Make a Wish with the Daruma

This past year has been a particularly difficult one, and we hope that 2021 has good fortune in store for us all. As you may know, darumas are seen as symbols of perseverance and luck. They’re also the unofficial Powell Street Festival mascot! The eyes of the daruma are initially blank. They are meant to be filled in on one side when a wish is made and only completed on both when that wish is fulfilled.  In the spirit of Powell St Festival, we encourage you to… More ›

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PowellStFest Holiday Gift Box

Curated holiday gift boxes featuring unique handmade items from Powell Street Festival craft vendors! https://powell-street-festival.myshopify.com/ Powell Street Festival is proud to collaborate with local Japanese Canadian crafters to bring holiday cheer to your home. These specially curated boxes demonstrate the creativity and skill of some of the festival’s long-time crafters and vendors. Featured vendors: Minori Takagi Picchie Zakka Mom’s Care Natural Handmade Soap Scandinazn Make… More ›

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Notice of Special General Meeting Wednesday, October 14 6:30 pm PST (online)

Notice of Special General Meeting Wednesday, October 14 6:30 pm PST (online) An online Special General Meeting will take place to vote on an amendment to Powell Street Festival Society’s Constitution, making an addition to its purposes. To attend, members are requested to email nathana@powellstreetfestival.com to register in advance and to receive a link to the online meeting. Proposed amendment The present purposes of… More ›

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Powell Street Festival Telethon raised $64,389 for the PowellStFest Community Kitchen Program!!

Thank you!! Due to the COVID19 health crisis, the 44th annual Powell Street Festival pivoted from it’s traditional in-person celebration to an online Telethon. It was a great success raising $64,389 (a ~322% increase over the initial goal of $20,000). The donations will fund our new PowellStFest Community Kitchen and help to scale the suite of social justice programming under… More ›

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Banner of Powell Street Festival Telethon 2020

Announcing: Powell Street Festival Telethon on August 1, 2020 from 2pm –7pm  

Celebrate Japanese Canadian culture while giving back to your community! Join us for a LIVE online telethon August 1, 2020 from 2pm – 7pm to watch live performances, highlights from previous festivals, appearances from festival vendors, and so much more. Tune in with your family and friends to experience the spirit of the festival right from your home! The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) produces the annual Japanese Canadian (JC) outdoor festival that takes place in the historic JC neighbourhood, Paueru Gai located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Side (DTES). The… More ›

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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 ›

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Winners of the 5th Annual Public Art and Design Competition for Powell Street Festival Announced 

Vancouver, BC (Monday, May 4, 2020) – UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture students Shaheed H. Karim and Amy Wu are the winners of the 5th Annual Public Art and Design Competition for Powell Street Festival Society. The team has been awarded a $1000 prize for their proposal titled Go Kingyo, a production budget, and mentorship from Revery Architecture and Abaton Projects.  The Go Kingyo installation takes inspiration from the goldfish which, in Japan, is a symbol of… More ›

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Mask Making Workshop

Mask Making Workshop – Accessible Skills Building Using Materials in Your Home in partnership with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation Wednesday, May 20th, 2-3 PM, RSVP: Eventbrite  Laura Fukumoto will be leading a free and interactive Zoom workshop making durable reusable face coverings from everyday items found around the home – no sewing skills required!  Wearing a mask is… More ›

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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 ›

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Curatorial Applications for the 44th Powell Street Festival are Now OPEN 

The Powell Street Festival Society is passionate about providing opportunities for new, emerging, mid-career and senior professional artists of Japanese heritage working in literary, visual, performing, new media, and inter- and community arts fields. If you are interested in curating a performance or program this year, please contact our Program Coordinator at samanthaatpowellstreetfestival.com with your CV/bio and proposed program details (type of program, duration, collaborators,… More ›

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Hiring Festival Production Team: Production Associate, Production Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator – Applications due February 21, 2020

JOB POSTING  The Powell Street Festival Society’s (PSFS) mission is to cultivate Japanese Canadian art and culture to connect communities. The main activity is producing the Powell Street Festival (PSF), an annual celebration of Japanese Canadian arts, music and culture in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood, Paueru Gai in the Downtown Eastside (DTES). With the support of over 250 volunteers, this two-day free event… More ›

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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 ›

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We’re Hiring!!!

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

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Lessons from I-Hotel: A reading and conversation on a San Francisco SRO with Karen Tei Yamashita

Friday, November 8 from 8-10pm  InterUrban Gallery, 1 E. Hastings, entrance on Carrall FREE In this conversation between author Karen Tei Yamashita and writer/community organizer Erica Hiroko Isomura, lessons and stories from I Hotel (Coffee House press, 2010) are discussed through the context of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood in which low-income, racialized, and stigmatized residents struggle for justice everyday…. More ›

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Introducing our new Artist Residency in Japan! 
  • News
  • September 10, 2019

The Powell Street Festival Society (PSFS) is pleased to present its inaugural partnership with the Artist in Residence Yamanashi (AIRY) program. This artist-run initiative, based in the mountainous region of Yamanashi, Japan, focuses on cultivating community, connections, and work between artists from Japan and abroad. Artists in this program are provided accommodation, studio space, local outreach opportunities, and a final exhibition. PSFS… More ›

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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 ›

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Queer Japan at Queer Film Festival

Queer Japan Screening at Vancouver Queer Film Festival August 18 @ 9 PM SFU Goldcorp Cinema Tickets $10 – $14 Trailblazing artists, activists, and everyday people from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality defy social norms and dare to live unconventional lives in this kaleidoscopic view of Japanese LGBTQ+ culture. Using over 100 interviews conducted over 3 years in locations… More ›

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Photo of Lottery Draw

Congratulations to our Lottery Winners!

Please pick up your lottery prize between August 12th to 23rd from 10 am to 4 pm. After August 23rd, contact Cara at admin@powellstreetfestival.com to pick up your prize by appointment.   Prize # Winning Ticket # Winner’s Name Name of Prize 1 2273 Themba Tana Flight to Japan for two and $200 in J-station Credit 2 2275 Yuki Kawai Dinner… More ›

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Children’s Sumo Workshop ちびっこ相撲ワークショップ

Date: Sunday, July 7  日付：7月７日（日） Time: 1 to 3 pm  時間：午後1時～3時 Location: Vancouver Buddhist Temple, 220 Jackson Street  場所: Vancouver Buddhist Temple(バンクーバー仏教会), 220 Jackson Street *The gymnasium is on the second floor. Enter from the alley door. Elevator available upon request. Phone PSFS Production Office at (604) 808-0054 and someone will come down to help you. * 体育館は二階にあります。路地側のドアからお入りください。エレベーターをご希望の方は申し上げください。PSFS Production Office (604)808-0054にお電話いただければスタッフが入り口まで迎えに行きます。 Ages:… More ›

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Lottery Tickets being sold by local businesses!

Powell Street Festival Lottery tickets for the 2019 season are available now until July 19th at the following businesses:  Blim 115 E. Pender St.  Dosanko Restaurant 566 Powell St.  Kami Insurance #200-678 W. Broadway St.  Massy Books 229 E. Georgia St.  Benny Foods 598 Union Street All proceeds from lottery ticket sales directly support the Powell Street Festival Society, more information can be found about the lottery here. Please… More ›

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