Celebrating 20 Years of Hope in Shadows
Every fall, Megaphone vendors offer you a peek into their world through Hope in Shadows.
The photos featured in Hope in Shadows are taken during an annual photography contest where Megaphone vendors use single-use disposable cameras to capture images of their communities. The top photos are selected by a community jury, vendors and supporters, and published in the award-winning Hope in Shadows calendar, which is sold on the streets of Vancouver and Victoria by Megaphone's low-income vendors. Vendors buy each calendar for $10 and sell them for $20, keeping the profit.
View the Top 30 2023/2024 Hope in Shadows photo finalists
If you or someone you know is interested in taking part in next year’s photo contest but is not yet a vendor, click here to learn how to become one.
Click here to buy the 2022/2023 Hope in Shadows and other Megaphone Products
Download the Megaphone App to purchase Hope in Shadows with your credit card next time you see a vendor.
Hope in Shadows voting & awards ceremony
The winning photographs are selected by a community and vendor vote, and are revealed every year in an award ceremony in the Downtown Eastside.
Voting happens throughout the summer months at community events and here on the Megaphone website. (To be notified when voting is live, be sure to join our mailing list.)
The award ceremony happens every year in Vancouver and Victoria in early October. Community, vendors, sponsors and volunteers gather to celebrate the release of Hope in Shadows and award cash prizes for the top 30 photographs, 13 of which are selected for publication in the calendar.
Five things you can do to support Hope in Shadows
- Become a sponsor: financially support the calendar project and have your business or favourite charity featured on a month in the calendar. More details here.
- Join us as a Hope in Shadows depot: businesses across Vancouver and Victoria stock calendars so their local vendors can restock without travelling all the way back to the Megaphone office. Contact [email protected] to set it up.
- Buy Hope in Shadows from a vendor: click here to find where vendors sell near you.
- Volunteer: volunteers help us coordinate the contest, facilitate voting, and prepare and host the award ceremony. To help out with this and other Megaphone projects, click here.
- Spread the word: get on social media and encourage your friends and family to support their Megaphone vendor with a purchase today. #HopeInShadows
