TAIWANfest is a festival celebrating Taiwanese food, music and culture in downtown Vancouver on the Labour Day Long Weekend in September.

Dates for the festival in 2025 are August 30th to September 1st.

For the festival’s official website, visit vancouvertaiwanfest.ca.

This article contains the following information about TAIWANfest:

Vancouver’s TAIWANfest Taiwanese Festival

TAIWANfest is a cultural festival that features concerts and other live entertainment as well as talks, films and an artist market. It also has visual arts exhibits, family-oriented activities and a street party with food and market stalls.

Another event organized by the same organization behind TAIWANfest is LunarFest which happens during the Lunar New Year season in January or February. LunarFest is also very interesting and features a number of events and artistic displays.

For the festival’s official website, click TAIWANfest Vancouver.

When is TAIWANfest?

TAIWANfest takes place on the Labour Day Weekend in September. In 2025 the festival happens on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of August 30th to September 1st.

This year things on all three days include activities along Granville Street. They run between noon and 6:00 pm. On the Saturday and Sunday, there are also activities in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery from noon until 10:00 pm. On the holiday Monday, the activities and performances in the plaza run from noon until 6:00 pm.

Where is TAIWANfest?

The festival’s in-person activities take place at various venues in downtown Vancouver. The main locations include šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square (outside the Vancouver Art Gallery), on Granville Street, UBC Robson, Willms Salon and the Annex theatre.

The Vancouver Art Gallery’s address is 750 Hornby Street. Officially called šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square, the plaza is the large open square along West Georgia Street between Hornby and Howe streets. In the plaza during TAIWANfest there are food vendors and an artist market as well as live entertainment on the Pancouver Stage.

The Granville Street activities happen along the 500, 600 and 700 blocks of the street. In this area there are exhibitions and workshops as well as market vendors including a number that are Dutch-themed. Taiwanfest is actually partnering with the Dutch Street Market in 2025 with continuation of 2023’s Dialogue with the Netherlands. (Interestingly, the Netherlands had a colony in Taiwan in the 1600s and continues to have strong economic and diplomatic relations with the island.)

UBC Robson’s address is 800 Robson Street, which is in Robson Square, which is on the other side of the Vancouver Art Gallery from šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square). Willms Salon is at 843 Seymour Street. It’s a performance venue at the VSO School of Music. The Annex, meanwhile, is adjacent to the Orpheum Theatre, at 823 Seymour Street, which is between Robson Street and Smithe Street.

For the festival’s official website, click TAIWANfest Vancouver.

Festival Activities

There are a fair number of things to see along Granville Street during the Taiwanese Cultural Festival. Admission is free for the street party which runs each day.

At the festival, you’ll find lively street activities, cultural exhibitions, and family-friendly workshops. Don’t miss Hope Talks, where you can learn about Taiwan’s vibrant culture and history. You can also enjoy food vendors offering flavours from around the world, along with live performances taking place throughout the weekend.

TAIWANfest Schedule

Below are just some of the schedule highlights of the festival in 2025. For a full list of what the series of events offers, check out the TAIWANfest Program. Performers this year include Tectonic, TRAEGO, RapShark, Tudi-Voice and Lihaw Lihang.

(Note: Times and other details from last year are subject to change.)

Saturday, August 30th, 2025

11:00 am – Return Home: The Hakka Table and Journeys (Vancouver Central Library)
11:30 am – Breaking Out the “Imprisoned Freedom” with Folk Music (Willms Salon)
12:00 pm – Trace of Blue: Indigo Dye (Granville 600)
12:30 pm – Behind the Scenes: Creation of 13 Tongues (Annex)
12:30 pm – Rally For Taiwan: Music in the Soundscape of Democracy (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
- Rally For Taiwan: Lihaw Lihang (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
- The Rally For Taiwan: TUDI-VOICE (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
- Rally For Taiwan: Traego (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
1:00 pm – Echoes of Taroko: Music Carries our Land and Memories (Willms Salon)
2:30 pm – Teresa Teng and Gen Z: A Legacy in the Making (Vancouver Central Library)
4:00 pm – Pickling Together (Granville 600)
7:00 pm – TECTONIC (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
All Day – Where the Tiles Took Me (Granville 600)
All Day – Traces of Blue: Weaving Cultural Diversity (Granville 600)

In addition to the above, there is the Artists Market in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and activities between the 500 and 700 blocks of Granville Street from 12:00 until 6:00 pm.

Lihaw Lihang at TAIWANfest — Lihaw Lihang

Sunday, September 31st, 2025

11:30 am – Meeting My Connection with Hakka Culture (Willms Salon)
12:00 pm – Trace of Blue: Indigo Dye (Granville 600)
1:00 pm – Her Voice: The Many Faces of Taiwanese Female Rappers (Willms Salon)
1:30 pm – Flamenco in Dialogue (Granville 600)
2:30 pm – Edge of Taiwan, Hakka punk from the Mountain City (Willms Salon)
4:00 pm – Global Hakka, Local Ties: Taiwan Indigenous-Hakka Relations Reframed (ANNEX)
4:00 pm – Whose “Motherland” Is It? Rethinking Taiwan’s History From the Age of Exploration Onwards (ANNEX)
4:00 pm – RapShark’s Subtropical Flow (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
4:00 pm – Pickling Together (Granville 600)
7:00 pm – TECTONIC (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
All Day – Where the Tiles Took Me (Granville 600)
All Day – Traces of Blue: Weaving Cultural Diversity (Granville 600)

In addition to the above, there is the Artists Market in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and activities between the 500 and 700 blocks of Granville Street from 12:00 until 6:00 pm.

Monday, September 1st, 2025

12:00 pm – Trace of Blue: Indigo Dye (Granville 600)
1:00 pm – One Moon, One Song (ANNEX) with RapShark & Jacq Teh
1:30 pm – Flamenco in Dialogue (Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza)
4:00 pm – Pickling Together (Granville 600)
All Day – Where the Tiles Took Me (Granville 600)
All Day – Traces of Blue: Weaving Cultural Diversity (Granville 600)

Also again on this day, there is the Artists Market in the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and activities between the 500 and 700 blocks of Granville Street from 12:00 until 6:00 pm.

One Moon One Song at TAIWANfest — One Moon One Song

TAIWANfest Artist Market

The festival had its first-ever artist market in 2024. It returns on all three days in 2025, from August 30th until September 1st, between noon and 6:00 pm. The market features artists and artisan vendor stalls in šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. To learn about the artists participating at the event, see the TAIWANfest website.

TAIWANfest Films

TAIWANfest presents the following four documentary films in 2025, all of which are free to see:

Dancing Home (on August 14th) – in the ANNEX on Level 2 of the Vancouver Civic Theatre from 7:30 until 9:30 pm.
Silenced Sunrise: Taiwan’s Music vs. The China Factor (on August 29th) – at the ANNEX from 2:30 until 4:00 pm.
Behind the Scenes: Creation of 13 Tongues (on August 30th) – at the ANNEX from 12:30 until 1:15 pm.

TAIWANfest Video

For a good idea of what to expect at the next TAIWANfest event, check out the video below. It shows scenes from the 2024 festivities outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. The band featured in the video is Lilium.

Festival Tips & Advice

Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of your Vancouver TAIWANfest experience.

TIP #1: Although the festival’s main focus is on arts and culture, rather than food, be sure to go with an appetite as there are a good number of tasty Asian treats for sale (as well as a few foods from other parts of the world too).

TIP #2: The live performances are a highlight of the festival. Be sure to stay for some of the performances.

TIP #3: Take public transit if you can. Granville Street is so convenient to get to by public transit from most parts of the Lower Mainland, plus traffic in the area will be busy.

For the festival’s official website, click TAIWANfest Vancouver.