Surrey venues will buzz during a 5X music festival staged by Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society (VIBC), starting Wednesday (June 13) and continuing until the following Sunday.
“5X is the festival where global South Asian culture is expressed, connected, and multiplied,” says a post at vibc.org.
“An art gallery, a bhangra competition, and a block party. 5X is where you claim your space, express your identity, and transform the world around you. 5X isn’t a movement. It’s where the movement happens.”
A “pre-party” at Vancouver’s Celebrities nightclub kicked off festival activities on June 1, featuring Khanvict, Desi Sub Culture and DJ Kid Kang, followed by a planned 5X Art Party on Wednesday at The Space gallery on Hamilton Street in Vancouver.
Events in Surrey include a 2 vs. 2 Bhangra Competition, featuring Manpreet Toor, KayRay and Gary “Saint Lion” Mangat on Saturday, June 16 at Surrey City Hall and Central City Plaza, followed by a TD-presented Fanfest event at city hall from 5 to 9 p.m., featuring “panels, Q+A sessions, selfie booths, conversations, live music, great food and more.”
On Sunday, June 17, the Decibel Entertainment-hosted 5X Block Party will run from 3 to 9 p.m. at Central City Plaza (13450 102nd Ave.). The free event will feature performances by Sharry Mann, Jasmine Sandlas, DIVINE, Navv Inder, Khanvict and DJs Rekha, Swift and Impact. Event headliner Mann is a Punjabi singer, writer and actor “who has taken Youtube by storm, with just his top 7 songs reaching over 455 million views in the last year alone.”
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On June 17, the music will continue at a 5X After Dark event at Blackbird Hall (Flamingo Hotel, 10768 King George Blvd.), starting at 9 p.m., with DJs Rekha and Apogee.
VIBC produces a wide range of events, “building bridges and establishing new relationships across genres of performance and ethno-cultural boundaries,” says a post on the organization’s website.
“This year, we’re taking our year-round engagement with communities, organizations, and artists and focusing it in on 5X, our new festival where South Asian identity and culture is expressed, connected, multiplied and transformed.”
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