If you want to see a one mile-long party rise up out of the road but don’t want the side-effects of hallucinogenic drugs, head for West 4th this Saturday at 6am.
That’s when the “Road Closed” signs go up between Burrard and MacDonald and the Khatsahlano festival begins to take shape. Stages will be built, food trucks parked and primed, patios and beer gardens assembled, climbing walls erected and pedal-powered smoothie blenders installed (really).
“It’s hard to shut down a 10-block street and activate it so quickly … It sounds like a lot of time until you pack all of those things in,” says Jane McFadden, executive director of the West 4th Business Improvement Association.
Led by McFadden, the organizers are squeezing as many activities as possible into the 1.7-kilometre stretch of avenue before it opens to the public at 11am.
In these tough times for independent stores in Vancouver — which are facing the triple threat of online shopping, big-box retail and soaring rent — the BIA wants festivalgoers to be thoroughly entertained at Khatsahlano so they’ll come back to shop on West 4th.’
“It’s about showcasing what West 4th is all about,” McFadden says. “It’s a great way for people who may not frequent the area to see. … It’s a great spot, it’s a great summer destination for the day.”
If its aim is to draw more people to the area, Khatsahlano, now in its seventh year, is doing pretty damn well. An estimated 150,000 are likely to show up on Saturday to the 10 blocks of car-free pavement.
Awaiting them are 50 bands, almost exclusively from the Lower Mainland, playing over eight stages; 50 food trucks all parked on one block; beer gardens; a kids stage featuring Bobs and LoLo; and (perhaps most importantly), the return of the world’s largest beanbag.
The avenue’s merchants will be active up and down the entire street – with some of the more interesting displays including an RYU Apparel obstacle course and a Patagonia climbing wall – while the new West 4th Living Stage will highlight local businesses and include a yoga class by Semperviva, a Pure Barre demonstration, fashion shows and demonstrations by local chefs and mixologists.
The bands remain the biggest lure for many. This year’s festival boasts another impressive lineup curated (with some help) by Zulu Records owner Grant McDonagh, who listened to around 200 hopefuls during the selection process.
McDonagh, who founded Zulu back in 1981, was instrumental in beginning the Khatsahlano festival, which rose out of the incense ashes of a Summer of Love anniversary bash in 2007.
While there are no Mamas and Papas cover bands anymore, McDonagh says a sense of West 4th’s hippie history and spirit has endured in Khatsahlano.
“It was about trying to cement what was there, this very creative group of people that were on the avenue in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and continue to be.”
The Kits hippies haven’t moved away, McFadden confirms. They’ve just changed, man. Not that that’s a bad thing.
“There’s that health and wellness, the amount of people doing yoga and exercising, and the organic juiceries. I think [they’ve] just evolved into a different type of hippie, if that sounds right. They’re taking care of themselves and they’re happy to support their local community.”
At the same time, there is a sense that West 4th is a little overlooked these days compared to, say, the neighbourhoods of East Van, where a mix of gentrification, craft breweries and a burgeoning cultural scene have created the most buzzing region in the city.
“In some ways it got a little tired. … Just like anything, it changes,” McDonagh says. “So maybe 4th Avenue was stuck in the past a little long.”
But whether it’s West 4th, Commercial or Denman, it’s clear that small businesses everywhere are facing a constant challenge to survive.
“As a BIA we have to be creative with our ideas to drive people to the brick-and-mortar shops in our neighbourhood,” McFadden says. “It’s a challenge every business association in every neighbourhood is feeling: What’s the best way to get people to come to the street?”
Khatsahlano is a great start. After all, when was the last time a website or a big-box warehouse hosted a 10-block street party?
• The 2017 Khatsahlano Street Party runs Saturday, July 8, from 11am-9pm along West 4th Avenue from Burrard to MacDonald. More info at khatsahlano.com.
