Stewart Park Festival 2026: 35 Years in the Park – Perth, ON

Stewart Park Festival 2026: 35 Years in the Park

Three days of free, by-donation music in downtown Perth

📍 Get Directions Full Schedule

Cowboy Junkies headline Friday, Ron Sexsmith and Valdy anchor the weekend, and three stages of Canadian folk and roots music run by the Tay River — all by donation, no tickets needed.

🎹 3 stages of music 🛍 Artisan marketplace 👫 Kids’ Area 🎧 After Hours (19+)

💡 There’s no gate and no ticket booth — Stewart Park was gifted to the town on the condition that admission can never be charged. Just show up and drop a donation in the box at the Info Tent if you can.

Why Go Schedule Essentials After Hours Getting There Tips FAQ

✨ Why This Festival Is Worth the Drive

Perth is an easy day trip or weekend away from Ottawa, Kingston, or the GTA, and the Stewart Park Festival is one of the better reasons to make the trip. It’s the kind of event that’s grown a devoted following without ever losing its small-town feel — thirty-five years in, it’s still run almost entirely by volunteers and the Downtown Heritage Perth BIA.

The setting does a lot of the work. Stewart Park sits right behind Perth’s Town Hall, with the Tay River winding through it, stone bridges, and big old maples for shade. There’s no fence, no gate, and no ticket booth — the park was donated to the town in 1947 on the condition that admission could never be charged for any event held there, festival included.

What you get for free (or for whatever you choose to donate) is a genuinely strong lineup. Cowboy Junkies headlining the Main Stage on Friday is not a small booking for a by-donation festival, and the rest of the weekend — Ron Sexsmith, Valdy, James Keelaghan, Indian City — reads like a who’s-who of Canadian folk and roots music. Add a riverside artisan market, a licensed brewery patio, and a square dance, and you’ve got a weekend worth planning around.

🎹 Main Stage Schedule

Three days, three stages, well over twenty sets. Here’s the Main Stage lineup — the Crystal Palace patio and Wendy Laut Stage run their own concurrent schedules below.

🍺 Crystal Palace Patio (Perth Brewery)

A second full lineup runs all weekend at the licensed Perth Brewery patio — a good spot to catch acts you missed at the Main Stage, in a more relaxed setting.

🎶 Wendy Laut Stage: Workshops

The festival’s workshop stage pairs up performers for collaborative sets — usually looser and more conversational than the Main Stage shows. Saturday opens with a square dance.

📍 The Essentials

🎧 After Hours 19+

Once the Main Stage wraps for the night, the party shifts to the licensed Crystal Palace at the Perth Brewery for After Hours sets — the one part of the weekend that isn’t free.

Starting at 8:00 PM Friday and Saturday. Wristbands are $15 per night, available at the Crystal Palace in advance or at the door.

🚗 Getting There & Parking

Stewart Park sits directly behind Perth’s Town Hall, in the heart of downtown. Street parking fills up fast on festival weekends, so plan ahead.

Shuttle bus: Runs Friday 2 PM–midnight, Saturday 10 AM–midnight, and Sunday 10 AM–5 PM. Check the festival’s shuttle and parking page for pickup locations.

Accessible parking: A limited number of spaces are typically reserved near Market Square and behind the Studio Theatre off Basin Lane for permit holders, first-come first-served — confirm exact spots on the festival’s accessible parking page closer to the date.

💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

🐶 Leave the dog at home. Stewart Park doesn’t allow dogs during the festival — it’s a Town of Perth bylaw, not a festival rule, so there’s no exception even on a leash.

💸 Bring cash or a card for the donation box. Admission is free, but the festival runs on what people give. Donations over $25 at the Info Tent get you a tax receipt.

💧 Bring a refillable water bottle. There are filtered water stations in the park near the Info Tent and at the Crystal Palace — no need to buy bottled water all weekend.

⛳ Pack a chair or blanket. The Main Stage area is open lawn — there’s plenty of room, but it’s first-come for the best spots, especially for Cowboy Junkies on Friday.

🍺 Make time for the Crystal Palace. The licensed patio at the Perth Brewery runs its own full lineup all weekend — a nice change of pace if the Main Stage lawn gets crowded.

Support the Festival 💚

The Stewart Park Festival is run by the Downtown Heritage Perth BIA and a small army of volunteers, and it’s free to attend by design — the park itself was gifted to the town on the condition that admission never be charged. Donations keep it going.

❓ Common Questions