This Labour Day weekend, Vancouver’s TAIWANfest returns for its 35th year with three days of free, thought-provoking programming.
Drawing inspiration from Portuguese maritime history and the concept of saudade — a feeling of longing and nostalgia tied to the Portuguese diaspora — the festival invites audiences to reflect on shared experiences of longing, departure, and cultural transformation.
“Anchored by the theme ‘Echoes of the Ocean,’ this year’s festival invites Canadians to explore the emotional paradoxes of migration, identity, and belonging – not through spectacle, but through shared narratives and meaningful artistic dialogue,” according to a press release.
Festivalgoers can expect everything from film screenings and exhibitions to public talks led by author Chih-Hsin Chang, cultural anthropologist Lieh-Shih Lo, historian Kaim Ang and professor and architect Kenji Horigome.
Live acts include Rally for Taiwan: Music in the Soundscape of Democracy, featuring Taiwanese artists singing in Hokkien, Hakka and Indigenous languages; Tectonic, an exhibition dance battle curated by Barangay Project Society; and One Moon, One Song, a collaborative performance with Canadian jazz artist Jacq Teh and Taiwanese hip-hop artist Rapshark.
Visitors can also participate in indigo dyeing and pickling workshops, play an educational board game highlighting Hakka culture and browse the works of local artisans at the artists market.
TAIWANfest Vancouver
When: Various times from Saturday, Aug. 30, to Monday, Sept. 1.
Where: Various sites in Vancouver
Cost: Free
