PEI: Charlottetown, Charlottetown Festival. This annual summer of outstanding musical and dramatic venues, the most famous of which is exceptional and award-winning musical based on Lucy Maud Montgomery’s timeless story of the discoveries and adventures an incorrigible red-haired orphan girl called Anne Shirley. If you have girls in your life "Anne of Green Gables: The Musical" is one show you simply cannot pass up. The Spirit of Anne is a lesson by itself and this new play is a bonus. Bonus points: Children younger than the age of 16 will receive a 10% discount. (Confederation Centre of the Arts, 145 Richmond Street, Charlottetown, PE C1A 1J1. Toll-free 1-800-565-0278, 1(902) 566-1267 or www.confederationcentre.com)

Québec: Québec City, Québec City Summer Festival. The Quebec City Summer Festival has long been a beacon for French song as well as a musical rendezvous for top artists from a multitude of musical traditions and styles. With major stars from around Canada and the world, the musical phenomenon of the Festival has planned ten days of unforgettably wonderful music and performances from Le Trois Accords, Les Cowboys Frigants, Les Zapartiests, Mononc’ Serge, and Pépé et sa guitare. Bonus points:  Festival-goers will also enjoy street performers as the talented troupes use their impeccable sense of timing and improvisation to transform the Festival into a gigantic open-air big top where passers-by often end up as part of the show. This year's contingent of entertainers includes flea tamers and stilt-walkers, plus our very own circus school, where wannabe performers of every age can try a circus trick or two. ((418) 523-4540, toll-free 1-888- or www.infofestival.com  

Quebec: Montréal, Montréal International Jazz Festival. For families that enjoy great music this year’s venues are impressive. Considered one of the world’s best jazz festivals, a “gigantic party where music just won’t quit”, this year's 26th Edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal promises to be bigger, better, and more music-saturated than ever. In the heart of downtown Montréal musicians from 20 different countries will appear in about 500 performances, 350 of which will be completely free of charge, on ten outdoor stages. In addition to the performance schedule, attendees will be surrounded by music at all times during the festival as wandering Dixieland bands, roving drum sections and other street performers guarantee a musical experience unlike any other. As the Boston Herald's Daniel Gewertz states: "Nowhere else on [Earth] does music matter as much as it does in Montreal this week." ((514) 288-6730, toll-free 1-888-515-0515 or go to www.montrealjazzfest.com)  

Manitoba: Winnipeg, Folklorama. The largest and longest running multicultural festival of its kind in the world, Folklorama offers cultural experiences that will captivate any attendant. With more than forty cultural pavilions with traditional home-cooked foods available to the dynamic array of cultural performances, Folklorama is indeed an event that celebrates diversity and promotes cross-cultural understanding. (Toll-free 1-800-665-0234 or www.folklorama.ca)

Northwest Territories: Yellowknife, Annual Folk on the Rocks. For two days in July, one of Canada’s top summertime music and culture festivals draws musicians from the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, around the globe for the North’s biggest party under the midnight sun. Traditional foods, and international cuisine can be sampled at the food fair, and Northern artwork will be on display in the Art on the Rocks area. Bonus points: The festival will feature a children’s area, a beer garden, and a cultural area along with more than 24 hours of programming on five stages – fun and enjoyment for all ages. ((867)920-7806 or www.folkontherocks.com)

Saskatchewan: Saskatoon, Annual Saskatoon International Fringe Festival. With over 400 live theatrical productions from some of the best traveling theatre companies, the Fringe Festival in Saskatoon, where “freedom of expression is everything”, promises to offer diverse range of theatrical choices and just plain fun for everyone. This year KidsFringe will include live theatre along with a variety of arts & crafts activities and games for the younger festival attendees. ((306) 664-2239 or www.saskatoonfringe.org)

Alberta: Edmonton, Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. The largest alternative theatre festival in North America, located in the heart of Edmonton, features amazing theatrical performances from around the world. Discovery: Artists are selected through a completely un juried series of lotteries: one for Edmonton and area artists; one for artists from the rest of Canada, one for International artists, and a fourth for Theatre for Young Audiences productions. Bonus points: The festival has a 25-year tradition of providing live theatre for children and teens. Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), wrote the book on being clever and inspirational for the family audiences.  (10330 84 Avenue, T6E 2G9.  (780) 448-9000 or www.fringetheatreadventures.ca)  

British Colombia: New Westminster, Merritt Mountain Music Festival. Camping, line-dancing and music are all on the bill for this massive country music festival – headliners this summer will include Gretchen Wilson and Jamie O'Neal Plus The Road Hammers, Emerson Drive, Johnny Reid, And Many More To Be Announced! Alongside the shows will be plenty of riding, roping, and chuck wagon races.  Bonus points: Also available during this festival will be helicopter sightseeing tours, pancake breakfasts, logging shows, karaoke, vocal and songwriting workshops, and for the little ones Rainbow the Clown. ((604) 525-3330 or www.mountainfest.com)

Yukon: Dawson City, Dawson City Music Festival. This out-of-the-way festival is definitely worth the trek – its vibrancy and sheer uniqueness draws some of the best names in Canadian music and many up-an-coming artists play alongside the likes of Jane Sibbery, Bruce Cockburn, the Rheostatics and the Barenaked Ladies. Concerts run all day long and workshops at intimate venues offer a full slate of children’s and family entertainment, games and crafts. At night the festival tent becomes the biggest party north of 60 while more laid-back attendees enjoy sit-down concerts at the beautiful, historic Palace Grand Theatre. ((867) 993-5584 or www.dcmf.com)

  Information researched and assembled by FTF Copyright 2009.