The Strumbellas, Bedouin Soundclash to headline Richmond World Festival

Richmond, BC – Celebrating its fifth year, the Richmond World Festival is once again bringing together music and food loving fans from across Metro Vancouver for a two-day around the world adventure in the City of Richmond’s back yard. The festival takes place on the Labour Day long weekend, Friday, August 30 and Saturday, August 31, in Minoru Park.

“Richmond’s cultural diversity and harmony is something to celebrate,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “The Richmond World Festival has been bringing people together for five years through music, food, dance and art which is why it has become a can’t-miss date on everyone’s summer events calendar.”

The award-nominated festival is pleased to announce two chart-topping Canadian headliners:

Friday night welcomes alternative-radio mainstay Bedouin Soundclash to bring their reggae-pop feel to start the party.

Saturday will feature, The Strumbellas, a Toronto band with huge international momentum and Billboard chart topping songs. The Strumbellas took home a Juno award for Single of the Year for their radio smash “Spirits”.

Big name supporting acts and other exciting festival additions will be announced in the coming weeks. 

With over 100 acts confirmed on eight stages, the Richmond World Festival looks to find performance opportunities in unique and varying places throughout the festival site. Many community-based cultural groups and dance troupes will take to the stage, while colourful performances will appear right in front of your eyes as you roam the festival site. Be sure to keep your eyes open for Cultural Pavilion Pod Pop-Ups this year.

Exploring the different activations and hands-on activities is sure to work up an appetite. Experience culture through food at the FEASTival of Flavours, a food festival within the festival. This year’s festival welcomes the largest number of food trucks in the event’s history with over 60 food trucks expected.

The Richmond World Festival will take place from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 30 and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, August 31. The festival is produced by the City of Richmond and presented by Coast Capital Savings. Stage and zone sponsors are Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Tourism Richmond, Cowell Auto Group, CF Richmond Centre, Vanprop Investments Ltd and McElhanney. Community sponsors are Kwantlen Polytechnic University and FortisBC. Media sponsors are, Richmond News, Georgia Straight, 94.5 Virgin Radio, Kiss Radio, AM 1320, 102.7 The Peak, Z95.3, and Miss 604.

Watch for additional event details to be announced soon at www.richmondworldfestival.com and for updates, follow @RichmondWorldFest on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, #RichmondWorldFest.

Richmond World Festival expands to Antarctica and Africa

The Richmond World Festival is expanding to Antarctica and Africa this year making it a truly global celebration. The Richmond World Festival takes place this Friday and Saturday and is presented by Coast Capital Savings. Admission is free.

While African culture has always been celebrated at the festival, this year it is being expanded to an entire zone. The Africa Zone will feature a line-up of amazing artists, fun activities for all ages and a variety of vendors showcasing everything from batiks to bolga baskets. In the Africa Pavilion festival goers will be able to view a variety of authentic arts and enjoy an African drumming demonstration led by Ezeadi Onukwulu, a mainstay of Canada’s World/African music scene. Other cultural pavilions at this year’s festival will represent Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan and the Metis Nation.

Also new this year is the Antarctica Zone, festival goers can take a break from the great food and entertainment for a free public skate inside Minoru Arenas. Skate rentals are available for free and skating hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday and 12 – 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The new zones are part of an incredible jam-packed two days of celebration combining music, food, culture and sports from around the planet. Headlining this year’s main stage are international recording sensations Lights and Magic! Also performing are Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine, winners of season 1 of The Launch, who were just named Best New Canadian Artists at the iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards on Sunday. They are part of 90 performances on nine stages from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Other highlights include the FEASTival of Flavours with more than 50 food trucks, the Culinary Stage, featuring top local chefs, and the Bamboo Theatre and Global Village stages, featuring diverse multicultural music and dance. Cutting edge and provocative multimedia art is featured in the Your Kontinent Digital Carnival, while fans of the spoken word will get their fix at the World of Poetry. Kids will delight at the children’s entertainment in Cowell Kids World and the whole family can stretch their creativity in the Imagination World at Richmond Public Library. The lively festival marketplace will have more than 85 vendors and exhibitors offering everything from traditional indigenous art to exquisite Japanese kimonos.

Minoru Park is located within the heart of Richmond’s City Centre and is just a short walk from the Canada Line Brighouse Station. It is also located along several major bus routes; visit translink.ca for route information. Free secure bicycle parking service available and free festival parking is across the street at Richmond City Hall or in the CF Richmond Centre south parkade.

For full event details visit www.richmondworldfestival.com and for updates, follow @FunRichmond on Twitter, #RichmondWorldFest

The festival is produced by the City of Richmond and presented by Coast Capital Savings. Stage and zone sponsors include Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Tourism Richmond, Cowell Auto Group, CF Richmond Centre and Vanprop Investments Ltd. Community sponsors are Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and FortisBC. Accommodation sponsor is Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel. Media sponsors are CTV, 94.5 Virgin Radio, Richmond News, Georgia Straight, Kiss Radio, AM 1320 102.7 The Peak, Z95.3, and Miss 604.

International flavours fuel Richmond World Festival

Treat your taste buds to a smorgasbord of savoury and sweet eats from around the globe at the Richmond World Festival on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1. From the FEASTival of Flavours, featuring more than 50 food trucks, to the Culinary Stage, there are plenty of ways to fuel a weekend of free music, culture and fun in Minoru Park in the heart of Richmond. The Richmond World Festival is presented by Coast Capital Savings.

“Coast Capital Savings is committed to building a richer future for our communities,” says Maureen Young, Director, Community Leadership, Coast Capital Savings. “Events such as the City of Richmond’s World Festival are certainly a fine example of a celebration that contributes to a rich, engaged and healthy sense of community and we’re excited to once again be the presenting sponsor for this event. This year’s incredible range of world-class performers and amazing chefs is sure to have something for everyone.”

Take a tour around the world with food trucks serving up exotic treats from such far flung locales as the Dutch East Indies, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Malaysia, Taiwan, Jamaica, Sicily, Brazil, Mexico, India Japan and many more. There are also closer to home selections including First Nations-inspired dishes and poutine, plus lots of classic festival and comfort fare, including mini donuts, kettle corn, hot dogs, wings and mac and cheese. With more than 50 food trucks to choose from the biggest challenge will be making your short list. The FEASTival of Flavours is presented by CF Richmond Centre.

Festival goers will definitely need to fuel up to get the energy to check out the entire action-packed line-up, with more than 90 performances on nine stages, including headline performances by international recording stars Lights and Magic! Other highlights include the Digital Carnival, Global Village and Bamboo Theatre, each offering diverse, interactive cultural activities and performances, plus the Africa Zone cultural pavilion, Kids World, Artisan Marketplace, World of Poetry, Imagination World at the Richmond Public Library and much more.

Foodies will also want to drop by the Culinary Stage, presented by Tourism Richmond. Top local chefs will be cooking up their favorite dishes and serving up tips on how you can create some of the flavours that have made Richmond an international destination for culinary tourism.

“The New York Times lauded Richmond for having a vibrant Asian dining scene, but they got only one side of the story,” said Nancy Small, chief executive officer of Tourism Richmond. “I believe our culinary strength is found in the diversity of our food scene and sponsoring the Culinary Stage at the World Festival allows us to showcase other amazing local talents.”

From Top Chef Canada finalist Mark Singson to Gurj Dhaliwal, winner of Food Network’s Superstar Chef Challenge, a dozen top local chefs will be featured on this year’s Culinary Stage. Sweet tooths won’t want to miss for Dominique and Cindy Duby, the chefs-owners, chocolate-makers and designer chocolatiers at Richmond’s own Wild Sweets–Canada’s only science-based cocoa bean-to-bar chocolate-makers. Wild Sweets ranked one of the 25 Best Chocolatiers in the World and was awarded Best Chocolatiers & Confectioners in America. Dominique and Cindy finished among the Top 10 Pastry Chefs in the World while leading Pastry Team Canada at the World Pastry Cup in France. They are also authors of five award-winning cookbooks including Best Cookbook in the World.

Digital Carnival fuses technology and art at Richmond World Festival

Audio-visual storytelling and digital innovation will take centre stage at the Cinevolution produced Your Kontinent Digital Carnival, part of the Richmond World Festival.

The Richmond World Festival, presented by Coast Capital Savings, hits the field on Friday, August 31, and Saturday, September 1, in Minoru Park. Admission is free.

The canoe and the water top projection are part of the special exhibition by Featured Artists Terrance Houle and Lisa Birke. Different Ways is a collaborative multi-disciplinary, multi-media, community engaged project that weaves together new and old art forms to reimagine first encounters and to explore contemporary relations between settlers and the Indigenous community. The exhibition will be presented in the Richmond Art Gallery for a limited two-day run, with live performances starting in the gallery at 8 p.m. each night, and an artist talk at 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 1.

Houle, born and raised in Calgary, is a proud member of the Kainai Nation. He explores his identity and ways of knowing through interactive performance, photography, video and print media. An award winning video artist, Birke examines ‘self’ by situating in spaces of liminality whilst dismantling notions of femininity. Created in collaboration, Birke and Houle’s Different Ways carves out new space for a conversation around regenerating the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities while simultaneously acknowledging and honoring the land.

A cross country initiative, “this project takes to heart the call to action for all Canadians to begin a conversation—to listen and to learn—in a bid for reconciliation” said Birke and Houle. “Through ceremony, music, live performance, animation and innovative projection, we are exploring the slippery and unsteady understanding of our shared history and stories at events and festivals across the country, in an effort to demonstrate how dialogue and reclamation can steady the course in Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations.”

In addition to honouring Indigenous culture, the Digital Carnival programme seeks to create space for other diverse voices. “Cinevolution’s goal has always been to foster intercultural dialogue through immersive, artistic experiences beyond the borders of language” said Artistic Director Lynn Chen. “This means being intentional about including and inviting diverse artistic voices, as well as making the event accessible for all members of the community.”

International recording stars Lights and Magic! headline the 2018 Richmond World Festival, which will feature more than 90 artists performing on nine stages. Other highlights include the FEASTival of Flavours with more than 50 food trucks presenting cuisines from all over the globe and the Culinary Stage featuring top local chefs. There’s also the Global Village and Bamboo Theatre, with diverse, interactive cultural activities and performances, Africa Zone cultural pavilion, Artisan Marketplace and Imagination World at the Richmond Public Library.

The Richmond World Festival takes place from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 31 and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 1.

The festival is produced by the City of Richmond and presented by Coast Capital Savings. Stage and zone sponsors include Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Tourism Richmond, Cowell Auto Group, CF Richmond Centre and Vanprop Investments Ltd. Community sponsors are Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Telus and FortisBC. Accommodation sponsor is Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel. Media sponsors are CTV, 94.5 Virgin Radio, Richmond News, Georgia Straight, Kiss Radio, AM 1320 102.7 The Peak, Z95.3, and Miss 604.

Full event details are at www.richmondworldfestival.ca and for updates follow @FunRichmond on Twitter, @RichmondWorldFest on Facebook and Instagram, as well as the #RichmondWorldFest hashtag.

Lights, Magic! to headline Richmond World Festival

Canadian and international music icons Lights and Magic! will headline the 4th annual Richmond World Festival. Presented by Coast Capital Savings, the nationally award-winning festival will once again present a smorgasbord of music, arts, food and culture from around the globe on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1 in Richmond’s Minoru Park. Admission is free.

“Richmond is recognized internationally as a model for cultural diversity and harmony,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “The Richmond World Festival celebrates that diversity and we’re excited to present a stellar line-up of music, food and the arts that showcases our many cultures, our community and Canada at their best.”

The festival will feature over 90 artists performing on nine stages, serving up rich slices of African, Asian, North and South American, European, South Pacific and Caribbean cultures. Other highlights include the FEASTival of Flavours with more than 50 food trucks presenting cuisines from all over the globe and the Culinary Stage featuring top local chefs. There’s also the Global Village with interactive cultural activities and performances; the Bamboo Theatre and Digital Carnival, both offering diverse and innovative performances; Africa Zone cultural pavilion, Artisan Marketplace and Imagination World at the Richmond Public Library.

Headlining the main stage on Friday, August 31, Lights is a riveting performer and innovative songwriter. Always pushing boundaries, the alt-pop phenomenon has never shied away from a challenge. Through her first three records, Lights built an incredibly passionate fanbase, selling out tours around the world, earning 100 million U.S. streams and two JUNO Awards, not to mention the more than two million rabid fans who follow her every move online.

Then came En, short for Enaia, a fictional character from a fictional world created in Lights’ imagination that is not altogether different from herself. Throughout a year long process, she began secretly working on an unprecedented idea writing and drawing her own comic book based around this alter ego of sorts. And on top of that, just to make things more difficult – an album to coincide with the whole thing. Thus came Skin&Earth, the Canadian singer’s ground breaking fourth record, her most open and vulnerable to date, winning millions of new fans and more critical acclaim.

Magic! is a Toronto-bred, Los-Angeles-based quartet who scored the song of the summer, Rude – a buoyant reggae-pop tune that held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, charted in 41 countries, sold more than ten million singles and boasts over one billion views on VEVO. Now, Magic! is back with the smash hit Kiss Me and gearing up for the release of their next single Core and third album Love & Ego this fall.

Magic! has established itself as a bonafide sensation thanks to its undeniably catchy sound, superlative songwriting, and masterful musicianship. The band, which includes lead singer Nasri, guitarist Mark Pelli, drummer Alex Tanas, and bassist Ben Spivak, released Primary Colours in 2016 with the Caribbean-tinged Lay You Down Easy (featuring Sean Paul), which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Reggae Digital Songs chart and racked up two million Spotify streams and one million VEVO views in its first two weeks. Magic! will headline the Richmond World Festival main stage on Saturday, September 1.

Also performing on the main stage on September 1 will be platinum-certified up-and-coming Canadian duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine. Comprised of instrumentalist/composer Elijah Woods and lyricist/vocalist Jamie Fine, EWxJF are the season one/week two winner of CTV’s The Launch and second chosen artist to release a new original song (Ain’t Easy), which has garnered over 12 million streams to date worldwide. The duo purposefully breaches the boundaries of pop music – touching on so many influences including pop, dancehall, hip-hop and jazz.

Serving up their self-proclaimed “immigrant bass music”, Desi Sub Culture will encapsulate the spirit of the Richmond World Festival, when they hit the main stage on Friday, August 31. “We are a nation of immigrants and we need a new narrative. The world we see on stage, on TV, in Hollywood and Bollywood movies, does not represent the real world. The real world is brown, black, white, yellow, red, and beige. It’s complicated. We are the kids of Asian immigrants. We grew up listening to Run DMC and Apna Sangeet. We celebrated Christmas like everyone else, except our big dinner was chicken curry and roti. We grew up between worlds. Our music is the musical version of ourselves, our upbringing, our identity.”

The Richmond World Festival takes place from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday, August 31 and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 1. The festival is produced by the City of Richmond and presented by Coast Capital Savings. Stage and zone sponsors include Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Tourism Richmond, Cowell Auto Group, CF Richmond Centre and Vanprop Investments Ltd. Community sponsors are Kwantlen Polytechnic University, FortisBC, and SunLife Financial Richmond Financial Centre. Accommodation sponsor is Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel. Media sponsors are CTV, 94.5 Virgin Radio, Richmond News, Georgia Straight, Kiss Radio, AM 1320 102.7 The Peak, Z95.3, and Miss 604.

Watch for additional event details to be announced soon at www.richmondworldfestival.com and for updates, follow @FunRichmond on Twitter, #RichmondWorldFest.

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