The Guelph “Fab 5” festivals—encompassing the Guelph Film, Jazz, and Dance festivals, Hillside, and the Eden Mills Writer’s Festival—are staples of Guelph’s arts scene. The festivals bring the community together to celebrate the vitality and resilience of the arts, and also celebrate artists of all stripes from across the country and the world. Visit any one of Guelph’s abundant festivals to discover something new.
Guelph Film Festival
Celebrating documentaries, short films, and experimental works, the Guelph Film Festival, formerly known as the Festival of Moving Media, is Guelph’s only film festival proper, and largely focuses on documentaries. However, it also features animations, short narrative features, and workshops for people to get involved in. The Guelph Film Festival is essential for all film lovers.
Guelph Jazz Festival
The Guelph Jazz Festival, held on the first weekend of September, is a perfect back-to-school celebration. In its 30 years, it has become reputed as one of the best experimental jazz festivals in the world. Hosted in part by IICSI (International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation) through the University of Guelph, the Jazz Festival focuses on the more experimental side of jazz. It also offers something for jazz fans of all kinds. Notable recent performances have included The Sun Ra Arkestra, Milford Graves, Pharoah Sanders, and Vijay Iyer.
Incline/Decline
This festival is in its second year running. Hosted on the third weekend of July (the weekend before Hillside) Incline/Decline is a DIY, volunteer-run festival celebrating the weirder, more experimental side of local music and Canadian music as a whole. Hosted at various venues, even including house shows, I/D provides an alternative for those looking for something more adventurous. With noise, jazz, and synth pop—nothing is off limits for Incline/Decline. This year featured Brazilian Money, Vallens, and Hooded Fang.
Eden Mills Writer’s Festival
Hosted in the lovely town of Eden Mills, just a few minutes’ drive out of Guelph, the Eden Mills Writer’s Festival is an amazing, refreshing way to connect with Canadian writers, publishers, and other literary buffs. In the picturesque atmosphere of the small village, it’s an idyllic and relaxing way to soak up some good reading. Notable readers in past years have been Margaret Atwood, Thomas King, and Heather O’Neill.
Hillside Festival and Hillside Inside
A three-day festival held on the last weekend of July, Hillside has been running for over 30 years and is considered by many Guelphites to be the highlight of the summer. A volunteer-run and environmentally-friendly festival, this year’s festival featured notable Canadian headliners like Constantines, Daniel Lanois, and BadBadNotGood. February also sees Hillside returning to the city for Hillside Inside, which is exactly what it sounds like—an intimate, small-scale version of the festival hosted in various venues across the city. This past Hillside Inside featured stellar artists including Kid Koala and Owen Pallett.
Kazoo! Fest
Kazoo! Fest, the culmination of Kazoo’s year-round programming, is hosted at the beginning of April, and features incredible local and international music. Held in various venues across the city over the weekend, the festival also features art displays, open studios, and collaborative art projects. Previously, the festival has featured some serious heavy hitters, such as San Francisco-based weirdo-punk band Deerhoof, and Canadian indie breakthroughs Homeshake.
For a city its size, there’s no shortage of amazing festivals happening at any given time of the year. Guelph’s presence in the Canadian arts scene is thriving, as can be seen in any one of these amazing festivals.