Canada Bubble Tea Festival returns to provide a ‘taste of Taiwan’
Attendees can visit over 100 booths and enjoy live entertainment at Swangard Stadium from July 19 to 21
The community event is open from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm on July 19 to 21. (Submitted/Kiwi Productions/Josh Vision Photography)
The Canada Bubble Tea Festival is returning to Swangard Stadium in Burnaby from Friday to Sunday, serving bubble tea and culinary bites at more than 100 booths.
Previously known as the Vancouver Bubble Tea Festival, the event aims to continue building upon their work from their past two annual events. With plenty of vendors returning this year such as Chatime and Tokyo Katsu-Sand, there will be a few new additions joining the event like Bubble World and Typhoon Bubble Tea.
“We try to bring something that’s a different [and] fun way for the community to join in the summer, and also, it’s an event that supports local businesses and local artists,” says Eric Yang, founder of the chairman committee for the Vancouver Bubble Tea Festival.
With how the event has grown over the years, a name change was needed, Yang says.
“We do have our short-term plan [where] we are trying to bring the Bubble Tea Festival to other provinces,” he says, adding that they’d like to start in Vancouver, visit cities across the country, then head south of the border to New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle, and finish back in Vancouver.
“So, that’s why we renamed it … to Canada Bubble Tea Festival, to [cover] a broader region.”
The festival aims to showcase the “taste of Taiwan.” Yang says Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli are cities located around the northwestern region of Taiwan that will play into the theme this year.
“There’s this culture of ethnic peoples [within those cities] called Hakka,” Yang says. “People can see what Hakka culture means and what they do, what kind of costumes they wear in Taiwan.”
Alongside the vendors and themes, live entertainment will be returning to the festival, including a talent show, movie screenings, and dance performances.
“It’s called ‘Bubble Tea Fest Got Talent,’ so we have 21 contestants that will be entering the semi finals on Saturday, then the finale will be on Sunday,” Yang says.
The first 100 attendees at the event on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will also receive a free goodie bag worth about $50 each. Free bubble tea will also be provided to these attendees inside the festival.
While the event will help provide memorable experiences for the community, the proceeds will go to the Burnaby Hospital Foundation and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Yang says everyone involved is looking forward to providing a fun experience for those attending.
“Our staff, our volunteers are ready. We have about 280 volunteers this year, so we’re ready to serve everyone and want to make sure everyone enjoys the events,” he says.
The event will take place from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm each day. Tickets for a single-day pass cost $9.99, while a weekend pass costs $14.99. Children aged 12 and under can attend for free. Yang recommends people take public transportation to get to Swangard Stadium for the event.
To learn more about the festival, visit www.vanbubbleteafest.ca/.
