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Happy 125th Anniversary Vancouver!
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, invites you to join in the Birthday Live celebration – a free, all-ages event at Jack Poole Plaza, site of the Olympic Cauldron.
The Birthday Live itinerary includes the following activities:
Birthday Live – FREE!
Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011 from 2pm to 10pm
Location: Jack Poole Plaza (site of the Olympic Cauldron), outdoor plaza at Thurlow & Canada Place, adjacent to the Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place)
Featured Artists & Activities
- Street Hockey Tournament for adult and youth teams from 2pm to 5pm.
- Official ceremonies from 6pm to 7pm with Mayor Gregor Robertson, leaders of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations and other dignitaries.
- Olympic Cauldron Lighting during the official ceremonies.
- A giant birthday cake created by the faculty and culinary students at Vancouver Community College Baking and Pastry Arts Department. Free cake will be served following the official ceremonies.
Main stage performances running from 4pm to 10pm (all performance times are approximate only):
- Uzume Taiko (4pm performance time)
- Uzume Taiko is a mesmerizing percussion ensemble that infuses traditional Japanese taiko drumming with a unique West Coast style.
- mmHoP: HOP•JUMP•JIVE •125 (4:40pm and 7:10pm performance time)
- HOP•JUMP•JIVE •125, darlings of audience-engaging, multi-media performance art, mmHoP dancers will perform Hop-Jump-Jive-125 a site specific birthday dance party.
- Leela Gilday (5pm performance time)
- Leela Gilday is a Dene singer/songwriter whose acclaim includes a Western Canadian Music Award, a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award, and an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award.
- Vancouver Bach Choir (6:40pm performance time)
- Vancouver Bach Choir will lead the crowd in singing O Canada and Happy Birthday, and perform popular arias and choral favourites.
- Bend Sinister (7:35pm performance time)
- Bend Sinister is hailed for their original indie songs and high energy shows.
- Time Drifts: Video and light art installation (8:20pm start time)
- Time Drifts is a large-scale video and light art installation by Berlin-based multi-media artist Phillipp Geist. Geist works internationally using video, performance, photography and painting.
- 54-40 (8:45pm performance time)
- 54-40, the iconic Canadian alternative rock band with Vancouver roots, will headline the Birthday Live main stage.
View the location map and full schedule of events and activities
City of Vancouver
News release
Get ready to celebrate Vancouver’s 125th anniversary on April 6 with Birthday Live
March 10, 2011 – Mayor Gregor Robertson today invited people to celebrate Vancouver’s 125th birthday on April 6, 2011 with street hockey, Olympic Cauldron lighting, cake, great music, dance performances and activities for the entire family at Jack Poole Plaza.
“The countdown is on for Vancouver’s 125th birthday,” said Mayor Robertson. “April 6, 1886 was the official date of the City of Vancouver’s incorporation, and this year we’ll mark the City’s milestone anniversary with Birthday Live. This will be a free, festive event that builds on the spirit and tradition of the public celebrations we saw during the 2010 Winter Games and with the recent Olympics anniversary.”
Program highlights for Birthday Live at Jack Poole Plaza include:
Main stage performances running from 4 to 10 p.m.:
Time Drifts, a large-scale video and light art installation by Berlin-based artist Phillipp Geist, will provide an evening spectacle of history, space and time using projections, sound, fog and moving images.
Visit CelebrateVancouver125.ca for a detailed event schedule for Birthday Live.
Backgrounder
Vancouver 125 – Birthday Live: Artists and Performers
The City of Vancouver was incorporated on April 6, 1886 and will mark its 125th anniversary in 2011 with a year-long program of Vancouver 125 celebrations, events and initiatives.
The Birthday Live event will take place on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Jack Poole Plaza, site of the Olympic Cauldron, at 1055 Canada Place.
Birthday Live Performances:
54-40, the iconic Canadian alternative rock band with Vancouver roots, will headline the Birthday Live main stage. Celebrating their 30 year anniversary, the band has a catalogue of hit songs, including “Baby Ran”, “I Go Blind” and “Ocean Pearl”. 54-40 has toured throughout the world, carved out a legacy of gold and platinum albums, received numerous awards and achieved almost a dozen Top-10 hit singles.
Leela Gilday is a Dene singer and songwriter whose acclaim includes a Western Canadian Music Award, a Canadian Aboriginal Music Award, and an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award. She is a passionate, soulful performer whose lyrics reflect her northern roots.
Uzume Taiko is a mesmerizing percussion ensemble that infuses traditional Japanese taiko drumming with a unique West Coast style. Uzume Taiko has performed across the world and at local venues including the Vancouver Playhouse, the Vogue Theatre and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, as well as at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.
Bend Sinister is hailed for their original indie songs and high energy shows. Launched in 2001 in Kelowna, they moved to Vancouver and released two albums: ‘Through The Broken City’ and ‘Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers’. The band has toured across Canada and their single, ‘Time Breaks Down’, was rated one of the top 10 songs of 2006 by Grant Lawrence’s CBC Radio 3 Podcast.
Vancouver Bach Choir will lead the crowd in singing O Canada and Happy Birthday, and perform popular arias and choral favourites. Since its founding in 1930, the choir has won top prizes in international choral competitions, including the European Broadcasting Union sponsored “Let the Peoples Sing”.
HOP•JUMP•JIVE •125, darlings of audience-engaging, multi-media performance art, mmHoP dancers will perform Hop-Jump-Jive-125, a site specific birthday dance party. Directed and choreographed by Martha Carter, Hop-Jump-Jive-125 features Vancouver MC / DJs Jacob Cino and Ndidi Cascade who will lead the performance with their unique musical style.
Video and light art installation:
Time Drifts is a large-scale video and light art installation by Berlin-based multi-media artist Phillipp Geist. Geist works internationally using video, performance, photography and painting. He has exhibited his live video performances at venues including the Palazzo delle Espozioni in Rome, the Central House of Artists in Moscow, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, and the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.
Visit CelebrateVancouver125.ca for all Vancouver 125 events, celebrations and initiatives throughout 2011, including artist bios and photos.
Social media updates:
Twitter: twitter.com/vancouver125
Facebook: facebook.com/Vancouver125
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