This Sunday is the 50th anniversary of the Chinatown Spring Festival Parade. We were thrilled to be able to officially march with community for the first time as Chinatown Together after the initial disappointment of being rejected then reinstated after an alleged “administrative review.”
This past Saturday, Feb 3, we held a public banner-making working where almost 40 youth and seniors spent part of the event preparing for the parade, hand making banners until 11pm in the evening.
We made beautiful banners with a selection specifically designated for the parade that aligned with the organizing committee’s rules of community and cultural celebration. We were so excited to march those banners and debut them to the public at the parade.
Seniors and youth who’ve never been part of the parade before were ecstatic to be able to participate in it for the first time.
But on the morning Sunday, Feb 4, out of nowhere without any prior communication, we received a disappointing letter from the Chinatown Spring Festival Parade organizing committee that they rescinded our place in the parade.
Yes, we’ve been kicked out of the parade…for real this time.
The reason provided was alleged “political activism” that will affect “community cohesion” and “has no place within the spirit of [the] event”.
It's perplexing our signs we planned to march with sayings like "Chinatown Together," "Springtime spirit brings new life," and "如意 (Best wishes)" are now considered "political activism" in a parade meant to celebrate community, spring, and the Year of the Dragon.
Our rejection follows the denial of a Chinatown intergenerational queer and trans group from marching in the parade last week due to "administrative reasons."
One wonders if our rainbow-themed "Dancing dragons embracing rainbows" parade banners were the cause of offence.
You might be curious: Who are these people denying Chinatown queers and trans folks, seniors, and youth the ability to practice their own culture in place?
The parade organizing committee consists of six Chinatown organizations, specifically:
Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver (CBA): Represents Chinatown clan societies, a signee of Beedie’s 105 Keefer support letter (below).
Chinese Cultural Centre (CCC): Signee of the 105 Keefer support letter.
Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association (VCMA): Signee of the 105 Keefer support letter.
SUCCESS: Chaired previously by VPD inspector Terry Yung, husband of ABC City Councillor Sarah Kirby Yung who supported 105 Keefer. Terry Yung is also the immediate past chair of the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden, a signee of the 105 Keefer support letter.
Chinese Freemasons Vancouver: Signee of the 105 Keefer support letter.
Shon Yee Benevolent Association: One of the clan associations represented by the CBA, a signee of the 105 Keefer support letter.
To jog your memory, here’s the 105 Keefer support letter from Chinatown organizations:
Even though the parade was organized by Beedie’s 105 Keefer supporters, we were willing to set aside political differences for a day to march with the community in the spirit of cultural celebration.
Regrettably, these organizations have not only actively contributed to the gentrification and cultural erasure of Chinatown by supporting Beedie’s 105 Keefer, but they are now actively preventing the young and old from participating in our own culture in Chinatown.
Despite this divisive decision from the Chinatown parade committee to ban us from marching, we will still find a way to showcase our beautiful community-made banners to the public on the parade day on Sunday, Feb 11th.
If you’re interested in participating in this showcase, RSVP here:
That is not all…
As we face active denial to practice our culture through neighbourhood-wide celebrations like the Lunar New Year parade, we are committed to creating alternative inclusive cultural spaces and events in Chinatown through Chinatown Together. Heck, we’ll create our own cultural parades and festivals for the community!
But we need your help to do that.
In the last seven months, Chinatown Together has organized over 18 intergenerational cultural events — from comedy and kung fu to a winter solstice festival and the 20th anniversary celebration of the Chinatown memorial monument — thanks to generous donations and volunteers.
In fact, we’ve hosted more public events than that of all visible Chinatown organizations combined in the same time period. Plus all our events were free, intergenerational, and multilingual.
Unfortunately, our current funding only extends until the end of June, with no confirmed additional sources for the rest of the year.
Now with even more urgency to continue our work to create alternative and inclusive cultural events and spaces in Chinatown, we have initiated the Chinatown Together Cultural Events Fund, aiming to raise $50k to cover the costs of hosting cultural events for the rest of the year.
Your support will ensure that Chinatown Together can continue to exist so that we can keep creating space for community to practice culture in the face of erasure.
They can’t stop us from practicing our culture. Together, we are stronger.