You want murals? Vancouver’s got murals!

Murals are coming to Vancouver in a big way.

On Aug. 20, the Inaugural Vancouver Mural Festival will celebrate a series of new murals in the Main Street and Mt. Pleasant/False Creek Flats communities. The exhibition includes work by 35+ artists, both local and international.

International highlights include murals by Kashink (France), Bicicleta Sem Freio (Brazil,) LowBros (Germany) and NeverCrew (Switzerland.) Renowned locals taking part include Ola Volo, DEDOS, Tim Barnard, Andrew Young, and Corey Bulpitt. Another local, Scott Sueme, is in charge of the festival’s largest single mural, which will appear on the front of the offices of Hootsuite Media Inc (5 E 8th Ave). In addition, Burrard Arts Foundation hosts a gallery show of participating artists now until Aug 27. For more details visit BurrardArts.org.

But the festival isn’t just art – it’s music as well. Five free outdoor stages, including the Red Bull Tour Bus and Red Truck Brewery, will host bands. A series of evening shows will feature artists playing at Mount Pleasant venues including The Biltmore, The Fox Cabaret, and The Cobalt. The line-up includes Shad, Andrew WK, Hey Ocean!, Timber Timbre, Chapel Sound, Dralms, WILLA, and more.

Hey Ocean! is one of the local bands playing the Vancouver Mural Festival Aug. 20.

The event is a partnership between the Create Vancouver Society and the City of Vancouver, Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Area and Burrard Arts Foundation. Organizers are expecting it to draw close to 100,00 people. The daytime programming will mean street closures along Main Street between 7th Ave and 12th Ave for performances, interactive art exhibits, community projects, markets and more. Thornton Park will also host a market, art installations and a lounge.

To see a full list of artists and performers visit VancouverMuralFestival.com.