The Khatsahlano Street Party is a giant music and arts festival that takes place on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver’s Kitsilano district every year in July.
Khatsahlano Street Party
In 2019 this free event is on July 6th and once again it’ll be the year’s biggest arts and music festival within the City of Vancouver. Festivities will run on the Saturday from 11 am until 9 pm.
Khatsahlano 2019
In 2019 the Khatsahlano Street Party celebrates its eighth anniversary. The same as in past years, the event features free concerts with BC-based bands, street performances, artisan products for sale and gazillions of people. There are market stalls, food vendors, family-friendly activities and even a beer garden.
Where and When
The Khatsahlano Street Party takes place on a Saturday in early July each year along West 4th Avenue for the ten blocks between Burrard Street and MacDonald.
In 2019 the street party happens on Saturday, July 6th. It starts at 11 am and the fun, entertainment and partying continue until around 9 pm.
TIP # 1: With tens of thousands of people attending, parking in the area can be a serious challenge. Take public transit if you can and avoid the immediate vicinity with your car.
TIP # 2: There is usually a bicycle valet service on site and, being just a few blocks from the water and the Burrard Street Bridge, walking and cycling access via the False Creek Seawall is fairly convenient.
What to Expect at Khatsahlano
The Khatsahlano Street Party features multiple stages with over fifty local performing artists as well as market vendors, street performers, food trucks and an artisan market. Essentially it’s a massive street party, much like Car Free Day events or Greek Day on Broadway are at other times in the summer, although with more and larger concerts.
At the daylong event there are usually yoga sessions, cooking demonstrations, an urban obstacle course, drums, arts and crafts stations, a climbing wall, photo booth, lots of dancing and more.
2018 Bands
Headliner bands at the Khatsahlano Street Party in 2018 were the following (and the 2019 lineup will be comparable):
- Bif Naked – a major Canadian female singer who’s also performing at Port Moody’s Golden Spike Days on the Canada Day Long Weekend.
- Frazey Ford – a Vancouver-based Soul, Folk and Country singer.
- Leeroy Stagger – an Alberta-based singer and guitar player who grew up in Victoria.
Some of the other bigger name bands scheduled to perform at the festival in 2018 were the following:
- Actors – a 4-person post-Punk band.
- Jasper Sloan Yip – an Alternative, Folk and Indie Pop band that’s also performing at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival on July 1, 2018.
- Haley Blais – a young Vancouver-based Folk singer who is also performing on July 18, 2018, as part of the CBC Nooners Concert Series.
- Carmanah – a 5-person Victoria-based West Coast Soul band.
- Sam Tudor – a Vancouver-based musician and his band.
- Blue J – a 4-member “kind of blue” band from Vancouver.
- Schwey – a local Soul band that’s also performing at Vancouver’s Celebration of Light fireworks festival on August 1, 2018.
- Leisure Club – a 5-member Vancouver-based band that’s also performing this summer at North Vancouver’s Shipped Waterfront Festival on August 11th.
Other slightly lesser-known bands and musicians performing in 2018 included Circus in Flames, Club Sofa, Tim the Mute, Booty Ep, Kirsten Ludwig, Ponytails, Loig Morin, Alex Maher, Gentle Mind, Sleepy Gonzales, Apato Rekodo, Kitty & the Rooster, Aaron Trory, Bre McDaniel and Toque Flamenco.
2018 Concert Schedule
Live music takes place on a number of stages over the course of the day. Below is the schedule lineup for 2018.
The TD Music Stage is at Burrard Street, the Hyundai Stage is at Maple, the Coast Capital Stage is at Vine Street, the Music BC Stage is at Balsam and the Buddha Barn Stage is at MacDonald.
Note: Concert times and performance details are subject to change.
On the TD Music Burrard Stage
- 12:30 pm – Staggers & Jaggs
- 1:30 pm – Chersea
- 2:30 pm – Leisure Club
- 3:30 pm – Harlequin Gold
- 4:30 pm – Malcolm Jack
- 5:30 pm – Kimmortal
- 6:30 pm – Slow
- 8:00 pm – Bif Naked
On the Hyundai Maple Stage
- 12:30 pm – Future Star
- 1:30 pm – Blue Strange
- 2:30 pm – Graham Brown Band
- 3:30 pm – Kellarissa
- 4:30 pm – Sorry Edith
- 5:30 pm – Blue J
- 6:30 pm – Haley Blais
- 7:30 pm – Sam Tudor
On the Coast Capital Vine Stage
- 12:00 pm – Parlour Panther
- 1:00 pm – Tim the Mute
- 2:00 pm – Club Soda
- 3:00 pm – Gentle Mind
- 4:00 pm – Colin Cowan & the Elastic Stars
- 5:00 pm – Johnny Payne with the Margarita Machine
- 6:00 pm – Necking
- 7:00 pm – Actors
On the Music BC Balsam Stage
- 12:00 pm – Loig Morin
- 1:00 pm – Aaron Trory
- 2:00 pm – Sleepy Gonzales
- 3:00 pm – Booty Ep
- 4:00 pm – Wallgrin
- 5:00 pm – Layten Kramer
- 6:00 pm – Peach Pyramid
- 7:00 pm – Carmanah
On the Buddha Barn MacDonald Stage
- 12:00 pm – Circus in Flames
- 1:00 pm – Big Top
- 2:00 pm – Ponytails
- 3:00 pm – Jenny Banai
- 4:00 pm – Schwey
- 5:00 pm – Jasper Sloan Yip
- 6:00 pm – Leeroy Stagger
- 7:00 pm – Frazey Ford
Other Information
For more information see the Khatsahlano Street Party website.
Another fabulous event around the same time is Carnaval del Sol, which is also free and features lot of great music. For information on Carnaval del Sol and other festivals at other times of the year, check out Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar.
