Canadian Food Festivals in the U.S. You Don’t Want to Miss

Canadian cuisine isn’t just enjoyed north of the border – there are lively festivals across the United States where you can savor poutine, maple treats, and other Canuck favorites in a fun, friendly atmosphere. These in-person events bring a taste of Canada to American soil, attracting both expat Canadians and curious locals. Below, discover some of the top Canadian food festivals in the U.S. that you won’t want to miss (and how they let you sample the flavors of Canada without a passport).

CanadaFest – Hollywood, Florida (Winter)

In sunny South Florida, CanadaFest has been a staple for nearly four decades. Each year, thousands of Canadian snowbirds and locals gather on Hollywood Beach’s Broadwalk for a free weekend celebration of all things Canadian. From morning till sundown, live bands (many flown in from Canada) keep the crowd entertained with continuous musicl. Attendees stroll the seaside promenade lined with vendors and exhibits – you’ll spot plenty of maple leaf flags, Canadian-themed booths, and maybe even a Mountie or two. While the focus is on music and cultural camaraderie, you can still find familiar Canadian comforts to nibble and sip. Enjoy a cold Canadian beer or a butter tart as you mingle with friendly folks reminiscing about Tim Hortons and hockey. CanadaFest is one of the largest French-Canadian festivals outside Quebec, and it continues to be the go-to reunion spot for Canadians in Florida to soak up some sun, sea, and a taste of home. Best of all, it’s fun and free – a perfect excuse to don your red and white and celebrate Canadian culture under the palm trees.

Myrtle Beach Can-Am Days held at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (March)

Every March, Myrtle Beach hosts an event as a red carpet for its Canadian friends during the Canadian-American Days Festival (Can-Am Days). It turns out to be an excellent moment with a week-long celebration of Canadian culture and cuisine on the Carolina coast. For over 60 years, this festival has been underscoring the strong bond between Canada and the U.S.

Key highlights include:

• Availability of Canadian food and drinks: The local restaurants, as well as the food stalls, will be serving you the favourites. Visitors will love the authentic taste of Canada, right away from home.
• Live music and entertainment: people here come for the concerts and performances by Canadian artists, in addition to the local bands. You can enjoy folk to rock, and everything will feature Canadian songs and tributes. The colourful parades, as well as the Sporting events, including the friendly hockey and Golf competitions, will be adding to the experience.
• Family-friendly activities: There are a lot of outdoors games, as well as cultural workshops. Trying out these is fun for all ages. You can see that kids will enjoy the Maple Leaf temporary tattoos, while the families will love attending the Franco-American Heritage event. There are also ceremonial flag racing and the Canadian anthem sing-along, adding festivities that add color to the event.

Myrtle Beach’s Can-Am Days is well-known in terms of offering a home-away-from-home kind of vibe to Canadian visitors. In addition, it will also introduce the American attendees, the charm of Canadian hospitality. Local businesses will also be offering special deals for guests with a Canadian ID during this week. When you are looking forward to trying the plate of golden fries that is smothered in gravy and cheese curd, you will love the experience of the festival. The festival, Myrtle Beach’s Can-Am Days, turns out to be a wonderful blend of beach vacation and the Canadian cultural fair. Just wear your maple leaf gear and be ready to enjoy the moments alongside the thousands of jubilant attendees who are celebrating Canada in the Carolinas.

Great Canadian Picnic – Phoenix, Arizona (February)

The Great Canadian Picnic in Phoenix is an annual tradition where Canadian expats and Arizonans come together for food, fun, and a taste of the Great White North in the desert

For over 60 years, the Great Canadian Picnic has been a beloved tradition in Arizona’s Valley of the Sun. Founded in 1953 by Canadian expats craving a bit of home, this event draws a crowd of around 3,000 people each year – including snowbirds, winter visitors, and locals – all eager to celebrate Canada under the warm Phoenix sunshine. Held in early February at South Mountain Park, the picnic offers a quirky mix of winter nostalgia and desert scenery: organizers even truck in a pile of snow for kids (and kids-at-heart) to play on! You’ll find games like table-top curling and frisbee hockey, live music on stage (with everything from Canadian folk tunes to pop covers), and informational booths handing out Canadian candies and souvenirs. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Canadian gathering without some good eats – food trucks on site serve picnic fare and, yes, poutine to satisfy those cravings. (The fries and gravy may not rival Montréal’s finest, but hey, it’s poutine in the desert!) Many attendees bring their own blankets and coolers, turning the day into a giant community picnic. Everyone is extremely friendly – folks often wear hockey jerseys or maple leaf shirts and will chat with strangers from their home province after spotting the labels on each other’s name tags. The Great Canadian Picnic is a family-friendly day of fun that captures the spirit of Canadian warmth and togetherness – all while basking in 70°F weather. If you find yourself in Arizona in winter, this unique festival is a heartwarming (and heartily feeding) celebration you shouldn’t miss.

Canadiana Fest held at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place, Kalamazoo, Michigan (September)

Canadian pride is alive even in the American Midwest, and the enthusiasts mark it with Canadiana Fest in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This is the event that is known for being an annual festival packed with Canadian flavors, music, and culture. The event is held at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place. Visitors love the live performances.

The “Canuck Canteen,” a culinary tent serve the following iconic Canadian dishes:

• Poutine –Classic Canadian comfort food, poutine is packed with fries, cheese curds, and gravy.
• Peameal Bacon Sandwiches – Toronto specialty Peameal Bacon Sandwiches, also known as “Canadian bacon,” serve perfectly as brined back bacon rolled in cornmeal on a bun. You can complement this dish with cold craft beer.

Sweet Treats –desserts like butter tarts are mouth-watering and turn out to be impeccable, as rich mini-pies of buttery caramel filling. In addition, here you must also try the pâtés de soeurs, a French Canadian cinnamon pastry.

Beyond the food, Canadiana Fest showcases Canadian arts and products – you can browse booths of Canadian artisans and merchandise (think maple syrup, Indigenous crafts, hockey memorabilia). There are also kid-friendly activities like storytelling in English, French, and Cree, and even lessons in curling and lacrosse from local clubs highlighting sports Canada gave the world. The whole festival has an upbeat, welcoming vibe – whether you have Canadian roots or just love the culture, you’ll feel right at home saying “eh” with your new friends. By the end of the night (after rocking out to some Juno Award-winning artists on stage), you might forget you’re in Michigan and not Manitoba! Canadiana Fest is a fantastic example of how Canadian food and culture can bring people together anywhere – definitely mark your calendar if you’re in the region.

La Kermesse Franco-Américaine held at Biddeford, Maine (June)

Southern Maine is known for deep Franco-Canadian heritage, and in this regard, it's worth noting that the city of Biddeford hosts La Kermesse Franco-Américaine Festival. This four-day festival in late June has already grown popular over 40 years. What adds significance to this event is that it is a jubilant tribute to French Canadian culture in New England. As a foodie, you will fall in love with La Kermesse.

One popular stop is La Cuisine food truck, which excels with tourtière (pork pie) and, of course, poutine. One vendor even imports real French-Canadian gravy.

To find the finest experience at this festival, it is highly recommended to nibble on crêpes, sugar pie, and cretons (a pork spread).

La Kermesse serves more than just a festival that is all about culture. You will also find an excellent experience with a parade, live music, dancing, and fireworks. Enjoy rides and games at the carnival area. In addition, it's also worth having a look at the historical exhibits highlighting the contributions of Franco-Americans in Maine. Many attendees wear Acadian or Quebec flags and buttons, and all of these elements together are enough to make the entire atmosphere warm and familial, shaping the event as a community fair.

To treat yourself with the authentic taste of Quebec culture without leaving the U.S., this festival is a must-visit.

Maine PoutineFest – Portland, Maine (September)

Food truck vendors at Maine PoutineFest serve up inventive versions of poutine, from classic cheese-and-gravy to creative twists with local Maine ingredients.

If you go crazy for poutine, Maine Poutine Fest is the ultimate stateside celebration of this Canadian dish. Taking place each fall in Portland, Maine, this festival has earned the title of one of the largest poutine festivals in the United States. The concept is simple but glorious: dozens of restaurants and food trucks convene to craft their best interpretation of poutine – and ticket holders get to sample them all! You might taste everything from a traditional Québécois poutine (golden fries, squeaky cheese curds, rich brown gravy) to creative spins like lobster poutine or vegan mushroom gravy poutine. It’s a family-friendly event with a fun competition built in. As you graze from booth to booth, you’ll vote for your favorite rendition to crown the “Best Poutine of the Fest” champion, who even wins a championship belt, WWE style. Between bites, festival-goers can enjoy live music, cold local craft beer (poutine and beer are a perfect match), lawn games, and kids’ activities.

Maine PoutineFest usually sells out lightning fast – New Englanders have a big soft spot for poutine, thanks to the region’s French Canadian roots. The festival’s proceeds support local Francophone cultural organizations, so attendees are not only indulging but also contributing to preserving French Canadian heritage in Maine. Come hungry and pace yourself, because there will be plenty of cheesy, gravy-smothered goodness to try. By the end of the day, you’ll definitely have a new appreciation for how versatile and downright delicious poutine can be. Insider tip: wear your stretchy pants, and bring some hand wipes – poutine tasting can get delightfully messy!

New Hampshire PoutineFest – Merrimack, New Hampshire (Fall)

Not to be outdone by its neighbor, New England also boasts the New Hampshire PoutineFest, typically held in the fall. 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of this popular event, which shows just how much love poutine has garnered in the Granite State. Like its Maine counterpart, NH PoutineFest brings together restaurants to compete for poutine glory, all while raising funds for the local Franco-American Centre. Past festivals have embraced fun themes (2025’s edition is a Halloween “Spooktacular” poutine party) – don’t be surprised to see chefs and attendees in costume, and perhaps an orange-tinted gravy special for the season! At NH PoutineFest, you can sample an array of poutines and then cast your vote for the champion. The event often features live entertainment, from bands playing upbeat tunes to family activities like face-painting (for both kids and adventurous adults) and cornhole games. Beer from local breweries usually flows as well, making it a lively afternoon. What’s special about the New Hampshire festival is its community feel – many attendees have French-Canadian ancestry and share stories of their mémé’s cooking while bonding over food. It’s a smaller festival than Maine’s, but that just means a friendly crowd and easier access to more poutine (no huge lines!). If you’re a hardcore poutine fan, hitting both the Maine and New Hampshire fests is a fantastic way to cap off summer and welcome fall. You’ll experience regional twists – for instance, a New Hampshire eatery might put an apple cider spin on poutine – and enjoy the beautiful New England foliage as a backdrop. Bring your appetite and your sense of adventure, because at NH PoutineFest you never know what wild poutine creation you might get to try.

Enjoy Canadian Cuisine Year-Round: From Florida’s beaches to Arizona’s deserts and everywhere in between, these festivals prove that Canadian food and culture have a happy home in the U.S. They’re perfect opportunities to indulge in favorite treats like poutine, Nanaimo bars, and maple syrup delights while celebrating alongside friendly crowds. And if visiting these festivals leaves you craving more, you don’t have to wait until next year – you can always bring a bit of Canada into your kitchen. Online specialty shops (like TheCanadaFoods.com) make it easy to order authentic Canadian ingredients and snacks, from ketchup chips to real maple syrup, delivered right to your door. Whether you’re planning a road trip to a festival or a cozy Canadian-themed night at home, there’s never been a better time to enjoy the unique and delicious experience of Canadian food. So grab a plate of poutine (or a butter tart or two) and join the celebration – bon appétit and bon voyage!