1/13 Phil Ochs performs at an illegal, free outdoor festival at Second Beach, June 28, 1970, organized by the Vancouver Liberation Front. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 2/13 The Vancouver International Moratorium March ended up with speeches and a rally at the Vancouver Courthouse, as it was then. Speakers include East Vancouver NDP MLA Alex Macdonald and the Rev. Herbert O'Driscoll, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral. Nov. 15, 1969. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 3/13 Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane, PNE Agrodome, Oct. 10, 1969. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 4/13 Driving a cab was a somewhat controversial occupation for a woman when I shot this photo for an article in 1969. Granville Street, October 1969. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 5/13 Taj Mahal, PNE Gardens Auditorium, Nov. 16, 1969. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 6/13 A demonstration inspired by environmental concerns, the Festival of Survival on March 20, 1970, saw protesters march from downtown to Stanley Park. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 7/13 On June 14, 1970, leaders of Vancouver's feminist community demanded and got an audience with Trudeau at the Bayshore Inn. A Catholic who had been opposed to abortion, Trudeau admitted to the meeting that he was reconsidering his views. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 8/13 Gastown, 1970. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 9/13 Trudeau's invocation of the War Measures Act to counter the panic set off by the kidnapping of Pierre Laporte and James Cross by the Front de libération du Québec sparked massive protest demonstrations across the country. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 10/13 Strawberry Mountain Fair, near Mission, May 16 & 17, 1970. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 11/13 In Vancouver, a demonstration on Oct. 17, 1970, organized by the Vancouver Liberation Front to protest the eviction of tenants from the Jericho Hostel, escalated into a much larger rally at the courthouse. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 12/13 Flower girls at the corner of Georgia and Granville Streets, 1970. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. 13/13 In 1972, L & K Lumber, which owned the land at the north end of Second Narrows Bridge known as the Mudflats, moved to evict eighteen squatters who had settled there. Vancouver Sun, August 1972. Photo by Vladimir Keremidschieff. Previous Next

Seize the Time

Vladimir Keremidschieff

New Star Books (2013)

If your memory spans back to the late 1960s and early '70s, chances are you'll recall that Vancouver's anti-war protests were as boisterous as its rock concerts.

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As a photographer for the Georgia Straight, the Vancouver Sun and the Province, Vladimir Keremidschieff snapped striking portraits of these heady days: from squatters in North Van's mudflats to environmental demonstrations in Stanley Park, to illegal concerts on Second Beach.

The photo essay above republishes a selection of Keremidschieff's photos from his recent book Seize the Time, with permission from the publisher New Star Books. Click through the arrows to see them all.