Home Vancouver Events Calendar Festivals and Events in Vancouver in 2024 Vancouver’s City of Bhangra (5X) Festival

Vancouver’s City of Bhangra (5X) Festival

Dancers at Bhangra Festival

The City of Bhangra Festival is a performing arts festival in Vancouver that celebrates the dance and music of the Punjab regions of Pakistan and India.

 

Lower Mainland Bhangra Festival

As of 2018, the City of Bhangra Festival has changed its name to the 5X Festival. The festival is still similar to what it was in the past – a celebration of South Asian music and culture – but the name has changed.

 


Click 5X Festival for details about the event.


 

Where and When

The City of Bhangra Festival is a music and dance festival that takes place in “unique” community locations across Vancouver and Surrey.

Ticketed venues in recent years include Club 560, the Rio Theatre, Fox Cabaret and Fortune Sound Club in Vancouver, as well as Surrey’s Kwantlen Polytechnic University and City Hall Plaza.

2018 Vancouver venues included Celebrities Night Club and the Space An Art Gallery. Surrey locations in 2018 included Blackbird Hall, Surrey City Hall and Central City Plaza.

In 2017 the City of Bhangra Festival was a 7-day event running from June 11 to 17. In both 2018 and 2019 it was a 4-day event in mid-June. The 2020 event was mostly online because of COVID-19.

In 2021, the 5X Festival is a 3-day Blockparty event that runs from September 17 to 19. Musical performances are held at The Beaumont Studios in Vancouver. For details about this year’s event, check out our 5X Festival article.

 

Bhangra Crowds at Art Gallery
Downtown Bhangra in past years outside the Vancouver Art Gallery

 

Downtown Bhangra

The largest free City of Bhangra event is Downtown Bhangra which in past years was in the plaza outdoors at the Vancouver Art Gallery at the corner of Hornby and Georgia but this year is in the plaza outside Surrey City Hall.

Featuring hundreds of performers from the local area, across Canada and abroad, Downtown Bhangra offers a great opportunity to experience East Indian music, dance and culture at no cost. It’s well worth checking out.

In 2017 the Downtown Bhangra event took place on Saturday, June 17th, from 12 to 8 pm.

 

Other Information

For information about the new version of the City of Bhangra Festival, click 5X Festival.