Featuring a weekend of French-Canadian music, food and festivities in Coquitlam, Festival du Bois is Metro Vancouver’s premier Francophone festival.
The festival features French-Canadian, folk, and world music performances as well as family-friendly entertainment. There are workshops, French-Canadian foods and other fun activities too.
For Festival du Bois 2026, the most notable headliners are Delhi 2 Dublin, Aleksi Campagne, Nicolas Pellerin et Les Grands Hurleurs, and Jocelyn Pettit Band. Together, they represent the festival’s folk, Quebec roots music, and Celtic performances.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for tickets and the festival’s official website.
This article includes the following information about Festival du Bois:
What to Expect | Festival Video | When and Where? | Admission | Activities | Contra Dance | Festival Schedule | Traditional Menu Items | Mackin House Museum | Other Information
Coquitlam’s Festival du Bois French Festival
Festival du Bois is British Columbia’s largest Francophone festival. It happens in Mackin Park, located at 1046 Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam. The venue is a 23-kilometre drive from downtown Vancouver. The park is also just across the street from Mackin House (a historic site and museum) and a block from Place des Arts (an arts centre).
Visit the official festivaldubois.ca website to learn about this event, or continue reading.
What to Expect
At Festival du Bois, you’ll find activities for children, French-Canadian foods for sale, market vendors, workshops, and a variety of great musical performances throughout the weekend.
Popular foods available for purchase typically include poutine, crepes, and traditional snow-hardened maple syrup candy. There are other tasty things too.
If you like French-Canadian folk music or want a chance to practice your French, then you won’t want to miss this event! The festival is a lot of fun and very interesting, especially if you’re of French-Canadian heritage or interested in learning more about their culture. It’s a terrific event for people of all backgrounds.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival du Bois Video
Check out the following short video for an idea of what to expect at the festival. The video shows scenes of the festival from a few years ago. The band playing is the Sybaritic String Band, which usually plays at the Contra Night Dance each year. The musician performing at the end is Shauit.
As you’ll see from this clip, the festival is a lot of fun. There are food trucks, family-friendly activities, and entertainment spread out all around Mackin Park. There is so much to see and do.
When and Where is Festival du Bois?
Festival du Bois debuted in 1989 and happens in late winter or early spring each year. It usually happens in March, but it has happened slightly earlier or later on occasion.
In 2026, the festivities take place on the weekend of March 6th to 8th.
The festival is held in Mackin Park, at 1046 Brunette Avenue, just a few blocks from the Coquitlam IKEA store. The park is a 10-minute walk from IKEA and a 5-minute walk from Canadian Tire. You are actually encouraged to park at IKEA during the festival and then either take a free shuttle or walk to the venue.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival du Bois Admission
Below are the admission prices for 2026, valid for online payments made as of late January 2026. Tickets at the gate usually cost a bit more. The prices quoted below include all taxes and online fees.
- Friday (March 6th): Free but limited amount, so advanced registration is recommended
- Saturday & Sunday (March 7th or 8th):
- Adults (18+): $34 per day
- Students & Seniors: $23 per day
- Children (ages 12 and under): Free
Note: Until February 6th, 2026, tickets are 20 percent off online.
Festival du Bois Activities
In 2026, as in previous years, Festival du Bois takes place at Coquitlam’s Mackin Park. Some activities occur outdoors, and others happen indoors in giant tents.
At the festival there are food vendors and community organization information stalls, as well as games and other activities for children. There is also typically an Opening Night Contra Dance party on the Friday night, in 2026 it happens at 8:00 pm on Friday, March 6th.
There is other live entertainment all weekend. Most of it is indoors, but some of it is outside. The headlining musical performers in 2026 are Delhi 2 Dublin, Aleksi Campagne, Nicolas Pellerin et Les Grands Hurleurs, and Jocelyn Pettit Band.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Opening Night Contra Dance
The 2026 Opening Night Contra Dance takes place from 8:00 pm until 9:15 pm on Friday, March 6th, at the festival’s Mackin Park venue at 1046 Brunette Avenue. Admission is free, but advanced registration is required.
The Contra Dance is a family-friendly event that involves a style of folk dancing in lines of couples. The Sybaritic String Band, which specializes in contra dancing, provided the entertainment last year.
The Contra Dance is open to people of all ages. It’s a family-friendly event that was recommended for adults and “children who like dancing with adults” (which meant there aren’t separate little kids’ activities). It’s a lot of fun.
A few hundred people attend the Contra Dance event most years. Instructions are provided in English, with some French, and then everyone performs a specific dance. New instructions are provided for a new dance. Participants typically complete the steps, then everyone dances again.
The dances are simple, fun, and lively. People typically dance in pairs and are encouraged to switch partners periodically.
Check out the following video to see what the Contra Dance is all about.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival Schedule
Artists performing in 2026 include Aleksi Campagne, Bagatelle, Delhi 2 Dublin, Jacques Surette, Jocelyn Pettit Band, Locarno, Nicolas Pellerin et Les Grands Hurleurs, The North Shore Celtic Ensemble, Micah!, and Will’s Jams, along with many other talented performers from across Canada.
For an idea of what to expect at the event, below is the 2026 Festival du Bois schedule for Saturday and Sunday. (Note: Exact details are subject to change.)
Saturday, March 7th, 2026
On the Main Stage/Grand Chapiteau
- 11:30 am – Doors open
- 12:00 pm – Bagatelle
- 12:55 pm – Festival Opening
- 1:30 pm – Schryer, Enblom, Dobres & Hillhouse
- 2:25 pm – Jacques Surette
- 3:25 pm – Jocelyn Pettit Band
- 4:30 pm – Aleksi Campagne
- 5:35 pm – Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs
- 7:00 pm – Delhi 2 Dublin
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
In the Petit Chapiteau/Children’s Tent
- 12:30 pm — Micah!
- 1:45 pm — Malicounda
- 3:00 pm — Will’s Jams
- 4:00 pm — Par où commencer? with Julie Landry
- 5:30 pm — Step Dance Workshop
Workshops at Mackin House
- 12:30 pm — Aleksi Campagne
- 1:30 pm — Bagatelle
- 2:30 pm — Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs
- 4:30 pm — Jacques Surette
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Sunday, March 8th, 2026
On the Main Stage/Grand Chapiteau
- 8:30 am – Doors open
- 9:00 am – Mass & Pancake Breakfast
- 10:30 am – North Shore Celtic Ensemble
- 11:35 am – Aleksi Campagne
- 12:40 pm – Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs
- 1:45 pm – Schryer, Enblom, Dobres & Hillhouse
- 3:15 pm – Locarno
In the Petit Chapiteau/Children’s Tent
- 11:30 am — Jacques Surette
- 12:45 pm — Will’s Jams
- 1:45 pm — Malicounda
- 3:00 pm — Micah!
Workshops at Mackin House
- 12:30 pm — Micah!
- 1:30 pm — Tom Landa
- 2:30 pm — North Shore Celtic Ensemble
Note: All times and details are subject to change.
There is typically lots of food available at the festival. There are food trucks and various vendors, plus a canteen-style venue in the Grand Chapiteau.
In recent years the menu at the food station in the Grand Chapiteau has included things like pea soup, pork & beans, a slice of tourtiere (meat pie) and sugar pie. Other common menu items included bread with pork pate and a “Lumberjack Plate” with an assortment of items. Beer is also available at the festival’s bar.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Mackin House Museum
If you’re at Festival du Bois anyway, walk across the street and visit the Mackin House Museum while you’re there.
Built in the early 1900s, the heritage building was the home of the General Manager of Fraser Mills, which at one time was the largest sawmill in the British Empire. Admission to the museum is by donation. Expect to stay for just a few minutes, unless there during a performance.
The Mackin House Museum is open Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday. Hours vary depending on the day. As of our last check, the attraction is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. On Thursdays, it’s open from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Saturdays from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Other Information
Click the Festival du Bois website for more information about the festival in Coquitlam, including the performance schedule.
Check out our Festivals and Events Calendar for other Lower Mainland festivals throughout the year.
Check out Place des Arts if you like art, dancing, theatre or music. Place des Arts is an arts centre in Coquitlam located about a block from Mackin Park. It offers workshops and classes on a wide variety of subjects.
See our March and April calendars of events for other things to do in the spring.
