Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates the area’s art, history, culture and people through live theatre, music, workshops and more.
Last year’s 22nd Annual Festival took place between October 31st and November 8th. The theme, Dignity in Community, explored the ways people care for one another, resist displacement, and build spaces where everyone belongs. Exact dates for the 2026 event are to be confirmed.
Continue reading or visit the Heart of the City Festival‘s official website for details about the events.
This article contains the following information about the Heart of the City Festival:
Dates and Locations | Festival Activities | Events Schedule | About the Festival | Other Information
DTES Heart of the City Festival
The annual Heart of the City Festival shares traditions, art forms and stories about Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES). Local organizations partner with the festival to help organize events, including concerts, theatre, films, forums, poetry readings, visual art exhibitions and cultural celebrations.
Last year’s edition featured over 100 events at more than 40 neighbourhood venues. Some events are ticketed while others are free.
2026 marks the festival’s 23rd year and the 43rd anniversary of Vancouver Moving Theatre, one of its lead organizers. Vancouver Moving Theatre presents the festival in partnership with the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, the Carnegie Community Centre, and several other community partners.
Festival Dates and Locations
In 2025, the festival ran from Friday, October 31st, to Saturday, November 8th. Events typically take place at venues throughout the DTES, including the Carnegie Community Centre (401 Main Street), the Russian Hall (600 Campbell Avenue), and Simon Fraser University’s Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts (149 West Hastings Street).
Festival Activities
Each year the festival features a wide range of music, theatre, poetry, film, dance, visual art, history walks, workshops and panel discussions.
Festival Events
The 2025 program was packed with new and returning favourites. Below were some of the highlights (exact details were subject to change). The 2026 festival line-up is to be confirmed.
Friday, October 31st, 2025
- Festival Kickoff (6:30 pm, Carnegie Community Centre Theatre) – The festival opened with a Halloween party featuring costumes, a red-carpet photo moment, a prize-filled costume contest, and disco-ball dancing to DJ Maxi. Light refreshments were served and the event was free for all.
- Famous Last Words (7:00 pm, SFU Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre) – A playful spoken-word showdown where poets battled with puppetry, unicorn interpretive dance and audience antics. Admission was free, but tickets had to be reserved in advance.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Friday, October 31st – Saturday, November 8th, 2025
- Shelter (citywide transit shelters) – A public art project that featured 30 Downtown Eastside artists, with large-format works on housing and homelessness displayed across Vancouver transit shelters. Viewing was free because it was an outdoor installation across the city.
Saturday, November 1st, 2025
- Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again (7:30 pm, SFU Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema) – Award-winning filmmaker Lyana Patrick presented her documentary on the Nechako River and Indigenous resilience, followed by a discussion about her work. Admission was on a sliding scale ($0-$20).
Sunday, November 2nd, 2025
- Spirit Encounters (7:00 pm, Russian Hall) – A Day of the Dead celebration that began with mask-making and a community procession, and ended in a theatrical performance of shadow puppetry, flamenco, storytelling and live music. This event was free and advance registration was recommended.
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
- To Mum with Love XO (7:00 pm, Russian Hall) – A heartfelt triple bill of theatre works – How I Met My Mother, The Unbreakable Popsicle Stick Gang, and How I Learned to Sing – that explored caregiving, family bonds and music. The admission was pay what you could ($0-$30).
Thursday, November 6th, 2025
- Indigenous Exhibition and Celebration (6:00 pm, Russian Hall) – An evening of intergenerational Indigenous dance and drumming with artists such as Larissa Healey and Pavel Desjarlais/Dancing Spirit, alongside shared food and an artisan market. The event was free for all ages.
Friday, November 7th, 2025
- Maraschino Tonight with Reveal Yourself (8:00 pm, Russian Hall) – Cherry Maraschino hosted a cheeky variety show that blended music, puppetry and satire, joined by avant-pop duo Reveal Yourself. Sliding-scale admission ($0-$30).
Friday, November 7th, and Saturday, November 8th 2025
- Mayor of Oz (1:00 pm, Carnegie Community Centre Theatre) – This event was back by popular demand. It was grassroots play that reimagined The Wizard of Oz through Downtown Eastside realities – housing instability, climate crisis, the toxic drug crisis and gentrification – while celebrating resilience and solidarity. Free admission.
Click Heart of the City Festival for the event’s official website.
Saturday, November 8th, 2025
- Rhythms of Thunder: An Evening of Taiko (7:00 pm, Russian Hall) – The closing concert delivered a spectacular evening of Japanese drumming that featured Uzume Taiko, GO Taiko, Taiko 55 and Onibana Taiko. The admission was on a sliding-scale ($0-$30).
About the Festival
The DTES Heart of the City Festival is presented by the Vancouver Moving Theatre. Vancouver Moving Theatre is a community-engaged arts organization based in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that creates original productions, including Bah Humbug! (An annual Christmas play that raised funds for the DTES Heart of the City Festival up until 2019.)
The DTES is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, rich in culture and heritage, and the historic heart of the city.
Day Of the Dead Altar Video
November 2nd is Mexico’s Day of the Dead. It’s akin to Halloween, except with this festival, Mexicans celebrate the return of departed souls with altars (ofrendas), music and costume, not frights.
The short video below shows a 2020 altar installed in downtown Vancouver during the festival. In 2025, Latin American Heritage Month ran from October 14th to November 2nd, overlapped with the Heart of the City Festival. Exact dates for both festivals in 2026 are to be confirmed.
Other Information
See the Heart of the City Festival website for the most up-to-date information regarding the DTES festival.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver Festivals & Events
- Shows & Entertainment Calendar
- Vancouver History and Culture
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Historical Chinatown Tours
Note: Photos in this article (including the one at the top of this page but not any with the Vancouver’s Best Places logo or the one of The Sojourners), are by David Cooper.
