Arts organizations celebrate Asian Heritage Month with an array of Metro Vancouver events

Artists honour Asian culture with a luminous May events calendar featuring festivals, music, dance, poetry, and more

TJ Fest, held annually at Tian-Jin Temple in Burnaby.

Japanese Canadian poet Joy Kogawa. Photo by Samuel Engelking

DURING MAY, Asian Heritage Month is a chance to celebrate and honour Asian culture by amplifying diverse Asian voices, stories, and legacies. Around Metro Vancouver, arts and culture organizations are marking the month with a calendar packed full of events.

Over at its downtown cultural space Morrow, Odd Meridian Arts is launching a series of performances and workshops as part of ahmm (Asian Heritage Month at Morrow). Expect a blend of innovative and traditional dance from the likes of Alyssa Favero, Fluffy and Friends Lion Dance, and Shion Skye Carter; multimedia offerings spanning calligraphy and musical theatre; and a special appearance from celebrated Japanese Canadian poet Joy Kogawa in honour of her new career-spanning collection of poetry, From the Lost and Found Department.

You can catch a few festivals this month, including the TJ Fest (offering up Taiwanese street food, multicultural performances, and dozens of market vendors in Burnaby) and Sound of Dragon Music Festival (hosting epic intercultural performances at the Annex).

The Vancouver Art Gallery has a month’s worth of events to check out, too, as does the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society as part of its explorASIAN Festival programming.

With plenty abuzz in the city as warmer days approach, here are just a few of Stir’s picks for what’s happening on the arts and culture scene this month.

Homecoming

May 2 to 12 at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre

Filipinx playwright Kamila Sediego’s production follows three generations of Filipinx women on a magical exploration of cultural identity, familial duty, and the concept of returning home, told through intimate humour, delicious food, and the nostalgic folk song “Bahay Kubo”. Need to Know: Homecoming is premiering as part of The Cultch’s annual Femme Festival in a copresentation with Urban Ink.

East of the Sun

May 3, 7:30 pm, at Anvil Theatre; May 4, 7:30 pm, at the Annex

Five-piece Korean ensemble SE:UM and six-member Chinese ensemble Jasmine Jazz will blend traditional folk melodies from their respective cultures with innovative Western jazz rhythms, in a performance hosted by the Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society, Caravan World Rhythms, Korean Cultural Centre Canada, and Vancouver Chinese Instrumental Music Society. Need to Know: Keep your eyes peeled for a variety of traditional Korean instruments, from the 12-string gayageum to the janggu hand drum.

TJ Fest

May 4 and 5, 11 am to 4 pm, at Tian-Jin Temple

Hosted by the Chinese Taoism Kuan-Kung Association in Canada, this free festival is hosting its 13th annual edition in Burnaby, complete with Taiwanese street food, live dance and music, and over 40 market vendors along Smith Avenue. Need to Know: Among the mainstage performers are the Tian-Jin Formation Drums, an upbeat troupe that practices traditional Chinese drumming.

Café de Chinitas

May 5, 7:30 pm, at Presentation House Theatre

Fiery footwork, fluttering fans, and crackling hand claps: Mozaico Flamenco’s artist director, bailaora Kasandra “La China”, is taking the helm in a special Asian-fusion edition of the company’s Sunday Salon Series flamenco show that’s part professional performance, part traditional tablao-like community circle. The song-and-dance homage to Spanish poet Federico García Lorca will also feature original compositions by flamenco guitarist Peter Mole. Need to Know: Stay tuned between the two acts for an artist Q&A with $5 wine.

From the Lost and Found Department

May 6, 7 pm, at Morrow

Back at Odd Meridian Arts, esteemed Japanese Canadian poet Joy Kogawa is hosting a reading of her newly published collection, From the Lost and Found Department, as part of ahmm. Six fellow poets will read excerpts of Kogawa’s work and share some of their own writing inspired by the celebrated author, all curated by Johnny Trinh. Need to Know: Kogawa, now 88, called the career-spanning book From the Lost and Found Department her last.

Janet Wang’s *in/visible*, 2018/2024, detailed view of window installation for SPOTLIGHT.

Artist Talk: Janet Wang

May 9, 6 pm, at Vancouver Art Gallery

Vancouver-based multimedia artist Janet Wang will unpack the ins and outs of her exhibition SPOTLIGHT: Janet Wang, on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery until April 2025, in an artist talk that riffs off the question, “What does it mean to be Chinese in Canada?” Need to Know: Wang has established a name for herself reimagining traditional drapery and wallpaper patterns to tell contemporary stories that centre Chinese Canadian perspectives.

Cellar Comedy - Asian Heritage Month Edition

May 9, 9 pm, at The Show Cellar

Twins Comedy Productions and The Show Cellar are partnering up to present a hilarious evening of standup hosted by Vancouver-based Asian comedians: Nancy Ho, Arash Narchi, Jon Endo, Abdul Ali, Cory Lupovici, Tin Lorica, and Greta Lin. Need to Know: The Show Cellar is a newly established hidden gem—venture inside The Park Pub on Davie Street and tell the host you’re looking for the comedy show, and you’ll be led to the venue.

Short Songs 司棋平林

May 10 and 11, 7 pm, at Morrow

Composers Jo Hirabayashi and Robyn Jacob will join forces at ahmm for a relaxed evening of co-authored short songs that allowed them to explore intuitive collaboration, performed alongside percussionists Adrian Avendaño and Gregory Samek. Queer Chinese poet Jane Shi, author of Leaving Chang’e on Read, will open the show. Need to Know: Hirabayashi and Jacob have previously worked together on a multitude of music projects, including art-pop band Only A Visitor.

Drumming Up Spirit

May 12, 1 pm, at the Annex

This performance by Canada’s first all-women Taiko drumming group Sawagi Taiko and Lil’wat singing ensemble Tzo’kam will unite multigenerational Indigenous and East Asian artists, presented by Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society with the Powell Street Festival Society. Need to Know: More than 50 years after its inception, Tzo’kam still performs the songs its late founder Flora Wallace learned throughout her childhood in Xaxli’p First Nation.

Matriarch’s Day in Chinatown

May 12, 1 to 4 pm, at Chinatown Plaza

In dual recognition of Asian Heritage Month and Mother’s Day, Chinatown Together is putting on an afternoon honouring matriarchs that will feature a traditional Uyghur dance demo and workshop by Adalat Dance Academy, a tribute performance to late community poet and activist William Lim by Karen Jamieson Dance’s Carnegie Dance Troupe, and a drop-in floral workshop led by Jessamine Liu. Need to Know: There will be a cash-only mini market area at the event, featuring goods handmade by local Chinatown elders.

Moon Gate

May 23, 6:30 pm, at The Polygon Gallery

On the evening of the next full moon in Vancouver, guests are invited to The Polygon Gallery to witness immersive works and performances by Eric Cheung, Cristian Gonzalez, OURO Collective, and x/o. Need to Know: A moon gate, often present in classical Chinese gardens and architecture, is a circular opening that symbolizes a cyclical flow of energy and time.

Sound of Dragon Music Festival

May 23 to 26 at the Annex

At its sixth annual edition, Sound of Dragon Music Festival will host three intercultural concerts at the Annex—Mongolian throat singer Anand Avirmed and friends, Yang Xue’s Bows & Strings Dance with Vancouver Erhu Quartet, and From Chinese Winds & Percussion to Indonesian Gamelan—plus community activities. Need to Know: Free events include a “Song of Joy” music jam, Chinese percussion workshop, and erhu music performance by Yang Xue.

Music Show by Michelle Kwan and Mary Ancheta

May 24, 6:30 pm, at Gordon Neighbourhood House

Among the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society’s jam-packed calendar of events is this soulful concert by Chinese Canadian guzheng (plucked string instrument) player Michelle Kwan and Filipinx Canadian keyboardist Mary Ancheta. Need to Know: Kwan blends the ethereal sounds of the guzheng with pop-rock elements—her song covers span the likes of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses, “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5, and “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys.

Tūngur: EXchanges Gathering

May 25, 12 pm, at What Lab

Co.ERASGA (led by Filipinx Canadian dance artist Alvin Erasga Tolentino) is facilitating this public gathering grounded in the teachings of Mamerto Lagitan Tindongan, who is an eighth-generation Mumbaki, a religious specialist from the Ifugao tribe in the Cordillera region of the northern Philippines. Expect an afternoon of intimate Indigenous knowledge sharing through arts, conversations, prayers, and Kamayan Filipino food. Need to Know: Tindongan practises Baki, the Ifugao tribe’s form of spirituality that forges deep connections with nature spirits, deities, and ancestors.

Kintsugi Workshop

May 25, 11 am to 1 pm, at Vancouver Art Gallery

Kintsugi is the traditional Japanese art form of restoring cracked ceramics by mending fragments with a metallic powder—a beautifully intricate exercise in embracing flaws. At the Vancouver Art Gallery, participants will try their hand at the craft on antique Japanese pottery pieces, which they will then get to take home. Need to Know: Renowned kintsugi artist Yuka Morino, who was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan and now lives on Quadra Island, will lead the workshop.

Mirage: Disused Public Property in Taiwan

May 30 onward at Museum of Vancouver

Artist Yao Jui-Chung and his team the Lost Society Document’s 10-year photo documentation of Taiwan’s “mosquito halls”, a variety of once-shining public structures that have now become prime breeding ground for mosquitos after being abandoned, is the subject of this new exhibition opening at the Museum of Vancouver. Need to Know: Jui-Chung’s photos show convention centres, sports facilities, and schools built from the 1970s onward—haunting portraits of urban decay captured through a social activist’s point of view.

Walang Hiya: A night of Filipinx poetry

May 31, 7 pm, at Vancouver Art Gallery

Capping off the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Asian Heritage Month programming is a celebratory night of poetry hosted by Filipinx Canadian singer-songwriter Kimmortal. There will be powerful spoken-word poetry by Tin Lorica, Ruthless, Winona Gillera, and Karla Comanda, plus a DJ set by Turtle Dreams. Need to Know: The gathering takes place at the gallery’s Rooftop Pavilion, which boasts a floor-to-ceiling window view of Robson Square and the cityscape beyond.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.