Oh, Kalamazoo! Canadiana Fest brings Canada’s heart — and humor

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KALAMAZOO, MI — Canadiana Fest is back this coming weekend in Kalamazoo, bringing music and the arts, food, sports, and plenty of Canadian spirit. What started in 2023 as a response to the pandemic’s isolation has now become a signature Kalamazoo event, drawing more than 1,700 people last year and aiming even higher in 2025.

The festival’s founder, Channon Mondoux, a Canadian who became a U.S. citizen in 2015, says the vision emerged from a need for connection. “I decided two things. I would never let a year go by without celebrating my first homeland. If I couldn’t get to Canada, Canada was going to come to me. And our community needed to experience what Canadians are actually like: kind, fiercely loyal to each other, and welcoming of all people.”

Mondoux’s vision hasn’t changed, but the festival’s reach has grown. Attendance doubled in its second year, much of it fueled by word-of-mouth.

“Once people find out about it, they’re blown away by what we do,” Mondoux says. “There is nothing more rewarding than wandering into a store wearing a festival T-shirt and hearing someone say, ‘I can’t wait to go!’”

More than music and maple syrup, Canadiana Fest makes philanthropy part of its mission. Since its launch, the event has raised more than $22,000 for food banks, including South Michigan Food Bank and Loaves & Fishes. Some funds have also gone to disaster relief and nonprofits like Tanner’s Spark on the World, which organizes planned acts of kindness in memory of young, now passed, Grand Rapids entrepreneur Tanner Rogers.

“I decided two things. I would never let a year go by without celebrating my first homeland. If I couldn’t get to Canada, Canada was going to come to me. And our community needed to experience what Canadians are actually like: kind, fiercely loyal to each other, and welcoming of all people.” — Channon Mondoux, Canadiana Fest Founder

Mondoux stresses that partnerships help make Canadiana Fest possible. Clearly Canadian, one of the festival’s sponsors, donates unsold product to food banks and contributes proceeds from sales. This year, Canadiana Fest will add a Canadian partner, the Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative, which provides food security and entrepreneurial program services for the City of Windsor — just across the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit.

Each year, the festival highlights Canada’s founding cultures — Indigenous, French, and British Commonwealth — while spotlighting traditions that span from Scotland to the Caribbean. Plans are underway to expand programming in 2026 to reflect the “eclectic mosaic” of modern Canadian culture.

Canadiana Fest general admission is free with a Pay-What-You-Will option. To reach wider audiences, the festival partners with nonprofits like Gryphon Place. Accessibility features include ASL interpreters, audio QR codes for schedules and menus, mobility access at stages, and extra seating.

Channon Mondoux, founder and lead organizer of The Canadiana Festival

“We’re not only creating a festival, we’re building community,” Mondoux explains. After Premier Athletics joined to run the Sports Centre, a local lacrosse player asked them about starting a year-round program. This goes to show that Mondoux is on the right track, building community through an event that spreads like ripples throughout the Kalamazoo area.

The festival’s future is ambitious. Mondoux and other organizers hope to add a comedy component, pointing to Canada’s rich legacy in satire and performance. They also envision an international peace-focused event, possibly extending to multiple days with some ticketed programming.

Throughout all the future planning, the heart of Canadiana Fest remains the same: connection, kindness, and celebration.

“We know that for centuries our two nations have shared a peaceful existence,” the founder notes. The festival is not a political event, but the current rhetoric in the United States has some seeing potentially negative views of Canadians as “the elephant in the room.”

Canadian Hall of Famer Pro Wrestler, “Irish” Bobby Clancy, and his bodyguard, Prairie

The “World Champion Poutine Competition Golden Gravy Ladle” Trophy

Mondoux was very clear, “This is a chance for people to have face-to-face interaction with not just Canadian expats and visitors, but also family, friends, and colleagues who are woven into the very fabric of the United States.”

“We’ve become intertwined in the history, economy, social structure, and even the DNA of America,” says Mondoux.

And yes, there’s plenty of fun. Or as Mondoux puts it: “Is the Pope Catholic? We’ll have a humdinger of a kitchen party. You just hang a Larry at the gate and join the shindig, it’ll be the party of a lifetime.”

This year’s lineup includes:

A parade with mascots and dignitaries
Canadian Sports Center events with WMU hockey, lacrosse, curling, and basketball
Nobel Champions Group (NCG) wrestling legends Canadian, “Irish” Bobby Clancy and Michael “The Neon Ninja” Facade will make an appearance in anticipation of the NCG Wrestling Event in Paw Paw on Oct. 3
The World Champion Poutine Competition for the Golden Gravy Ladle Trophy
A butter tart competition open to all, with fees supporting food banks
A Children’s Cultural Centre featuring Canadian author Jocelyn Watkinson, face painting, and tie-dyeing
Five bands, plus an Acadian dance workshop by Erin Leahy of the Quebec-based band Cecilia
Cultural villages with genealogy, French Canadian, Scottish, and Indigenous programming led by experts like Dr. Danielle MacFarlane
Games including the Sasquatch Challenge, “How Canadian Are You?” quiz show, and the Log Rolling Game of Doom
The Canuck Canteen with maple cotton candy, ketchup chips, butter tarts, and Clearly Canadian drinks

For adults, the Royal Canadian VIP Lounge offers tastings from Pelee Island Winery with Toronto-based sommelier Renée Sferrazza, along with private amenities.

If you would like to learn more about the Candiana Fest, please visit: https://canadianafest.fun/