Vancouver's Festival for the Curious Mind starts this weekend

A beloved summer festival isn’t letting anything stop them from celebrating their 10th year anniversary. 

The Indian Summer Festival (ISF) is Vancouver’s “festival for the curious mind.” And despite having to shift from in-person to virtual celebrations, this year’s festival is coming back stronger than ever.

A total of 10 mega-events will be streamed on digital channels, taking place every week from May 16 to July 18, 2020. These events will take place every Saturday at 7:01 pm PT and are free of charge or by donation.

This festival highlights some of Vancouver’s local and international artists and connects audiences with multi-art experiences and the exceptional work of culturally diverse creators. 

The theme of this year’s festival is “River of Language,” which revolves around looking at languages as an ecosystem. Speakers will be touching on delicate topics such as the future of our environment, food security, financial futures, and the future of communities.

Sirish Rao, artistic director of ISF, argues that there’s never been a more important time to acknowledge the important role of art.

It’s an unusual time to be celebrating an anniversary,” says Rao. “But then again, we have always recognized the transformative power of the arts, and our work is all the more urgent now.”

“It’s clear that people have turned once again to music, literature, and film, for levity, for solace, to make sense of our predicament and imagine our futures.”

River of Language (Mustaali Raj)

Rao adds that he’s excited for digital events to extend the festival’s reach, regardless of age or location.

We’re excited by the opportunity to bring people together in a digital community. We’ve removed more barriers to accessibility, and hope to reach and engage both our local and an international audience,” he notes.

The following are just a few of this year’s events.

The Virus is a Wake-up Call

Courtesy of Indian Summer Festival

Distinguished environmentalists Vandana Shiva and David Suzuki will join together and discuss the opportunity that people have to “change our ways as a species,” on Saturday, May 23. 

It Could be Verse: Poetry for a Pandemic

On Saturday, May 30, a number of poets from around the world will share their work and literature as a means of “shelter, medicine, and mirror.”

More information and full event lineup can be found online.

Indian Summer Festival

When: Saturday, May 16 to Monday, May 18
Where: Online

Daily Hive is a proud media partner of Indian Summer Festival