Ontario Festival of Small Halls Oct 2 – Dec 5, 2026
Full lineup and schedule available here – 2026 Ontario Festival of Small Halls
The Festival of Small Halls started intimately and beautifully In August 2014, on a super moon weekend. Inspired by the spirit of community, hospitality, and exceptional music that has made small halls festivals in Prince Edward Island and Australia such treasured events, the talented and dedicated team that organizes the award-winning Ottawa Bluesfest (July) and CityFolk (September) launched the inaugural Ontario Festival of Small Halls with the talented and charming Old Man Luedecke from Nova Scotia. This first year saw shows performed in three intimate venues in Perth, Gananoque, and Bloomfield. It was a tentative, but great first step!
The festival’s first expansion took place in 2015 when it jumped to fourteen beloved small-town locations across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark County in Eastern Ontario. Cherished halls engrained in the fabric of their communities played host to first-rate performers like The Strumbellas, The Good Lovelies, Corb Lund, The East Pointers, Beòlach, Fortunate Ones, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys and Kelly Prescott. These musicians stepped off the big stage to travel to small towns, to be ushered into historic buildings at the heart of some of Ontario’s most vibrant communities and greeted with all the warmth of a small-town welcome. The host organizations threw themselves into the festival. They put on community dinners and country markets. They sold tickets, decorated the halls, offered local openers, and spread the word. Twelve of the festival’s fifteen shows sold out that year, and the musicians delivered intimate, jaw-dropping performances complete with lots of laughter, foot stomping, storytelling, dancing, and downright musical magic.
For 2025, after the wonderful, but geographically extensive previous year’s edition, Festival of Small Halls is staged forty-five shows with the exceptional talents of : AHI, The Pairs, Chantal Kreviazuk, The Rowdymen, Irish Mythen, The Arrogant Worms, Ashley MacIsaac, Bright Strings Community Fiddle Orchestra, Mia Kelly, Blair Dunlop, Sarah Hagen, Devon Cuddy Duo, Sam Polley and The Old Tomorrows, Danny Michel, Junkhouse, Corb Lund, Hawksley Workman, Ben Caplan, The Once, Whitehorse, and Tim Baker.
A new feature for 2025 is the Small Halls’ Music In The Schools program. Ten participating elementary schools from Ottawa through to the Peterborough area will host wonderful Small Halls live music performances during school hours. These will be a delightful mix of engaging entertainment and music education. The reception for this initiative has been truly enthusiastic by teachers and school administrations, and it is hoped that ensuing years will see more and more schools participate.
The annual Chef’s Table series continues to be a terrific supportive event for Small Halls. This “farm-to-table feast” features menus curated by Chef Kenton Leier of the National Arts Centre, who invites Canada’s finest guest chefs for a culinary experience par excellence. This multi-weekend event will continue to showcase world-class chefs and great live music, from the patio of the NAC’s 1 Elgin Restaurant, by Ottawa’s gorgeous Rideau Canal.
Like all Festival of Small Halls shows, the Chef’s Table series is truly magical.
The Ontario Festival of Small Hall’s story is still unfolding – so stay tuned! One thing is for sure: there will be many more unforgettable moments of music in well-loved spaces in a community near you.
Full lineup and schedule available here – 2026 Ontario Festival of Small Halls