Big Branch Festival | Balfolk Toronto

The Big Branch Festival

September 11-13 2026
We invite you to a weekend of Balfolk tunes and dancing near Bancroft, Ontario at a lakefront property in the Canadian Shield, with international and local bands, music, song and dance workshops, jamming, and dancing late into the night…

Located at Fraser Lake Camp

Fraser Lake Camp is a beautiful lakefront property nestled in nature.

Travelling by car, it is 3h10min from Toronto, 4h20min from Montreal, or 2h20min from Ottawa.

A bunk bed in a shared cabin is included with your ticket. Or if you prefer tenting, this is also an option. You will have access to the same shared facilities with either option.

Learn more about accommodations and meals at the festival.

What is Balfolk?

Balfolk is popular social dancing from Western Europe, a recent revival of traditional, mostly French, folk dances. Some partner dances, some group dances, some long chain dances - they are all fun and easy to learn, you don’t need any partners or prior experience. We’ll show you how!

We have some amazing programming for you at the festival this year featuring Bargainatt (FR), La Malène (FR), Malvenn (CA), and Duo Cam&Léon (FR), with evening dances; music, dance, and art workshops; lots of jamming, and group singing.

Festival Info

September 11th-13th 2026, from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.

Accommodations

A bunk in a shared cabin, or tenting. Whichever you choose, you’ll have access to the same shared amenities (washrooms and showers). There is also a lake for swimming (no lifeguards).

Meals

Add optional meals to your ticket, or bring your own. A meals add-on for $130 gets you all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch (6 meals total). All meals are vegetarian. Based on feedback, we are excited to invite back our much requested chef from the 2018-2019 festivals, Lizzy, who will be cooking delicious food for us.

As is tradition, we will have a Saturday night cheese board celebration!

Day Passes

A limited number of day passes will be released online in the week before the festival, after weekend pass sales close on September 2nd. Day passes do not include accommodations or meals.

Scholarships

We are pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to support participation in this year's Big Branch Festival. Applications are open until July 15th 2026. Find more information and learn how to apply here!

Rideshare

A rideshare board is available for folks seeking or offering rides to the festival.

Accessibility Information

Fraser Lake contains uneven terrain and grassy areas not ideal for mobility devices. At night in low light there may be areas that are harder to navigate.

As Big Branch is a dance-centred festival, indoor spaces will prioritize dancers. While there may be some benches around, seating is not guaranteed. This is not a sit-down concert event. If you have any additional accessibility questions, please email bigbranchfestival@gmail.com.

Cell Service

There may be no cell service, and there is no WiFi available. Our merch table will only accept cash - on sale will be CDs, t-shirts, stickers, tunebooks, and other merch.