Festival de l’Oie des Neiges returns to Saint-Joachim for 31st edition
Promotional art for the Festival de l’Oie des Neiges’ Souper-Spectacle Rétro, scheduled for Oct. 10, 2026, in Saint-Joachim.
Photo credit: Festival de l’Oie des Neiges via Le point de vente
Saint-Joachim’s Festival de l’Oie des Neiges returns from Oct. 9, 2026 through Oct. 12, 2026 for a four-day festival that includes family programming, an artisan market, live music and activities tied to the fall migration of Greater Snow Geese through the Côte-de-Beaupré region.
The festival site in Saint-Joachim is free to enter, with several meal-and-show programs sold separately. The festival is listed at 172 rue de l’Église, near the Église de Saint-Joachim, with free parking available on surrounding streets.
Music, country dancing and retro nights
Friday’s opening night starts with Analogue Cover at 8:30 p.m., followed by Linkin Road, a Linkin Park tribute, at 10:30 p.m. Both shows are free. Saturday adds a ticketed retro breakfast with Camila Woodman in duo from 10 a.m. to noon, a retro dinner and rock-cover show with RSVP in the evening, and a free late set by F2 Country Band.
Sunday’s ticketed Place au Country program features Ensemble St-Gelais with Pierre Poirier, Anick Gagnon, Pierre Guillemette, Mariette Croteau, Carl Gauthier and Manon Bédard. The $40 ticket includes a St-Hubert chicken dinner. Free evening shows by The Moonshiners and Overdrive follow. The Saturday breakfast is $25 and the retro dinner-show is $50, with service fees and taxes extra.
Family programming and local makers
The free family zone includes inflatable games, face painting and other activities, running Friday evening, most of Saturday and Sunday, and through Monday afternoon. The Salon des artisans occupies the gym at École La Pionnière and the basement of the town hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.
The historic Saint-Joachim church is also open Saturday through Monday for visits and an exhibition of 19th-century religious art. Sunday includes free painting workshops with Céline Arsenault and Nathalie Deblois, an antique and modified-car exhibition, and family activities across the festival site. Monday’s Oie et Ambition market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 35 exhibitors.
Snow geese at Cap-Tourmente
The festival is timed around the seasonal return of Greater Snow Geese to the nearby Cap-Tourmente National Wildlife Area. Environment and Climate Change Canada counted 49,000 Greater Snow Geese there on Oct. 1, 2026, the latest published 2026 count available before the festival. The agency says fall numbers at Cap-Tourmente generally peak between late September and mid-October.
A free festival shuttle runs Sunday from noon to 4 p.m., leaving every 30 minutes from the corner of rue de l’Église and Trait Carré. It travels to the Cap-Tourmente National Wildlife Area via La Grande Ferme and returns to the main festival site. Admission fees still apply at the wildlife area, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the festival weekend.
Planning a visit
The Festival de l’Oie des Neiges takes place in Saint-Joachim on the Côte-de-Beaupré. The organizer says an ATM/debit cash-withdrawal service is available on site. Bags may be searched at the entrance, and glass bottles, cans and drinking glasses are prohibited.
