MarketAug
Kempenfest
Barrie's waterfront turns into a mile and a half of arts, crafts and midway rides every long weekend in early August.
When
2026: July 31 – August 3, 2026
2025: August 1–4, 2025
Where
Centennial Park
Area
Waterfront, Barrie
Cost
Mostly Free · Free general admission; evening beer garden concerts ticketed separately
Format
outdoor
Attendance
100K+ visitors
Running Since
1972 (54 years)
Family Friendly
Yes
VT Insider Tip
Take the GO train directly to Allandale Waterfront GO Station rather than driving — it's a short walk from the festival grounds and avoids the parking congestion that builds up around Centennial Park on peak days.
About
Kempenfest has run along Barrie's Kempenfelt Bay waterfront for over five decades, spreading roughly 300 arts and craft vendors, 30 food vendors, a midway with more than 30 rides, an antique market, and multiple music stages across Centennial Park. It's free to walk through, draws an estimated 100,000 people over its four days, and remains one of the more genuinely easy day trips on this list thanks to a GO train station that drops you almost at the gate.
What to Expect
A long, walkable waterfront festival strip mixing craft and antique vendors, food stalls, a full midway, and three music stages, with evening headliner concerts at the ticketed Rotary Beer Gardens on the OLG MainStage.
Pro Tips
General admission is free but the evening beer garden concerts require separate tickets — buy those ahead if there's a headliner you want to see. The daytime vendor market skews family-friendly; the evening beer garden skews adult.
Getting There
GO Transit Barrie line direct to Allandale Waterfront GO Station, about 1 hour 45 minutes from Union Station and a short walk to the festival grounds. Driving via Highway 400 takes about an hour.