HSBC City of Bhangra Festival 2012

The 8th Annual HSBC City of Bhangra Festival is bringing a variety of events to Vancouver and Surrey from May 31st to June 10th.

Photo credit: Dance Photographer – Brendan Lally on Flickr

International and local acts will perform, including over 200 Punjabi dancers, musicians, singers, break dancers, folk dancers and more. Headliners include percussionist Sunil Kalyan and vocalist JK from the UK, along with DJ Rekha and Bikram Singh from New York.

Free Events

Surrey will host a special “Celebrate the Harvest” event at the Central City plaza on Saturday, June 2, 2012. In Vancouver, Downtown Bhangra I (June 9th) & II (June 10th) will take over the Vancouver Art Gallery lawn June 9th and 10th.

Surrey will also host Bhangra House at the Newton Recreation Centre that will host a range of folk dances. Vancouver’s free Bhangra Village will be at SFU Woodward’s.

Free lunchtime concerts in both Surrey and Vancouver will take place Monday, June 4th from 12:00pm to 1:00pm (at Central City and at Robson and Howe).

Ticketed Events

rePercussion (Surrey), Bhangra on Main, Bhangra Love, Basement Bhangra: Vancouver, Ambassadors of Bhangra, and the Closing Gala all require tickets, which start at just $15, depending on the event. You can also purchase a festival pass, for access to all events, for $80.

City of Bhangra is presented by the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society. Follow the VIBC on Twitter and Facebook for more information about festival events and more throughout the year.