--- type: Article title: 'Fairport Canal Days: dates, parking and what to expect' article_kind: explainer publication_status: published review_by: '2026-12-15' dek: >- Fairport Canal Days in Fairport, NY: what the June arts festival is, where the next dates will be posted, getting there, parking, the free shuttle and walking times. personas: - weekend-visitor - long-time-resident - new-arrival journeys: - J-01g - J-01b sources: - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: home' quote: >- Fairport Canal Days fun starts on Friday night, June 5th, with a Chicken BBQ before the vendors open their doors June 6-7, 2026. ... Saturday, June 6th 10am-6pm and Sunday, June 7th 10am-5pm ... Perinton Recreation KidZone ... Fairport Canal Days has a no pet policy. ... celebrating our 49th year as one of the premier juried art festivals in the Northeast ... Produced by the Fairport Perinton Merchants Association ... Posters may be purchased during festival hours at the information booth located on North Main Street in front of Village Hall. ... All proceeds benefit the FPMA Beautification Fund to provide for enhancements to our community and public art initiatives ... Stick around on Saturday, June 6th for Canal Nights 7:00pm-11:00pm - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/about/parking-and-shuttle/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: parking and shuttle' quote: >- NEW this year, FREE. Now with THREE shuttle busses, including one that is accessible! Saturday 10:00am-6:30pm, Sunday 10:00am-5:30pm. Parking: Minerva Deland and Johanna Perrin. Pickup: Minerva Deland. Dropoff: Perrin St at the entrance to Village Landing near the Dollar Tree. Public Parking: Free. Handicap: Packett's Landing. On-Street: Throughout village, one-side only, as indicated by signage. Off-Street: Minerva DeLand Middle School (park and walk), Brooks Hill Middle School (park and walk). $10 CASH ONLY- First Congregational United Church of Christ: 26 East Church St. $10 suggested donation: Church of the Assumption: 20 East Ave - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/about/directions-and-lodging/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: directions and lodging' quote: >- Fairport Canal Days are held each year in beautiful Fairport, NY. Fairport is located along the Erie Canal in eastern Monroe County, about five miles east of Rochester, NY. Take I90 (NYS Thruway) to Exit 45 (Victor). Turn right (north) on Route 96. ... turn right on 250 North. Follow 250 North all the way to Church Street and you will be in Fairport. Take 490 east to exit 25 (Fairport Road/Route 31F) and continue east on Fairport Road. - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/events/chicken-bbq/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: Friday night chicken barbecue' quote: >- Join us Friday evening, June 5th, from 4:30 to 10:00 pm at the Fairport Junction Festival Site (Liftbridge Lane East). ... A free, live concert performance - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/events/canal-nights/' title: Fairport Canal Nights quote: >- bringing headliner bands to the stage under the big tent in Fairport Junction. Here, food vendors are open throughout the evening and wine and beer are offered ... Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance here or get them at the door! - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/canal-days/music-at-canal-days/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: music' quote: >- On our five stages you'll hear over 60 groups perform over the weekend. ... Canal Days has become the "jazz festival before the Jazz Festival". ... Saturday, June 6th ... 7:00-11:00 Canal Nights - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/canal-days/food-vendors/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: food vendors' quote: >- Fairport Junction ... Village Landing ... North Main ... South Main ... Liftbridge Ln - resource: 'https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/contact/' title: 'Fairport Canal Days: contact' - resource: 'https://hereandmain.com/fairport/agent/walk.json' title: >- Walking times from the Main Street Lift Bridge: OpenStreetMap contributors, routed on foot quote: >- "anchor":{"id":"places/main-street-lift-bridge","title":"Main Street Lift Bridge","name":"the lift bridge"} generated: by: 'process:hm-schema-v2-p3' at: '2026-10-04T18:49:43.707Z' superbee_updated_by: 'process:hm-schema-v2-p3' published_at: '2026-10-04T11:46:43-04:00' editor_score: 5 --- # Fairport Canal Days: dates, parking and what to expect [Fairport Canal Days](../event-series/fairport-canal-days.md) is a juried arts festival that fills the village along the Erie Canal for one weekend a year, with music on five stages and food vendors along the streets around the [lift bridge](../places/main-street-lift-bridge.md). The next festival's dates haven't been announced, so hold off on booking anything that depends on them. ## When is the next Canal Days? The Fairport Perinton Merchants Association puts on the festival; watch its site, [fairportcanaldays.com](https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/), for the dates. For a sense of the shape: the 2026 festival, its 49th, ran from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7. It opened with a Friday night chicken barbecue from 4:30 to 10 pm, the artisans were open Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, and Canal Nights ran Saturday from 7 to 11 pm. ## What it is Juried artisans set up booths through the village. Music runs all weekend on five stages, more than 60 groups in 2026, with a lot of jazz; the organizers call it "the jazz festival before the Jazz Festival." Food vendors cluster at Fairport Junction on Liftbridge Lane East, at the [Village Landing](../places/fairport-village-landing.md) and along Main Street, and Perinton Recreation runs a KidZone for children. Friday night is the chicken barbecue with a free concert at Fairport Junction. Saturday night's Canal Nights moves the headliners under the big tent there, with wine and beer; tickets were $10 in 2026, online or at the door. Each year has a commemorative poster, sold at the information booth on North Main Street in front of [Village Hall](../places/fairport-village-hall.md), and duck race tickets raise money for the merchants' beautification and public art fund. Leave the dog at home: the festival has a no-pet policy. ## Getting there Fairport is about five miles east of Rochester. From Rochester, take 490 east to exit 25 (Fairport Road/Route 31F) and continue east on Fairport Road into the village. From the Thruway, take Exit 45 (Victor), turn right (north) on Route 96, then right on 250 North, and follow 250 North all the way to Church Street. ## Parking and the shuttle In 2026 the festival ran three free shuttle buses, one of them accessible: Saturday from 10 am to 6:30 pm and Sunday from 10 am to 5:30 pm. You parked at Minerva DeLand or Johanna Perrin, boarded at Minerva DeLand, and got off on Perrin Street at the entrance to the Village Landing, two minutes on foot from the lift bridge. Other options from the 2026 plan: - **Free public parking**, plus street parking on one side only where signs say so. The village's six [municipal lots](../places/downtown-parking-gateway.md) are free. - **Accessible parking** at [Packett's Landing](../places/packetts-landing.md), three minutes from the bridge. - **Park and walk** at Minerva DeLand Middle School or Brooks Hill Middle School. - **Church lots:** $10, cash only, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 26 East Church Street; $10 suggested donation at the Church of the Assumption, 20 East Avenue. Check the organizer's [parking page](https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/about/parking-and-shuttle/) before you go. ## Walking the festival Once you are in the village, the festival is on foot. The information booth in front of Village Hall is about two minutes' walk from the lift bridge. Questions go to the organizer through the [contact page](https://www.fairportcanaldays.com/contact/) on the official site. # Related - [draws on place](../places/main-street-lift-bridge.md) - [draws on place](../places/fairport-village-landing.md) - [draws on place](../places/fairport-village-hall.md) - [draws on place](../places/downtown-parking-gateway.md) - [draws on place](../places/packetts-landing.md) - [draws on series](../event-series/fairport-canal-days.md)