Chu Chu Chinatown

Good morning! 

Another day, another festival announces shutting down, with Car Free Days in Vancouver joining the long list. The organizers said operational funding and costs made it difficult to run, but they left the door open for next year.

When people talk about No Fun City, the focus tends to be on the nightlife or things like drinking on the beach. What’s less focused on are these mid-sized events, the community gatherings that give colour to a place, that add novelty to the weekend. In my mind, it’s these types of events that make a city worth living in. We need more events like Car Free Days, not fewer.

And with my little intro rant done, let’s get to today’s newsletter.

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout founder and editor

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WEATHER

Wednesday: 9 🌡️ 6 | 🌧️

Thursday: 8 🌡️ 5 | ☁️

Friday: 7 🌡️ 5 | 🌧️

PROFILE

Vancouver Profile: Amidst a changing Chinatown, Serena Chu is building art, community and a bridge to what comes next

Story by Julie Chadwick. Read the story online here.

There are lots of unsung heroes and interesting people in Vancouver who don’t get mainstream headlines or coverage from influencers. In our new series, Vancouver Profile, which we’ll feature around once a month, we talk to these people to understand not only who they are, but how they’re shaping and being shaped by their neighbourhood and community.

When Serena Chu first opened her storefront Chu Chu Chinatown just over a year ago, she was a little daunted by all the space.

Until that point, the ceramic and mural artist had worked in a number of different Vancouver studios, most recently in a 350-square-foot space in a shared building. But the move to 247 Keefer Street meant she had tripled the size of her space, which also meant increased opportunities.

Today, she operates a thriving retail store that runs workshops and sells art supplies and artwork from local Asian and BIPOC artists. In the back is a thrifted, gently used art supplies area that financially supports the free and affordable arts classes she puts on for local seniors.

Once she moved in, Chu says she was immediately invited to join the local business improvement area and felt warmly embraced by Chinatown — a community and neighbourhood she describes as a “hidden gem” that is often misrepresented. 

“They hooked me up with so many people, just to network — ‘If you need help with this, do this, if you need this, do this.’ And it was really lovely to get all that support,” says Chu, who was asked to design tote bags for the BIA and invited to paint a mural on her gate in August as part of a graffiti reduction project spearheaded by VPD Const. Freddy Lau. 

“I really feel like they're treating me like ‘the artist of Chinatown.’ There are loads and loads of artists in Chinatown, I am not the only one. But I think I'm one of the few that are forward-facing — like street facing, open to the public,” says Chu. In this role, she is one of many new businesses in the area that seeks to function as a bridge between the “old” Chinatown and the new one that is emerging.

Chinatown will see a lot of change in the next few years. The new St. Paul’s Hospital, set to open next year, will employ approximately 10,000 people and is expected to bring new residents and dramatic changes to the area. A controversial condo project on Keefer Street, next to Chinatown Memorial Square, was approved by the city’s development permit board in November, and local residents have been concerned about sweeping gentrification, saying that revitalization of the area is impossible without changing the root conditions that destroyed it.

“I do find that Chinatown still embodies the Chinese culture so hard, and Chinese people are bold,” says Chu. “We have a loud voice, we take up space. And I think that is really great for me, because I think Vancouver as a whole — I mean, I am from Toronto — but Vancouver can be a bit soft.”

Chu’s parents immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong in the early 1970s and she grew up in Toronto before moving to Vancouver in 2009. Though she grew up speaking Cantonese at home, it got a little rusty over the years, and since she moved to Chinatown, she’s welcomed the opportunity to speak with and learn from the older residents.

“Chinatown — a lot of it reminds me of my childhood and how my parents raised me, and what my family is like,” says Chu. “It definitely, over the past year, has really tapped into my childhood quite a bit, because the way that people speak, the way that people act and mannerisms, is very much indicative of how I grew up as a kid. And I don't get that experience here in Vancouver, except for in Chinatown. It’s really nice.”

There’s no doubt the area is changing, but Chu also wants to preserve what she has come to love about her neighbourhood, which is that it is a network of resilient small businesses that support one another.

“There's no big conglomerate, corporate store in Chinatown. It's all businesses that are run by regular people, and more often than not, the owner is the one that's working in the store,” she says. “It's very rare that the owner isn’t around, which is why everyone knows each other.”

In addition to the seniors classes, Chu Chu Chinatown also offers ongoing art lessons, including a pottery wheel class that starts on May 13, and a one-day fluid pour painting workshop that takes place March 21. 

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THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

9.8%

That’s the percentage fewer home sales there were in February in Vancouver this year compared to last year. Even better for home buyers is that the price of a home in the Greater Vancouver area has fallen 6.8 per cent compared to February of last year (though the average price still sits at $1,100,300, which isn’t cheap). [Canadian Press]

THE AGENDA

👮 While Mark Carney announced millions of dollars in trade and energy deals with India this week, new information has come to light that Indian consular staff, using their position at the embassy in Vancouver, provided information to the killer of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Read more ($). [Globe and Mail] 

🏥 A shortage of OBGYNs at Vancouver General means that patients are being diverted to Lionsgate Hospital in North Vancouver or Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster when dealing with severe trauma, such as injuries from a car accident. Read more. [CityNews]

🚘️ According to TomTom data, Vancouver is the most traffic-congested city in Canada, though we only place 45th in the world. Unsurprisingly for anyone who’s driven in the big smoke, Toronto ranks second, followed by Halifax, with Mexico City hitting number one in North America. Read more. [Driving]

👮 The lawyer for the man accused of stabbing another man to death at a Starbucks in 2023 told the court that Inderdeep Singh Gosal suffered from psychosis and schizophrenia at the time. The lawyer also said he was off his medication on the day the killing took place, and therefore, he did not have the mental understanding of his actions. Read more. [CTV]

🏒 I am so tired of writing about how bad the Canucks are, but here we go again… The team lost 6-1 to the Stars on Monday. But in some good news for a change, trade talks are heating up between the Islanders and the Canucks for forward Conor Garland. Read more. The teardown of this team cannot come soon enough! [Offside]

⚠️ Police are warning about a new strategy by thieves using hot glue to identify when people are not home. Talk about a sticky situation. Read more. [CTV]

HOME OF THE WEEK

A three-bedroom on Main for under $1 million? Yes, it exists.

This spot is pretty great in size, at 1,114 square feet. It’s a perfect unit for a family, with a versatile flex space for kids or work. It’s also got a great patio for entertaining guests.

The only downside is that the strata fee is quite high. Still think it’s worth checking out? Click here.

VANCOUVER ARTS GUIDE

Performance

The Arts Club Theatre Company announced its 2026-27 season across multiple stages in the city. It’s a really stacked line-up with something for everyone, including ones like Elf: The Musical, Death of a Salesman, and The Elvis Christmas Comeback Special. 

Legendary Inuit singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark and throat-singing duo PIQSIQ will be performing at the Chan Centre on Apr. 12 at 7:30 pm, with two separate programs featuring modern takes on Inuit folk music and more. 

Wildwoman is a play that re-imagines French 16th-century history, about young Catherine de Medici, who must navigate power and patriarchy. On Mar. 26 to Apr. 4 at the Gateway Theatre.

The Guardian calls HARM, a one-woman play by Phoebe Eclair-Powell, which arrives in Vancouver at the intimate Working Actors Gym on Mar. 19,  a “razor sharp monologue about social media toxicity.” It follows a real estate agent whose life changes after meeting a charismatic social media influencer. 

Art

Starting Mar. 7, Polygon Gallery has a new exhibit from Tania Willard, a Secwépemc and settler-Scottish ancestry, with a focus on experimental photography and printing. On until May 24.

Pendulum Gallery is showcasing artist Ken Pattern with a focus on the beauty, resiliency and complexity of trees, evoking the sculptural form and patterns of nature’s giants. On Mar. 27

Movies

There are two film festivals on this week – the Gender Equity in Media Festival, exploring works from women and gender diverse filmmakers from around the world, and the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, which is on until Mar. 11.

And then next week, you can catch the Vancouver Greek Film Festival over at Cinematheque.

VIFF is showcasing a bunch of Oscar-nominated films next week, including Sinners, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent and One Battle After Another.

Rio is showing one of my favourite Martin Scorsese movies this week, After Hours, about a man’s journey in New York late at night, featuring the late Catherine O’Hara.

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

While writing is my creative outlet, I always wish I could do more video or photography. Instead, I get to enjoy little videos like this. It’s a montage of still frame shots throughout Vancouver.

TRANSIT

TransLink releases FIFA transit changes

What happened: With FIFA less than 100 days away, TransLink announced several transit changes to accommodate an influx of visitors, including route alterations for FIFA events.

Biggest change: If you’re trying to get to Stadium-Chinatown and Yaletown-Roundhouse on game days, think again. You’ll want to get off at Main Street-Science World instead, as those two stations are closed for crowd-control routing. See the map above for access to BC Place during match days.

• TransLink is also making it easier to get to the FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE, with a dedicated shuttle to the Expo and Millennium Line. SkyTrain service will be scaled up during match days, both before and after. 

There will also be extra SeaBus sailings, with 15-minute service or better for the duration of the tournament, and 10-minute frequencies before and after matches. 

• You read all the changes here. 

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Progressive unity talks go public

After at least six months of private negotiations, the debate amongst Vancouver’s left-leaning political parties on unity talks is now being done in public. 

As we reported in December, OneCity, the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), and the Green Party of Vancouver have been in discussions since last fall to agree on strategies to avoid vote splitting and give the three parties the best chance of electing a progressive majority in the October 2026 municipal election. 

Earlier this week, William Azaroff, OneCity’s newly elected candidate for mayor, held a press conference to announce a “progressive primary,” proposing a formal election process to select one left-leaning candidate for mayor. But representatives for COPE and the Greens were unaware of the proposal until it was announced by Azaroff. 

Read the entire story

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• St. Lawrence’s Cabane à Sucre is an exceptional affair — except for one missing thing

• Bought tickets to the 2024 Whitecaps game where Messi didn’t show? A class action lawsuit has been approved to proceed. [CBC]

• Vancouver's biggest coffee shop is over 5,000 square feet and just opened up at Main and E 36th.

• Vancouver is getting a new ridesharing service that focuses on local communities and not long-distance or airport travel. [Richmond News]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

VANCOUVER WORDLE

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Vancouver Wordle, which was purely an accident on our part. Can you guess today’s? Play it here.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The London Drugs in Woodwards sure looks a lot different now…