The Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts is an annual event with South Asian performances, workshops and activities in Vancouver and other communities in August.
In 2024 the festival ran from August 10th until the 18th. One of its main events is Punjabi Market Live which happened on Sunday, August 27th last year. As of early August, it’s unclear whether that particular event will happen again in 2024. Whether it does or not there are plenty of other fun activities as well!
Monsoon Arts Festival in Vancouver
The Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts is an annual event put together by the South Asian Arts Society.
India goes through a monsoon season each year which mostly consists of heavy rainfall. Although the extreme weather conditions can be destructive at times, the people of India celebrate the season with joyous festivities.
Drawing inspiration from these overseas traditions (along with Vancouver’s rainy reputation), organizers of the local Monsoon Festival present a variety of South Asian performances and events in the Lower Mainland.
At the festival in a typical year, there are a number of ticketed performances as well as free workshops. The performances and in-person activities happen at a variety of venues around the Lower Mainland.
Festival Details
The ninth annual Monsoon Festival of Performing Arts happens as a series of in-person and virtual events from August 10th to 18th this year.
The 2024 festival features a series of different events. Activities included workshops, dance lessons and more. One of the main events at last year’s festival was Punjabi Market Live which happened on the last Sunday of August.
Punjabi Market Live
Punjabi Market Live (when it happens) takes place at the corner of 49th Avenue and Main Street in South Vancouver. It’s a free event with dancing, live music, food and a range of other family-friendly activities. The event ran from noon until 6:00 pm on Sunday, August 27th in 2023.
Punjabi Market Live happened for the first time in 2022. It was a fairly small event. It took place along about half a block of a side alley that runs parallel to Main Street. When we dropped by for a look there were maybe a couple of hundred people. They had a nice setup with awnings overhead, a stage at the front and four or so food trucks running along the side.
At the event in 2022 there was dancing with the Coastal Wolf Pack, Mortal Coil, Karima Essa, Shan-E-Punjab Arts Club and Jolene Sloan. Artists singing at the festival included Robyn Sandhu, Jugpreet Bajwa, Varinder Vicky & Navreet Kaur, and Krystal Kiran. There was also poetry by Guntaj Deep Singh, Mohan Gill and Balkaran. DJ Element was on-site throughout the day.
To learn more about this event click Punjabi Market Live.
Other Information
For more information about the festival, visit the Monsoon Arts Festival website.
Other South Asian events in the Lower Mainland at other times of the year include the following:
- Vancouver Vaisakhi Parade – a large parade celebrating a Sikh holiday in April.
- Surrey Vaisakhi Parade – a large Sikh festival and parade in Surrey in April.
- Indian Summer Festival – an arts festival that runs in July.
- Diwali Fest – a cultural festival in autumn.
Other articles that may be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver’s August Calendar
- Festivals and Events in Vancouver
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Best Places for History and Culture
- Vancouver 5X Festival
- Vancouver Indian Summer Festival
