Winter festivals and celebrations being held in New Brunswick

A weekend of extreme cold has ushered in a series of winter festivals across New Brunswick celebrating the season’s snow and freezing temperatures.

A weekend of extremely cold temperatures are ushering in a line of winter festivals across New Brunswick, encouraging people to mingle during the most frigid time of year.

The three-week FROSTival began on Thursday in Fredericton, with the Shivering Songs music series hosted inside various downtown venues, including the Boyce Farmers Market and Wilmot United Church.

“When the temperature is this cold and people don’t typically want to leave their house, they know that even if they come out to a Shivering Songs event and they don’t know the artist, they’re really going to have a good time,” said Peter Cullen, a volunteer and organizer with the event since it began in 2010. “It’s a nice chance to get out of the house in the cold winter and see some pretty warm faces.”

Shivering Songs wrapped up on Sunday with a free show inside the inflatable ‘snowdome’ at Officers’ Square. Across the capital region, indoor and outdoor FROSTival events over the next two weeks range from ice sculptures to ski and snowshoe gatherings.

Elsewhere around New Brunswick, winter-centric festivals are already in progress or are about to begin.

In the Saint John area, Fundy WinterFest began last week, with winter events scheduled around the port city and surrounding communities between now and March. The communities of Rothesay, Quispamsis, Hampton, Saint John, Grand Bay Westfield, and Fundy-St. Martins will each host a week of winter activities under the WinterFest banner.

Fundy-St. Martins hosted the festival’s first week of events, featuring a spaghetti supper, a hockey tournament, and fireworks.

The full list of New Brunswick winter festivals in 2026 includes:

• Campbellton: Sno-Fest (Feb. 12 – 16)
• Dieppe: Fun On Ice (Fridays until Feb. 27)
• Fredericton: FROSTival (Jan. 22 – Feb. 8)
• Moncton: Polar Fest (Feb. 14 – 16)
• Perth-Andover: Winter Freeze Fest (Feb. 24 – March 1)
• Plaster Rock: World Pond Hockey Championships (Feb. 19 – 22)
• Riverview: Winter Carnival Ignite (Jan. 30 – Feb. 8)
• Saint Andrews: WinterWarmer Festival (Jan. 29 – Feb. 1)
• Saint John area: Rothesay, Quispamsis, Hampton, Saint John, Grand Bay Westfield, and Fundy-St. Martins: Fundy WinterFest (Jan. 17 – March 18)

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.