After a record-breaking year, Hamilton Fringe Festival is excited to return with its 22nd festival, running July 15-26, 2026 with 400 performances over 50 shows at 16 venues, and 50+ outdoor events throughout the city. Hamilton Fringe is the largest theatre festival in the Greater Hamilton Area, lighting up spaces across town with live theatre, music, dance, comedy, drag, visual art, film, and family friendly fare. The 2026 event listings are online now, with tickets and passes on sale at hftco.ca.

Hamilton Fringe will host a weird, wild and wonderful assortment of theatre and performances, including two shows about Ancient Greece, four shows created by teachers, three shows about food, three shows about the health care system, a show based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Sea Witch and a whole lot of clowns.

By popular demand, Hamilton Fringe will once again host Fringe Boulevard on King William Street at James Street North. With music, dance, market vendors, drag, film, painting, and performance, it's the living, beating heart of the festival – and all programming is FREE. This pedestrian-friendly hub will be filled with free programming on an outdoor stage including Kids Club Fun Day on July 25. New on Fringe Boulevard in 2026 is Foodie Fringe, an onsite, rotating food activation featuring some of Hamilton’s hippest local restaurants serving street dishes created especially for Fringe audiences. Also debuting this year is Neechie Boulevard, an entire day dedicated to Indigenous programming on July 18, fully dreamed up and realized by Indigenous community members.

Returning for the third year is Fringe On The Streets, the free outdoor performance tour where downtown Hamilton becomes the stage for a thrilling set of five live shows. This immersive 75-minute walking tour will feature Where to Lay My Head to Rest by Sophie Bonifaz; Trash Bots by Liz Buchanan and Ryan M Sero; Project Fathering: Generations by Tom Boyd; The Hanging by Radha S Menon; and Paola Brown - The Town Crier of Hamilton by Melissa Murray-Mutch.

Additional Hamilton Fringe Festival highlights include:

 • Some of This Is True at The Gasworks

Written and performed by award winning theatre artist Diana Bentley (Hedda Gabler, Frontier, Handmaid's Tale), this one woman show is a thrilling ride that will leave hearts racing and minds reeling. When Sandra Martin, the Artistic Director of Canada's National Theatre finds herself at the centre of a massive scandal, she is forced to unravel the events of her career and a relationship with her favourite and most esteemed actress.

 • Icarus Is Falling at The Players’ Guild of Hamilton

Winner of the 2026 New Play Contest and written in iambic pentameter, this play retells the myth of the young Icarus. Forever overshadowed by the genius of his aging father, Icarus's world is thrown into disarray when the ancient sun god Helios appears on the roof, promising him the two things he desires most - adoration and immortality.

 • Rebel Spirits at Theatre Aquarius Studio

In a fantasy village, local pub dwellers plot to overthrow the Castle. It's Cheers meets Lord of the Rings. Written and performed by 2026 ALERT Company-In-Residence Bateson & Shaw. Following a string of acclaimed Fringe productions – and with upcoming tours across Canada and overseas – Devin Bateson and Justin Shaw have built a reputation for fast-paced, character-driven comedy that continues to delight audiences well beyond Hamilton.

 • First Bite to Last Laugh at Mills Hardware

First Bite to Last Laugh by Rianna Ford brings Hamilton’s local food scene together with a vibrant, diverse comedy lineup for a night that hits every sense. Think cookout energy; curated local eats, plates in laps, and big laughs on stage. It’s a casual, communal experience where the atmosphere is just as rich as what’s on the plate.

The 2026 Hamilton Fringe Festival venues will include: Mills Hardware, The Players’ Guild of Hamilton, Theatre Aquarius Studio, The Westdale, Backroom @ Ringside, The Staircase (Studio Theatre, Bright Room, Elaine May), Hamilton Theatre Inc., The Gasworks, Centre for the Talking Arts and The St Luke’s Mission.

Hamilton Festival Theatre Company (HFTco) is a not-for-profit charitable organization committed to training, platforming and amplifying Hamilton’s theatre artists and storytellers. Since 2003, we have been building a community for artists and arts lovers, and cultivating work that is accessible, innovative, and artistically adventurous.

Hamilton Fringe Festival is a member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF). We adhere to CAFF’s Guiding Principles, which include: artists being selected on a non-juried basis through a lottery system, artists receiving 100% of the base ticket price of their box office revenue, Fringe festival producers not interfering with the artistic content of the lottery-selected shows, and that the festival provides accessible opportunities for all audiences and artists to participate in the Fringe festival.

* * *

Hamilton Fringe Festival

July 15-26, 2026

General Admission: $14 (+fees)

Kids Under 12: $5 (+fees)

Fringe Mini Bar: $8 (+fees)

Tickets and multi-show passes on sale now:

HFTco.ca