Ukrainian Festivals in Ottawa and Ontario: the 2026 Season and How to Plan for 2027
The UAFest kitchen team
September 2026 · 9 min read
Riverside Park, Carleton Place: the home of UAFest, about 45 minutes west of Ottawa
Three Ukrainian festivals anchored the 2026 season in Ottawa, Lanark County and Toronto: the Capital Ukrainian Festival in Ottawa on 28–30 August, UAFest 2026 - Ukrainian Festival near Ottawa in Carleton Place on 13 September, and the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival on 18–20 September. For 2027, Toronto has already announced 17–19 September. The dates of UAFest 2027 are being settled, and the Capital Ukrainian Festival had not published 2027 dates on its site as of 28 September 2026. If you are looking for a Ukrainian festival in Ottawa next year, the simplest step today is the UAFest 2027 waiting list: it hears the date before the public announcement.
The Ontario Ukrainian festival season 2026 at a glance
In 2026 the main Ukrainian festivals in Ottawa, Lanark County and Toronto fell within four weeks, from 28 August to 20 September, with the Rushnyk's week in Mississauga and an Ottawa charity run in October extending the calendar into autumn. Each date in the table is taken from the event's own website.
| Event | 2026 dates | Where | Format | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine Week in Ottawa | 23–30 August | Ottawa, several venues | A week of community events for the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence | capitalukrainianfestival.ca |
| Capital Ukrainian Festival | 28–30 August | Lansdowne Park, Ottawa | Dance evening, workshops, free Yarmarok marketplace on Sunday | capitalukrainianfestival.ca |
| UAFest 2026 - Ukrainian Festival near Ottawa | Sunday 13 September, 12–6 PM | Riverside Park, Carleton Place | One-day festival: stage, kitchen, market, kids' zone, the Rushnyk procession, the Unity Ride from Ottawa | uafest.ca/festival-2026 |
| Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival | 18–20 September | Bloor Street West between Jane Street and Kennedy Park Road, Toronto | Three-day street festival; parade on Saturday 19 September at 11:00 | ukrainianfestival.com |
| A week with the Rushnyk in Mississauga | 21–27 September | Church of the Assumption, 3625 Cawthra Road | Visits by a dance school and a school, a stitching meeting | uafest.ca |
| Run for Children of Heroes, Ottawa | Sunday 25 October (working date, awaiting confirmation) | Sylvia Holden Park, along the Rideau | Charity run and walk for adults, children, families and teams | uafest.ca/run |
UAFest 2026 - Ukrainian Festival near Ottawa: what happened
UAFest 2026 took place on Sunday, 13 September 2026, from 12 to 6 PM at Riverside Park, Lake Ave W, Carleton Place, about 45 minutes west of downtown Ottawa on Highway 7. It is the Ukrainian festival of Lanark County, run entirely by volunteers of the Ukrainian Community of Lanark County, and it was the fourth edition of an event that began as a community garage sale in 2023.
The day, in the order guests saw it:
- The Rushnyk procession. Adults, teens and children lifted the 160.5-metre Rushnyk of Unity — Rushnyk of Victory at the Roy Brown Statue and carried it through town into Riverside Park. It was the cloth's first showing outside Europe.
- The Unity Ride & Drive. Cars and motorcycles with Ukrainian and Canadian flags drove together from Ottawa to Carleton Place and arrived for the opening.
- The stage. Singers, dancers and musicians through the afternoon; each act has its own page in the UAFest Family.
- Kitchen, korchma and market. Varenyky, borscht, cabbage rolls and kvass, a korchma-style corner to sit down, and a row of Ukrainian crafts, embroidery and goods from local vendors.
- Workshops and the kids' zone. Cross-stitch and Petrykivka painting at the master-class tables, face painting and crafts for children.
The festival grew from about 1,000 guests in 2023 to roughly 3,000 in 2024 and more than 4,000 in 2025. The 2026 count of guests, volunteer hours and money raised for Kids of Ukraine is still being finalised for the report to the community. Photos, press coverage and the list of 2026 partners are collected on the UAFest 2026 recap page, with the first story in UAFest 2026: Photos, Highlights & What Comes Next.
Toronto: the Bloor West Village festival and the Rushnyk's stop
The Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival is a three-day street festival on Bloor Street West; in 2026 it ran on 18–20 September and marked its 30th annual edition. The festival describes itself as North America's largest Ukrainian street festival, and its 2027 dates are already on its homepage: 17–19 September 2027.
According to its own schedule and location pages, the 2026 festival ran Friday 6:30–11 PM, Saturday 11 AM–11 PM and Sunday 11 AM–7 PM, with Bloor Street West closed to traffic between Jane Street and Kennedy Park Road for the weekend. The festival recommends the TTC: Line 2 stops at Jane Station at the west end of the site and Runnymede Station at the east end, and High Park Station is one stop further east.
On Saturday, 19 September, the Rushnyk of Unity — Rushnyk of Victory walked in the festival parade, its second stop in North America. Carriers met at 10:00 at the Lesya Ukrainka Monument in High Park, and 30 metres of the column were set aside for the cloth. The full story is in our news piece The Rushnyk Walked in the Toronto Ukrainian Festival 2026 Parade, and the week that followed in Mississauga is on the Rushnyk events page.
For readers in the GTA who want the craft side of these festivals before next September: Petrykivka, the Ukrainian painting style taught at festival workshops in Ottawa and Carleton Place this year, can be started at a kitchen table. The first lesson, the single brush stroke the whole tradition builds on, is free at petrikivka.com/learn.
Capital Ukrainian Festival in Ottawa, and how it relates to UAFest
The Capital Ukrainian Festival is Ottawa's own Ukrainian festival, established in 2015 and held at Lansdowne Park. Its 2026 edition ran on 28–30 August in partnership with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Ottawa Branch, as part of Ukraine Week in Ottawa (23–30 August), which marked the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
The 2026 programme, as published by the festival:
- Friday 28 August, 6–8 PM: a free beginner-friendly Ukrainian dance evening with Svitanok on the Lansdowne Park Plaza.
- Saturday 29 August, 12–2 PM: a hands-on Petrykivka painting workshop at the St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine, 952 Green Valley Crescent, $35 + HST.
- Sunday 30 August, 9 AM–7 PM: the Yarmarok, a free Ukrainian marketplace with food, vendors and performances in the Horticulture Building, plus village dancing workshops on the East Court.
- Sunday 30 August, 7 PM: a ticketed evening concert at 1000 Byron Avenue, $45.
Carleton Place is about 50 km from Ottawa by road, so the two festivals serve the same Ottawa Valley community at two different points of the season: Lansdowne Park in late August, Riverside Park in mid-September. Someone searching for a Ukrainian festival in Ottawa can attend both. Our profile of the Capital Ukrainian Festival in the UAFest Family covers its history and its 2026 programme in more detail.
Planning for 2027: vendors, volunteers, sponsors and performers
UAFest 2027 will be the fifth Ukrainian festival of Lanark County; its date and venue are being settled now, and the people on the waiting list hear them before the public announcement. The calls for vendors, performers, volunteers and sponsors open in turn, list first.
| You are | What happens in 2027 | Step today |
|---|---|---|
| Guest or family | Date, venue and programme go to the list first | Join the list |
| Vendor: food, crafts, goods | Booth places go in order; the list gets the call before it goes public | Join as a vendor |
| Sponsor or partner | 2027 packages go out before the season starts, while budgets are still being planned | Partner with UAFest |
| Performer or workshop teacher | The programme is built early | Join as a performer |
| Volunteer or organising team | The team works year-round: marketing, grants, logistics | Join as a volunteer |
| Parish, school or association | The Rushnyk continues its route and needs host communities | Host the Rushnyk |
Why local businesses sponsor UAFest
Five facts from the festival's own record:
- Community-grown: it began as a garage sale in Carleton Place in 2023 and reached more than 4,000 visitors in 2025.
- A volunteer network of 95 people and an organising team that works year-round.
- An audience of families with children, professionals and newcomers.
- Regular press: Lanark-Leeds Today, 107.7 WOW FM and Hometown News have covered the festival across three seasons, and CBC News reported on the Rushnyk's first stop outside Europe on 14 September 2026.
- A charity partnership with Kids of Ukraine, which supports the mental and emotional recovery of children and families affected by the war.
Sponsors of the Unity Ride & Drive get vehicle and flag branding, start and finish signage and photo opportunities along the route from Ottawa. The full list of 2026 partners is on the recap page.
Between festivals
The season in Ottawa continues this autumn. On Sunday, 25 October 2026 (working date, awaiting confirmation), Ottawa joins the international Run for Children of Heroes at Sylvia Holden Park; the international campaign aims to raise €40,000+ for psychological support programmes for Ukrainian children who lost a parent in the war. Companies can enter as a corporate team. The festival's own designs, drawn for UAFest 2026 by Lulu Design Studio and printed to order, are in the UAFest merch shop.
UAFest 2027 is in the works. The waiting list hears the date first.
UAFest 2026 took place on Sunday, September 13 · Riverside Park, Carleton Place
What people ask
Yes. The Capital Ukrainian Festival is held at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa (28–30 August in 2026), and UAFest - Ukrainian Festival near Ottawa is held at Riverside Park in Carleton Place, about 45 minutes west (13 September in 2026).
The date of UAFest 2027 is being settled and goes to the waiting list at uafest.ca/2027 first. The Capital Ukrainian Festival had not published 2027 dates on its website as of 28 September 2026.
17–19 September 2027 in Bloor West Village, according to the festival's website. In 2026 it ran on 18–20 September.
For UAFest 2027, join the waiting list with the vendor role at uafest.ca/2027?role=vendor. Booth places go in order, and the list gets the vendor call before it goes public.
Ottawa's Ukrainian festival, established in 2015, held at Lansdowne Park with performances, workshops, a Yarmarok marketplace and food. In 2026 it ran on 28–30 August as part of Ukraine Week in Ottawa.
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