By Chloe Teixeira, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Another festival made its Burlington debut at Spencer Smith Park this past weekend. Titled “Burlington Waterfront Festival,” the three-day event ran from July 17–19 and included live music from performers based in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), food trucks, vendors, and games.
More than 20 food vendors were on site serving traditional carnival snacks, sweet treats, and more substantial meals, including burgers. Icee, Tornado Fries, and Greek G.O.A.T. were just a few of the vendors present.
Over 20 marketplace vendors lined the grounds of the park, selling clothing, jewelry, toys, and more. Freak Parade was one of these vendors, familiar from previous events in Burlington.
The new festival was in support of Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, the official charitable partner for the event; while entry was free, voluntary donations were being accepted at the entrance gates.
Despite air quality conditions over the past week that persisted into the weekend, many people attended the festival over its three-day course. The event started at 5 p.m. on its first day, and at 12 p.m. on the last two days.
On opening day, attendance appeared lower during the first few hours amid hazy skies. On the festival’s final day, attendance seemed to increase in the evening. Even as the event closed at 9 p.m., many people were still trying to get past the single set of entrance gates.
The live performances were scheduled throughout the festival, with gaps of two to three hours between sets.
Visitors had mixed experiences at the event and its performances, some sharing their thoughts on Reddit. One user wrote, “Could have definitely used more back-to-back bands or entertainment,” while others wrote about enjoying the cover bands and having an event to take their children to.
Erin, a festival attendee who wished to be identified only by her first name, also noticed the child-friendliness of the event. “As someone who’s twenty years old, I wouldn’t come to this willingly if I knew what it was like.”
She also mentioned struggling to find parking downtown, saying she felt the event wasn’t worth the drive.
Erin said the festival could have been better with more recognizable food vendors such as Beaver Tails, along with more things to do that weren’t geared towards children.
She recalled memories of previous festivals she has attended in the city, describing large crowds of people and feeling “a sense of community.”
“It just doesn’t feel like the festivals…that used to be in Burlington.”
Roadshow Events, the organizer of the Burlington Waterfront Festival, is an Ontario-based company that produces festivals and events. Their website states that they have been producing “Canada’s largest festivals and events for over 4 decades.”
Despite the company’s 40-year run of organizing events across the province, this appears to be the first time they have held an event in Burlington.
When Kim Ingram, Burlington’s senior manager of cultural services, was asked about why this festival was happening now for the first time, in a year that saw the Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival replace the long-running Sound of Music Festival, she responded in an email statement: “Through the City’s event permitting process, organizers are encouraged to bring forward new event ideas that align with community interests and our event selection criteria in our Festival & Event Policy.”
During the engagement process for Burlington’s Culture Plan last year, Ingram wrote that residents told the city that live music is one of “the key ways they like to experience culture.”
Ingram also wrote the festival “aims to provide a free family-friendly weekend,” and “[e]vents like this contribute to a vibrant community, create opportunities for residents to gather, and attract visitors who support local businesses.”
In terms of what the city expects from the event, Ingram said they hoped to see “strong community participation” and “opportunities for residents and visitors to gather and connect.”
She noted the “important role” that festivals and events play in “enhancing quality of life by bringing people together, creating shared experiences, and celebrating the arts and culture that make Burlington a vibrant community.”
Despite mixed feelings regarding this new Burlington Waterfront Festival, people attended and expressed their appreciation on Reddit. One user wrote, “It was a small local festival and I super appreciated what they had to offer for what it was.”
Another topic of discussion on Reddit was promotion of the event. Many users wrote about not knowing the festival was happening, or finding out last minute.
Various users wrote about their different experiences with discovering the festival: one received targeted social media ads, another stumbled upon it while going for a walk, and one attendee noticed the tents while driving over the Burlington Skyway Bridge on Friday.
Another user mentioned they did not see the Burlington Waterfront Festival listed on the city’s event calendar online, but found out about it through a flyer sent in the mail.
Ingram was also asked about how this new festival differs from Lakeshore Music and Arts Festival, which ran on Father’s Day weekend in June, and its predecessor, the Sound of Music Festival (SOM). Her response included information about the events being categorized differently under the city’s Festival and Event Policy.
In her email response, Ingram said that the Burlington Waterfront Festival is categorized as a “community event,” while Lakeshore Music and Arts and SOM are categorized as “signature events.”
“Each event offers a unique experience for residents and visitors.”
Under the city’s Festival and Event Policy, community events typically attract between 250 and 4,000 attendees and have limited impacts on municipal services, while signature events attract 20,000 or more visitors and are considered major annual attractions that generate significant economic activity and “moderate to high disruption of municipal services.”
It is currently unclear if the Burlington Waterfront Festival will be a recurring or one-time community event.
Last month, Get Involved Burlington, the city’s online portal allowing people to contribute their feedback on projects and initiatives, published information about their Festivals and Events Strategy project.
Ingram stated that this project is in its engagement phase, and feedback gathered throughout this phase will “help shape the future direction of festivals and events in Burlington.”
Individuals can take the Burlington Festivals and Events Community Survey, as it states the city is gathering feedback throughout the 2026 summer festival and event season.
