Powell Street Festival 2025 in Vancouver

Celebrate Japanese Canadian arts, culture, and community at the 49th Annual Powell Street Festival, returning to Oppenheimer Park and surrounding venues on Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3, 2025, from 11:30 AM to 7:00 PM each day. This free, family-friendly event is one of Canada’s longest-running community arts festivals and takes place in Paueru Gai, Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood in the Downtown Eastside.

📍 Festival Location

Main Hub: Oppenheimer Park (400 block of Powell Street, between Dunlevy and Jackson Ave)
Additional Venues:

• Firehall Arts Centre – 280 E Cordova St

• Vancouver Buddhist Temple – 220 Jackson Ave

• Vancouver Japanese Language School – 487 Alexander St
  🌐 powellstreetfestival.com

🗓 Festival Dates & Hours

Saturday, August 2, 2025 | 11:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 3, 2025 | 11:30 AM – 7:00 PM

🎊 Event Highlights

• Chibi Taiko: Canada’s first youth taiko ensemble with powerful performances

• Big Print: Watch large-scale woodblock printmaking using a steamroller as a press

• Landscapes of Home: A moving film about the impact of WWII on Japanese Canadian identity

• Opening Ceremonies, Daruma Meet & Greet, and Radio & Nikkei Taiso participatory exercises

• Sumo Tournament, Tea Ceremony, and Tug-of-War games

• Live Music & Dance: Featuring taiko drumming, Okinawan music, jazz, yosakoi, and folk

• Martial Arts Demonstrations: Karate, kempo, bujutsu, iaido, and kenjutsu

• Children’s Tent: Origami, Kiai Contest, watermelon game, and crafts

• Literary Readings & Panels: Poetry, wartime reflections, and script readings

• Visual Arts & Theatre: Ikebana displays, interdisciplinary performances, and stage plays

🧭 Accessibility & Festival Info

• Zero Waste Festival: Composting stations, reusable tumblers, and water bottle filling stations available on-site

• Free Bike Valet and easy access by transit

• Wheelchair-accessible washrooms, gender-neutral toilets, first aid, senior seating areas, and ASL interpretation for select programs

• Japanese-language MCs and multilingual volunteers on-site

🎭 About the Powell Street Festival

Since 1977, the Powell Street Festival has served as a hub for traditional and contemporary Japanese Canadian arts and culture. It provides a platform for both emerging and established artists, fosters community connection, and honours the neighbourhood’s heritage on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. With more than 20,000 attendees annually, the festival represents resilience, artistic excellence, and inclusive community values.

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