TJ Fest in Burnaby

Hosted by the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, the ExplorASIAN Festival features a series of events celebrating Asian culture in Vancouver in May.

In 2024 the festival runs from April 28th until June 9th.

The ExplorASIAN Festival is one of a number of East Asian-themed events in the Lower Mainland. Other significant ones include Lunarfest Vancouver (during the Lunar New Year in January or February), the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival in July, and Taiwanfest in September.

ExplorASIAN Festival in Vancouver

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada and the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society celebrates the month with an arts and culture festival. During the month of May the organization partners with various groups in Metro Vancouver to host a wide variety of different events.

The ExplorASIAN Festival celebrates its 28th year in 2024. This year, there are over 50 events taking place across Metro Vancouver.

The opening ceremony takes place on April 28th at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster. It’s free to attend. Some of the festival’s other events are also free, while some events are by donation and others require paid tickets.

On any given year you can expect to see art exhibitions, speaker series, walking tours, interactive workshops, live performances and more.

2024 ExplorASIAN Events

As mentioned above, there are dozens of festival events that take place each year. There are too many to list in this article. Below are just a few of the events happening in 2024. For the full schedule click ExplorASIAN 2024.

East of the Sun Concerts

The Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble presents two concerts during this year’s festival. East of the Sun features two bands coming together for two nights of music. Jasmine Jazz and SE:UM play jazz music with ancient Asian instruments.

The first concert takes place on May 3rd at the Anvil Centre starting at 7:30 pm. On the following day, there’s another show at the ANNEX in Vancouver at 7:30 pm. Tickets cost between about $14 and $28 per person.

For more information about the shows, see our article about the East of the Sun Concerts.

OTHER WALKING TOURS

If you like walking tours, then be sure to also check out Historical Chinatown Tours. They take place at other times of the year too. Forbidden Vancouver is also another exceptional walking tour company, although it focuses on Vancouver history in general.

ExplorASIAN Spring Show

A regular event at the festival each year is the Vancouver Ikebana Association’s Spring Show. This is a Japanese floral arrangement exhibition including live demonstrations by experienced artists. There is even an opportunity for visitors to take part in a workshop to learn about the practice of ikebana.

The Spring Show is held at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver. In 2024 it takes place on May 25th and 26th. The show runs from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on the first day, and then from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on the second day.

The Tian Jin Temple’s TJ Fest Community Festival

TJ Fest is another free event that takes place at the Tian Jin Temple at 3426 Smith Avenue in Burnaby. The venue isn’t far from where Grandview meets the Trans-Canada Highway.

The main focus of the event is Metro Vancouver’s Taiwanese culture, but there are multiple different cultures represented either through live performances or through food available from a variety of vendors. There is also a community market at the event as well as carnival-style games and other family-friendly activities.

TJ Fest takes place on May 4th and 5th in 2024. It runs from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm on both days.

To learn more about the event at the Tian Jin Temple, see our article about TJ Fest.

To see what the festival looks like, check out the following video.

About the VAHMS Organization

The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society (VAHMS) is a non-profit, multicultural arts organization. Its mission is to promote Asian-Canadian arts and culture in Vancouver.

So many different Asian nationalities and cultures are represented in the Lower Mainland. There are people from East Asia which includes China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. Southeast Asian countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore and a few others. South Asian countries are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Western Asian or Middle Eastern countries include places like Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, the UAE and Yemen, to name a few. In Central Asia there is Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society promotes the cultures and arts of all the above ethnic groups, and more.