Summer Arts Guide 2022: Vancouver arts festivals return full-on, with world beats, hands-on art, and outdoor cinema
Blazing with cultural diversity, celebrations are back in new form, with new locations
The Vancouver Folk Festival is back at Jericho Beach from July 15 to 17.
Catalina La O’s new show Now With Me at the Queer Arts Festival, coproduced with Rumble Theatre.
Tarun Nayar plugs into plants in Modern Biology at Indian Summer Festival. Photo by Mark Vonesh
OFF-LIMITS FOR two, long summers, festivals are back in full celebratory force again—and many of them are returning in slightly new form.
Several of your favourite summer traditions have new venues and park sites; others, like the beloved folk and jazz fests, are pushing the boundaries of their art forms. There are a few brand-new series, as well, including cool outdoor cinema nights on the deck out front of the North Shore’s Polygon Gallery.
More than anything, though, the list of offerings below blazes with diversity. We’re talking Inuit-meets-Mongolian throat-singing; an outdoor stage devoted to the full spectrum of African diaspora; film fests celebrating Greece and Latin America; a Desi-heritage drag artist; exquisite explorations of Scottish-influenced Baroque; an art exhibit of Indigenous tattooing; and—wait for it—an Indian classical musician who derives synthesizer music from mushrooms.
Here’s your month-to-month guide to Vancouver’s warm-weather fests.
JUNE
Bard on the Beach
To September 24 at Vanier Park
The waterfront Shakespeare festival returns to live performances with seasonal favourite A Midsummer Night’s Dream on its BMO Mainstage—the uplifting, enchanted-woods-set comedy that launched the event back in 1990. On the smaller Howard Family Stage, Djanet Sears’s compelling riff on Othello, called Harlem Duet, looks at an American Black couple over three periods in history–including New York City’s Harlem jazz renaissance. In August and September, Romeo and Juliet hits the same stage, with Daniel Fong and Ghazal Azarbad in the lead roles. Summer vibe: Elizabethan, by way of Vancouver beach-casual.
Drag meets Desi culture, with Bijuriya, aka Gabriel Dharmo, at the Queer Arts Festival.
Queer Arts Festival
June 18 to July 8 at the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre and venues around town
Themed “Hauntings”, the fest fetes 15 years of multidisciplinary programming, kicking off at Chinatown’s Sun Wah Centre with its big, signature visual-art exhibition; called Vanishing Act and curated by New Delhi-based Adwait Singh and directed by SD Holman, it spotlights thought-provoking work by artists from South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. Amid literary events, film nights, and concerts, check out Bijuriya, aka Gabriel Dharmoo, whose drag art engages her Desi heritage, and Catalina La O’s Now With Me, a mix of comedy show, act of resistance, and cabaret, coproduced with Rumble Theatre. Summer vibe: Playful protest.
Talking Stick Festival
June 13 to 30 at SFU Woodward’s and other venues
Full Circle: First Nations Performance’s 21st event celebrates National Indigenous History Month across art forms, from storytelling to dance, with a theme of “Come Together”. Music is at the forefront this year, with both a concert series and a free outdoor stage (think names like Eros Taylor, Caitlin Goulet, JB The First Lady, Elaine Bomberry, and Murray Porter), and several co-pros with the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Elsewhere, sacred skin is a major visual-arts exhibition of Indigenous and Inuit tattooing, with artists like Audie Murray and Holly Mititquq Nordlum. Summer vibe: Ancient-traditional with a contemporary twist.
Ensemble Theatre Company Summer Festival
June 15 to July 2 at the Waterfront Theatre
The series known for its high quality plays moves into a new home at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, after spending years out at Jericho Beach. The two meaty productions this year: Marjorie Prime, about an octagenarian who spends her final days interacting with a computerized version of her dead husband; and Pass Over, a reimagining of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot amid the racism and police violence of Chicago’s South Side. Summer vibe: A thought-provoking alternative to barbecues and beers.
Vancouver Greek Film Festival
June 16 to 19 at The Cinematheque
Highlights include the North American premiere of Greek to Me, a comedic autobiographical documentary directed by festival co-founder Harry Killas, an almost lost 1930 silent film called The Apaches of Athens, and the documentary Maria By Callas, which will be introduced by local soprano Lambroula Maria Pappas. Summer vibe: Aegean seascapes and Athens alleyways.
Kitsilano Showboat
June 20 to August 20, at 7 pm each Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
An institution since 1935, the Kitsilano Showboat sets sail again for the first time since summer 2019. The quaint, nautical-themed outdoor stage features hundreds of community entertainers across music and dance—all free and set across the backdrop of English Bay and the North Shore mountains. This year’s lineup includes Eagle Mask Dancers ( June 21), Sambacouver (July 21), and the Wailele Wai Wai Hawaiian dance troupe (July 29). Summer vibe: Old-timey boat deck.
Outdoor cinema takes over the deck outside the Polygon Gallery.
The Polygon Outside series
June 23 to August 14 at the Cates Deck in front of the Polygon Gallery
Cult classics and art films—think Hairspray, Enter the Dragon, and Persephone—screen outside on Lonsdale Quay, each Thursday at sunset, with music and special guests before curtain time, as part of the gallery’s summer Deckchair Cinema. Elsewhere, Kids First on Cates Deck, starting June 26, feature family tours of the exhibit Ghosts of the Machine, with special craft and mixed media-art projects on the deck. Summer vibe: Back-yard cinema meets urban waterfront.
Sound of Dragon Festival
June 23 to 26 at the Annex and online
Expand your sonic world, with the biennial celebration’s highlights including a concert that mixes katajjaq (Inuit throat singing) with khoomii (Mongolian throat singing)—a collaboration between the Orchid Ensemble, Montreal’s Oktoecho, and Mongolian musician Anand Avirmed. Taiwanese-French yangqin virtuoso Yaping Wang also makes her Canadian debut. Summer vibe: World-travelling rhythms.
Les Filles De Illighadad bring the sounds of the Sahara to the jazz fest.
TD Vancouver Coastal Jazz Festival
June 23 to July 4 at venues around town
With sounds as diverse as the skittering electro-beats of Manchester-based GoGo Penguin and the dusky voice of Americana songstress Lucinda Williams, the jazz fest features a genre-expanding array of acts as it takes over the city. Hubs include Granville Island’s Performance Works, where you can see the likes of throat-singing innovators Piqsiq and mesmerizing sounds-of-the-Sahara masters Les Filles De Illighadad; Ironworks, where experimentalism thrives with acts like Darius Jones, Jeff Parker, and Thumbscrew; and Pyatt Hall, home of modern, straight-up, and be-bop jazz, with acclaimed acts like the Brad Turner Quartet and sax sensation Immanuel Wilkins. There’s an entire North Shore Jazz Series, plus a range of free shows at Ocean Art Works on Granville Island, and much more. Summer vibe: Free improvisation.
JULY
Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival
July 1 to 3 at the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza, the Vancouver Playhouse, and the Annex
Sixteen groups from Taiwan and Canada present a culture-crossing mix of free music and dance at the TD Outdoor Stage by the VAG plaza; think colourful Wu Gi Group, thundering Uzume Taiko percussion, and Cirque du Soleil alumni Billy Chang and Tara C. Pandeya. There’s more, from open-air movies to traditional Taiwanese crafts. Summer vibe: Canadian cultural mosaic, with a Taiwanese flair.
Theatre Under the Stars
July 2 to August 27
Queen’s iconic hits will resound from Stanley Park’s historic Malkin Bowl as TUTS stages the musical We Will Rock You this summer. It alternates with the Something Rotten!, the gut-busting Broadway hit about the 16th-century Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, playwrights who are outshined by the rock-star talents of William Shakespeare. Summer vibe: Much-needed laughs under the towering firs.
Ebnfloh’s In-Ward at Dancing on the Edge. Photo by Melika Dez
Dancing on the Edge
July 7 to 16 at the Firehall Arts Centre and other venues
Canada’s longest-running contemporary dance festival, is ready to host live performances both indoor and outdoors, as well as online. Artists on tap for its 34th annual offering include two exciting acts from Montreal: Zab Maboungou’s Compagnie Danse NYATA NYATA and Alexandra ‘Spicey’ Landé’s Ebnflōh Dance Company. Also on deck: boundary-pushing Vancouver talents like Olivia C Davies’ O.Dela Arts with the Peppers Ghost New Media Collective, Vanessa Goodman’s Action at a Distance, Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg’s Tara Cheyenne Performance, Raven Spirit Dance’s Michelle Olson and Starr Muranko, Co.ERASGA’s Alvin Erasga Tolentino, Plastic Orchid Factory’s James Gnam, Calder White, Rebecca Margolick, Kate Franklin with Jeremy O’Neill, and more. Watch for a Festival Film Pack that includes such artists as Anya Saugstad, Helen Simard, and Shion Skye Carter. Summer vibe: Dance as fresh as an ice-cold Freezie.
Carnaval del Sol moves to Jonathon Rogers Park by Mount Pleasant.
Carnaval del Sol
July 8 to 10 at Jonathon Rogers Park
Follow the sounds of salsa and samba beats, as the biggest Latin American Festival in the Pacific Northwest moves its carnival to Mount Pleasant, complete with music, dance, food, and arts. Summer vibe: Carnaval in July.
Indian Summer Festival
July 7 to 17 at Performance Works
Themed Inner/Outer Climates, the interdisciplinary festival of South Asian artistry and ideas takes on the environmental crisis, rolling out a boundary-pushing dance performance, tabla wizards, outdoor art installations, and more—all centred around the new hub on Granville Island. Highlights include Modern Biology, a mind-expanding project from Indian classical music veteran and biologist Tarun Nayar, in which he plugs his synthesizer into mushrooms; and a concert by mesmerizing, Grammy-winning, culture-redefining Pakistani singer-songwriter Arooj Aftab. Summer vibe: Good times with a global conscience.
Paul Merrick’s Sketch of the Merrick House (West Vancouver), ink on paper. Courtesy of Alastair Johnstone and Jeanette Langmann, part of the Twist of the Rules: The Architecture of Paul Merrick at the West Vancouver Art Museum.
West Coast Modern Week
July 5 to 10 at the West Vancouver Art Museum and around West Vancouver
The West Vancouver Art Museum celebrates BC’s unique architectural legacy, with talks, exhibitions, parties, and a Home Tour offering rare access to local homes designed in the signature style. Make sure to check out the museum’s A Twist of the Rules: The Architecture of Paul Merrick, a retrospective of the influential work of the celebrated West Vancouver architect’s influential work, such as overseeing the design of City Square, the Killey residence in Vancouver, and his own wood-and-glass house nestled in the forest at Eagle Harbour. Summer vibe: Pure post-and-beam.
Vancouver Folk Music Festival
July 15 to 17 at Jericho Beach
The fest is finally back at the beach, returning with a fresh, contemporary new frame for folk. Think big-deal headliners like Allison Russell, Alejandro Escovedo, and The New Pornographers, as well as local bright lights like Suzie Ungerleider (formerly Oh Susanna) and Frazey Ford. Discover global finds like Finland Sámi-yoik fusionists VILDÁ or Korean electro-folk innovators SINNOI. And hit the Whistler Brewing Beer Tent and the Folk Bazaar for the full, folky experience. Summer vibe: Flip-flops, sunblock, and the exhilaration of a large-scale outdoor concert again.
African Descent Festival
July 16 and 17 in Thornton Park
The diversity of the African diaspora takes vivid form, with music from as far away as West Africa, Brazil, the African Caribbean, and elsewhere around the planet. Acts on the outdoor stage include the Sonora Kings, Suzka, Safi Madiba, MC Rukundo, and DJ Sanchez. Summer vibe: Afrobeats and fun in the sun.
CREATE! Arts Festival
July 24 and 25 at the Eastside Art District
Thee producers of the Eastside Culture Crawl Festival expand the reach of their second annual hands-on extravaganza of accessible art workshops, public art projects, and art-making demonstrations for the whole family—more than 60 in all. Interactive activities fill Strathcona Park on July 23, while local artists work with the community across art forms like print-making, bookbinding, ceramics, music, and painting at several Eastside studios; sites include Terminal City Glass Co-op and the adjacent Mergatroid Building. On Sunday, adults can join the Art! Bike! Beer! Crawl Fundraiser, visiting beer tastings, art studios, and more. Summer vibe: Artfully inspiring.
Vancouver’s Arkora ensemble highlights the oeuvre of Hildegard von Bingen.
Vancouver Bach Festival
July 26 to August 6 at venues including the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Christ Church Cathedral, Pyatt Hall, and VanDusen Botanical Garden
Think Scottish Baroque for this year’s Vancouver Bach Festival, presented by the folks at Early Music Vancouver. Special guests include Scottish Baroque experts David McGuinness and David Greenberg, who are fest artists-in-residence; they appear in the opening Ebb and Flow concert, featuring Vancouver Poet Laureate Fiona Tinwei Lam and the Pacific Baroque orchestra, in works by Handel, Telemann, and Alasdair MacLean devoted to water. Elsewhere, look for a program by electric chamber consort Arkora with new works by Canadian composers and ancient masterworks, highlighting the oeuvre of Hildegard von Bingen. Summer vibe: Going for Baroque.
Powell Street Festival
July 30 and 31 in Oppenheimer Park and the surrounding neighbourhood
Vibrant Japanese Canadian arts return live to the historic Paueru Gai neighbourhood, spanning taiko drumming, indie rock, film, theatre, and sumo tournaments—plus a busy marketplace, and, of course, delicious Japanese food. Watch Stir for programming announcements. Summer vibe: A Japanese matsuri with a coolly contemporary West Coast twist
A walking tour at the Vancouver Mural Festival.
AUGUST
Vancouver Mural Festival
August 4 to 14
Watch a diverse array of local, national, and international artists transform blank walls around the city, with live concerts, mural tours, talks, and more; watch for more programming details. Summer vibe: Sun-drenched colour explosion.
Music on Main brings beautiful chamber sounds to Mount Pleasant.
Music on Main Summer Pop-Up Concerts
August 9 to 12 and 16 to 18 at Mount Pleasant Park
Grab a blanket, pack a picnic, and head to the grass at Mount Pleasant Park for sunset concerts that start at 6:30 pm. Music on Main hasn’t yet announced the exact lineup, but you can expect exquisite artistry and eclectic sounds that push beyond classical into new-music territory. Summer vibe: An intimate, sophisticated spin on the outdoor concert.
Vancouver Queer Film Festival
August 11 to 21 online and at cinemas
Out On Screen’s annual fest has announced the theme of “Make It Yours”, with an emphasis on audiences returning to the political grassroots. Keep checking for specific programming announcements in July. Summer vibe: Pride, protected from UV rays.
Ambleside Music Festival
August 12 to 14 at Ambleside Park
An impressive lineup takes two stages at the fest, with acts including The Offspring, Mother Mother, Marianas Trench, Walk Off The Earth, Tokyo Police Club, Hannah Georgas, The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, and many more. Summer vibe: All-out, before-times outdoor rock fest by the beach.
Performing arts connect with greenspace at Vines Art Festival.
Vines Art Festival
August 3 to 13 at parks around the city, culminating at Trout Lake
Celebrating its eighth year, the fest nurtures underrepresented artists in concerts, dance performances, art installations, and more presentations and community collaborations that work toward land, water, and relational justice; watch for programming details at Stir. Summer vibe: Earth-friendly and socially conscious.
Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
August 25 to September 4 at cinemas
Keep your eye out for programming notices as the fest celebrates its 20th anniversary of screening the best films from around Latin America. Summer vibe: Cultural immersion, without the plane fare.
Sauti Sol hits Surrey as part of the African heritage Festival of Music and Dance, September 3 and 4.
Coming up in early September: Mark your calendars and watch for programming announcements, as the summer wraps up with TAIWANfest in downtown Vancouver September 3 to 5, the African Heritage Festival of Music and Dance September 3 and 4 at the Surrey Civic Plaza (headlined by Afro-pop band Sauti Sol), and the Vancouver Fringe Festival on Granville Island from September 8 to 18.
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