One of the highlights of the 2010 Olympic Games opening ceremony was undoubtedly k.d. langs rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah.
What many viewers from around the world might not be aware of is langs connection to Strathcona, Vancouvers oldest and some say quirkiest neighbourhood. Lang lived at 780 Union St. from the late 1980s to 1991, a time when her career started to skyrocket.
Lang is just one of dozens of notables who have called Strathcona home either permanently or temporarily since 1865 when the Hastings Sawmill was established at the foot of Dunlevy Avenue, including the mills former manager and first secretary to the school board Richard Henry Alexander, B.C.s 26th premier Dave Barrett, the members of punk rock band D.O.A., renowned stained-glass artist Charles Bloomfield, Tommy Chong of comedy duo Cheech and Chong, and guitar legend Jimmy Hendrix, who often visited his grandma Nora Hendrix who lived at 827 Georgia St.
The neighbourhood past and present is being celebrated Sept. 25 with a festival dubbed This is Strathcona, which was organized to coincide with the citys 125th anniversary this year.
Strathcona historian James Johnstone, who helped organize the event with resident Pete Fry, said the festival was partially paid for by a city grant specific to the 125th anniversary.
Johnstone said its the amazing people and history of the neighbourhood that makes it such a special part of the city.
There are some very interesting and colourful characters from all walks of life who make up Strathcona, including musicians, artists, bootleggers and activists, said Johnstone.
Fry said one of the joys of the neighbourhood is that its been slow to change.
Most of the city has changed in many ways, said Fry. But somehow Strathcona has fallen below the radar and a lot of the quirkiness and culture of the community has been preserved.
The public is invited to celebrate everything great about the community this weekend at the festival, which will include live music, a Kid Zone, pony rides and tents dedicated to Strathconas diverse ethnic communities, including First Nations, Chinese, queer and straight, Jewish, Scandinavian, Newfoundlanders, Italian, Portuguese, African-Americans/Canadians and more. That wide-ranging ethnic diversity of the neighbourhood earned Strathcona elementary school the nickname The League of Nations during the early part of the last century.
Johnstone said a highlight of the festival will be the Heritage Scavenger Hunt, during which participants will get a copy of a hybrid map that combines information from 1892 and1898. Scavenger hunters will then decipher whats currently standing in place of 19 original buildings or streets, find them and get their map stamped. Participants who complete the scavenger hunt will then be eligible to win raffle prizes from donors such as the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks, the B.C. Lions and the Waldorf Hotel.
This is an opportunity to re-educate the people of Strathcona about what an amazing neighbourhood they live in, said Johnstone. This is Vancouvers oldest neighbourhood that alone is reason to include it in the citys 125th celebrations.
The festival takes place Sept. 25 in the new Maclean Park on Heatley Street. For more information about the festival, go to thisisstrathcona.ca.
Twitter: @sthomas10
