Guild Festival Theatre Family Fest 2026: A Weekend Built for Young Audiences
Three free days of theatre, storytelling, music, and dance in a Scarborough garden
Dates
Jul 10–12
Cost
Free
Where
Scarborough, ON
Ages
All Ages
The Three Musketeers anchors every evening at the open-air Greek Theatre, while daytime brings storytellers, dancers, musicians, and hands-on workshops from a wildly multicultural lineup — all completely free.
🆓 Free admission
👨👩👧 Family friendly
🎭 Nightly theatre
🎨 Hands-on workshops
💡 Everything’s free, but seats for The Three Musketeers are general admission — registering ahead online is the safest way to guarantee you get in.
✨ Why Family Fest Is Worth a Weekend in Guild Park
Now in its fifth summer, Family Fest is Guild Festival Theatre’s love letter to young audiences — and it happens in one of the most unusual settings in the city. The Greek Theatre is an open-air stage built from salvaged marble columns and arches of a demolished 1913 bank building, tucked into the sculpture gardens of Guild Park on the Scarborough Bluffs.
This year’s theme leans hard into international and multicultural storytelling. Across the weekend you’ll find African drumming and dance, Métis fiddle and song, Indian dance-and-story performances, Japanese-inspired tales, hula hoop play, typewriter poetry, and more — all woven around a central thread of theatre, music, and literacy activities built for kids from toddlers right up through teens.
Anchoring it all is The Three Musketeers, performed nightly by The Lakeside Players, with a different guest pre-show act each evening. It’s the kind of weekend where you can wander in for one show or plant yourselves in the park for all three days.
🎭 Full Festival Schedule
Most performances happen right at the Greek Theatre, with workshops and drop-in activities running nearby in the Family Fest Village.
Friday, July 10
5:30 — Jay9 Dance Centre (pre-show, Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
Saturday, July 11
1:00 — Spirit of Africa (Greek Theatre)
1:00–5:00 — Hula Hoop Fun Zone & Field of Butterflies (Family Fest Village)
2:15 — Spirit of Africa Workshop with Lesley Waldron (Family Fest Village)
2:30 — Rubena Sinha Storytelling (Greek Theatre)
3:45 — Rubena Sinha Workshop (Family Fest Village)
4:00 — Diana Tso (Greek Theatre)
5:15 — Diana Tso Workshop (Family Fest Village)
5:30 — Jay9 Dance Centre (pre-show, Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
1:00–5:00 — Hula Hoop Fun Zone & Field of Butterflies (Family Fest Village)
2:15 — Spirit of Africa Workshop with Lesley Waldron (Family Fest Village)
2:30 — Rubena Sinha Storytelling (Greek Theatre)
3:45 — Rubena Sinha Workshop (Family Fest Village)
4:00 — Diana Tso (Greek Theatre)
5:15 — Diana Tso Workshop (Family Fest Village)
5:30 — Jay9 Dance Centre (pre-show, Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
Sunday, July 12
12:30 — Scarborough Uke Jam (Greek Theatre)
1:45 — un supervised (Greek Theatre)
2:30 — un supervised Workshop (Family Fest Village)
2:30 — Hi Blue Butterfly: Storytelling & Music (Greek Theatre)
3:00–6:00 — Poesy Typewriter Poetry (Family Fest Village)
3:45 — Hi Blue Butterfly Workshop (Family Fest Village)
4:00 — Mâmawin’towin: A Métis Kitchen Party (Greek Theatre)
5:30 — Jay9 Dance Centre (pre-show, Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
1:45 — un supervised (Greek Theatre)
2:30 — un supervised Workshop (Family Fest Village)
2:30 — Hi Blue Butterfly: Storytelling & Music (Greek Theatre)
3:00–6:00 — Poesy Typewriter Poetry (Family Fest Village)
3:45 — Hi Blue Butterfly Workshop (Family Fest Village)
4:00 — Mâmawin’towin: A Métis Kitchen Party (Greek Theatre)
5:30 — Jay9 Dance Centre (pre-show, Greek Theatre)
6:00 — The Three Musketeers (Greek Theatre)
⚔️ The Three Musketeers — Family Fest’s Anchor Show
Performed by The Lakeside Players, this is Family Fest’s headlining production — young d’Artagnan teams up with the legendary Musketeers to outwit Cardinal Richelieu and the dangerous Milady de Winter, in a swashbuckling tale of friendship and daring heroics performed every night at 6 PM.
Tickets are free, but advance registration is recommended since seating is general admission and capacity is limited.
🎟 Register for The Three Musketeers
🍦 Food Vendors & Community Booths
A small lineup of food trucks and community organizations sets up throughout the weekend alongside the Family Fest Village activities.
Juicy Empanadas
Liv’s Ice Cream
Andrea Hazell
Jay9 Dance Centre
Theatricks
📋 The Essentials
Seating
The theatre provides folding and plastic chairs at no extra cost. You’re welcome to bring your own if you’d be more comfortable — it’s general admission with no assigned seats.
Pets
Not permitted in the performance space or gardens, aside from trained service animals.
Photos & Video
Free to take pictures of the park and your group before and after a show, but photos and video aren’t permitted once a performance begins.
Washrooms
A public washroom trailer is on site, a short walk from the theatre and reached via a few steps.
Best For
Families with young kids · multicultural arts fans · anyone who loves theatre in a garden setting
🚗 Getting There & Parking
The Greek Theatre sits inside Guild Park & Gardens, perched on the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario.
By transit: From Kennedy subway station, take the 116 or 116A eastbound bus to the “Guild Inn” stop on Guildwood Parkway, then enter through the park gate.
By car: Free parking is available on site, though it can fill up during busy festival hours.
📍 Get Directions to Guild Park & Gardens
❓ Common Questions
Details may change — always confirm on the official Guild Festival Theatre website before heading out.
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