Kicking off the three-day flurry of festivities in style, this year's TAIWANfest Opening Concert returns to the newly renovated Vancouver Art Gallery Plaza featuring an evening performance like nothing you’ve ever seen! Featuring the music of Vancouver-based Juno nominee Warren Dean Flandez alongside the award-winning Auba Rukai Children's Choir and the equally talented 13-year-old cellist....
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Voices of schoolchildren echo vividly through mountains and plains, cutting through the humid summer air carrying whispers of a tribe reborn. The Auba Children’s Choir hail from the Rukai tribe in Taiwan, one of countless indigenous groups belonging to the Austronesian family spanning the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and even Madagascar....
SFU Concert Orchestra Mario Subeldia Auba Rukai Children’s Choir Music and arts have a way of connecting cultures, communities, and even eras. From last year’s tale of Taiwanese in Japan to this year’s Filipino in Taiwan, no cultural dialogue is complete without exploring these cross-cultural influences. Sometimes, examining and learning about a different culture ends
At age 25, Mario left his hometown of Luzon in the Philippines, travelling to work in the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan. To overcome his homesickness, he once had the idea of using sand to draw his family's faces on the beach, unexpectedly sparking his interest in "sand painting" as he discovered his talent....
How can an island nation support 23 million mouths with eco-friendly and sustainable agriculture? Discover the tastes and stories that inspired us to cross oceans and continents - Let’s Savour Taiwan....
Do you ever wonder who you are? Where you come from? Or why you exist here and now? If you have ever wondered about you and your family’s origins, you may be interested in discovering more about our common origins and the path of migration....
The International Pan-Asian Culinary Invitational tackles the explosive growth of pan-Asian fusion cuisine like no other culinary program in Canada! Who will triumph and take the title of “Best Cut” this year? The sweet and aromatic tastes of Filipino roasts....
When was the last time you went home? Or do you consider yourself already at home? Going home seems to be a choice for many of us, but for some it is impossible. In a modern world....
Each day, we pass by endless waves of new people as we each travel through life. For some, the chance to meet is fleeting, as they are only in our country for a short while - yet have you ever paid attention to listen to their voices? The voices of migrant workers....
One should never judge a book by its cover. Beneath the rough appearance of toned muscle, a tattooed body, and shaved head lives a mentor of life, wisdom, and spiritual strength. This man is Ming-Chieh Hsieh, who once lived a rebel’s life....
13 year old Jamie Chan is a self-proclaimed Cello and Classical music fanatic, playing in the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Whether at school or in the orchestra, he has a distinct air of maturity and elegance that is very different from...
The legends and tales of Japanese ninja will come alive as Tomonosuke and ASHURA – The Iga Ninja Troupe from Iga, in Mie Prefecture, Japan introduce local audiences to the unique life and world of ninja and their techniques known as ninjutsu....
Hop on board! Jeepneys are the ubiquitous transportation found throughout the Philippines, typically sporting a collection of customized knicknacks, bright colours and designs, and sometimes extreme modifications....
Gen Huang's tale is of a true love that transcends cross-cultural borders. In 2007, she started Philtai: The Voice, a platform for Filipinos in Taiwan to connect with others that are also living there....
At what point do we lose the distinction between reality and illusion? Does the line in the sand shift between playing a video game, to watching a film, to reading a novel? Images and stories, conjured up before our eyes and unfolding within our minds, can assume a life of their own. Let the clear cut boundaries of fantasy and reality blur and melt away.....
A butterfly's wings, miles away and days in the past, can exert a profound effect along a chain of amplified reactions. What effects do the smallest of our actions and movements have on the lives of others....
Cultivating farmland doesn’t always mean restricting biodiversity! Welcome to the Hoe-Hoe Field-side Farmhouse in the Gongliao District of New Taipei City, Taiwan, where a rehabilitated water terrace is now home to more than 500 thriving species....
Left to right: Chef Hong(J), Deborah Moore(J), Chef Hidekazu Tojo(J), Chef Mark Singson(Best Cut Vancouver), Chef Jeff Szombaty(Finalist), Wood Kuen Ho(J), Chef Denice Wai(J), Emma Choo(J), Chef Yi-Chien Chen(J/2016 IPACI Best Cut Vancouver) International Pan-Asian Culinary Invitational (IPACI) IPACI started in 2015 with the aim to create a dialogue between communities through something we all
Bienvenue, Mabuhay, and Welcome to the Fête with the Philippines in downtown Vancouver! Metro Vancouver is home to many Filipino - and if there's one thing Filipinx know to do, it's how to throw a great party....
Crafts and arts that no one can keep their hands off - whether young or old! Don't miss out on the magic of breathing life into these arts through your very own hands - what unique wonders will you create....
The indigenous people of Taiwan have been living there for thousands of years, their multifaceted tribal culture and their unique ways of life are sources of amazement to the rest of the world....
Chelsea's Tail is a three-piece rock band from Vancouver, BC. Their wall of sound is made up of dynamic riffs, powerful choruses, and melodic harmonies. Taking influence from various artists such as Coheed and Cambria, Incubus, and Queen, the band forms its own sound with style....
Bolstered by aggressive guitar riffs and gut-wrenching gangers, Dead End Drive-In are a punk rock five-piece from Vancouver, Canada. Taking after such acts as Titus Andronicus, Diarrhea Planet and The Replacements, this band has no problem mixing meaningful lyrical content with relentless lead lines....
CRAS is a four-piece Blink-182-like Pop Punk band from Vancouver. Just released their debut EP Morning Wood in 2018; CRAS’s music is diversified from catchy melody pop punk songs to gang vocals with emotional turbulence....
Frogpile, composed of frontman Jordan Heaney, guitarist Brian Tancredi, drummer Chris Marriott and bassist Bartek Danel, are slyly posing as an alternative rock group made up of (mostly) good, Canadian kids....
Vaysha is not like other little girls: she was born with a left eye that sees only the past and a right eye that sees only the future, and she cannot live in the present. Should she poke out one of her eyes so that she can live in the other’s temporal reality? Or is she doomed to perceive the world from this perplexing perspective...
Tidal Traces is a 360° video VR dance piece that places viewers in the centre of the performance. In it, three characters explore a new and uncertain world—moving between tranquility and ominousness, beauty and peril....
Founded by Master Paul Tam in Richmond, the CLF Kung Fu Club is dedicated to upholding traditions and practices that are highly valued in Chinese culture by means of kung fu. Master Tam has been professionally trained in martial arts for over 3 decades and specializes in both the arts of Choy Lee Fat and Chen's Tai Chi....
Strange Breed are a 4 piece, all queer, all female garage rock band based out of Vancouver, BC. Sounding like every 90’s riot grrrl fans’ feminist wet dream, with an unexpected modern rock twist....
Vancouver Okinawa Taiko, formerly known as Yuaikai Ryukyu Taiko, is an Okinawan Taiko Dance Group that was formed in 2004. The group aims to share Okinawan Folk performing arts, which combine Okinawan style drumming, dancing and music....
Tian Jin Temple is back again! Feel the beat in your feet and tap away to the sound of their drums during their performance on the stage! Afterwards come to their booth on 600 block of Granville Street to listen to their fascinating stories - learn how you can particpate in the many activities they offer....
Discover the sights and sounds of a lost culture and people. Narrated by George Takei, Message from Hiroshima is the culmination of an atomic bomb survivor’s life-long mission to discover Hiroshima’s lost culture....
Sunday is precious. In Taipei's Little Philippines, populated by migrant workers that put in six-day-weeks, Sunday is priceless. Sunday is filled with little diversions and simple pleasures - including the discovery of an abandoned, brand new couch on this particular Sunday...
Oh me oh my! As the cultural dialogues continue, our activities only multiply. Where do you begin your TAIWANfest journey? Pick up one of our Fun Stop cards and explore the festival....
Visiting a bookstore is one way to experience the unique literatures in Taiwan . Readers from around the world, whether living in or just visiting Taiwan, can always experience the warmth that a Taiwanese bookstore brings....
Break out your uke! Do you ever just tap along to music? When's the last time you touched an instrument? Music can be so spontaneous - maybe it's time to pick up a ukulele and break out your inner musician...
Andie Lloyd, a former Volunteer Coordinator of TAIWANfest and designer, fell in love with Taiwan on her recent solo trip. Exploring the streets of Taiwan, she fell in love with the sights and smells of Taiwan, all the exciting stories right around each corner....