“BREAKING NEWS Pelham Summerfest has won the #FEO Top 100 Festivals award for the third year in a row! Congratulations team!”
Pelham Summerfest Facebook Post
“Bravo & kudos to amazing @TownOfPelham staff & volunteers for @PELSummerfest Top 100 Festivals & Events recognition! @FEOntario #PelhamWOW”
Mayor Dave Augustyn via Facebook
(March 3, 2017) Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) is proud to announce the 2017 Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario. These Top 100 recipients represent festivals and events that excel within the industry. Included in the Top 100 are the Festivals & Events of Distinction, a select group which represent some of the most well-known and respected celebrations in the province; celebrations which draw both an international and domestic audience.
“Festivals and events create jobs and bring Ontario communities together to celebrate our heritage and diversity,” said Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “I am pleased to join with Festival and Events Ontario in congratulating this year’s top 100 recipients. There are so many celebrations taking place across the province this year and our 150th anniversary is the perfect opportunity to get out and discover them.”
– Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
Submissions from FEO members were received for consideration in the fall of 2016 and were judged by an independent panel of judges. Festivals and events of all kinds from every corner of Ontario were represented in the submissions – from community festivals to internationally recognized events. The 2017 Top 100 Awards were given out on Friday, March 3 during FEO’s Annual Conference Celebrating the Past, Igniting the Future in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
FEO would like to congratulate the 2017 Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario:
APRIL
Doors Open Ontario (Province Wide) Apr 1 – Oct 31
Eat & Drink Norfolk (Simcoe) Apr 6 – 8
*Stratford Festival (Stratford) Apr 15 – Oct 29
MAY
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival (Toronto) May 1 – 31
SING! The Toronto Vocal Arts Festival (Toronto) May 11 – 28
Huron Fringe Birding Festival (Port Elgin) May 26 – Jun 4
JUNE
Barrie Automotive Flea Market (Oro-Medonte) Jun 1 – 4
Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival (Orangeville) Jun 1 – 4
Streetsville Founders’ Bread and Honey Festival (Streetsville/ Mississauga) Jun 2 – 4
Dundas International Buskerfest (Dundas) Jun 2 – 4
Re-Enactment of the Battle of Stoney Creek (Stoney Creek) Jun 3 – 4
LaSalle Strawberry Festival (LaSalle) Jun 8 – 11
CeleBRAMPTON (Brampton) Jun 10
Oshawa Peony Festival (Oshawa) Jun 10 – 11
*Sound of Music Festival (Burlington) Jun 10 – 18
Carrousel of Nations (Windsor) Jun 10 – 25
*Luminato Festival (Toronto) Jun 14 – 25
*TD Ottawa Jazz Festival (Ottawa) Jun 22 – Jul 2
SALSA at Blue Mountain (Blue Mountains) Jun 23 – 25
Niagara Falls Canada Day Celebration (Niagara Falls) Jun 30 – Jul 2
JULY
Burlington’s Canada Day Celebrations (Burlington) Jul 1
Brampton Canada Day Celebrations (Brampton) Jul 1
*Canada Day Celebrations (Ottawa/Gatineau) Jul 1
It’s Your Festival (Hamilton) Jul 1 – Jul 3
*Redpath Waterfront Festival, presented by Billy Bishop Airport) Jul 1 – 3
TD Salsa in Toronto Festival (Toronto) Jul 3 – 23
World Heritage Sunset Ceremonies (Kingston) Jul 5 – Aug 30
Belleville Waterfront & Ethnic Festival (Belleville) Jul 6 – 9
TD Sunfest: Canada’s Premier Celebration of World Cultures (London) Jul 6 – 9
*RBC Bluesfest (Ottawa) Jul 6 – 16
*Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto (Toronto) Jul 11 – Aug 6
Pelham Summerfest (Fonthill) Jul 13 – 16
*Hillside Festival (Guelph) Jul 14 – 16
Lighthouse Blues Festival (Kincardine) Jul 14 – 16
Stewart Park Festival (Perth) Jul 14 – 16
*Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival (Ottawa) Jul 22 – Aug 4
Festival of the Sound (Parry Sound) Jul 21 – Aug 13
Big on Bloor Festival of Arts & Culture (Toronto) Jul 22 – 23
Collingwood Elvis Festival (Collingwood) Jul 28 – 30
AUGUST
Bancroft Rockhound Gemboree (Brancroft) Aug 3 – 6
Glengarry Highland Games (Maxville) Aug 4 – 5
Harbourfest (Kenora) Aug 4 – 6
Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival (Port Colborne) Aug 4 – 7
Sioux Lookout Blueberry Festival (Sioux Lookout) Aug 4 – 13
MuslimFest (Mississauga) Aug 5 – 6
*Rogers Cup presented by National Bank (Toronto) Aug 5 – 13
Jambana™, One World Festival (Brampton) Aug 6 – 7
TD Kitchener Blues Festival (Kitchener) Aug 10 – 13
Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games (Fergus) Aug 11 – 13
Kingston Sheep Dog Trials Festival (Kingston) Aug 11 – 13
The International Grace Jerkfest & Music Festival (Toronto) Aug 11 – 13
*Havelock Country Jamboree (Havelock) Aug 17 – 20
Smooth Truck Fest (Smooth Rock Falls) Aug 17 – 20
Carrot Fest (Bradford) Aug 18 – 19
Mississauga ItalFEST (Mississauga) Aug 18 – 19
Buckhorn Fine Art Festival (Buckthorn) Aug 18 – 20
Dundas Cactus Festival (Dundas) Aug 18 – 20
*Canadian National Exhibition (Toronto) Aug 18 – Sep 4
Burlington’s Children’s Festival (Burlington) Aug 20
Tecumseh Corn Festival (Tecumseh) Aug 24 – 27
The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival (Timmins) Aug 25 – 27
Winona Peach Festival (Winona) Aug 25 – 27
SEPTEMBER
Canada’s Largest Ribfest (Burlington) Sept 1 – 4
SoundBites 2017: Mississauga Celebration Square (Mississauga) Sep 2
Meaford Scarecrow Invasion & Family Festival (Meaford) Sep 5 – Oct 16
Jazz Sudbury (Sudbury) Sep 6 – 10
*Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto) Sep 7 – 17
Supercrawl (Hamilton) Sep 8 – 10
*Western Fair (London) Sep 8 – 17
*Niagara Grape and Wine Festival (St. Catharines) Sep 8 – 24
Canada’s Only Guitar Trail at Blue Mountain (Blue Mountains) Sep 9
St. George AppleFest (St. George) Sep 16 – 17
Bushplane Days (Sault Ste. Marie) Sep 16 – 17
Telling Tales Festival (Hamilton) Sep 17
*International Plowing Match & Rural Expo (Walton) Sep 19 – 23
The Word on the Street Toronto (Toronto) Sep 24
Small Halls Festival (Township of Clearview) Sep 28 – Oct 1
Fort Fright at Fort Henry (Kingston) Sep 29 – Oct 29
Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village (Morrisburg) Sep 29 – Oct 29
OCTOBER
Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show (Simcoe) Oct 3 – 9
Erin Fall Fair (Erin) Oct 5 – 9
*Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest (Kitchener) Oct 6 – 14
Blue Mountains Apple Harvest Festival (Blue Mountains) Oct 7 – 9
Aurora’s Haunted Forest (Aurora) Oct 28
NOVEMBER
Tree Lighting Downtown Brampton (Brampton) Nov 17
Niagara Falls Santa Claus Parade (Niagara Falls) Nov 18
*OPG Winter Festival of Lights (Niagara Falls) Nov 18 – Jan 31, 2018
First Light at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons (Midland) Nov 23 – Dec 9
Simcoe Christmas Panorama (Simcoe) Nov 25 – Dec. 31
WINTER DEC TO MAR 2017
Aurora’s Tree Lighting Ceremony (Aurora) Dec 6
Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village (Morrisburg) Dec 7 – Jan 6, 2018
Brampton’s New Years Eve (Brampton) Dec 31
Wine & Food Show (London) Jan 18 – 20, 2018
Bon Soo Winter Carnival (Sault Ste. Marie) Feb 2 – 11, 2018
*Winterlude (Ottawa/Gatineau) Feb.2 – 19, 2018
Barrie Winterfest (Barrie) Feb 3 – 4, 2018
Vaughan Winterfest (Vaughan) Feb 11, 2018
Kirkland Lake Winter Carnival (Kirkland Lake) Feb 15 – Mar 4, 2018
Voyageur Winter Carnival (Thunder Bay) Feb 17 – 19, 2018
SnowDay (Thunder Bay) Feb 19, 2018
*Represents Level of Distinction festivals and events
“Celebrating the Past. Igniting the Future” 2017 FEO annual conference and Awards presentation was held at the Quattro Hotel and Conference Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario