Bala Cranberry Festival

Although there are tons of people, that is what makes for a better experience. Lots of vendors with cranberry EVERYTHING. It was a beautiful drive coming into Bala through the meandering roads, showcasing all the colourful scenery that the Muskokas has to offer in Fall. Parking in town is very limited, but they do have a winery close by that offers a shuttle to and from the festival. What a perfect way to spend the day, by taking a wine tour and getting a free ride into the festival and back. If that isn’t your thing you may want to make it a destination for the weekend and stay in a B&B or Air B&B within walking distance. Failing that you’ll just have to park on the main roads coming into Bala. You’ll need to make sure that you still park outside of the no parking zones so that you do not get a ticket. You may have to walk as far as a kilometer if you come late. If you are young and agile, or used to walking then it isn’t an issue. Otherwise, be the early bird and even come the day before. There is parking in town, but as mentioned, Limited and first come first serve. The festival is worth it! Downtown Bala, where the festival is located, is quaint and nostalgic. It’s got that hometown happy feel. For someone who grew up in Nova Scotia in a small town, it really brought back all my childhood memories. Me and one of my good friends and coworker made the weekend an entire experience by staying at the Windermere resort in the off-season so that we could take in all of the fall leaves, get a room at a reduced price, yet still get great service and a delicious meal in their dining room. Might I add that the breakfast buffet was spot on! Then we took in a Muskoka sunset dinner cruise on the Peerless II which departs from Port Carling 7 days/wk. It is a smaller ship that sails you through some of the most breathtaking scenery that Muskoka has to offer. It was a lovely experience . Time well spent. So, if you are heading to the Bala cranberry festival, these are just a few other things that you can tack on to the experience to make it a colorful, beautiful, and memorable weekend. Photographers bring your camera! ?

It is a shame that the town had to issue $70.00 parking tickets when parking space is very limited.. You would think they could make an exception in light of the fact the festival is bringing revenue to Bala.... Greed to the max.

A great way to spend a fall weekend and enjoy Muskoka

Having attended many of the Bala Cranberry festivals in years past I must say this years (2021) fell flat. Despite the fact there seemed to be fewer vendors with less to offer, prices appeared somewhat higher for everything. Yes Covid has had many businesses seeking higher profit but the charm has been taken away as a result. There was ample space available to augment this years festival by having more food vendors offering more variety than just hamburgers, French fries or a cranberry sausage on a bun. The cranberry sausage on a bun was sub par as well. A poor hot dog bun with an overly thick cased sausage with very little flavour. There are a number of local and not far away micro breweries that could have been on hand to offer their products but were absent. If the Bala Cranberry Festival is to survive and flourish moving forward offer attendees more food and beverage choices. Yes the area is pretty but not everyone goes there to buy a Muskoka hoodie, or a blanket. I would imagine without a large advertising push with a multitude of food and beverage vendors signed for next year, this festival will not be viable within several seasons.

We stumbled across this festival by accident and were pleasantly surprised. Lots of vendors spread across a beautiful town

Visited this festival for the first time in 2021 and it was a really good time. There are many vendors set up outside of the official festival locations, however the festival is worth the price of admission. The rides were dissapointing but the Busker performers were fantastic.

Great town, very nice people, awesome view from the helicopter ride, amazing experience! :)

Such an amazing festival! Closed some of the local streets, full of local food vendors, hot coffee and all sorts of cranberry treats. Worth the trip! The fall colours did not disappoint. The local church served the most delicious home made foods for purchase! So much to see and do!