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The Powell Street Festival takes place on the traditional, unceded and occupied territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Our Community Partners
Powell Street Festival Society collaborates with various community partners to produce year-round programming and initiatives. Click on the sections to learn more.
360 Riot Walk
360 Riot Walk is an interactive walking tour of the 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver. It utilizes 360 video technology to trace the history and route of the mob that attacked the Chinese Canadian and Japanese Canadian communities following the demonstration and parade organized by the Asiatic Exclusion League in Vancouver. Participants are brought into the social and political environment of the time where racialized communities were targeted through legislated as well as physical acts of exclusion and violence. In April 8, 2021, Powell Street Festival Society announced the stewardship of the tour.
WePress
Created by long-time artists and community organizers, WePress is a community artspace in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver, BC, Canada on the occupied and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓il̓wətaʔł (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. The mission of WePress is to advance education by providing workshops on historic and contemporary methods of print- and art-making for the public, with a particular focus on individuals from marginalized communities in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES).
DTES SRO Collaborative Society
The SRO Collaborative was established to organize SRO tenants in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and Chinatown. The SRO-C was established in 2015 as a pilot project that focused on setting up tenant committees and organizing for repairs in 5 privately-owned SROs which included the high profile cases where tenants won major improvements at the West and Lion Hotels and evacuation/relocation to better housing at the Regent and Balmoral Hotels. In 2017, SRO-C formed its own society and began organizing networks of SRO tenants for overdose prevention in the privately-owned SROs. In 2018, SRO tenants joined with academics from Queens and Simon Fraser Universities to research the past, present and future of SROs and to stimulate a new phase of organizing in the hotels.
Embers Eastside Works
EMBERS Eastside Works is an income generation hub located in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. EMBERS Eastside Works helps people improve their livelihoods by connecting residents with opportunities to earn supplemental income, and providing services and opportunities (jobs, volunteer placements, training and more) to anyone looking to get started and connect to the world of work. Powell Street Festival Society works with Embers Eastside Works to distribute funds to peers working in the Downtown Eastside.
Community Impact Real Estate Society (CIRES)
CIRES supports thriving, equitable and inclusive local economies and communities by curating a balanced portfolio of commercial spaces. Their vision and mission works towards addressing and contributing to Vancouver’s Community Economic Development (CED) strategy for the inner city. Powell Street Festival Society works with CIRES to distribute funds to peers working in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust
The Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust demonstration project will use a community land trust to help address those challenges. A land trust could acquire property for permanent use as deeply affordable housing and public space for DTES residents. First, however, the project will establish the land trust’s framework, vision and goals. This includes establishing tenant-centered, non-hierarchical governance and outlining a holistic housing model that is determined by and for the DTES community.