Heartwood celebrated a full year of community last month with a party! We want to give a big thank you to our performers from that evening: Gavin Kade, Kennedy Arbour, Vi Levitt, and Anoushka Ratnarajah. We are so grateful to be in a community with so much talent and beauty.

Heartwood has changed enormously since opening in September 2014. We give continuous thanks to Lisa, Vinetta and the communities built at Rhizome Cafe for the trust and support they have provided during the transition. Heartwood is space for community collaboration and creation - who we are now is a reflection of the communities built, bridged, and strengthened at 317 E. Broadway. We're so proud! 

We also give a very dear thank you to Trinity United, which has given us such amazing support throughout the past year. Heartwood would not be able to be a physical space for community without Trinity United opening both their hearts and pockets. Our Makeover ContinuesMany thanks again to Rowboat Consulting who designed our logo and continue to work their brilliant with us on marketing and digital storytelling. We also want to have a big shout out to Sign-a-rama for their five-star service in producing and installing our sign. Searching for guidance in marketing and sign-making? Get in touch with Rowboat Consulting and Sign-a-rama! 

We will be continuing our makeovers this November and will be painting new colours on our walls from November 9th to 11th (the cafe will be open for regular hours on November 9th and will be closed on November 10th and 11th). Although we’ll be airing out the cafe during these times, please note that if you are sensitive to chemical scents, there may be residual paint fumes in the days following our repainting. Our apologies for any inconveniences and discomfort. 

In honour of ancestors of resistance, El Cencerrocontinues their two-month exhibition. Their exhibit coincides with the anniversary of the conquest of the Americas. Join us for another amazing month with El Cencerro! 

El Cencerro is an online magazine creating a meeting point for Latin American artistists throughout BC to make visible, develop, promote and disseminate artistic efforts that have contributed to maintaining the Latin American identity beyond its regions of origin. El Cencerro is powered only by its movement. It is through the arts, they believe, that we can participate in the cultural life of all communities.

On Saturday, November 1st, they will be bringing Dios de los Muertos/Day of the Dead celebrations to Heartwood. Come by for activities and fun. Doors open at 6pm! 

Last month, we had a full calendar of too much goodness! During Ramadan, there was a beautiful night of Radical Muslim performers sharing their talents at an events called “Breaking the Fast.” The night ended beautifully with prayer. As a space that encourages interfaith, it was beautiful to see communities come together for prayer, especially one led by young women. Azaadi BC also brought in full house of young poets for their event, Sounds of Revolution. We’re consistently amazed with how much talent is in the city! FIRST brought in a community discussion led by sex workers called Beyond Bedford, speaking to the current and relevant issues of sex worker rights. Hollaback Vancouver, an organization combatting street harassment, launched at Heartwood! Finally, we had a beautifully angst-y night of Women of the 90's Queeraoke, which Shout Back Fest held as a fundraiser for their upcoming festival! We weren’t lying when we said goodness. 

In the past month, we’ve also introduced two events that will be become regulars to our calendars: Trivia Night with Woody and Latty! and All-Ages Acoustic Pop Punk Nights presented by Van City Royalty! We’re excited for these partnerships! Watch out for their events alternating each month! 

Bert Monterona Auction! If you’ve visited Heartwood this past month, you’ve likely have seen the inescapably beautiful artwork of Bert Monterona. His exhibit will be exhibiting at Heartwood until the end of September. Bert will be auctioning his pieces at Heartwood throughout the remainder of his exhibit. For more information and to make a bid, please visit the cafe! 

AUGUST EVENTSThursday, August 7, 2014. 7:30pm - 9:30pm. ThunderPants Presents: Queer Speed Dating!  
Join Thunderpants for a very queer evening of flirtatious five-minute encounters with lovely strangers and all folks ranging from rad, respectful, and romantic. This event is a fundraiser with proceeds to support First Nations Legal Challenges to the Enbridge Pipeline. Pick-up lines not pipelines, baby! 

Saturday, August 16, 2014. 7pm - 10pm. A Night of Music with Heartroot.
Folk Americana duo Heartroot is a musical collaboration made up of multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters Mindy Dillard and Eric McEuen.

Friday, August 22, 2014. 7pm - 10pm. Non-Douchy Anti-Slam. 
An anti-oppressive space for QTIIPOC (Queer/Trans, Intersex, people of colour), FNMI (First nations, métis and Inuit) and mixed people to share their work and experience. Both a showcase and an open mic. This event is hoping to create a friendly space for those who normally don't get a voice, to share their poetry, spoken word, short stories, or any medium of word they wish to share.

Thursday, August 28, 2014. 7pm - 10pm. Community Film Screening and Discussion with Cafe Rebelde.
Café Rebelde hosts a night of short documentaries and discussion addressing issues on environment, social justice, capitalism, and oppression in various forms of media.

Friday, August 29, 2014. 6pm - 9pm. the frank theatre Presents: Telling It Bent Youth Writers Showcase. 
Telling It Bent is a writing workshop taking place in Unceded Coast Salish Territories for self-identified queer, transgender, Two Spirit, and questioning BC youth, ages 14-25. Join the young writers for a night of readings. 

Saturday, August 30, 2014. 7pm - 10pm. Van City Royalty Presents: Reign-City Unplugged III.
An all-ages acoustic night featuring Vancouver’s talented pop-punk bands. You can look forward to this event happening at Heartwood once every two months! 

Today Heartwood Community Café celebrates National Indigenous Day!
As a community space settling on the unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Tsleil Waututh, Stol:o, Squamish, and Musqueam peoples, it is important for us to acknowledge that we are able to work, play, live, connect, and create on these lands as result of histories of colonial violence, genocide, and displacement of Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island, also known as Canada, and all over the world.
 
Peering into the news, we see pipeline and fracking expansion on Indigenous reserves, cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, an over-representation of Indigenous youth separated from families in the care system. We can no longer turn away from these invisiblized violences. Today is a day, especially for settlers, to take time to learn for ourselves the histories of the land we are on. 
 
Tonight, June 21st, Red Jam Slam, an organization that promotes emerging and seasoned Indigenous artists and performers, and COOP Radio are bringing in a full evening of events showcasing Indigenous artists, performers, and storytellers. For more information, please click through this link. 

We are also grateful for amazing organizations and community groups doing ally and solidarity work on Coast Salish territories, such as the Alliance for People’s Health who will be hosting a fundraiser for the Unist’ot’en Camp on Friday, June 27th. In our space, we’re lucky to be surrounded by community collectives like Rising Tide and The People’s Defense Frontadvocating against pipeline development, which continue in the genocide of Indigenous communities throughout Turtle Island and beyond. 

Today and everyday, we stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities all over the world in the journey towards liberation and decolonization.

May 17th is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). Heartwood Community Café calls for justice for LGBTQAI2 (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, asexual, intersex, two spirit) communities around the world.
 
Today and everyday, we fight for the rights, safety, and support of people who have been displaced from their homes and countries because of their sexual and/or gender identity, for queer youth navigating through homophobic and transphobic violence at school and in their homes, for trans women who are often mis- and under represented in media and in policy, though over-represented in reported hate crime.
 
We recognize that homophobia and transphobia do not happen in isolation; both violences link and overlap with a web of many other forms of oppression, such as racism, classism, ageism, ableism, and sexism. Recent reports have found that 54% of anti-LGBTQ homicide has been trans women, while 73% of anti-LGBTQ homicides are people of colour. These statistics are unsettling high and only show evidence from reported incidents, which is only the tip of the iceberg. One person killed or abused because of their sexual and/or gender identity is one too many. 
 
Homophobia and transphobia are ingrained systemically in laws, education, media, and social norms. As settlers on the unceded and traditional lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh peoples, we also recognize that what is understood as "normal" and "acceptable" sexual and gender identities have been shaped as a result of cultural genocide of Indigenous communities. We work to figure out how creating a queer-inclusive space also connects with our work towards Indigenous solidarity.  
 
Today and everyday, Heartwood Community Café continues in our collective journey of living everyday in love and liberation by understanding the importance of holding and continuously learning how to create a safer and inclusive space for LGBTQAI2 communities. 
 
Join us tonight as we celebrate IDAHOT with an event full of music and storytelling organized by Rainbow Refugee!
 
In solidarity,
 Heartwood Community Café

April was an exciting month of events. We were so grateful to having amazing musical acts like labour rights activist, Anne Feeney, and radical queer activists, Evan Greer, on Heartwood's stage, along with an insightful book launch for "Thinking With Water" that brought in local writers, such as Rita Wong, and Janine McLeod. We're looking forward to an even busier May! 

Today on May 1st, Heartwood also celebrates International Workers' Day. We commemorate and continue to fight towards collective liberation across the borders of Turtle Island and beyond!


Let us know what you think! 
What have been your experiences at Heartwood? We're taking a technological leap of faith and are delving into the world of social media and we'd love to know what your stories have been with us. Positive, negative, and everywhere beyond and in-between, please share your stories!

Here are a couple avenues for sharing: 
Write a review about us on Yelp 
Write a review about us UrbanSpoon
Like us on Facebook 
Tweet @heartwoodcc
Tag us on Instagram @heartwoodcc

Or just sprinkle on a #heartwoodcc in any of your social media stories about us! 


Events at Heartwood
Thursday, May 8, 2014. 6:30pm – 10pm. Live Music: West Side Meets East Side.
West Side meets East Side: an evening of excellent music brought to you by some of Vancouver's West Sides finest featuring heart wrenching bluesy-folk tales from Leah Barley, sultry jazz piano by Laura Reznek, and epic psychedelic guitar endeavors from Samuel Romero. Event by donation (suggested $10).

Friday, May 9, 2014. 7pm – 10pm. Music & Words II with Gavin Kade, Dia Davina & Special Guests.
Spoken word artist Dia Davina and singer/songwriter, Gavin Kade, and guests come together in an exciting new collaboration of music and words. Come share a night of speaking (up) about breaking binaries and building connection in all its forms. 

Saturday, May 10, 2014. 6pm – 10pm. Board Games Are So Gay!
Come down to our LGBTQ-centred community living room and join us for a laid back night of good old fashion board games. Choose from our collection of games or bring your own! See old friends and meet new ones! Open to all ages and all genders, including allies!  

Friday, May 16, 2014. 7pm – 10pm. GAB Youth’s Spring Cabaret. 
GAB Youth, Qmunity: BC's queer resource centre, flaunts another night of talented queer, trans, and gender non-conforming youth! 

Saturday, May 17, 2014. 7pm – 10pm. International Day Against Homophobia with Rainbow Refugee.
Rainbow Refugee commemorates the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) through an evening of participatory theatre and storytelling lead by LGBTQI artists and queer refugees. Together we will create a space for dialogue on IDAHO and its significance with LGBTQI migrants and refugees.

Sunday, May 18, 2014. 12:30pm – 2:30pm. Vancouver Reclaiming Witchcraft: Chat & Chew (front room).
Join in for an informal discussion about the Reclaiming tradition of WitchCraft while enjoying our delicious eats. All are welcome. Please refrain from wearing scented products. Please RSVP to [email protected].

Thursday, May 22, 2014. 7pm – 9pm. Café Rebelde: Community Film Screening & Discussion
Café Rebelde hosts a night of short documentaries and discussion addressing issues on environment, social justice, capitalism, and oppression in various forms of media.

Friday, May 30, 2014. 7pm – 10pm. Trivia Night at Heartwood!
Bring a team and play 4 rounds of trivia. Prizes for best joke answers, best team name, and for the trivia winners!

Saturday, May 31, 2014. 7pm – 10pm. Live Music: Percheron with Special Guests
A seven-piece lonesome country band from East Vancouver serenades Heartwood with special guest acts. 


Community News
Looking for a learning opportunity to share your stories and build community? Enter: The Story We Be. Now on its second run, The Story We Be are intergenerational writing and performance intensives to hone the craft and power of storytelling across genre for transformative change and collective healing. Applications are open for submission until Friday, May 16th. For more information, contact mia amir, Director and Co-Facilitator of The Story We Be, at [email protected].