Organizers of the Powell Street Festival have secured a new outdoor venue for their event this weekend, after protestors forced them from the festival's traditional home of Oppenheimer Park.
Organizers announced Tuesday morning they will relocate the festival's main outdoor site to nearby Alexander Street (between Princess and Dunlevy) and Jackson Avenue (between Railway and Cordova).
“We are very excited about the new plan for this year’s festival and the fact that we are remaining in the historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood near our indoor venues,” said festival GM and Programming Director Kristen Lambertson. “While it’s disappointing not to have use of Oppenheimer Park, we believe this could be one of our biggest and best festivals to date and we invite everyone to come enjoy our free event.”
The new site spans four city blocks and will feature one main stage located on Alexander, west of Jackson, with non-stop entertainment from 11:30am – 7pm on Saturday and Sunday.
While move will result in some programming changes, the list of artists, activities, demonstrations, and vendors will move ahead as planned.
“We’re also thrilled that we were able to retain our fantastic lineup of performers, over 25 craft and market booths, community booths and over 15 food vendors,” Lambertson said.
Food booths, including new vendors selling ramen and Japanese style hotdogs, will run along Jackson Avenue, while craft booths, community booths and the children’s tent will be centralized around the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Alexander Street. The sumo tournament and martial arts demonstrations will continue indoors at the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall.
The 38th Annual Powell Street Festival launches this Friday with a ticketed concert at Electric Owl. Participating venues on Saturday and Sunday include the Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova), Vancouver Japanese Language School and Hall (475 Alexander), Vancouver Buddhist Temple (220 Jackson) and Centre A (229 E. Georgia).
Festival organizers announced last week they wouldn't be holding events at Oppenheimer Park after protestors set up camp to protest the lack of affordable housing in the Downtown Eastside to assert aboriginal title to the land.
"We acknowledge and respect the concerns of the homeless and community residents in the Oppenheimer Park area, located on unceded Coast Salish territory," organizers said in a press release. "For this reason, the Powell Street Festival Society will not use the area of Oppenheimer Park where the protest is taking place and do not support the removal order or the threat of removal of residents in the park in any way."
The Powell Street Festival celebrates Japanese-Canadian art and culture in the historic Japanese-Canadian neighbourhood of which Oppenheimer Park has been the historic heart. The park was once home to the legendary Asahi baseball team and the centre of a vibrant community prior to the Japanese-Canadian internment of the Second World War.
"During [the Second World War], the community experienced the confiscation of their homes and businesses, detention, relocation and internment. As such the Powell Street Festival Society has empathy for the current situation," stated organizers in their press release. "We understand that while we have celebrated the Japanese Canadian community in the historically significant location of Oppenheimer Park for the last 37 years, there are many other issues at stake that create challenges for a timely resolution."
The three-day outdoor festival is the longest running community-based arts and culture festival in the Lower Mainland, and the largest Japanese Canadian festival in the country, now in its 38th year.
For updates on event location and details, visit it PowellStreetFestival.com
