List of circus festivals in Canada
(cliquez ici pour lire cet article en français)
Festival season is coming up! Where are you going to go this year to meet like-minded people? To make it easier for you to decide, I put together a list of flow arts, juggling and circus festivals.
Although there are plenty of music festivals in Canada, the ones mainly dedicated to flow arts or circus are comparatively much fewer than in the US and Europe. (I also added festivals in the rest of the world at the bottom of this page.) Unfortunately, several initiatives to bring flow arts enthusiasts together have stopped. Amongst them, I could name two belated Ontario festivals where I had a great time: Spin all the Things Fest and In Flow Fest. In Alberta, the Spin Out Festival has also stopped before I had a chance to attend. In Quebec, some events are coming back next year, such as the much-awaited Tri Flow Fest , and potentially the Montreal juggling convention, which had found, in my opinion, a great solution being hosted at the Verdun circus school.
During my extensive research on Canadian festivals, I discovered several festivals I had never heard of and to which I would love to attend! I also noticed that, for some reason, there is no circus arts festival organized in the two central provinces. So, if you are from Manitoba or Saskatchewan, I challenge you to host a circus festival! If you notice a mistake in this list, or if you know of an event that’s not on the list, please send me an email to let me know so that I can add it to the list or correct my mistake. I will do my best to keep this list up to date.
Click on the corresponding links to get details about the festivals below. I also included at the bottom of this page a list of festivals I went to and recommend.
Mai / May
Guelph Juggling Festival,Guelph, Ontario
Du 17 mai au 19 mai 2019.Festival de jonglerie.
May 17th to May 19th. Juggling Festival.
West Coast Hoop Camp, Sooke, BC
Du 17 mai au 20 mai 2019.Convention de hula-hoop
May 17th to May 19th. Hula-hoop convention
Camp Carnival, Sundre, Alberta
Du 31 mai au 3 juin 2019. Cirque et flow arts. Adulte seulement.
May 31st to June 3rd Circus and Flow arts. An adult only, all-inclusive circus and fire spinning festival.
Juin / June
Carmagnole dans le parc, Montréal, Québec
Les 15 et 16 juin 2019. Spectacle et ateliers familiale. Tu veux participer comme bénévole? Contact: da@carmagnole.net
June 15th and 16t . Day workshop and shows for families
Leviathan Poi Retreat, Lasqueti Island, BC
15- 22 juin et 22-29 juin 2019. Retraite et atelier de poï .
June 15-22 and 22-29 .Poi retreat and workshops.
L’OsstidBurn, Mansonville, Québec
19 juin au 24 juin 2019. Événement inspiré de Burning man . Il y aura un camp dédié au hula-hoop nommé Hula-Haven
June 19th to June 24th. Event inspired by Burning Man.
Ikthof Championships, Pembroke, Ontario.
Du 21 juin au 23 juin 2019. Lancer de couteau, lancer de tomahawk, jeux Bullwhip, tir à l’arc traditionnel
June 21st-23rd. Knife throwing , tomahawk throwing , bullwhip games , traditional archery.
Festival de cirque Vaudreuil-Dorion, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec
du 21 juin au 23 juin 2019. Spectacle de cirque, festival familial.
June 21st to June 23rd. Circus show for families.
Juillet / July
Montréal Complètement cirque, Montréal, Québec
Du 4 juillet au 14 juillet 2019, Spectacles de cirque contemporain, animations dans les rues.
July 4th to July 14th. Contemporary circus show fest.
Festival Mudra, Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
Du 26 juillet au 28 juillet 2019. Festival de yoga avec jam de feu le vendredi, atelier de slackline, pole danse, aérien
July 26th to July 28 th. Yoga festival with fire jam on friday night, slackline , pole dance and aerial workshop.
Août / August
Spin Fest, Innerkip, Ontario
Du 9 août au 11 août 2019. Festival de flow arts.
August 9th to August 11th, Festival de flow arts.
Madskillz Vancouver, Vancouver, Colombie-Britannique
Du 15 août au 18 août 2019. Festival de flow arts.
August 15th to August 18th. Festival de flow arts.
Septembre / September
Toronto busker fest, Toronto, Ontario
du 30 août au 2 septembre 2019. Festival d’arts de la rue.
August 30th to September 2nd. Busker fest.
CHAPO, Mascouche, Québec
le 21 septembre 2019 de 11 h à 22 h. Festival d’amuseurs publics.
September 21st from 11 am to 9 pm. Busking fest.
St-John’s international circus fest, Saint-john’s Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland)
Du 26 septembre au 29 septembre 2019. Festival de cirque avec ateliers et spectacles.
September 26th to September 29th. Circus fest with workshops ans shows.
Octobre / October
Hoopwest, Calgary, Alberta
Du 18 octobre au 20 octobre 2019. Convention de hula-hoop.
October 18th to October 20th. Hooping fest.
Limestone City Juggling Festival 2019, Kingston, Ontario
25 au 27 octobre 2019. Convention de jonglerie.
October 25th to October 27th. Juggling Convention
Janvier / January
Turbo fest, Ville de Québec, Québec.
Janvier 2020. Habituellement du jeudi au dimanche de la première fin de semaine de janvier.
January 2020. Usually from Thursday to Sunday of the first weekend of January.
Mars/March
Northern Lights Flow Festival, Priddis, Alberta
A eu lieu en mars 2019, on attend les dates de 2020. Festival de flowarts.
Held in March 2019. Waiting for next year’s dates. Flow arts fest.
University of Waterloo Jugging Festival,Waterloo, Ontario
A eu lieu en mars 2019, on attend les dates de 2020. Festival de jonglerie.
Held in March 2019. Waiting for next year’s dates. Juggling Convention.
HooperSonic anniversary parties, Toronto, Ontario
A eu lieu en mars 2019, on attend les dates de 2020. Autour du 23 mars. Petit festival de flow.
Around 23 th, Waiting for next year’s dates. Mini flow fest.
My recommendations
Montréal Complètement Cirque
Affectionately nicknamed MCC, this festival offers two weeks of high-quality contemporary circus shows. However, if you want to see each and every one of them, you’ll have to spend a few hundred dollars. The best option is to buy the $200 VIP ticket. There are also a lot of free activities and shows on the streets. A good way to get to see the shows without busting your budget is to become a volunteer .
St.-Jonh’s circus Fest
I went to this festival in September 2018. It is a perfect blend of circus workshops and shows. This festival’s uniqueness stems from the fact that it also holds conferences on circus arts. All of this nested in an eerie seascape, surrounded by the famous St.-John’s colourful houses. The schedule was voluntarily light so that we could use our free time to go and visit the area (Quidi Vidi, Cape Spear). Even if it was the festival’s first edition, Ana and her team managed to organize it in a very professional way.
Turbo fest
I will talk about it in my next post. This is the best juggling festival in the entire world! Not only because it’s in my city, but also for its friendly atmosphere. Will I see you there in January?
Here are other lists of festivals in the world
French resources:
List of European hula-hoop festivals:
English resources:
List of European hula-hoop festivals: Hoop portal and Festivals and retreats
List of flow arts festivals across the world.
List of juggling events across the world.
Rédactrice: Maryève
Réviseure et traduction: Fanny
Hula-hoop Québec 