Vancouver 
Events Description
The Vancouver Mural Festival returns with a spectacular celebration of creativity and community across multiple locations, with the festival epicentre at the iconic City Centre Artist Lodge on Main Street. The highly anticipated 10-day summer festival is jam-packed with daily mural tours, live performances, public talks, and more.
The festival kicks off on August 4 with mural tours in the afternoon followed by the Public Disco Pride Special in the evening at The Cobalt and Boxcar.
As part of the festival’s dedication to honouring diversity, attendees can look forward to the Ricecake Summer Market which features over 25 local Asian artisans, makers, and food vendors.
Join us at the Vancouver Mural Festival for 9 fantastic parties and events over the course of 10 days across the city, including a massive street party for the festival’s final weekend!
On August 4 is the Public Disco Pride Special, a curated 10-hour program of 2SLGBTQIA+ DJs, dancers, visual artists and drag performers at the Cobalt and Boxcar. Guests can enjoy $5 off door tickets and $6 drink specials from 4:00 to 6:00 pm during the happy hour disco on the painted patio. Later in the evening, there will be an unforgettable Drag & Burlesque show curated by Toddy, the season one winner of Call Me Mother, OutTV’s drag competition series. The dance party will continue until closing at 2:00 am.
Official VMF Mural Tours, sponsored by Herschel Supply Co. will be provided by Vancouver DeTours and Curated Tastes in Mount Pleasant, Strathcona, River District, Downtown, and the West End. Mural tours for the blind and partially sighted will be provided by VocalEye. Offered daily and by-donation, the mural tours are in high demand so attendees must reserve their spot in advance. The experience takes attendees to several neighbourhood murals, highlighting the meaning of each artwork and behind-the-scenes stories of how they were made.
Live art fans and graffiti enthusiasts can look forward to Astro Alley, a mural jam and art exhibition on August 5 – 7, where 20 artists will paint experimental murals, street art, and graffiti in the alley behind Astro Studios at 163 West 3rd Avenue, between Columbia and Manitoba Streets.
A hotbed for street art and graffiti mural production, the Astro Studio artist collective and friends have long used this alley as a creative testing ground and will be completely repainted for the public as a new addition to the festival.
The Mount Pleasant Street Party on August 10 – 13 will feature five exciting zones to enjoy at the City Centre Artist Lodge and surrounding streets. Daily programming features DJs, live music, food trucks, a beer garden, including the City Centre Open Studios, an artisanal market, and more.
VMF After Dark brings two nights of art, music and dancing at The Birdhouse, a newly transformed industrial warehouse space in Mount Pleasant–made possible through the City of Vancouver’s recently expanded Arts Event License Policy.
VMF After Dark Night 1: Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, on August 11, is a 2-versus-2 open styles dance battle and dance party, curated by Deep From the Underground, bside.radio and hip-hop dancer/choreographer Natasha Gorrie. Battle winners will take home a cash prize of $600.
VMF After Dark Night 2: Public Disco, on August 12, features top local DJs playing a mix of underground house, techno and more into the night.
On August 12, at the 6th annual Holden Courage Memorial Graffiti Jam, street party attendees can witness graffiti artists freestyle paint a mural on Main Street and 5th Avenue in honour of Holden Courage, a local graffiti artist who passed away at the age of 21 in 2015. The project is funded by the Holden Courage Memorial Fund for Artists, which was created by Tara McGuire, Holden Courage’s mother.
As well, many artists at City Centre Artist Lodge will open their studios daily to street party attendees on August 10 – 13, as part of the City Centre Open Studios. Attendees can explore the innovative re-purposing of the former City Centre Motel as low-cost artist studio spaces managed by the Narrow Group.
On August 13 at The Birdhouse, DJ and producer Skratch Bastid is hosting BASTID’S BBQ for the first time at Vancouver Mural Festival.
Promising good music, good food and good people, this travelling day party has grown considerably since its inception in 2010, hosting events in 20 cities around the world both as a standalone event and in conjunction with major activations like Austin’s SXSW, Miami Music Week & House Of Vans.
HOW MUCH
Free & Ticketed Events
How to get tickets?
WHEN & WHERE
Date & Time: August 4-13, 2023 – Schedule
Venue: Various neighbourhoods in Vancouver
CAMBIE VILLAGE // DOWNTOWN // MARPOLE // MOUNT PLEASANT // NORTH SHORE // RIVER DISTRICT // STRATHCONA // WEST END
