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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

Upcoming Events

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Solar Eclipse Viewing

Next Date: Apr 8, 2024

Region: Louisbourg Area

Community: Mira

An astronomical event to remember! Two Rivers observatory is hosting an event on Facebook for those not on Cape Breton Island on Apri...


Valdy

Next Date: Apr 13, 2024

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

Valdy Nova Scotia Tour - April 2024 Folk legend Valdy will once again bring his talent and charm to perform in Nova Scotia this spring. Vald...


Pages & Prose

Next Date: Apr 19, 2024

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

A fabulous Friday night out for Literacy! Dinner, Cash Bar, Silent Auction and book reading and signing by Jane Doucet and Lorne Elliott....


The Fabulously Rich

Next Date: Apr 26, 2024

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

Join us on this remarkable journey as we pay homage to The Tragically Hip and share our love for their music. Let's create unforgettable mom...


The Relatives

Next Date: May 11, 2024

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

The Relatives, are a Mi’kmaq music group who began entertaining a little over thirty years ago. With more than enough musical experien...


Carleton Stone

Next Date: May 17, 2024

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

Presented by Robyn's Nest Productions Carleton Stone is an award-winning artist, a songwriter with a growing list of credits, and a founding...


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.

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • 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 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