The proposed
redesign of Lansdowne Park
would displace Ottawa’s long-running CityFolk festival during construction and
may force it to find a new home
, says the organizer of the annual event.
Mark Monahan, who heads the festival-organizing team that looks after Bluesfest, CityFolk and the Festival of Small Halls, said it’s not clear if the Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park will be suitable for CityFolk
after the construction
of a new, 6,600-seat arena on the site.
Plans show the new arena would be a separate building, situated outside the eastern end zone of TD Place stadium. It would replace the current TD Place arena, which is tucked under the north-side stands of the stadium. The new arena would take up much of the space on the Great Lawn, but how much is not clear.
“We will likely have to move in 2026 if the project moves forward,” Monahan said, noting that he expects construction to take several years. “Once it’s done, we are not sure whether the revamped site will be suitable at that time.”
The most likely alternate site for CityFolk would be the spacious grounds of the Canadian War Museum at LeBreton Flats Park, which is also the home of Bluesfest, Nostalgia Music Festival, Latin Sparks Festival, Canada Day festivities and other major events during the summer.
CityFolk is a direct descendant of the Ottawa Folk Festival, which had been facing financial challenges when it was bailed out and taken over by Monahan and his team in 2010.
The following year, they moved the event from its longtime home at Britannia Park to a new site at Hog’s Back Park, where it stayed for four years.
The Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park became available in 2015, and the festival moved to the Glebe that year, changing the name to CityFolk to reflect the urban setting and scheduling it for mid-September to catch the return of university and college students.
This year marked the 10th anniversary of CityFolk at Lansdowne, and the 31st anniversary of the former Ottawa Folk Festival.
Highlights of the 2025 edition included main-stage concerts by Morrissey, the Pogues and Dropkick Murphys.
