Canadiana Fest Presents:

The Can Am Peace Jam 2026,

A Celebration of Music, Food, and Culture of the North in Kalamazoo MI!

Experience the Best of Canada at Canadiana Fest!

Schedule of Events! and Fest Map! NEED TO BE UPDATED

Get ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant sights, sounds, and flavors of Canada at Canadiana Fest 2026! Join us at the Arcadia Creek Festival Site in Kalamazoo, MI on Saturday, September 19, 2026 from 1 pm until 11 pm, for a day filled with live music, delicious Canadian cuisine and beverages, and exciting cultural activities. Don't miss out on this unique celebration of Canadian heritage and hospitality!

Your attendance also benefits;

South Michigan Food Bank, Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes AND new in 2025, our Canadian beneficiary the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative making this truly a CAN-AM Peace Jam

YOU MUST HAVE A TICKET TO ENTER

Reserve tickets early so we know how many to expect. Be a part of this unforgettable experience! Your generosity and kindness makes the festival possible for everyone to enjoy.

SURPRISE CONTESTS! Reserve your tickets by Sept 1 2026 and be entered into a drawing for a YEAR OF PIZZA BY B.C.Pizza Kalamazoo!

In Partnership with Premier Athletics for Youth Development & OutFront Kalamazoo

HISTORIC SEND‑OFF AT ARCADIA CREEK FESTIVAL PLACE

SEPTEMBER 19, 2026 • 1–11 PM • KALAMAZOO, MI

The final festival before the Arcadia Creek reconstruction — celebrating 30+ years of community before the venue’s grand return in 2028.

the 4th Annual Can‑Am Peace Jam, supporting Loaves & Fishes and South Michigan Food Bank, on Saturday, September 19, 2026 in downtown Kalamazoo. This milestone year honors the French‑Canadian diaspora and its lasting influence on North American culture, industry, and art.

2026 FEATURED ARTISTS & SPECIAL GUESTS

• Mélisande [électrotrad] — Award‑winning Québécois powerhouse, praised internationally and performing worldwide with 375+ concerts.
• Henry Sir — CBC‑featured comedian, #1 iTunes, Just For Laughs, Comedy Central.
• The Azure Musketeers — 17th‑century French military living‑history troupe.
• Genot Picor — Returning Voyageur storyteller, dancer, and musician performing traditional songs on the vielle.
• Indigenous artists, musicians, poets, and presenters, including a First Nations opening ceremony and Round Dance.
• Local and regional bands spanning classic rock, Celtic, Scottish Pipe, and Acadian folk.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

• World Champion Poutine Competition — Food trucks battle for the Golden Gravy Ladle; attendees vote.
• Butter Tart Competition — Open entry; registration supports Canadian food banks.
• Canadian Sports Centre with WMU Champion Athletes — Hockey, lacrosse, curling, basketball.
• Festival Parade, children’s activities, cultural workshops, genealogy, and French‑Canadian heritage presentations.
• Northern Lights Apothecary N.A. Bar - offering Ritual Zero Proof crafted cocktails
• Beer Garden hosted by OutFront Kalamazoo.
• Fully accessible programming including ASL interpretation and QR audio guides.
• Canadiana Fest has contributed 200,000+ meals to food banks and supported small businesses with subsidized booth fees.

TICKETS

$12 General | $8 Senior/Vet | $5 Students | Children Always Free

Equity Tickets available through Gryphon Place — no one turned away.

Tickets & Info: app.gopassage.com | CanadianaFest.FUN

“This is not just a festival — it is a love letter to 30 years of community, culture, and celebration at Arcadia Creek Festival Place. We are honored to send it off in spectacular style with our most extraordinary lineup yet — doing good while having a good time.”

— Channon Russette‑Mondoux, Founder, Canadiana Fest

The 2026 theme highlights the French‑Canadian diaspora and its influence on North American culture, industry, and the arts. The event is presented in partnership with Premier Athletics for Youth Development and OutFront Kalamazoo, with proceeds supporting Loaves and Fishes and the South Michigan Food Bank.

Headline Performers & Cultural Programming

Internationally acclaimed Québécois artist Mélisande [électrotrad] will headline the main stage. A recipient of the Prix de Musique Folk Canadienne and a multi‑time Canadian Folk Music Award nominee, Mélisande has performed more than 375 concerts worldwide and earned praise from Radio‑Canada, ICI Musique, the Calgary Herald, Huffington Post US, and ABC Mornings Australia.

Canadian Comedian Henry Sir — featured on CBC, Comedy Central, and Just For Laughs — will serve as special guest MC, presenting a festival‑exclusive comedy set before Melisande takes the stage. Hnery has blasted onto the North American stage with a meteoric rise powered by sharp, compassionate humor that always punches up. Known for his astute, laugh‑out‑loud observations about Canadian‑American life — the quirks, the contradictions, the cultural collisions — Henry delivers comedy that feels smart, inclusive, and instantly relatable. With credits spanning CBC, Comedy Central, Just For Laughs, and a #1 iTunes comedy album, he’s become one of the most exciting voices touring today. At the Can‑Am Peace Jam, Henry brings a special festival‑exclusive set, firing up the crowd with his signature mix of heart and hilarity before our headliner Mélisande takes the stage.

Rock Rx: Rock Rx (rockrxband.com) presented by Centre Smiles Dental Hailing from the Kalamazoo area, this high-energy cover band returns again in 2025 doing their renditions of the best Canadian Rock, Pop and R&B. They make the audience feel like they are part of the band, literally. Don’t be surprised if you have a mic in your face during the show, as you sing along to one of your favorite songs. 

Full Frontal CortezFull Frontal Overdrive aka — the powerhouse quartet of John Gregory, Kyle Randall, Eli Rodriguez, and Chris Gonzalez — is set to ignite the Peace Jam stage with a blistering, high‑octane set of pure rock‑and‑roll adrenaline. These seasoned Kalamazoo musicians tear into the classics with the kind of precision, swagger, and joyful chaos that only comes from years of playing loud, fast, and fearlessly. Expect roaring guitars, thunderous rhythm, and a wall‑of‑sound tribute to legends like Steppenwolf, The Guess Who, Bachman‑Turner Overdrive, and Triumph. This is the kind of set that grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go — a full‑throttle, fist‑in‑the‑air celebration of Canadian rock that will have the entire festival buzzing.

Woodland Stream Drum & Song, Deanna Bush, Flautist - We are so excited to have these Indigenous artists join us for our opening ceremonies!

Kalamazoo Pipe Band: The Kalamazoo Pipe Band is dedicated to teaching, performing & promoting highland bagpipe music in Kalamazoo, MI. Originating in the 1950’s, they have had the honor of piping at many Michigan ceremonies and events. Their heart thumping drum and heart wrenching pipes will move you and invoke the spirit of Canada’s Commonwealth origins including authentic Canadian Pipe music. 

Geno Picor Genot Picor electrifies the stage with a spellbinding blend of Voyageur stories, songs, and dances that pull audiences straight into the wild heart of 18th‑century North America. Drawing from the true tale of a Métis scout welcomed into the Ojibwa world, Genot transforms history into an immersive adventure — part music, part movement, part living legend. With his rich storytelling, rhythmic footwork, and traditional instruments, he conjures the spirit of the Great Lakes and the old trade routes in a way that feels both ancient and urgently alive. When Genot performs, the past doesn’t just return — it grabs you by the imagination and refuses to let go.

Hen Pecked Dawgs are bringing a riotously joyful blast of Celtic and Americana energy to the Peace Jam stage, delivering the kind of knee‑slapping, foot‑stomping set that turns a crowd into a family. This powerhouse quintet — featuring Harvey Koontz on fiddle, viola, and bodhrán; Leigh Freighling, a classically trained vocalist who adds ukulele; Jenni Leckrone on bagpipes, pennywhistle, and guitar; and Richard Koontz weaving in Irish whistle, flute, and bones — creates a sound that’s both timeless and wildly alive. Their set will sweep festival‑goers through early Canadiana and Acadian tunes, Maritimes sea shanties, and irresistible Celtic reels. Get ready: when Hen Pecked Dawgs hit the stage, the only reasonable response is to clap, stomp, holler, and grin.

2025 Food Vendors:

Local and regional food vendors will offer delicious takes on Canadian Cuisine and local favorites.

• Best Coast Provisions
• MotorMouthMI
• Katcha Steak
• Munchi Man
• Tiki Boiz
• MORE

Beer and Beverage Garden operated by OutFront Kalamazoo and Bell's Brewery

Enjoy delicious craft beers and your favorite Canadian imports.

PLUS

• Apothecary N.A. Bar! Enjoy creative and delightful no-alcohol cocktails featuring Platinum sponsor Clearly Canadian sparkling waters and a limited supply of Pow Wow Energy Drinks. The Clearly O'Canada Smoked Maple Mocktail is just one we'll have on offer and all profits on the sale of this drink will be made to a Canadian Fire Relief Fund (last year was the Jasper Fire Relief) ! Also experience the Pow Wow Tropical Mock-EH-ito! a non alcoholic tequila taste sensation mimicking a Mojito! Come taste enticing treatments and unique flavor profiles and support the fest and fire relief!
• LIMITED SUPPLY GET YOURS EARLY!

2026 Activities SO FAR!

World Champine Poutine Competition Local and regional restaurants and food trucks will compete to create the best Poutine in the World!

Butter Tart Competition Open to all who want to bring their best version of this sweet Canadian classic, professional bakers and home bakers both! Bring a dozen buttertarts to the information booth and they will be judged by a panel of bakers, Canadians, and buttertart lovers. We’ll announce the winners from the stage in the afternoon! Go to our website at Buttertart Bakeoff Entry Form to register, all fees go to support foodbanks.

Children’s Culture Tent: Join us at the children’s tent for arts, crafts and cultural and educational activities about Canada!

How Canadian ARE YOU? Join host Mara Schrock of the Game Show Experience | Kalamazoo Game Show Experience who will challenge you with Canadian Trivia for chances to win PRIZES!

Workshop Tent: New in 2025, we will have several workshops going on throughout the event with all manner of fascinating topics:

• Genealogist Janine Cotugno from the Kalamazoo Valley Geneaological Society speaks on “Finding Your Canadian Roots”.
• Alliance Francaise
• Rendez-vous Détroit’s Elizabeth Bourne will speak on celebrating Detroit's French Canadian history and her own experience of being a French Canadian in Michigan.
• Dr. Daniel McFarlane, one of the world's leading authorities on the Great Lakes, will present
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• The Scottish Pipe Band
• Poet and Published Author Rayn - Gimiiwan of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe will present her talk on Bugajannini: The Spirit walk of Big Foot
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Canadian Sports Center! Sponsored by Premier Athletics – For Youth Development!

Come out and enjoy skills workshops, experiences and learn the history of these sports! We will have:

• Curling! sponsored by the Kalamazoo Curling Club. Come throw a rock for charity! All proceeds to be donated to local food banks to fight hunger.
• Lacrosse! Canada’s official winter sport! Meet the athletes and coaches of many local teams like Kalamazoo United,
• Basketball! Invented by a Canadian and staffed with WMU Bronco basketball players!
• Hockey! Come learn street hockey led by NCAA Champion WMU Bronco hockey players!

Try the Royal Canadian VIP Experience and enjoy the Fest in style! BE A PATRON OF THE FEST

WEAR YOUR FAVORITE "CANADIAN TUXEDO" (jeans on top and bottom) AND STRUT YOUR STUFF!

• NO WAIT GATE- Enter at the west gate on Koopsen’s Alley for NO WAITING! 
• Tasting Ticket includes up to three tasting pours of
• DEMOS AND TASTING;

Enjoy creative and delightful no-alcohol cocktails featuring Platinum sponsor Clearly Canadian sparkling waters and Platinum sponsor Pow Wow Energy Drinks. The Clearly O'Canada Smoked Maple Mocktail Also experience the Pow Wow Tropical Moj-EH-ito! a non alcoholic tequila taste sensation mimicking a Mojito! Come taste enticing treatments and unique flavor profiles and support the fest and fire relief!

Experience Flare Bartender Jesse Perez owners of Bandana Bartending LLC who will lead a demo session of

• NOSH on delicious finger foods and bites across the day by local chefs, featuring traditional Canadian Peameal Bacon by Canadian Chef and Fest Event Director, Channon Mondoux Chef Channon's Eclectic Kitchen – Eclectic Kitchen exclusively for VIP ticket holders! More will be added as they come!
• POSH private luxury portable bathrooms, covered tables and seating area. 
• No wait dedicated craft beer trailer, exclusive access to the stage with outdoor cocktail tables and seating. 
• Meet and greet with the bands.
• And MUCH MORE YET TO COME!

Follow our socials for up to the minute announcements!

• Canadiana Fest on Facebook
• Canadiana_Fest on Instagram and Threads
• https://www.canadianafest.FUN