sunday ◆ 7 PM - MIDNIGHT

Vancouver’s most

beautiful girls

604.436.3131 w w w.greatpharaoh.com

5-3490 Kingsway, Van. NEWLY RENOVATED! E S T A B L I S H E D 19 9 3 HIRING: 778.893.4439

are waiting to

meet you!

Walk-ins welcome

Always Hiring ◆◆◆

All major credit cards accepted

604.681.0823 4th Floor ◆ 595 Hornby St. Vancouver JUNE 25 3– /JULY 2 / 2020 GEORGIA JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 2022 THE THE GEORGIA STRSTRAIGHT AIGHT 19

Vancouver's First Retail Cannabis Store

Student Sundays [19+] Open every day from 9AM to 11PM 2868 4th Ave. W Kitsilano (604) 900 1714 Evergreen Cannabis is a private retailer of legal, non medical cannabis. You must be 19 years of age or older to purchase cannabis. ID is checked on premises.

20

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3 / 2022