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Media Clipping The Province, February 16, 2001 Emergency: How do we get our fun back? The Vancouver Board of Trade, worried that the Vancouver Grizzlies will be the latest attraction to leave the city, has launched an emergency task force to revitalize Vancouver. "It's not just the Grizzlies," said task force member Barbara Buchanan, who chairs the Vancouver School Board. "I'd very much like to see a renaissance in Vancouver. "It's all about our community -- it includes culture, jobs, and education." Buchanan hopes to use her school connections to find young-at-heart, state-of-the-art solutions. "Having youth involved is key," she said. "If we get students involved, I know they will bring ideas that we've never even thought of." Fellow task-force member John Nightingale said losing events such as the Molson Indy and the Symphony of Fire could create a negative image for the city. "Perception is everything," said Nightingale, who's president of the Vancouver Aquarium. "If there's an idea in the public and the media that we're less of a city because of the things we're losing, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy." Nightingale doesn't know which cancelled event would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. "How many things do we lose before we become a less-interesting, less vibrant city? I don't know, but we'd better think about it sooner rather than later." Former city councillor Carole Taylor will chair the task force. "I believe that the spirit of Vancouver is strong and is willing to be revived," said Taylor. "There's no question we've been trampled on from an economic point of view over the last 10 years, but [the spirit] is there and willing to step forward and we hope to be a focal-point and bring it out." SFU associate professor Paul Budra, a pop-culture expert, said our attitudes about community are changing, which means people simply don't get out and about as often. "More and more, we're getting forms of technology to allow us to entertain ourselves in our homes," said Budra. "People are simply retreating, cocooning."
Courtesy of The Province
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