GRAND WALKS Episode 6: There's Always Something New to Discover in Old East Village

Daniel Bennett

[ethereal background music]

Welcome to the Grand Walks, I'm your host Daniel Bennett. Since the pandemic's preventing us from making theatre, we're focusing the spotlight out into the community to learn more about some London locals and their favourite places. Today, we are orating Old East Village with Adam Sturgeon. He founded the Rezonance program, a screen-printing internship that empowers Indigenous artists, and is also in the Polaris Prize-nominated band WHOOP-Szo.

By now, hopefully you are at the starting place of this Walk, which is in front of 629 Dundas Street, and have had the opportunity to look at the map and directions. Listen for me giving location markers and that's how you'll know where you are in relationship to us. Feel free to speed up, slow down, or give us a pause if you need to. With the second wave, we’ve masked up for this walk so we may be slightly muffled at some points. I'll let you know when it's time to start walking. But for now, take in the sights around you while listening to Lacie George, costumer at the Grand, who will start us off with a land acknowledgement.
 

Adam Sturgeon and Daniel Bennett stand in front of Rezonance

Lacie George

[nature sounds]

Waase’aabinokwe N’dizhnikaaz

Anishnaabe kwe niin daaw

Kikonaang miinwaa Zaagiing doonjibaa

Mzhiikehn Doodem

Maandaawkwe daansan

Jigjigneshiikwe Ooshenyan

Zhaawnannkwadokwe tkobdoonsan

This walk was recorded in London, Ontario, the traditional lands of the Attawandaron (also known as the Neutral) people and territories associated with various treaties of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapewak. Locally, there are three First Nations communities. They are the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames and the Munsee Delaware Nation. We would also like to recognize the urban Indigenous urban populations, comprised of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people. We acknowledge the traditional lands upon which we operate, as well as all the sacred waterways.

[swoosh and bell sound]
 

Daniel Bennett

Why don't you tell us where we're standing right now?

Adam and Daniel

Adam Sturgeon

Well, we're almost at the corner of Dundas and Adelaide Street at 629 Dundas. And this place is called City Rest. It's a type of artists' studio. We operate our Indigenous youth program, Rezonance, out of the front. There's a small gallery, there's a music studio, there's some glassblowing. Yeah, this is an extension of some of the folks that started just down the way at the Baker's Dozen last year. Those of us who were growing and expanding our businesses, and maybe just a little bit more like-minded got together into the space.

Daniel Bennett

It's fantastic. And yeah, I was first drawn into this space because of some of the glassblowing art that I saw, it's so beautiful. So, I know some good work's happening in here for sure. Yeah. Can you tell me a little bit more about Rezonance?

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, Rezonance was started, almost 10 years ago, now. We started the program in an Inuit village, it was a fly-in community, our building had no running water. And the program was started to support and encourage youth to reconnect with their culture, but also find ways in which to create a lens on futurism, to envision futures that also imbue culture, because so often our culture is viewed as traditional, which relegates us to the past. And it's really important that we look to the future to find new ways to be cultural. And now we're in London, which is an urban centre, and we work with urban youth, helping develop their identities, and we put a little bit of culture into our entrepreneurialism.

Daniel and Adam start their walk

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, that's awesome.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

And I love standing here, you can see, as you know, work, we can hear the sounds of construction happening in the background, the revitalization of this area, that there's also some public art around.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, well, it's popping up all over downtown and the east end right now, which is really great. I think art creates vibrancy, and so unfortunately, a lot of the art is going up on boarded up buildings, businesses closing, but luckily, some space is being made for artists to make that shift into you know, putting their art and kind of trying to re-beautify and support the art sector at the same time, which is definitely one of the hardest hit in the pandemic. Yeah. Across the street right now actually is one of one of our workers, our community outreach coordinator, Robin Henry did a beautiful art piece, at the old... I guess that was Mystic Bookshop. Yeah.

A colourful mural covers the entrance to 670 Dundas St

Daniel Bennett

Which unfortunately is probably closed in the pandemic time.

Adam Sturgeon

Looks like it. Yeah, yeah.

Daniel Bennett

Well, let's start by heading east down Dundas here.

Adam Sturgeon

Right.

Thai Taste Restaurant

Daniel Bennett

And so, can you tell me a little bit more about what skills you're teaching Indigenous youth through Rezonance?

Adam Sturgeon

Well, the first thing that you need to teach kids is to accept and love themselves. So often, when you're removed from your culture, such as in an urban center, you feel that disconnection. And as we walk on these concrete sidewalks, you know, so many of us picture what it was like before all of this, and it's hard to picture our place within it. So, we have to find the ways in which to do that, and we do that by coming together, and creating that sense of community, doing our daily cultural routines, and then just getting to work and being ourselves.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, that's fantastic. And, so we just passed the London Intercommunity Health Centre, do you know what services they provide them?

Adam Sturgeon

Well, they're doing everything, they're servicing a community that's very overlooked by the rest of the London community. For a city that has some of the best health care in Canada, we seem to have a real lack of support for our underserved populations. So Intercommunity health is where people come to get those types of supports. If you've even lost your identification, you can go there, they'll provide those supports, and provide those basic health needs for individuals in this community.

East end seems to be a hot spot for addictions, homelessness, houselessness, I would rather say. And those those are very serious issues taking place in London, I think, some of the most serious in the country. But an example of what's happening in our country. The divide between the elite and the street level is just getting more and more complex all the time, and so we really need those vital services. It's a great opportunity to create jobs, it's a great opportunity to create community responsibility, and yeah, there's an element of survival in this end of town that I think is unfortunate, but also resilient. Yeah, there's a lot of there's a lot of stigma around that stuff, and when you come into these communities, you begin to understand that there's a reason why people have found themselves here. And it comes from a lack of support or trauma, too. So, yeah, it's extra important to be cognizant of that and to educate the rest of our community about that.

There's a lot of people that are afraid to come to this neighborhood, and there's really not much of a reason to be afraid. There's an uncomfortable element because of what's happening socioeconomically, but that should open people's eyes. You know, I just I really feel very strongly about that.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, and open people's eyes to the privilege that they have, and that they actually do have maybe more resources than they initially thought, to help those in need.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, we can all be empathetic. We can all learn to be empathetic, I hope.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, sure. Well, let's continue walking here. And we'll turn left down Elizabeth Street. I think there's some more cool public art happening down there.

Elizabeth St mosaic on the corner of Dundas and Elizabeth

Adam Sturgeon

Cool.

Daniel Bennett

Um, so you mentioned the importance of distinguishing between houselessness and homelessness. Can you elaborate on that?

Adam Sturgeon

When someone doesn't have a home, their visibility becomes over represented in the community. So, when we see things like addiction and the impoverished state that people find themselves in, I suppose that there are people that are in their own homes right now that are experiencing similar issues. You know, there are there are doctors who have addictions, there are lawyers that have addictions, but we don't get to see them because they're, you know, driving around in fancy cars and in their fancy homes. Whereas we're seeing people on the street just trying to survive. They can't get medical prescriptions, they can't get the health care support they want, and it compounds the issue.

And in regards to houselessness, water and housing is a human basic right. Every single person deserves that. Every single person was a baby in their parents’ arms at some point, and what took shape in their lives, to lead them to having to sleep in a tent outside is super complex and disorienting. And I think it's sad that we're not doing a better job of creating access to those things, you know?

As we know, there's First Nations all over Canada that don't have clean water and haven't had so for a long time, and some of those places are right next to cities that do, you know, and why is that? It's a federal responsibility at this point.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, and why aren't we building the infrastructure that we need to bring those services out there?

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Daniel Bennett

So just on our left here we have the...I love the public art in Old East. We have the London Clay Art Centre mosaic.

London Clay Art Centre

Adam Sturgeon

Oh wow, yeah.

London Clay Art Centre mosaic on Elizabeth St

Daniel Bennett

And I just love the complexity of all those little pieces coming together to make a whole. Is there anything you find striking about?

Adam Sturgeon

You know, it makes me think about the one at the other side of the street that got smashed by the car last year? Remember that? Oh, I don't know. So, there's the very similar looking mosaic that said "I love Old East." A car came crashing in and destroyed it. They rebuilt it, it looks better than ever really, it is almost an improvement, but just intricate, right? Like to create images out of chards. That's how I would describe it. Yeah, it's pretty, pretty special.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, it's super cool. And you have a glass project coming out in your house, right?

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, I hope so. I hope so, transes, they call them, or they're like over like archway, glass stuff. We live in a, we live in a neat old church, so we have some stained glass and frosted glass. So, we're just wanting to keep going with that theme a little bit. Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

Cool, so let's keep going down, keep going down Elizabeth here. And, you know, do you find that people who are coming to visit you complain about parking at all?

One of several Old East Village mosaics by London Clay Art Centre

Adam Sturgeon

Often, we'll get an email saying, "where do I park?" Well, right in front of our business, which that's a really small-town mentality, right? If you go to, I play in a band, and the hardest part of my day is parking. We're usually getting to our load-ins right at that kind of rush hour time when you can't even do the street parking, and urban life is about getting your feet on the street and moving around. And, I don't know, London still has kind of like maybe a more small-town mentality where they want to park directly in front of the business that they're going to visit, but there's so much parking in this town, it's not even funny, but nobody wants to park in an Impark parking lot. So...

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, well, it's funny, I'm back here and you know, I hear sometimes other businesses along Dundas complaining about no parking, but I'm like, "Oh my god, there's so much behind!"

A view down Dundas Street

Adam Sturgeon

And people don't want to pay for it or whatever, but I don't know. We had a chance to bring in light rail, they could have brought everyone in from Oakridge. Come on down.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, exactly.

Adam Sturgeon

No offense.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. Let's continue down this way. And we're gonna turn right on to Queens and continue on Queens for a little bit. So, I lived in Old East when I first moved to London, and it was the disparity between blocks that really struck me. There are trendy stores on one block, poverty the next; small homes on one block and larger and larger homes on the next the next one.

Carved pumpkins decorate the porch of a home in the neighbourhood

Adam Sturgeon

I guess, I guess I'm a little bit of a critic in that, like, the Old East Village saw, like some really nice regrowth in the last five or 10 years, but at the same time, we're seeing our grocery stores close, the schools close. So, what it's suggesting to me is that while people are moving here, they're not actually accessing the services, they're still going elsewhere to support other things. And I mean, I think London's kind of a big box town unfortunately.

But we're trying to change that and, you know, the East end is amazing. It has so much potential because we have this really small-town kind of vibe like yeah, you can come off the main street and within one block you feel like you're back in your hometown. You know, and, and that's really nice. And, you know, it'd just be nice if we saw a little bit more people walking around and accessing the parks and, you know, living that kind of vibrant life. But you know, everyone has to work really hard these days. So they get home, they want to relax, or they've got their thing, you know, I don't know exactly what the answer is to that, but and I, you know, I wish that the Old East grocer hadn't closed down, and I think that we could have done a better job of supporting that.

Daniel and Adam walk past homes on Queens Ave

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, we have so many great things here. It'd be nice if we supported local to keep them alive.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah. And I think that through this pandemic, we're seeing that people are wanting to support local businesses. My family, we reevaluated how we were spending our money. We already felt like we were supporting local, but you know, where, where do we get our, where do we get our meat? Where do we get our groceries? How does that work for us? And so, we, we've switched to regional, organic, all that stuff, and that's our privilege and our responsibility, if it costs us a little bit more money on our end, it's actually saving a lot more, and it's keeping that money in our community, which I think ultimately will, will benefit us. And the more people that do that, the better we will be, I think.

Daniel Bennett

What have you been thinking about most during the pandemic?

Adam Sturgeon

Well, I'm always thinking about my culture. And it seems like people have had the time to think about some of those issues. You know, right before the pandemic, there were the rail blockades in Tyendinega, then Black Lives Matter movement was pushed really heavily through this process. And now we see Land Back and we see Mi'kmaw fisheries, and I think that that's, it's bringing people's awareness out, they're having the time to think about that. And then think about our own sort of push and pull of the daily life, I think, right? What's, what's important. Right now, we don't get to see a lot of family and we're just drawing in as our family. I have a young child at home and just enjoying that time as a family and just recapturing ourselves and what's important to us. I think it's a strange time.

Adam Sturgeon

Daniel Bennett

Um, yeah, it is a strange time. Yeah, you mentioned, so you mentioned that there is kind of a global attention towards some of the oppression that's happening in the world. Let's turn right on English here. How are you feeling about the current awareness within the population at large, you know, there seems to be some, some friction, because older people can be tired of having these conversations, and young people are riled up ready to go.

Adam Sturgeon

I try not to think of it as too binary. I like to think that we're on a like a wave of awareness, you know, and you got the young, anxious, and angry people coming up, filling in voids, where those of us that have been doing it for a long time, can focus on maybe the more specific projects that we're doing. I've really spent the last three or four years focusing on what will work and what actual difference I can make.

If I spend my whole day on the internet posting articles, or, I mean, I like to read the articles a lot, but if I spend all my time doing that, then what am I actually doing when I put my feet on the ground. And so, I just like to think of it as a wave. You know, and I think if you envision that wave, you see that it crests, it ebbs, it flows, and that it that it still moves. And so, I think that that's maybe important to recognize that we all have a role, and those roles shift and change as we grow. I think our lives are only going to become more and more like that as, as we grow older, you know, and all that stuff. So...

Daniel Bennett

Let's turn left on Dundas Street. When you think of it like a wave, it really reminds me that despite our different methods of approach, everyone is really striving towards... most people are striving towards a unified vision.

The Been Garden storefront

Adam Sturgeon

I know that there's an argument to say that, like, the only reason people are paying attention right now is because they have the time. But like, you have to assess the reasons why that is. And it's like, yeah, because we actually have the time. People want to do it, but you know, I have a kid, I have to, I got to pay for daycare, I got to pay for the car insurance and the gas to get, you know, and there's a lot, there's a lot that stands in our way of even taking care of ourselves, let alone our families, let alone our communities. And it doesn't work any other way.

If you're not taking care of yourself, you're going to be, you're going to be a mess to your family. And the way that you engage the community is not going to function the way that you want it to. And that's just, that is just absolute reality. There's no way that anyone could ever tell me anything different. But I mean, I don't know. Some people are good at their jobs. I can't separate those things myself. And I find it unbelievable that people can. And I think that that's unhealthy to do so.

Daniel Bennett

So, we're coming up on Aeolian Hall here, which I know is a favourite performing venue for me. Have you seen anything there?

Aeolian Hall

Adam Sturgeon

Oh, yeah. Lots of good stuff at Aeolian Hall. It's a beautiful building and happens to be on the same street that I live on. So that's really cool. And yeah, just a beautiful building. Hopefully, they can make it work. Hey, guys.

Daniel Bennett

We also see some of the construction that's happening here on Dundas adding some, some bike lanes, which I'm super excited about.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

And, and hopefully, you know, making it a more welcoming street for people so that the business can really flourish here.

Whistling Dick's Barber Shop

Love Alchemy - Lifestyle Boutique & Organic Hair Studio

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's important to point out the fact that sometimes with that gentrification lens, we also have to recognize that we have some pretty serious infrastructure problems. So, tearing up that street isn't just about putting the icing on top, we have to rebuild pipes and all those lines so that we can redevelop our core. We just shouldn't be excluding people. I mean, there's a big, they're putting in a big housing development, right there, where the old Embassy was. It's going to be opportunity for people to live, work, and play on Dundas Street. And hopefully, that's opportunity for everybody, because people are being sort of, you know, forced to the river right now.

I don't know if you saw that article just yesterday morning about that. That, you know, there's some talk that city officials are kicking people out of their downtown areas, and they're going down to the rivers where, you know, maybe their safety is at risk or whatever. But, again, everyone deserves a place to live, right? So that's, that's the important thing. And we should all support that.

Daniel Bennett

If there was one thing that you desired for Old East Village, what would it be?

Adam Sturgeon

Um, well, community. I mean, a true sense of community like something where values can be shared and people, vibrancy, nightlife, no cars. No, you know, like, go park in the back. You know, you don't have to park in front of my business. I'll walk my box of shirts to you. But the bike lanes will be really great. And I just hate the arguments against them, but I think it kind of is misguided. Construction's challenging, but I mean, every time they finish a piece, it looks better. Right?

Construction work in Old East Village

Daniel Bennett

Totally. It was inconvenient for a bit, but overall, it's gonna be better.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, yeah, complaining about traffic in London's pretty funny. Go try and park your van in Montreal at six o'clock.

Artisan Bakery

Daniel Bennett

You can't.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

Um, so you mentioned you are part of a band, what can you...can you tell me a little bit about your band?

Adam Sturgeon

Ah, yeah, we've been a band for a long time. We were called WHOOP-Szo for about 10 years, we're in the process of changing that name, kind of reinventing ourselves. We've signed to You've Changed Records, which is an amazing sort of artist-run label that sort of exists within the real music industry, whatever that veil is, but kind of, they kind of work to circumvent it. So, we're getting the opportunities of a music industry, but we're getting the benefit of artists first support. So, I feel really lucky about that. We travel all over Canada. We had to cancel our North American tour this year, obviously. So, I think we're well over 100 cancelled shows at this point, and counting. But you know, I got to be home with a two-year-old so, I don't really regret it.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. Yeah, it's like, we all have to look at the bright side of what the pandemic has offered us, and more time with family is definitely something to be cherished.

Adam Sturgeon

Should we cross here?

Daniel and Adam cross the street toward the Western Fair District

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, I think let's cross the street so we don't get run over by this truck. And here's two of my favourite places in Old East Village sites. So Inviting Dumplings; I don't know if you've had those before.

Libro Credit Union and So Inviting (Dumplings Takeout) at the corner of Dundas St and Ontario St

Adam Sturgeon

Oh, yeah.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah, they're so good. You can get them fresh or to take home from frozen and I actually get a little bit of anxiety when I don't have any in the fridge or the freezer. They're a staple if someone comes over, I mean, less so now, but yeah, if someone comes over, I have to have them in my freezer.

Adam Sturgeon

So how is your, I want to know how you make them. What's your, what's your specialty? Because I feel like everyone's got their like, way to do their dumplings.

Daniel Bennett

Well, you know, I follow the instructions that she provides really to the "T". So, are you gonna boil them? You boil the water, you put them in. Once they come to a boil again, you put in a cup of cold water. And then and then they come to a boil again, you put another cup of cold water in, they come to the boil, and then they're done.

Adam Sturgeon

Whoa.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah.

Adam Sturgeon

I've never done the cold water thing. I just wait for them to rise and I fry them.

Daniel Bennett

And you fry them.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, I'm a fryer.

Daniel Bennett

You got to get a little out of that crispiness on the outside.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah and some spices, a little bit of that oil flavour, greasy. Yeah. Yeah. Who doesn't love dumplings? Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

Yeah. And, and every time I go in there, I always feel so at home because she's so warm and inviting. I got…

Adam Sturgeon

My bank’s next door.

Daniel Bennett

So it's doubly good.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah.

Daniel Bennett

And then on the right here we have the Western Fair Market, which is another favourite. I go there every Saturday, what about you?

The Western Fair District sign at the corner of Dundas St and Ontario St. The Market can be seen in the background.

Adam Sturgeon

Yeah, we do the, we definitely do the market always, always have. But we also do the food truck Wednesdays in the summer. So, we take Oda, our child to the splash pad in the back all the time through the summer. And then on Wednesday nights, they're doing food trucks in sort of like a pop-up market. So, we like to do that one kind of as a family routine, hop on our bikes and come down. We just live down the street. So that's really nice. There was quite the tent city back here this summer. So, you know, trying to lend a little bit of support to those folks as well. And, you know, teach our young child that it's okay. That maybe there's something other than to be afraid, you know, why are we afraid of people sleeping outside? It's, I mean, we should be afraid of it, but not for the reasons that are that are being stigmatized, so we didn't really have any problems with that.

Adam and Daniel pass by Engine 86 and the Western Fair District on their way towards Queens Park

Daniel Bennett

A few blocks ahead there there's The Factory and the right, have you been to The Factory?

Adam Sturgeon

I have not been to The Factory, our kid has. We're big fans of the Children's Museum and big supporters of the Children's Museum. So, we are excited to see what comes over there. I've seen some of the plans and that whatnot. But, yeah, it's good for them to have that growth.

We used to throw a festival called Grickle Grass at the, at the old Children's Museum, and I can't tell you how many times I was stuck in the elevator with a whole bunch of gear during the festival or, you know, stuff like that. So, you know, the building was becoming limited. And yeah, we need to keep moving that innovation forward, the playmaking sort of spaces forward. So, seems like there's some growth and just in that it's almost like a whole new neighbourhood starting, you know, it almost needs a new name because the Brewing Co Op, and Anderson's, and Odyssey Records now is over in this neighbourhood. And it's a beautiful park over here, that's where they offer the free soccer and, you know, it feels like there's a little community going on here too. Which is neat. All these little pockets that are popping up, so, yeah, I'm always hopeful.

Daniel Bennett

So, we have this wonderful Queen's Park here on our right. What do you imagine for the space?

Queens Park sign on Dundas St

Adam Sturgeon

I mean, we've always thought that this would have been a good place to host a, like a big festival. You know, I think that there's lots of potential to do cool things here. I mean, why couldn't the Warped Tour Edge Fest come here? You know, it's true. There's already kind of a band shell. Maybe it needs a little bit of work, but it'll do there's the arts building in the back. It definitely has, it's a hub of potential to do some cool stuff. I mean, Western Fair is huge, right? It's a really big one and draws a lot of people here. So, I see, I see a lot of potential.

I mean, my family uses this park weekly. You know, this is a part of our routine. Yeah, but sometimes it feels like you know, it's just us and a couple other people, you know, and we'd like to see that the public space be you know, better utilized. The civic engineers pop up a little park with some seating but why are you, why do you want to sit here? What is it that brings you here and attracts you to this place? It's people and experience it's not just you know, some concrete stampers and a plaque you know, but this park does, it does get used and again, tons of potential.

Adam and Daniel in Queens Park

Daniel Bennett

Thanks for coming on a Grand Walk with me. It was really great to speak with Adam. His interest and knowledge are so wide ranging, that it was a great lens to view all these with his work with the First Nations community and the lending community at large is super vital. The Grand Walks would not be possible without our lovely team here at the Grand including Dennis Garnhum, Deb Harvey, Lauren Rebelo, Jen Matthews, Aaron Ouellette, Suzanne Lanthier, Lyndee Hansen, Britt Duncan, Lacie George, and Megan Watson. Special thanks to friends Rob Novakovic and Frank Donato for brainstorming with me. Thanks again and looking forward to getting some more steps in with you soon.

Engine 86, a retired steam locomotive engine, can be seen on Dundas Street on the approach to Queens Park