East of Main

By Ajay Puri

On Saturday April 17, 2010 East of Main had its very first field trip to Surrey, BC. The City of Surrey is known for being Canada’s fastest growing area and also known for the highest concentration and numbers of Sikh followers outside of the State of Punjab*.

This was certainly apparent at the 2010 Surrey Vaisakhi (NAGAR KIRTAN) Parade where hundreds of thousands of people came out to celebrate. For us, it was such an eye-opening experience. We’ve attended the Main Street Vaisakhi celebrations in years past and were amazed to see the scale of festivities, but the Surrey event just blew us away. There were a reported 150,000 people who attended the parade, which went from 10am to 6pm.

Amongst the blocks upon blocks that the parade traveled on 128th street there were a reported 1000 stalls which showcased local businesses, non-profits and residents - each had something to give away: balloons, toys, information and most importantly Punjabi food! We were able to taste a variety of delicious vegetarian dishes including Pani Puri (little fried wafers that are filled with spiced masala water), Papri Chat (little crispy wafers, chickpeas, onions which are doused in yogurt, tamarind sauce and green chutney (mint sauce), Cholay Batura / Puri, and the famous pakoras (spiced breaded cheese / paneer, vegetables or bread).

With all these giveaways one can imagine all the garbage that is produced. According to a spokesperson from Remple Waste Disposal, more than 7 tonnes of waste was collected at the 2009 parade. Fortunately a local green South Asian hero, Preet Bal, wanted to begin the process of green’ing the event. A few years ago she started the ‘recycling heros’ program - a campaign to place large blue recycling bins throughout the parade route so that all the parade goers had an option of recycling their pop cans, water and juice bottles, paper and other recyclable items. She was able to recruit many volunteers (including myself) who were like her interested in the environment to help educate people on what items can be recycled and reduce the carbon footprint of the parade.

Thanks again Preet for your amazing work and until next year Happy Green Vaisakhi everyone!

Want to learn more about Sikhism and it’s connection to the environment? Here’s a great post by Prabhjit K. Banga: Sikhism - The Green Religion?

Want to learn more on what the Recycling Hero program is all about? Check this link

*according to latest Statistics Canada Census data

Love the bird look. Photo: Christelle FV.

Review by: Andriy Mishchenko

Yesterday, I felt very lucky. I went to the Jonsi show, his first concert away from Sigur Ros. I’ll just start by saying it did not disappoint. If you have a chance to see him at the second show tonight (Apr 7) or later this week in Seattle, GO! I don’t want to gush too much over it but it was really THAT good. If you miss these shows, just pretend really hard you went and just listen to the whole Jonsi “Go” album for free online right here (use player below). See end of page for set list. Enjoy!

I managed to score tickets below face value just the day before. With a good friend for company, I ended up in 2nd row centre - somehow … That was a minor miracle, given the huge lineup in front of the Vogue (general admission for this show = first come first serve seating).

After sneaking some rum n coke cans in line, we snuck in all sorts of recording equipment into the theatre. Hee hee. Namely, My HD video DSLR and a fancy 4-channel audio recorder I borrowed (thanks, L!). Don’t get too excited yet, I didn’t actually capture anything worth posting.

My seat was far too central for filming the show with my bright white camera. As for the recorder, I McGyvered it in a perfect sport right under the first row chairs. I only wish I hadn’t set the rec volume so loud. I ended up with a distorted, clipped soundwave. I massaged it a lot with SoundForge, but it’s still no good.

As a consolation, you can play the whole album from this page. And, as a creative departure, I put my favorite track first.

Much has been said about the production values in stage sets for this tour and the great, taxidermy-inspired theme. The theatre company Jonsi hired to do the videos/lights/images/etc really knows what they’re doing. I really did feel like I was in a an eerie magical forest throughout; I’m not the type to get easily impressed nor do I have very good suspension of disbelief. I think that’s saying something for the caliber of their stage decoration. The racing wireframe wolves were spectacular, set against the intense delivery of ‘Kolniður’. The recurring owl and firefly leitmotifs were memorable as well. Those weird animals alone were worth the 40 bucks right there.

Of course, hearing that trademark alien high-pitch falsetto voice up close was icing on the cake. It was also something special to see Jonsi & co. really get into their act. They seem like a bunch that knows one another’s strengths and can play well together. Towards the end of the show, Jónsi got really into his persona and got all trancey on stage. His singing while rocking out in sync with the flashing waves of visuals in his crazy bird headgear, was something that will be hard to forget, let’s just say that.

The set was strong from start to finish and the crowd was uber-appreciative. There was none of that Vancouver douchebaggery - for lack of a beter word - that can and often does mar a good show. The cutest part of all was the band coming out after their encore to mirror the audience’s standing ovation. Then they came out once again as agroup to take a final bow - just like after a brilliantly performed stage play. Which this was.

Setlist (courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan blog):
* stars in still water
* hengilás
* icicle sleeves
* kolniður
* tornado
* saint naive
* sinking friendships
* go do
* boy lilikoi
* k12
* new piano song
* around us
* jonsi new guitar song
* animal arithmetic
* grow till tall

by: Ajay Puri

Vancouver is full of diverse cultures. According to the latest census numbers ~40% of our city self-identifies as a Visible Minority status.

So of course you overhear funny but awkward translations. For instance, the following are Hindi / Farsi pairings:

• Kheer
  
• Khoon
• Saag

Kheer - When I was going to my Iranian friends house for dinner I asked if I should bring anything? My friend said I should bring a desert. I offered to bring a famous Indian rice pudding called Kheer. My friend burst out laughing and even harder when I told her I love eating it. Keer in Farsi its means penis.

Khoon - In Hindi means blood and in Farsi (Kuhn) means bum

Saag - When my Iranian friend’s family eat an Indian restaurant they always humour themselves as they love ordering Saag Paneer (an Indian cheese with spinach dish). Saag in Farsi means dog.

Have an interesting translation from one language to another? Let East of Main know and we’ll post it!

Some have tried to label Vancouver as a city with nothing fun or interesting to do. Well East of Main knows this ain’t true and is here to change that! There are so many amazing off-beat and mainstream things to do around town including festivals, rallies, underground parties and dances, and random people-powered events.

East of Main is here to help! Check our Calendar of Events [updated on a regular basis for your reading pleasure!]

East of Main Calendar

Hope you enjoy FUNcouver!!

Have an event you’d like to list, please leave a comment and we’ll post it

After a long 6 and a half years the newly erected complex at 1 Kingsway is opening its doors tomorrow Friday December 11, 2009. East of Main heard the news this afternoon from the VPL Twitter feed [Thank you!]. For the neighbourhood and I’m sure for the tenants it was a long awaited wait - as it was planned to open more than two years ago but had been delayed numerous times.

To learn more on the background and evolution of the facility the City of Vancouver site has all the information.

What is 1 Kingsway? It is a brand new facility on land that the City of Vancouver purchased in September 2001 and will feature a new $4.75 million community centre, library, day care (which opened last week), rental housing, and underground parking. For further information and updates click here.

Photo Credit: City of Vancouver

Questions still left answered:
1. What will happen to the old Mount Pleasant Community Centre at roughly Main & 16th? and to the outdoor pool that many residents and children in the neighbourhood have fond memories?
2.  What is the plans for the Rental Housing? How much will it be rented out for?

We’d love to hear from you if you know anything on these two items or have other comments / suggestions to this development.

We at East of Main are excited on this new addition to the neighbourhood and hope the City continues to service the diverse needs of our East Vancouver community!

Our friends at TckTckTck designed this amazing app. It seems super cool, but we’d like your feedback. Feel free to test out “Tck in a box” + let us know what you think! Continued →

East of Main had the honor of being selected to attend Vancouver’s first ever TED talks on November 21, 2009: TEDxVancouver.

It was truly an amazing eye-opening experience. I especially had a great time hanging out with all the minority crowd - Raakhi Sinha + Gurpreet Sian [SouthAsian Arts],  Lara Honrado + Alden Habacon [Mango], and Charles Tsai [Ashoka] - Thanks for the company!

There were 10+ influential speakers speaking on a variety of topics themed around being: Playfully Young, Globally Young and Emotionally Young. Speakers included Greenpeace founder, Patrick Moore and District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. Added bonus was having Cris Derksen on the Cello and Shamik doing his beatbox skills [check out duet video here -Thx KK]

Photos of the event and videos of the speakers are constantly being uploaded, so keep checking back!

Okay, so now onto the Twitter Reflections: Continued →

The moment West Coasters have been waiting for… SNOW!

Despite us loving the rain and the temperate climate, all the skiers and boarders out West wait all Fall for the start of another season. And this one is looking like it will be a great one.

Vancouver’s 3 local ski mountains are opening EARLY this year, almost record breaking start times for all of them. Cypress and Grouse have both opened Today, November 13, 2009 and Seymour will be opening next Friday Nov.20. Continued →

This used to be Kishu Island. Photo by Andriy Mishchenko, EastOfMain.com & Photic.ca

Half of the block on the southwest corner of Main & Broadway went up in flames early this morning. Speculation is rife in the hood. What happened? How’d it start? EastOfMain sent our 10am photos of the aftermath to the Georgia Straight. As of 5pm, most of the ruins have been levelled with a bulldozer that remains parked there. Just crazy!

Ever wondered what the heck was the difference between a Gyro, Donair or Shawarma?

photo credit: ambassador.rit.edu

Well East of Main went exploring and met up with Karim, the Owner of Mediterra - a Mediterranean restaurant within the AMS Student Union Building at UBC.

He gave the quick and dirty… Nothing!

They are just the different terms for the same food item - a bread-wrapped meat dish. It is called a Gyro in Greek culture, a Shawarma in Lebanese/Middle Eastern, and Donair in Turkish traditions.

The meat is placed on a spit and is grilled. The fatty parts ensure the meat stays juicy. In addition spices are added to the meat to give it a unique and tasty flavor. Continued →