Society News – Powell Street Festival Society

Powell Street Festival Society Welcomes Sophie Yamauchi Latimer as Executive Director

December 4, 2024December 2, 2024 by PSF

For Immediate Release — The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Sophie Kristveig Yamauchi Latimer as its new Executive Director. A fourth-generation Japanese Canadian (Yonsei), Sophie brings extensive experience in non-profit management and community engagement. She succeeds Emiko Morita, who has served as Executive Director since 2015, to lead … Read more

paueru gaizette No. 6

November 5, 2024November 5, 2024 by PSF

paueru gaizette no. 6 Read this edition This edition of the zine explores the duality of grief and healing. Like a coin the print version of the zine is double sided with two themes “healing through celebration” and “to celebrate is to grieve” however, you may find elements of both themes interwoven throughout. The healing … Read more

Thank you for coming to the 48th Annual Powell Street Festival!!

September 26, 2024August 25, 2024 by PSF

Powell Street Festival 2024 the largest Japanese Festival in Canada

48th Annual Powell Street Festival 48th Powell Street Festival Artwork by Nicole Larsen (https://rippleandrise.ca/) It’s official! The 48th Powell Street Festival returns on August 3rd and 4th, 2024! Get ready for a vibrant celebration filled with mouthwatering festival foods, one-of-a-kind craft vendors, captivating exhibitions, and dynamic performances! Plus, don’t miss out on our crowd-favourite lottery … Read more

Celebrate Japanese Canadian art and culture at the 48th Annual Powell Street Festival!

September 26, 2024July 12, 2024 by PSF

Powell Street Festival Japanese Canadian Art and Culture Summer Festival in Vancouver

2024 Festival Program The Powell Street Festival, Vancouver’s annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts and culture, is set to return August 3 – 4, 2024 from 11:30am – 7:00pm with a diverse spectrum of free events and activities for all ages. Centered in the historic Paueru Gai neighbourhood, the festival spans Oppenheimer Park (400 Block, Powell Street) … Read more

Reflections from the 2023 Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort

June 10, 2024 by PSF

This past summer, Powell Street Festival Society welcomed our second Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort to Vancouver. This program for Japanese Canadian youth ages 19-29 aims to create an embodied experience of Japanese Canadian identity as vibrant and vital. Beginning with online training, education, intergenerational relationship building, and skills development, this program culminated in a 10-day … Read more

paueru gaizette No. 5

April 22, 2024April 22, 2024 by PSF Staff

Paueru Gaizette 005 Begin again cover image Powell Street Festival Zine

paueru gaizette no. 5 Read this edition The next edition of the paueru gaizette invites you to Begin Again “As both a place of joy and grief, as something we must do after loss, and something we can always do.” writes guest curator, and JC Cohort alumni, Anaïs Peterson. From poems, puzzles, and collage, to … Read more

paueru gaizette No. 4

January 12, 2024January 10, 2024 by PSF Staff

Paueru Gaizette 005 Begin again cover image

paueru gaizette no. 4 Read this edition After a brief hiatus, the paueru gaizette zine is back with another issue, “sounds like home”. What sounds like home to you? “For myself, having grown up around a big extended family, I think about people gathering in the kitchen at my grandparents’ house. Working together to cook … Read more

Catching Up with Volunteers at Godzilla

November 21, 2023November 21, 2023 by PSF Staff

Catching Up with Volunteers at Godzilla Written by Vanessa Matsubara, 2022-2023 Powell Street Festival production staff This October, Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) partnered with The Cinematheque to present Godzilla: King of Kaiju, a Halloween season film series saluting the epic reign of the kaiju king. We were glad to see the pop culture icon … Read more

Behind Minori Harvest: The Butternut Squash Miso Soup Recipe

November 2, 2023October 31, 2023 by PSF Staff

Behind Minori Harvest: The Butternut Squash Miso Soup Recipe In anticipation of this year’s Minori Harvest event on Sunday, November 5th at Oppenheimer Park, we would like to share our recipe for our delicious butternut squash miso soup. With the help of our volunteers, we prepare and distribute 300 servings of this soup every year as … Read more

paueru gaizette No. 3

January 12, 2024September 5, 2023 by PSF Staff

paueru gaizette no. 3 Read this edition Check out the third edition of the paueru gaizette, created by members of our Advocacy and Outreach Committee! This edition’s theme is “generations,” and includes reflections on “…our hope, our responsibility, and our continuum between the old and the new.” Inside, you will find poems connecting us to our ancestors, … Read more

Celebrate Japanese Canadian art and culture at the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival!

November 6, 2023August 5, 2023 by PSF

Powell Street Festival Society announces the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival this August 5-6, 2023, 11:30 am to 7:00 pm. This free two-day celebration of Japanese Canadian art and culture in Oppenheimer Park and the surrounding Paueru Gai area presents a spectrum of events and entertainment for all: from live performances to a Japanese food … Read more

paueru gaizette No. 2

January 12, 2024January 30, 2023 by PSF

paueru gaizette no. 2 Read this edition The second issue of Powell Street Festival Society’s Advocacy and Outreach Committee’s paueru gaizette is here! This issue’s theme is: what do we harvest? Members of our Advocacy and Outreach Committee wanted to engage with what the change into fall and winter means to different members of our community. … Read more

Reflections from the 2022 Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort

October 17, 2022September 26, 2022 by PSF

This past summer, Powell Street Festival Society welcomed our first-ever Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort to Vancouver. This new program for Japanese Canadian youth ages 19-29 aims to create an embodied experience of Japanese Canadian identity as vibrant and vital. Beginning with online training, education, intergenerational relationship building, and skills development, this program culminated in a … Read more

Introducing paueru gaizette No. 1

January 12, 2024August 22, 2022 by PSF

front page of the inaugural issue of the Paueru Gaizette

Created by members of Powell Street Festival Society’s Advocacy and Outreach Committee, the paueru gaizette is a new zine and a place to explore “thoughts, concerns, feelings, questions and whatever else—about the place of the Japanese Canadian community in the Downtown Eastside, about the overlaps between and elisions within our two communities […] about all … Read more

Press Release: PSFS Presents Studio Programsounds’ Kūsou/空相 at Anvil Theatre in association with New Media Gallery, Anvil Theatre, and Formscape Arts Society

October 18, 2023July 12, 2022 by PSF

Powell Street Festival Society, in association with New Media Gallery, Anvil Theatre, and Formscape Arts Society, proudly present Studio Programsounds’ Kūsou/空相, a new immersive audio-visual installation drawing on Japanese calligraphy and western flute. Through real-time computer graphics, calligraphic kanji characters are represented as continuously transforming visual scenery, backed by an auditory landscape of acoustic and … Read more

Press Release: Announcing the 46th Annual Powell Street Festival

October 18, 2023July 11, 2022 by PSF

What is old is new at the 46th Annual Powell Street Festival as we gather in-person to celebrate Japanese Canadian art and culture in Oppenheimer Park and Paueru Gai (the Powell Street area) this July 30 and 31! Three stages feature contemporary and traditional artists, community food vendors and crafters offer favourite Japanese delights and … Read more

Announcing the 2022 Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort

June 20, 2022January 31, 2022 by PSF

Powell Street Festival Society proudly announces the 2022 Japanese Canadian Youth Cohort. This new program offers an expenses-paid opportunity for young Japanese Canadians, age 19 to 29, who were raised outside of British Columbia to attend the Powell Street Festival, participate in its production, attend training sessions, and create an embodied experience of Japanese Canadian … Read more

Read the 2021 Annual Report Now!

January 18, 2022January 17, 2022 by PSF

During 2021, Powell Street Festival Society presented a hybrid, distributed Powell Street Festival in Paueru Gai and around Vancouver and off-season programming including the Paueru Gai Dialogues, Talking the Walk: Reflections on the 360 Riot Walk, Miyō: Powell Street Festival at the Rio, plus a suite of DTES Community Care programs. See the data behind … Read more

PSFS Receives Support for Workers in Live Arts and Music Sectors Fund Grant from Canadian Heritage

December 14, 2021November 4, 2021 by PSF

PSFS Receives Support for Workers in Live Arts and Music Sectors Fund Grant from Canadian Heritage Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) is proud to announce the support of Canadian Heritage’s Support for Workers in Live Arts and Music Sectors Fund. The grant is designed to support the arts and cultural sectors in creating opportunities for … Read more

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

June 1, 2020May 4, 2020 by PSF

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 … Read more

Pulling Together

April 8, 2020 by PSF

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 … Read more