JULY 8 – 15 / 2021 | FREE Volume 55 | Number 2786
TAX BREAKS FOR MANSIONS
OUT ON FIELDS
Homebuyer wins exemption
DANCING ON THE EDGE Making pandemic connections
After being ostracized by his former rugby club for being gay, Brennan Bastyovanszky is making the sport more inclusive in Vancouver
SENATOR VS. CBC
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FAIRY CREEK
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TEENAGE BLUES
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FREE FOOD
NEWS
Woo links CBC coverage of speech to “torrent of abuse”
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CONTENTS
July 8-15 / 2021
10 COVER
Former high-level gay athlete Brennan Bastyovanszky is resurrecting the Vancouver Rogues to offer an inclusive option for gay and straight rubgy players.
by Charlie Smith
B.C. senator has accused the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation of “distorted reporting”. According to Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, this has put him in “the firing line for a torrent of abuse and physical threats”. Woo told the Straight by phone that this came as a result of the public broadcaster’s coverage of a speech that he delivered in the Senate on June 28. It was in response to a motion dealing with the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang in western China. The CBC reported that Woo “said Canada should avoid criticizing China for its human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims because our country has mistreated Indigenous peoples”. Woo told the Straight that he said the opposite in his speech. “It is precisely because of our history that we need to tell the Chinese that our own experiment with forced assimilation failed,” Woo said by phone. Woo said that he brought this to the attention of the CBC. “They replied that they thought the article was accurate,” he said. CBC public-affairs spokesperson, Chuck Thompson, stated in an email that Woo has been offered an opportunity to respond “to the criticism and abuse he says he received”. Regarding the treatment of Uyghurs, Woo said in his speech that there is “no version of what is happening in Xinjiang that most Canadians would be comfortable with”. “We have a view of individual liberties that is embodied in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms that we hold sacred, and which would not today allow our government to make mass arrests on the suspicion of terrorism, force whole communities to attend schools for what we perceive to be for their benefit, sterilize women so that they did not burden themselves and society with ‘inferior’ children, or relocate entire villages in order to give them modern amenities,” he said in his speech. Then he added: “Except that we did all those things, and we did them throughout our short history as a country, most appallingly to Indigenous peoples, but also to recent immigrants and minority groups who were deemed undesirable, untrustworthy, or just un-Canadian.” Later in the speech, he described how he broaches the issue of the treatment of Uyghurs in his conversations with Chinese friends. “We had a system of residential schools for Indigenous children for over 140 years that sought to assimilate Aboriginal peoples into mainstream society—ostensibly for their own good. It did not work. “More than that, we have come to under2
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
By Charlie Smith Cover photo by Daniel Usher Photography
6
REAL ESTATE
How does a Vancouver luxury home that sold for $18.5 million qualify for a tax exemption? Realtor Adam Major explains why. By Carlito Pablo
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ARTS
In advance of this year’s Dancing on the Edge festival, we feature four local companies that are all doing something unique in the pandemic. By Charlie Smith
Yuen Pau Woo claims that the CBC reported the opposite of what he said in a Senate speech.
stand that the policy of Indian assimilation was not only ineffective, it was also morally wrong. The legacy of residential schools is one of individual and community trauma that will take generations to heal. We convened a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2008 to try and better understand what went wrong and how we can fix those wrongs. The findings were released in 2015 and we are still in the early stages of responding to all its recommendations. “Many Canadians cannot listen to the news about Uyghurs, even your government’s version of what is going on in Xinjiang, without reflecting on how terribly wrong our own experiment with Indigenous children in residential schools went. In making those reflections, Canadians are saying to Chinese friends that we don’t want you to make the same mistakes.” Woo was born in Malaysia and grew up in Singapore before moving to Canada. He claimed that two recent articles on CBC’s website make a “very subtle insinuation that I am somehow a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party”. He insisted that his comments in the speech “would be anathema to the Chinese government’s position”. “So it begs the question, why have they chosen to make this insinuation?” Woo asked. “Other senators have spoken against this motion. They did not get the same insinuation. “Is there something unique about me that makes them want to draw this link to the Chinese Communist Party?” The motion to declare what’s happening in Xinjiang as genocide was defeated in a 33-29 vote in the Senate, with 13 senators abstaining. g
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
e Start Here 14 CLASSIFIEDS 4 COMMENTARY 12 FOOD 11 MUSIC 2 NEWS 14 SAVAGE LOVE 12 WINE
e Online TOP 5
Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.
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COVID-19 in B.C.: Most of the new infections are happening in Interior Health. BCCLA executive director Harsha Walia at centre of social-media firestorm. Detached-home prices fall in many Metro Vancouver markets. B.C. food recalls for frozen desserts, blueberries, spring rolls, and shrimp. Two Vancouver police officers stabbed during response to call. @GeorgiaStraight
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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COMMENTARY
Facing a crisis with courage: Fairy Creek’s lessons
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by Rita Wong
espite nice-sounding announcements, the clearcutting of Canada’s last old-growth forests continues unabated as we face a killer heat wave this June and early July. How do I know this? Recently, I was on the unceded Pacheedaht territories also known as Fairy Creek, and made a two-hour hike up to Eden, where I heard chainsaws and dynamite blasts for roadbuilding so that some of the last giants on Turtle Island can be logged by Teal-Jones for short-term profit. As the Rainforest Flying Squad reminds us, these thousand-year-old trees are worth more standing. They draw people to come visit the area, but beyond that economic incentive, they have intrinsic value. You cannot put a price on your mother, and you should not put a price on these ancestral trees that are being slaughtered by colonial forces. While I was up at Eden, I had the honour of being locked down beside an Indigenous youth named Raccoon for a little while. As it turned out, we were both on our monthly flow time, and you could feel the powerful life force coursing through the camp. I eventually moved to another location, where I spent several hours lying down with
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
After so many Indigenous children were legally buried in unmarked graves in Canada, it’s still legal to cut down the ancient forests on lands they were forcibly separated from. Photo by Rita Wong.
my arm chained to a hole in the ground in what is called a sleeping dragon, waiting to be arrested. It felt like being married to the earth. From that location, I could not see the five arrests ahead of me, but I could hear the backhoe being used to extract people lying on the ground fastened to five sleeping dragons, the screams and yells of pain and anger, the passionate singing of the Women’s Warrior Song each time someone was taken away by the RCMP. I sang with them and sent them gratitude with each time-consuming removal. A few times, RCMP walked by and asked if I was okay. One of those times, I responded by explaining that when we live on Indigenous lands, we all have a responsibility to uphold Indigenous law, which involves caring for the health of the land, and that I was saddened to even have to be in this position. At about 2 p.m., I was told by a RCMP officer that they would be coming to extract me in five minutes, at which point they would have to take away the tarp that was shading me from the hot sun. Instead,
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
they changed their mind and decided to call it a day around 2:30. However, members of the RCMP special tactical unit, deployed “to resolve high-risk situations”, did drive by about 5 p.m. and walked through Eden camp around 7 p.m. the same day, so I did not stray far from the sleeping dragon until I was later ready to leave the camp. As a 52-year-old woman who is not particularly athletic and whose nickname should probably be “Slow Walker”, this day pushed my limits somewhat, but I must say I was inspired and invigorated by the youth around me, by their love, courage, and wisdom. I would add that it is a huge waste of money to deploy the RCMP tactical unit against the likes of me and Raccoon. Though there are people of many genders on the frontlines, the majority of arrestees appear to be gendered as female, on first glance. Although my personal story that day may be anticlimactic, many arrests have been much more dramatic and dangerous, unfortunately. The screaming I heard occurred because an RCMP officer knelt on a young Indigenous woman’s back and pulled
hard on her arm to try to remove her, even though she was locked in and could not defend herself from his undue use of force. Over the course of 352 arrests (and counting), women have been pulled by their hair and dragged so that their necklace was ripped off and their bra was torn off. One woman had webbing strapped to their torso, and it would constrict tightly with their weight, inflicting chest pain so excruciating she described it as “the worst pain [she’d] ever experienced”. She had to be taken to hospital for an X-ray and ultrasound to examine her spasming and severely inflamed intercostal muscles. At least one person has fallen unconscious from heat exhaustion. When people called an ambulance, the RCMP turned it away. Requests for a time out due to the heat wave have been denied or ignored by the RCMP, endangering people’s lives. These are just a few of the stories you will find in the updates at https://www.facebook.com/FairyCreekBlockade. Moreover, it is irresponsible for the RCMP to use such heavy machinery as excavators and backhoes, which were not designed to move human bodies; one slip and a terrible accident could easily happen. Numerous injuries have already happened to land defenders—cuts, bruises, scrapes, fainting, shock, and worse at the hands of the RCMP, who have been setting up illegal and arbitrary exclusion zones so legal observers and media cannot witness the arrests. Up at Waterfall camp, RCMP have been conducting psychological warfare against peaceful land defenders, running generators, shining flood lights—using sleepdeprivation methods to exhaust and intimidate the very people who are standing up for a livable climate for even the RCMP officers’ children. Is this Canada? You bet it is; Canada was designed to inflict genocide upon Indigenous people by separating them from the land, and it continues to operate in this mode, using the RCMP as its henchmen. This senseless violence shows how unjust Canada’s laws are. It was legal to kill and bury thousands of Indigenous children in unmarked graves in this country, and it is legal today to kill the inheritance of these children: the ancient forests, the very land from which the colonial forces tried to separate Indigenous people. Based on these colonial laws that privilege money over life, an injunction was issued so that RCMP from across Canada, including the ironically named “emergency response team”, can remove land defenders using the aforementioned heavy machinery as well as expensive helicopters, angle grinders, and military-style jeeps. The RCMP are making the climate see next page
emergency we all face worse, not better, through their misdirected force against people who are protecting our collective well-being. Destroying the old-growth forest is not in the public interest, even though the colonial courts pretend that it is. In privileging an injunction that solely serves the destructive logging industry over access to forests for ecotourism operators, visitors, and the public, the RCMP are not neutral at all. They are part of a violent colonial system that is hastening the planet toward mass extinction. The heat wave could teach us how crucial trees are to cool the Earth; just stand in the shade of a large tree and feel some gratitude for this calm old being, protecting us. How disconnected, selfish, and arrogant would one have to be to kill the last ancient trees of this land? How slippery and irresponsible to issue misleading announcements from Victoria while the logging company Teal-Jones and the RCMP continue to work hand in hand to intimidate and arrest hundreds of land defenders? The RCMP are, literally, taking land defenders’ belongings (a motorbike, camping gear, etcetera) and giving them to Teal-Jones. This is how morally bankrupt Canada is, how arbitrarily it decodes what laws it enforces and what laws it violates. Until Canada takes Indigenous law seriously, I cannot respect or take Canada seriously. In the face of these bullying tactics I’ve mentioned, the invitation from Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones back in March—reminding
The heat wave could teach us how crucial trees are to cool the Earth. – Rita Wong
An excavator is used to remove Rainbow Eyes. Photo by @arvinoutside/Last Stand Coalition.
us to take care of our spiritual needs and to bring the children in our lives to Fairy Creek to see the forests while they still can—was a breath of fresh air. As I have learned from leaders like Rueben George from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Freda Huson of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, we have a reciprocal relationship with the land; if we take care of the land, the land will take care of us. We destroy the land at our own peril. Without getting into debates about imposed colonial
band-council structures and revitalizing hereditary leadership, we can focus on some basic principles: everyone has a responsibility to care for the land, to respect it, and to honour our interconnectedness. I see these principles living deeply within many of the young Indigenous people I’ve met up at Fairy Creek, strong spirits like Okimaw, a Nehiyaw Cree from Cowessess First Nations, where 751 unmarked graves have recently been found, and Rainbow Eyes, a land defender who was recently removed by the RCMP using an excavator in a dangerous manner. Okimaw, Rainbow Eyes, Sage, Loon, Raccoon, and many others are incredibly dedicated to protecting the land, responding to Bill Jones’s invitation with courage and commitment. They are the living law, as Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en land defender Mel Bazil might put it; they enact right relationship through their love and care for the ancient forests. Spending time up at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek is a gift, and what I am left with
from my time there is not only the gratuitous waste of many millions of dollars on unnecessary and actively harmful policing but, more importantly, the deep sense of community guided by a strong spiritual connection to the land. This is more powerful than guns, excavators, and men in camouflage uniforms trying to sleep deprive and intimidate (mostly) young tree huggers: our ancestors’ wisdom brings us to Fairy Creek, and a spiritual fire, an awakening, is happening there in the forests. You can feel the love and energy when you arrive, and you will never forget this. It is the power of peace, of interconnectedness, of what it means to be at our best as human relatives to the rivers, trees, animals, and one another. It is to see the long view—the coming climate crisis that is already upon us, and to return to natural laws, which we forget at our own peril. While this is an intergenerational movement, as Bill Jones makes clear, youthful energy is in abundance at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek. Without guns, without (much) money, without the resources of the state, youths are showing incredible resilience, dedication and integrity in the face of Canada’s systemic violence. They teach us that what you cannot do alone, you will accomplish together. The sheer creativity and mutual care demonstrated, the refusal to be bullied, the courage to act based on the knowledge we have; these are priceless gifts that help us to collectively face the climate crisis we’re in. g
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
5
REAL ESTATE
Luxury home sold for $18.5 million gets tax break
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by Carlito Pablo
ealtor Adam Major says a Vancouver property has everything to make a farmer happy. Major, who keeps an eye on interesting real-estate deals and listings, is referring to 7275 Carnarvon Street. The mid-century modern home sits on one-hectare of land in the Southlands neighbourhood, offering plenty of space to live and play. The property includes a five-stall barn for horses and ponies, outdoor swimming pool, hot tub, golf practice area, gardens, pond, and an orchard. The 7,000-square-foot luxury home also comes with a separate 1,500-square-foot caretakers’ home. It’s truly one of a kind. As the listing notes, “This ideally situated custom built home cannot be replaced under current zoning guidelines and has been updated and meticulously maintained by the owners.” On June 28, 2021, the property sold for $18,500,000 in what is believed to have been the most expensive deal in that month. “This home has many other amenities beyond the pool and putting green that the gentleman farmer will find appealing,” Major noted to the Straight. Major—managing broker with Holywell Properties and CEO of the company’s realestate information site, Zealty.ca—said there are other reasons why the deal is interesting. Major explained that the property is located in the province’s Agricultural Land Reserve, or ALR. This means that
This estate home at 7275 Carnarvon Street in Vancouver is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, which is why the property qualifies for a 50 percent value exemption on any school and hospital taxes.
it qualifies for a tax exemption. “The rules on building megahomes on ALR land have been tightened up in the last few years, but not the exemption on the school tax payable,” Major said. The Carnarvon Street property has a 2021 assessed value of $13,550,000. That’s broken down into $8,040,000 for land and $5,510,000 for improvements. A tax report provided by Major shows that the land value of $8,040,000 qualifies for a $4,020,000 exemption on the school-tax
part of the property-tax bill. Online, the B.C. provincial government explains that land within the ALR receives a 50 percent value exemption for school and hospital taxes. “By my calculation, if school tax is 0.4 percent over $4 million, the homeowner will save $16,080 in property tax annually,” Major said. “What gentleman farmer doesn’t deserve a break!” In 2019, the province tightened rules to end what the province describes as the “proliferation of large mansions and
lifestyle estates in the ALR”. The B.C. government goes on to say that such practices “inflate land prices and place agricultural land out of the reach of current and new farmers and ranchers”. The legislative changes limit the total floor area for a principal residence within the ALR to a maximum of 500 square metres, or about 5,381 square feet. Major noted: “That is partly why these ALR megamansions are so desirable. You can’t build them anymore, and you get a break on property tax.” The property was sold for $18.5 million, which means that its selling price was 37 percent above the assessed value of $13,550,000. Major recalled that the Southlands property previously sold in 2018 for $13,850,000. “The almost $5 million price increase over three years may be partly because of the government’s crackdown on ALR megamansions,” Major said. “They are now a rarer commodity, as you cannot build them anymore.” Prior to 2018, the property sold for $2.1 million, in 2001, before the current luxury home with seven bedrooms and 11 baths was constructed. Major noted that the property’s total property tax is “not cheap” at $60,418.50. The realtor observed that this clearly shows that someone earning about $150,000 per year couldn’t afford an $18.5 million home. “If they can afford a home at all in Vancouver,” Major added. g
Hong Kong home prices top CBRE list of 39 cities
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by Carlito Pablo
ancouver realtor Winfield Yan says locals shouldn’t be surprised about one thing regarding people who are moving here from Hong Kong. It doesn’t matter whether they’re Canadian expatriates returning for good or new immigrants from the former British colony, especially if they are homeowners in the special administrative region of China. Yan notes that they are well positioned to buy property in Vancouver or anywhere else in Canada. “Hong Kong is very expensive. So if they sell their homes, they should be able to buy some very, very nice homes in Vancouver,” Yan told the Straight in a phone interview. In June this year, the Canadian and Hong Kong offices of the CBRE Group, Inc. released their mother company’s “Global Living Report 2020”. In the report, the Dallasbased global real-estate-services and investment firm profiled the residential markets of 39 global cities. Five of the top 10 most expensive cities are in Asia, with Hong Kong at the number-one position. Using American dollars, the CBRE report states that the average property price in the city is $1,254,442. To complete the top five, also in U.S. funds, is Munich in second place with $1 million, Singapore at $915,601,
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
Hong Kong’s skyline looks lovely from a distance, but the city’s home prices are extremely high. Photo by Serey Kim/Unsplash.
Shanghai with $905,834, and Shenzhen at $783,855. Sixth place is Beijing, at $763,498; Vancouver comes seventh at $754,617; Los Angeles weighs in at $717,583; Paris makes ninth with $650,555; and New York takes 10th spot with $649,026. London, at $624,225, and Toronto, with a $617,942 price, didn’t make the top 10 cut but came in 11th and 12th, respectively. The Straight spoke with Yan back in 2014 following the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong called the Umbrella Revolution. During that time, Yan was helping Canadian
expatriates of Hong Kong origins with residential purchases as they were intending to settle back in Canada because of the political situation in the Asian city. China critics say Beijing is tightening its grip on the city. It has been a year since the Chinese government imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, on June 30, 2020. The law punishes crimes like secession and collusion with foreign forces with up to life imprisonment. Yan and his family moved from the former British colony to Canada in 1970 when he was a boy. He’s deeply connected with the local Hong Kong community. Speaking now, Yan said that he knows of a family from Hong Kong who arrived in Vancouver on July 1 this year, and they are settling here for good. There are two siblings in this family, and one has been living in Vancouver for some time. The other sibling, who was previously based in Hong Kong, has a condo property in Vancouver that has been rented out. This latter brought her parents with her to Canada on July 1. “The parents have the money, so they would decide to maybe buy a house, and all of them can live in the house together because the condo she bought was two bedrooms,” Yan said. g
ARTS
Child’s question inspires Rachel Meyer’s new show
The Vancouver choreographer hopes to immerse audiences in a fantasy world from the moment they arrive
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by Charlie Smith
any artists create a piece—whether’s it’s a play, a song, a dance performance, or a work of visual art—then hope to find a venue where it can reach an audience. Vancouver choreographer Rachel Meyer, on the other hand, prefers to choose a site that’s specific for her work. For her latest production, Mama, do we die when we sleep?, she decided ahead of time that she wanted it performed in the Russian Hall in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood. That’s because it lent itself well to a show that explores how childlike wonder about everday objects can open up all sorts of possiblities, including building even bigger objects or flying to other worlds. “I try to immerse the audience within my world and my creation as soon as they arrive,” Meyer told the Straight by phone. She elaborated by saying that when this physically demanding work is presented at this month’s Dancing on the Edge festival, the audience will enter the hall and see lots of wooden chairs scattered about. They will have to move through the set to find their seats. “What I try to do is bring my audiences into a different realm, or a feeling of a different world—and also to evoke memories in that,” Meyer said. “It makes them feel surreal or fantasylike.” Yet she added that in this instance, it will also still feel very connected to real life. Mama, do we die when we sleep? was inspired by her daughter asking this question when she was two years old. It led Meyer to contemplate how the feeling of won-
In Mama, do we die when we sleep?, Rachel Meyer explores how childlike wonder manifests itself. Photo by David Cooper.
der changes as people age and how it can lead to greater intellectual thoughts. As with her previous productions, there are many pieces in the set, this time including ladders and articles of clothing.
“We automatically know why they were created and why they were in the space,” she said. “And I think that wonder allows us to see beyond that.” Meyer emphasized that she choreographed the show in collaboration with fellow dancers Stéphanie Cyr, Josh Martin, and Calder White. And she gave plenty of credit to other members of the team, saying she came up with the “base” and everyone else made important contributions. The dancers began by reflecting on and talking about childhood dreams and memories. Then, in the piece, they explore what the objects mean to them. A central component is the music, according to Meyer, a resident artist at Left of Main. She said that she asked composer James Maxwell to base Mama, do we die when we sleep? around a recognizable classical work. They agreed on a lullaby—Frédéric Chopin’s Berceuse Op. 57 in D-flat major—because they felt it could be adjusted to reflect different emotions and moods, and it worked for a dance piece. Because Maxwell has experience incorporating different sounds into his work, including a metronome, Meyer felt that he could create something totally different while maintaining the root of Chopin’s composition. “I feel like it really brings in this idea of memory or thoughts or things from our everyday lives in with the music,” she said. “He’s totally brilliant.” g Dancing on the Edge presents Mama, do we die when we sleep? at 7 p.m. on July 15 and at 9 p.m. on July 16 and 17 at the Russian Hall.
Loneliness at the heart of Wen Wei Dance’s Two
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by Charlie Smith
ancouver choreographer Wen Wei Wang likes to describe dance as a physical language. “You use your body to speak,” he told the Straight in a recent phone interview. But Wang noted that the language of dance became exceedingly difficult to communicate during the pandemic because bodies could not connect. When his company, Wen Wei Dance, began holding rehearsals for its latest creation, Two, dancers Justin Calvadores and Calder White could not touch one another. In addition, Wang and the dancers had to wear masks. “It is so hard, physically,” Wang said. “It’s so hard to breathe.” One thing he found especially troubling—from a choreographer’s perspective—was having to keep the dancers two metres apart, which was required under provincial health protocols. “Of course, you have to go with the restrictions,” Wang noted. The isolation, silence, and loneliness that are so common during the pandemic resonate through Two, a duet that will premiere at the Dancing on the Edge festival. Wang
As human beings, we want to be able to connect. We just want to be touched or hugged. – Wen Wei Wang
Dancers Justin Calvadores (left) and Calder White (silhouette) long for connection on-stage and on film in Two. Photo by Daria Mikhaylyuk.
described Calvadores and White as “gorgeous dancers”, both emotionally and physically. The show, which focuses on the longing for connection, mirrors what so many have had to endure over the past 16 months. “It doesn’t matter your colour or your cultural background,” Wang said. “As human beings, we want to be able to connect. We
just want to be touched or hugged. I think that’s a simple thing, but we cannot do it.” Wang has enjoyed an illustrious career as a dancer and choreographer since moving to Vancouver from China in 1991. He started here with the Judith Marcuse Dance Company, which was followed by a seven-year stint with Ballet B.C. He launched his own company in 2003. But it wasn’t until the pandemic that he was forced to become a movie director. He explained that the live dancing in Two runs from 25 to 27 minutes, and it will be augmented at Dancing on the Edge by 13 minutes of film in two parts. The first section features the dancers in
the natural world. The second part shows them in urban Vancouver, in a back alley, Gastown, and Chinatown. Wang said that he wanted to make it look like an indie film rather than a hightech movie with special effects. That’s because Two is about human emotions. “I want people to feel like ‘I was there. I feel it. I’ve been there,’ ” Wang said. “It’s about me, about you, about everybody.” The Vancouver dance artist said that on film, the camera directs the audience’s eyes. He contrasted that with a performance on-stage, where audience members can choose what they want to focus on. In the future, he’s hoping to turn Two into a full-length show, perhaps lasting as long as 55 minutes. “Maybe the next stage is they can be able to touch,” Wang said. “But right now…they still wear masks.” g Dancing on the Edge will present Wen Wei Dance’s Two at 7 p.m. on Friday (July 9) and Sunday (July 11) at the Firehall Arts Centre. The live show is being filmed and will be available later to stream as part of the Festival Film Package.
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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ARTS
Ex-Cirque stars wed dance with circus in Limb(e)s
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by Charlie Smith
s an aerial dancer, Gabrielle Martin ascended to the highest level anyone can rise to in that industry. From 2015 to 2019, as the principal character in the Cirque du Soleil show TORUK – The First Flight, the Vancouver dance artist performed aerial solos that left audiences around the world gasping in astonishment and roaring with approval. But things weren’t always as glamorous as they may have seemed to the outside world. That’s due to the extreme competition for such a plum role, plus the physical toll of doing seven to 10 shows a week. “You would be performing with a lot of pain a lot of the time,” Martin told the Straight by phone. “The external validation was nice because there wasn’t always the same internal validation within the company.” In 2018, during a break in the tour, she and the lead male performer in TORUK, Jeremiah Hughes, visited one of the world’s premiere events for circus and aerial-dance artists, the Deltebre Dansa festival in Spain. Martin said that she and Hughes are “very generous spectators” when it comes to appreciating what goes into creating a show. But they noticed that their sensibilities still weren’t being reflected there. “Even though it was a festival that was programming both dance and circus, we
Vancouver dance artist Gabrielle Martin did a great deal of work with fabric and ropes to make the aerial cradle look like limbs in Company Ci’s filmed version of Limb(e)s. Photo by Jessica Han.
didn’t see a lot of intersection,” she stated. It was then that Martin and Hughes embarked on creating their own contemporary aerial-dance show, one that would truly bring those two art forms together and reflect their passion for dance and high-flying wizardry. While on tour with Cirque, they found rehearsal spaces in different cities where they could work on that show. In fact, Martin said, she and Hughes were the only two cast members in TORUK
with a dance background, as all the others came from either gymnastics or circuses. “After so many years of touring, we needed something for ourselves,” Martin revealed. “And something that…demonstrated our own worth and our own voice as artists outside the show we had been doing for so many years.” The resulting show, called Limb(e)s, was presented live in Montréal and Edinburgh in 2019 by Company Ci, which
they created. Half the choreography took place in the air, performed to the music of composer Nicolas Bernier. “It’s not circus and it’s not dance—it really blends the two,” Martin said. “Just to be honest, I haven’t seen much of this.” The Dancing on the Edge festival will present the world premiere of the 40-minute filmed version of Limb(e)s, with one screening inside the Firehall Arts Centre and others available through the $25 Festival Film Package. “The first part is exploring what it means to hold on or let go of one another in our darkest hour,” Martin said. “We really worked with Sophie Tang, the lighting designer, and Jessica Han, the cinematographer, to create this dystopian landscape.” The title is a play on the French word for limbo, as well as the apparatus of rope cradles designed for the show. Martin revealed that she did a great deal of work on the aerial fabric and ropes so that this contraption resembles a body. According to her, the cradles are like limbs, either holding or constraining the artists. “It’s also this limbo space that we’re exploring that is the result of loss,” Martin said. g Dancing on the Edge will present Company Ci’s filmed version of Limb(e)s to a live audience at 9 p.m. on July 14 at the Firehall Arts Centre.
CAMP retains its sense of fun in face of hard times
T
by Charlie Smith
he five members of the Vancouver dance troupe CAMP have gotten to know one another exceptionally well over the past year and a half. One of them, Ted Littlemore, quipped in a phone interview with the Straight that they just might know each other “a little too well”. Why is that? Because they not only work together but they all live in the same house in Kitsilano. “Getting through good times is easy,” Littlemore said. “Getting through hard times is what puts us to the test. The pandemic has been hard times with a capital H.” At 30 years of age, Littlemore is the oldest member of CAMP, which formed in December 2019 with no specific leader or choreographer. The other members—Brenna Metzmeier, Eowynn Enquist, Isak Enquist, and Sarah Formosa—are still in their 20s. Littlemore is not only a dance artist who has performed with some of the city’s top choreographers but also a musician and drag performer. He said that the sense of overkill from drag and taking something to its extreme—to the point where it becomes silly—is something that CAMP embraces to retain a sense of fun. According to Littlemore, CAMP is committed to being showy, with elements of Fosse and old-school jazz and a keen interest in lip-sync. 8
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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CAMP’s Ted Littlemore, Isak Enquist, Sarah Formosa, Brenna Metzmeier, and Eowynn Enquist. Photo by Richie Lubaton.
“There’s always space to be silly,” he said. “That really lives—and has its birth—in the drag culture, where stupid is as successful as smart. That drag is good drag.
“And I think that sometimes a little moment of bad dance in a show of great dance is an awesome ingredient to add.” At the Dancing on the Edge festival, CAMP will present the world premiere of PAM, which Littlemore described as abstract with a trancey and euphoric mood, and very performative. Each member brings unique strengths. Littlemore praised Metzmeier for her technique, which was honed at the Victoria Academy of Ballet, as well as for having an incredible work ethic. He added that Formosa, an experienced TV and film actor who trained at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, has “a completely different vocabulary in terms of moving and street dancing”. As for Eowynn Enquist, Littlemore said she does everything from the heart, emphasizing that “her thematic practice is phenomenal”. Littlemore credited Isak Enquist for being excellent at floor work and lifting and for his keen understanding of soundscape design. “It’s been great to return to the creative process to test our capacity for mirroring and morphing into each other as we take on everyone’s individual movement vocabularies,” Littlemore declared. g Dancing on the Edge will present CAMP’s PAM at 9 p.m. on July 16 and 17 at the Firehall Arts Centre Courtyard.
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
9
SPORTS
Inclusive rugby sends homophobia to the showers
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by Charlie Smith
ancouver resident Brennan Bastyovanszky’s links to the rugby pitch go back to his teenage days in Victoria. He has played for the University of Victoria Vikings, a university in France, first-division rugby in Vancouver, and two clubs in Sydney, Australia. “At all of the clubs, it was a common and just accepted practice to use homophobic language,” Bastyovanszky, 42, told the Straight by phone. “At every training session, at every game, it was just something that happened.” But Bastyovanszky was harbouring a secret for many of those years. He’s gay. Although he loved the camaraderie of rugby and the lifelong bonds he’s formed through the sport, he also said that being gay was an extra burden on him mentally. “That language is one of the things that I personally struggled with because I would hear it at training sessions and games,” Bastyovanszky said. “And I was always physically afraid that if I came out or they found out I was gay, that I would be, like, physically threatened or there would be physical violence against me. Because that’s the way they talked.” He emphasized that no one aimed those words at him directly. But it drove him to train hard and become a tighthead prop— one of the toughest positions in the sport. In his own words, he was “as strong as an ox”, weighing 110 to 115 kilos. Things finally came to a head when he was outed while playing for a straight club in Sydney. “It became very weird and awkward because people on the club just stopped associating with me, because they didn’t know how to talk about it,” Bastyovanszky recalled. “And so I eventually left the sport— playing mainstream rugby—as a result of being ostracized. That was after 20 years of playing. To be rejected by your sport for your sexuality is incredibly painful.” Fortunately, there’s a happy ending to this story. He joined Australia’s first gay and inclusive rugby team, the Sydney Convicts, and competed three times for the Bingham Cup, which is known as the biennial world championships of gay and inclusive rugby. The first time was in Manchester, England, in 2012. “I was openly gay and playing in the World Cup representing my [adopted] country and we ultimately won,” Bastyovanszky said. “And so that experience was transformational.” That’s because he could be comfortable being gay and playing rugby. “It’s made me realize that the two are compatible, that rugby is an incredibly inclusive sport.” He was later on a second World Cup– winning gay and inclusive rugby team with the Convicts. And now, he’s hoping to help B.C. rugby players try to win the Bingham 10
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
The Vancouver Rogues rugby club welcomes straight, gay, and nonbinary players eager to make a contribution toward changing people’s attitudes.
B.C. is the cultural heart of rugby in Canada and has a huge gay population. – Brennan Bastyovanszky
Cup when the competition is hosted next year in Ottawa. A couple of months ago, Bastyovanszky and others decided to revive the Vancouver Rogues, which was the city’s first gay rugby team back in 2001 before disbanding in 2008. He said that the Bingham Cup is the largest 15-a-side tournament in the world, with more than 1,000 registered players representing more than two dozen countries. “B.C. is the cultural heart of rugby in Canada and has a huge gay population,” he said. “It’s a very liberal place, and up until recently, it didn’t have a team that was going to be represented in this tournament.” Bastyovanszky described his position as being like the club secretary, organizing and recruiting players and doing some coaching. The Rogues haven’t played any games yet, but the team has recruited about 50 players. According to Bastyovanszky, they are gay and straight or they “haven’t decided yet”. “The foundation is about having an inclusive culture,” he said. “So sexuality is not a part of it. The guys are all there to play rugby.” Homophobic language is not welcome. Not only is that appealing to gay players who may have experienced trauma in the
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
past from sports, but he said it also resonates with straight players who have backgrounds in rugby and other sports. “They want to play rugby without those bad behaviours,” Bastyovanszky said. “A lot of straight players who have come by so far have friends or family in the LGBT community and understand those struggles. “They want to be part of something bigger than themselves,” he continued. ”It’s about their contribution to changing people’s attitudes. The straight players act as a bridge.” Another encouraging sign? According to Bastyovanszky, the Meralomas club in Vancouver has been really keen to help out. “They’re well advanced on things like safe sport and concussion management,” he said. “It’s quite a progressive club.” RESURRECTING THE Vancouver Rogues thrills Erik Denison, a former Vancouver journalist who conducts research at Monash University in Australia about ways to end discriminatory language in sport. In a phone interview with the Straight, Denison pointed out that UBC has been one of the “world pioneers” in identifying the harmful consequences of homophobia in sports. As an example, Denison cited a study—led by Elizabeth Saewyc of UBC’s school of nursing and supported by the McCreary Centre Society—that found that gay kids play sports at only half the rate of straight children. That work enabled his team of researchers to obtain funding from the Australian government and the You Can Play project to look at finding solutions. “There hasn’t been one published study of an intervention to stop homophobia in sport, whereas with school bullying, there have
been hundreds of studies” Denison said. His research, however, has uncovered that captains of various sports teams became very concerned about homophobia when they were shown data about LGBT+ suicide rates, as well as the low participation rate of gay kids in sports. Because captains play a critical role in determining a team’s culture, Denison and other researchers, including some at UBC, are hoping to activate them to stop being bystanders to homophobia. And he believes that Bastyovanszky and the Vancouver Rogues can help elevate the public’s understanding about this issue because he’s very aware of the importance of focusing on captains as well as coaches. “Homophobia in sport isn’t being driven by hate of gay people,” Denison insisted. “It’s more driven by sexism. It’s a denigration of anything feminine.” Therefore, Denison noted, addressing homophobia in sport could conceivably have a positive impact on curbing domestic and gender-based violence. According to Denison, statistics from B.C. Rugby showed that 47 percent of male players said they had used words like fag in the two weeks before being asked. The same surveys showed that 68 percent said they had heard others using such words and that 81 percent wanted the behaviour to stop but didn’t realize others felt this way. To Denison and Bastyovanszky, this offers hope that homophobic language can one day be purged from many sports teams. “Homophobia in sport is a child-protection problem,” Denison declared. “We’ve known for 30 years that it’s harmful for kids. So stopping homophobia in sport is not an optional thing. It’s the law.” g
MUSIC
Liam Docherty feels call of the blues at 14
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by Steve Newton
Grimes’s Instagram account shows her in many guises, including some from other worlds.
New Grimes album will be a space opera with lesbian romance
G
by Charlie Smith
rimes pondered the end of the world on her last album, Miss Anthropocene, which was released before the pandemic began. Now the Vancouver-born musician and video artist is getting closer to dropping her next disc. According to her Instagram feed, “It’s a space opera about CLAIRE DE LUNE—an artificial courtesan who was implanted in a simulation.”
…CLAIRE DE LUNE—an artificial courtesan who was implanted in a simulation. – Grimes
Grimes has spoken about artificial intelligence before, so it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that this story has an AI twist. In fact, she writes, the simulation “is a memory of the AI creation story on earth from the brain of the engineer who invented AI”. This engineer (no, not her partner, Elon Musk) is hoping to relive his life to find out “if his perfect dream girl could teach him to love”. This, in turn, would enable him to “preserve humanity this time rather than let them fade into obscurity—overcome by the machines”. But Claire de Lune (interestingly, Grimes’s given name is also Claire) “slowly realizes she is essentially a dancing puppet for the male gaze”. An AI lead demon, described as “DARK MATTER”, arrives as a “black swan” to Claire de Lune, developing a lesbian romance. Space operas are a subgenre of science fiction that can revolve around romance, risk, and sophisticated technology. The term was invented by U.S. sci-fi author Wilson Tucker. g
e’ve all heard stories about guitar players who make their mark early in life, who catch people’s attention because they’ve been playing since they were 11 or 12 years old. Well, Liam Docherty’s got all those early starters beat. He first wrapped his fingers around a guitar neck at the tender age of four. And by the time he was seven, he was tackling Slash’s lead licks from Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. Now 14, Docherty has an impressive résumé, one that includes opening for the likes of Canadian blues and roots artists Ken Hamm, David Gogo, Terry Robb, and Doug Cox. He’s performed at the Texada Island Blues and Roots Festival and Nanaimo’s Summertime Blues Festival, and starting July 23 he’ll have a concert streamed as part of the Mission Folk Music Festival. Docherty came by his guitar obsession honestly, as his dad always had one lying around the house. When Liam started taking an interest, his father taught him some pop songs that he could busk with at the farmers market when he lived on Salt Spring Island. (He thinks the first tune he ever learned on guitar was a Neil Finn song, but “it’s been so long” that he can’t remember which one.) When he was eight, he became seriously inspired by acclaimed Australian picker Tommy Emmanuel, whom he saw perform in Victoria. “He’s kind of what first got me interested in playing blues music and fingerstyle guitar,” Docherty explains on the phone from his Qualicum Beach home. “Me and my dad started taking online lessons, and I started learning more and more about different musicians and learning their songs.” Vancouver Island dobro specialist Cox is another musician who has helped nurture and guide Docherty’s promising career. Last year, he produced the teen’s debut album, Modern. Magic. Melody., which features seven originals and five blues covers. “Doug Cox tells me a lot about the music,” Docherty says, “and tells me talented people I should listen to. That’s how I found out about Nick Drake, actually, and John Martyn. I play a few Nick Drake songs.” Docherty’s renditions of Nick Drake tunes like “River Man”, “Horn”, and “Things Behind the Sun” can be seen on his YouTube channel, along with covers of Robert Johnson, Son House, and Big Bill Broonzy. His most recent downloaded clips show him playing traditional instrumentals that he has seen performed by Emmanuel (“Borsalino”) and Celtic stylist Tony McManus (“Out on the Ocean”). He also studies online courses by both of those artists. He likes to learn. “I kind of treat the guitar as homework,” he says, “but in a good way. I love practising.”
Liam Docherty was inspired by Australian fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, and at the age of 14, he is getting a lot of attention for his own six-string skills. Photo by Craig Letourneau.
Docherty’s six-string skills led him to become an “official partner” of Taylor Guitars in March of this year. He had a meeting with the company’s artist-relations director, who sent him a guitar to use on his next album. And the lucky kid doesn’t have to give it back. “They just manufacture the guitars really well,” says Docherty, who years ago bought himself a Taylor GS Mini with the money he earned from busking. That’s the one he got signed by Emmanuel when he met him at that concert in Victoria. Unfortunately, he played it so much the signature got worn right off. The day after talking to the Straight, Docherty used his newest Taylor guitar to record his online show for the Mission Folk Music Festival. As well as original compositions, the program includes some classic blues, a Nick Drake song, and an arrangement of “Classical Gas” that he lifted from Emmanuel. At this point, Docherty plays mostly acoustic guitar, but he’s thinking of put-
ting some electric on his next album. In a YouTube video of him playing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Scuttle Buttin’ ”, he shows himself to be quite proficient on the amped-up side of things. He borrowed a Strat from his 11-year-old brother, Ewan, for that taping, but it wasn’t an easy ride. “It was really hard to learn,” he says of Vaughan’s speedy 1984 instrumental. “My hand nearly came off.” Whether Docherty’s future in music will see him remain an acoustic solo artist or go electric with a band is anybody’s guess at this point. We’ll have to see where the journey takes him when he gets out of school in a few years. “Depending on how my music kind of changes—it might change to a different kind of style, I’m not sure—I might need a band. But so far I’m going to be a solo artist.” g Liam Docherty performs as part of the Mission Folk Music Festival, which runs online from July 23 to 25.
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
11
WINE / FOOD
Beat the heat with rosés from around the world
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by Mike Usinger
KIM CRAWFORD ROSÉ
ver wonder how the rest of the world does it? Recent scorching temperatures in these parts have not only given Vancouverites something new, weatherwise, to complain about, but led to endless theorizing that the end of the world is officially upon us. Spend countless hours wondering what thermometer readings are like in hell? We’ve just had a sneak preview. But before looking to the heavens and asking God why she’s been doing this to us, consider that, for folks living California’s Death Valley, China’s Flaming Mountains, and Libya’s El Azizia, 40 degrees Celsius is considered a pleasant break from reality. And then take the attitude that we’ve been getting the kind of heat that you normally have to hop on a plane and head to Mexico, Palm Springs, or Bangkok to soak up. What goes great with the hot weather? You’re not going to go wrong with a nice chilled rosé. Here are four bottles to take into the ice-cube filled wading pool with you. Just like they do in Oodnadatta, Australia.
Sometimes you want to sit there on a breezy summer day and stare at the spring lambs, towering volcanoes, marauding orcs, and frolicking hobbits. Unfortunately you’re not going to New Zealand anytime soon, but you can imagine yourself there after a glass or three of Kim Crawford Rosé, which pours a pale-but-pretty pink and bursts with juicy grapefruit and emerald-green kiwi, and a back-end hint of ripe passion fruit. Cue up The Lord of the Rings if you’re going full popcorn, or Hunt for the Wilderpeople if you want feel-good with a message. Don’t forget the seared lamb—keeping in mind that, while cute and fuzzy, lambs would eat you too if they had the chance. Just like the famously ill-tempered orcs of New Zealand. BASK CRISP ROSÉ
SAINTLY THE GOOD ROSÉ 2020
Nothing says summer in British Columbia like piling into the Vanishing Point–white 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, cranking the Meat Puppets’ Up on the Sun, and then setting the GPS for the sun-baked Okanagan. Load up on freshfrom-the-tree peaches, cherries, nectarines, and then ask yourself why you continue to live in the city. You’ll get plenty of stone fruit aromatics in Saintly the good rosé, along with sweet whispers of honeysuckle. No one’s going to complain if this easygoing wine hits the table with a double-curried Thai gaeng pa nua, but why not go light and refreshing with an extra-mint-and-lemon juice nam sod? ROBERT MONDAVI WOODBRIDGE ROSÉ
From the state that Nathanael West once famously described as the land of sunshine and oranges comes Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge Rosé. Syrah and Tempranillo grapes come together for a subtly sweet, lightly acidic wine that suggests straight-outta-the-ice-box watermelon and field-ripened strawberries. Keep things simple with a lemon-and-prawn pasta (3/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-
B.C. made headlines around the world for its high temperatures, so why not cool down with a rosé? Photo by Filipp Romanovski.
Reggiano and olive oil, 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice, and a handful of chopped basil) and a good book. Like, for example, West’s The Day of the Locust, which might be the most insightful damnations of California this side of Barton Fink, Chinatown, The Black Dahlia, and the legendary Jeff Spicoli.
There’s no point pretending otherwise—sugar is delicious. Whether tapped as one of the two ingredients in simple syrup, used as a dip for fresh strawberries, or ladled onto your Cap’n Crunch for an extra energy kick, it’s a wonder-substance that makes everything better. Except, that is, your health. Like most things that taste great—pizza, cigarettes, deep-fried duck fat, French fries, and fried chicken—there’s eventually a price to be paid. The big selling point of Bask Crisp Rosé—besides, that is, the decidedly budget-friendly price—is that it’s completely sugarless. (Quick science lesson—when out to make a sweeter wine, winemakers put the brakes on the fermentation process early while the yeast is still gobbling up sugars. It’s not uncommon for Canadian rosés to have 10 grams of sugar per litre and up.) Normally, “sugarless” is an advance warning that something’s going to taste like it was concocted in a lab, which is to say more chemically than Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Pork Soda. That’s not the case here, where the taste is soft and subtle—Okanagan peaches, U-Pick strawberries, and lemon peel—and the finish is drier than Vancouver this most hellishly hot of summers. Move over Death Valley—you’ve got company. And pass the rosé. g
East Van community fridge empowers residents
Donated material, months of volunteer efforts, and a sympathetic restaurant result in a free-food depot
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by Martin Dunphy
ood security has become a rising concern worldwide in recent decades, with some countries in more need of assistance in this regard than others. The United Nations defines food security, generally, as when people have physical, social, and economic access to a safe, secure, and sufficient supply of nutritious food. Vancouver is one of the world’s most expensive cities, and its stagnating wages, historically low social-assistance rates, and skyrocketing rents have robbed a significant percentage of the region’s population
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of its ability to attain food security. (The Greater Vancouver Food Bank now has more than 8,500 regular monthly clients, almost half of whom are children, youths, and seniors.) But recently some East Vancouver residents decided that they had had enough of standing on the sidelines with regard to this pressing issue. They organized, networked, scrounged supplies and a little grant money, and built a wooden roofed structure big enough to house a small chest freezer, a fridge, and a few pantry shelves. Friends Mary-Jane Cox and Jessica Kokott, both former Calgary denizens, were
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
inspired by the Calgary Community Fridge project. Cox, who works in costumes for both Bard on the Beach and the Arts Club Theatre, told the Straight by phone that Kokott paid a return visit to that city and checked out the initiative. “Then she came home and said, ‘Okay, let’s do this.’ ” They set up a website, Instagram account, and Facebook page, Cox said, and compiled an email list of potential volunteers. “So we have a roster of people interested in helping out.” The two also contacted similar projects in Regina, Toronto, and New York, Cox added. She said a team of UBC master’s stu-
dents involved in studying a similar venture steered them toward the HastingsSunrise area, where one of them had a family connection to the local Dachi Vancouver restaurant, which donated the site and the electricity. “They had the location and we had the community engagement,” Cox said. “Now we want more people in the neighbourhood to get involved.” The point of the community fridge is to acquire and safely store perishable but nutritious food items such as fruits and vegetables that the Greater Vancouver see next page
There will be no limits as to what you can take…no policing. – Mary-Jane Cox
Friends Mary-Jane Cox (left) and Jessica Kokott modelled LOAF on a community initiative in Calgary, their hometown. Photo by Martin Dunphy.
Food Bank does not normally accept in donations and have them available for free to anyone in the neighbourhood. The volunteers hope it will serve as the inspiration for identical community initiatives across the city. That wooden structure (“All of the appliances have been donated,” Cox said, “and the plywood [for construction] was donated”) is called LOAF, an acronym for “local open-access fridge”, and it is now standing outside Dachi’s east wall (2297 East Hastings Street, at Garden Drive). Friends Cox,
Kokott, and their fellow volunteers will be ready to open LOAF this Saturday (July 10) near the northern boundary of the East Side’s Grandview-Woodland and Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhoods. “We’ll have some freezies and cold drinks to hand out,” Cox said the day after she and Kokott showed LOAF’s site to the Straight, “but we really want to celebrate for having gotten this far.” Cox said they hope to start getting “copious amounts of bread” donations coming in from grocery stores and bakeries (“It’s
something that freezes quite well”), and she hopes that a gardening initiative called “Grow a Row” will help bring in a steady supply of locally grown vegetables. “I’ve had people reach out and say, ‘Oh, will you take stuff from my garden?’ ” Cox explained. “When you harvest, you will know that that row [of produce] is going to the community fridge. That’s something that the food bank can’t take, and it’s nice to have a fridge for this stuff.” She said common sense will dictate the condition of fruits and vegetables to be do-
nated. “If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t donate it. So as long as it’s not rotten or mouldy and not bad for you, donate it.” And as for specific kinds of produce? “There will be no, ‘Oh, we recommend this type of food,’ ” Cox said. “The community will decide what it wants.” Cox, who moved to Vancouver from Calgary about two decades ago and who has lived in the nearby Commercial Drive neighbourhood for about 15 years, also insisted that community members will regulate food distribution. “There will be no limits as to what you can take; there will be no policing,” she said. “Bring what you can and take what you need.” A roster of volunteers will check LOAF daily to clean, remove expired food, and maintain the structure, Cox noted. “I think we really hope for it to run itself. We would like the community to guide it and meet its needs—that’s all you can hope for.” g
Vote for your favourites from Vancouver’s thriving culinary scene. Complete our online ballot and be entered to win a GIFT CARD RD PRIZE PACK to some of Vancouver’s favourite eateries. Thank you to our sponsors, Brix & Mortar restaurant, Chambar, Mink Chocolate, Cazba, a, Secret Garden Tea Company, OEB Breakfast Co., Water Street Café, Terra Breads, Rocky Mountain Flatbread, Les Faux Bourgeois, LaSalle College Vancouver, SPUD.CA, Calabash up Bakery Bistro, Cactus Club, La Belle Patate, Chickpea, Burrowing Owl Wine, Beaucoup
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JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
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13
SAVAGE LOVE
Dan hits the “Sack” for your unanswered questions
O
by Dan Savage
n the first Thursday of every month I host “Sack Lunch”, an online hangout exclusively for Magnum subscribers to the Savage Lovecast. I take questions, invite listeners to answer them with me, and we have a blast. I’m giving this week’s column over to some of the questions we didn’t get to during this month’s Savage Lovecast Sack Lunch…
b MY SON IS straight, cute, accomplished, 25, and has friends. He’s never been kissed. I suspect he’s terrified. I can’t talk to him about it. Should his dad talk to him? Should he go to a sex worker? Would this undermine his confidence? friends, and that’s a good sign. Not only does it mean your son has social skills, mom, it means he has people in his life that he can confide in about his sex life and ask for advice. You can and should ask him if there’s anything he would like to talk about—keep those lines of communication open—but it’s entirely possible that your son has no interest in sex (he could be asexual) or that he has an active love and/or sex life that he doesn’t wanna talk with mom and dad about for whatever reasons, e.g., he’s someone’s rubber gimp or he can only get it up in a fursuit or he’s in a polyamorous triad that he’s not ready to tell you about. If he’s happy, let him be. Your son has
b
Careers
IS THERE A safe way to enlarge a clitoris?
Allow me to Google that for you. Hey, turns out there’s a Wikipedia entry for that (“Clitoral Enlargement Methods”), as I suspected there might be, and it lists three methods to grow a clitoris: the use of creams containing testosterone (applied directly to
ual, is a sexual orientation on the asexual spectrum,” says the LGBTA Wiki, “[describing] someone who only experiences sexual attraction towards those that they are not deeply connected with and lose that attraction as they get to know the person.” Your pride colors are blue, cyan, white, and grey. (There are so many pride flags out there these days—and they come out so damn fast—that I suspected someone created an online pride-flag generator. And I was right: myflag.lgbt.) Dan tends to leftover questions from “Sack Lunch”, including one about clit enlargement.
the clit); testosterone supplements (administered by injection); and the use of clitoral pumps, i.e., suction cups. Testosterone injections are the most effective way to enlarge a clit—as any trans man can tell you—but it has other “masculinizing effects” that you may not want. Clitoral pumps, much like penis pumps, can enlarge the clitoris temporarily, but overuse or too-enthusiastic use of a pump—on a dick or a clit—can damage erectile tissues. b I AM FAMILIAR with demisexuality—the idea that some people cannot develop a sexual relationship without an emotional or a romantic bond first—but what about the opposite phenomenon? I lose interest in people who get to know me and my desire to hook up is quickly replaced by a desire to just be acquaintances. there a term for people like you—people who lose desire after getting to know someone—there’s also a pride flag, because there can never be too many pride flags: “Fraysexual, also known as ignotasexNot only is
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GEORGIA STRAIGHT JUNE 25JULY – JULY 2 /152020 2 14 THETHE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 8– / 2021
b WHAT WOULD YOU say to someone in a poly relationship who had their heart broken as a third? It gets better.
b MY HUSBAND (gay, age 29) has continually accused me of cheating and other similar activities over the course of our six years together. It wasn’t too bad at the start, but it got worse. I now feel so much resentment toward him that it’s destroying us. I feel like a prisoner in the relationship. He’s tracked my phone to make sure I’m not going anywhere “unapproved”, and if I don’t tell him everything I’m doing, he gets upset. At this point, I hate being intimate with him. I don’t even want to touch him. We’ve started seeing a couples counsellor, but it’s not helping with my resentment. How do I get over this resentment? Or do I do what my brain is telling me and divorce him? DTMFA—divorce the motherfucker already—and you’ll not only be doing yourself a favour but you’ll most likely be doing your ex a favor as well. Because the pain of getting dumped is the only thing that motivates jealous and controlling assholes like your
husband to get the help they need. b WHAT DOES “BEING in good working order” mean in practice? I’m struggling with depression (got diagnosed 18 months ago) and I still don’t have a handle on things. I feel like I can’t date because I can’t even tell potential partners what brand of chaos to expect with me because I don’t know myself. My friends say I’m being too hard on myself. What do you think? I don’t have a handle on things. Not all the things. I have my own struggles and I bring Massage my own particular brand of chaos to the table, the bedroom, the play party, etcetera. But I like to think I’m in good working order—or good enough working order. I realize this is circular logic, but one of the ways I know I’m in good enough working order to sustain a relationship is that I’m in relationships I’ve somehow managed to sustain. So if someone decides they wanna be with you—someone who has a choice about staying or going—then that person believes you’re in good enough working order. That’s a “yes” you can and should take for an answer, but it’s not a “yes” you’re ever gonna get if you never allow yourself to date. At some point, you have to take a chance— probably more than one chance—to find out whether or not you’re in good enough working order. I think it’s a good sign that your friends—people who know and love you—feel like you’re in good enough working order to get out there and start dating. (I realize that the ability to sustain a relationship isn’t, in and of itself, proof that a person is in good working order. Some relationships are toxic, abusive, codependent, etcetera. Getting out of a bad relationship, staying in a good one—either can be evidence that a person is in good working order.) g
Employment EMPLOYMENT 8 DIAMONDS SIDING INC.
is HIRING a Construction Manager in Greater Vancouver, BC. Perm, F/T (40 h/w) Salary: $100,000 annual Min. 3-4 years of exp. in steel framing construction. College diploma; bachelor’s degree is an asset. Main duties: Plan, organize and manage construction projects; Plan, prepare and oversee schedules and milestones; Control and oversee budget; Select and approve subcontractors; Oversee project's progress reports; Negotiate project revisions; Track project costs; Establish and implement policies for quality control; Oversee compliance with legal requirements. Company’s business address and job location: 101-5595 Roy St, Burnaby BC V5B 3A5 Please apply by e-mail: 8diamondsgroup@gmail.com
9258604 Canada Corporation dba Metropolitan Movers
is looking for a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor. Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Requirements: High school, good English, 1-2 years of experience. Main duties: Supervise activities of employees, assign workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of drivers and movers; Prepare work schedules, control and monitor routes; Recommend on hiring new employees and train staff; Ensure health and safety regulations are followed; Schedule repairs and maintenance works; Order supplies; Resolve work related problems, maintain reports. Company’s business address and job location: 1102 - 1068 Hornby St. Vancouver BC V6Z2Y7 Please apply by e-mail: vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com
ALEXA MILLWORK LTD
is HIRING a Cabinetmakers Foreman Job location: Unit 16, 30 Capilano Way, New Westminster BC, V3L 5M3. Perm, F/T job (40 h/w). Salary: $38.00 /hour Requirements: Good English, 2-3 years of experience, high school. Main duties: Supervise and co-ordinate daily activities of cabinetmakers; Prepare work schedules and assign workers to duties; Resolve work-related problems; Inspect products; Recommend hiring and promotions, train new employees; Ensure standards for safe working conditions are observed; Requisition supplies, materials, tools, and equipment. Company’s business address: 3154 Bowen Dr, Coquitlam, BC V3B 5S7 Please apply by e-mail: alexamillwork@gmail.com
Amra Bakery Inc. o/a European Breads Bakery
is HIRING a Food Service Supervisor. Shifts, Weekends, Perm, F/T (40 hrs/week) Wage: 21.00 /hr Requirements: Good English, completion of a college program OR several years of experience. Main duties: Manage the activities of workers; Monitor work schedules; Hire and train employees, assign workers to duties; Ensure that quality control standards, sanitation and safety procedures are met; Order supplies; Resolve customer complaints; Manage and coordinate shelf stocking; Prepare and submit reports. Company’s business address and job location: 4320 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4G3 Please apply by e-mail: european.breads.amra@gmail.com
Construction company Turon-Business LTD
is looking for Carpenters. Lower Mainland area, BC. Perm, F/T, Wage: $ 28.00 /h Main duties: Read and interpret blueprints, prepare layouts; Measure, cut, assemble, and join lumber and wood materials; Build wooden construction structures; Inspect, repair damaged framework; Install different trim items; Operate and maintain carpentry tools; Follow safety rules and regulations; Supervise helpers. Requirements: Experience 2-3 years, Good English; Education: High school. Company’s business address: 35-5648 Promontory Rd, Chilliwack BC V2R 0E5 Please apply by e-mail: hrturonbusiness@gmail.com
Orbis Facade Inc. is looking for Glaziers
Greater Vancouver, BC. Perm, F/T, Salary: $26.00 /hour. Requirements: experience 3-4 years, good English, high school. Main duties: Read and interpret construction blueprints; Lay-out frame and window wall position; Fabricate, fit and install frames; Measure, mark and cut glass; Position pre-cut glass panels and secure glass; Install pre-build glass panels in frames; Replace damaged glass or faulty sealant; Assemble, erect and dismantle scaffolding, rigging and hoisting equipment; Follow established safety rules. Company’s business address: 7060 Waltham Ave, Burnaby BC V5J4V5 Please apply by e-mail: hr@orbisgroup.ca
Mind EMPLOYMENT Body & Soul Healing Arts
Is your life affected by someone else's drug use? Nar-Anon Family Group Meeting Every Friday 7:30-9:00 pm at Barclay Manor, 1447 Barclay
Women Survivors of Incest Anonymous A 12 Step based peer support program. Wed @ 7pm @ Avalon Women's Centre 5957 West Blvd 604-263-7177 also www.siawso.org
Support Groups A MDABC peer-led support group is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy. Please visit www.mdabc.net for a list & location of support groups or call 604-873-0103 for info. AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS Does someone else's drinking bother you? Al-Anon can help. We are a support group for those who have been affected by another's drinking problem. For more information please call: 604-688-1716 ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Looking to start a parent support group in Kitsilano. Please call Barbara 604-737-8337
Sex Addicts Anonymous
12-step fellowship of men & women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others recover from their sexual addiction.Membership is open to all who desire to stop addictive sexual behaviour. For a meeting list as well as email & phone contacts go to our website. www.saavancouver.org Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) Do you have a problem with sex and love relationships. You are not alone. SLAA is a 12 Step 12 Tradition oriented fellowship for those who suffer from sex and love addiction. Leave a message on our phone line and somebody will call you back for meeting time and locations. slaavan@telus.net
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is HIRING a Supervisor, Awning and Pergola Installers. Greater Vancouver, BC Perm, F/T, Wage - $ 35.00 /h Requirements: good English, several years of experience in awning and pergola installation, high school. Main duties: Supervise and co-ordinate the activities of installers; Assign workers to duties, hire and train employees; Prepare and monitor work schedules; Estimate and order parts and supplies; Resolve work problems and customer complaints; Prepare work progress reports; Maintain records of stock. Company’s business address: 9275 Shaughnessy St, Vancouver BC V6P 6R4 Please apply by E-mail: employment.atriadesigns@gmail.com
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JUNE THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 15 3 JULY 8 –25 15–/JULY 20212 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT
JULY 8 – 15 / 2021
