Old Town Ramble and Ride 2026: Here’s the full schedule

Yellowknife’s Old Town Ramble and Ride Festival returns from July 31-August 2, 2026, billing itself as a free, family-friendly weekend that “fills Old Town with live music, art, food, local vendors and wonderfully quirky community spirit.”

This year marks the Ramble and Ride’s 20th anniversary, organizers say.

They picked out Whitehorse musician, clown actor and dancer Claire Ness, circus performer Amanda Panda and children’s performer Miranda Currie as 2026 headliners.

More than 35 vendors will set up along McDonald Drive on Saturday and Sunday, with the market running from 11am to 5pm each day.

Here’s the full schedule as published by the festival.

Friday’s kickoff concert

The festival opens on Friday evening with a coffee house-style concert at the Down to Earth Gallery. Coffee and lemonade are free, stew and bannock will be on sale.

• 6:30pm: Stacie Arden Smith
• 7:30pm: Ryan McCord and Vishwaa
• 8:30pm: Andrea Bettger Trio
• 9:30pm: Claire Ness

Saturday’s music

• 12pm: Opening ceremony with the Yellowknives Dene Drummers – Crossroads Cultural Stage
• 12:30pm: Jenna Blanchard – Wildcat Cafe
• 12:30pm: Georges Cornelissen – Old Town Glassworks
• 12:45pm: Peekaboo Kazoo – Down to Earth Gallery
• 1pm: Dance Collective – Crossroads Cultural Stage
• 1pm: Francis Gon – Gallery of the Midnight Sun
• 1pm: Stacie Arden Smith – Bullocks Bistro
• 1:30pm: Flipside – Sundog Trading Post
• 1:30pm: Nimsy – Old Town Glassworks
• 1:45pm: Pat Braden – Down to Earth Gallery
• 2pm: Munya and Friends – Weaver & Devore
• 2:30pm: Rob Elo, country set – NWT Brewing Co
• 2:30pm: Drika – Old Town Glassworks
• 2:45pm: Laurie Sarkadi and friends, featuring Lilamancy – Down to Earth Gallery
• 3pm: Helna – Crossroads Cultural Stage
• 3:30pm: Deh Cho – Old Town Glassworks
• 3:45pm: Andrea Bettger Trio – Down to Earth Gallery
• 4pm: Taiko drumming – Crossroads Cultural Stage

Sunday’s music

• 12pm: Darin Woodbury – Weaver & Devore
• 12:15pm: Anica – Down to Earth Gallery
• 12:30pm: Amanda Panda, hula hoop circus – Crossroads Cultural Stage
• 12:30pm: Francis Gon – Old Town Glassworks
• 12:45pm: Georges Cornelissen – Gallery of the Midnight Sun
• 1:15pm: Darin Woodbury – Down to Earth Gallery
• 1:15pm: Nimsy, DJ set – Sundog Trading Post
• 1:30pm: Ryan McCord and Vishwaa – Old Town Glassworks
• 1:30pm: NWT Pipe Band – Crossroads Cultural Stage
• 1:45pm: Rob Elo, jazz set – Wildcat Cafe
• 2:15pm: Flipside – Down to Earth Gallery
• 3:15pm: Munya and Friends – Down to Earth Gallery

Kids and families

The Kids Zone at Ahmic Air runs both days with art activities, balloon art, face painting, a bouncy castle and the literacy bus. Performers drop in throughout each afternoon:

• Saturday: Claire Ness at 1:30pm, Amanda Panda Circus at 2:30pm
• Sunday: Miranda Currie at 1pm, Amanda Panda Circus at 2pm, Claire Ness at 2:30pm

The Down to Earth Gallery hosts a Kids Chill Zone – colouring, games, bubbles, books and toys – from 11am to 5pm on Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.

Saturday begins with the annual bike parade on Latham Island from 9:30am to 11:30am, organized by the Latham Island Neighbourhood Association with Old Town Bike Works and Ecology North’s Communities in Motion group.

Foam Buddies YK brings a foam party to Hank Koenen Park on Saturday, alongside BACupNorth’s Emancipation Day celebrations.

Art, workshops and demos

Drop-in art activities run at the Down to Earth Gallery from 12pm to 4pm each day.

On Saturday, that means a pottery wheel demo with Ann Peters and free button-making with Dave Kellett and friends, plus a drop-in soap dish workshop with Cathie Harper from 1pm to 4pm for $10.

On Sunday, there’s free rock painting with Michelle Guille and friends, more button-making, and an aurora borealis sculpture demo with Cathie Harper from 1pm to 4pm.

Elsewhere across the weekend, you can find:

• a painting workshop with Diane Boudreau and Ecology North’s Trash-Formation project at the Johnson Building Supplies site;
• the Yellowknife Seniors’ Society silent auction in the old Johnson’s building, running Saturday and Sunday;
• the Yellowknife Artist-Run Community Centre’s mobile art gallery at the corner of McDonald Drive and Weaver Drive;
• the Tamarack Fibres Group’s Circles exhibition;
• An Ode to Yellowknife in Clay – pottery demonstrations marking the Yellowknife Guild of Arts and Crafts’ 80th anniversary;
• the Yellowknife Historical Society’s free heritage photo booth; and
• tours of the Yellowknife Marine Rescue Unit’s coast guard vessel at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans dock, 12pm to 4pm both days.

Food, deals and milestones

Two Old Town institutions are celebrating anniversaries. Weaver & Devore marks 90 years with a rest area, cake and in-store sales all weekend, while Bullocks Bistro turns 35 with 35 percent off its sauces and menu items at 1991 prices.

The Sundog Trading Post is open from 10am to 8pm both days serving tacos, ice cream, coffee and moqueca soup. The Gallery of the Midnight Sun sells lemonade and dessert squares for $4 – from 12pm to 4pm both days – with proceeds going to Inclusion NWT.

And if you’d rather see Old Town from above, Ahmic Air is offering seaplane rides on Saturday from 10am to 5pm for $100 per person.

Passport draw

Pick up a festival passport at participating businesses, collect stamps as you make your way around Old Town, and drop your completed passport at the Gallery of the Midnight Sun or the Down to Earth Gallery before 3:30pm on Sunday.

The prize draw – for more than $1,000 in gift cards – takes place at 4pm on Sunday.

A welcome and information table at Hak’s Auto Body can point you in the right direction all weekend.