The Canmore Folk Festival is back in Centennial Park for year 49, running August 1 to 3 over the Heritage Day long weekend, with Festival Friday - a free community concert - as the warm-up act the night before.
Lineup
Headlining this year are AHI, Barney Bentall, Begonia, Cat Clyde, Miko Marks, Sarah Harmer, Steve Poltz, The Felice Brothers, Wild Rivers and William Prince. Sarah Harmer and William Prince are both riding strong runs of their own right now, and The Felice Brothers finally make their Canmore debut after years of building a serious Americana catalogue.
The real fun, though, is in the names you don't already know. Ahmed Moneka, originally from Iraq and now based in Toronto, brings a sound full of cultural memory. Caamano and Ameixeiras haul a Galician folk tradition all the way over from Spain. These are the acts you wander into by accident at a workshop stage and end up telling everyone about for the rest of the weekend.
Local and emerging talent
Canmore's own Seth Anderson is back, alongside a strong showing of Bow Valley and Canadian talent - The Three Sisters, Twonees, Cave Arcade, Sandy Lecour, Nurdjana and Side Hustle. The festival's Artist Development Program has always pushed to get local and emerging musicians a stage next to the touring names, and it's a big part of why the lineup stretches past forty acts across four stages.
Beer garden
Since 2024, the festival has run site-wide licensing, so you're not stuck defending your tarp square to go get a beer. Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, Canmore's own since 1996 and a longtime festival sponsor, keeps the taps flowing.
Family programming
Families get their own corner of the chaos. The Little Folkies area runs all three days with crafts, kids' yoga, a musical instrument petting zoo, and shows from Farmer Joe and the Bow Valley Community Circus, plus an in-costume Mary Poppins performance from Canmore Theatre School. Canmore Inn and Suites is the area's official 2026 sponsor. Kids 12 and under get in free - they'll just need a wristband so festival staff can keep track of who's on site.
Getting there
No need to fight Calgary long-weekend traffic to get here. The Folk Fest Express bus leaves Crowfoot LRT Station at 8:30 am sharp (be there by 8:15) and drops you at Lawrence Grassi Middle School, a short walk from the park, for $35 return. Buses head back to Calgary at 11 pm Saturday and Sunday, 10 pm Monday. There's also secure bike parking with Canmore Community Cruisers on-site, and the Banff Airporter runs straight from Calgary International if you're flying in.
Tickets
Weekend and single-day passes are on sale now at canmorefolkfestival.com, with adult, youth, senior/student and family (2 adults + 2 youth) options.
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