City Wide, This Signs a Hit!
Not knowing what to expect when a petition was started to make this temporary sign a permanent fixture in Vancouver’s Davie Village, the response to an online petition and the amount of support through media coverage prove the support is there.
What will this support achieve? Well, perhaps it won’t achieve the goal of becoming permanent, but it may open up the conversation that the LGBTQ2+ community wants our beloved iconic village identified at it’s gateway, for all to see.
Artist Jim Balakshin created the sign as part of the West End’s annual Lumiere Festival and the sign was installed in December. The sign is is due to be taken down in a few weeks. Perhaps this acknowledgment from the community and generally the city as a whole, signals that this sign should stay up a bit longer, long enough until some options open up. Starting a fundraiser to produce two signs to grace the corner of Davie and Burrard may be one of those options. The logistics can be a bit complicated and involve things such as space, power, insurance, and maintenance. Those are the realities that must be taken into consideration.
Here is a breakdown of media coverage, including links to articles and the petition. The sign will be featured in an upcoming episode on Outlook TV.
1- Petition: Change.org link https://www.change.org/p/make-the-heart-of-davie-village-sign-permanent
2- Article: Davie Village Post December 22, 2017 link /8499/new-heart-davie-village-sign-davie-street/
3- Article and Poll: Vancouver Sun December 29, 2017 link http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/daily-poll-should-heart-of-davie-village-sign-be-a-permanent-feature-in-west-end
4- Article: Xtra January 9, 2018 link /c38c193d9c1b2795a8f33c499811ddef/how-a-neon-heart-is-sparking-renewed-interest-in-recognizing-vancouvers-lgbt-village-83361
5- TV: Outlooks TV , with Angus Praught , Airing soon (February 2018 Show)
6- Cover image: Vancouver is Awesome , January 11 th , 2018
7- Article: Vancouver Courier , January 25 th , 2018 link http://www.vancourier.com/community/proud-pages-fate-of-davie-village-sign-up-in-the-air-1.23154860
8- Vancouver is Awesome readers Poll on social media Twitter, Facebook
There is no denying that the Heart of Davie Village sign has rung true to many a heart and would make a great addition to identifying Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ neighborhood. East Van has a sign, China Town has a sign, and many other neighborhoods have signs welcoming citizens and visitors alike. With a new LGBT community centre scheduled to be built on the corner of Davie and Burrard in the future, permanent signage identifying Davie Village would be a welcome addition to this iconic neighborhood.
Haven’t signed the petition yet? You can sign it here. Make the Heart of Davie Village sign permanent .
