Powell Street Festival Society

The Powell Street Festival Society's (PSFS) mission is to celebrate and cultivate Japanese Canadian and Asian Canadian arts and culture; to encourage Asian Canadians to take a leadership role in the development of the arts in Canada; and to foster community development, environmental sustainability, and support for the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood area. The Society is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the Japanese Canadian and Asian Canadian communities' arts, culture, and heritage. By providing opportunities for exploration and development, we encourage Asian Canadians to develop their leadership skills, which is a part of our community building. We try to develop ties between the wide range and number of Japanese Canadian groups in the community (from martial arts groups to the Seniors' Housing group and everyone in between!). In addition, we encourage Asian Canadians to be recognized as a creative force by the broader community. The Society tries to accomplish these goals by presenting the Powell Street Festival every year. The Festival, which began in 1977, is a unique street festival that is free to the public and is held on Powell Street in Vancouver, Canada, (an area where the first Japanese in Canada settled). Through the Festival, we provide a venue for Japanese Canadians to perform, display their work and gain publicity. They, in turn, inspire others to continue their pursuits and participate in the Festival. By providing an opportunity for groups and individuals to participate in various ways, we foster community development. The Festival also allows the Japanese Canadian community to show the general public the diversity that exists within our community and to share it with them. The Festival provides a much-needed venue for emerging and established, professional and amateur, and traditional and contemporary artists in the Japanese Canadian and Asian Canadian communities. It is the largest event of its kind in Canada and the longest running community arts festival in the Lower Mainland. The Society also participates in co-presentations with other arts organizations throughout the year and produces its own programming as part of an annual season.