Art, live performance and theatre are essential to any sort of vibrant and cultured city. Sometimes art can be stuffy, populated by wealthy people mingling over canapes and wine as they take in the latest abstract work of art on show at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Other types of art and performance are more populist. They feature street performers and costumes. One of my all time favorite memories surrounds the Parade of Lost Souls and the Illuminares Festival put on by the Public Dreams Society.
Parade of Lost Souls attracts thousands of people every year to Commercial Drive. In the old days (ie. pre 2009) the drive was jammed with thousands of ghosts, ghouls, superheros, upaloopas – you name it. In the backyards around the area, neighbors set up puppetry shows and shadow puppets. Grandview Park, long the refuge of the random, was Ground Zero of it all.
Illuminares is another massive festival that’s at the heart of Vancouver’s popular culture. Two years ago, a group of friends and I constructed a nifty little lantern with candles, paper and toothpicks. We descended on Trout Lake park and joined thousands of other lantern-goers. Flickers of candles everywhere. Giant lantern boats bobbing in the lake. That night brought lightning and then drizzles of rain. The distant sound of drums made the whole environment epically mystical. I won’t forget it.
Recent years haven’t been incredibly kind to the Public Dream Society. It cancelled the 2009 Parade of Lost Souls and scaled it back last year. Illuminares was cancelled in 2008, and last year was moved into an indoor venue, at W2, from its longterm site at Trout Lake, due in part to gaming-grant cuts from the provincial government.
Fortunately there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday, Karo Kaus, run by branding agency, Karo Group donated $50,000 for a re-branding of the society. With re-branding, I’m hopeful the vision and scope of such an amazing Society will be renewed. Here’s why I’m hopeful:
Public Dreams Society is the fourth recipient of Vancouver Karo Kaus. Past winners include Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) where Karo was able to help them and boost ticket revenue by 40 per cent in 2010 and secure their first-ever season sponsor for 2011. That’s impressive. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that with the help of the re-brand, Public Dreams will be back and better than ever this summer and fall!