TAIWANfest Vancouver Explores Multicultural Connections with Spanish Roots (Aug. 31 – Sept. 2)
TAIWANfest returns to Vancouver this Labour Day long weekend with a cultural celebration spread across several downtown locations, including šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square, Granville Street, the Annex, the Vancouver Playhouse and the Vancouver Public Library. The festival will feature music and dance performances, visual arts exhibitions, film screenings, a Hope Talk discussion series led by scholars and historians, and an artist market. Many of the events are free. Taiwanese food stands will be set up in the 600-block of Granville Street with a beer garden at Vancouver Art Gallery’s North Plaza. Each year, TAIWANfest explores cultural dialogues with a different region of the world, and in 2024, the festival focuses on intercultural connections with Spain. Performance highlights include two shows by the Taiwanese indie band Lilium at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk Square on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at 5:30 p.m. and Flamenco de Formosa at the Vancouver Playhouse on Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. The latter performance, featuring choreography by Lian Ho with Yu Hsien Hsueh and the Genio Dance Group, is a ticketed event. In May, Hsueh won first place for solo choreography and best dancer at the 33rd Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreography Competition in Madrid, Spain. The award-winning solo work, “Laughter and Oblivion” (Risa y olvido), is included in the Playhouse program. For the full schedule, visit the TAIWANfest 2024 website.
