Powell Street Festival is turning 50! This annual festival of Japanese Canadian culture will celebrate its golden anniversary at a variety of locations in and around Oppenheimer Park on Saturday (August 1) and Sunday (August 2). All events are free.
The Diamond Stage at the northeast corner of the park will be the site of the opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Through the rest of the weekend, it will be one of the major centres of entertainment. The fun begins at 12:30 p.m. with participants belting out the famous “Tanko Bushi” coal miners’ song. That will be followed by “Paueru Gao Ondo”, a community-based song and dance honouring the Powell Street neighbourhood.
Then at 1 p.m., the Sakura Singers will take the stage to perform Japanese songs. Founded by Ruth Suzuki in 1970, the group invites anyone who loves these classics to sing along.
Dance lovers will be in for a treat when APPARE Yosakoi Vancouver members don their vibrant costumes and spread joy through movement. Yosakoi originated in Japan and the name APPARE has a double meaning. According to the Powell Street Festival, “the characters 天晴 mean ‘clear skies and sunny,’ and it’s also an exclamation shouted in Japan after an excellent performance.”
APPARE Yosakoi will be on the Diamond Stage at 2 p.m. Then, two taiko groups will follow, with Sawagi Taiko performing at 3 p.m. and Chibi Taiko on at 4 p.m.
The Saturday performances on the Diamond Stage will conclude with the Jason de Couto Trio at 5 p.m. and Southern Wave Okinawan Music and Dance Society at 6 p.m.
Southern Wave’s mission is to ensure that everyone can experience Okinawan culture through music and dance.
Diamond Stage has a full slate on Sunday
On Sunday, the Diamond Stage performances begin at 11:30 a.m. with Radio Taiso with Seniors from Nikkei Home showing their exercise routine.
GO Taiko and Taiko 55 will perform on the Diamond Stage at noon and Vancouver Okinawa Taiko will put on a show at 4:30 p.m. The closing act, JODAIKO, also performs taiko and they will close out the festival at 6:30 p.m.
JODAIKO was founded in 1988 as a traditional and contemporary taiko troupe. Originally, it offered opportunities for women to perform in what was then a male-dominated cultural tradition. Nowadays, it includes artists of varying identities.
Other Diamond Stage performances on Sunday include Marina and zmi performing at 1 p.m., Asian Persuasian All Stars rockin’ the park at 2 p.m., and World Soran! showing off their dance moves at 5:30 p.m.
Marina is a vocalist and sanshin player with Southern Wave Okinawa; zmi is a composer and pianist based in Japan.
Meanwhile, Asian Persuasion All Stars is comprised of a bunch of indie rockers and artists who came together during the pandemic for a fundraising song against racism.
“Their bold reworks of ‘Racist Friend’ and ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ turned into a musical adventure that continues to flourish,” Powell Street Festival declares on its website. “Mixing danceable reggae, ska, soul, and indie rock classics with a growing catalog of fresh original tunes, they keep the party conscious, contagious, and thought-provoking.”
The other act on the Diamond Stage, World Soran!, celebrates traditional Japanese folk dances tied to fishing culture. Members of the team perform across the region to honour early immigrants from Japan, many of whom earned their livelihoods in the fishing industry.
Watch the Asian Persuasion All Stars perform “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” (above).
Event details
The 50th annual Powell Street Festival will take place on August 1 and 2 in Oppenheimer Park and Paueru Gai (Powell Street area). Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. Also find Pancouver on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
