Over 3,000 festivals and events in Ontario hold local and tourist parties throughout the year. If you are looking for reasons to celebrate, you will find more than enough to be happy here.
Some of the biggest festivals take place in the summer when the central scenes take place outdoors.
Summer music festivals are huge. The larger ones include the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Parry Sound Sound Festival, the Burlington Music Sound Festival, the Barry Jazz and Blues Festival, the London Sunfest and the Hamilton Friends Festival. Many of these festivals have free admission, or at least offer free concerts along with paid ones. Therefore, they are very light in your wallet.
Summer outdoor festivals are also a great attraction in good weather. In the free access to the Toronto Outdoor Art exhibition, more than 500 of Canada’s best and worldwide artists and craftspeople and associations have about 100,000 visitors. Stratford also has handicraft shows along the river, and Barry has a huge arts and crafts festival called Kempenfest.
The fall is also filled with festivals. The largest fruit harvest in Ontario is grapes, and in September, it is the time of the grape harvest. Niagara Territory fries a new crop with the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival. Kitchener-Waterloo puts on the biggest Oktoberfest party outside of Germany. Thanksgiving Balls Falls Festival offers crafts, food and family fun. Halloween fans can join Howlin & Hootenany in Pioneer Creek Creek village north of Toronto for scary fun and falling trees such as pumpkin pies, candied apples and apple cider. Readers and writers will love the free Word on the Street Festival in Toronto, where they will be able to meet their favorite authors and hear them from their works. And there is the grandfather of all literary festivals, the International Authors Festival in Toronto. Wait - do not forget about the Toronto International Film Festival! (Is your weekend running out?)
Festivals and events in Ontario do not stop in the winter. Ontario residents take the cool season with Ottawa Wintermond, Toronto Wintercity and, of course, New Year festivals, which include the crazy Dip festival in Polar Bears in Oakville. Giant glowing figures of Niagara Falls Festival of Lights is guaranteed to make you smile and warm you on a frosty winter day. Another sure bet is the Niagara ice wine festival in the Niagara region.
Spring festivals are the best of all because they welcome the return of good weather. Some famous Ontario holidays are maple syrup holidays that appear throughout Southern Ontario. Bront Creek in Oakville has a good tour with excursions, syrup and sweets, pancake breakfast and so on. The Ottawa Tulip Festival is more than just flowers. It presents concerts, unique arts and crafts, lectures and much more (and free outdoor concerts). Want a real smell of spring? Attend the Lilac Festival at the Hamilton Royal Botanical Gardens and explore the world's largest, dizzying lilac.
If you are hosting local, ontario festivals and events - a great way to meet your neighbors. If you are a tourist, why don't you plan to attend one of these events?
