Eastside Arts Festival returns for sixth year with expanded walking tours and workshops
Running July 17 to 26, the festival invites visitors into artist studios and neighbourhood spaces across East Vancouver to see how creative work happens.
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The Eastside Arts Festival returns for its sixth year from July 17 to 26, expanding across the Eastside Arts District with artist-led workshops, neighbourhood walks, performances, and public events that invite visitors to experience how art is made, not just view finished work.
"The festival was really introduced because there's a strong appetite in the community to meet the artists, see the art at the Eastside Culture Crawl, to learn how it's all made and be a part of it," says Sierra MacTavish, programs and development manager at the Eastside Arts Society.
Expanded walking tours give artists the chance to guide visitors through East Vancouver's creative landscape. Artist-led explorations range from street photography and public art to Soundwalk, an active listening experience that encourages participants to experience familiar streets through sound rather than sight. The festival's workshops invite people to work alongside artists, trying everything from glass fusing and indigo dyeing to plein air drawing, learning directly from practitioners.
All activities unfold inside breweries, artist studios, and community spaces that already form the neighbourhood's creative ecosystem—from Terminal City Glass Co-op to Parker Street Studios. The festival culminates in a free gathering at MacLean Park on July 25 with live music, public art, and an open-air art market.
"People are always, especially now, looking for new ways to work with their hands, get out of the house, meet new people, be creative," MacTavish says. "I think this is a good opportunity to do so in a really welcoming and accessible environment."
