Between The Bridges – June 26

Save the date and mark your calendars.

False Creek South’s favourite summer staple, the annual Grill’n’Chill, is back on Sunday, August 30 from 11:30 - 3:30pm.

This year’s event is extra special because it’s False Creek South’s 50th birthday! So join your friends and neighbours for an afternoon of music, BBQ, and games in Charleson Park. 

Circles In The Square has joined the Humanity Centre Network. 

We are becoming part of a social movement that is fighting back against the dehumanization we see in the world today. We are coming together to create a breakthrough on the other side of the breakdown we see all around us.

Circles In The Square has been an example of a Humanity Centre for a year now, offering programs and processes to combat loneliness and isolation, to bring neighbours together to talk, to create, and to enjoy each other’s company, and to illustrate how communities can support each other in uncertain times. 

We now join other Humanity Centres with similar intentions as they spread beyond False Creek South and British Columbia out into the world. 

If you would like to be a part of growing this idea, please join us for an overview and one or more of our discussion groups, where we will tackle several themes we see as responses to our current circumstances. In-person conversations will be held at Circles In The Square, 665A Market Hill.
        
    Overview:  BREAKDOWN/BREAKTHROUGH
    July 21 from 5 – 7 pm.  
    July 29 from 10 am – noon. 
    
    Theme Sessions: 
    August 6,   10 am – noon THE SENSE OF BELONGING
    August 13, 10 am – noon WE’RE IN IT TOGETHER      
    August 27, 10 am – noon RE-GENERATION: WHERE TO FROM HERE  
        
    There will also be two general sessions held online by Zoom at: 
    July 22, 10 am – 10:45 am Zoom invite
    August 20, 10 am – 10:45 am Zoom invite
    
If you have questions or want to sign up in advance, please email me at *email is hidden, JavaScript is required*. We look forward to seeing you there!

The monthly senior social gathering at False Creek Community Centre has proven so popular that it will continue through the summer. The False Creek Youth Volunteer Team will host the summer sessions.

All seniors are welcome to come for snacks and a visit with other local seniors. 

Summer sessions will be held on Wednesday, July 8, and Wednesday, August 5, from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm in the community centre boardroom.

This past week Rainbow Days gave students at False Creek Elementary the opportunity to celebrate both their common ties and differences through sharing ideas on how to create a safe school for everyone.

Last Sunday, FCS resident Kenny Huang sent this note about fires in the neighbourhood:

A fire happened on Thursday inside the courtyard behind Convivial, and there was another pretty big fire by the train tracks just now.

The police said a known arsonist was caught on camera pouring accelerant and starting the fire. And he seems to be targeting our neighborhood.

I'm not sure what we can do, but at the very least, let people be more aware and be on the lookout for fires.

- All events are weather permitting.
- All events benefit from volunteers to help with set-up (come one hour before the event) and clean-up (immediately following the event) as well as other tasks.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON MUSIC
Every Saturday, 2-4 pm until the weather turns in September

June 27 - BrockHouse Big Band - 18-piece ensemble playing classic tunes, plus Latin and jazz standards and big band arrangements of contemporary popular music.
July 4 - Delo Daryaa - A mix of covers and originals drawing from blues, rock, jazz, funk and more.
July 11 - Joshua Minsky - Singer/songwriter specialising in French chansons, blues, jazz, Brazilian, reggae and funk
July 18 – Jon Dron - an eclectic range of songs from the Age of Swing to the Swinging 60s
July 25 - 12 pm - 5 pm - IRISH DAY! - live Irish music and Irish dancing as well as Irish treats and beverages from the IRL portable pub
Aug 1 - TBA
Aug 8 - Jeff Standfield - Canadian singer-songwriter performing a heartwarming blend of acoustic folk and blues
Aug 15 - Jeff Schoub (formerly of the 2Js may bring another letter of the alphabet with him...)
Aug 22 - Two Trains - Fiddle player Emily Absalom and guitarist Lindsey Mickey. Upbeat Irish folk with infectious grooves.
Aug 29 – Fox Hops – Small bluegrass band that plays harmony-heavy, upbeat bluegrass music
Sept 5 - Andy Stokes - singer-songwriter known for his powerful vocals, silky smooth Rstyle and gritty emotion.  Known as the ‘Northwest King of Soul Music’
Sept 12 - Shawn Bullshields - Singer/guitarist playing blues, pop, country and folk that will move you. Local favourite and Granville Island regular.

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Community Games Days: 
Sunday 2-4 pm, July 12, August 9 and Sept 13

Bubbles, board games, giant Jenga, and more will be available in the Square all day!
Bring your family favourites to share with others. Donations can be dropped off at the Convivial Café

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Disco Party!! False Creek South 50th Anniversary celebration!
Sunday, August 23
 
Grandparents Day – Music! Games! Afternoon Tea! and Cycling Without Age  
Sunday afternoon, September 13, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

• Swing style music from the Brock House Big Band
• Free Afternoon Tea from Convivial Café
• Bubbles, giant Jenga, and other games to play
• Community Rides from Cycling Without Age (check their website for information and booking)

Check the community calendar for more information on

• Evening music events
• Chair yoga
• Anything else

False Creek (despite how we may treasure it in our hearts) is a tragedy of unmet potential. Instead of an unrivaled civic asset supporting every dimension of public well-being, it is functionally unmanaged. The outcomes are all-too-familiar: frequently sunk and hazardous vessels, toxic water quality, limited cultural and civic amenities, constrained biodiversity, and negligible preparedness for climate change and sea level rise.

How did it come to be this way? Why do we lack proactive and holistic stewardship of this important urban inlet? Who’s in charge?!

The answer is complicated. By one count, 22 agencies across all levels of government have some statutory responsibilities and partial jurisdiction in False Creek. This includes Federal agencies like Transportation Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Coast Guard; Provincial agencies like the Ministries of Environment and of Health; and Municipal agencies like the Vancouver Police Department, Engineering Services, and Facilities Management.

However, there is no single authority that speaks on behalf of False Creek’s best interests, and no structure exists for coordination between these various agencies in their respective silos. At least, not yet.

That tide may finally be turning, as the City of Vancouver realizes the political win that’s been left on the table for so long. Whatever motivates you — fiscal responsibility, cutting red tape, civic enhancement, or ecological uplift — streamlining management and inter-agency coordination, and thus taking better care of False Creek, simply makes sense for everybody.

The first steps in this welcome direction come from Vancouver City Councillor Sean Orr, who will be presenting a motion to Council on July 15th. This motion, if successful, will elevate the resolution of governance in False Creek as an official priority for the city — subject to the research and recommendations of city staff (which False Creek Friends will be doing our best to support).

We want you to tell City Council why this is so important to you! The final text of the motion will become publicly available by July 10, as will the opportunity for public comment.

To stay in the loop about this exciting motion, and be notified of the invitation to speak to Council, please subscribe to the False Creek Friends Society’s newsletter.

Our neighbourhood already has several co-ops with years of experience and a culture of trust in mutual exchange. As well, there have been community conversations on aging in place, and some enclaves have seniors’ groups working on such issues.  

Recently, we have begun discussing how False Creek South might establish a non-profit co-op to provide its members with health, social, educational, and other community services. Meetings have focused on values and principles, needs and services. 

Values:

• Belonging, mutual support, empathy, compassion, inclusivity, cooperation, local relevance and more.  

Principles:

• Connection not exclusion;
• Neighbourly, voluntary and non-burdensome; 
• Reciprocity - people want to offer help as well as receive it; 
• Friends, neighbours, volunteers, and professionals can all have a role but legal and liability considerations matter;
• Community-based, not only senior-based; 
• Participation should be possible in person and through digital channels.

Needs and services:

• Simple support to more complex needs, and practical needs for social inclusion and companionship.
• Everyday Support: fixing small things, tech help, enabling access for deliveries or tradespeople, and information-sharing about ‘who to call’ for bigger fixes.  
• Social Support: companionship for shopping, running errands or attending events, and story-sharing and peer-learning.    
• Offers of Support: recognizing that small everyday acts of help are as important as formal services – a broad range of skill and capacity exists within the community.

Considerations included the benefit of starting small with immediate needs and offers and building toward a more concrete and formal structure and organization. The conversation has shifted towards how to build and extend a culture of care, not just create a service model.

The final discussion in this series - on communication and outreach - will be held on Tuesday, June 30. Please join us at Circles in the Square at 665A Market Hill from 2:00 – 3:30 pm for the final conversation in this series.  

As per past practice, Between The Bridges is taking a break in July and August. See you in September. And don’t forget the Neighbourhood Association’s annual picnic, which this year celebrates 50 years - half a century! - of the establishment of False Creek South.

Between The Bridges welcomes readers’ contributions of story ideas, events of interest, original photographs, and completed articles relevant to the False Creek South Neighbourhood Association’s goal to “promote an economically, social and culturally diverse neighbourhood with a friendly, positive and vibrant sense of community”. Signed articles reflect the views of their authors. For details go to: