🎉 Pelham Summerfest
📅 July 16 – 19, 2026
📍 Downtown Fonthill, Pelham
🅾 Free Admission
👫 Family Friendly
Pelham Summerfest 2026
Once a year, downtown Fonthill shuts its streets to traffic and opens them up to everything else: live bands on a main stage, a street lined with food trucks, kids tearing around bounce castles, and a few hundred classic cars parked nose to tail around the square. That’s Pelham Summerfest, running Thursday, July 16 to Sunday, July 19, 2026 — thirteen years in and still entirely free to walk through.
Each day has its own personality. Thursday is the laid-back opener at Peace Park. Friday turns into a full country night. Saturday is the big one — ten hours of street festival with nine bands back to back. Sunday slows things down with a car show and a quiet morning in the park. However you spread your weekend across it, you’re not paying a dime to get in.
🎤 Live music, 4 nights
🚗 Classic car show
🏆 Pelham Street Games
🎐 Kids zone
🍕 40+ food & artisan vendors
🚍 Free shuttle service
💡 All four days are free to attend. The only thing that costs money on-site is entering the Sunday car show, which is $10 per car, paid the day of.
✨ Why This Festival Is Worth Your Time
Pelham Summerfest started small — a single day in 2011 to celebrate the new streetscaping in downtown Fonthill and give the town’s pedestrian-friendly core a reason to fill up. It’s since grown into a four-day event, and 2026 marks its 13th year running.
What makes it stand out isn’t scale — it’s that a town of this size pulls off four genuinely different days without it feeling thin. Thursday is a mellow farmers-market-meets-live-music evening. Friday goes full country with line dancing in the street. Saturday is the marathon day, nine acts deep on the main stage. Sunday brings out a few hundred classic cars and calls it a morning.
And it’s all free. No gate, no wristband, no ticket tiers — just a downtown that closes its streets and asks you to show up.
📅 The 2026 Schedule
Four days, four distinct vibes, all centered on Pelham Town Square and Peace Park in downtown Fonthill.
Thu · July 16 — The Opener — 4:00–10:00pm
Peace Park: Farmers Market, Supper Market & Live Music
The slow-build kickoff. Browse the Pelham Farmers Market, grab dinner from the Supper Market vendors, and settle in for live sets from Craig McNair (5:30–6:45pm) and The Traveling Milburys (7:00–9:00pm). A good low-key way to start the weekend.
Fri · July 17 — Country Night — 4:00–11:00pm
Five Acts, Line Dancing & the Main Stage
The street goes country for the night. Kendra Gabrielle opens at 4:30pm, followed by Nidhi Line Dancing getting the crowd moving at 5:30pm, then Evermile, Country Junkies, and a closing set from 4 Ounce Pour running the stage until 11pm. Pelham Street’s restaurants — Gelato Village and Kame & Kettle — stay open alongside the food vendor row.
Sat · July 18 — Street Festival — 10:00am–Midnight
The Big Day: Nine Bands, Street Games & the Full Vendor Lineup
This is the marathon. Main stage runs from Copper & Iron at 10:30am through to The Chimps closing out at midnight, with Smudge Fundaes, Craig McNair, JAMMR, Back in the Daze, Figure Four, Mage, and The Madhatters filling the hours between. The Kids Zone and Pelham Street Games both run all day alongside it.
Also on Saturday: Pelham Street Games, 10:00am–9:00pm, on Pelham St between College St and Churchill St — life-size versions of cornhole, Jenga, and arena ball.
Sun · July 19 — Sunday in the Park — 9:00am–4:00pm
Car Show & Closing Day in the Park
A quieter close to the weekend. Jimmy’s Juke Joint plays the full day (9:00am–4:00pm) while the car show fills the square outside — see the dedicated section below for details. Food and artisan vendors wind down by 4pm.
🎐 Kids Zone
Running Saturday and Sunday, the Kids Zone is its own little world of bouncy castles, magic, and reptiles. Genuinely one of the better free kids’ setups you’ll find at an Ontario summer festival.
Saturday, July 18
Halaloo Balloon Twisting — 10am–2pm
Mad Science Funstations — 10am–5pm
Reptile Kingdom (show at 4pm) — 10am–5pm
Niagara Inflatables Bouncy Castles — 10am–5pm
Fonthill Music Academy — 12:30–2:45pm
Shaun Ferguson Stilt Walking — 12–4pm
Scoop McCoy Magic Show — 3–4pm
Mad Science Funstations — 10am–5pm
Reptile Kingdom (show at 4pm) — 10am–5pm
Niagara Inflatables Bouncy Castles — 10am–5pm
Fonthill Music Academy — 12:30–2:45pm
Shaun Ferguson Stilt Walking — 12–4pm
Scoop McCoy Magic Show — 3–4pm
Sunday, July 19
Halaloo Balloon Twisting — 10am–2pm
Reptile Kingdom — 10am–4pm
Niagara Inflatables Bouncy Castles — 9am–4pm
Shaun Ferguson Stilt Walking — 11am–3pm
Scoop McCoy Roaming Magic — 11:30am–1:30pm
Reptile Kingdom — 10am–4pm
Niagara Inflatables Bouncy Castles — 9am–4pm
Shaun Ferguson Stilt Walking — 11am–3pm
Scoop McCoy Roaming Magic — 11:30am–1:30pm
🚗 Classic Car Show — Sunday, July 19
From 9:00am to 4:00pm, Pelham Town Square fills with classics, customs, and the occasional exotic. No pre-registration needed — just show up the morning of and register on-site.
Entry Fee
$10 per car, paid on-site
Award Ceremony
2:00 PM
Spectating
Free — only entering a car costs anything
Live music, food vendors, and the Kids Zone all run alongside the car show Sunday, so it’s a full morning even if you’re just there to look.
🍕 Food, Drink & Artisan Vendors
The vendor lineup shifts a bit day to day, but expect 30–40+ food and artisan stalls across the weekend, plus Pelham Street’s own restaurants staying open for the crowds.
🍔 Food Highlights
Backroad BBQ Company · Chile & Agave Mexican Grill · Heist Burger · Oliver’s Butcher & Catering · Marble Slab Creamery · Donkey Kone Ice Cream · Shriner’s Creek Kettle Popcorn · The Buttertart Shack
🌹 Artisan & Retail
Bella Buddha Beads · Blush Organics · Happy Bees Honey · Niagara Face Painting · The Social Tea Co. · Windwick Farm Freeze Dried · Husky Hat Co.
🍴 On Pelham Street
Gelato Village and Kame & Kettle stay open through the festival for sit-down options off the vendor row.
📍 The Essentials
Festival Dates
July 16–19, 2026
Thursday through Sunday
Thursday through Sunday
Location
Pelham Town Square & Peace Park, downtown Fonthill
Admission
Free for all four days. Car show entry is $10/car.
Bathrooms
Town Hall, 20 Pelham Town Square (until 7pm), plus porta potties around the site
Pets
Not recommended — service animals only
Weather Policy
Rain or shine; only severe weather cancels
Drones
Not permitted anywhere on site
Best For
Families · car enthusiasts · live music fans · locals looking for a free weekend out
🚗 Getting There & Parking
Downtown Fonthill is compact, and parking right at the festival is genuinely tight. The organizers are upfront about this and have built a free shuttle system specifically to handle it.
Recommended: Park free at Meridian Community Centre, 100 Meridian Way — free all weekend, including overnight from July 16–19 — and ride the free shuttle in.
Shuttle hours: Thursday 4:00–9:30pm (Meridian Community Centre to Peace Park only) · Friday 3:30pm–midnight · Saturday 1:00pm–midnight. Two routes run Friday and Saturday: an in-town loop (Meridian Community Centre, Lookout Ridge, Fonthill United Church, Pelham Summerfest) and an extended ~45-minute loop covering Fenwick, Old Pelham Town Hall, Ridgeville Pumping Station, and Avondale.
Other event parking is available at Pelham Town Square and surrounding streets, plus St. Alexander’s Church (Saturday after 6pm, Sunday after noon) and St. Alexander’s School. A free bike valet is also on-site for anyone riding in.
📍 Get Directions to Pelham Town Square
💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go
🚍 Use the shuttle. Parking right downtown is limited on purpose. Park free at Meridian Community Centre and let the shuttle do the work, especially Friday and Saturday nights.
🔮 Leave the dog at home. Pets aren’t recommended on-site, aside from service animals. It’s a busy, food-heavy street festival — not the easiest environment for a pet anyway.
⛈️ Rain doesn’t cancel it. This one runs rain or shine, so dress for whatever the forecast throws at you.
👪 Bringing kids? Saturday and Sunday have the dedicated Kids Zone running — bouncy castles, a reptile show, and stilt walking. Saturday has the longer hours.
🚗 Entering the car show? No pre-registration — just show up Sunday morning with $10 and register on-site.
❓ Common Questions
Details may change — always confirm on the official Pelham Summerfest website before heading out.
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