Indian Summer Festival Announces 14th Season Program

Indian Summer Festival Announces 14th Season Program

Indian Summer Festival Announces 14th Season Program

Indian Summer Festival Announces 14th Season Program tickets go on sale today and are available for purchase at indiansummerfest.ca for the 10-day festival

(Vancouver, BC)—Indian Summer Festival (ISF2024), Vancouver’s ‘festival for the curious mind,’ marks its 14th edition from July 4 to July 14, 2024, with a 10-day artistic exploration that unravels the beauty of contradictions under the spellbinding theme of “PARADOX.” The festival showcases over 80 artists across a spectrum of arts, from live concerts to thought-provoking discussions and breathtaking visual arts displays. For event details and to purchase tickets, please visit www.indiansummerfest.ca.

“This year’s festival theme of PARADOX was inspired by teachings prevalent across many South Asian cultures, that Truth isn’t necessarily singular or uniform. Instead, multiple, seemingly contradictory truths can coexist simultaneously. Writers, musicians, poets, visual artists, and interdisciplinary visionaries will contemplate the paradox of many truths as a means to deeply understand the world and our place within it, all coming together at Indian Summer to ignite powerful possibilities forged through boundless imagination,” says Pawan Deol, Executive Director of Programming, Indian Summer Festival.

ISF2024 also proudly announces Manjot Kaur as the 2024 feature artist. Known for her innovative approach that bridges mythological narrative and ecological awareness, Kaur’s work promises to be a highlight of ISF2024. Manjot Kaur’s ‘The Portrait of a Tree in Jharokha’ painting has been selected as the feature artwork for ISF2024 because of its fascinating exploration of the festival’s theme: PARADOX.

The rest of the Indian Summer Festival lineup will be announced at the beginning of June. Festival goers can expect visual and immersive art installations, fabulous garden parties, roundtable discussions and the return of the powerful conversation series Tiffin Talks as well as an all-day outdoor music stage SOUNDSYSTEM, all events showcasing a diverse group of thought leaders, innovators and artists.

2024 Indian Summer Festival programming highlights:
Opening Party: PARADOX
Date: Thursday, July 4, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Venue: ‘Jharokha Garden’ at Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC Tickets: $100, purchase through https://indiansummerfest.ca/isfevents/opening-party-paradox/
This year’s Indian Summer Festival starts with the spectacular Opening Party: PARADOX. The evening features the soaring tunes of standout Canadian artist Shruti Ramani, who infuses classic Bollywood songs with jazz and Carnatic melodies, along with DJ Lil India. Chef Tushar Tondvalkar will deliver a sumptuous tasting menu for all guests.

Indian Summer Festival and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts co-present: An Evening with ALOK

Date: Saturday, July 6, 2024, at 8:00 pm
Venue: The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent. Road, Vancouver Tickets: From $32 to $82 plus applicable fees, purchase at Alok Vaid-Menon: An Evening with ALOK
Indian Summer Festival and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC co-present “An Evening with ALOK” featuring the renowned gender non-conforming poet, comedian, public speaker and actor. This event offers a transformative evening featuring ALOK, known for their thought-provoking work on gender, identity, and activism.

The Last Prayer Bead: Poetry, Story and Song
Date: Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 7:00 pm
Venue: Ron Basford Park, 1218 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC Tickets: $15 / $25 / $35, purchase at https://indiansummerfest.ca/isfevents/the-last-prayer-bead/
“The Last Prayer Bead: Poetry, Story and Song” features an outdoor park performance with Arthur ‘Rickydoc’ Flowers, the great griot and hoodoo mystic. Known as a sage of stories, Arthur channels the deep-rooted tradition of West African griots through his blues-infused storytelling.

The night includes a medley of celebrated musicians and poets, including Governor General’s Literary Award winner Cecily Nicholson alongside violinist and vocalist Sejal, writer and poet Hari Alluri paired with Juno award-winning Gordon Grdina on oud and Dayne Ogilvie Prize winner Jillian Christmas, as well as a solo performance by Jody Okabe. Event curated by Ruby Singh.

Arushi Jain, Sheherazaad and Piu: In Concert
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 7:30 pm
Venue: Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC
Tickets: $20 / $35 /$50, purchase at Indiansummerfest

In concert, Arushi Jain, Sheherazaad and Piu feature an evening of groundbreaking music with three trailblazing voices in contemporary South Asian music. Weaving classical vocal traditions with daring sound experimentations, these artists are forging new sonic landscapes. Delhi-born, US-based artist Arushi Jain deploys sounds that infuse ambient and drone aesthetics into traditional Indian forms.

Making her Canadian debut, Indo-American vocalist Sheherazaad is redefining contemporary folk-pop. Her debut 2024 album, Qasr, produced by Grammy-winner Arooj Aftab, offers an ethereal ode to her South Asian heritage and invites listeners “to forge our own castles, musical queendoms, and impossible dreamlands.” Opening the night is Piu, a Nanaimo–based vocalist and composer whose hypnotic performances combine ambient electronics with global rhythms.
Event curated by Jarrett Martineau.

About the Indian Summer Festival:
Indian Summer Festival (ISF) offers startling, nourishing, and inspirational multi-arts experiences through a South Asian lens. The two-week festival is held each July in Vancouver. Connecting rich and complex pasts with the emerging future, Indian Summer Festival centers and interrogates cultural diversity in innovative ways, sparking national and international impact. Each year, the festival presents provocative arts events that feature some of the finest artists and visionaries from Canada, South Asia and beyond. From novelists to musicians, installation artists to movie stars, Indian Summer Festival has presented emerging artists as well as Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar prize nominees on its stages. ISF 2024, the 14th Festival edition, will be July 4-14, 2024.

For festival highlights, event line up and access to events, please visit indiansummerfest.ca