Sunday, September 6, 2026/Taipei/Friday letter

Calendar

What's on

A short list, not a dump. Concerts, exhibitions, festivals, and the civic calendar — actual dates, for people who live here. If we missed yours, suggest it.

  1. Sep 11–Sep 13

    Taipei

    Concert

    IVE World Tour — SHOW WHAT I AM

    Taipei Arena · Three nights · sold out

    The Arena is occupied Friday through Sunday. If you live in Songshan, that is the news. If you still need a ticket, only the usual secondary-market luck applies. Nanjing East Road will not be a place to drive.

    Friday, September 11, 2026

  2. Sep 12–Sep 13

    Kaohsiung

    Festival

    WATERBOMB Kaohsiung

    Plaza opposite Dream Mall · 14:00–22:00 both days

    Korea’s water-cannon festival, first time in Taiwan. Jihyo, WINNER, KAI, KISS OF LIFE, Wonho, and a lot of being wet on purpose. Bring a change of clothes and a bag that can sit in a locker. KKTIX.

    Saturday, September 12, 2026

  3. Sep 12–Sep 13

    New Taipei

    Festival

    New Taipei Green Life Festival

    New Taipei City Art Museum, outdoor grounds · Daytime; museum neighborhood, Yingge

    The calmer weekend option if Waterbomb is not your weather. Outdoor sets on the museum lawn, food stalls, and an actual art museum if the music is too much. Take the TRA to Yingge; do not try to park.

    Saturday, September 12, 2026

  4. Sep 13–Oct 12

    Taipei

    Outdoors

    Silvergrass weekends on Yangmingshan

    Qingtiangang and nearby trails · Go early; buses fill after 09:00

    The annual postcard. Cloudy days are kinder than clear ones. Pack a layer even if the basin is still in summer, and do not treat the bus as a suggestion.

    Sunday, September 13, 2026

  5. Sep 19

    Kaohsiung

    Concert

    Post Malone — The Big Ass Stadium World Tour

    Kaohsiung National Stadium (World Games) · Saturday · Don Toliver opening

    A stadium night in Zuoying, not a club. HSR to Zuoying, MRT to World Games Stadium, and a long walk in. Tickets from NT$2,980 on Live Nation Taiwan. If you have never been to the stadium, go once for the building even if the music is not yours.

    Saturday, September 19, 2026

  6. Sep 19–Sep 20

    Taipei

    Concert

    Lee Youngji World Tour 2.0

    Taipei Music Center · Two nights

    The other Saturday. Rap, variety-show famous, and a better room than the Arena if you actually want to hear the words. Nangang. Tickets through Live Nation.

    Saturday, September 19, 2026

  7. Sep 24–Oct 11

    Taoyuan

    Exhibition

    Taiwan Design Expo — first time in Taoyuan

    Messe Taoyuan, Qingpu Library, Chung Yuan Creative Park · Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00; Fri–Sun to 20:00

    The national design show, usually a different city each year, this time Qingpu and Zhongli — sixteen exhibitions, satellite rooms in Daxi and the children’s museum. Airport MRT to Taoyuan HSR / A18. Free to wander; the point is the buildings as much as the objects.

    Thursday, September 24, 2026

  8. Sep 25–Sep 28

    Taiwan

    Festival

    Mid-Autumn Festival

    Balconies, courtyards, and the supermarket pomelo pile · Public holiday Friday, September 25; long weekend through Teacher’s Day

    The civic one. Offices close. If you have been invited onto a balcony, go, and bring fruit. Trains fill Thursday night. Clinics should be dealt with before Friday.

    Friday, September 25, 2026

  9. Sep 26

    Taipei

    Concert

    LANY — soft world tour

    Taipei Arena · Saturday

    American alt-pop, one night, the Arena again. If IVE last week felt like too much city, this is the same building with a different crowd. Tickets through Live Nation.

    Saturday, September 26, 2026

  10. Sep 28

    Taipei

    Tradition

    Teacher’s Day / Confucius birthday rite

    Taipei Confucius Temple · Dawn ceremony; temple open through the day

    A public holiday this year, attached to the Mid-Autumn weekend. The dawn rite is the real thing; arrive much earlier than you think, and do not treat it as a costume opportunity.

    Monday, September 28, 2026

  11. Oct 9–Oct 11

    Taipei

    Concert

    BIGBANG — XX : COSMOS

    Taipei Dome · Taipei Dome · extra date added

    The first real test of the Dome as a pop room. Three nights in Xinyi. If you live nearby, that is a noise and traffic fact as much as a concert. Tickets have been tight since the extra date.

    Friday, October 9, 2026

  12. Oct 20

    Taipei

    Concert

    Charlie Puth — Whatever’s Clever! World Tour

    Taipei Arena · Tuesday

    A weeknight Arena show, which is kinder on the trains. Live Nation. If you only go to one imported pop night this autumn and you do not want a stadium, this is the straightforward one.

    Tuesday, October 20, 2026

  13. Oct 31

    Taipei

    Festival

    Taiwan Pride parade

    Taipei — route announced closer to the day · Saturday · East Asia’s largest Pride

    The 24th parade. Go even if you do not usually go to parades; the city is better that afternoon. Same weekend as Nuit Blanche around Yuanshan, so the MRT will be a story of its own.

    Saturday, October 31, 2026

  14. May 29–Oct 26

    New Taipei

    Exhibition

    Fulong International Sand Sculpture Art Festival

    Fulong Beach · Daily until 26 Oct · last entry 18:00 weekdays

    Still up, and the typhoon season has not taken it yet. Forty-odd film-theme sculptures — Jurassic Park, E.T., Kung Fu Panda — on the beach you already take the train to. Adult ticket NT$220. Go on a weekday if you can; the TRA platform is the hard part at weekends.

    Friday, May 29, 2026

  15. Jul 4–Sep 28

    Taipei

    Exhibition

    Bologna World Illustration Awards

    Huashan 1914, West Halls 4 and 5 · 10:00–18:00 · last entry 17:00 · until 28 Sep

    The children’s-book fair’s annual prize show: 78 artists, 390 works, the last three weeks of it. Quiet, air-conditioned, and actually good. Closes the Monday after Mid-Autumn — do not leave it until the holiday weekend.

    Saturday, July 4, 2026

  16. Sep 4–Oct 11

    Taipei

    Festival

    Taipei Jazz Festival — 20th year

    Taipei Music Center, clubs, and five civic venues · Indoor nights now; outdoor main stage 9–11 Oct

    Citywide, not a single ticket. Nineteen club nights, twelve outdoor sets, then three days on the Nangang main stage. If you have been meaning to go to a jazz bar and have not, this is the month the city does it for you.

    Friday, September 4, 2026