Powell Street Festival
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
August 3-4, 2002

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The Powell Street Festival is an annual event that celebrates the history and cultural traditions of Japanese Canadians. Each year's festival has a theme. This year marked the 26^th anniversary and its theme was "Living Communities."

The PSF usually takes place the first weekend in August. Great food, lots of Taiko performances, literary events, film/video, butoh, innovative music, traditional stuff, arts and crafts, a festival sales booth, interesting people…great food. The festival takes place in Oppenheimer Park (funny/odd: the Atomic Bomb guy was Oppenheimer -- that name weirds me out especially cuz the festival sometimes coincides with A-bomb day) in Japan Town (now only a few shops) which, in the past seven years, has become the most dangerous part of Vancouver. But for these two days the park is relatively clean of discarded hypo-needles. The well-mannered homeless Native population (First Nations People) are not as aggressive as the ones we have in Seattle (you can buy them a salmon dinner and its appreciated).

The people you have to watch out for up there are the WHITE people: strung out, and yelling for money. If you are too well dressed or have a camera, vagrant types will follow you for up to three blocks. They'll grab on to you or throw things at you if you slow down so glare and march forward, like hardcore New Yorkers.

Chinatown was horrible; I had to walk with a friend who knew where the bad streets were. It’s way worse than anything in Seattle is. Stepping over half-dead-looking men and women (white, Asian, native), putrid smells wafting all over.

I never see any police when I am in Vancouver. The police station is near Chinatown. I’ve often wondered which Chinatown is the smelliest – I think Vancouver’s is maybe Numero Uno. The only other Chinatown stench that comes close is New York City's.

I've been going to PSF since 1992, mainly to watch the Taiko, meet artists and eat the massive handrolled sushi for a mere $3 Canadian which comes to a flat US $1.00-$1.50 over the years. The best exchange rate is at Safeway. You can also use your Safeway card for discount prices. Their prizes are better than ours, you can trade up your Safeway points for Air Travel miles. Cool, eh? The best deal was the buy one Claritin (38 tabs) and get one free. A $42 can is like 23 U.S. clams. So stock up on the codeine cough syrup, Allegra, whatever you need cuz it’s well worth the hassle at the border!

PSF was screening my video about AIDS, earth, and splayed molecular time. They weren’t well received. The conservative, and mostly queer audience, wanted to see porn, but they got pieces about DEATH and the Atomic Bomb. I was heckled continuously by a Chinese Canadian dyke and her white girlfriend, and two white men and their Asian friend. I didn’t want to tell them what my work was about; I wanted a reaction. And reactions I got:

"Go back to America, we don’t need you." – two white guys and Asian friend
"What the hell is this?" - Chinese Canadian dyke
"ITS TOO LOUD…YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED US! " - white chick with Chinese Canadian dyke

Like the atomic bomb victims had time to complain? What are these people thinking?

While the heckling was going on, the ongoing war with the tech booth snotty white boys added to my anger, and I had to go in the booth to yell at them for not letting me adjust the sound in the booth. On my way out of the booth, I heard the hecklers, so I flashed my bright blue halogen beam of flashlight into their faces and yelled, "WHY DONT YOU GET UP AND LEAVE IF YOU DONT LIKE IT? NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO STAY!" I wished they had a panel discussion afterwards. It was needed.

So many angry people tripped and pushed me. Seventeen people came up and told me they understood "what" it was I had in mind in my works. The majority of the feminists and queer folks that were audience were very racist and ignorant. I proved my point: that racism and ignorance exists within the so-called Left of Center.

>>check out more pictures from the event