Powell Street Festival

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

In 2025 the festival happens on August 2nd and 3rd.

Other events that take place this time of year include the Abbotsford Agrifair, Celebrate BC, White Rock Sea Festival, Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival, Tsawwassen Sun Festival and 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 this event which in 2025 is on August 30th and 31st.

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.

The Sakura Singers

When and Where

The 2025 Powell Street Festival happens on the Saturday and Sunday of the BC Day Long Weekend on the first weekend of August.

Activities take place at Oppenheimer Park, but also close by at the Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver Japanese Language School, 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. All 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 are some of the most noteworthy events happening at the 2025 festival.

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

Saturday, August 2nd, 2025

Opening Ceremonies (11:30 am) – First Nations’ blessings and greetings by local government officials.
Otowa Ryu Japanese Dance Group (1:00 pm) – Shin Buyo dances on the Diamond Stage at Oppenheimer Park.
Kohei Yoshino (3:00 pm) – the local singer-songwriter hits the Diamond Stage with original Japanese songs and covers of popular music.
Chibi Taiko (4:00 pm) – youth taiko drumming on the Diamond Stage.
Hitotose (5:30 pm) – Samurai-inspired Tate performances in the Demo Area.

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

Sunday, August 3rd, 2025

GO Taiko (11:30 am) – the youth taiko group performs on the Street Stage.
Tenrikyo Joyous Stars (12:00 pm) – the youth dance group puts on a show on the Diamond Stage.
Sumo Tournament (2:00 pm) – an exciting competition where participants force their opponents out of a circle at Oppenheimer Park.
Asian Persuasion All Stars (3:15 pm) – Indie rock music on the Diamond Stage.
Za Daikon (4:30 pm) – a Japanese theatrical group performs plays at the Firehall Arts Centre.

On top of these events listed, there are many other activities too.

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 a few years ago. 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 2025 it happened on February 2nd. Setsubun normally features taiko drumming, dancing, a Sacred Fire and other activities. There is also a community meal with Japanese curry rice. To learn more about this other event, click Setsubun.

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.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: