Festivals and Events
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 , Quebec City, Quebec. 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 , Montreal, Quebec. 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'Ete , Quebec City, Quebec. Arts performances, live bands and other shows on and off the sun-filled streets and parks of Quebec City. Juste Pour Rire , Montreal, Quebec. 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 , Montreal, Quebec. 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.
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