Japanese Canadian Festival Returns to Vancouver This Summer

One of the longest-running community arts festivals in Canada, the Powell Street Festival is celebrating its 47th year in Vancouver this summer. With a sweeping variety of Japanese Canadian art and culture, the programming challenges preconceptions of both racialized identity and the Downtown Eastside.

On Aug. 5 and 6, festival attendees will gather in Oppenheimer Park in the historic neighbourhood of Paueru Gai — once an important centre of Japanese Canadian community prior to their forced removal during the Second World War. The festival grounds’ location is just as important to Powell Street Festival’s identity as is the programming.

Embodying the area’s history and the festival’s inquisitive spirit, a cornerstone of this year's festival is the 360 Riot Walk. Created by Vancouver-based visual and media artist Henry Tsang, now under the stewardship of Powell Street Festival Society, this interactive walking tour uses 360-degree video technology to trace the path of the 1907 Anti-Asian Riots. Guided by community ambassadors, the walk culminates in a post-tour debrief for participants to share their reflections of the experience.

Unlike other festival programming, pre-registration is required as the small group tours fill up quickly. Tours will also be offered for a fee before the festival weekend on July 29 and 30.

In addition to the walk, on Saturday, Aug. 5, a panel discussion will centre around Tsang’s recently released book White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, which emerged from the 360 Riot Walk project. This facilitated public discussion will feature Tsang, Nicole Yakashiro and Right to Remain collective members Jeff Masuda, Audrey Kobayashi and Trevor Wideman, all contributing writers to the book, in conversation about the historic dispossession of marginalized peoples in the Downtown Eastside and the relationship to the Japanese Canadian community prior to and since internment.

Contributing to the artistic offerings, Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist Jon Sasaki brings Japanese-Canadian heritage and perspective as an Ontario Yonsei into his work, joining the festival Aug. 6. Members of Sasaki’s family were uprooted from their homes in British Columbia, interned, then compelled to rebuild their lives in Ontario. His public sculpture The Hollow Man deals with the ripple effects of B.C.’s dark history and the politicians who made it happen. Sasaki will be discussing this project, which he’s been working on since 2019, in an open discussion at the Vancouver Japanese Language School.

The rest of the program is rounded out with more than 35 live performances from a diverse set of genres on three festival stages, martial arts demos, a sumo tournament, children’s activities and a handmade craft marketplace.

A plethora of Japanese festival-inspired food trucks and vendors — many of which are local businesses or major fundraising efforts for local community organizations — ensure festivalgoers are well-fed and ready for the experience while honouring the larger narratives in a space that is inclusive for all.

To learn more about the Powell Street Festival, read the full program on the festival website. All events are free this Aug. 5 to 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., in Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park and surrounding area.