April 13th, DHHproud – Showcase – a proud celebration of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Identity through ASL poetry, DHH art and Spotlight competitions: 89 students from 17 school districts, 4 independent schools and the BCSD competed in ASL Poetry, DHH Art and Spotlight presentations. The live event featured 21 Spotlight contestants (grades 6-12) and 9 ASL Poetry contestants in grades 8 -12. We don’t have recordings of live presentations. The teachers were encouraged to take photos and videos of their own students on stage.
31 students in grades K-7 competed in ASL poetry by sending us their video entries. We also had 59 DHH Art contributions in grades K-12. They were all judged a few days earlier. You can watch them here:
DHHproud 2026 Showcase – DHH Art and ASL Poetry (use the arrows or the scroll bar – the slides don’t auto advance).
Kristin Schnider, the Chair of the Burnaby Board of Education, welcomed all the contestants, their teachers and the audience with a powerful message:
“This year’s theme, “not a disability but a difference,” shines an important light on common misconceptions about deafness. Today, we have the privilege not only to change those misconceptions, but to reframe them – to recognize and celebrate the unique perspectives each of you brings through your experiences, your knowledge and your journeys. Through your creativity, your expression, and your identity, we are all invited to reflect on the strength and richness of Deaf and hard of hearing communities … Events like today remind us all that when different ways of communicating are understood and valued, what emerges is not limitation, but possibility.”
Board Trustee Peter Cech and Superintendent of Schools Karim Hachlaf were also in the audience, to represent our host district Burnaby, and to cheer on all of the contestants.
David and Dana bookend the Spotlight Contestants…
…and the ASL Poetry 8-12 contestants
13 of 33 DHH Art 4-7 and 8-12 Contestants
ASL Poetry K-7 Winners Rustem, Hanna and Ash
2 of 3 ASL Poetry Winners – Rustem and Abena.
Special thanks, in no particular order:
The Burnaby Board of Education and Burnaby Schools Leadership; Dana Zimmer and David McGregor, both POPDHH ASL Specialists who had a double duty of emceeing and ASL poetry judging; Teanna Kay, usher extraordinaire and a previous (triple!) DHHproud Showcase winner; the judges: Jen Ashton, Brenda-Lee Boubard, Donna Burdick, Mari Klassen, Terry Maloney (also the time-keeper), Elizabeth Mathers, Ingrid Potter, Ladan Sahraei, and John Warren (who also provided a short, yet very entertaining improv skit during one of the intermissions); Mahsa Soufi for FM equipment; the Accessibility Team – Lana from Accurate Realtime Captioning and ASL interpreters Sharon and Jessica; Dimo Voskakis and his home economics class who provided the most scrumptious lunch; and the MJF Theatre staff.
And here are the winners:
Congratulations!
*You will notice that two categories have a two-way tie – ASL Poetry 8-12 and DHH Art 8-12. Our sincere apologies for missing this during the announcements. All winners have now been appropriately acknowledged and awarded!
