The 44th Powell Street Festival cancelled as a public gathering event 

Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, the 44th Powell Street Festival is cancelled as a public gathering event. The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) board is directing its staff to follow public safety guidelines and to continue consulting with community stakeholders to reconceptualize a safe and innovative celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture. “Our festival is first and foremost, a celebration of community and culture.  We may not be gathering together physically but we are united in spirit.  Because of… More ›

Pulling Together

Dear Powell Street Festival friends and family: maintaining community connection and drawing on our individual and collective strengths is essential during this turbulent time. We are committed to employing safe and innovative ways to connect and support communities through Japanese Canadian (JC) arts and culture. In the coming weeks and months, we will host online Town Hall Meetings to gather… More ›

Update from Powell Street Festival

Happy New Year wishes to you all! We are now officially gearing up for the 44th Powell Street Festival, August 1 and 2, 2020.   Please welcome our new permanent part–time staff!   June Fukumura joins us as our Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator. June is a second-generation Japanese Canadian born and raised in Vancouver. She is an interdisciplinary and experimental theatre maker, performer, and cultural worker who is… More ›

We’re Hiring!!!

  Current Openings STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR  Deadline December 15 PROGRAM COORDINATOR  Deadline December 15 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT  Deadline December 15 

DEADLINE EXTENDED: RFP for Digital Strategy Consultant

Powell Street Festival Society is seeking a Digital Strategy Consultant to facilitate of a digital maturity and needs assessment (October 2019 to February 2020) and subsequent development of a Digital Strategy (March 2020 to December 2020). DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS EXTENDED to September 23, 2019. Request for Proposals   Resources: Digital Needs Assessment Template Digital Maturity Assessment Template Powell Street Festival Society… More ›

We’re hiring!

FESTIVAL CREW (3 positions)  Powell Street Festival Society seeks dedicated team players for the position of Festival Crew for the 43rd annual Powell Street Festival.  This temporary position is a full-time position, starting the first week of July and ending August 24, 2019.  To see the full job posting click here….

Annual General Meeting and Members Party

Annual General Meeting Powell Street Festival Society Wednesday, May 8 at 7 pm 111 West Hastings Street Following the Katari Taiko AGM at 6:30 pm in the same location.  Members Only Party 8 pm at 111 West Hastings Street Join us for refreshments and drinks at our offices following the AGM. Open to all members of Powell Street Festival Society.  … More ›

Deadline Extended: Festival Applications due March 18

Our application deadline has been extended to March 18 at midnight! Participate in the Festival    

Powell Street Festival Society at Honolulu Fest!

Are you in Honolulu right now? Make sure to check out PSF artists Mark Takeshi McGregor and Soramaru Takayama’s performances at Honolulu Festival March 9&10th. Visit our artistic director Leanne Dunic at the PSFS booth in the Hawaii Convention Center both days! The Honolulu Festival is Hawaii’s premier cultural event, promoting mutual understanding, economic cooperation and ethnic harmony between the people of… More ›

Calling emerging Japanese Canadian musicians in British Columbia! 

Powell Street Festival Society, in partnership with Vancouver Inter-cultural Orchestra, is offering a unique opportunity to an emerging BC-based Japanese Canadian musician to come to Vancouver to participate in this year’s Global Soundscape Festival: Chrysanthemums and Maple Leaves at Waterfront Theatre June 5-9th, 2019. Festival pass, transportation, and accommodation expenses will be covered by Powell Street Festival Society. This opportunity… More ›

Powell Street Festival Applications NOW OPEN!

Apply to participate in the 2019 Powell Street Festival in Oppenheimer Park on Saturday & Sunday, August 3rd and 4th, 2019. For Community Booths 2019 Community Booth Application For Craft Vendors 2019 Craft Vendor Application For Displays 2019 Display Application For Food Booth Vendors If you have not been a Food Booth Vendor at the Festival before, please contact Emiko… More ›

Keiji Haino at the Fox Cabaret

Thursday, October 11 at 9 pm Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main Street Tickets $30 One of the most visionary and individual voices to emerge from the Japanese underground is Keiji Haino. Active since the 1970s, his venerated career has navigated a wide array of styles and instrumentations including blues, rock, free improvisation, noise, percussion, psychedelic music, minimalism, and drone. Over the course… More ›

Estimating attendance at the Powell Street Festival 2014-2018

Thank you to Carl Schwartz of Simon Fraser University for providing the science behind our festival statistics. Read all about how we estimated 22,838 attendees at the 2018 festival!!!    

Lost and Found

Did you loose something at the Powell Street Festival? Contact us as soon as possible to find out if it is in our Lost and Found. We will be donating all unclaimed Lost and Found items by Friday, September 21st! Email us at admin@powellstreetfestival.com or call 604-739-9388 and leave a message if we are out of the office.

野生魚の日 Yasei no Sakana Wild Fish Day

Powell Street Festival Society honours food security and sustainability in partnership with the Wild Salmon Caravan at Oppenheimer Park. Sunday, September 16 Free salmon-chowder lunch at 1 pm Parade Prop-making workshops at 2-4 pm Parade prop-building workshops facilitated by interdisciplinary artist Wil D Salmon and WePress. Then, the following week, join Powell Street Festival with your fish-props to march in solidarity at… More ›

Sumo! A Beginner’s Workshop

Sunday, May 13 Vancouver Buddhist Temple 220 Jackson St, 2nd floor Doors at 12:30pm; 1 – 4pm FREE To pre-register email admin@powellstreetfestival.com No experience necessary. All ages. Please wear comfortable clothing and bring your own water bottle. Please enter through the door in the lane 25 feet east of Jackson Avenue. Photo by Ed Law

Annual General Meeting and After Party

Join us April 12th for our Annual General Meeting at 111 West Hastings Street at 6 pm. There will be a small gathering with refreshments from Tama Organic and wine from Stoneboat Vineyards at KW production Studio following the AGM from 7 until 9:30 pm. Buy your membership now either online via eventbrite or mail us this form with your payment enclosed… More ›

Summer Work Opportunities **Due March 2nd!**

ABOUT THE SOCIETY The Powell Street Festival Society’s (PSFS) mission is to cultivate Japanese Canadian arts and culture to connect communities. Our main activity is producing the Powell Street Festival (PSF) in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood. PSF is an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture. It is the largest event of its kind in Canada and the longest running… More ›

2018 Festival Applications now open!

Please choose the appropriate application form below. If you have already registered or applied through this site in previous years, you can log in to your profile page using the right sidebar. For Community Booths 2018 Community Booth Application For Craft Vendors 2018 Craft Vendor Application For Displays 2018 Display Application For Food Booth Vendors If you have not been… More ›

3rd Annual Design Competition – – Call for Entries!

Presented in partnership with Revery Architecture and Abaton Projects, students are invited to design an interactive artwork for the 42nd Anniversary Powell Street Festival, scheduled for August 4 and 5, 2018. The winning submission is awarded mentorship from Revery Architecture and Abaton Projects, and a commission and production budget to build their design. The submission deadline is April 3, 2018… More ›

Sumire Yoshihara + Miyama McQueen-Tokita

The Annex 823 Seymour Street, 2nd Floor, Vancouver Saturday, March 17, 8PM Free pre-show chat at 7:15PM Tickets $35 general, $25 senior, $15 student UPDATE! We regret to inform that Kazue Sawai will be unable to perform as originally scheduled. We are pleased that Kazue Sawai has highly recommended, and introduced to us Miyama McQueen-Tokita, who will be joining Sumire… More ›