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Festivals & Events

Here, music and laughter are always on tap. You’ll find it in our pubs and restaurants across our Island, as our friendly cheer and sense of community often brings everyone together. Explore the Island this summer and take part in local festivals, cèilidhs and events.

Festivals & Events 7

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Tasting experience at Island Folk Cider House

Tasting experience at Island Folk Cider House

Join us for a tasting and learn about the cider-making process or soak up the sunshine while sipping a pint in our outdoor space.

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Experience the Art of Slow Living at The Clairestone Inn

Set your own pace on a self-guided tour along our peaceful shores, through quaint fishing villages and picturesque Acadian communities.

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Stay at the Inverary Resort

Inverary Resort is proud to call Baddeck home. It's the start and end of the Cabot Trail. Our 11-acre waterfront resort offers kayaking, paddleboarding, and pontoon boat fun. Enjoy local cuisine at ou

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An adventure a day at Cabot Shores Wilderness Resort

3 days, 2 nights accommodations in a large yurt or dome. Breakfast & dinner for 2 each day. Private hot tub access each evening.
Optional morning meditation & daily Qi Gong session.

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Mike's E Bikes 9

Rent an Ebike and cruise along the coast

Your 3-hour rental allows time to cycle along the Southwest Mabou River and through the village of Mabou with breathtaking views of the Harbour. Continuing up the Mabou River to Glendyre and back.

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A View from the Other Side

Dining, with a view from the other side!

Come and enjoy some of Sydney's best seafood dishes while watching the sunset light up the downtown skyline from the other side of Sydney's picturesque harbour.

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Sunset Yoga

Meet us on the mat this summer for sunset yoga! Relax and unwind with us where water meets green space, cliffside and fireside. Yoga mats provided.

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Picnic and Paddle at St. Peters Canal

Discover St. Peters Canal, where the Atlantic meets Bras D'or Lake. Paddle the historic Mi'kmaw route with rentals from Canal Landing. Enjoy a Parks Canada Perfect Picnic & watch boats at the lockage.

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Baile nan Gàidheal | Highland Village – Made of Stories – Experiential Tour 1

Made of Stories – Experiential Tour

Our living history site will take you through period buildings and four distinct eras. Costumed animators invite you to experience a piece of Gaelic history, language and culture first-hand.

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Live Life in

Margaree River Tubing

Take a break and relax on the world-famous Margaree River. Let the currents carry you downstream as you dip your toes in the river.

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Doug Fraser's Sleeping Painting

Doug Fraser's Art Studio 'It's like Sleeping In A Painting'

Surrounded by my sculpture garden, enjoy sunsets & ocean views from your hot tub or deck in this unique creative space. Stay includes a private artist led tour of the sculpture garden and gallery.

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Woodroad - A Cape Breton Culinary Experience

An intimate fine dining restaurant located in Margaree Harbour along the western coast of Cape Breton Island. Offering a set, 7-course menu that features seasonal and locally inspired dishes.

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Upcoming Events

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Mira Gala 2025

Next Date: Jul 1, 2025

Region: Louisbourg Area

Community: Marion Bridge

The Mira Gala is an annual event, held in Marion Bridge and surrounding areas offering a wide range of experiences and activities for all ag...

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A man and woman playing the fiddle at Governors Pub

Live Music

Like the routes, trails and waterways that bisect our Island, music connects our communities and cultures. Internationally renowned festivals. Weekly jam sessions. Time-honoured traditions and ancient rituals. Hear our spirit in each fiddle reel, bagpipe Biri and drum beat.

Find Your Tune

We encourage you to explore the many types of festivals & events
that our Island has to offer.

  • A man and woman playing the fiddle at Governors Pub

    Cèilidhs & Kitchen Parties

    It simply means social visit, but here, the Cèilidh is a perennial way of life. It’s a weekly family square dance. A community gathering full of food and music. Indulge in a kitchen party and connect with our culture and heritage. Feel the rhythm of our Island through the pulse of music and the warmth of our communities.  Your trip to our Island would not be complete with taking in a Cape Breton ceilidh or a kitchen party! Experience Celtic music like never before with one of these events and understand why we’ve been coined as Canada’s Musical Coast.

  • Festivals & Events

    Performing Arts & Culture

    Arts and culture don’t have an off-season here. From winter jam sessions along Canada’s Musical Coast to sizzling summer festivals and Acadian celebrations along the Cabot Trail. Enjoy music and comedy productions live and experience the rich art and culture that exists across the Island.

  • A woman plays guitar onstage

    Festivals

    History, heritage, community—there’s always a reason to celebrate on our Island. You won’t have to travel far to find a fun festival, but with so many options why not explore the Island?

  • Two pints of beer and a bowl of mussels

    Food & Drink

    Foodie heaven? More like a culinary cloud nine. The culinary scene on Cape Breton Island is truly unlike anything you have experienced and luckily, tasting your way around our Island has never been easier. Follow the Nova Scotia Chowder Trail to a famous lunch cèilidh. Plan your trip around a Highland lobster supper. Experience world-class shellfish, locally grown ingredients, and award-winning sips that connect our heritage to our land. 

  • Girls and boys in blue dance in front of a lighthouse

    Heritage

    Pay ode to the Island’s coal mining history with food, fun and festivities. Discover the roots of our Acadian communities by guided hike. Run head-on into history through a 300-year-old fortress. Our heritage is easy to learn, but even more, fun to live with each event.

  • aerial view of a festival in a green valley

    Community Events

    Over 100 communities. Hundreds of days a year to celebrate. From seasonal festivals and annual sporting tournaments to weekly dances, discover each pocket of our Island with our unique selection of community events.

Illustrated map of Cape Breton Island

Easy to Find. Hard to Leave.

There are direct flights to Sydney from Halifax, Toronto and Montreal and from other North American and European cities via those cities. If traveling by ground, the Trans-Canada Highway 104 leads to Cape Breton Island.

Getting Here and Around

Take a Picture. Leave your heart. #VisitCapeBreton