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.

Guided by the theme Grounded in Community, Carrying it Forward, the 2023 Festival features 100 plus events at over 40 local venues over twelve days of live and online events – both indoors and out – including music, stories, poetry, theatre, ceremony, films, dance, readings, forums, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, art talks, history walks and more.

Be sure to check the Heart of the City Festival website for a complete listing.