Interesting Vancouver Portraits

Hogans Alley was once the heart of Vancouver's black community - home to Nora Hendrix, Vies' steakhouse and the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Church. But in 1970 the city tore down the neighbourhood in order to build the Georgia viaduct. Black Vancouverites have been fighting for Hogans Alley ever since.

Artist and community organiser Vanessa Richards is part of the effort to bring back Vancouver's black neighbourhood. She's an organiser with the Hogans Alley Trust, a group that's hoping to revive the neighbourhood as a land trust, with community infrastructure and affordable housing for all.

After it was announced in 2015 that the Georgia viaduct is set to be bulldozed, a revived Hogans Alley is in reach. The team behind the Hogans Alley Trust has been meeting with residents, community leaders and world-class architects.

You can learn more about the Hogans Alley Trust here (hogansalleytrust.ca). More info about Vanessa and her work can be found here (https://vanessarichards.wordpress.com/about/)

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Architect (and hunter!) Paul Fast was interviewed by Gene Valaitis on Roundhouse Radio about his upcoming talk at the 10th anniversary edition of Interesting Vancouver on Nov 10, 2017. More information and tickets for the event can be found at www.interestingvancouver.com

Gaby Eirew is a master matchmaker. She may work in the UBC Palliative Medicine department today, but in her 20’s her and her brother ran a large pre-internet dating service.

With “Dining Club,” Gaby ran matchmaking sessions all across London, pairing up Jewish singles young and old. The dinners were lively, but as the club expanded to hundreds of members, Gaby started running into some odd situations.

In this episode Gaby reveals the secret to hitching up strangers and the tragic fate of Dining Club.

Gaby Eirew runs Record Me Now, an app that lets you leave a loving legacy after death.

www.interestingvancouver.com

In 1933 debris from an explosion flew through the window the Vancouver Cafe and Grill, a restaurant Tom Carter’s grandfather owned on the Hastings strip. It was the end of his grandfather’s restaurant, but years later it would be the starting point for Tom’s investigation into Vancouver’s nightlife history. Tom started collecting artifacts from The Pantages - the theatre across the street from his grandfather’s restaurant that had been bombed by the Chicago mob. He started painting scenes from the city’s nightlife district as well - neon lights, rainy streets, and Vancouver’s once vibrant Vaudeville performance culture.

But the history Tom started rescuing is at risk of disappearing without a trace. Real estate development, old age, and fading memories make it difficult to conserve the city’s past. Tom is collecting stories and archiving Vancouver’s nightlife history - all while trying to recreate the scenes he feels on the canvas.

You can view Tom’s artwork at his website here: http://www.tomcartergallery.com/

www.interestingvancouver.com

Kelly "Claire" Berge has always felt a connection with the spirit world. As a child, she found herself face to face with ghosts, and she kept seeing them through her teenage and adult years. But Claire never knew how to deal with the apparitions - she never knew what they were or why they were following her around. Then Claire got a message from the other side and she decided to take things into her own hands.

Today, Claire is the co-vice president of the Vancouver Paranormal Society, a small non-profit investigative team that hunts for ghosts across metro Vancouver. Using scientific instruments and recording equipment, the group sets up at haunted sites and attempts to connect with the other side.

www.interestingvancouver.com

Our friends at CJSF 90.1 FM generously produced this PSA running on air for Interesting Vancouver 2016 happening on November 10th at SFU Woodward's. We think it's pretty interesting, what you think?

Our friends at Roundhouse Radio 98.3 FM generously produced this PSA running on air for Interesting Vancouver 2016 happening on November 10th at SFU Woodward's. We think it's pretty interesting, what you think?

When Rob Hill was 23 he noticed something was wrong when he started experiencing abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. At the time he didn’t even have a GP, being a healthy young man, never having the occasion to need one.

He was soon diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a chronic autoimmune disorder with no known cure that affects the digestive tract. His body essentially attacked itself, triggering intense inflammation in his digestive organs, particularly his intestine, and at one point Rob dwindled to a skeletal 105 pounds and was unable to engage in daily activities let alone the sport he loved: climbing.

Rob also runs the non-profit Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society (IDEAS). It conducts advocacy programs on behalf of all people living with intestinal diseases. Learn more here: www.weneedideas.ca

Special thanks to Dianne Whelan for allowing us to use audio from her documentary 40 Days at Base Camp. To learn more about her work, please visit www.diannewhelan.com.

Several tracks in this documentary were produced by Mark de Monoloq. Listen to his music here: www.markdemonoloq.bandcamp.com

www.interestingvancouver.com

www.diannewhelan.com

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The first time a doctor told Sarah Jickling she had bipolar disorder, she didn’t believe her. In Sarah's mind, bipolar was a scary word reserved only for crazy people.

It wasn’t Sarah. She was a musician who played glockenspiel and sang about boys and had just done a photo shoot lying in a field of 300 homemade cupcakes.

The third time a doctor told her she had bipolar disorder, along with a string of other mental illnesses, she was in the emergency room at Saint Paul’s hospital on Boxing Day.

In this episode, Sarah discusses her struggle with mental illness, how it effected her friendship with her best friend Molly and their former band The Oh Wells.

www.sarahsgoodbadluck.com

www.interestingvancouver.com

www.davidswansonmedia.com

Jamie D. Grant is a Vancouver paramedic. He's also one of the happiest people we've ever met. He's been on thousands of calls and helped save counts lives and his love for life is probably why he's so good at saving it.

In this episode, you'll learn how Jamie became a paramedic, hear a disturbing story about his most memorable call and learn how he deals with his own health issues.

Jamie is also a talented artist and magician. We didn't have time to talk about all the cool things Jamie does so if you're interested in learning more about his art and magic, check out his website http://www.sendwonder.com.

Two tracks in this episode were produced by Jesse Wentzloff.

Check out more of his music here:

https://soundcloud.com/jesse-wentzloff

https://jessewentzloff.bandcamp.com/