Surrealism in the City

As someone who spends so much time on the road, it's easy to forget about the interesting happenings going on right on my doorstep, especially in such a multi-cultural city such as Vancouver. A day last August is a perfect case in point of seeking out unique and interesting experiences for which one needs only a bicycle not an airline ticket to encounter.

The day started out with the butt workout of the bike ride up the hill to Wreck Beach (which promises part 2 of the workout on the way up the steep trail on the way home). Wreck Beach is a little bit of uncontrolled chaos where Vancouverites can spend the day naked on the beach, purchase a joint, beer, pot brownies or an organic veggie burger and get away from the close but, so far, not intruding city (unfortunately several towers are under construction by the University of B.C. that will for the first time make civilization visible from the beach).  If you go on the right day in August, the experience can go from strange to downright surreal if you happen upon the performance of Wreck Beach Butoh.

Butoh is a slow motion dance form done in white face. In the Wreck Beach version, the performers (and the audience) are naked and the wet gray sand blends perfectly with the makeup so that the performers seem to be part of the beach, emerging writhing and organically from the sand. The silent performance is punctuated only by the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls cawing. The experience becomes almost mystical; it has the aura of an ancient ritual for the gods.

The tide was out so I sat and watched upon a rock covered in seaweed and mollusks as the performers moved in front of me and around me. Gazing downward past my naked thighs I could glimpse the occasional crab skittering from rock to puddle.   You can find more information at www.kokoro.ca.

Later that afternoon, I was drawn out of my apartment by the sound of clanging and chanting and headed out to investigate and came upon the parade for the Festival of India. The parade is three giant altars or chariots which are wheeled by hand accompanied by hundreds of people in saffron robes chanting. I followed the parade to Second Beach in Stanley Park, a few minutes walk from where I live to the festival site where many booths were setup with information on Hare Krishna and a free vegetarian feast. The festival was very welcoming and drew a really diverse mix of people from the neighborhood as well as from the religious community that sponsored it.

There is more information on the Festival of India which occurs in many cities across North America atwww.festivalofindia.org.

The day had a quality to it that jolted me out of daily routines and made me consider alternate states of being. Which is one of the reasons I find myself traveling; looking to discover in other traditions and cultures a new way of seeing the world. How refreshing to find that so close to home.

Subscribe to TravelBlogs Posted by Doug Dosdall on May 13th, 2005 in Articles.