Carrot Fest

dogs dock diving competition

busker fire show

band on stage

vendors on Holland Street

2024 Vendor Applications now open! 

Vendor Application Information

Applications for Carrot Fest 2024 are now open! Vendor spaces for local businesses and store fronts residing in the festival area are given priority. Applications will be evaluated by entertainment and uniqueness of booth and products. Due to a high volume of applications, please remain patient while your application is being reviewed. 

 

Please review our 2024 Vendor Application Information Package

 

Vendor Fees - 2024

Friday, August 16, 2024

  • Local Vendors (10X10 ft space) - $30
    located within Bradford West Gwillimbury
  • Non-Local Vendors (10x10 ft space) - $50
    located outside of Bradford West Gwillimbury


Saturday, August 17, 2024

  • Local Vendors (10X10 ft space) - $60
    located within Bradford West Gwillimbury
  • Non-Local Vendors (10X10 ft space) - $85
    located outside of Bradford West Gwillimbury

Payment is processed once your application has been approved.

Food Vendors and Food Trucks

Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit - Vendor Permit

If you are a food vendor, interested in selling food at Carrot Fest, you are required by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit to fill out the Special Event/Farmers Market Vendor Application Form 10 days after acceptance. Failure to abide by these rules and regulations may result in removal from the festival.

This form can be found in the 2024 Vendor Application Information Package.

 

Food/Beverage Truck Business Licensing

As per the Town’s Business Licensing By-law 2014-70, all food vendors that are considered to be a refreshment vehicle or refreshment cart that wish to participate at Carrot Fest will require a temporary Business License from the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. Please note that not all food vendors will have to obtain this license i.e. if they are a restaurant serving outside their store front or handing out food samples. 

This form can be found in the 2024 Vendor Application Information Package.

 

Vendor Market Hours

Friday, August 16:

  • Vendors may begin setting up starting at 1:30 pm.
  • All vehicles must be out of the festival area by 3:00 pm. If arrive after 3:00 pm you will have to walk your items into the festival area.
  • Vendor market operates from 4:00-10:00 pm.
  • Tear down is permitted after 10:00 pm. No vehicles will be permitted into the festival area until after 10:00 pm. All vendors must be out of the festival area by 10:30 pm.

Saturday, August 17:

  • Vendors may begin setting up starting at 6:30 am. Specific set up times will be assigned based on location. Please do not enter the festival area prior to 6:30 am.
  • All vehicles must be out of the festival area by 8:00 am. If you arrive after 8:00 am you will have to walk your items into the festival area.
  • Vendor market operates from 9:00 am-6:00 pm.
  • Tear down is permitted after 6:00 pm. No vehicles will be allowed into the festival area until after 6:00 pm.
Booth Size & Requirements:
  • Each booth area is 10X10 feet in size. You may purchase additional booths, but are restricted to maintaining an extension of 10 feet from the curb (e.g. 10X20).
  • You are responsible to bring anything you may require for your booth, including a tent, weights, table, etc. Access to power/lighting and/or water is not provided.
  • ALL booths are expected to have a trash receptacle and ensure that it is disposed of before leaving the festival.
  • Vendors using generators must indicate so on their application and ensure the generator is under 70 db.

Photo of Carrot Fest vendor market

Date: Friday, August 16 & Saturday, August 17, 2024
Location: Downtown Bradford 
About Carrot Fest
Voted as one of the Top 100 Events in Ontario by Festival & Events Ontario for more than a decade, Carrot Fest returns to Bradford West Gwillimbury! Carrot Fest will take place in downtown Bradford and at the Bradford & District Memorial Community Centre.
This event includes a large vendor market with hundreds of vendors, Aqua Dogs, professional wrestling events, Kids Zone, live stage entertainment and more!

The black organic soils of the Holland Marsh make Bradford West Gwillimbury one of Canada’s biggest carrot-producing regions and the ‘Heart of the Vegetable Industry’. Carrot Fest is a celebration of the region’s agricultural heritage, especially the role of the carrot in the local economy. Carrot Fest is a way to bring the community together to celebrate, encourage participation and generate pride. What started as a merchant-based community event has now developed into a historical event.

History of Carrot Fest 
Did you ever wonder how Bradford West Gwillimbury ended up hosting a huge carrot-themed festival, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year?
Carrot Fest has become BWG’s biggest annual event, however, it is not the first agricultural festival in BWG. In the 1970s, a Salad Festival was held each July and an estimated 20,000 people attended the 1976 Festival and parade. In 1977, the first Harvest Festival and Harvest Queen pageant was held at the former Ukrainian Cultural Centre in Bradford.
In 1991, the Town of BWG was incorporated, composed of the former Town of Bradford, most of West Gwillimbury, and part of Tecumseth. Considering this amalgamation encompassed various communities, the Town was in need of a community event that would bring people together as part of BWG.
The Heritage Environmental Agricultural Recreational Tourism (HEART) Committee was tasked with promoting tourism, economic development and downtown revitalization in BWG. As a result, the HEART Committee organized an open air market on summer weekends, with local farmers and merchants in downtown Bradford.
In 1995, this open air market became the event “Super Saturday” on Labour Day weekend. The HEART Committee found that BWG produces more than 70% of Canada’s carrots, and subsequently renamed Super Saturday to “Carrot Fest”, hoping it would become the event that defines BWG, similar to Beeton’s Honey Festival or Alliston’s Potato Festival. The first Carrot Fest in 1998 added children’s entertainment, contests, and a main stage to the existing vendor market. Since 2005, Carrot Fest has been organized by the Town’s Department of Community Services.
Carrot Fest has definitely become “a growing tradition” as the number of attendees has quadrupled since 2006, with an estimated 50,000 participants and $1 million generated locally.

Event Schedule

Friday, August 16, 2024

Kids Zone 4:00-9:00pm

Back Alley Cruisers 6:00-10:00pm

Vendor Market 4:00-10:00pm


Experience Simcoe Stage Schedule (Simcoe Road) 
TD Stage Schedule(Courthouse parking lot) 
Great Gulf Busker Pitch (Holland St W) 

 To be announced soon!

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Kids Zone 10:00am-6:00pm
Vendor Market 9:00am-6:00pm

Experience Simcoe Stage Schedule (Simcoe Road) 
TD Stage Schedule (Courthouse parking lot) 
Great Gulf Busker Pitch (Holland St W) 
Bradford & District Memorial Centre (125 Simcoe Rd) 

 To be announced soon!

Event Map
Coming soon

Getting Here

Parking & Transit

Carrot Fest takes place in Downtown Bradford, on Holland Street (see road closure details below).

 

​Parking:

Free parking is offered in various municipal lots surrounding the festival:

  • 29 Drury Street
  • 24 John Street West
  • 31 Barrie Street

 

BWG Transit:

BWG Transit will be offering FREE bus service on Saturday, August 17, 2024. 


Additional event parking is available at the BWG Library & Cultural Centre (425 Holland Street West) and the GO Station (Bridge Street). ​

Road Closures
​The following road will be closed on Friday, August 16, 2024 at 11:00am:
  • Holland Street from Drury Street to Nelson Street
  • Simcoe Road from Holland Street to where it intersects with Mary Street
  • Barrie Street from John Street to Holland Street

The following roads will be closed on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 6:00am:

  • Holland Street from Holland Court to Colborne Street
  • Simcoe Road from Holland Street to where it intersects with Mary Street
  • Barrie Street from John Street to Holland Street

All roads will re-open by 3am on Sunday, August 18, 2024

Detour Routes
Detour routes and signs have been set-up to help traffic get through town during the festival, and to keep large vehicles off residential streets.

 

Detour 1 (follow signs for D1)

Dissette Street to 8th Line to Professor Day Drive (Truck Route/Major Traffic)
Trucks MUST use D1

 

Detour 2 (follow signs for D2)

Marshview Boulevard to Simcoe Road to 6th Line to Melbourne Drive (Major Traffic)

 

Detour 3 (follow signs for D3)

Church Street to John Street to Colborne Street (Local Traffic only)

 

Map of detour routes

Vendor Market

Vendor Market Hours

Friday, August 16, 2024 - 4:00-10:00pm

Saturday, August 17, 2024 - 9:00am-6:00pm

Vendor List
2024 Vendor List coming soon!

axe throwing game

band on stage

Beavertails food truck

crowd watching bubble performance

Thank-you to our 2023 Event Sponsors 

Address: Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, 100 Dissette St., Unit 7&8, Bradford, ON, L3Z 2A7

Phone: 905-775-5366, Send an Email

By GHD Digital