10 Best Performing Arts Venues in Canada

In the large plaza fronting city hall, neat rows of darling little wooden huts exactly like those you'd find in Germany offer steaming hot pretzels, gingerbread, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and other aromatic foods, while jewelry designers, wood sculptors, glassmakers, and other artisans chat animatedly with customers, as German Christmas carols play in the background. If you can’t get to Europe for the holidays, this market is probably the most magical and most authentic you'll find in North America. It market opens in the third week of November and lasts until December 23.

Tons of fun and completely free, the very popular five-day jazz festival in early August draws in at least 15,000 tourists and locals to Mont-Tremblant. The concerts take place under the stars on two outdoor stages and in at least 10 restaurants, bars, and hotels in the village or St-Jovite (downtown area).

From France to Jamaica and Cabo Verde, from traditional to contemporary sounds, this eclectic two-week music and dance festival brings together over 700 artists from 30 countries, for the biggest world music gathering in the Americas. At the outdoor stages in the Quartier des Spectacles, you'll find an appealing selection of pop-up restaurants and bars, a family area, open-air workshops with master dancers and drummers, and a Timbuktu market.

Igloofest, Montréal's winter electronic music festival, turns the Old Port into an icy dance paradise. With world-class DJs, dazzling lights, and ridiculously layered outfits to keep warm, it's a celebration that captures the city's love of music and winter, creating an unforgettable fusion of sound and snow. From mid-January to mid-February each year.

During this five-day festival, in early to mid-August, Québec City's centuries-old heritage comes alive. The streets of Lower Town are transported back in time, and events range from an old-time farmers' market to games and music—all done in period costume.

MURAL Festival transforms Montréal's streets into a sprawling open-air gallery, showcasing vibrant, large-scale murals by international and local artists. The event is held on a pedestrianized boulevard St-Laurent and complemented by a lively street fair and live musical performances, fusing creative marketplaces and interactive engagements.

During the summer months, there are nightly educational shows at 7:30 pm at the theater at Redstreak Campground. Check the schedule at the campground kiosk for that night's topic.

Xplorer Program, for children 6–11, encourages kids to explore the world around them and the nature and history of the parks. There are 16 pages of activities in the Xplorer booklet and you need to complete at least six of them to receive a certificate and a souvenir. The booklets for these programs are available from the park kiosk or at the Kootenay National Park visitor center.