Bala Cranberry Festival set for this weekend

The Cranberry Festival rolls into Bala this weekend for its 41st year, with tens of thousands expected to attend.

Throw on your hip waders because the Bala Cranberry Festival rolls in this weekend.

This is the 41st year of the festival and tens of thousands of people are expected over the next couple of days.

In addition to fresh cranberries and cranberry-related products, visitors can expect Muskoka and Canadian artisans’ products sold by arts and crafts vendors, live music, and kids’ entertainment.

There is also the opportunity to take the plunge at Muskoka Lakes farm & winery, which involves putting on the hip waders and plunging into the sea of cranberries.

Some attendees are at the festival for the first time.

“This time of year is excellent, so we decided to take a little bit of a road trip to come up here and see what the festival is all about,” Bala tourist Brad Marks says.

And others make it an annual trip.

Tourist Rick Nadeau says, “The cranberry festival has been a part of my life for like ten years now.”

Either way the event is designed to celebrate the tiny red fruit and, in some cases, get up close and personal with the cranberries.

It’s encouraging for the Muskoka fall tourism industry.

“The cranberry festival extends the life of the tourist season in Muskoka so the community relies on it. It’s a lot of fun and it gets everyone involved and it really adds to that community atmosphere,” says Event Co-ordinator Alannah Oliver.

The festival runs all weekend, wrapping up on Sun., Oct. 19, 2025 at 3:00 p.m., located on Maple Avenue, in the Bala Arena and Bala Community Centre.

For a full schedule of activities throughout the weekend, visit the Bala Cranberry Festival website.