Chinatown event succeeds with simplicity, organizers say
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Organizers of Chinatown After Dark say its success demonstrates how low-cost community events can be effective in bringing vibrancy to a neighbourhood.
YEG Chinatown Re:VITA, a grassroots collective focused on Chinatown revitalization, organized the event on July 29 in the back alley of the China Marble Restaurant on 97 Street. The event featured food vendors such as Van Loc and Hing Lung BBQ House, as well as activities like karaoke and mahjong.
Jenny Trinh, an organizer with YEG Chinatown Re:VITA, told Taproot the group wanted to highlight Chinatown's vibrancy with a night market-style event that leveraged existing infrastructure in the area.
Since Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang were fatally assaulted near their workplaces in May 2022, much of the attention has turned toward policing Chinatown. The group wanted to counter those narratives around crime and disorder, Trinh said.
"There is this stigma around the Chinatown neighbourhood that it's dangerous, unsafe to be around here, and those kinds of narratives perpetuate and become self-reinforcing," she said. "But within this community, there's a lot of vibrancy and a lot of connections to be made… just there wasn't like a place for a gathering to showcase that vibrancy."
Organizers didn't know what to expect from the event, as it mostly came together in about two weeks and there wasn't much time to promote it, said William Lau, another member of YEG Chinatown Re:VITA. But it was a success, generating around $4,500 in revenue and attracting somewhere between 300 and 400 people.
It shows that steps can be made toward community revitalization without relying on costly, large-scale plans, Lau said.
"The importance of grassroots initiatives, I think, really comes into how inclusive and how affordable events can be," he said. "When you do things grassroots, you can cut so many costs that you don't have to pass on to your consumer."
