Surrey Fusion Festival

The Surrey Fusion Festival is a large 2-day community event that features free live music and family-friendly activities at Holland Park in late July.

In 2019 the event takes place on the weekend of July 20-21.

Surrey Festival at Holland Park

Celebrating music, food and culture, the free event attracts tens of thousands of people each year. Headliner bands in recent years have included Nelly Furtado, The Zolas and Walk Off the Earth.

Information in this article includes the following:

Click on any of the above links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about the Surrey Fusion Festival.

When and Where

The Surrey Fusion Festival takes place in Holland Park in Surrey which is located at 13428 Old Yale Road just across the street from Central City Mall and close to the King George SkyTrain Station.

In 2019 the Surrey Fusion Festival happens on the weekend of July 20-21. It runs most years from 11 am to 10 pm on both days with multiple shows and activities going on simultaneously at any given time.

Festival Activities

At the Surrey Fusion Festival there are market vendors and community organization information booths as well as lots of live entertainment.

At the festival there are over three dozen cultural pavilions showcasing different countries from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and North America. The Surrey Fusion Festival also includes an Indigenous Village, a Kids World & Sports Zone and numerous exotic ethnic food vendors.

There are also half a dozen different stages at the festival including the Concord Pacific World Music Stage, YVR Community Stage, Safeway Cooking Stage, Canada 150 Stage and SFU Celebration Stage.

Festival Performance Schedule

Major performances take place on the Concord Pacific World Music Stage each day starting in the late afternoon.

Various community groups perform or give dance lessons on the YVR Community Stage throughout the day on both days.

Culinary demonstrations happen at the Safeway Cooking Stage in the afternoons, cultural performances take place on the Canada 150 Stage daily from late morning until about 8 pm, and more music and live performances run all day each day on the SFU Celebration Stage.

2018 Festival Performers

Below is a list of some of the major concerts and performance highlights at the Surrey Fusion Festival in 2018. The 2019 lineup will be comparable.

(Note: performer details are subject to change.)

Walk Off the Earth – the 5-person headliner band from Ontario
Ricky Kej – a multinational 6-time Grammy Award-winning band
Ache? Brasil – a Brazilian-style martial arts dance group
Blue Strange – a 3-person Ladner-based Blues-Rock band
JJ Lavalle – a Métis fiddler
Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisga’a Traditional Dancers – an Indigenous dance group
MNGWA – an Afro-Latin rock band
Pat Chessell – a Roots, Celtic and Folk musician and his band
Rumba Calzada – an Afro-Cuban Salsa and Jazz band
Six Foot Cherry – a 3-person Blues band
Stars of the North Drum Group – an Indigenous drumming group from the Tlowitisis-Mumtagila Nation
Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson with Claire Lawrence – a Haida musician
Toque Flamenco – a Vancouver-based Flamenco band
Van Namsadang – a traditional Korean percussion group

Saturday Entertainment Schedule

The following performers entertained on Saturday July 21 (2018) on the various stages:

(Note: schedule details were subject to change.)

Concord Pacific World Music Stage

4:30 pm – Welcome Ceremony
7:30 pm – Toque Flamenco
6:30 pm – Dawn Pemberton
7:30 pm – John Welsh & Los Valientes
8:30 pm – Walk Off the Earth

Dawn Pemberton in Concert — Dawn Permberton

SFU Celebration Stage

12:30 pm – Zion Children
1:30 pm – Nahualli Folklore Society
2:30 pm – The Bingos
3:30 pm – Shiamak Dance School
4:00 pm – Welcome Ceremony & Parade of Culture
4:30 pm – Eire Born Irish Dancers
7:30 pm – Van Namsadang
6:30 pm – Mariachi Los Dorados
7:30 pm – The Wheat In the Barley

Tim Hortons Maple Leaf Stage

11:30 am – Amy Eustergerling & Nehiyaw Eskwewak
12:00 pm – Stars of the North Drum Group
1:00 pm – The Wild Moccasins
2:00 pm – BC Métis Federation With Derrick Whiteskycloud
3:00 pm – Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisga’a Traditional Dancers
4:45 pm – JJ Lavallee
6:00 pm – Six Foot Cherry
7:00 pm – Sleepy Gonzales (Play Surrey Winter)
8:00 pm – Viper Central

YVR Community Stage

11:30 am – Kazakhstan Uyghur
12:00 pm – Rejean Bussières
12:30 pm – Turban Tying Demo
1:00 pm – Russian Showcase
2:00 pm – Hua Xia
3:00 pm – Nakajima Duo
5:00 pm – Nrityanjali Kathak Dance Academy
6:00 pm – Los Blazetones
7:00 pm – Jacky’s Essombe’s African Village Experience

Shaw Dance Stage

1:00 pm – Zumba Demo
2:00 pm – Vovinam Vietnamese Martial Arts
3:00 pm – Vancity Bhangra
5:00 pm – Honduras Showcase
6:00 pm – East Van Powwow

Vancity Bhangra Dancers — Vancity Bhangra

Dance Lessons YVR Community Stage

1:30 pm – Vancity Bhangra Lessons
2:30 pm – Westcoast Style Indigenous Dance Lessons
3:30 pm – Westcoast Style Indigenous Dance Lessons
4:30 pm – Mexican Dance Lessons
5:30 pm – Vancity Bhangra Lessons

Sunday Entertainment Schedule

The following performers entertained on Sunday July 22 (2018) on the various stages:

(Note: schedule details were subject to change.)

Concord Pacific World Music Stage

4:30 pm – Blue Strange
5:30 pm – Rumba Calzada
7:00 pm – Aché Brasil
8:00 pm – Khanvict
9:00 pm – Ranjit Bawa

SFU Celebration Stage

11:30 am – Hua Zia
12:30 pm – Cedar Hills Caledonian Pipe Band
1:30 pm – Fraser Valley Taiwanese Association
2:30 pm – Hanyang Arts
3:30 pm – African Stages
4:30 pm – Dalaras Tribute
5:30 pm – Coco Jafro
7:00 pm – Ricky Kej Live In Concert

Maple Leaf Stage

11:30 am – Amy Eustergerling & Nehiyaw Eskwewak
12:00 pm – Stars of the North Drum Group
1:00 pm – The Wild Moccasins
2:00 pm – BC Métis Federation With Derrick Whitescloud
3:00 pm – Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisga’a Dance Group
4:00 pm – Terry-Lynn Williams-Davidson With Claire Lawrence
5:00 pm – Six Foot Cherry
6:00 pm – Wintermitts

YVR Community Stage

12:00 pm – Albanian Showcase
1:00 pm – Nepalese Showcase
2:00 pm – “Kwel Eng Sen” Semiahmoo Youth Group
3:00 pm – The Rheinlander Band
4:00 pm – Pat Chessell Band
5:00 pm – Islanders
6:00 pm – Bounda Vedere
8:15 pm – Mngwa

Shaw Dance Stage

1:00 pm – Zumba Demo
2:00 pm – Srikandi Indonesia
3:00 pm – Chinese Canadian Seniors Society of Multicultural Song and Dance
4:00 pm – Miss Fiji Canada Dance Company
5:00 pm – Thistlebrook Academy of Highland Dance
6:00 pm – SFU Giddha Club

Dance Lessons YVR Community Stage

12:30 pm – Powwow Dance Lessons
1:30 pm – Powwow Dance Lessons
2:30 pm – Vancity Bhangra Lessons
3:30 pm – Vancity Bhangra Lessons

Kids World & Sports Zone

The Surrey Fusion Festival is very much a family-friendly event. At the festival there is a Kids World & Sports Zone that features a crafts station, games, sporting activities, bouncy castles and live entertainment.

Surrey Fusion Festival Vendor Stalls — Vendor Stalls at Surrey Fusion Festival

Tips and Advice

Below are some tips and advice to help you make the most of your time at the Surrey Fusion Festival.

TIP #1: If you have young children, go in the afternoon. Children’s storytelling and entertainment is between around 11:30 am and 5 pm each day and that’s when the place is full of families. Evenings are when the place gets really crowded, especially with younger adults (as well as older ones).
TIP #2: Take public transit! There isn’t enough parking in the area for tens of thousands of people, and the King George SkyTrain station is just across the street! If you stay until the very end of the day, however, like until the last song at the evening’s final concert, be prepared for long lineups at the station.
TIP #3: If you do plan to drive, go early if you want to find parking. Or park somewhere close to a SkyTrain station further down the line and then take transit for the last little bit there.

Surrey Fusion Festival at Holland Park