Ottawa Has 3 Festivals Happening This Weekend June 5–7, 2026

🍖 BBQ & Ribs 📅 Jun 5–7, 2026 📍 RA Centre, Ottawa 🅾 Free Admission 👦 Kids Friendly 🎉 10th Anniversary

Capital Ribfest 2026 — The Big Sticky Turns 10

Three days, a dozen championship BBQ rigs, live music every night, a full carnival, and free entry. The RA Centre on Riverside Drive is going to smell incredible all weekend.

🎵 Music Lineup Official Site → 📍 Get Directions

This is the 10th edition of Capital Ribfest — which is kind of a big deal for a festival that started as a scrappy local BBQ gathering and has grown into one of Ottawa’s most anticipated early-summer events. The move to the RA Centre gives the festival more room to breathe: a proper stage, a sprawling carnival, a dedicated Kids Fun Zone, beer gardens, a Bevvy Bar, and a market village alongside the ribbers themselves.

The ribbers are touring pros who travel the competition circuit with their custom smokers — these aren’t your backyard ribs. Low and slow, deeply smoked, slathered in sauce. You grab a rack, find a picnic table, and make a mess. That’s the whole point.

🏆 Championship Ribbers 🎵 Live Music Daily 🇻 Carnival & Games 🍺 Beer Gardens 🫘 20+ Poutines 👦 Kids Fun Zone

💡 Entry is free — you only pay for food and drinks. Bring some cash; ribfests are still pretty cash-friendly, though most vendors take cards too. Hours: Fri–Sat 11am–10pm, Sun 11am–8pm (confirm on site).

🇧🇷 Brazilian Culture 📅 Sat Jun 6 Only 📍 ByWard Market, Ottawa 🅾 100% Free 👦 Family-Friendly

Saravah Brazilian Festival — Third Edition

One Saturday, 9.5 hours of samba, capoeira, forró, live bands, dance classes, and Brazilian food — all free, right beside the Ottawa Sign in ByWard Market.

🎫 Event Details Official Site → 📍 Get Directions

Saravah is now in its third year, and it’s quietly become one of the best free events on Ottawa’s summer calendar. The formula is simple and it works: take a gorgeous open plaza in the heart of the market, fill it with Brazilian music and dance from 11:30am to 9pm, and let anyone walk in for free. No wristbands, no VIP sections — just a full day of culture, open to everyone.

The dance workshops are genuinely inclusive — Zouk and Forró classes are made for first-timers, so don’t let not knowing how to dance stop you. The street performances alone are worth the trip: Capoeira Dendê do Recife, Samba Ottawa, Maracatuque, and brand-new performances from Boi D’u-Tal-É.

🎵 Live Samba & Bossa Nova 💃 Forró & Zouk Classes 🥊 Capoeira 🍕 Brazilian Food 🆕 DJ Sets

💡 Saturday has a 75% chance of rain — check the weather and pack a poncho. The festival runs rain or shine. Bring cash for the food vendors.

🥣 Food Festival 📅 Sun Jun 7 Only 📍 ByWard Market, Ottawa 🅾 Free Admission 👦 Family-Friendly 🏆 World Record Attempt

Shawarma Festival Ottawa 2026 — World Record on the Menu

Ottawa is the self-proclaimed Shawarma Capital of Canada. On Sunday, ByWard Market puts that title to work with a full-day festival featuring local vendors, a best shawarma competition, live DJs — and a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest shawarma ever made.

🍕 Event Details Official Site → 📍 Get Directions

If you live in Ottawa, you have an opinion about shawarma. You have a favourite spot, you know which garlic sauce is best, and you’ve probably debated the wrap-vs-plate question more than once. This festival is made for people exactly like you — and also for anyone who just wants to eat very well while wandering through ByWard Market on a Sunday.

Organized by Giza Entertainment, the day runs from 11am to 7pm with free entry. You’ll find local shawarma vendors going head-to-head in a best shawarma competition, Middle Eastern street food all around, live DJs, and cultural performances. And then there’s the world record attempt — because why celebrate being the shawarma capital without trying to make the longest one ever?

🥣 Shawarma from Multiple Vendors 🏆 Best Shawarma Competition 🆕 Live DJs All Day 🎺 Cultural Performances 🏛️ Middle Eastern Delicacies

💡 Hours: 11am–7pm Sunday. Come hungry and let yourself graze — this is a food crawl more than a sit-down event. Admission is free; you only pay for what you eat.