A grape stomp in St. Catharines, an eight-course al fresco dinner in Newfoundland, and an iconic Okanagan wine event: These are the Canadian harvest festivals to plan your fall getaway around.
Harvest is the one season Canadian tourism boards do not have to oversell. Vineyards are picking, boats are landing, and nearly every province has a festival built around the result. For advisors placing clients in the fall shoulder season, these events are useful anchors: they come with fixed dates, finite inventory and a reason to stay three nights instead of one.
Here are nine harvest season festivals across Canada, running now through late October.
1. Niagara Grape & Wine Festival, Ontario
The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival, the country’s oldest, runs September 4 to 27 across the region, built around three Discovery Pass weekends at more than 25 wineries. The finale lands in downtown St. Catharines, where the Montebello Park festival runs September 25 to 27 with free admission, and the Grande Parade steps off at 11 a.m. on September 26. Sloan plays Montebello Rocks on September 24. Grape stomping, as ever, is a competitive sport. Tourism St. Catharines is the place to check venue detail.
2. Fête des Vendanges Magog-Orford, Quebec
Quebec’s Eastern Townships throw their harvest party on the shore of Lake Memphrémagog, with more than 75 producers pouring across two September weekends. The Fête des Vendanges gathers vineyards, cideries, distilleries, microbreweries and cheesemakers under one site, with tasting coupons and a festival glass built into the ticket packages. The 2026 edition runs September 5 to 7 and 12 to 13, so only the second weekend is still ahead.
3. Roots, Rants and Roars, Newfoundland and Labrador
Elliston is tiny, and it puts on one of the best food weekends in the country. Roots, Rants and Roars returns September 17 to 19 alongside The Hike, a coastal walk punctuated by pop-up kitchens and Newfoundland beer, and The Feast, an eight-course dinner served under tents in the open air. Food Network’s Duff Goldman works an outdoor kitchen along the hike route this year, and Noah Cappe hosts. Book flights into St. John’s and drive the Bonavista Peninsula. See Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism for routing.
4. Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival, Alberta
Alberta’s harvest showcase is an indoor one, and none the worse for it. The Calgary edition of the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival takes over Spruce Meadows on September 18 and 19, with hundreds of wines, spirits and beers poured alongside plates from local restaurants. Clients who miss it get a second chance in November, when the Edmonton edition runs November 6 and 7 at the Edmonton Convention Centre. Pair either with a Banff or Jasper stay through Travel Alberta.
5. Harvest Moon Festival, Manitoba
Two and a half hours southwest of Winnipeg, the village of Clearwater hosts the Harvest Moon Festival from September 18 to 20, marking its 25th year. Three stages, campfire jams and a farm-town setting make it the least corporate entry on this list, and proceeds support the Harvest Moon Society, a charity working on regenerative agriculture and sustainable food systems. Worth flagging early for 2027 clients: this year’s tickets are already sold out.
6. Fall Flavours, Prince Edward Island
PEI stretches harvest across nearly three weeks. Fall Flavours runs September 24 to October 10 with a programme built on the Island’s signature catch and crops: lobster, mussels, oysters and beef. Signature events include a chef’s table at Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort, a lobster party at the New London Carriage House, and dinners at Dalvay by the Sea and The Great George. It is the easiest festival here to build a multi-night package around; Tourism PEI lists the full schedule.
7. Fall Okanagan Wine Festival, British Columbia
The Okanagan Valley’s harvest festival runs late September into early October, with tastings, winemaker dinners and vineyard tours hosted by wineries and restaurants the length of the valley. Okanagan Wine Festivals Society posts the event roster, which extends well beyond the core dates into late October, so shoulder-season clients still have options. Tourism Kelowna lists the festival as September 25 to October 4 and is the better source for Kelowna-based itineraries.
8. Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, Ontario
Canada’s greatest Bavarian festival is also, functionally, a harvest festival, and it is enormous. Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest runs September 25 to October 17, with five German club festhallen, the official keg tapping on October 9 and Willkommen Platz, a free outdoor Bavarian village in downtown Kitchener from October 9 to 11. The Thanksgiving Day Parade rolls along Weber Street at 9:30 a.m. on October 12. Rooms in Waterloo Region go early.
9. Devour! The Food Film Fest, Nova Scotia
In the Annapolis Valley, Devour! The Food Film Fest takes over Wolfville from October 19 to 25 with 50 films and 63 events, themed this year as Devour! The Sea. The opening gala screens Bucks Harbor, and the programme includes a bluefin tuna workshop with Michelin-starred chef Joël Watanabe, a Chowder Smackdown, the Lobster Fais Do Do and the Golden Tines Awards Brunch. Guest chefs include Ned Bell and Ethan Angnatok. Tourism Nova Scotia has regional stay options.