A mid-winter arts festival will transform Vancouver for 18 days of immersive shows

It’s no secret that January is a pretty dry month in Vancouver, but there are a handful of local arts events to keep your eye on, and PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is one of them. Founded over two decades ago, the iconic showcase brings together local, national, and international artists alike for a series of immersive shows and workshops you won’t want to miss.

It’s a mid-winter celebration of all things bold, creative, and inclusive. As B.C.’s signature cultural event, PuSh works to accelerate social change with performance and multidisciplinary projects that embrace creative risk, and speak to a cultural urgency.

“Our artistic vision is to create new possibilities for artistic expression and how we relate to one another, expanding our sense of the world while challenging assumptions,” say organizers on the festival’s website.

2026 info

The 2026 PuSh Festival invites the “culturally fearless” to attend one (or a handful) of many shows curated to reflect on the theme of layered temporalities. For example, several works explore the space between myth and memory, while others reconstruct our present from the future.

Multiple performances also propose ways of living. This includes works such as Kiuryaq, WAIL, TESTO, Bardaje, SKIN, SLUGS, The Motha’ Kiki Ball, The Brutal Joy, Rainbow Chan Live at the Dream Factory, and Wayqeycuna, which explore how we gather, connect, and express.

“From techno-punk clown puppet mashups to speculative rituals, and through works of intimate witness and collective catharsis, performances in this year’s PuSh merge into new harmonies of body, thought, and form.”

If your curiosity is peaked, it’s definitely worth checking out some of this year’s events, which take place from Jan. 22 to Feb. 8, 2026.

How much are tickets?

Admission varies per show, but until Jan. 15, you can purchase a four-show pass for $120 a pop, or $165 for a six-show pass.

Passes can be purchased online.

When: Jan. 22 to Feb. 8, 2026
Time: Various showtimes
Where: Locations across Vancouver
Cost: Varies per show, or $120 for a four-show pass or $165 for a six-show pass

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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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