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Pigeon Park Street Market in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) on Sunday Oct 6 2013
Gorgeous Warm weather during Sunday Street Market had vendors and peer workers of the DTES Street Market Society enjoying a festival atmosphere in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Roland Clarke, Coordinator says:
Solidarity in Vending
The weather was awesome. Perhaps the last great day of the year, it was almost summer again. A great break from the two Sundays of rain we just survived.
There is a subject that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time, and it is a subtle, but important one. The subject is why we, as coordinators of the market actually spend a portion of the day selling things ourselves.
During the day, I, Roland spend a lot of the day selling coffee and pop to raise money for the market. Also, Jacek sells 50/50 raffle tickets. Between these two activities (and the renting of tents and tables) we manage to raise more than $200 per week on average that can help pay for street market incidentals. This allows us to fund experiments, like bannock and muffin sales, and also buy new tents and tables when they get broken. Having petty cash on hand is extremely valuable, and we couldn’t run the market without it. We also provide on average about $500 in change to shoppers that come in with $20 bills and need smaller denominations. This way the vendors also do not need to keep so much cash on hand.
There is an additional, very important reason that the organizers of a grass roots street market should themselves engage in survival vending. This is because it is an essential statement of solidarity with the vendors we are trying to organize and build community. We recognize that life is hard, and all the rest of the vendors must scrounge for ways to hustle and survive at the market, so we do it too. We have to find a way to sell coffee for $1, and still make a profit. We then provide this benefit to the community in the form of cheap beverages, which the vendors are happy to purchase from us. It is in this way that we have inserted ourselves into the ecosystem instead of just trying to manage it from above. This builds trust, it cements solidarity, and it allows us to understand and relate to the struggles of the population that we are trying to protect.
This is why we vend.
This is why we must continue to vend to keep the spirit of the market pure.
Meeting Mo Simpson, Filmmaker in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
A rare warm sunny day in October brought out a very happy meeting between AHA MEDIA and Mo Simpson, Filmmaker.
We at AHA MEDIA are always very grateful for Mo’s mentorship of our camera skills in the beginning of our journey.
Thanks always Mo! We love you! 🙂
Pigeon Park Street Market in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) on Sunday Sept 14 2013
Pigeon Park Street Market on a rainy September Sunday in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
First market day in months where we had substantial rain during the day!
A new location will be at 62 East Hastings for a Street Market during the week.
Hendrik helps to build Woodwards Community Garden in Vancouver
Hendrik helps to replant Rose Bushes from Woodwards Community Garden to the Hastings Urban Farm.
Hendrik – Hero to Woodwards Community Garden with his pet Seagull “Bub Bub”
Aboriginal Art meeting in the DTES with Hendrik Beune, Scott Clark, David Morrison and Matthew James
Hendrik Beune of AHA MEDIA speaks with West Coast First Nations Artists David Morrison and Matthew James together with Scott Clark of ALIVE and Our Place in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
David and Matthew are to be a part of the upcoming Aboriginal Artists in the Atrium with Vancouver Moving Theatre and to attend workshops with Lou-Ann Neel of CACV
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