Vancouver Public Space Network » Active Fiction

TODAY: VPSN “Time & Place” 10-year Anniversary Party and POP (Placemaking) Crawl

VPSN — Thu, 15 Sep 2016 20:33:03 +0000

A quick reminder about two very exciting – and interconnected – events that the Vancouver Public Space Network is involved in, starting at 5:00pm today.

First up, the POP (Power of Placemaking) Crawl – a self-guided exploration of new and emergent placemaking initiatives in the downtown. Then, at 7pm, join us for our VPSN Time + Place 10-year Anniversary Party at the Pendulum Gallery.

It’s a great day for public space exploration, and a fantastic evening to have a party. We’re looking forward to seeing you!

POP (Power of Placemaking) Crawl (5-8pm)

Join us for Vancouver’s first #POPCrawl – a create your own adventure exploration of Vancouver downtown public space.

This free event will kick off at the #POPCrawl Launch Party from 5PM to 6:30PM at the 800 Block of Robson Street with food trucks, music, surprise activities and more.

Grab a #POPCrawl Passport and venture out to discover downtown Vancouver’s public spaces like you’ve never seen them before. Each site will have something exciting for you to enjoy, as our Community Partners will ensure there is a surprise activation waiting for you!

Can’t make it to the Launch Party? No problem, swing by any of our sites to pick up your #POPCrawl Passport and start your journey there. Most sites will be activated from 5-8PM, some running a bit longer. Refer to the online map for more details for each site.

More information – POP Crawl webpage.

VPSN Time and Place: 10-year Anniversary Party (7-10pm)

Hey everybody, guess what? The Vancouver Public Space Network turns 10 this year!

To mark the occasion we are throwing a kick-ass party in one of downtown Vancouver’s most temporal public spaces. You’re invited! Help us to celebrate a decade of placemaking, public space advocacy and urban shenanigans.

THEME: “Time and Place”
LOCATION: Pendulum Gallery, 885 W Georgia (at Hornby)

To realize the theme of “time and place,” we’ll be transforming the Pendulum Gallery with a series of installations and animation “stations.” What’s on order? Lots!

Our VPSN memory wall
A city-history movie theatre
Music courtesy of VPSN -alum and local celeb DJ Simon
A city-themed market (featuring awesome local artisans + one international guest!)
“Design the city” interactive art project
Large format games
A fortune teller
A place of sublime portraiture
A public square + benchlet prototype
Food and drink (including a cash bar with local beer + wine)
Expo 86 “An Unofficial History” display
and lots of other activities, including some very special guests

The Time + Place Party is being held at the Pendulum Gallery (HSBC Building Lobby) – 885 W Georgia Street. The event is free.

To RSVP – VPSN Time + Place Eventbrite Page

Other Placemaking and Public Space Events

Northeast False Creek Planning Launch, 5-9pm, Plaza of Nations
Keys to the Streets – Sunset Serenade, 6-8pm, Spyglass Dock
Active Fiction – Various locations, Riley Park, now through September 18. The Active Fiction Project creates short, fictional, stories set in a Vancouver neighbourhood that feature you, the reader, as the protagonist. The self-guided stories are ‘hidden’ in public spaces for readers to discover by walking or biking.

Active Fiction: A Dark Winter’s Tale

VPSN — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 05:06:32 +0000

Got time off for the holidays? Looking for an excuse to take a stroll this weekend? Why not check out the winter installation of our ever-popular Active Fiction Project!

Active Fiction is a “create your own adventure”, self-guided literary walking tour. We’ve hidden short fictional stories in public spaces in a Vancouver neighborhood for readers to discover by walking, or biking around. It’s free and anyone can participate.

This time, we’ve got a dark story for a dark time of year. This one may not be ideal for young readers, but sure to appeal to fans of the Hunger Games and other dystopian adventures. Set in a post-apocalyptic Vancouver, readers need to find their way to a secret society. Only one path will lead you there…

When: Installation up now through end of December.

Where: Starts at planter boxes outside art shop on 28^th, just east of Main st.

More details and additional opportunities for participation prizes(!) at www.activefictionproject.com

twitter: @activefic

fb: www.facebook.com/activefictionproject

instagram: @activefic

Walk your way into the story… with Active Fiction

VPSN — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 04:34:27 +0000

The VPSN’s Active Fiction Project creates short, fictional, ‘choose your own adventure’ stories that take place in a Vancouver neighbourhood. The self-guided stories are ‘hidden’ in public spaces for readers to discover by walking, or biking, through the same neighborhood in which the story is set.

We have 2 new stories currently installed, including a brand new one at Granville Island — just in time for Vancouver Writers Festival.

Going for a stroll this week(end)? Check out one or both of these literary treats… and walk your way into a story!

“Giveaway” by Kari-Lund Teigen – starts at Main & 20th, near bike racks at Bean Around the World cafe. Will be up til Nov 1st.

“The Birds” by Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli – starts in front of Off the Tracks cafe in Railspur Alley, on Granville Island.

Active Fiction Continues in Riley Park

VPSN — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 16:00:20 +0000

by Jaspal Marwah

Have you ever wanted to walk through your favourite novel? Now’s your chance. The Active Fiction Project brings you real life “choose your own adventure stories”, only this time you actually get to walk in the shoes of the lead character.The story is set in Riley Park and invites readers to stroll along and discover hidden corners of the neighbourhood. We’ve partnered with some of the talented writers at the UBC Faculty of Creative Writing, and this time we’re featuring the writing of Sarah Higgins. It’s literary fiction meets walking tour meets neighbourhood celebration.

When?
The fall installation launches this Saturday, November 8 and will be up into December. You don’t need much time, even 15 minutes will get you a few chapters into the story. “But why now, it’s wet!” you may protest. Well, it rains a fair bit in this town, so this might be one way to explore how to engage with public spaces in these nine months of non-summer.

Where?
Just head over to Main & 28th, maybe on your way to the winter farmer’s market at Nat Bailey’s, and look around outside the art shop for the first chapter. The rest is revealed along the way, so we won’t spoil the surprises. Grab an umbrella, get a coffee, and talk a walk with Active Fiction!

w: activefictionproject.com
t: @activefic #activefic
fb: www.facebook.com/activefictionproject

New & Events: Local Elections, Ghostly SkyTrains, and Placemaking

VPSN — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 19:57:31 +0000

The next few weeks are busy ones for the VPSN crew! Our 9th Annual Halloween SkyTrain Party is in the works, followed closely by our third edition of Last Candidate Standing, our local election debate. Added to the mix is a return of Active Fiction, our literary, choose-your-own-adventure project, and a cool placemaking jam that looks at fostering connections in the rainy months.

RainCheque: NeighbourMaker Design Jam – October 30 @ 7pm

The VPSN is proud to participate in the following event hosted by MOV and Vancouver Design Nerds (VDN). Join us as we hear from this summer’s NeighbourMaker team as they share stories about some exciting new placemaking projects that promote inclusion and connectivity in Vancouver.

The event features additional presentations on placemaking by Krisztina Kassay (VIVA), Caroline Ballhorn (Tin Can Studio), Ryan Betts (Bazinga!), and Andrew Pask (VPSN), as well as a special VDN Design Jam entitled RainCheque! The Jam will focus on a very timely question: How can we make new social connections in the rain?

Tickets – $11 for MOV members, $15 for non-members. Visit the RainCheque Eventbrite page.

Halloween SkyTrain Party – October 31 @ 8pm

Ladies and gentleman, get your make-up ready. The annual VPSN Halloween SkyTrain Party returns for its ninth installment on Friday, October 31, 2013.

Gather your friends, get your scariest and sassiest costumes together, and get ready to jump on the Canada Line for public transit experience like no other. Your job: help us to transform a regular ol’ train ride into a bit of ghoulish magic!

The night of transit terror includes:

On-deck action and a spankingly awesome soundtrack courtesy of DJ Rocky Fi$her – Soundcloud)
Snappy decorations, tasty treats
An after-party at a nearby public space
The best-dressed crew of public space loving ghouls and goblins on the continent

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to visit the VPSN website or Facebook Event Page for important information.

Last Candidate Standing – November 2 @ 2pm

Most definitely not your typical election event! Back by popular demand, Last Candidate Standing is a unique political debate that is open to each and every of the 10 candidates running for mayor and 49 candidates for council. This is truly an all candidates forum.

Last Candidate Standing is set up as a ‘mixer.’ It allows incumbents and new nominees, independents and party-affiliated candidates to share the same stage, answer questions from our Panel of Inquisition, and showcase their political chops. To make things even more lively, we add musical guests and other fun throughout.

The 2014 edition of Last Candidate Standing is produced by the Vancouver Public Space Network with the gracious support of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, and the Urbanarium Society.

This event is FREE but space is very limited. Pre-register on our Eventbrite page.

For more information, you can also check the event listing on this website, or visit our Facebook event page.

Attention candidates! Nominees for Mayor and Council are asked to confirm their participation in Last Candidate Standing by contacting jessica [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

Active Fiction at Riley Park – Coming Soon!

The Active Fiction Project (AFP) is back after a bit of a summer break! Do you like walking through neighbourhoods? Do you like reading things? Do you like choose-your-own-adventure books? The Active Fiction Project creates (very) short fictional stories that take place in a Vancouver neighbourhood. The stories are ‘hidden’ in public spaces for readers to discover as they walk through the story.

The next installation of Active Fiction will take place in Riley Park, starting in late October. Stay tuned for details on where to find the stories! You can follow project updates on the Active Fiction website, or follow us on twitter @activefic and Facebook.

Volunteers Needed

If celebrating transit, enriching local politics, or rolling up your sleeves with other public space projects tickles your fancy, why not lend a hand? Our next regular VPSN volunteer orientation takes place on Monday, October 20 @ 6pm. If you’d like more details, please zip us a note at volunteer@vancouverpublicspace.ca