If you were at the Can-Am Peace Jam at Canadiana Fest this year, you know what a great time we had. We had everything from Indigenous water ceremonies to lectures on the Great Lakes, to archaeology, to all the Canadian sports, to exceptional poutine, to games galore, to an incredible musical lineup and so very much more. There was something for everyone, and it sure did look like everyone was having a blast.
It was a joyful Michigan autumn day and we packed in all the fun we could! We hope our wrapup video gives you a sense of that. Feel free to share this on your socials, and tag us!
We are already planning for 2026. We welcome anyone who wants to be part of building this festival to an even better fourth year, and if you’re interested in joining the planning, let us know here!
Photos credits to Leslie Dutcher Photography, M2 McMillan Media, Alvin Chin, Danielle Devlin, and Tony Steele for all mascot art.
Latest Festival Updates
Build a community with us!
Canadiana Fest is growing and evolving and we are always welcoming new team members who might want to participate in various capacities. Whether you’re interested in year-round participation or want to help out at the festival on the day of, or maybe you want to become involved in the inner workings of the planning committee, please reach out to us. We have something for everyone.
Come be a part of the action! In the least, you’ll get a cool t-shirt and have a great time with fun folks.
Before the Fest We have so many roles where you can bring your unique talents!
- Planning Committee, Media, Support: We have several open positions. Let us know what you would like to do and how involved you’d like to be!
- Canuck Club Social Events: We host gatherings from time to time just to hang out and have fun like euchre nights, hockey game nights, concerts, theatre events, ice skating, curling, and more.
- Fundraisers for the Festival: The Fest is planning some exciting performances and events for the coming year, and we’d love for you to be part of the experience!
- Promotional support- we need people to get the word out far and wide. Whether it’s hanging posters or social media, we can use your help. If you live in the big city, or in nearby counties or towns, we need you!
At the Fest Here are just a few places we could use your help on the day of the Fest!
- Decorate the grounds with banners and more!
- Grounds Crew: set up, clean up/empty trash bins, tear down!
- Be a Canuck Greeter- meet people at the gates with the map and schedule of events, answer questions, escort folks to our booths or tents!
- Face painting and game attendants!
- Be a Mascot Handler- help Bobbie Beerver or Kalam A Moose!
- Help stock and sell Fest merchandise!
- Make no-alcohol cocktails! Bonus points for bar experience!
- Work the refreshments stand (no hot food)!
- Work in the VIP Tent and the talent Green Room!
If you can do it, we can put it to work! Let us know how you want to help! Shoot us a note and how you’d like to get involved!
Help us improve in 2026! Complete our exit survey!
As we wrap up 2025’s Fest, we’re already planning for next year. As you can imagine, offering a free festival means that we have to tap every possible resource. Having information from the public that addresses the validity, value, and importance of what we presented at Canadiana Fest is incredibly important.
If you haven’t completed a survey, would you take a moment to do so? Or, could you send this to friends and family who you know attended? You may receive a survey because you might have been a vendor or a participant in some other way, but please, if you can share this with those you know who attended, we can get a better picture of how to best serve the community next year.
2025 Canadiana Fest Survey https://forms.gle/Z8gD1C8rNe7kzp3MA
Thank you so much for your time and being a part of the Fest this year.
Chi Miigwech, Merci Beaucoup, Thank You Very Much,
Channon Mondoux, Founder and C.C.O. (Chief Canuck Officer) and Amy Crabtree Campbell, Co-Director – Canadiana Fest
2025 Poutine and Buttertart Winners!
If you were at Canadiana Fest, you know that a pretty fierce thunderstorm rolled through before we could announce our Poutine and Buttertart winners! The rain ended, but the lightning essentially shut down our stage and our sound system, so we’re announcing here!
The Grand Champion Poutine was from Katcha Steak, a new entrant this year! Theirs was a bold reimagining of a Canadian classic — crisp golden potato skins loaded with tender cheesesteak, caramelized peppers & onions, finished with house-made cheese gravy, and topped with shaved parmesan, fresh herbs, and a kick of jalapeño heat. They’re going to keep it on their menu, so go check them out!
2nd place Overall: American Culinary Federation of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek and One Well Brewing
3rd Place Overall: Motor Mouth, MI
Most Authentic Poutine: Best Coast Provisions
Most Inventive Poutine: PAC Pizzeria Michigan
People’s Choice: Grand River Brewery – Marshall
Now, on to the Buttertart Bakeoff! The competition was fierce for this highly technical delicate pastry!! The scoring was very tight again, with a point of each other. The 1st place winner was credited with the best overall pastry which tipped the scales.
1st place: Kalamazoo-area local and first time entrant Connie Kamerling!
2nd place: Owen Lewis of Chicago Butter Tart Co. Owen is the returning champion from 2024 and brought us a date-bar tart!
Tied for 3rd: Sarah Rousseau and Brent Grantham. Sarah is returning contestant from Canada, and Brent is another first timer in the contest!
Cara Lieurance and Brian O’Keefe at WMUK talk to Channon and Fest musician John Louis Good!
Canadiana Fest catches on in Kalamazoo! Cara Lieurance and Brian O’Keefe talk with Channon Mondoux and John Louis Good.
https://www.wmuk.org/wmuk-culture/2025-09-17/canadiana-festival-catches-on-in-kalamazoo
Adding a Canadian charitable partner!
Canadiana Fest is proud and excited to announce our support for the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative in Windsor, Ontario- Channon’s own home town!
The DWCC will benefit from funds raised through the sale of our Platinum third-year sponsor Clearly Canadian sparkling waters at the upcoming CanAm Peace Jam at Canadiana Fest 2025 Presented by CN Railway coming up on Saturday, September 20!
This organization does it all for the underserved in Windsor – food banks, youth programs, homelessness support, recovery services, community development and neighborhood revitalization and renewal, a refugee and entrepreneurial program and so much more!
We feel that bringing the DWCC into the fold of the festival, joining theSouth Michigan Food Bank and Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes complements our mission to help our communities. We welcome you to join us at our FREE CAN AM PEACE JAM presented by Canadian National Railway Company Reserve your free (or pay what you want) tickets now to be entered to win a cruise on Lake Michigan from Fresh Coast Sailing!
Canadiana Fest 2025: A Celebration of Music, Food, and Culture in Kalamazoo MI!
Get ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant sights, sounds, and flavors of Canada at Canadiana Fest 2025! Join us at the Arcadia Creek Festival Site in Kalamazoo, MI on Saturday, September 20, 2025 from 3:30 pm until 10 pm, for a day filled with live music, delicious Canadian cuisine and beverages, and exciting cultural activities. Don’t miss out on this unique celebration of Canadian heritage and hospitality! Your attendance also benefits the South Michigan Food Bank and Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes!
FREE ADMISSION this year! Join us for free or contribute if you’re able. Your generosity and kindness makes the festival possible for everyone to enjoy.
We’ll also take at-will donations at the door. Reserve tickets either way so we know how many to expect. Be a part of this unforgettable experience!
2025 Music Lineup:
Rock Rx: Rock Rx (rockrxband.com) Presented by Centre Street Smiles Dental! Hailing from the Kalamazoo area, this high-energy cover band returns again in 2025 doing their renditions of the best Canadian Rock, Pop and R&B. They make the audience feel like they are part of the band, literally. Don’t be surprised if you have a mic in your face during the show, as you sing along to one of your favorite songs.
Cécilia: Cécilia is coming to us all the way from Quebec. Widely recognized as three of Canada’s finest musicians, Timi Turmel, Erin Leahy, and Louis Schryer will bring their rollicking sounds of traditional, Celtic and Quebecois music. Bring your dancing shoes!
John Louis Good: Hailing from just down I-94 in Jackson, John Louis Good will bring the music of Canadian folk icon Stompin’ Tom Connors! You won’t want to miss this!
Woodland Stream Drum & Song, MoniFaith (Monica Padula) piano, and Deanna Bush, Flautist – We are so excited to have these Indigenous artists join us for our opening ceremonies!
Kalamazoo Pipe Band: The Kalamazoo Pipe Band is dedicated to teaching, performing & promoting highland bagpipe music in Kalamazoo, MI. Originating in the 1950’s, they have had the honor of piping at many Michigan ceremonies and events. Their heart thumping drum and heart wrenching pipes will move you and invoke the spirit of Canada’s Commonwealth origins.
2025 Food Vendors:
Local and regional food vendors will offer delicious takes on Canadian Cuisine and local favorites.
- Best Coast Provisions
- Pac Brazilian Pizza
- MotorMouthMI
- American Culinary Federation of Kalamazoo & Battle Creek
- More to come as we get closer to the Fest!
Beer and Beverage Garden operated by the Kalamazoo Experiential Learning Center. Enjoy delicious craft beers and your favorite Canadian imports. We will also have a great selection of imported Canadian wines available via our exclusive offerings from Platinum sponsor Pelee Island Winery, with tastings led by Canadian celebrity sommelier Renée Sferrazza!
2025 Activities SO FAR!
World Champine Poutine Competition Local and regional restaurants and food trucks will compete to create the best Poutine in the World!
Butter Tart Competition Open to all who want to bring their best version of this sweet Canadian classic, professional bakers and home bakers both! Bring a dozen buttertarts to the information booth and they will be judged by a panel of bakers, Canadians, and buttertart lovers. We’ll announce the winners from the stage in the afternoon!
Children’s Culture Tent: Join us at the children’s tent for arts, crafts and cultural and educational activities about Canada!
Workshop Tent: New in 2025, we will have several workshops going on throughout the event with all manner of fascinating topics:
- Genealogist Janine Cotugno from the Kalamazoo Valley Geneaological Society speaks on “Finding Your Canadian Roots”.
- Canadian children’s author Jocelyn Watkinson will read from her book “The Three Canadian Pigs” and Melissa Baril of Caribou a Lunettes will read from a French or Cree language children’s story in the presentations tent.
- Rendez-vous Détroit’s Elizabeth Bourne will speak on celebrating Detroit’s French Canadian history and her own experience of being a French Canadian in Michigan.
- Dr. Daniel McFarlane, one of the world’s leading authorities on the Great Lakes, will present “The 7th Wonder of the World; How Canada and the U.S. Shaped Niagara Falls”.
- Erin Leahy of the band Cécilia will lead a traditional Ottawa Step Dancing workshop! Learn the fundamental mechanics of French-Canadian step dancing as well as how the style developed historically in Quebec and Ontario. Erin will teach you “step by step” to dance a reel and how it is integrated with Traditional Music.
- The Scottish Pipe Band and Dancers will lead a traditional Canadian Scottish country dance with the Quinn Irish Dancers.
- Wyatt Szpliet, Mno Mijem Sovereignty Coordinator of the Gun Lake Tribe, will give a presentation on Anishinaabe maple sugaring.
Canadian Sports Center! Come out and enjoy skills workshops, experiences and learn the history of these sports! We will have:
- Curling! sponsored by the Kalamazoo Curling Club. Come throw a rock for charity! All proceeds to be donated to local food banks to fight hunger.
- Lacrosse! Canada’s official winter sport! Meet the athletes and coaches of many local teams like Kalamazoo United.
- Basketball! Invented by a Canadian and staffed with WMU Bronco basketball players!
- Hockey! Come learn street hockey led by NCAA Champion WMU Bronco hockey players!
- Crokinole! If you don’t know what crokinole is, come find out at the Fest! This traditional Canadian game is a family favorite.
Try the Royal Canadian VIP Experience and enjoy the Fest in style!
- NO WAIT GATE- Enter at the west gate on Koopsen’s Alley for NO WAITING!
- Tasting Ticket includes up to 6 tasting pours of either Canadian Style Beers or Canadian varietal wines!
- We will have Ontario wines exclusively from Platinum sponsor Pelee Island Winery, Canada’s oldest winery, with tastings led by Canadian celebrity sommelier Renée Sferrazza!
- Enjoy creative and delightful no-alcohol cocktails featuring Platinum sponsor Clearly Canadian sparkling waters. The Clearly O’Canada Smoked Maple Mocktail is just one we’ll have on offer! Come taste enticing treatments and unique flavor profiles!
- NOSH on delicious finger foods and bites across the day by top local chefs!
- POSH private luxury portable bathrooms, covered tables and seating area.
- No wait dedicated craft beer trailer, exclusive access to the stage with outdoor cocktail tables and seating.
- Meet and greet with all of the bands.
- And MUCH MORE YET TO COME!
Follow our socials for up to the minute announcements!
- Canadiana Fest on Facebook
- Canadiana_Fest on Instagram and Threads
Walk and talk with Channon Mondoux!
Event creator Channon Mondoux walks us through why we should come out to the Can-Am Peace Jam on Saturday, September 2025 from 4 pm to 10 pm.
A great day ice-skating and hanging out with the community!
We had beautiful weather today for the Canuck Club skating event at the Millenium Park ice rink Portage, MI! Folks enjoyed hot cocoa, hot cider, buttertarts, and the antics of Kalam A. Moose. Follow our Facebook page to find out our next events and come join us! We appreciate the City of Portage Parks and Recreation Department hosting us!
Canadiana Fest 2024 Kzoom wrapup video!
Platinum sponsor Kzoom created this wrapup video for us, enjoy!