Here's a story on CBC about Kogawa House, and the open house event on Sunday.
I will be there with my accordion, and also volunteering.
Repreived Kogawa House
opens to public
Last Updated Fri, 15 Sep 2006 17:59:45 EDT
Joy Kogawa's house, which received a last-minute reprieve from demolition when it was bought by a Vancouver heritage agency this spring, will open to the public this Sunday.
The modest wood-frame house in Marpole is featured in Obasan, Kogawa's much loved novel about the internment of Japanese Canadians, and her children's book, Naomi's Road.
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia bought the house in May and plans to turn it into a residence for writers and an education centre about the Japanese internment during the Second World War.
But the public is being given a one-day chance to see the bungalow before restoration work begins.
Kogawa will be there for a scheduled book signing and the desk and typewriter that she used to write Obasan will be on display.
The event is a fund-raiser to help pay for restoration of the house, which could cost an estimated $500,000.
The house itself was saved from a wrecking ball through the intervention of the Land Conservancy, which led a campaign to save it, working with writers' groups and heritage groups.
The campaign drew donations from 550 people from around the world and a last-minute corporate donation of $500,000 helped with the purchase price.
A developer who owned the property wanted more than $700,000 for the house, which has been neglected over the years.
Kogawa lived in the house with her family from 1937 to 1942, when it was confiscated by the government.
The house has national significance as a symbol of the racial discrimination experienced by Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War.
The house is one of the few residences left in Vancouver that is identified as having been sold by the Canadian government without the lawful owner's permission.
The house is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.