Vancouver

I was lucky to visit Vancouver last month, for the first time… been hearing a lot of great things about it, and was excited to check it all out.

Greeted by some totem poles

I was picked up by my host, Canadian Animator and Filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns, whom I met in Eugene earlier in the year.

First thing I did was sample some of the local brews from Jeff’s fridge, all lined up.

They were all pretty good, I liked the Green one best.

I got to try a “Caesar” too, which is basically a Bloody Mary, but with Clamato instead of Tomato Juice. Savory.

The reason I was in town, was for the Powell Street Festival, which is a celebration of the Japanese and Asian Canadian community and arts showcase. At 35 years old, it’s the longest running festival of it’s kind in Canada.
It reminded me alot of the Obon festival my relatives and I would work at during the summers for the Buddhist church… lots of great food, Taiko drumming, Dance, and vendors. The Powell Street Fest had all this, as well as films, plays, and even an amateur Sumo competition.

I got to learn a bit about the Japanese Canadian internment experience, which is something I never thought about until this trip. Something I didn’t know was that the Japanese Canadians were forced out of the West Coast or deported back to Japan.

Lots of great musical performances…

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This a cool guitar/taiko drum duo called Loud

The next night, I was lucky to be in town for the “Celebration of Lights”

..which is a weeklong fireworks battle/competition between countries.
2011′s competitors were China, Spain, and Canada.

This was China’s night to show their goods.

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