50th Annual Powell Street Festival FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 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 … Read more
Honouring Shig Hirai at Powell Street Festival In 1977, the same year Powell Street Festival welcomed hosted our first festival, Shig Hirai (1937 – 2025) alongside his wife Akemi founded Fujiya, a beloved Japanese grocery store. For now five decades, these two institutions grew side by side, each strengthening the Japanese Canadian community. Shig himself was a devoted festival-goer, a passionate … Read more
Volunteer at the 2026 Powell Street Festival Apply to Volunteer Here Questions? Email volunteer@powellstreetfestival.com Festival Volunteer Roles We have a range of volunteer roles available during pre-Festival, Festival Weekend, and post-Festival days. Some involve walking, lifting, and pushing a dolly, while others are more seated. You’ll be working alongside other volunteers and staff, with many … Read more
50th Annual Powell Street Festival Poster Festival Illustrator: Ella Oriye Tani Ella Oriye Tani is a Chinese Japanese Canadian illustrator and casual graphic novelist based in Burnaby, BC. She is inspired by the nature of the West Coast and is drawn to blending fantasy with aspects of her local environment. Ella attended her first Powell Street Festival when she was three years old, and ever … Read more
Add Your Heading Text Here 18th Annual Asahi Tribute Game Join us Sunday June 7th; 10-2pm at Oppenheimer park. This event is open to everyone regardless of any baseball experience. We will learn how to play the game in the morning alongside Vancouvers DUDES Club, enjoy hot dogs for lunch, then wrap up the day … Read more
2025 Festival Program Celebrate Japanese Canadian arts, culture, and community on August 2 & 3, 2025 Vancouver, BC — July 10, 2025 —The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) proudly announces the return of the 49th Annual Powell Street Festival on Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, 2025, from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at … Read more
Pre-Festival Art Workshops Pre-Festival Art Workshops July 7th, 14th, and 21st at Oppenheimer Park FREE, Drop-in Events Our pre-festival workshops at Oppenheimer Park are back again this year! Come on down to the festival grounds and kick off the celebrations with some art making and dance in community for free! We will be serving watermelon, juice, and freezies to keep cool on the warm summer days. … Read more
Volunteer with Powell Street Festival Society – Make an Impact Year-Round! Volunteer Opportunity for Year-round programs Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) is looking for volunteers not only for our annual festival but also for our year-round programs that support the Japanese Canadian and Downtown Eastside communities. Whether you’re interested in supporting communities in the DTES … Read more
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
Photos from the 48th Annual Powell Street Festival
“Sound of Dreams” Dream of Riches Inspired Soundtrack Project Onibana Taiko – (left to right) E. Kage and NoriNori Inspired by the images from the iconic Dream of Riches Collection, comprised of photos from JC community members and compiled by the late Tamio Wakayama, Onibana Taiko presents an immersive contemplation of our community ancestor’s lives … Read more
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, … Read more
Children’s Sumo Workshop 2024 Register Here Join us for a morning of sumo training! These sessions’ aim to build confidence and safety around this popular Japanese sport in preparation for the Festival. Children ages 2-18, regardless of size, gender, or experience are welcome to participate. From 10-10:45 am will be ages 2-12 and 11-11:45am will be … Read more
IzumonookunI Blog Post Powell Street Festival Society is proud to be supporting the development of “IzumonookunI,” a multidisciplinary dance inspired by Izumo no Okuni, the 17th century cis-female founder of kabuki: a Japanese dance-drama form that currently contains little trace of its cis-female-centric, grassroots, counter-cultural origins. The following blog post is a reflection by choreographer Aretha Aoki on her motivations and ethos in … Read more
On Difficult and Necessary Conversations: An Update on Powell Street Festival Fall Programming This is a new kind of update, for Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS). It is shaped by the increasingly volatile times through which we are living. We summarize the ‘takeaways’ of our update in the paragraph below, but encourage you to read … Read more
Photos from the 47th Annual Powell Street Festival
Paueru Mashup Dance Lessons 2023 Join us this summer for in-person Paueru Mashup Dance lessons at Oppenheimer Park. The Paueru Mashup is a community dance that is accessible for all ages and abilities across the country. No dance experience necessary. Free, weekly lessons every Tuesday in July (4th, 11th, 18th and 25th) from 3pm-4:30pm at Oppenheimer … Read more
Children’s Sumo Workshop Register Here Join us for an afternoon of sumo training! This session’s aim is to build confidence and safety around this popular Japanese sport in preparation for the Festival. Children ages 2-14, regardless of size, gender, or experience are welcome to participate. Activities will include warm-up exercises, practice matches, and a mini … Read more
Can’t make it to Paueru Gai this year? Join our Festival Connect Livestream to catch featured performances and live on-location reporting from the Festival Grounds to your location through YouTube live. Plus, join the conversation through moderated live chat. Scroll down to see this year’s lineup of content, and click “watch now” to tune in … Read more
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
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
