David Suzuki Book Reading and Signing
Event Planning, Festival Programming, Volunteering
Backstory
It was 2015, and I had just gotten involved with the Powell Street Festival Society as a member of the Programming Committee. The society's primary activity is producing the Powell Street Festival every August, and its mission is to cultivate Japanese Canadian arts and culture to connect communities.
The programming committee is responsible for determining the theme for the festival each year and developing the content and programming. This involves networking and researching to find new and exciting artists and creators to feature at the Powell Street Festival.
David Suzuki: one of the most famous Japanese Canadians
As a festival that celebrates Japanese Canadian arts and culture, we always try to find artists and performers with a connection to that, and when it came to brainstorm potential people we could reach out to for the 39th annual festival, the first person that came to my mind was David Suzuki. David Suzuki is one of the most high-profile Japanese Canadians ever- he's a world-famous environmentalist, author, and activist who has hosted CBC's The Nature of Things since 1979.
But this was my first year being involved, and nobody else in the committee suggested his name, I was a little hesitant to suggest him, but I figured "Why not?".
Turns out that David Suzuki had worked with the festival before, but there was a catch- he usually went on vacation during festival time, but they'd reach out to him anyways.
Sometimes, timing is everything
Through a happy coincidence, David Suzuki was available! It just so happened that he'd written a new book, Letters to My Grandchildren, and was going on a promotional tour to support it.
He said he'd come to the Powell Street Festival to do a book reading and signing, and since he was promoting his book, he waived his normal speaking fee, which if I remember correctly was over $10,000- great news for a non-profit like us!
So, just based on the timing, it turned out that he was actually able to make it out and it was an amazing, fully packed event with a huge line-up that went around the block.
The Power of Asking
This experience really underlined the power of asking. If I'd just assumed there was some reason that nobody else on the programming committee suggested David Suzuki, this event would have never happened. Sometimes all it takes it the courage to voice an idea or opinion, and it can lead to something great.
