Hi friends. Welcome to the Weekender. I’m Jackie Wong.
If you’re lucky enough to have had warm, sprawling August nights form the backdrop to the cinematic romances of your life, you might experience this season with a winsome bit of nostalgia.
This might also explain why so many media outlets this summer have been publishing furiously about a romance slump, and pondering why gen Z doesn’t want to date. Even if they do, economic realities are so bleak that many people can’t muster the resources or emotional energy to take someone out for a nice dinner.
Earlier this year, the Institute for Family Studies declared that young adults are in a depressed dating economy.
To all of this, I ask: Who goes out for a fancy meal on a first date, especially if you’re young? What about low-rent drinks in the park, driving to the beach at night, or a crepe after the art gallery downtown? These are all things I have done, and though they were never covered in rose petals, I still think they were romantic.
A reality dating show on APTN is confronting the romance slump with élan. Rezervations for Two is the first-ever reality dating show exclusively for Indigenous people. If you’re a little lovelorn and worried you missed the dating boat, the show will buoy your spirits.
Elsewhere in the Weekender, Dorothy Woodend’s art criticism continues to inspire me. This week she dives into a playful new show at the Richmond Art Gallery. Ongoing / Pacific Crossings is a gorgeous, eclectic exhibition that explores the many facets of Japanese identity, diaspora and the immigrant experience.
In a special reprint from Magic Canoe’s Indigenous Leadership Desk, author CMarie Fuhrman takes us to Mount Tahoma, where she contemplates the relationship between language, kin and landscape.
Finally, Tyee Presents highlights the free Fringe Patio on Granville Island, co-presented with Coastal Jazz on Labour Day Weekend.
Read on Three Things, where Tyee culture editor Dorothy Woodend contemplates death and what artists leave behind, spotlights a provincewide cultural extravaganza and invites your advice for what her next new fall jacket should look like.
Have a great weekend. Email the Weekender team with your thoughts on finding love. Is romance really dead? We want to know!
 | See you again soon, Jackie Wong, Weekender editor |
