Return to Paueru Gai: 50 Years of the Powell Street Festival

Paueru Gai is the Japanese name for the Powell Street neighbourhood in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. It was a place of early settlement for Japanese Canadians and of their forced removal during the years of internment in World War II. It’s also been a site of regeneration for the community since 1977 when the first Powell Street Festival took place. Emiko Morita was the executive director of the festival from 2015 to 2024 and is editor of the new book, Return to Paueru Gai, published this month by Arsenal Pulp Press. Emiko Morita joins us in this episode.