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About the Festival World Record Attempt What’s On The Essentials Getting There Tips Before You Go FAQ

🧊 Shawarma Festival Ottawa 📅 Sunday, June 7, 2026 📍 ByWard Market, Ottawa 🅾 Free Admission 👪 Family Friendly

Shawarma Festival Ottawa 2026

Ottawa calls itself the Shawarma Capital of Canada, and for one Sunday in June the ByWard Market sets out to prove it. On June 7, 2026, Giza Entertainment brings back its annual Shawarma Festival — a full day of spit-roasted, garlic-laced, perfectly-wrapped goodness right in the heart of the city.

Expect the best local shawarma joints going head to head, Middle Eastern street food in every direction, live DJs, cultural performances, and a crowd that knows the difference between good toum and great toum. The organizers put it simply: come hungry, leave inspired.

🧊 Shawarma everywhere 🏆 Best Shawarma competition 🎉 World record attempt 🎧 Live DJs 💃 Cultural performances 👫 Middle Eastern delicacies

🍽️ Event Details Official Website → 🚗 Get Directions

💡 Admission is free and the whole thing is family friendly — you only pay for what you eat. Doors run 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, so there’s no rush to get there at open.

✨ What This Festival Is All About

If you’ve spent any time in Ottawa, you already know shawarma here is a bit of a religion. There’s a shop on practically every corner, everyone has a fiercely-defended favourite, and the late-night wrap is basically a local institution. This festival takes that everyday obsession and turns it into a proper celebration.

Hosted by Giza Entertainment at the ByWard Market — arguably the most fitting venue in the city — the day brings together the best local vendors, chefs, and performers under one roof of open sky. It’s part food crawl, part street party, part cultural showcase, and entirely worth showing up hungry for.

Beyond the food, you’ll find live DJs spinning all day, cultural performances, and the kind of buzzy, communal energy that good food festivals do best. Bring friends, bring family, bring an appetite.

New for 2026

🎉 The Longest Shawarma World Record Attempt

The headline act this year isn’t a band — it’s a sandwich. Shawarma Fest is staging an official attempt at the world record for the longest shawarma ever made. If it lands, Ottawa gets a record to go with its self-appointed title, and you get to say you were there when it happened.

It’s the kind of gloriously over-the-top spectacle that’s perfect for a food festival — equal parts culinary feat and crowd moment. Worth timing your visit around.

📅 What’s On the Day

One day, one market, a whole lot going on. Here’s the shape of it.

📍 The Essentials

🚗 Getting There

The festival takes over the ByWard Market in downtown Ottawa, centred around 73 York St, Ottawa, ON K1N 5T2. It’s one of the most walkable, transit-friendly parts of the city — parking in the Market is limited and fills fast on event days, so transit or a rideshare is usually the easier call.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🧊 Come hungry, pace yourself. With this many vendors in one spot, the smart move is small orders from a few places rather than one big wrap. Taste widely.

💰 Bring some cash. Admission is free, but you’re paying vendors directly — and while most take cards, cash keeps lines moving and saves you at the busy stalls.

🚕 Skip the car if you can. ByWard Market parking is tight on event Sundays. Transit, cycling, or a rideshare drop-off will save you a headache.

🎉 Time it for the record attempt. The longest-shawarma world record try is the day’s big moment — check the official site closer to the date for timing so you don’t miss it.

👪 Great with kids. Free entry, plenty of food options, live music, and a big open-air market make this an easy family outing. Just keep little ones close in the crowds.

❓ Common Questions