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A Table for 2000: Union Gospel Mission partners with a celebrated local restaurant group to host a free gourmet meal for the Vancouver Downtown Eastside.
A Table for 2000:
Union Gospel Mission partners with a celebrated local restaurant group to host a free gourmet meal for the Downtown Eastside.
Just in time for Christmas, thousands of Downtown Eastside residents will enjoy the gourmet dinner of the season on Wednesday, December 23rd when Union Gospel Mission hosts A Table for 2000, a free culinary feast that is being made possible by the generosity and volunteer-time of a celebrated local restaurant group. The entire event is designed to give Downtown Eastside residents a unique, fine dining Christmas experience.
To accommodate so many guests, UGM will erect a tent outside of its building on Princess Street between Hastings and Cordova, seating 700 at a time. The spacious environment will ensure that guests don’t feel rushed as they enjoy hand-carved honey glazed ham and oven roasted beef strip loin with traditional festive gravy, buttered vegetables with fresh herbs, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, an Italian pasta bar, fresh baked buns with whipped sea salt butter, and chocolate mousse tarts for desert. The tent will be decorated with festive lights and Christmas trees, and guests will be serenaded by carolers and the Vancouver Firefighters Band. At the end of the evening, guests will depart with a stocking full of goodies to help add some holiday cheer to the Christmas season.
UGM will offer a shopping cart valet service, so that guests can relax and dine leisurely with the knowledge that their belongings are secure. The SPCA will be on-hand to care for and feed dogs.
The Details
What: Union Gospel Mission partners with Glowbal Restaurant Group to present A Table for 2000, a gourmet Christmas feast in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that is free to all.
Where: Princess Street between Hastings and Cordova, beside Union Gospel Mission. The street will be closed to traffic for this event, and guests will enjoy the meal in a heated tent with festive lights and Christmas trees, while being serenaded by carolers and the Vancouver Firefighters Band.
When: Wednesday, December 23, 2009
3:00pm: Priority seating for seniors, families, and those with special needs
4:00 – 7:30pm: event open to the public
Why: The Glowbal Restaurant Group approached UGM with the simple desire to provide a festive, gourmet, free Christmas meal to the Downtown Eastside. About 100 Glowbal employees will be volunteering at the event.
Carts and dogs are welcome; they will be securely cared for.
About UGM
Union Gospel Mission has been reaching the hungry, hurting and homeless for nearly 70 years. Through its 10 locations in Metro Vancouver and the city of Mission, UGM provides counseling, education, safe housing, and alcohol and drug recovery to men, women, youth and children struggling with poverty, homelessness and addiction. The heart of the mission is to demonstrate God’s transforming love, ease the burden of the most vulnerable, rebuild the lives of the broken and offer dignity to those who feel cast aside. UGM is a proud member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities.
Neighbourhood Swatch: How a Downtown East Side Creative Agency is making a difference with a $12,500 Gift of Creative Services to Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver
What do a 70 year old gospel mission and a nine-year old creative agency have in common? The Downtown Eastside, for one. Like many of the applied and creative arts agencies in the North end of Vancouver’s poorest postal code, Burnkit Creative is energetic, thoughtful, and not afraid to work alongside the contradictions and contrast of the Downtown Eastside.
So while many businesses were cutting back during the recent economic downturn, Burnkit took a look around their own neighborhood and decided to lend their talent and energy to support a non-profit agency that would in turn help those who have been hit hardest by the recession: the homeless and working poor of the Downtown Eastside. The result was a contribution of $12,500 worth of creative services toward the Union Gospel Mission’s annual Christmas ad and direct mail campaign.
For Union Gospel Mission, Burnkit was a natural fit. “People who work on the Downtown Eastside often have a certain raw edge to their work, and that’s what we were looking for in this campaign,” says Genesa Wheaton, Director of Resource Development at Union Gospel Mission. “Not many businesses would choose to set up shop in the poorest postal code in Canada. That type of entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to become a part of this community are not lost on those of us who live and work on the Downtown Eastside. For a company like Burnkit to literally put their money where their office is and support UGM in a new, unique way is corporate philanthropy in action.”
Burnkit brought that edge into the campaign as they began the creative process with Union Gospel Mission. “We wanted to engage people in a new way, unlike anything else UGM had ever expressed in previous campaigns – and Burnkit was up for the challenge,” explains Wheaton. “We wanted to help Vancouverites rethink homelessness and addiction, and the response we’ve received to date says that it’s working.”
The resulting ads (attached in low-res; high-res available on request) feature photos of people who have used UGM’s services, and are now UGM staff members, appearing confident and offering unexpected comments like, “I wish I was stuck in traffic.”
“We wanted to jar people a little bit, and make them reevaluate their neighbour’s problems – and their own,” says Josh Dunford, Director at Burnkit. “So maybe next time, instead of being upset, they think, ‘Ok, I’m not going to let this traffic jam ruin my day. I’m thankful for what I’ve got. Some people would love to have a car to be warm and dry in, and a job to be going to.’”
“If people truly want to help, this is a great way to make a difference this Christmas,” says Wheaton, “and we’re thankful organizations like Burnkit, and supporters of UGM see the value in supporting those in need at Christmas time.“
Christmas Meals 2009 – Preliminary List in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Sunday December 6th – Fransiscan Sisters -385 E. Cordova, 12 – 2pm
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Sunday December 12 – Union Gospel Mission– 616 E. Cordova 10 am – 5pm
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Saturday December 19th – Mission Possible – 543 Powell St 11 am, 12:30, 2 and 3:30 pm
21st Oppenheimer Park Christmas Dinner – Alexander and Dunlevy starting at Noon
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Wednesday Dec 23, – Table for 2000 – Free Gourmet Meals for Vancouver DTES at @UGM by @Glowbal_Group http://tinyurl.com/yeyf9fj
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Thursday December 24th – 15th Annual Labour Community Christmas Dinner – 1880 Triumph Street 5 – 8 pm
The Dugout 59 Powell 7 – 9 pm Tickets issued in line
Carnegie Centre – 401 Main St. OPEN ALL NIGHT until 6am Friday
Snacks and entertainment throughout & Breakfast at 5am Friday
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Friday December 25th – Harbour Light – 119 E. Cordova St. 10am – 2 pm
– Potters Place Mission – 21 E. Hastings 11am – 9pm On the hour, all day
– Evelyn Saller Centre – 320 Alexander St. 3 – 5pm Cost $2.oo
– The Dugout – 59 Powell 7-9pm Tickets issued in line
Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA films Mayor Gregor Robertson speaking at Uncovering Vision Art Show at UGM’s Maurice McElrea Place in Vancouver Downtown Eastside on Friday Nov 20 2009
Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA films Mayor Gregor Robertson speaking at Uncovering Vision Art Show at Union Gospel Mission’s’s Maurice McElrea Place in Vancouver Downtown Eastside on Friday Nov 20 2009
What: Uncovering Vision: A Discovery of Art Forms by Men and Women on the Downtown East Side, sponsored by the East Side Culture Crawl. Opening will be attended by many of the featured artists, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Photographer Kevin Clark, Artist Pamela Masik, and others.
When: Opening Friday, November 20th at 4:00pm; show runs Friday, Nov. 20th 4pm-10pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm
Where: Maurice McElrea Place, 361 Heatley Ave, Vancouver.
The following photo and video is of Mayor Gregor Robertson speaking at Uncovering Vision Art Show at Union Gospel Mission’s Maurice McElrea Place
This was filmed by Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA on a New Media camera – Panasonic DMC-ZS3. AHA MEDIA is about exploring mobile media production through New Media cameras. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith Twitter.com/AprilFilms or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
Please see 42 photos of the Uncovering Vision Event on our Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahamedia/sets/72157622870449682/
Heart Therapy: A Downtown East Side Art Show Features Unlikely Artists; Pamela Masik leads Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) women on Healing Journey
Can art heal? Try asking the artists featured in a show titled: “Uncovering Vision: A Discovery of Art Forms by Men and Women on the Downtown East Side.” The show runs from Nov. 20-22, with an opening at 4:00pm on Friday the 20th at 361 Heatley Ave., and is sponsored by the East Side Culture Crawl.
The show is the culmination of two art programs hosted by the Union Gospel Mission for the men and women from their Alcohol and Drug Recovery Program and Women’s Drop-In Program: The Creative Journey, with artist Pamela Masik, and Photography 101, with photographer Kevin Clark.
Elizabeth, one of the women who took part in the Creative Journey class, arrived in Vancouver ten years ago with only five dollars in her pocket, fleeing an abusive relationship. Finding herself on the streets and alone, she turned to the Union Gospel Mission for help, eventually finding a home in one of UGM’s permanent supportive housing suites. She’s been through some difficult times over the last ten years, and the Creative Journey program has helped her to process those experiences.
“It isn’t just art, it’s healing,” says Elizabeth. “It’s a way to take everything that happened to me in the past and let it out. I didn’t realize I had so much emotion in me!”
Masik led the women through a ten week journey, helping them to find their own artistic voice and create several pieces each, including a mask, a charcoal drawing, and a large-format oil painting on canvas. But the women came away with more than just art. “Life out there is hard, so it was good to get in off the street and express ourselves,” says Elizabeth. “We became friends, got updates from each other and supported each other every week. We’re healing together.”
Photo Caption(high-res available on request): Artist Pamela Masik (right) helps guide Elizabeth, a participant in the Creative Journey program.
For Masik, the Creative Journey was a natural extension of her own work. She recently completed a series of 69 8’x10′ portraits of women who have been missing from Vancouver’s Downtown East Side for more than a decade, a collection titled The Forgotten. The collection will be featured in a major museum in 2011. “Facilitating the women on this creative journey has been a wonderfully transformative experience, and I believe finding one’s voice through art can be very empowering. Not only did the women create amazing art, which will be featured at the Uncovering Vision show as part of the East Side Culture Crawl, they were also offered a group art exhibition opening at Grace Gallery on Main Street on January 14th, 2010. I am proud of them for their achievements!”
Masik will continue to fund and run the program in the future. “It is a way to give back to the community, by inspiring women to find their voice through art.”
The Details:
What: Uncovering Vision: A Discovery of Art Forms by Men and Women on the Downtown East Side, sponsored by the East Side Culture Crawl. Opening will be attended by many of the featured artists, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Photographer Kevin Clark, Artist Pamela Masik, and others.
When: Opening Friday, November 20th at 4:00pm; show runs Friday, Nov. 20th 4pm-10pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm
Where: Maurice McElrea Place, 361 Heatley Ave, Vancouver.
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