The Powell Street Festival celebrates Japanese-Canadian culture around Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside on the BC Day Long Weekend.

In 2024 the festival happened on August 3rd and 4th in 2024 at Oppenheimer Park. Other events that take place around this time of year include the Abbotsford Agrifair, White Rock Sea Festival, Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival, Tsawwassen Sun Festival and the Harmony Arts Festival. Every Friday in the summer there is also the Shipyards Night Market in North Vancouver which is free and features live music, artisan vendors and a beer garden.

See our August Calendar or article about the BC Day Long Weekend to learn about all of the above events, and others. Continue reading to learn about the Japanese-themed Powell Street Festival.

Note: The Powell Street Festival is one of two main Japanese festivals in Metro Vancouver. The other one is the Nikkei Matsuri on the Labour Day Long Weekend at the end of the summer. If you like Japanese culture, then you definitely won’t want to miss the event in September.

Information in this article includes the following:

Click any of the above links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about the Powell Street Festival.

Japanese Powell Street Festival

The Powell Street Festival includes live performances, vendor stalls, Japanese festival foods, cultural demonstrations and walking tours around the neighbourhood. It’s a great festival and admission is free.

For a video about the Japanese-themed event at Oppenheimer Park click Festival Video or scroll to the bottom of this article. Otherwise continue reading to learn about the festival in general.

When and Where

The 2024 Powell Street Festival ran on the Saturday and Sunday of August 3rd and 4th.

Activities take place at Oppenheimer Park, but also close by at the Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver Japanese Language School & Japanese Hall, and the Vancouver Buddhist Temple.

Oppenheimer Park isn’t the fanciest park in Vancouver, and, being in the city’s Downtown Eastside, the neighbourhood isn’t the nicest either. It’s fine to go to, though, when the Powell Street Festival is taking place. We’ve never had any problems. We don’t recommend you go on your own, however, or leave valuables where people can see them in your car. If you like Japanese food and Japanese culture, we recommend this event. It’s worth going to and it feels just like a real Japanese community festival!

Powell Street Festival Venue — Oppenheimer Park during the Powell Street Festival

Usual Venue Locations

The Firehall Arts Centre is a theatre located in a historic fire station building at 280 East Cordova Street. Just down the way, the Vancouver Japanese Language School’s address is 487 Alexander Street and the Vancouver Buddhist Temple’s address is 220 Jackson Avenue. The Street Stage is located on Jackson Avenue and Alexander Street. All four venues are located within about three blocks of one another.

If you like Japanese food and culture, don’t let the Downtown Eastside location stop you from attending. On festival day especially, it’s safe, plus it’s an interesting and historically significant part of the city.

Japanese Festival Activities

At the Powell Street Festival there are usually Japanese art and cultural displays, Japanese and other types of food for sale, market stalls and martial arts demonstrations. There are also various forms of live entertainment, and workshops showcasing Japanese culture and heritage. There is usually even sumo wrestling!

Below were some of the most noteworthy events that happened at the 2024 festival.

Sumo Ring at Japanese Festival — Sumo Wrestling Ring at Oppenheimer Park

Saturday, August 3rd, 2024

Opening Ceremonies (11:30 am) – First Nations’ blessings and greetings by local government officials.
Otowa Ryu Japanese Dance Group (1:30 pm) – Shin Buyo dances on the Diamond Stage at Oppenheimer Park.
Kimiko (3:00 pm) – a hafu vocalist hit the Street Stage for a heartfelt performance.
Sansho Daiko (5:30 pm) – taiko drumming with western instruments and masks on the Diamond Stage.

Vancouver Okinawa Taiko Performance — Vancouver Okinawa Taiko at Powell Street Festival

Sunday, August 4th, 2024

360 Riot Walk Tour (11:30 am) – a guided tour at the Vancouver Japanese Language School that uses 360-degree video to show the history of the 1907 Vancouver Anti-Asian Riots.
Vancouver Sakura Singers (1:30 pm) – Japanese songs on the Diamond Stage.
Sumo Tournament (2:15 pm) – an exciting competition where participants forced their opponents out of a circle at Oppenheimer Park.
Za Daikon (3:15 pm) – a Japanese theatrical group performed plays at the Firehall Arts Centre.
Vancouver Iaido Club (4:00 pm) – a traditional Samurai martial arts demonstration at Oppenheimer Park that featured Japanese swords.

On top of these events listed, there are many other activities. Visit the Powell Street Festival Society website to see all that was offered

Powell Street Festival Food Vendors — Food Vendors at the Powell Street Festival

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips to help you make the most of your experience at the Powell Street Festival.

TIP #1: Join one of the walking tours. They are very interesting and worth checking out.

TIP #2: A couple of our favourite Japanese festival foods are okonomiyaki (a kind of savory cabbage pancake) and takoyaki (Yorkshire pudding-like balls with pieces of octopus inside). We recommend you try them out if you see them for sale.

TIP #3: If you like this kind of event and Japanese culture, other festivals you might be interested in at other times of the year include the following:

Sakura Days Japan Fair – a Japanese cherry blossom festival at VanDusen Botanical Garden as part of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival in April.
Nikkei Matsuri – a Japanese festival at Burnaby’s Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre on the Labour Day Weekend in September.

Powell Street Festival Video

To give you a good idea of what the festival looks like, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the event from 2022. As you’ll see, there is a stage where live performances take place. Some events, like the martial arts demonstrations, also take place on the lawn in front of the stage. There are market vendors and food stalls elsewhere in the park and surrounding street.

Other Information

To learn more about the event, see the Powell Street Festival website.

The same organization that hosts the Powell Street Festival sometimes hosts another, yet much smaller event in late winter. Setsubun is a free event that also takes place at Oppenheimer Park. In 2024 it took place in February and featured taiko drumming, dancing, a Sacred Fire and other activities. There was also a community meal with Japanese curry rice and hot apple cider. To learn more about this other event, click Setsubun 2024.

For a list of other events happening on the first Saturday, Sunday and the holiday Monday in August, click BC Day Long Weekend.

For information on other festivals in the Lower Mainland, see the Festivals & Events Calendar.

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