Get your maple fix and dive into the festive atmosphere of the 40th Vanier Sugar Festival, presented by Desjardins Ontario Credit Union! After last year’s resounding success, we’re back for a week of celebrations, traditions, and delicious treats at the only urban sugar shack in Canada. A unique experience showcasing traditional maple syrup production and the rich heritage of our neighbourhood – proudly celebrated for 40 years!
Save the date and join us for a sweet and festive week!
The Sugar Festival is a free, family-friendly, and community-focused event. To keep it that way, the Vanier Museopark relies on various fundraising initiatives.
Once again this year, show your love for the Festival in style by purchasing a tuque featuring the Sugar Festival logo. Available now on the Museopark website and at our gift shops at the Vanier Sugar Shack and the museum.
Hurry, quantities are limited!
A friendly culinary competition where Ottawa’s top restaurants go head-to-head to create the best maple syrup-based soup. More than just the Festival’s kickoff event, Soup(e) Splash is a gourmet fundraiser: proceeds from this event help fund free Festival activities.
Location: Kiwanis Hall, Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre (300 Pères-Blancs Ave.)
Cost: $60 per person
Tickets: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/SoupeSplashEN2025
Participating Restaurants:
Multiple prizes to be won, including a pair of Premium tickets to Atlético Ottawa’s season opener on April 5 and a Wakefield Mill package!
2025 Soup(e) Splash Jury
Schools across the Ottawa region are invited to enjoy fun-filled activities where children will discover the traditions of maple season through an interactive six-station tour and an original musical performance.
All spots are already filled – see you next year!
This year, join us for a country dinner show featuring Martin Duford and Sugar Crush, presented by Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE). Enjoy a maple-infused meal, lively country music, and some line dancing – are you in?
Location: Centre Pauline-Charron (164 Jeanne-Mance St.)
Dinner: 6 PM | Show: 7 PM
Cost: $35 per person
Menu: Chicken with maple sauce, vegetables & potatoes, bread, maple dessert, coffee or tea
Tickets: Available at the Centre Pauline-Charron online box office.
The Vanier Sugar Festival is turning 40! Join us for a weekend filled with authentic maple syrup traditions and an exciting lineup of activities for family and friends.
Location: Richelieu Park & Vanier Sugar Shack (300 & 320 Pères-Blancs Ave.)
PROGRAM & ACTIVITIES:
🍁 Traditional Sugar Shack Meals & Maple Taffy (Cash, card, and mobile payments accepted, on site only)
☕ Free coffee & hot chocolate, courtesy of Starbucks
🍻 Orléans Brewing Co. craft beers, including their famous maple beer, the official beer of the Festival
🎤 Free live music performances by local artists, including Qattuu and Mimi O’Bonsawin, Kristine St-Pierre and Paul Weber, Hey, Wow and many more! Plus, an additional performance of Qattuu and Mimi O’Bonsawin’s original show presented during the school day on Saturday morning
🎨 Giant paint-by-numbers collective art project presented by DeSerres, Pébéo and visual artist Max Black. Festival-goers of all ages will be invited to paint the canvases and leave a trace of their visit to the Sugar Festival. This activity is free, thanks to the generous support of Pébéo.
🪓 Axe-throwing with LumberJaxe
⚫️⚪️🟡🔴 Indigenous artefacts and experience station with Makatew Workshops
🐴 Mini petting farm & pony rides from Countryside Petting Farm ($)
🎈 Inflatables & indoor activities for kids, presented by Early ON! and HIPPY
📖 Special activities at the Ottawa Public Library – Vanier branch:
🏃♂️ 5K Run with City Councilor Stéphanie Plante
🪵 Lumberjack Skills Competition (Sunday, March 30 at 1 PM)
NEW!
🍕 Wood oven pizza food truck from La ferme Thuya ($)
📻 Live broadcast from the Sugar Festival of Les Week-ends uniques on 94,5 Unique FM.
🎭 Urban sugar shack stilts performers Miss Maple and Simone la bûcheronne (Simone the lumberjack) from Diffusion FAR
📢 Various community booths (Ferme Lufa, ACFO Ottawa, Vanier Community Association, Riverstone Retirement Communities, Conseils des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario)
The Sugar Festival thrives thanks to its amazing volunteers. Want to experience the festival from behind the scenes and contribute to its success?
The Vanier Museopark would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to the generous partners who made the 40th edition of the 2025 Sugar Festival possible:
Stay tuned to see what the 40th edition, presented by Desjardins Ontario Credit Union, will have in store!