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Tall Ships Brockville

Information about the Brockville Tall Ships Festival that happens every 3 years, and the Big River Festival which is on every summer

Brockville Tall Ships® Festival is coming back to our waterfront June 20-22, 2025

Brockville is pleased to announce that the tall ships festival will return to our waterfront in 2025! Our festival will be the first in the summer series taking place from Friday June 20 to Sunday June 22, 2025.

Brockville takes part in the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Great Lakes Series which takes place in our region every three years and Brockville has been taking part since 2013. We hope that you will make the trip make a trip to Brockville to see what else we have to offer visitors all year round.

Please be sure to follow us on facebook for updates and announcements.


For the time being, please save the date for 2025. We are in the early planning stages and will update you more as the festival evolves. Below you will find information from our 2022 event to give you a sense of what the event is all about, but please note that the line up of ships changes each time, and all activities and entertainment are for reference only. 

2022 information:

Tall ships, including Brockville’s own “Fair Jeanne”, and other watercraft line the waterfront and the harbour while entertainment and vendors will be set up on land. Admission to the grounds to see these majestic ships is available with a $10 wristband for all three days, while deck tours of the ships will be available by purchasing a Festival Passport for $20 at the gate which grants each passport holder access to each ship one time (deck tours are available on Saturday and Sunday only). The passport has details on each participating ship and will be stamped after each tour, making it a great take home souvenir from the event.
NOTE: your Festival Passport also includes your admission onto the grounds – you do not need to purchase both a passport and a general admissions wristband.

Advance sales have now closed. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase on site when you arrive. General admission wristbands for access to all land-based activities are only $10 for all three days and are available at many locations on site. Boarding passes (aka festival passports) let you board the ships on Saturday and Sunday between 9am-5pm and are limited to ensure that the ships can accommodate the volume of people who wish to board during the festival. They are $20 on site while supplies last, and include your 3-day wristband.

If you purchased your ticket in advance and did not have it mailed to you, it will be held for pick up on site at the “Advance purchase pick up” table located at the corner of Blockhouse Island Parkway and Water Street. 

Don’t miss the Parade of Sail on Friday starting at approximately 3pm – this is a festival favourite and the best time to take pictures of the ships at sail.

The grounds are open from 2pm-8pm on Friday, and  8am-8pm on Saturday, and 8am-5pm Sunday. Deck tours will be available to passport holders from 9am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

For answers to your most pressing questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page where you should find the answer to seek.

Some of the ships in attendance will be offering special sail-outs and evening cruises for an additional fee, including the option to purchase tickets to sail on tall ship the Empire Sandy during Friday’s Parade of Sail. Tickets to those events will be limited, so be sure to check our detailed ticket information page for details. At our past events these special tickets have all sold out prior to the event, so be sure to plan ahead and purchase your tickets in advance.

New in 2022:

A significant change to this year’s festival is the addition of a professional entertainment stage on Blockhouse Island. The headliner will be the “Shantyman”, Séan McCann, a founder of the iconic Canadian folk rock band “Great Big Sea”. Additional on-stage entertainment will include local musicians. Entertainment around the festival grounds will include “Capt’n Tor” – Canada’s premier theatrical Pirate Troupe, the Leeds County Draft Horse Club’s Touch-a-Horse display, as well as other displays and vendors.

Please check out the rest of this website for additional information, but be advised that some of the information may change as we get closer to the event.  Please review our detailed ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page for more information on your most pressing questions.

We hope to see you here in Brockville in 2022!

Our participating vessels this year include:

  • Empire Sandy
  • Fair Jeanne
  • TS Playfair
  • Mimi Jane
  • St. Lawrence II
  • Nao Trinidad

In addition to the ships above, we will also have:

  • Theodore Too (Theodore Tugboat)
  • CCGS Mamilossa (hovercraft)
  • Royal Canadian Navy display and Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) rides

Other Canadian Ports taking part in the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® Great Lakes 2022 Race Series:

Midland
Midland Tall Ships Festival
July 23 – 24

BROCKVILLE’S OWN