Heart of the City Festival 2023

the 20th Festival; the 20th Anniversary of the 2003 Downtown Eastside Community Play, which led to the founding of the Festival; and the 40th Anniversary of Vancouver Moving Theatre, lead producers of the Festival.

For twenty years, the Heart of the City Festival has been grounded in the Downtown Eastside and focused on listening and learning from the cultural practices of the community. The Festival works with, for and about the Downtown Eastside community to carry forward our community’s stories, ancestral memory, cultural traditions, lived experiences, and artistic processes to illuminate pathways of resistance and resilience.

Most Festival events are free of charge, although some require pre-registration. For these, and for paid events, you are register through EventBrite.

Festival 2023 Schedule at a Glance
To find out more information on a specific event, visit the Festival Schedule and click on the date(s) for the show you're interested in.

Wednesday November 1

10am-3pm
Heart of the City Festival Snooker Tournament
Carnegie Pool Room

11am & 1pm
Paper Trail, Exhibition Tour
Chinese Canadian Museum

1pm-3pm
Day of the Dead Decorations Workshop
Carnegie Learning Centre

2pm-3pm
Sandy Cameron Memorial Writing Contest Award Ceremony
Carnegie Theatre

3:30pm-4:30pm
Solidarity Notes Labour Choir
Carnegie Theatre

4pm-5:30pm
COMMUNITY OF WORK Opening Reception
Carnegie 3rd Floor Gallery

6pm-8pm
Graffiti Digital Art Wall
InterUrban Gallery

6:30pm-8:30pm
Yinpin Native Chinese Orchestra
Carnegie Theatre

7pm-8:30pm
VANDU: Over 25 Years of Resistance and Resilience
312 Main

8pm-9:30pm
We Live Here II
Keefer & Columbia, NE corner

11pm-1am
Red Jam Slam at Late Night with Savages
Brandiz Bar & Co-op Radio CFRO 100.5 FM

Thursday November 2

10am-12pm
Strathcona Sings! Indoor Edition
RayCam Cooperative Centre

10am-3pm
9th Symposium on Reconciliation and Redress in the Arts
Creekside Community Recreation Centre

12pm-4pm
Day of the Dead Community Altar
Listening Post

1pm-3pm
Day of the Dead Community Ofrenda
Carnegie Learning Centre

2pm-2:15pm
Bells of St James'
St James' Anglican Church

2pm-3pm
Day of the Dead/Dia de muertos Procession
Meet at Watari Counselling & Support Services

3pm-6pm
Day of the Dead/Dia de muertos Fiesta
320 Alexander

4pm-7:30pm
Art Sale + Graffiti Digital Wall
InterUrban Gallery

5pm-6pm
Kla How Ya
Co-op Radio CFRO 100.5 FM

6:30pm
Requiem for All Souls'
St James' Anglican Church

7:30pm-9pm
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
Firehall Arts Centre

8pm-9:30pm
We Live Here II
Keefer & Columbia, NE corner

9pm-11pm
Arts Rational
Co-op Radio CFRO 100.5 FM

Friday November 3

11am-5pm
Open House
Vancouver Police Museum

1pm & 2pm
Hastings Street Band
InterUrban Gallery

1pm-4pm
Reweaving our Words
Trillium North Park

2pm-4pm
An Ear for Dialogue Writers Workshop
Carnegie Learning Centre

2pm-4:30pm
Knitting Circle Workshop
VJLS & JH

2pm-5pm
Gallery Drop-In
Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art

3pm-5:30pm
Robyn's Nest
InterUrban Gallery

5pm-7:30pm
Music For Fun and Healing
Listening Post

6pm-7pm
From the Video Archives of Sid Chow Tan
Carnegie Theatre

7pm-11pm
Zabava Community Dance
Ukrainian Hall

7:30pm-9pm
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
Firehall Arts Centre

7:30pm-9:30pm
Big Fight in Little Chinatown
Carnegie Theatre

7:30pm-9:30pm
Once Upon a Time on a Chinatown Night
Stretch Vancouver

8pm-9:30pm
We Live Here II
Keefer & Columbia, NE corner

Saturday November 4

11am-12:30pm
Wonder Walks: Vancouver Chinatown
Register for location

12pm
Sounds Fishy Parade
Meet at InterUrban Gallery

12pm-2pm
All Bodies Dance Project
Carnegie Theatre

12pm-5pm
First Saturday Open Studios
various locations

2pm-3pm
DTES Poets
InterUrban Gallery

3pm-4:30pm
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
Firehall Arts Centre

3:30pm-5pm
Megaphone's Voices of the Street Writers
InterUrban Gallery

3:30pm-6:30pm
Stop the Sweeps
Carnegie Theatre

6:30pm-8pm
Muriel's Journey Poetry Prize Chapbook Launch
InterUrban Gallery

7pm-9pm
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing
Firehall Arts Centre

7:30pm-9pm
Smokey Devil - Underworld Street Reporter
Carnegie Theatre

Sunday November 5

11am-12:30pm
Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing Workshop
Firehall Arts Centre

1pm-2pm
Karen Jamieson Dance & Carnegie Dance Troupe
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre

2pm
Cultural Displays
Ukrainian Hall

3pm-4pm
Concert Building Community: 20 Years of Friendship
Ukrainian Hall
More info