For further details of the selected festivals and events listed
below, including more precise dates, see the relevant page of the
Guide , or contact the local authorities direct. The
provincial tourist offices
can provide free calendars for each area.
JANUARY
Polar Bear Swim , Vancouver, BC. A New Year's Day swim in
the freezing waters of English Bay Beach - said to bring good luck
for the year.
Banff/Lake Louise Winter Festival , Banff and Lake
Louise, Alberta. Ski races, skating parties and the incredible
International Ice Sculpture Competition on the shores of Lake
Louise.
FEBRUARY
Winterlude , Ottawa, Ontario. Winter-warming activities
like ice sculpting, snowshoe races, ice boating and skating for all
on the canal.
Winter Carnival , Québec City, Québec. Eleven-day
festival of winter-sports competitions, ice-sculpture contests and
parades. Includes the Canadian ski marathon when skiers race
between Lachute and Gatineau.
MARCH
Pacific Rim Whale Festival , Vancouver Island, BC.
Celebrating the spring migration of grey whales with lots of
whale-spotting expeditions as well as music and dance events.
APRIL
TerrifVic Jazz Party , Victoria, BC. Dixieland, and other
jazz bands, from around the globe.
Shaw Festival , Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Highly
regarded theatre festival featuring the work of George Bernard Shaw
and his contemporaries. Performances from April to late
October.
MAY
Apple Blossom Festival , Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
Community-oriented festival held in the small towns and villages of
the apple-producing Annapolis Valley.
Stratford Festival , Stratford, Ontario. The small town
of Stratford is well-known for its first-class Shakespeare
Festival. Runs from May to early November.
Canadian Tulip Festival , Ottawa, Ontario. Three million
tulips in an orgy of colour all over the city.
JUNE
Jazz City International Festival , Edmonton, Alberta. Ten
days of jazz concerts, free outdoor events and workshops.
Banff Festival of the Arts , Banff, Alberta. Young-artist
showcase - music, opera, dance, drama, comedy and visual arts.
International Blues Festival , Halifax, Nova Scotia. Big
musical event showcasing the best of US and Maritime blues.
Metro International Caravan , Toronto, Ontario. Nine-day
multiethnic celebration with some fifty pavilions dotted across the
city.
International Jazz Festival , Montréal, Québec. 2000 jazz
acts, including the world's top names, and 75 percent of the
performances are free.
JULY
Pow-wows . Traditional aboriginal celebrations that take
place on reserves across the country in July and August.
Calgary Stampede , Calgary, Alberta. One of the biggest
rodeos in the world: all the usual cowboy trappings, plus
hot-air-balloon races, chuck-wagon rides, craft exhibitions, native
dancing and a host of other happenings. Billed as the "Greatest
Outdoor Show on Earth".
Klondike Days , Edmonton, Alberta. Pioneer era in
Edmonton revisited with gold panning, raft races, pancake
breakfasts and gambling.
Loyalist City Festival , Saint John, New Brunswick.
Celebration of the city's loyalist heritage with parades in period
costume.
Antigonish Highland Games , Antigonish, Nova Scotia. All
sorts of traditional Scottish sports and activities recall the
settlement of the area by Highlanders.
Atlantic Jazz Festival , Halifax, Nova Scotia.
First-class jazz festival pulling in big names from round the
world.
Canada Day , Ottawa, Ontario and throughout Canada.
Fireworks, parades and a day off for patriotic shenanigans.
Caribana Festival , Toronto, Ontario. Large-scale West
Indian carnival with music, dance and a flamboyant parade.
Festival d'Été , Québec City, Québec. Arts performances,
live bands and other shows on and off the sun-filled streets and
parks of Québec City.
Juste Pour Rire , Montréal, Québec. The funniest festival
in Canada. Internationally acclaimed comic get-together with
comedians from around the world performing in theatres and outdoor
stages.
AUGUST
Fringe Theatre Festival , Edmonton, Alberta. One of North
America's most prestigious alternative-theatre festivals.
Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival , Squamish, BC. The
continent's biggest lumberjacks' convention with impressive logging
competitions.
Acadian Festival , Caraquet, New Brunswick. Celebration
of Acadian culture in the northeast of New Brunswick.
Miramichi Folk Song Festival , Newcastle, New Brunswick.
New Brunswick's prestigious folk festival, featuring many of the
finest fiddlers in the Maritimes.
Nova Scotia Gaelic Mod , South Gut, St Ann's, Nova
Scotia. Seven-day Scottish heritage knees-up with all traditional
sports, crafts and contests featured. One of the biggest and best
of many similar events in Nova Scotia.
World Film Festival , Montréal, Québec. Eclipsed by
Toronto's new film festival, but still a good showcase for new
movies.
SEPTEMBER
Toronto International Film Festival , Toronto, Ontario.
Internationally acclaimed film festival spread over ten days,
inundated with Hollywood stars.
OCTOBER
Vancouver International Film Festival , Vancouver, BC.
Another of Canada's highly rated film fests.
Okanagan Wine Festival , Okanagan, BC. One of the many
wine events in this vine-growing region.
Oktoberfest , Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Alcohol and
cultural events in honour of the twin towns' roots.
NOVEMBER
Canadian Finals Rodeo , Edmonton, Alberta. Pure Canuck
rodeo.
Royal Agricultural Winter Fair , Toronto, Ontario. The
world's largest agricultural indoor fair, apparently.
DECEMBER
Coral Ships , Vancouver, BC. When carol singers sail
around Vancouver harbour in sparkly boats.
New Year's Eve , throughout Canada, but celebrated in
style in St John's, Newfoundland, where everyone heads from the pub
to the waterfront for a raucous midnight party.