Almonte Fibrefest 2026: 31 Years of the Fibre Arts

Two days, two venues, 80+ vendors celebrating Canadian fibre craft in downtown Almonte

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

One of the longest-running fibre arts festivals in Canada, hosted by the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum across two downtown Almonte venues, with guild demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and vendors selling everything from hand-dyed yarn to alpaca fleece.

👨‍👩‍👧 Kid-friendly 🧶 80+ vendors 🪡 Guild demonstrations 🎓 Hands-on workshops

💡 One $5 ticket covers both venues — the Museum and the John Levi Community Centre are about a five-minute walk apart in downtown Almonte.

Why Go Schedule Vendors & Demos Workshops Essentials Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why Fibrefest Is Worth Circling on Your Calendar

Almonte’s connection to textiles isn’t a marketing angle — it’s the town’s actual history. This stretch of the Mississippi River once powered a string of woolen mills, and the museum hosting Fibrefest today is itself a restored mill building. Thirty-one years in, the festival has grown into one of the longest-running and largest fibre arts events in Canada, and that history gives it a texture (pun very much intended) that a generic craft fair doesn’t have.

The scale is real too — last year’s festival drew over 3,000 visitors and 80-plus vendors from across Ontario and beyond, and organizers are expecting an even bigger turnout for 2026. What you’ll find spans the entire spectrum of fibre craft: hand-dyed yarn, spinning wheels, alpaca fleece straight from local farms, quilting supplies, finished garments, and one-of-a-kind art pieces, alongside quilt shops and small studio makers who don’t often set up outside their own regions.

What makes it more than a shopping trip is the demonstration and workshop layer built around the market. Local guilds spend the weekend actively spinning, weaving, rug-hooking, and lace-making right in front of you, and a separate slate of hands-on workshops lets you actually try a technique yourself rather than just watch. It’s the rare craft festival that rewards both a quick browse and a full weekend of engagement.

🗓 Weekend at a Glance

Both days follow the same basic rhythm — vendor market and guild demonstrations open at both venues, with Saturday running an extra hour.

🧶 Vendors, Guilds & Demonstrations

With 80+ vendors spread across two venues, there’s a genuinely wide range on offer, from raw fibre and dye supplies to finished, wearable art. Categories to expect include:

Hand-dyed yarn Alpaca & wool farms Quilt shops Spinning wheels & tools Felting supplies Finished textile art Weaving & basketry Local fibre guilds +70 more vendors

Long-time returning vendors are part of what gives Fibrefest its community feel — several exhibitors and volunteers have been part of the festival for close to its full 31-year run, and it’s not unusual to find the same beloved booth in the same corner year after year.

🧵 Local guilds run live demonstrations throughout both days — spinning, knitting, weaving, rug-hooking, lace-making, smocking, and quilting — a good chance to ask questions and see techniques up close before trying them yourself in a workshop.

🎓 Workshops

Beyond the market weekend itself, Fibrefest runs a broader slate of hands-on workshops in the days surrounding the festival, covering techniques like felting, rug-hooking, basketry, and Tunisian crochet, taught at both the Museum and the Community Centre.

Advance registration is required, and some workshops ask participants to bring their own supplies, so it’s worth checking the museum’s site and signing up early if a specific session interests you — popular workshops have a habit of filling up.

📋 Essentials

🚗 Getting There & Parking

Almonte sits in Mississippi Mills, about 30 km northwest of Ottawa’s core and an easy drive from anywhere in the Ottawa Valley. Both festival venues are right in the historic downtown, an easy walk from each other along the Mississippi River.

Parking: Downtown Almonte has street parking and municipal lots within a short walk of both the Museum and the Community Centre — arrive earlier in the day on Saturday for the easiest time finding a spot.

Walking between venues: The Museum and John Levi Community Centre are about a five-minute walk apart, both within easy reach of Almonte’s main downtown strip if you want to combine your visit with browsing local shops and cafés.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🎫 Buy tickets online first if you can. Advance tickets beat the lines at the door — worth doing if you’re planning to arrive right when doors open on Saturday.

🚶 Plan to visit both venues. Your $5 ticket covers the Museum and the Community Centre, and they hold different vendors and demonstrations — don’t stop at just one and miss half the festival.

🧵 Register early for workshops. If a specific technique interests you, sign up as soon as registration opens — popular sessions fill up before the festival weekend even arrives.

👜 Bring a tote bag. Between yarn, fleece, and finished pieces, it’s easy to end up with more than you can comfortably carry in your hands.

☕ Make a day of downtown Almonte. The town’s shops and cafés along Mill Street are worth a stroll before or after the festival, especially with the riverside setting right nearby.

❓ Common Questions