Hamilton Fringe Festival at Hamilton Fringe Festival

After a record-breaking year, Hamilton Fringe Festival is excited to return with its 22nd festival, running July 15-26, 2026 with 400 performances over 50 shows at 16 venues, and 50+ outdoor events throughout the city. Hamilton Fringe is the largest theatre festival in the Greater Hamilton Area, lighting up spaces across town with live theatre, music, dance, comedy, drag, visual art, film, and family friendly fare. The 2026 event listings are online now, with tickets and passes on sale at HFTco.ca/hamilton-fringe-festival.

Hamilton Fringe will host a weird, wild, and wonderful assortment of theatre and performances, including two shows about Ancient Greece, four shows created by teachers, three shows about food, three shows about the health care system, a show based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Sea Witch, and a whole lot of clowns.

By popular demand, Hamilton Fringe will once again host Fringe Boulevard on King William Street at James Street North. With music, dance, market vendors, drag, film, painting, and performance, it's the living, beating heart of the festival – and all programming is FREE. This pedestrian-friendly hub will be filled with free programming on an outdoor stage including Kids Club Fun Day on July 25. New on Fringe Boulevard in 2026 is Foodie Fringe, an onsite, rotating food activation featuring some of Hamilton’s hippest local restaurants serving street dishes created especially for Fringe audiences. Also debuting this year is Neechie Boulevard, an entire day dedicated to Indigenous programming on July 18, fully dreamed up and realized by Indigenous community members.

Returning for the third year is Fringe On The Streets, the free outdoor performance tour where downtown Hamilton becomes the stage for a thrilling set of five live shows. This immersive 75-minute walking tour will feature Where to Lay My Head to Rest by Sophie Bonifaz; Trash Bots by Liz Buchanan and Ryan M Sero; Project Fathering: Generations by Tom Boyd; The Hanging by Radha S Menon; and Paola Brown - The Town Crier of Hamilton by Melissa Murray-Mutch.