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Taste delicious butter tarts at Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival on June 13th.
Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival
This festival is Canada’s largest butter tart festival and takes place in the county home to the first known printed butter tart recipe.
What to see & do:
- You can discover unique flavours of crunchy tarts as the Butter Tart Festival will host a large variety of tart vendors. They have tarts for everyone! These include plain tarts and those with nuts, such as pecans and walnuts. They also have many options for those with a sweet tooth, such as maple, chocolate-covered, PB&J, and s’mores tarts. Other flavours include coconut, bacon, and cheesecake. There are gluten-free, vegan and nut-free options also available.
- The highlight of the festival is the Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest, where professional and amateur bakers compete for the title of Best Butter Tart in Ontario. With categories like Traditional and Wild Style, the contest brings out the creativity and passion of butter tart enthusiasts. Expert judges, including celebrities, chefs, and food bloggers, have the delightful task of determining the winners. When you visit the contest hall located at Midland Cultural Centre, you can taste some of these contest entries for free.
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- Purchase contest butter tarts at $15 per six-pack, limited to two packs per customer, and sold at set times outside Scotiabank during the festival.
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Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival
- There will be around 200 vendors and food trucks in the downtown core and waterfront parks. These vendors will be on King Street, David Onley, and Harbourside Parks. You can also buy handmade items from them along with your tarts.
- Throughout the day, visitors can enjoy live musical performances at the Entertainment Stage, featuring local talent such as Jamileh, Rebekah Stevens, Andy Colonico, Joshua Sheppard, ASD Band, and The High Road. The Entertainment Stage runs from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- Families can head to the Kids Zone in Harbourside Park for exciting activities designed to entertain the little ones.
To make your festival experience even more convenient, free shuttle services are available from designated parking areas, ensuring hassle-free transportation. There is also free parking in downtown municipal lots and on side streets. Cyclists can take advantage of the free bike valet service provided by Cycle Simcoe.
Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival – Trip Planning
Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival
What: Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival in downtown Midland offers a butter tart lover’s paradise with 200 vendors and food trucks.
Sample a variety of butter tart flavours, enjoy live music, and explore unique handcrafted items. The festival features the Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest, where professional and amateur bakers compete for the title of Best Butter Tart in Ontario.
Don’t miss this sweet and delicious event!
More fun things to do in Midland
When:
Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9 AM to 5 PM
Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest Rotary Hall: 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Where:
Midland’s downtown core between Yonge Street and Bayshore Drive and in David Onley and Harbourside parks.
The contest takes place at the Midland Cultural Centre, 333 King Street, Midland.
Parking & Shuttle
There are information booths at King Street, Hugel Street, and David Onley Park, where you can get a festival map.
Free parking is available at municipal parking lots around the downtown core and parking along side streets except parking lots at the Harbour on Saturdays. Accessible and expectant mothers’ parking is available at the municipal parking lot at Midland Avenue and Bayshore Drive.
Shuttle:
To avoid the inconvenience of downtown parking, consider using the complimentary shuttle service. Pickup from:
- 1000 Wye Valley Road, Midland, at Storage 4 All
- 925 Hugel Avenue, Midland, at Georgian Bay District Secondary School
Shuttles depart at 8:45 a.m. and continue running until the final shuttle leaves downtown Midland at 5:30 p.m.
Midland Transit will operate at no cost to riders.
