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LunarFest Vancouver Lunar New Year Events and Celebrations

February 5, 2024

LunarFest Vancouver is a celebration of the Lunar New Year. The arts and cultural festival features live entertainment, lantern displays and more.

In 2024 the festival ran from February 9th to 29th. It included lots of interesting activities, including on the Lunar New Year weekend during the festival’s first couple of days, and on the Family Day Long Weekend of February 17th to 19th. On February 9th and 10th, for example, there were dragon dances, craft activities and an arts market at Granville Island. There were also craft workshops in the plaza in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

For the festival’s official website visit lunarfestvancouver.ca.

This article contains the following information about LunarFest:

Lantern City Lanterns in Vancouver — The Lantern City Lanterns (from 2019)

LunarFest Vancouver in 2024

The Lunar New Year is a traditional celebration in a number of Asian cultures. It’s the first day of a calendar based on the cycles of the moon where one of 12 zodiac animals represents each year. 2024 is the Year of the Dragon (or at least that’s the case for this year in most cultures celebrating the day).

LunarFest is an annual celebration of the Lunar New Year in Vancouver. The festival first began in 2009. It was a notable part of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and has been taking place annually since then. The festival features artistic displays, exhibits, performances and workshops over a few weeks in February.

Hosted by the same organization behind TaiwanFest in September, the LunarFest series of events ran from February 9th to 29th in 2024. Other events related to LunarFest that also celebrate the Lunar New Year are The Lantern City and LNY Splash. The first of these features a number of lantern art displays in downtown Vancouver. The second also showcases a few outdoor art exhibits, plus a number of films at the VIFF Centre.

The series of events is inclusive to everyone. It’s an expression of several Asian cultures with the goal of bringing local communities together.

Lanterns at Ocean Art Works Pavilion on Granville Island

LunarFest Schedule

LunarFest Vancouver 2024 ran from February 9th to 29th. The theme of this year’s festival was “Born to be Free.”

Locations and dates of things you could check out are listed below. As of mid-January, some details were to be confirmed.

The Lantern City

Lantern displays took place at the following locations in 2024:

šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (750 Hornby Street) – February 9th to 28th. (Note: At this location there was also a LYN Splash art exhibit.)
Jack Poole Plaza (1055 Canada Place) – February 9th to 27th.
Ocean Art Works on Granville Island (1531 Johnston Street) – February 9th to 26th.
Pendulum Gallery (885 West Georgia Street) – February 5th to March 1st.

To learn more about the above art installations, continue reading, see our article about The Lantern City or visit the website thelanterncity.ca.

LunarFest Celebrations

Special events and activities took place at the following locations in 2024:

Ocean Art Works at Granville Island (1531 Johnston Street) – crafts, performances, market vendors and other activities on weekends between February 10th and 25th.
šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (750 Hornby Street) – craft activities happened in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on February 10th and 11th.

Details about these events can be found further below in this article.

LunarFest Concert: Together We Are!

A special free performance took place in downtown Vancouver.

The Orpheum (601 Smithe Street) – February 13th at 7:30 pm.

The concert featured the Harmonia String Ensemble and West Van Youth Band. Performers in the concert included Anna Sagalova, Daniel Lew, Nicholas Urquhart and Van Lefan. For full details, click 2024 LunarFest Concert.

Continue reading to learn more about some of the featured events listed above.

The Lantern City in Vancouver

There were The Lantern City art installations at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (outside the Vancouver Art Gallery), Jack Poole Plaza and Granville Island. This year, there was also an exhibition at the Pendulum Gallery. The displays were free to admire and each location had a different theme.

Lantern City at the Vancouver Art Gallery: We are a Family

The art installation in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery took place in šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square which is in the 800 block of West Georgia Street between Howe Street and Hornby.

In 2024 the theme of the lanterns outside the art gallery was “We are a Family.” The lantern art recognized and showcased the diverse communities of Metro Vancouver. The displays at this location could be admired anytime between February 9th and 28th.

Also at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square at the same time, there was a LYN Splash art exhibit as well (so there were two things to see). It was Luna the Dragon by artist Nickie Lewis.

Lantern City at Jack Poole Plaza: Coastal Lunar Lanterns

A lantern art installation was also set up in Jack Poole Plaza which is on the west side of the Vancouver Convention Centre at 1055 Canada Place. It’s the same square as the Cauldron from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The display at this venue could be seen anytime between February 9th and 27th in 2024. This year the art was called “Coastal Lunar Lanterns” and it had an Indigenous theme.

(TIP: Jack Poole Plaza is at the edge of the Coal Harbour Seawall which makes a great place for a walk or bike ride.)

The Lantern City Lanterns at Jack Poole Plaza — Lanterns at Jack Poole Plaza (Photo by StepByStep2TR)

Lantern City at Granville Island: Forever Young

This part of The Lantern City art installations was on display at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island from February 9th to 26th in 2024. The lanterns were free to see at any time between these dates and they had a “Forever Young” theme. The lanterns inspired the creativity of children as well as the inner child in everyone else.

Ocean Artworks is a covered, outdoor pavilion and public space located at 1531 Johnston Street. It’s close to the Granville Island Public Market and almost, but not quite, directly under the Granville Street Bridge. The lanterns were great to see in combination with a visit to the market and other shops at Granville Island, or while in the area for shopping, dinner at a restaurant or seeing some theatre.

Best times to check out the lanterns were at night (when they were at their prettiest), or during the day when LunarFest Community Celebrations were also taking place.

(TIP: Granville Island is famous for its unique shops, art studios, restaurants and theatres. It’s also next to the False Creek Seawall which is a great place for walks and leisurely bike rides.)

LunarFest Art Workshop at Ocean Art Works Pavilion — LunarFest Art Workshop at Granville Island

Lantern City at the Pendulum Gallery

New for 2024, an exhibition was also set up inside the Pendulum Gallery. Located at 885 West Georgia Street, the featured displays were all about cultural practices, identity and artistic perspectives. The exhibition was available to check out from February 5th until March 1st in 2024.

(TIP: The Pendulum Gallery is across the street from the Vancouver Art Gallery, which was another location with lantern displayed from February 9th to 28th. It would have been worthwhile to have checked out both locations while in the area!)

To learn more about Lantern City events visit the website thelanterncity.ca.

The Lantern City at Vancouver Art Gallery — Outside the Vancouver Art Gallery (Photo by Jennifer Chen)

LunarFest Community Celebrations

Community Celebrations are usually held at two different locations, including Ocean Art Works at Granville Island (so at the same place as one of the Lantern City displays). The other venue is šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (which is the north plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery).

Community Celebrations Outside the Vancouver Art Gallery

The other Community Celebrations usually take place at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square which is in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. The square is on West Georgia Street between Hornby Street and Howe Street. In recent years there have been craft activities, souvenirs and informational displays about LunarFest. There have also been over six food vendors.

Below was the schedule of activities outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2024. With the craft activities, they all had free admission, except for the Bamboo Lantern ones.

Saturday, February 10th, 2024

11:00 am – Leaping Dragon Craft Workshop at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square (i.e. in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery)
12:30 pm – Dragon Charm of Freedom Craft Workshop at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square (i.e. in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery)

Sunday, February 11th, 2024

11:00 am – Leaping Dragon Craft Workshop at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square (i.e. in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery)
12:30 pm to 4:00 pm – Dragon Charm of Freedom Craft Workshop at šxʷƛ̓ ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square (i.e. in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery)

The Lantern City on Granville Island — At Granville Island (Photo by ACSEA)

Community Celebrations at Granville Island

There are Community Celebrations on Granville Island during LunarFest most years. 2024 was no exception. Activities were available on select days this year. They ran from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm on the weekends of February 10th and 11th, 17th to 19th and 24th and 25th.

Activities included artist talks, a new arts market and the “Island Tribute” weaving exhibition. There were also various arts and crafts workshops to check out. Most were free to attend. Folks could learn paper crafts, bamboo weaving and more.

Below was the schedule of activities at Granville Island in February 2024.