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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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Midsummer Music Series

Next Date: Jun 27, 2022

Regions: Cabot Trail, Bras d’Or Lake

Community: Baddeck

Update: Due to COVID-19, the visitor experience at Parks Canada-administered places may be different than it has been in the past. Please v...

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Escape Louisbourg

Next Date: Jun 28, 2022

Region: Louisbourg Area

Community: Louisbourg

Update: Due to COVID-19, the visitor experience at Parks Canada-administered places may be different than it has been in the past. Please v...

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A man and woman playing the fiddle at Governors Pub

KitchenFest! | Feis a Chidsin!

Next Date: Jul 1, 2022

Regions: Cabot Trail, Cape Breton’s South Coast, Canada’s Musical Coast, Sydney and Area / Marconi Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Bras d’Or Lake

Community: St. Ann’s

The annual celebration of Cape Breton-based Gaelic music gives locals and visitors alike insight into this distinct and vibrant living cultu...

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Live music is played on a deck outside

Canada Day in Westmount

Next Date: Jul 1, 2022

Region: Sydney and Area / Marconi Trail

Community: Sydney & Area

Canada Day at Petersfield Park in Westmount is a go for 2022!!!!! CBRM’s biggest and best family-friendly Canada Day celebration is on...

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Cape Smokey Gondola

Smokey Fest

Next Date: Jul 1, 2022

Region: Cabot Trail

Community: Ingonish & Area

1st Annual Smokey Fest will be held on Friday, July 1st at Cape Smokey! Live Music in partnership with the Gaelic College and Kitchen Fest. ...

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West Mabou Square Dance

Next Date: Jul 2, 2022

Region: Canada’s Musical Coast

Community: Mabou

The West Mabou Hall is best-known as the venue of the West Mabou Family Square Dances which have been held weekly for over 30 years and are ...

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Granville Green Concert

Next Date: Jul 3, 2022

Region: Cape Breton’s South Coast

Community: Port Hawkesbury

Tyler Shaw featuring Inn Echo GG Resurgence presented by: Bear Head Energy and EverWind We are extremely excited to announce that Tyler Shaw...

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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 Toronto and Montreal and from other North American and European cities via Halifax. 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