Students rock Rogers Arena at WE Day in Vancouver
Credit to Author: Matt Robinson| Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2019 21:54:57 +0000
“Vancouver, what’s up? Are you ready to change the world?”
And with that, and a lot of dancing, jumping and rounds of call-and-response, U.K. music producer Dready kicked off this year’s WE Day at Rogers Arena, where 20,000 inspiring kids and teens from across B.C. had gathered to celebrate their accomplishments. About three minutes into the show, Dready told DJ Lissa Monet to cut the music, remarking that the Vancouver crowd was the loudest he had ever heard while hyping-up WE Day audiences.
WE Day is an event series held in more than a dozen cities in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Earlier stops this year included Toronto, Halifax, Edmonton and Winnipeg, and yet to come is Ottawa. In Vancouver, the day was packed with inspirational speakers and performers who aimed to fire up a generation of students and educators in this province.
If the idea of 20,000 students belting out pop hits at full-throated volume fails to inspire, some of the words of those who spoke might hit the mark.
From the start, they spoke of fighting back against apathy and indifference, and dreaming big. No, not that big. Even bigger.
”The world is counting on you” was the message to those who earned a seat in the arena. Tickets to WE Day can’t be bought. Those in the arena were invited after taking action on causes of their choice. Students at Surrey’s Green Timbers Elementary School, for example, pushed to end bullying through a pink-shirt day, an assembly, and a continuing conversation.
In 2019, students and teachers connected to WE Day volunteered more than 3.4 million hours and raised millions of dollars in support of local and global causes, and charities.
Harold Munro of Postmedia speaks at We Day at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, November 19, 2019.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and an author and columnist, was among those who spoke. He advised kids on how best to convey their concerns about issues that matter to them.
”You can’t communicate your anger. You have to communicate your concerns in a way that will enable people to build a bridge with you,” Abdul-Jabbar said. ”Be patient. They might get it.”
Abdul-Jabbar also said people need to work with allies.
”Once you come together you get things done,” he said.
Laura Grizzlypaws, a dancer, drummer, singer-songwriter and academic of St’át’imc descent, gave a history of Canada from before colonization to the present. She said she wasn’t responsible for the past. But she is responsible for the present and the future.
“We can live together in unity and balance,” Grizzlypaws said. “We must work together for our well-being and the well-being of the planet … It doesn’t matter what race, what ethnic origin we come from. We must live in balance.”
Sprinkled among the day’s speakers were performances by musical artists, including Serena Ryder, Tyler Shaw, Bishop Briggs and Daya. There were also appearances by businessman and Toronto Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia (the dude behind the hoop who you all saw during last year’s NBA playoffs); ventriloquist and singer Darci Lynne; and actresses Katherine McNamara and Anna Cathcart, among others.
Cathcart introduced several segments and sprinkled some of her own wisdom onstage.
“Your superpower is just being you,” she said.
We Day in Vancouver, BC, November 19, 2019.
https://vancouversun.com/feed/