Join us in celebrating the arts throughout Port Hope this August.
August is Arts Month in Port Hope
Our Arts Festival takes in downtown Port Hope on August 8, 2026. Featuring a 10-Minute Play Series, an outdoor artisan market, a community gathering in the park, and Under the Marquee Street Party. You can expect activities for the kids, art on display, live music and other fun surprises!
Join us in Port Hope August 8
Outdoor events dance with the weather and the festival on August 8 is rain, shine or heatwave.
Some programming components may be relocated or cancelled in severe weather, but downtown Port Hope will still be buzzing! Keep an eye on our social media for weather adjustments. Check out the full programming details below!
10-Minute Play Series
On August 8, our Play Series will feature 15 unique plays, staged in 8 outdoors locations downtown.
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Experience drama, comedy, readings and theatre outdoors – and it’s all free! The 10-Minute Play Series is a unique chance to meet some of the warmest and most charming people in the theatre business. Performances will take place on the hour and the half hour, at 8 outdoor locations, between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. Click through the accordions below to read the play descriptions, and view our festival map (green icons) to find the open-air venues. Port Hope Arts Festival is an approved festival under Canadian Actors’ Equity Association’s Festival Policy. Funding for the 10-Minute Play Series provided by the Ontario Arts Council
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Art Around Town
The work of local artists will be displayed in various downtown windows from August 1 to August 16th.
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Art Around Town transforms downtown Port Hope into one giant art gallery! |
Critical Mass Art
Creating inclusive and engaging contemporary art experiences in Port Hope since 2012.
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Art Crawl with Critical Mass Details coming soon! |
Capitol Theatre
A cultural cornerstone presenting Under the Marquee on August 8.
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Festival fun!
Community displays, hands-on activities, food vendors and other fun surprises.
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Visit Memorial Park on August 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Expect to see stilt walkers, community displays, hands on activities and food vendors. You won't want to miss all the action! There is something for every age to enjoy at the Port Hope Arts Festival. |
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The Port Hope Arts Festival takes place in an open-air setting. Memorial Park is mostly grass and has some uneven ground. Portable washrooms and handwash stations will be located within the park, and additional washroom facilities are available behind Town Hall. There will be a water-bottle refill station located in the park, as well as a drinking fountain behind Town Hall. For those who may need a quiet or cooler space during the event, the Port Hope Public Library will be open as a cooling and sensory-friendly area. Attendees are welcome to bring food from home to the event grounds. There will be a variety of local food vendors on site offering tasty eats. |
S.O.N.G. Sound Stage
Live Performances and Open Mic details |
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Calling all performers! SONG’s SoundStage returns for the Port Hope Arts Festival on August 8. Take the stage at the Memorial Park Bandshell and share your talent - solo or with a group. Performance slots run from 11:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and are first come, first served. Bring your instrument, your dancing shoes, or your poetry and get ready to shine!
Looking for more sweet serenades?Swing by the Capitol Theatre to grab tickets to an intimate concert Under the Marquee at 7:00 p.m.. This is the street party of the summer and you won't want to miss it!
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Wagon Rides
Visit our beautiful downtown and take a free horse-drawn ride on August 8.
Wagon Ride details |
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Take a ride on a horse-drawn wagon throughout the downtown on August 8! The free rides are being provided by Top Notch Carriage Service from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Pick up location is on Queen Street, near the Cenotaph. |
Public Art Spaces
Throughout Port Hope are an assortment of public art pieces. Can you find them all?
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Check out the map of public art and mural locations throughout Port Hope. The map also includes a selection of art galleries. So much to discover! |
Map your experience
Explore our digital Festival Map to find all the event components in downtown Port Hope. Click the view larger map box (top right) for full map functionality and menu options.
The Art of Shopping
Shopping boutique merchants and vendor stalls of the outdoor market to find unique gifts and treasures is a favourite component of our Arts Festival experience.
Artisan Market
The outdoor marketplace will pop up in downtown on August 9 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the back lawn of Town Hall and a portion of Augusta Street. This market will run alongside the Port Hope Farmers Market.
Market details and registration |
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The vendor market reflects the colourful mix of Northumberland County’s culture by showcasing the diverse skills and products of local and regional artists. The Arts Festival is open to established and emerging artists and makers. Vendor registration is now closed. Vendor registration is open until July 27 - register today. If you are a food or artisan vendor that would like to be a vendor at our Arts Festival, or other events in Port Hope, be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for information on upcoming opportunities: Food and Artisan Vendor mailing list
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Shop the Farmers' Market
The Port Hope Farmers' Market is running on Saturday mornings (8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.) at 56 Queen Street. Visit this open-air markets to find the freshest locally grown vegetables, baked goods, preserves and more.
Shop the Port Hope merchants
Port Hope merchants offer distinction and diversity. Shop local to find items ranging from the rare and curious, to the practical and pretty. The business district is open seven days a week!
Live music throughout the month of August
Port Hope Jazz
Jazz music is making a statement on the fourth weekend of August. The Port Hope Jazz experience will have you swooning and grooving.
All that Jazz |
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Port Hope Jazz presents top-calibre Jazz musicians in local restaurants and venues around town on the fourth weekend in August. Port Hope Jazz is a grassroots organization dedicated to exploring and promoting Canadian jazz excellence. Check out their website or follow along on social media to find out more. Tickets are selling fast, so grab yours today! |
Road to Cultivate
The Road To Cultivate Concert Series is live in the Memorial Park historical bandshell every Thursday in July and August!
Cultivate live music schedule |
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The Road to Cultivate Concert Series features some of Canada's best musicians, local food vendors and fun for everyone.
Bring a blanket and those you love the most and celebrate the season with music in the park every Thursday until the end of August.
Cultivate's flagship festival will be back this September at the Haute Goat Farm. A must attend event! Check out their website or follow along on social media to find out more. |
Discover the arts
Uncover the artist within and exercise your creativity using tips in our video series! View our artist video playlist for more colourful content and encouragement to try different art forms.
More local art, culture and public spaces to explore
On August 9, visit the downtown for play readings, wagon rides, hands-on activities, freezies and chalked sidewalks! To find more local events and art programs this August check out the Port Hope calendar.
Did you know the Port Hope Arts Festival has been running for 22 consecutive years? Check out more fun ways to engage with the arts and the Port Hope community below.
August is Arts Month |
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To help expand and extend the Port Hope Arts Festival experience, organizations and individuals are invited to celebrate August as Arts Month. Our vision is to encourage an organic community celebration of the arts by extending an open invitation to get creative and curious. Arts Month is intended to be a serendipitous celebration, where artists, residents, organizations and businesses are empowered to present activities, digital content or physical displays that engage folks in the arts. We encourage experiences that educate, inspire and connect us to a variety of artistic mediums with the ultimate goal of having some creative, community fun. How to participate?Participation could be private, and may include reaching out to a local artist to ask them a question or tell them you admire their talents, purchasing a new art piece, trying your hand at a new art form or getting tickets to the theatre. Participation could also be more public, like hosting or attending a workshop, promoting artfully made merchandise, sharing a work-in-progress or tips online. (Check out the tip videos above for inspiration!) If you’d like to join the Arts Month momentum, there are no rigid rules for participation and there isn't a sign-up process; participation is self-empowered. If you want to tag the Municipality of Port Hope in social posts, we will do our best to share some content on our channels. Try posting content to hashtags #porthope and #phaf to see who else is dabbling in the arts. Our goal with Arts Month is to inspire each other to be creative and expressive this summer; to share our work, our discoveries and celebrate the arts throughout the Port Hope community. Spread the wordWe invite our community to spread the word. Below is a collection of Arts Festival assets that can be "saved as" and downloaded: |
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Self-guided tours |
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| Embark on a self-guided tour this August to learn about historic buildings and landmarks, find farm stands, antique barns, and movie shoot locations. Discover more Port Hope history and heritage, museums and stories while you're enjoy the sights and sounds of summer on the lakeshore. | ||
Chalk art |
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Watch for colourful chalk designs downtown and around town on August 9. As part of this year's Arts Festival experience, we invite you to break out the sidewalk chalk. A creative and colourful activity, sidewalk chalking is an interactive way to brighten our streetscapes. Share photos of your designs on social media with the hashtags #porthope and #phaf. Watch for colourful chalk designs on the sidewalk downtown and around town on August 10 (or until it rains!). Give our friendly Parks staff and local artist Herb Jung a big hello, should you see them out and about.
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Port Hope has arts and culture experiences abound!
Follow along on our social media for more updates and details throughout August. Keep an eye on our online community event calendar for more experiences at www.porthope.ca/calendar
Event partners and sponsors
Port Hope is a vibrant and creative community. The Port Hope Arts Festival and August is Arts Month is made possible thanks to a wide assortment of hearts and hands, especially these supporters:
Capitol Theatre • Critical Mass Art • Dave Carley • Hope Community Church • HBIA • Ontario Arts Council • Ontario Power Generation • Canadian Actors' Equity Association
For more information about how to get involved with the Port Hope Arts Festival,
email the Events Team or call 905-885-7908 x 3425
Sponsorship Opportunities
Elevate your brand and connect with our Arts Festival audience through a variety of sponsorship and advertising avenues. Boost your brand awareness and drive meaningful engagement this August!
The Port Hope Arts Festival was named one of the Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario by FEO. Top 100 recipients represent festivals and events that excel within the industry.
We are capturing photos/videos of this amazing event. These photos/videos may be used by the Municipality of Port Hope or its partners in publications, promotional materials, social media or other communications, without subject notice or compensation.