Apply to Togather!
We are MOVING!!! A part of our mandate is to activate Edmonton’s Chinatown. After spending 2 wonderful years at the lovely Edmonton Chinatown Multi-Cultural Centre, we are now moving to bring arts and vibrancy to North Chinatown at PACIFIC MALL!
Pacific Mall has its own food business tenants, and we will be working with them to create specials for Togather. We will still accept a number of food vendors with low-risk prepackaged goods (cookies, ice cream, treats), and food trucks!
We are accepting facilitators for workshops and arts-based, family friendly activities. We will be paying $300 per workshop. 6ft tables and chairs will be provided for workshops, but all other materials for workshops will be provided by the vendor.
We will no longer have a main stage, but will still sprinkle performances throughout the mall. Think more micro-shows within the cafes/restaurants, and buskers.
What’s new for 2026?
ART & FOOD VENDOR GUIDELINES:
We are looking for unique LOCAL ARTISTS and FOOD VENDORS for our 2025 Lunar New Year Festival! We’ve put together some vendor guidelines and tips for applicants to help y'all be as successful as possible in the application process. Please give a careful read-through of our guidelines below before filling out the application.
Although we would love to accommodate everyone, our event is fully funded through grants and sponsorships. As a result, Togather is carefully curated to fit within our available space and budget. We hire an external jury of professional artists and community leaders to consult and review our applications, to select ~40 vendors who share our values of inclusion, diversity, and top-notch local arts.
If you feel like you’re a good match for Togather, please apply by noon, November 21st, 2025.
Togather prioritizes the following:
Local artists creating handmade and/or small batch designed goods (ceramics, painting/drawing, textile, printmaking, photography, illustrators/designers, writers/local publishers, fibre arts, jewelry, sculpture, etc.).
Vendors with ties to Chinatown/Boyle/McCauley. This could mean that you live, work, or have a meaningful connection to the area. We also welcome community-minded artists/food businesses from other communities - especially those who celebrate diversity and accessibility in the arts.
Diverse cultural organizations.
Equity seeking artists.
Emerging artists.
Local and/or Chinatown food businesses with low risk prepackaged treats, and food trucks.
Togather does not accept:
Mass-produced goods, or MLM’s.
AI Generated art. We are committed to celebrating original local talent and upholding artists’ moral rights, copyright, and fair compensation.
Resale goods (vintage/Chinatown businesses may be an exception - Email us if you’re unsure!)
Fan art, if that is the main art focus (we love to see it, but so many other markets specifically cater to pop-culture arts, and do a lot better at bringing in a suitable audience for this).
Cultural appropriation: Artists should have ties to any cultural imagery used in their art. If your connection to a particular culture needs to be explained, please include it in your application.
Pre-ordered/print-on-demand goods.
Artists who plan to share tables, unless they are apart of a group/collective. To respect our waitlist and creative peers, we have a strict no-table-sharing rule. If cost is an issue, please remember that we have MANY community sponsored (free) tables that you can apply for.
For our next festival at Pacific Mall, we wish to prioritize working with restaurant tenants in the mall. So we will not be accepting food vendors, unless the consumed goods are low-risk and prepackaged (not required to apply for an AHS permit).
PERFORMER & WORKSHOP GUIDELINES:
Are you a musician, performance artist, dancer, performer, or cultural group that wish to perform? Do you have ideas for workshops or activities? We are looking for programming that aligns with our mandate - to bring diverse and progressive arts to Chinatown! Please give a careful read-through of our guidelines below before applying.
Please apply with your performance and workshop ideas by noon, November 21st, 2025.
Togather prioritizes the following:
Inclusive and exciting arts programming! In addition to traditional cultural programming, we also wish to make space for progressive arts that may have felt excluded in the past in Chinatown. Some examples could be: youth choirs, drag queen story hour, spoken word poetry, performance art, etc.
Programming for all ages.
Performances/activities with meaningful connections to Chinatown/Boyle/McCauley.
Performance & Workshop Guidelines:
As we will be hosting Togather in a new location next year, we are looking for less “large stage performances”, but rather smaller entertainment and activities to fill cafes and empty units.
Workshops will be by registration, so supplies can be prepared. Tables and chairs are provided by Togather. All other workshop supplies are asked by the workshop facilitators.
Togather pays performers and workshop facilitators, so the events are free/accessible to the public. We will pay each accepted workshop $300. Performance rates will vary by each artist.
If you wish to apply to perform or host a workshop, please submit via a email to: Togatherchinatown@gmail.com, Subject: Performer/Workshop Application. Please include the following in your email: Your name/group name, photos of your workshop/performance, a description of your workshop/performance, the space you need, equipment requests from Togather, workshop supplies (artist supplied), duration, and your rate (for performers). Please apply by noon, November 21st, 2025.
Tips for Successful Applications:
Make sure your application is complete, your website links are correct/working, and images are sent to Togatherchinatown@gmail.com , Subject: Application [Vendor Name].
Please make sure your images/links represent your work respectfully. We recommend that art photos are taken under natural lighting, and are of high quality resolution.
We recommend including a market photo of your table, performance, or workshop, if you have one.
Tell us the “why” behind your work/group. This is a very community-minded festival, and our audience loves to learn more about the artists, your business story, and community connections.
Think about your audience, and the audience we draw at Togather. Are we the right market to showcase your work? Togather is a family-friendly Lunar New Year Arts festival that brings together folks who love to support local art/craft/design and the communities of Chinatown/Boyle/McCauley. For the market, the ideal price point for our shoppers is usually between $5-150. Performances and workshops are free to the public.
For food this year, we will only be accepting pre-packaged foods (without the need for AHS event permits), and food trucks.