Customers enter the Punjab Food Center in the Punjabi Market in Vancouver, B.C. ariLVN REICHERT PHOTO Punjabi Market restores its soul Community members work to elevate neighbourhood to its former glory By MARILYN REICHERT group of volunteers and business owners are hopeful the Punjabi Market will experience a renaissance, despite the challenges of the pandemic. Jag Nagra, creative director of the Punjabi Market Regenera- tion Collective, was concerned the vibrant market of her childhood was being neglected. “Tt looks quite rundown compared to the '80s and '90s,” Nagra said. “We don’t want to walk down the street in the future and say, this is where Punjabi Market used to be.” Nagra’s concerns led her to network with local business owners. The collective approached the city for help in 2019. In response, supported by Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry, the city passed a motion declar- ing May 31, 2020, the market’s 50th anniversary, as Punjabi Market Day. “We were hoping to have a huge festival, but everything got shut down with the pandemic. All of a sudden, “Tf you went back 50 tour. Visitors using their phones can take a narrated walk through the market to learn about the rich history of the neighbourhood. “How do we capture the magic, symbolism and impor- tance of this our big dreams yeals, it was quite part of the came to a halt, groundbreaking what city, Fry said. Nagra said. . ” If you went The collec- was happening here. back 50 years, tive is now — PETE FRY, VANCOUVER CITY COUNCILLOR it was quite working with groundbreak- arts organizations to bring in more foot traffic. Four art murals in the market were part of the 2021 Murals in the Market initiative by the collective. More are expected in 2022. The collective, in partnership with the Indian Summer Festival, organized a self-guided walking Odds stacked a Men, women seek to surprise at basketball championships By JUAN RAMIREZ xpectations are soaring Bers the Langara men’s and women’s basketball teams as the squads prepare for the PACWEST championships. The Falcons men enter the play- offs ranked fourth, while the women are underdogs occupying the final playoff spot among six teams. Falcons women’s coach Virginia Watson said the season has been filled with challenges, but momen- tum is on the team’s side. “This season, we've definitely had our ups and downs,” said Watson. “We have a lot of injured players on the sideline, unable to participate, which is too bad. But in saying that, we've been really resilient, especially in the second half of the season.” Langara’s first year guard and forward Kate Carkner is looking forward to surprising the rest of the league with her team’s improve- ment. “T think it’s only going to go up from here since we started off the year kind of rough, and we had a lot of obstacles. We’ve been find- ing more of our groove and figuring out how good of a team we can be,” said Carkner. “I think the playoffs will be a really good chance for us ing what was happening here.” The Vancouver Punjabi Market, located on Main Street between 49th Avenue and 52nd Avenue, was the first of its kind in North Amer- ica, Fry said. “There is a renaissance of young South Asian culture, purveyors and sponsors wanting to see this regen- eration happen.” Madan Dhingla, his wife, and a part-time employee serve few customers at their store, Mona Cloth House. “We have been here since 1990. Before the pandemic we had six employees,” Madan Dhingla said. “All the weddings were put on hold... what we are selling is all for special functions. And nothing has happened for the two years, no tourists, no local weddings.” Dhingla said the city had not done enough for business owners. “So far, there’s more talk than anything,” he said. But other shop owners like Yared Nigussu are hopeful the Punjabi Market will experience its rebirth. Nigussu opened his Art Lab Studio in the neighbourhood four years ago. “T think the Punjabi Market used to be vibrant. It just disappeared,” Nigussu said. Michael Lee, Vancouver-Lang- ara MLA, credited initiatives that have managed to prosper despite the pandemic. “T think the mural fest has been a tremendous success ... and the walking tour, that has been another great initiative. There are lots of good activities I believe that can bring people back,” Lee said. “These are historic places that are part of the cultural fabric of our city...I think it enriches our lives to be part of such a diverse commu- nity,” said the MLA, whose office is in the market. “When we lose our heritage, when we lose our cultural places of gathering, and touch points like this, we start to lose the soul of our communities.” ainst feisty Falcons to prove ourselves beyond just the record and what the numbers show .. we have potential.” Men’s coach Paul Eberhardt added that a lack of unity early in the season posed an obstacle, but the team has developed cohesion. “Our biggest challenge has been running together as a team...we’re still learning how to do that, but it’s getting better,” said Eberhardt. Men's point guard Royce Sargeant said the team is looking beyond the PACWEST championship. “Our goal is to win nationals. So that’s our expectation: to make it to finals in [the PACWEST] playoffs, hopefully, and then go off to nation- als,” said Sargeant. For the men’s team, focusing on rebounds is crucial. “If we go out and control the rebounding like we have all year... we win the game. So that’s always a key for us,” Eberhardt said. Women’s forward Stefany Marti- nez said managing her team’s health is important for playoff success. “We are taking care of our bodies because it’s been a long season, so the coach is asking us to receive physiotherapy . . . then we are just looking forward to improving our offensive and defensive techniques,” she said. She added that her team has been studying their opponent to identify star players, which will prepare the Falcons’ defence. The 2022 PACWEST basket- ball championships run Thurs- day, March 3 to Saturday, March 5 and take place at Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford. & Langara's Men =| Langara’s Women Top scorer: Royce Sargeant 13.9 points per Top scorer: Rachel Labrador 71.6 points per game game Top rebounder: | Top rebounder: Jas Dhudwal Rachel Labrador 8.8 rebounds per | 5.8 rebounds per game game Top passer: Top passer: Rachel Labrador 7.9 assists per game Royce Sargeant 3.7 assists per game