The Korean Cultural Heritage Festival is a free event at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium that showcases Korean culture, food and music in August.
Korean Cultural Festival
In 2019 the Korean Cultural Heritage Festival took place on Saturday, August 3rd, from 10:00 am until about 8:00 pm. The festival was likely cancelled in 2020 because of COVID-19, but the Korean Festival’s English-language website doesn’t seem to exist anymore (or at least we can’t find it). Hopefully the event returns in 2022 or a later year, but details are to be confirmed.
When the event does take place, the festival happens at Swangard Stadium which is located at 3883 Imperial Street in Central Park not too far from the Patterson SkyTrain Station.
What Happens at the Korean Festival?
The Korean Cultural Heritage Festival is a fairly simple, yet enjoyable cultural event. It’s not huge, and tends to attract primarily people of Korean descent, but it’s open to the public, free and offers a variety of things to see and do.
Activities at the festival include Tae Kwon Do demonstrations, music, art exhibits, and crafts, games and face painting for children. There are community organization displays and a small number of food vendors selling both Korean and other types of food.
If you’re interested in Korean culture and Asian food, and you’re in the area, then this can be an interesting event.
TIP: Swangard Stadium is located in the northwest corner of Burnaby’s Central Park which is full of forested trails and features a fabulous children’s play area, Pitch and Putt Golf, a couple of ponds and an outdoor swimming pool. While in the area, go for a stroll and explore the park!
Schedule of Events
For an idea of what to expect the next time the festival takes place, below is the schedule of performances and activities at the Korean Cultural Heritage Festival in 2019. (Note: Times and other details were subject to change).
- 10:15 am – Little Mountain Brass Band
- 10:30 am – Korean Line Dancing
- 10:45 am – Taepyeong-Mu by the Charm Dance Company
- 10:50 am – K-Pop Dance by the Mamakeish Dance Company
- 11:00 am – Opening Ceremonies
- 11:30 am – Harmony in Motion Korean Dancing
- 11:50 am – Taekwondo Demonstrations
- 12:15 pm – Fan Dance & Feast of Drums
- 12:35 pm – Little Mountain Brass Band
- 12:55 pm – Korean Line Dancing
- 1:10 pm – Live Music with the Rumble St. Boys
- 1:35 pm – West Sumatera Indonesian Dancing
- 1:50 pm – Live Music with the Kwantlen Chamber Singers
- 2:00 pm – Nanta with the Light Presbyterian Church
- 2:15 pm – Live Music with the Rumble St. Boys
- 2:30 pm – Harmony in Motion with the Canadian-Korean Dance Arts Society
- 2:50 pm – Taekwondo Demonstrations
- 3:20 pm – Belly Dancing with SV Dance
- 3:35 pm – Fan Dance & Feast of Drums
- 3:55 pm – K-Pop Dance by the Mamakeish Dance Company
- 4:05 pm – So-Go Dance by Sorichoom
- 4:15 pm – Nanta with Hanta & the Light Presbyterian Church
- 4:40 pm – DJ Show
- 5:00 pm – K-Pop Contest
- 7:30 pm – Award Ceremonies and Closing
Other Information
If you enjoy this type of event and want to experience even more Asian culture, then check out the Powell Street Festival which also takes place in August (and usually even on the same weekend). The Powell Street event is a 2-day Japanese-Canadian festival that’s also free and offers even more activities and food truck options.
For a list of other things to do this month see Vancouver’s August Calendar or click Festivals & Events.
