Ottawa Festivals by Month: the Year-Round Calendar

Ottawa calls itself Canada's festival capital, and the city's festival association counts more than 500 festivals, special events and fairs a year. The big ones keep their month: Winterlude in February, tulips in May, jazz, blues and Canada Day in summer, the cultural festivals in August and September. This calendar goes month by month so you can plan a year of weekends, with the festivals within an hour of the city included.

Ottawa festivals at a glance

Exact days move a little every year and are announced by each festival in the months before; the month below is the one the festival has held for years.

Winter: Winterlude and the indoor season

Winterlude is the festival most visitors plan a trip around. For three weekends from late January into February the Rideau Canal becomes the Skateway, and the ice sculptures and snow slides spread over parks on the Ottawa and Gatineau sides. January also has the Ukrainian Malanka dances, and February brings Family Day, the third Monday of the month, with the city's free outdoor skating and sledding.

Spring: tulips and maple syrup

In March and April the maple farms of the Ottawa Valley and Lanark County open their sugar shacks. May is tulip month: the Canadian Tulip Festival fills Commissioners Park by Dow's Lake and keeps alive the story of the bulbs the Dutch royal family sent to Ottawa after the Second World War.

Summer: the busiest stretch of the year

From the Fringe and the dragon boats in June to Canada Day, Bluesfest and Chamberfest, summer is when the city has a festival every weekend and several at once. The cultural festivals of Ottawa's communities fill the gaps between the big stages: Italian Week on Preston Street, the Lebanese and Greek festivals, Capital Pride, and the Capital Ukrainian Festival at Lansdowne Park at the end of August.

Fall: September festivals and the drive west

September is warm, the crowds are smaller, and the festivals move to the edges of the city. UAFest - Ukrainian Festival near Ottawa takes over Riverside Park in Carleton Place on a Sunday in September: a stage with dance and folk music through the afternoon, a kitchen with varenyky and borscht, a market of embroidery and crafts, a kids' zone, and the 160.5-metre Rushnyk carried through town. A convoy of cars and motorcycles, the Unity Ride, drives in from Ottawa for the opening. It is a good reason to see the valley: our Lanark County day trip covers the rest of the day.

Late fall and December: remembrance and holiday markets

In November Ukrainian Canadians mark Holodomor Memorial Day on the fourth Saturday of the month, with services and candle-lighting in churches and at memorials. Then the city turns to its Christmas markets, which run from mid-November to just before Christmas, and to the church and community-hall craft fairs where much of the handmade work is sold. The Ukrainian Christmas Eve, with its twelve meatless dishes, follows on 24 December or 6 January; the menu is in our guide to the twelve dishes.

For local businesses and media

A September festival 45 minutes from Ottawa puts a business in front of families, newcomers and the Ukrainian community of the whole region. The packages for UAFest 2027, from a booth to the Unity Ride convoy from Ottawa, are on the sponsor page, and journalists find the festival facts, photos and contacts in the press kit.

Volunteering at Ottawa festivals

Every festival on this list runs on volunteers, and a festival shift is one of the easiest ways into the city's community life: no experience needed, a team lead on site, and a letter with your hours at the end. Our guide to volunteering in Ottawa explains how it works, including for high-school students who need their 40 community hours.