Vancouver’s Indian Summer Festival is a festival featuring music, art, and public speaking events by Canadian, South Asian and Indigenous artists in July.
It’s an 11-day arts festival that brings artists, writers and thinkers from across Canada and overseas. Some of its events are free, and others are ticketed.
Indian Summer Festival
In 2020 the Indian Summer Festival takes place from July 9th until July 19th. The theme for this year’s festival is Rivers of Language.
Some of the festival’s events include the following:
Opening Party
The Indian Summer Festival’s Opening Party is a major culinary event on the first day of the festival. In 2019 it took place on Thursday, July 4, and features celebrity chef Vikram Vij.
The Opening Party is held at the Roundhouse Community Centre at 181 Roundhouse Mews in Yaletown. It runs from 7:00 pm until 11:00 pm. Tickets cost around $125 and they usually sell out well in advance.
Pause in the Park
Pause in the Park is a day with free programming in Vanier Park which is located at 1600 Whyte Avenue on the grass between the False Creek waterfront and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre building.
In 2019 it took place just once, on Sunday 14th, from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm. In the past they have been small events that typically attract less than a hundred people. Similar to previous years, the event in 2019 featured a mix of workshops and performances.
Hari Kondabolu
An acclaimed, New York City-based comedian, writer and political debater, Hari Kondabolu comes to the festival to bring the laughs. The event took place on Saturday, July 13th, from 9:00 pm until 10:30 pm at the Vancouver Playhouse which is located at 600 Hamilton Street. Tickets cost between around $25 and $45.
Other Indian Summer Festival Performances
Other events during the Indian Summer Festival include talks by artists, live music performances, workshops and various other contemporary art-related activities. Some are free and some are ticketed.
Other Information
For more information about the festival, check out the Indian Summer Festival website.
For a list of other events taking place at other times and places, see Vancouver’s July Calendar or click Festivals & Events.
(Note: Musicians appearing in the above photos are Amarjeet Singh and Baljit Singh).
