Looking for a cultural festival to check out this weekend? You’ll find plenty of opportunities to embrace and learn about different African and Afro-diasporic cultures at VanAfrica. The immersive event celebrates rhythm, movement, and culture, led by the city’s best traditional African drummers, dancers, and instrumentalists.

Presented by Time Will Tell Arts Society, the evening showcases an incredible array of artists who will bring the diverse traditions of Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, and Afro-Cuba to life. In addition to vibrant drumming and dancing, guests will be able to take in the remarkable traditional instruments of the mbira (often called a “thumb piano”) and the kora (a stringed instrument from West Africa).

Here are some of the artists you can expect to meet at VanAfrica this year:

  • Awal Alhassan and Sheimawu Abubakari: dynamic dancer/drummer duo from Northern Ghana
  • Adanu Habobo: Vancouver’s only Ghanaian drum and dance ensemble
  • Kocassale Dioubate: drummer and kora player from a long line of hereditary musicians in Guinea
  • Kesseke Yeo: acrobatic dance master from Cote d’Ivoire
  • Dr. Kofi Gbolonyo: master Ewe artist, educator, and co-founder of Adanu Habobo
  • Kurai Mubaiwa: Canada’s premiere Zimbabwean mbira and marimba master
  • Israel “Toto” Berriel: Afro-Cuban percussionist/singer
  • Yula V: Afro-Cuban dancer and performance artist

All you need to enjoy this celebration is an open heart and a love for music—leave the rest to the powerful performing artists who are ready to share their culture with you.

Tickets are available online for $33.40 per person, and include access to all the festivities and performances of the evening.

VanAfrica will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at Ukranian Hall, with doors opening at 7 p.m.

Mark your calendars and bring your best dancing shoes.

VanAfrica: A Celebration of Africa in Vancouver

When: Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m.
Where: 805 East Pender St.
Cost: $33.40

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Isabelle Vauclair

Staff Writer, Vancouver – Isabelle is a West Coast native with an appreciation for Vancouver’s natural landscape, patio scene, and community spaces. She loves to discover new hidden gems in her neighbourhood and share them with readers across the city.

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