VIBC’s City of Bhangra Festival

VIBC’s City of Bhangra Festival: 9 days of drum, dance, music and discussion May 4-14
Experience the sights and sounds of Bhangra when the streets come alive from May 4 – 14, 2011 as the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration (VIBC) Society presents the 2011 City of Bhangra Festival. Enjoy a broad range of talent spanning from folk music to rock-inspired bands, Bhangra sounds from the UK to Finland, and dancers from all over North America. The festival, organized by the VIBC Society, encourages cultural exploration and community participation through a diverse series of events highlighting the Northern Indian art form of Bhangra. Take a look at the event listings and see what events you want to attend.

2011 VIBC City of Bhangra Festival Program
Opening Reception
A VIP cocktail reception with art, music & Bhangra
Date: Wednesday, May 4
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Location: Museum of Vancouver (by invitation only)
Celebrate the launch of the much anticipated 9-day City of Bhangra Festival. Experience the love and passion our fair city has for the art of Punjabi folk dance. The Opening Reception also launches the exhibit Bhangra.me: Vancouver’s Bhangra story in partnership with Museum of Vancouver.

Repercussion
Date: Thursday, May 5
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: SFU Woodward’s, Fei & Milton Wong Experiment Theatre, 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Tickets: $18, www.ticketweb.ca
Drums of the world come together as percussion meister Paul Bray under the direction of Sal Ferreras and guests reveal another side of Vancouver’s heartbeat. Percussion and folk drumming traditions from Asia, Africa and Europe are your musical guides for exploring the city’s rich multicultural fabric.

Curating & Creating Memory Symposium
Date: Saturday, May 7
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver
Tickets: FREE, Pre-Registration Required via RSVP@vibc.org
This year’s symposium creatively explores the ways a variety of communities represent history. Topics will include recent exhibitions at the Museum of Anthropology, the creation of the Bhangra.me exhibit, memorializing 1984 Komagata Maru and issues in the Downtown Eastside. The overall goal of this event is to share dynamic ideas and discussion to foster learning, understanding and navigate the shaky ground of truth and reconciliation.

Downtown Bhangra
An outdoor concert featuring local bhangra bands and dance groups
Date: Friday, May 13
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Location: Vancouver Art Gallery Grounds (Georgia and Howe)
Tickets: FREE
Brace yourself for wild dance routines, amazing bands and all the Bhangra you can handle! Enjoy performances by the best Punjabi dancers and musicians and learn a few new Bhangra moves along the way. Featuring Vancouver’s finest talent from dhol drummers, beat-boxers and singers to Bhangra dancers, break dancers and a host of cultural mashups! Special performances by UK’s Shin of DCS, Vancouver’s Bhangra rockers, En Karma, and celebrating the album release of Raju Johal.

Coast Capital Bhangra Competition Featuring North America’s top dance teams
Date: Saturday, May 14
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. (Doors Open at 5:30 p.m.)
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 649 Cambie St., Vancouver
Tickets: $45, $25 (Festival Seating – first come, first serve) Local Video Stores & www.Ticketmaster.ca
The 7th Annual Coast Capital Bhangra Competition seeks the greatest talent from all corners of the Earth! Ranked as one of the most prominent competitive Bhangra events in North America, thousands will pack the seats at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to watch Bhangra teams compete for $10,000 in prizes with special performances by folk singing sensation Jaswinder Daghamia arriving from India, UK’s Tigerstyle performing their live stage act, and the world’s only Finnish Bhangra band, Shava.

City of Bhangra Wrap Party
Date: Saturday, May 14
Time: 9:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
Location: Gossip Nightclub, Plaza of Nations
Tickets: $25 at www.Ticketweb.ca or www.vibc.org/tickets
Haven’t had enough Bhangra madness? Sad to see the City of Bhangra Festival end? Head on over to our City of Bhangra Wrap Party featuring the talents of premier DJ’s and percussionists. Attended by over 1000 festival performers, volunteers, directors, festival attendees and featuring the combined talents of all City of Bhangra performers on stage, this is an after-party not to be missed.
For more information visit www.vibc.org