DIY Homesteader Festival

The DIY Homesteader Festival is a one-of-a-kind boutique style event in Manitoba that offers a fun and warm way to learn important skills you can bring into your modern life. It started with the hope that, given the right environment, people would want to take the leap to learn these once common skills – from food preservation to raising chickens. It's a place for folks to spend the day connecting with a like-minded community – and let their inner homesteader shine. The objective is simple: to connect Manitobans with the skills they need to lead a more sustainable lifestyle and to bring them together with the farmers, producers, artisans and crafters who can provide them with the support they need to take the first step.

Visit homesteaderfest.ca for more info.

Please check here to see if the workshop you wish to attend is sold out.

 

FAQs

Where is the Festival?

View a Google Map to the Festival grounds.Download a printable PDF with driving instructions.

What does my ticket include?

Your Entrance Ticket to the festival gives you access to:

• General Store Market - local goods market & expo
• DIY Kids’ Area with crafts and workshops
• Live music
• Access to several on-site demonstrations and Pop-In Workshops
• A day outdoors surrounded by friendly, like-minded people!

What is not included with my ticket?

NEW THIS YEAR:

Your Entry Ticket does not include:

• Workshops. each workshop ticket is sold separately. Prices for workshops range from $19 - $79, depending on class size, hands-on or presentation, and length. Read more about this change here. 
• Camping. Campsites are now available for purchase. Read our camping policies and book your site here.

How do I register for workshops?

After you buy your Entry Ticket, you will be sent a link with instructions on how to buy workshop tickets.

What are the workshops on each day?

SATURDAY:

Keynote:

• Permaculture Farm Design with Zach Loeks

1.5 hour workshops:

• Sourdough Bread-making
• Heating the Homestead
• Wool Processing
• Natural Building
• Canning
• Wine Cap Mushroom Beds
• Urban Farming
• Wild Plant Walk & Basket-Making Harvest
• Pastured Broilers

3 hour workshops:

• Cheesemaking
• Urban Chickens
• Hugelkultur Guilds
• Beekeeping

4.5 hour workshop:

• Hide Tanning with Carl Froese

Demos:

• Tree Tapping
• Cast Iron
• Fire Cider
• Community Indigo Vat
• & more!

SUNDAY:

1.5 hour workshops:

• Fermented Salsa
• Bone Broth & Liver Paté
• Flower Farming
• Sourdough Break-making
• Oyster Mushroom Pails
• Fermentation
• Hempcrete
• Raising Alpacas
• Natural Dyeing
• Humanure Compost Toilets
• Pastured Layers
• Dehydration

3 hour workshops:

• Sheep School
• Permabed Design
• TBA

4.5 hour workshop:

• Natural Basket-making with Laura Reeves

Demos:

• Tree Tapping
• Cast Iron
• Kombucha
• Canning
• Community Mend-In
• & more!

Is there childcare?

NEW THIS YEAR: a paid drop-off child program (Foresthood) will be provided by Momenta. Limited to one 3-hour session per child. More information on how to register your child for this experience will be posted here soon.

As in previous years, we will have the well-loved DIY Kids' Tent, which is provided free, and requires a ticket-holding parent or guardian to be with your child at all times.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

There is plenty of parking right on site. We strongly encourage carpooling; check out the Go Manitoba ridesharing app. We'll also post a carpooling thread on our Facebook event page, closer to the date. Our hope is to not see any single-person vehicles through the gate!

Accessibility: 

The land is mainly flat, but it is farm land; it might be tough to navigate with wheelchair.

 

What can I bring to the event?

You will receive our Attendee FAQ after you purchase a ticket. There you'll find more info on how to have the best festival experience possible!

What can I NOT bring to the event?

• While we love animals, pets are not allowed on the festival grounds.
• Illegal drugs are not allowed on the festival grounds.
• No disposable water bottles are allowed on site. We aim to be as low-waste as possible.

  

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

You can get in touch via our contact page, hello@homesteaderfest.ca, or through Facebook or Instagram. 

  

What's the refund policy?

Tickets are non-refundable. The festival will go ahead, rain or shine. If a workshop you registered for becomes unavailable at the last minute, you will be refunded your ticket for that workshop.

  

Is my ticket transferrable?

Yes. If you find you are unable to attend, you can sell or transfer your ticket to someone else. Please use caution if you’re thinking of buying a ticket from an individual or third party. DIY Homesteader Festival will not honour tickets that have been forged or duplicated.

Do I have to bring my ticket to the event?

YES. Either print your tickets or bring them on your phone. They will be scanned upon arrival, before you park. Teen and Adult ticket-holders will be given a wristband for the day. You will also need to show your workshop ticket before entering a workshop.

 

Is it ok if the name on my ticket doesn't match the person who attends?

Yes.

Terms and Conditions

• The DIY Homesteader Fest will not be responsible for lost or stolen items.
• If a workshop is not available for some reason, participants will be refunded the cost of their ticket for that workshop. Workshop times and locations are subject to change without notice. We do our best to communicate any changes in advance where possible, and on fest-day. 
• Regardless of any errors which may occur on this website, the price quoted to you at time of purchase is the price of the ticket.
• Children must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian who is an Adult ticket holder at all times - on site, in the Kids' Area, and in workshops.
• Children 12 and under receive FREE admission when accompanied by an a parent/legal guardian who is an Adult ticket holder. This provides entrance to the festival grounds, DIY Kids' Area, demos, market, etc. Child tickets do not include entance to workshops (other than for babes in arms). Workshop seats are reserved for Teen or Adult ticket holders.
• Teen ticket-holders aged 13 and up are welcome to attend workshops. They must register for workshops if they'd like to attend them. All workshops require your workshop ticket to be scanned before entering the workshop venue.

Privacy Policy

Your name is added to our email list when you book tickets, enter a contest or complete a survey. This enables you to receive communications from us. If you prefer not to be included, there is an unsubscribe link in every email we send. 

We do not sell or share your information with anyone, including sponsors and workshop leaders.

Pay by eTransfer or cheque

Click here for info on how to pay by eTransfer or cheque.