Meet the Canada Day Performers

A close up group photo with all 9 members of The Suits band

The Suits

The Suits is a professional music group that specializes in providing high-energy performances. Since their inception in 2012, The Suits have been winning audiences over with their engaging, captivating and entertaining shows. The Band will be specializing in the Top Y2K pop, hip hop, R&B, soul, and funk hits music that will get all the people moving, groovin’ and singing along to every song. With their soaring vocals, highly danceable grooves and tasteful solos, get ready to be moved by The Suits! 

The three members of the band in black and white frilly clown costumes tangled up with each other

The Myrtle Family Band

The Myrtle Sisters, featuring Candice Roberts, Nayana Fielkov, and Kat Single-Dain, are a trio of East Vancouver performers delighting audiences of all ages with their harmonies, twinkling-tap numbers and family antics! They’ve been showcasing a clowning, vaudeville and dance menagerie of musical calamity for over 10 years in a variety of venues. Expect plenty of charm and shenanigans along with their original and historic songs and dances. The music stands on its own, but their onstage family antics, tap stylings and wild tunes are not to be missed.

Karima Essa in a flared purple dress standing on a brick path on the edge of a small lake

Karima Essa

A three-time Canadian National Dance champion, Karima Essa is Vancouver™s very own Bollywood star. An incredibly charismatic and passionate performer, choreographer and instructor, she has used her one-of-a-kind Bollywood talent to entertain diverse audiences at festivals, theatres and in schools across Canada.  In 2014, her love for Bollywood took her to the screens in Mumbai, India, as a two-time finalist on Omni TV™s reality show, Bollywood Star. With style, grace and a flair for the dramatic, she has been captivating adult and young audiences for decades.

All 18 band members dressed in bright colours holding brass instruments in a fun energetic pose

Balkan Shmalkan

Balkan Shmalkan is East Vancouver's premier dance party orchestra. Their funky brass dance beats are rooted in the aural traditions of the Roma and Klezmorim of Eastern Europe and blended with a mixture of pop, funk, and jazz. Think global music with local attitude. Balkan Shmalkan is the brainchild of a group of musicians with a long history of collaboration in traditional South Serbian Trubaci music. This project is a way of blending that music with other vibrant traditions and bringing it to the general population of BC. Members of the group play reed, brass and percussion instruments of both eastern and western origin accompanied by vocals in 5 languages including Serbian, Romani, and Italian.

all 5 band members dressed in suits standing on a stage in a concert hall holding their instruments

Bakara Band

Bakara Band is a Persian pop music group comprised of musicians and singers who have previously accompanied international Persian pop music stars. Recognizing a need for a professional Persian pop music group in Metro Vancouver, and Canada in general, members of Bakara Band came together and created a high-energy music group. Their goal is to contribute to community building and to introduce Persian pop music to a broader audience.

5 members of the band standing in front of an old cottage holding their instruments

Forro Do Cana

Vancouver’s only Brazilian Forro band, Forro do Cana, was founded in 2018 by Serena Eades and Andrea Monteiro over a cup of coffee that turned into an inspired and exciting new musical project.  With Andrea’s knowledge of and passion for supporting the Brazilian arts and cultural scene and Serena’s love for the music and connection to musicians in the community Forro do Cana was born. The core members of the band come from diverse musical backgrounds, but come together in a shared love of Forro music and dance. 

Tightrope walker holding a red fan jumping on a tightrope 10 feet in the air above a crowd

Tightrope Walking of Korean Traditional Arts Society

Tightrope walking is a national treasure of Korea. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Canada, a special invitational performance is being held. Tightrope walking was registered as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011. You will enjoy a wonderful tightrope walking performance accompanied by traditional Korean music that is hard to find.

Will standing along a river holding his guitar and a dozen young children sitting in front of him

WILLs JAMs

We’re excited to introduce Will Stroet of Will’s Jams. You may know of him from his videos by the same name that aired on CBC Kids TV for six years, or from the many concerts he’s performed locally and across Canada. Will’s a former music teacher who left teaching in 2009 to pursue a full-time career as a musician and has performed more than 2,000 shows at schools, festivals, theatres and community events across the country and in China! He has 12 albums in English and French, several of which have received nominations from the JUNOs, Western Canadian Music Awards and Canadian Folk Music Awards. He shares his fun and interactive music with audiences.