Vancouver's 18th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival has just announced its lineup for 2021.

Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre--in association with Carnegie Community Centre, the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, and a host of community partners--the festival will run from October 27 to November 7 at various locations in the DTES, with online events as well.

It will feature music, stories, poetry, theatre, ceremony, films, readings, forums, workshops, discussions, art talks, history talks, and visual art exhibitions.

Highlights of festival include: 

     * We Live Here, October 27 to 29, Jack Chow Insurance parking lot: a dramatic, large-scale video project created by thirty Downtown Eastside visual artists working with a curatorial team of Jerry Whitehead, Wendy Peeters and Jared Sharpe.

     * 50 Years of Creative Collaboration, October 27 to November 7, Carnegie 3rd Floor Gallery: Terry Hunter (Nang Gulgaa) and Savannah Walling (hl Gat’saa), co-founders of Vancouver Moving Theatre (1983) and Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival (2004) invite you to attend two events that celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their creative and collaborative journey.

     * #whatnow, October 28 to 31 and November 3 to 7, Russian Hall: a multi-perspective documentary theatre and dance creation about the #metoo movement produced by Alley Theatre in partnership with Good Night Out Vancouver.

     * Walking Tours in Chinatown, October 30: join local historian John Atkin on a walk that explores the fascinating historic laneways of Chinatown.

     * Hearts Beat 2021, November 2, online: a musical exploration of the shared traditions of drums, dance, and song between Indigenous and Irish cultures.

     * My Art Is Activism: Part III, November 2, online: longtime Downtown Eastside documentarian and organizer Sid Chow Tan shares selections from his extraordinary archival video collection.

     * DTES Front & Centre: In Memory of Joyce Morgan, November 2, online: a Downtown Eastside community music showcase honouring Joyce Morgan, a pianist and longtime and beloved Carnegie Community Centre volunteer. 

     * Indigenous Journeys: Solos by Three Women, November 3, online: new solos by Downtown Eastside-involved women Priscillia Mays Tait (Gitxsan/Wet’suwet’en), Kat Zu'comulwat Norris (Lyackson First Nation), and Gunargie O’Sullivan (Kwakuilth Nation).

     * Openings: A Cultural Sharing, November 3 to 6, Firehall Arts Centre: join storyteller Rosemary Georgeson (Coast Salish/Sahtu Dene) and Firehall artistic producer Donna Spencer as they host cultural sharings about resilience, hope and humour by Indigenous Elders, Knowledge-Keepers and artists from different nations.

     * Grace Eiko Thomson: Chiru Sakura (Falling Cherry Blossoms), November 4, Massy Arts Gallery: esteemed elder and activist Grace Eiko Thomson reads and talks about her book Chiru Sakura (Falling Cherry Blossoms), with host John Endo Greenaway.

     * Fighting for Space: Drug Users' Response to the Overdose Crisis, November 6, online: author and journalist Travis Lupick shares stories from his book Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction, in conversation is Ann Livingston.

For more info on the 18th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival go here.