I’m gearing up to embark on a new and exciting chapter in my professional life (more on that on January 8), but today – well, today belongs to the Westender.
December 21 marks the final issue of the Westender. For 68 years, the reporters and columnists at the Westender have shone a spotlight on the people, art, and culture that infuse Vancouver with life and passion. It’s been a paper where Vancouverites have discovered what makes this city truly remarkable – where writers have flexed their creative and investigative muscles; where arts organizations have found their audiences and restaurants have found their patrons – and where I personally found my voice and calling when I was most in need of both a couple of years after giving birth to Mari.
Thank you, Martha Perkins, for recognizing kernels of moxie and passion within me when I felt that I had little to offer, and nurturing it all into Reel People. Thank you Rob Manglesdorf and Kelsey Klassen for your belief and trust in my work (even when I pushed those deadlines to the max and beyond).
Thank you Westender for giving me the space to share so many important stories: about miscarriages (including my own), post-partum depression, poverty, sexism, racism, #metoo, grief, divorce, murdered and missing Indigenous women, identity – all of which impact the screen industry in some way, and reflect who we are as a city.
Thank you for providing a forum in which to share the truth about Darren’s death when no other outlet was inclined to do so.
Thank you for connecting me with the film and television community: an industry for which I am now ride-or-die.
Westender: Thank you for all that you have done to serve Vancouver.
And to my loyal readers: Thank you for reading Reel People. Every time you read one of my articles, you proved something I believed – and that the Westender believed – from the word go: There is significant interest in Vancouver screen scene stories.
I have more screen scene stories to tell. I’m not going anywhere.
The passing of the Westender leaves a void in this city’s cultural landscape, but I am determined not to leave the film and television community and its fans underserved. This isn’t the end. On January 8, I will launch my new project (which has been long in the making), and lay out the numerous ways in which I will continue to serve the actors and filmmakers and artists whose work powers the YVR screen scene.
In the meantime, I’m pouring one out for the Westender. Thank you.
Thanks for your sterling work Sabrina and look forward to the next chapter.
Thank you, Tom! I’m in it for the long haul.