Festival · Wellesley, Ontario
Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival
The Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival is held on the last Saturday of September, from a 7:00 pancake breakfast until 16:00. Admission and parking are free. In 2026 it was on 26 September.
- When
- Last Saturday of September
- Admission
- Free
- Since
- 1975
Dates
- 25 Sep 2027Last Saturday in September (expected, not yet confirmed by the organisers)
What Happens
The festival has run since 1975, started by Wellesley's Board of Trade with help from the Elmira Syrup Festival and the New Hamburg Quilt Auction. It is one of Waterloo Region's favourite fall days out, and it stays free: no admission, free parking and free tractor wagons around the site all day.
Schedule
- 7:00: pancake and sausage breakfast.
- 8:00: the Queens Bush Road street market opens, with apple fritters, caramel apples and schnitzel on a bun, plus the craft market, food vendors at the arena, a children's track and the antique car and tractor shows.
- 9:00: horseshoe tournament beside the arena.
- 10:00: buses start running to a modern dairy farm, loading in the Wellesley Auto Care car park on Nafziger Road, and keep going all day.
- 12:00: antique car parade.
Live music plays all day and the festival winds down at 16:00.
Tips
The dairy farm buses are the closest you get to milk production on the day, and they run from 10:00 until the afternoon. The festival lists local places to stay, including the Apple Inn B&B in Wellesley and the Olde Heidelberg tavern and motel in Heidelberg.
Nearby
Mountainoak Cheese near New Hamburg, part of the Oxford County Cheese Trail, makes Gouda and runs tours on the last Saturday of most months, so it can share a weekend with the festival.
Where to Stay near Wellesley
We may earn a commission when you book through this map, at no extra cost to you.
More in Canada
All of Canada
Oxford County Cheese Trail
Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada
Thirty-plus stops in Ontario dairy country, centred on the Ingersoll Cheese Museum.
Ingersoll Cheese Museum
Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada
A re-created 19th-century cheese factory, open all year by donation.
Quebec Cheese Route
Quebec, Canada
Fifteen regional circuits and more than 70 cheesemakers, relaunched in 2026.
Fromagerie St-Albert
St-Albert, Ontario, Canada
Free observation gallery over the curd and cheddar factory, east of Ottawa.
Great Canadian Cheese Festival
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Canadian cheesemakers from coast to coast under one roof each June.
Abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac
Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Quebec, Canada
Monks' blue cheeses, cider and Gregorian vespers on Lake Memphremagog.
Questions People Ask
When is the Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival?
Always on the last Saturday of September. In 2026 it was 26 September, and in 2027 that Saturday falls on 25 September.
Is the Wellesley festival free?
Yes. Admission, parking and the tractor wagons are all free.
Where do the Wellesley dairy farm tours leave from?
From the Wellesley Auto Care car park on Nafziger Road, from 10:00, with buses running all day.
Official site: wellesleyabcfestival.ca/. Dates, hours and prices checked 22 October 2026; confirm on the official site before you travel. See all cheese festivals.