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Powell Street Festival Celebrates 50 Years of Japanese Canadian Arts, Culture, and Community 

Canada’s longest-running Japanese Canadian arts festival marks five decades with a weekend of music, food, storytelling, and cultural connection in Vancouver’s historic Paueru Gai neighbourhood on August 1 and 2, 2026 

Vancouver, BC | July 13, 2026 |  The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) proudly announces the return of the Powell Street Festival for its 50th edition on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Oppenheimer Park and the surrounding streets of Vancouver’s historic Japanese neighbourhood known as Paueru Gai (Powell Street Area), part of the present day Downtown Eastside, on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. 

Free and open to all, the 50th Powell Street Festival brings together artists, performers, organizations, families, elders, youth, volunteers, and visitors for a weekend celebrating Japanese Canadian arts and culture through more than 80 free programs featuring music, dance, theatre, film, literature, visual art, martial arts, cultural demonstrations, workshops, food, and gatherings. 

Since its first gathering in 1977, Powell Street Festival has transformed Paueru Gai into a place where Japanese Canadian arts, culture, and stories are shared across generations. The 50th anniversary celebration honours the artists, volunteers, organizers, partners, and supporters who have carried the festival forward for five decades. 

Fifty Years in the Making 

Founded in 1977 during the Japanese Canadian Centennial, Powell Street Festival grew from a grassroots celebration into Canada’s longest-running Japanese Canadian arts festival, welcoming more than 24,000 attendees annually. 

The festival’s roots are deeply connected to Paueru Gai, once the centre of Japanese Canadian life in Vancouver. Before the Second World War, the neighbourhood was home to thousands of Japanese Canadians and included businesses, schools, churches, temples, cultural organizations, and family homes. 

Following the forced removal and incarceration of more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, many families were unable to return to the communities they had built. Emerging during a period of cultural renewal, Powell Street Festival became a place for remembrance, reconnection, and celebration, creating space for Japanese Canadian artists, storytellers, and cultural practitioners to share their work and experiences across generations. 

“The 50th Powell Street Festival is both a celebration and a moment for reflection. It marks five decades of celebrating Japanese Canadian arts and culture while honouring the generations of people whose care, commitment, and belief in this community have sustained the festival. For many Japanese Canadians, it’s one of the few public spaces where our history, culture, and community are lived, not only remembered,” says Sophie Yamauchi Latimer, Executive Director of Powell Street Festival Society. 

“Having been involved with the Powell Street Festival since its beginnings in 1977, I am delighted to see new generations of Japanese Canadians carrying the festival forward. They are bringing fresh perspectives on our identity as Japanese Canadians and on our relationships with other communities, guiding the festival in meaningful new directions,” says Lucy Komori, longtime Powell Street Festival organizer and presenter. 

Over five decades, the festival has been shaped by generations of artists, volunteers, organizers, partners, and supporters. Today, Powell Street Festival Society continues this work through the annual festival and year-round programming that supports Japanese Canadian arts, culture, and creative expression. 

A Weekend of Japanese Canadian Arts and Culture 

The 50th Powell Street Festival reflects the many ways Japanese Canadian culture continues to grow and evolve. Across Oppenheimer Park and the surrounding neighbourhood, festivalgoers can experience performances, workshops, exhibitions, demonstrations, food, and activities for all ages. 

The anniversary program includes film screenings, performances, installations, literary events, workshops, and presentations that explore Japanese Canadian arts, culture, histories, and contemporary experiences. From taiko drumming and contemporary music to film, literature, dance, and visual art, the festival celebrates both the traditions carried forward through generations and the new expressions shaping Japanese Canadian culture today. 

This year’s expanded programming features new projects by Japanese Canadian artists and community members from across the country, supported through BC Redress funding administered by the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society. These works span performance, media arts, writing, installation, and workshops, and will be shared publicly for the first time. 

Music and Taiko: The Heartbeat of Powell Street Festival 

Music has been central to Powell Street Festival since its earliest years. The powerful rhythms of taiko have become one of the festival’s most recognizable sounds, bringing people together through movement, performance, and shared experience. 

The 50th anniversary music program includes performances by Katari Taiko, Shishimai (lion dance): 
Onyōkai & Eien Hunter-Ishikawa, Sawagi Taiko, Chibi Taiko, CoSei, Rina and the Tohoku Min’yō Band, Vancouver Sakura Singers, Asian Persuasion All Stars, and many others. 

“As a young child, my parents brought me to my first Powell Street Festival, which may have been the very first one in 1977,” says musician Sharon Minemoto. “It was full of delicious smells, brightly coloured yukatas and the thunderous sound of taiko drumming that sent vibrations from your ears to your chest, finally landing in your heart.” 

Stories That Carry Memory Forward 

The 50th Powell Street Festival expands its storytelling programs through literary events, film screenings, conversations, and projects exploring history, identity, family, and belonging. 

Featured writers, filmmakers, and storytellers include Leslie Shimotakahara, Masako Fukawa, Art Miki, Caroline Ishii, Megan Kiyoko Wray, Akiko Date, Leanne Toshiko Simpson, Tamiko Potts, Jason Sakaki, and others. 

“The Powell Street Festival gives me an opportunity to connect with other Nikkei and Japanese Canadians and to share my experience with recording oral histories so our stories can be preserved for future generations,” says Karen Suzuki of the Sedai Oral History Collection. 

Through books, films, oral histories, and conversations, the festival continues to create space for Japanese Canadian stories to be shared across generations. 

Traditions in Motion: Dance, Ceremony, and Practice 

The festival celebrates Japanese and Japanese Canadian traditions through movement, ceremony, and participation. 

The 50th anniversary program features traditional dance, contemporary performance, martial arts demonstrations, and cultural practices presented by World Soran!, Kokoro Dance, Otowa Ryu Japanese Dance Group, Shoheijuku Aikido Canada, Shorinji Kempo BC, Sato-ha Karate Do Canada, Vancouver Mikoshi Rakuichi, Sumo Sundays, and other practitioners. 

These practices remain vibrant because each generation finds new ways to engage with them, ensuring they continue to evolve and inspire. 

Food, Marketplace, and Gathering 

Food has always been one of Powell Street Festival’s most beloved traditions. 

The PSF Salmon BBQ remains a cornerstone of the festival, reflecting decades of volunteer dedication, fundraising, and participation. Food booths operated by Japanese Canadian organizations and local vendors create spaces where people gather, share stories, and celebrate together. 

Visitors can enjoy festival favourites including salmon BBQ, spam musubi, karaage, mochi manju, shaved ice, Japanese sweets, and many other offerings. 

“Food is one of the ways we remember where we come from,” says Food Booth Coordinator Michael Ouchi. “Our community partners use their booths as important fundraisers, and the festival gives everyone a chance to come together, enjoy great food, and support the organizations that make our community strong.” 

The festival marketplace also features artists, makers, publishers, and small businesses offering handmade goods, crafts, artwork, books, clothing, and cultural creations. 

A Shared Legacy: Fujiya and Powell Street Festival 

The 50th Powell Street Festival also recognizes a shared history with another beloved Japanese Canadian institution. In 1977, the same year the first Powell Street Festival was held, Shig and Akemi Hirai founded Fujiya Japanese Foods. For five decades, these two institutions have grown alongside one another, supporting Japanese Canadian cultural life and connection. 

In honour of this shared legacy, the Hirai family has made a contribution of more than $250,000 to the Powell Street Festival Society’s Our Next 50 Years campaign, supporting the festival’s long-term sustainability through the creation of an inaugural endowment fund with the Vancouver Foundation. 

The festival also honours Shig Hirai’s lifelong passion for sumo by naming the annual competition the Shig Hirai Sumo Tournament, taking place Sunday, August 2, 2026. 

A Festival Shaped by Generations 

For 50 years, Powell Street Festival has been shaped by artists, volunteers, staff, partners, and supporters who continue to carry its story forward. 

The festival’s relationship with the Downtown Eastside remains central to its identity. Through year-round programming, accessibility initiatives, volunteer opportunities, and partnerships, PSFS continues to create welcoming spaces where people can connect and participate. 

“Powell Street Festival is an act of joy and resistance. In 1942, the government forced out 22,000 Canadians of Japanese descent under the guise of security. In reality, it was a way to remove a successful and established community from Western Canada. In 1977, our community came together to celebrate its centennial in Canada and to begin a path toward redress for Japanese Canadians as well as all other Canadians. This is why I chose to be active in this community and continue a path of joyful resistance,” says Vice-President Takahide Lee. 

After 50 years, Powell Street Festival remains a place where people come together through music, art, food, storytelling, and shared experience. 

Come for the performances, stay for the food, and return for the community. 

Festival Information 

What: 50th Annual Powell Street Festival 
When: Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 
Where: Oppenheimer Park and surrounding areas, 400 Powell Street, Vancouver 
Admission: Free and open to all 
Website: www.powellstreetfestival.com 
Social: @powellstfest 
Hashtags: #powellstfest #powell50 #PSF50 

About Powell Street Festival Society 

Founded in 1977, Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) produces the annual Powell Street Festival and year-round programming celebrating Japanese Canadian arts and culture through heritage, contemporary works, and community engagement. 

Based in Vancouver’s historic Paueru Gai neighbourhood, now part of the Downtown Eastside, PSFS is committed to artistic excellence, social equity, and the ongoing stewardship of Japanese Canadian stories, past, present, and future. 

Media Inquiries and Interview Requests 

Contact: Anna Goddu, Communications Associate 

Email: media@powellstreetfestival.com 
Phone: (604) 739-9388 

Media Kit: Link 
Includes festival photos, additional quotes from PSFS artists and detailed program information. 

Follow @powellstfest on Instagram and Facebook 
www.powellstreetfestival.com