Bluesfest wraps with free daytime programs to celebrate Ottawa’s bicentennial

The ninth and final day of Ottawa Bluesfest sees thousands of music lovers pack LeBreton Flats. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson reports.

The biggest festival in the nation’s capital after nine days, with The Guess Who hitting the mainstage on Sunday night.

In the morning, the gates were opened for free special daytime programming to celebrate Ottawa’s 200th anniversary in partnership with the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Tourism.

The last day of Bluesfest falls on the 200th day of 2026.

Shayna Gersher came with her family and friends, not passing up the chance for her kids to have their first taste at the music festival.

“We’re big music supporters, and we love to support festivals,” she said. “The best part about it is that we’re all together and it’s family friendly.”

The free events featured a number of performances from local artists and wrapped up with Natalie MacMaster performing on the RBC Mainstage.

MacMaster says outdoor festivals just have a different feeling to them

“There’s a charm that happens on these stages that you don’t get anywhere else,” she said.

Joe Reilly, media spokesperson with Bluesfest, says about 2,500 volunteers pull this event together over the nine nights. Sold-out shows like Ella Langley, Sheryl Crow and Angine de Poitrine on Friday drew more than 30,000 fans to the grounds of Lebreton Flats.

“It’s just always fantastic to be down here and see people really celebrating music, celebrating community, and being part of what we’re doing here at Bluesfest,” he said.

The event was free until just after 4 p.m. before ticketholders were let back onto the grounds. Bluesfest executive director Mark Monahan says Sunday’s free programming is also a trial run, to see if it’s possible to pull off in future years.

“It’s been such a great festival and a lot of satisfaction with pulling this off,” he said of this year’s Bluesfest run.

Tonight’s show will wrap with a drone show to cap off this year’s festival.

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