Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

We On! The 34 annual Powell Street Festival

Today and tomorrow, the Powell Street Festival returns to its home, the newly renovated Oppenheimer Park (400 block of Powell Street) in Vancouver's old Japan Town.
Today and tomorrow, the Powell Street Festival returns to its home, the newly renovated Oppenheimer Park (400 block of Powell Street) in Vancouver's old Japan Town. Come down and get your sumo on with Vancouver's Japanese Canadian community and far beyond. Vancouver's No Luck Club who have recently relocated to Toronto to further their music career return for their 3rd collaboration with Total Constructive Interference Taiko (Eileen Kage & Leslie Komori) for Rhythm Clash III @ 4:30pm on Sunday. See their 2008 performance HERE. Full Festival Schedule Pics from last year Nighttime Gig! TOCHKA (JAPAN) & DYNAMO COLEOPTERA (MONTREAL) Saturday, July 31st, 8:00pm, Chapel Arts The Powell Street Festival invites festival-goers to an evening double-bill that spans the globe: new media artists Tochka from Japan, and music and dance performers Dynamo Coléoptera from Montreal. Full Festival, Tochka/Dynamo gig details below the cut Nighttime Gig! TOCHKA (JAPAN) & DYNAMO COLEOPTERA (MONTREAL) Saturday, July 31st, 8:00pm, Chapel Arts The Powell Street Festival invites festival-goers to an evening double-bill that spans the globe: new media artists Tochka from Japan, and music and dance performers Dynamo Coléoptera from Montreal. Tochka presents the Pika Pika Lightning Doodle Project, a spontaneous interactive project involving the public. Using light sources such as cell phones, iPods, bike lights and more as drawing tools, Tochka coordinates improvisational doodling sessions that result in a unique creative project. Dynamo Coléoptera (Maya Kuroki on electric guitar, vocals, keyboards and theatrics, and François Girouard, on the drums, keyboard, bass guitar, flute, and soundscapes) is joined by dancer Tomomi Morimoto in a performance that bursts with poetry, lyricism and surrealist fantasy. The Powell Street Festival is the largest Japanese Canadian festival and the longest running community celebration in Vancouver! Enjoy traditional and contemporary Japanese Canadian performances, including taiko drumming, sumo wrestling, martial arts demos, folk and modern dance, alternative pop/rock/urban music, visual arts, film/video, as well as a fantastic array of Japanese food, crafts, & displays. The Festival continues its 3rd year of the Zero Waste Challenge, incorporating composting and recycling stations, as well as a Free Bike Valet for all festival attendees. ***THE POWELL STREET FESTIVAL IS HEADING HOME! After last year’ one-year relocation to Woodland Park, the Powell Street Festival will return to its traditional home in the newly-renovated Oppenheimer Park. Taking inspiration from the Japanese notion of Koen debut, or Park debut, whereupon neighbourhood toddlers are introduced to their local community, the 34th Annual Powell Street Festival celebrates the idea of neighbourhood, youth, children, the park and its landscape itself.*** FESTIVAL WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS Cross-disciplinary collaboration by Toronto-based contemporary dancer Andrea Nann and Vancouver theatre artist Maiko Bae Yamamoto * World premiere of the Podplay The Oppenheimer Incident, a downloadable audio theatre piece by NeWorld Theatre (Vancouver) * Performances by local bluegrass band Shout!WhiteDragon, butoh innovators Kokoro Dance (Vancouver), Katari Taiko (Vancouver) with Latin percussionist Mario Zetina, and many more * Screening of award-winning video art from Japan * Historic walking tours, bonsai and ikebana demonstrations, and tea ceremonies * Full schedule available online at http://www.powellstreetfestival.com. RHYTHM CLASH I (2008)

Rhythm Clash @ Powell Street Festival, 2008 from Japfunk on Vimeo.