Event Details

Westben Arts Festival Theatre Inc. was founded in 1999 to create, enrich and integrate communities of professionals and amateurs of all ages in world class music projects in unique settings. For 24 years Westben has been about bringing people together through music, experiencing it in a natural setting. Located in Trenton Hills in Northumberland County, near Campbellford, Westben’s original performance venue is a custom-built, timber-frame barn. The Barn seats 400 and combines state-of-the-art acoustics with a rustic yet sophisticated atmosphere. Performances at Westben’s open air summer festival range from Bach to Broadway, opera and symphony to jazz, folk, fiddle, Indigenous, rock and comedy. Westben offers interactive One-of-a-Kind Experiences with music and nature in the neighbouring Nature Reserve. Pre-Covid the Dare to Pair series featured local chefs, sommeliers, story tellers and musicians on site before the concerts. Westben’s Digital programs include concerts, podcasts, musical moments and more, available on Westben’s YouTube Channel and the new www.WestbenDigitalvenue.ca. Westben’s International Performer-Composer Residency is an international gathering of creative risk-takers whose practice involves some combination of both composition and performance. These 50 artists from around the world collaborate for a month digitally creating new works and host public workshops. In addition, Westben’s year-round activities include educational initiatives such as in-school presentations, master classes and the 45-member Westben Festival Chorus, which performs at various venues throughout the year. Westben has now expanded into a single-campus arts centre, with four outdoor music venues, vast grounds replete with walking paths and native gardens, and a public-facing educational hub/administrative office space.

This application is for “2026 Westben Summer Festival featuring "Shrek, the Musical"”, a two-month cultural tourism project taking place June 9 to August 2, 2026, at Westben farm in Campbellford, Ontario. The project combines large-scale outdoor theatre, live music, and immersive place-based experiences. Anchored by an interactive, grounds-wide production of “Shrek, the Musical” and followed by a six-week summer concert and experiences series, the project celebrates the cultural, ecological, and human diversity of the region while positioning the site as a destination for repeat visitation and extended stays. Programming includes: (1) “Shrek, the Musical” interactive outdoor theatre (June 9 to 21): eight performances supported by instrument-building workshops, improvisation-in-nature sessions, outdoor dance workshops, and artist-led conversations on Indigenous history and creative expression, with installations remaining accessible throughout the summer; (2) Summer Concert Series - 29 performances (June 26 to August 2): a diverse lineup of local to internationally recognized Canadian artists spanning Indigenous, classical, jazz, global fusion, folk, pop, and experimental genres, including Aysanabee, Cris Derksen, William Prince, Jim Cuddy, Hannah Georgas, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, and more; (3) Experiences and conversations – 25 events: hands-on culinary events, nature tours, wellness programming, Pride activations, artist talks, and pre- and post-concert conversations connecting audiences with musicians, Indigenous knowledge keepers, historians, gardeners, and environmental experts; (4) Indigenous, environmental and community engagement: programming foregrounds Indigenous voices, ecological awareness, and respectful relationships with land through guided tours, storytelling, and site-responsive artistic practices; and (5) Self-Guided Exploration and Repeat Visitation: trails, native species gardens, interactive instrument installations, and curated self-guided tours encourage audiences to return, explore at their own pace, and extend their engagement beyond a single visit.