The streets will soon be alive with the sound of music as the annual Keys to the Streets public piano program kicks off in Vancouver next week.
Colourful pianos, rescued from the junk yard, are placed on prominent sidewalks, parks, and plazas each year as a way to create spontaneous gatherings set around live music. And each year the program delights residents and visitors alike with some much-needed social interaction.
Pianos have been set up around the city every summer since 2013 and often include bright and creative paintings. This year’s piano at Creekside Community Centre will be painted in an ocean theme, for instance.
The program was first created as a student project to address the issue of social isolation in Vancouver, and the pianos are almost always great conversation-starters, says project lead Aaron Tilston-Redican.
“I’ll just sit down and have someone play the piano – and nine times out of ten I’ll have someone sit down beside me and after a song or 30 seconds, we’ll strike up a conversation – and it’s really beautiful because all of a sudden I know the name of someone who I could’ve just walked by and never have known their name,” Tilston-Redican told Global News.
A total of 12 pianos will be rolled out in Vancouver next week, and the locations are still being finalized.
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