Sean Bickerton

Artwork by Jesse Corcoran

UPDATE 1/2/10:  (Revised)

NEWS UPDATE ADDED 12/21/09 2:01 pm

I’m pleased to report that VANOC has issued a formal apology to Maestro Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for “putting it in an ‘untenable’ position” according to today’s report from The Globe and Mail by David Ebner.

Nonetheless, it remains deeply troubling that our own grammy-award winning orchestra and internationally celebrated Music Director Bramwell Tovey will not be featured during the Opening Ceremonies seen around the world.

We were told the Olympics would showcase our city and province to the entire planet. So why are they missing this opportunity to showcase one of our greatest cultural crown jewels, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra?

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(POSTSCRIPT ADDED BELOW ON 12/21/09 11:01 AM)

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE 12/19/09

Today The Globe and Mail published an article by Marsha Lederman and Rod Mickleburgh entitled The Day The Music Died, which begins:

As the Winter Olympics near, the Games are being hit by defections from the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Grammy-winning Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and its celebrated conductor Bramwell Tovey walked away from the opening ceremonies this week after being asked to prerecord music that would then be mimed by others during the live, lavish spectacle. Yesterday, Mr. Tovey called the plan fraudulent, likening it to Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson’s “faux gold medal” at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Mr. Johnson was stripped of his medal when he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. “In our field, for you to plagiarize somebody else’s recording – to mime it and pretend that it’s you – is absolutely on a par with Ben Johnson’s fraud. … It’s non-Olympian in spirit and VANOC really should have known better.”

Mr. Tovey, meanwhile, said VANOC’s plan to have an orchestral segment mimed during the opening ceremonies reminded him of the furor over lip-synching by a young girl at the 2008 Summer Olympics. “I said ‘no’ to VANOC, because I felt it was dishonest. I thought it was fraudulent. It’s promoted with public money, and I didn’t want anything to do with this kind of dishonest practice.” After the Beijing lip-synching controversy, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell vowed there would be no lip-synching during Vancouver’s opening ceremonies.

But that was then. Now we learn that instead of setting a new low, the 2008 Olympics set a new Olympic standard for muzzling dissent and the Milli Vanilli-style faux-performance embraced by those producing Vancouver’s opening ceremonies.

I first heard Grammy Award-winning Soprano Renee Fleming singing Strauss’ Four Last Songs at Carnegie Hall as part of a fundraising concert for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS. I’ve never forgotten the beauty of her voice since. She is simply one of the greatest singers on the face of this earth.

Musical America‘s Vocalist of the Year in 1997, Renee Fleming also received the inaugural 1996 Solti Prize from L’Academie du Disque Lyrique. Her recording of American arias, I Want Magic, recorded in New York with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra was named “Record of the Month”, by Gramophone Magazine, naming her in the review as one of the all-time greats.

Repértoire Magazine reviewed the recording as “The most beautiful manifesto imaginable for the last fifty years of American operatic creation.” The New York Times wrote: “Ravishing melodies, ravishingly sung…Ms. Fleming convincingly gives lie to those who maintain that the golden age of singing is past.”

On Sunday, Tom and I walked over to Gastown to check out the blocks of spectacular hogs and other two-wheeled denizens on display for the Gastown Show and Shine

I’ve posted a gallery of photographs of the event here

More pics here:

UPDATE: JULY 21, 2009

When Expect shameless behaviour from politicians during Pride week was first published by The Georgia Straight, it recommended to Pride organizers that they ban the NPA from marching in this year’s Pride Parade. I found the suggestion highly irresponsible and wrote the article below in response. Since then they’ve removed the suggestion. It’s nice to know The Straight is listening.

I should point out that Charlie Smith, the author, is a balanced writer that slams the other guys almost as much as he does us. But I felt he went too far in seeking the banning of a major political party from this year’s parade, and I’m glad The Straight has seen fit to retract the offending statement.

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The NPA has a proud history of championing gay candidates throughout our history too numerous to list. Our new Board of Directors is the most diverse in our history and matches any political organization in this city for its broad inclusiveness. The NPA also happens to have an openly gay man in the top leadership, yours truly as the External VP for the organization. I also ran for the NPA last fall as an openly-gay, married man and proud, past-President of Gays and Lesbians of UBC. (That’s what it was called back when we were organizing the gay rights movement in Vancouver to respond to the AIDS crisis.)

Our elected councillor, Suzanne Anton, was at the forefront of efforts to help the Odyssey and the endangered drag community that rehearses and performs there. According to Xtra West, “Odyssey supporters left city hall outraged Apr 9 after council turned down the popular gay club’s application to relocate to Denman St. NPA councillor Suzanne Anton cast the only vote in favour of the Denman St location. Vision Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang compared the loss of one of Vancouver’s longest-running gay spaces to his father’s favourite Chinese restaurant closing. His father found a new restaurant and got over it, Jang told council.”

Perhaps the reason Dr. Jang can’t tell the difference between the Odyssey and a chinese restaurant is because he never took the time to meet the patrons. Suzanne went a number of times, and took me with her one night. The Odyssey is far more than a dance club – it’s a cultural space, a community space, and a support system for an embattled minority within a minority. We met a DJ and his bride to be, who were sustained through more than a decade by the club’s generous support of the transgendered and drag community. They were very emotional as they told us how much the Odyssey meant to them, how supportive the club was – providing the rehearsal and performance space they needed, and providing a much-needed focal point for their community.

What Suzanne Anton made possible was a reprieve that gave the Odyssey a little more time to find a new home, and a chance for its patrons to be heard, in contrast with a hard-hearted government willing to throw the drag and trans-gendered community out onto the street, insulting them in the process.

The NPA celebrates Vancouver’s diversity which is our own. We embrace and reflect the multicultural nature of our society, and celebrate the contribution of the GLBT community to making Vancouver a better, more vibrant and fun city to live in.

Vancouver’s Pride Parade is the biggest and most broadly supported parade in the City. I worked hard along with others that worked even harder at a time we weren’t greeted with applause in those early years. Why does the Georgia Straight want to prevent me from marching now?

My suggestion would be that we should all be working together to keep narrow-minded bigotry out of the parade and ensure that everyone that wants to can march in it, rather than attempting to politicize the parade and risk eroding any of the broad-based support it now enjoys.

Please join the False Creek Residents Association tonight, July 8 at 7pm at Science World to meet with members of Vancouver City Council and share your concerns with neighbours.

On the agenda tonight are concerns raised by the Northeast False Creek High Level Review, the Downtown Capacity and View Corridors study, the Historic Area Height review, and I’m certain questions will also arise about the neighbourhood impact of the HEAT no-barrier shelter under the Granville Street Bridge.

This is a unique opportunity to discuss area development with your elected representatives and meet some of your civically-minded neighbours in the area. Please join us.

What else is a lapsed Buddhist to do on an Easter Friday but spend the afternoon over at Union Gospel Mission serving Easter dinners?

Usually I’ve worked on the steam line in the kitchen at these things, but today I was out front – one of the setup crew doing place settings, stacking out cups, serving pie a la mode and handing out buns. Tom was a juice server, and our friend Steve who joined us helped serve the roast turkey dinners.

We were shift number two. It was a frantic three hours, then another shift of twenty or so volunteers arrived and took over in mid-service. Matthew, my replacement, looked a little dazed as I handed him my tray and shouted instructions over the din, but then he was off to set six places at  a newly cleaned table and the pace continued smoothly behind us as we left the dining room.

There is an urgency to the entire process that is driven by a line of people that extends all the way around the building, sometimes for blocks, even in a freezing rain. Today it was sunny though, so everyone was in a good mood and spirits were boisterous and friendly and very appreciative.

It’s an extremely rewarding experience, reinforcing the fact that it’s impossible to overestimate the need or their success in mobilizing the community to meet it. Some of my highest admiration goes to Randy, head chef, who manages to turn out an amazing holiday meal with all the trimmings for several thousand in a crowded kitchen with limited storage space. But he has a crackerjack staff and they cook for ten days to make it happen.

If you ever want to watch teamwork in action, head down to UGM to see how their staff run the logistics of these holiday meals and the volunteers that serve them.

To round out what’s been a very Good Friday, we’re watching Bill Maher’s documentary on world religions tonight - Religulous. Tomorrow I’ll be at the Vaisakhi Parade near Main and 50th from noon onwards.

With Winner Geri Tramutola of the Workless Party

Last Friday I took part in one of the most fun events of the campaign – The Last Candidate Standing. As Replace Magazine’s Sean Ruthen reports: “And rounding out the trio, Sean Bickerton voiced his concerns for minority groups, alluding to the recent California overturning of their same-sex marriage laws.

The question posed to them by the panel was quite serious, concerning mental health and homelessness issues in the Lower Mainland, of which Sean and Betty gave the most considerate responses. Sean advanced  to the final round, as he most effectively responded to the question of affordable housing. 

According to Frances Bula’s report, the question that decided the winner was: “Thinking back to Mr. Peanut’s campaign to be mayor, which cartoon character would you pick to run city hall?”

Sean Bickerton picked Barney. “Superman would impose solutions but Barney is probably a better example. He’s friendly to children and transparent and open in his decision-making process.”

The next night, on Saturday, I participated in the Creative City Cabaret, along with a standout performance by Peter Ladner singing a song he wrote and accompanying himself on the guitar.

The Sun’s Peter Birnie reports that The octogenarian activist Betty Krawczyk, who “offered some soft-shoe tap to the loud sounds of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock n’ Roll” was charming, as (was) council candidate Sean Bickerton when he read his own straight-ahead poem about coming to grips with being in a same-sex relationship south of the border.”

The Dangers of Gay Marriage

Where, oh where, is Osama bin Laden?
Has anyone ever looked in Baden-Baden?
We seek him here, we seek him there …
That damned elusive baluchithere!

Have a concern about Avian Flu?
The folks at WHO say it could be for you!
Tommy Thompson said we’re quite unprepared,
So people watching news reports are very, very scared!

Say, did you see that Hurricane Katrina?
Al Gore’s saying the next one could be even meaner!
We’re all adrift together on global warming’s rising tide,
So batten down the hatches folks, it may be quite a ride!

Then there’s all that violence in the deserts of Iraq
Hard to hear the good news over all that clackety-clack!
Day after day with more IEDs going “Boom!”
It’s tough not to feel an impending sense of doom.

The Dow Jones is headed South,
Anne Coulter runs off her foul mouth,
Pastors pray for God to kill judges
What’s left of their souls but wrinkled up smudges?

Republicans revel in attacks against gays,
Dems try to vamp while counting the days;
The unitary executive keeps expanding its power,
While the Courts and the Congress dither and cower.

Healthcare’s a joke
For all common folk,
And wages get smaller
Along with our dollar.

Gas prices are way too high
Way too many terrorists too willing to die;
Republicans say we’ve got way too many wetbacks
And Lord knows we’ve faced way too many setbacks!

But have no fear, help is at hand,
For the leader of the Senate has said
There’ll be no gay weddings at all in this land:
In this nation gay marriage is dead.

Reciting The Danger of Gay Marriage

The Georgia Straight’s Jesssica Werb reports on Saturday night’s Creative City Cabaret, a talent show of candidates in the civic election: “Some highlights included NPA council candidate Sean Bickerton’s own political poetry.”

For my part, I read “The Dangers of Gay Marriage”, a poem I wrote back in early 2006 while still living in New York. We were in the midst of a very ugly congressional election campaign in which all of the major issues facing the nation were ignored in favour of a hate-filled diatribe against gay families and our ability to marry the person we love.

The disastrous consequences – for the U.S. and indeed the entire world – are now plain for all to see. But Tom and I decided to move back to Canada that summer for the rest of our lives, so we could live in a place less consumed by hatred, where gay men and women can truly live free.

The Dangers of Gay Marriage 

But have no fear, help is at hand,
For the leader of the Senate has said
There’ll be no gay weddings at all in this land:
In this nation gay marriage is dead.

The Candidate w/new friend @ Jet Set Monster Halloween Bash in the Stanley Pavilion

Civic election candates will be competing on a different kind of stage at the Creative City Cabaret, a Nov. 8 event at the Roundhouse Community Centre, sponsored by Left Right Minds. As Shawn Conner reports in the Vancouver Courier: 

“A self-proclaimed “entertainment industry guy,” Bickerton lived in New York City for 20 years, where he was a vice-president with Columbia Artists. He appreciates the need to support arts and culture in the city, including projects like the endangered Pantages Theatre. The theatre, which for the last three years has been discussed by the owner and the city as a possible renovation project, is now up for sale. “We have to save that theatre,” said Bickerton.

“He noted the area in New York City that is home to the Lincoln Center was once a slum.

“West Side Story was set there for a reason–[the West Side] was overrun by gangs. Now it’s (one of the most popular places to live) in the city. That’s all thanks to Lincoln Center. These things can be transformative for an entire area of a city, and I think the Pantages could play that role in the Downtown Eastside.”

Sean with Pumpjack co-owner Steve Bauer and Peter Ladener before March

Yesterday The Centre and Little Sister’s bookstore sponsored a rally in the West End to honour Jordan Smith, the latest courageous survivor of a gay-bashing in the West End.

The rally began at the foot of Davie Street in English Bay Park and was called Join Hands For Justice – A Joyful Celebration of Community. At 1:30pm, everyone marched hand in hand up Davie Street to Hornby, where the attack occurred.

I was very proud to march side by side with Mayoral candidate and City Councillor Peter Ladner and fellow candidates for Vancouver City Council – Councillor Suzanne Anton, and Michael Geller; along with School Board candidate Margit Nance and Parks Board candidates Melissa De Genova, Laura McDiarmid, Christopher Richardson and Sharon Urton. 

NPA Team From Right: Daniel, Melissa De Genova (School Board); Peter Ladner, Councillor & Mayoral Candidate; Suzanne Anton, City Councillor & Candidate, Sean (Council Candidate), Margit Nance (Park Board); Sharon Urton (PB); Christopher Robertson, (PB); Laura McDiarmid (PB); Michael Geller (Council Candidate)

The Centre’s Jennifer Breakspear addressed the rally, along with Little Sister’s bookstore owner Jim Deva, Chief of Police Jim Chiu, and leaders from all walks of life within the GLBT community. 

“Let it be known that these streets belong to all of us, and we’re safe to walk down these streets holding hands,” Breakspear told the WestEnder, in an article that continues:

“A survey of online comments written in response to news articles about the September 27 attack on 27-year-old gay man Jordan Smith shows that prejudice toward homosexuals still persists in the Lower Mainland, despite the popular notion that Vancouver is an inclusive, tolerant city.

Thanking Murray and Peter Corren for making my marriage to Tom possible.

Sean Bickerton, an NPA city council candidate, recalls being assaulted by two off-duty club bouncers 25 years ago in the Shoppers Drug Mart parking lot at Davie and Thurlow.

“The only thing that saved my life was that a good samaritan drove his van up onto the sidewalk and interrupted them,” he recalls. “This [Jordan Smith] attack confirms the necessity of the Social Justice 12 curriculum to help combat the epidemic of children being taught to hate.” 

Rally To Honour Jordan Smith