Bracebridge Fall Fair & Horse Show 2026: Since 1867

Three days of horse shows, a midway, and harvest tradition in the heart of Muskoka

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

Who says Muskoka shuts down after Labour Day? The Bracebridge Agricultural Society has run this fair every year since 1867, and the 2026 edition packs English and Western horse shows, draft horse pulls, a midway, and a full weekend of live entertainment into J.D. Lang Park.

🐴 English & Western horse shows 🎡 Midway rides 🦅 Muskoka Birds of Prey 🏕️ On-site camping

💡 Pets aren’t allowed on the grounds — only certified service animals and animals entered in competitions or exhibits, with proof of certification required.

Why Go Schedule Essentials History Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This Fair Is Worth the Trip

If you think Muskoka’s tourist season wraps up after Labour Day, the Bracebridge Fall Fair is the counterargument. The Bracebridge Agricultural Society has run this fair every year since 1867, and it’s become one of the region’s more charming end-of-season events — proof that the area’s appeal doesn’t disappear once the cottage crowds head home.

The horse show side of the fair is genuinely substantial for a small-town event: a Sport Pony & English Horse Show Saturday morning, Light and Heavy Draft Horse Pulls on the dedicated Pioneer Power Pull Track, and a full Western Horse Show on Sunday. Around that core, the fair adds a real entertainment lineup — Muskoka Birds of Prey, a Canine Circus, a stilt walker, and a rotating cast of live bands across all three days — alongside the traditional livestock shows, homecraft competitions, and a Gable Bros midway.

It’s also internationally connected in a small but charming way: the Bracebridge fair is twinned with the Kirriemuir District Agricultural Show in Scotland, a nod to the kind of long-running rural tradition that fairs like this represent on both sides of the Atlantic.

📅 The 2026 Schedule

Exhibit placing runs Thursday, September 17 from 3 to 8 pm. The three public fair days run as follows (subject to change).

🎟️ Admission & Fair Essentials

Gate hours run 5–11 pm Friday, 7 am–11 pm Saturday, and 7 am–5 pm Sunday. Midway rides typically start around 5 pm Friday and 10 am Saturday and Sunday, though the midway provider can suspend rides for weather at their discretion. Tickets and ride bracelets are sold at the coupon booth in the midway area.

On-site camping, an ATM, and full vendor concessions and food booths round out the practical side of the fair. Beyond the horse events, expect Farm Olympics, hay wagon rides, a petting zoo and pony rides, spinning and weaving demonstrations, wood carving, Pioneer Museum displays, and junior, youth, and senior homecraft competitions — enough variety that a single day rarely covers everything on offer.

📜 Nearly 160 Years of Muskoka Farm Life

The Bracebridge Agricultural Society has held this fair faithfully every year since 1867 — a run stretching back to the era when farm life in Muskoka was genuinely isolated, and communities relied on groups like agricultural societies to provide connection and support. Fairs and exhibitions gave neighbours a reason to gather, share knowledge, and learn the latest farming techniques, and that founding purpose is still visible in the fair’s structure today.

The Society is a registered charity and a member of the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies, specifically District #11, and it continues to invest directly in the next generation of Muskoka’s agricultural community — including a $2,500 bursary offered annually to students from Bracebridge & Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, St. Dominic Catholic Secondary School, or Gravenhurst High School pursuing full-time studies in agriculture or homecraft fields.

Today the fair still centres on the same basics it always has — quality livestock, fruits and vegetables, flowers, and handiwork shown by local citizens to friends and neighbours — even as the entertainment lineup around it has grown to include birds of prey, canine circuses, and a full midway. It’s a rare fair old enough to have genuinely multi-generational memories attached to it, something the Society says it takes real pride in.

🚗 Getting There

The fair runs at J.D. Lang Park, 331 Fraserburg Rd, in Bracebridge, just off Cedar Lane near Highway 11 and Taylor Rd.

From the South: Take Hwy 11 N to Cedar Lane/Frederick St. exit 184, take Cedar Lane N, turn right onto Fraserburg Rd.

From the North: Take Hwy 11 S to Taylor Rd exit 189, take Cedar Lane S from the Taylor Rd roundabout.

From the West: Take Hwy 118 E into Bracebridge, turn right onto Manitoba St., turn left onto Muskoka Rd 37 at the 4-way flashers before the Silver Bridge, and follow signs to J.D. Lang Park.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🎫 Book Harvest Dinner tickets in advance. Saturday’s 5 pm Harvest Dinner is advance-purchase only — it isn’t sold at the door.

🥞 Get there early for pancakes. The Saturday and Sunday pancake breakfasts run 7–10 am, before the main crowds arrive.

🐕 Leave pets at home. Only certified service animals with proof of certification, or animals entered in a competition, are allowed on the grounds.

🏕️ Consider camping. Grounds open to campers starting Wednesday, September 16 at 2 pm, ahead of the main fair days.

🎟️ Buy midway tickets in bulk. The bracket pricing (20 or 40 tickets) works out cheaper per ride than buying singles if the kids are planning to ride more than a few times.

❓ Common Questions