Cape Breton Island 
When the leaves start changing colours in the fall, there is a multitude of fun to be had in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia.
Photo Credit: Celtic Colours International Festival
From live entertainment to food festivals, there is an event that everyone will enjoy this fall. Check out all the festivals and other events listed below to make some amazing memories with your family and friends this fall.
Hike the Highlands Festival
Celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the Hike the Highlands festival, a renowned event drawing hikers from North America and Europe to explore the stunning Cape Breton Highlands. Immerse yourself in a rich itinerary of guided daytime hikes ranging from easy to challenging trails, featuring breathtaking locales such as Broad Cove Mountain, Mica Hill, and Cape St. Lawrence. Each day is crowned with entertaining evening activities including opening and closing ceremonies, BBQ, bonfire, and informative presentations. Experience the majestic landscapes of the Highlands and join in the shared spirit of adventure, camaraderie, and appreciation for nature in this ten-day hiking festival.
Details
September 12-18, 2026
Cabot Trail, Ingonish
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Atlantic International Film Festival
The Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) is an eight-day celebration of cinema from all over the world featuring over 100 film screenings and events, including Q&As, receptions, panels, and industry events. AIFF celebrates new and established filmmaking voices from Atlantic Canada and around the world, helping audiences discover new artists, uncover new perspectives and better understand the world through the medium of cinema.
Details
September 16-23, 2026
1892 Hollis St, Halifax
Antigonight: Art After Dark Festival
Antigonight Arts After Dark Festival returns to downtown Antigonish on September 19, 2026, offering a free, accessible, family-friendly evening of public art, performances, installations, and interactive activities. The 2026 theme, “Turning Tides,” invites artists and visitors to imagine a better future, with a lineup focused heavily on local artists and community participation.
Details
September 19, 2026
Antigonish
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Windsor Garlic Fest
Spend a fun day enjoying all things ‘Garlic’ at the new location for the Avondale Garlic Fest – now called Windsor Garlic Fest! Come for the garlic-related products and delectable foods, the cooking demonstrations, and the garlic eating contest. There will also be a wide assortment of fine art, a wine tasting, and awesome local live music! There’s something for every Garlic lover at this fantastic festival!
Details
September 12, 2026
Downtown Windsor, on Gerrish Street from Gray to Water Streets
Cabot Trail Writers Festival
Join the lively and intimate Cabot Trail Writers Festival for a three-day celebration this fall. Here, readers and authors forge unique connections through immersive experiences including readings, workshops, and panel discussions, enriched with the vibrant local culture of music and storytelling. The festival is renowned for its heartfelt and unpretentious atmosphere where laughter, music, and deep conversations flow naturally, creating an unmatched literary event steeped in the rich Cape Breton tradition of welcoming everyone as a friend.
Details
October 2 to 4, 2026
Gaelic College, St. Ann’s Bay
Lumière Arts Festival
The Lumière Arts Festival offers a rich program of public installations, art presentations, films, and panel discussions. This free contemporary arts festival culminates in the vibrant Art-at-Night event, bringing together art enthusiasts to celebrate contemporary art and culture.
Details
September 26, 2026
Sydney
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Antigonish Film Festival
The Antigonish Film Festival makes its debut on September 25 and 26, 2026, created through a partnership between Antigonight Art After Dark Festival and the Antigonish Film Connection. The free two-day festival celebrates filmmaking from Antigonish and across Atlantic Canada.
On Friday, September 25, the Short Film Showcase at Immaculata Hall will feature a diverse selection of locally and regionally made films. On Saturday, September 26, the Atlantic Spotlight at the Schwartz Auditorium will present two films by professional Atlantic Canadian filmmakers.
Details
September 25-26, 2026
St. Francis Xavier University campus, Antigonish
Canadian Deep Roots Music Festival
The Deep Roots Music Festival celebrates its 20th edition from September 24 to 27, 2026. The festival opens with Matt Andersen headlining the Thursday “Raise the Roof” show and continues with Main Stage concerts, participatory workshops, a community dance, Sunday’s Rise Up Singing, and a Saturday parade leading to free family entertainment at Waterfront Park.
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September 24 to 27, 2026
Wolfville
The Mahone Bay Scarecrow Festival and Antique Fair
The annual Mahone Bay Scarecrow Festival and Antique Fair promises a weekend of family fun in Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Visitors can marvel at over 250 handmade, life-sized scarecrows, including those resembling celebrities and royalty. The festival, attended by thousands yearly, offers a rich program featuring the Maritimes’ largest antique show, a vintage market, contests, and various children’s activities.
Details
September 25 – October 12, 2026
Main St., Mahone Bay
Prismatic Arts Festival
Celebrate the innovative work of Indigenous artists from across Canada at this national, multidisciplinary arts festival. Each fall, Halifax theatres showcase these boundary-pushing new works in theatre, dance, music, film, visual arts, media arts, and spoken word work.
Details
September 26 – October 4, 2026
Barrington Street, Halifax
Parrsboro Film Festival
The Annual Parrsboro Film Festival showcases local short films over three days. Over the weekend, there will be several films showcased and workshops for people to attend.
Details
October 2 to 4, 2026
44 King Street, Parrsboro
Windsor Pumpkin Regatta and Build Your Own Boat Race
Head to the Windsor waterfront for the famous Pumpkin Regatta, where racers cross Lake Pisiquid in giant carved-out pumpkins. Festivities begin with a community parade around 10:00 a.m., followed by people-powered, motorized and creative pumpkin races. First held in 1999, this quirky Windsor tradition is recognized as the world’s first organized pumpkin boat race and fall celebration.
Details
October 4, 2026
Lake Pisiquid, Windsor
Nova Scotia Giant Pumpkin Festival & Regatta
Enjoy giant pumpkin weigh-ins, carving, local vendors, family activities and plenty of seasonal fun. The highlight is the unforgettable regatta, where paddlers race across Shelburne Harbour in decorated, hollowed-out giant pumpkins as spectators cheer from shore along the waterfront.
Details
October 9 & 10, 2026
Dock Street, Shelburne
Nova Scotia Forest Festival
Break out your plaid and flannel shirts and head to Memory Lane Heritage Village to experience Nova Scotia’s historic forestry industry. Test your skills at axe throwing, watch horse logging, and enjoy a traditional lumberjack meal.
Details
October 3, 2026
5435 Clam Harbour Road Lake Charlotte
RiverBreeze Fear Farm
When the sun sets, horrifying monsters and ghouls enter the RiverBreeze corn maze. Do you dare to enter the mazes and the haunted houses after dark to find out what goes bump in the night?
Details
October
660 Onslow Road, Truro
Celtic Colours International Festival
The Celtic Colours International Festival brings Cape Breton Island to life each October with nine days of music, dance, art, and culture. This is one of Canada’s premiere musical events and is a ‘must attend’ event for music lovers.
Featuring world-class concerts, community events, outdoor adventures, and heritage crafts, it offers something for everyone. Highlights include the late-night Festival Club, local meals, and breathtaking autumn scenery across the island’s communities, lakes, and trails.
Details
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October 9 – 17, 2026
Across Cape Breton
Kentville Pumpkin People Festival
Over 300 pumpkin people around Kentville will be dressed like animals and zoo keepers. Download the Pumpkin Person Map to make sure that you don’t miss any of the displays around town.
Details
October 3 – 25, 2026
Kentville
South Haven Weavers’ Fibre Festival
South Haven Weavers’ Fibre Festival is a show and sale by the South Haven guild of weavers, spinners. Shop from a curated selection of handcrafted textiles for the discerning buyer. You can join for 3-hour workshops on techniques such as locked hooking, lace knitting, and needle felting. Don’t miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of fine textile craftsmanship.
Details
October 10 – 13, 2026
490 Chebucto Street, Baddeck
Nocturne: Art at Night Festival
Every October, Halifax becomes the place for great art and theatre. Nocturne: Art at Night Festival is an independent, free, contemporary art festival that showcases and celebrates the visual arts scene in Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia.
Details
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October 15 –18, 2026
Halifax
Horton Harvest Craft Fair
The Horton Harvest Craft Fair kicks off the craft fair season in the Annapolis Valley. Crafters and artisans from across Nova Scotia bring a vast array of amazing creations for attendees to peruse.
Details
October 17, 2026, from 9 am – 3 pm
75 Greenwich Road South, Wolfville
Huckle Buckle Festival
Celebrate Fall at the Annual Huckle Buckle Festival. Across Ingonish, there will be lots of autumn fun. There will be guided Hikes, fabulous food, children’s activities, pumpkins, scarecrows, and ceilidhs.
Details
October 17 & 18, 2026
Ingonish
ReJigged Festival
Inviting music aficionados, dance enthusiasts, and curious minds alike, the festival which promotes Celtic music and dance, offers a rich tapestry of musical exploration and vibrant artistic expression. Join the celebration to immerse yourself in a unique cultural experience steeped in heritage and propelled by contemporary dynamism.
ReJigged Festival
October 22 to 25, 2026
St. Andrew’s Church, 6036 Coburg Rd
Halifax
Memory Lane Fibre Arts Festival
Celebrate the fibre arts in a festive gathering featuring a selection of vendors from across the Maritime region, hosted in heritage buildings. Aside from shopping, attendees have the opportunity to learn, find inspiration, and work on their personal projects in a designated space in the Clam Factory.
Details
October 17, 2026
Memory Lane Heritage Village, 5435 Clam Harbour Rd, Lake Charlotte
Devour! The Food Film Fest
Wolfville is the place to be during the World’s Largest Culinary Film Festival. During Devour! This year’s theme, “Devour! The Sea,” focuses on seafood, coastal communities, sustainability, and the cultural connections created through food and the ocean.
The week-long festival features 50 films and more than 60 events, including chef dinners, culinary workshops, seaside foraging tours, tastings, galas, live entertainment, and discussions with chefs, fishers, scientists, filmmakers, and Indigenous leaders. New highlights include a seafood night market and programming exploring ocean stewardship, aquaculture, climate change, and the future of coastal communities.
Details
Devour! The Food Film Fest
October 19 to 25, 2026
Wolfville
Nova Scotia Music Week
2026 is the 29th anniversary of Nova Scotia Music Week. Music lovers and artists from across Nova Scotia and the world come together to experience the best Nova Scotia talent.
Over four days every fall, Music Nova Scotia curates a packed schedule featuring workshops, networking events, more than 100 live music showcases, an international and domestic buyers program, and the MNS Music and Industry Awards.
Details
Nova Scotia Music Week
November 12 – 15, 2026
Yarmouth
Antigonish Jazz Festival
Experience three exhilarating days of music showcasing jazz alongside blues, soul, funk, roots, Celtic, and Indigenous music, presented in intimate venues such as restaurants, community spaces, and larger stages. The 2026 headliners include Bicoastal Collective, Morgan Toney, and CHANDRA, complemented by daytime performances, buskers, local and regional musicians, and late-night jam sessions.
Details
November 5 – 7, 2026
Antigonish
