This year’s fair will be on Saturday, September 12, 2026. Planning is currently underway and we are very excited to share the details with you!
Vendor applications are now closed for this year. To sign up to be notified about vendor applications in the future, email fair@kwkg.ca.
See the Vendor Info page for all the details including guidelines, important dates, and the application form. Please read all the information on that page before filling out the application, even if you are a returning vendor.
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026, 9:30am to 4:00pm **Note the slightly different time from last year
Location: Kinsmen and Kiwanis Arenas, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium (aka The Aud) at 400 East Ave, Kitchener
Visit the Aud’s page for location, parking, transit, accessibility, and other information.
The Aud will have food available to purchase. A concession will be open at the back of the Kiwanis arena.
Tickets
Tickets are $6 CAD per person, and you can purchase them online in advance or at the box office on fair day.
Note that there is a $3 per ticket facility fee, and an additional $1 per order fee for purchasing online. We have decreased our ticket price to help offset these fees.
Go to the Kitchener Aud website to purchase tickets now!
Children under 12 get free entry with an adult, please obtain a free ticket for children when you purchase your adult ticket.
Vendors
We are very excited about this year’s vendors! Check out our vendor list!
Here is our vendor layout, so you can plan your route:
Schedule of Events
9:30am: Fair opens!
11am: Fashion Show of vendor submissions, showcasing some gorgeous yarn, patterns, and supplies.
1pm: Kim McBrien Evans of indigodragonfly
“It’ll Block Out” is Not a Fitting Strategy – Inside The Knitter’s Sweater Fitting Bible
Sweater fit is an epic journey with many paths available to you to reach your fit goals. Kim’s new book, The Knitter’s Sweater Fitting Bible was written to help you navigate the vast landscape of sweater fit. Join Kim to learn all about this wonderful new resource, and how to use it to understand everything from measurements and schematics, to quick fit fixes, and even designing a sweater from scratch! Whether a beginner or advanced sweater knitter, there is a way to better sweaters through this book.
4pm: Fair closes
Plan Your Weekend
The Fair is on from 9:30am to 4pm on Saturday, but there’s lots more to see in our region this weekend, including some great yarn shops! Here’s some information to help you plan a day or a weekend of yarny fun!
Our Local Yarn Shop
Flying Squirrel Yarn Shop (187 King St S, Waterloo)
Open Saturday Sept 12 10am to 6pm, and Sunday Sept 13 10am to 3pm
Free parking anywhere in the parking lot or in the underground parking garage.
Workshops on Sunday: Learn to Spin and Learn to Crochet
There will also be some end-of-summer sales in shop.
Places to Eat
The closest restaurant to the fair is Strykerz Kitchen and Bar, a pub
City Cafe Bakery has two locations, one is near the fair venue on Ottawa St at Charles St
Bauer Kitchen is a restaurant right next to the Flying Squirrel
Vincenzos is a specialty grocer with a great sandwich counter, also right next to the Flying Squirrel
Something Garden and Bauer Bakery are cafes in the same building as the Flying Squirrel
Other Local Attractions
Head just past the Flying Squirrel to the heart of uptown Waterloo, with plenty of places to eat, shop, and more! We highly recommend Four All ice cream for a sweet break (vegan and gluten free options available) and Wordsworth books or Old Goat books for the bookish person.
Running behind the Squirrel is the Iron Horse Trail, an accessible trail for walking or biking. A 10 minute walk (or 4 minute bike ride) along the trail will take you to Belmont Village, where we suggest visiting Gifted (a boutique gift shop carrying a curated selection of local artist’s wares), Roux Bakehouse for a croissant, and Arabella Park Beer Bar for a beer and fries.
Volunteers needed!
Want to get into the Fair for free? We need 2 hours of your time to help make the fair a friendly, welcoming place (and comply with fire codes), then you get the rest of the fair to shop, visit, and bask in the yarn glory. Jobs include giving information to attendees, running the ballwinding service, giving out door prizes, door security, or modelling in the fashion show!
We are still looking for more volunteers to help make this an amazing day!
To volunteer, please fill out the Volunteer form here.
Safe Space
The K-W Knitters’ Fair is a safe and inclusive space for all.
The planning committee for the K-W Knitters’ Fair is committed to creating a safe, welcoming, accessible, and inclusive event for everyone. All vendors, attendees, and volunteers have the right to feel safe and included, regardless of ethnicity, race, place of origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental health, or socio-economic status.
The KW Knitters’ Fair does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or abuse of Fair attendees, vendors, or volunteers. Such behaviour may result in removal from the event without refund or a permanent ban from future events. Fair volunteers, event security, or venue staff have the authority to remove offenders from the event.
If you witness or experience abusive or discriminatory behaviour at the Fair, and you feel safe to do so, please speak with a Fair Committee member or a Safe Space Ambassador. Safe Space Ambassadors will be in rainbow “Safe Space Ambassador” sashes, and the Fair Committee will be in purple sashes.
Read our full Safe Space policy here.
Mask-friendly event
The Knitters’ Fair is a mask-friendly event.
We are incredibly excited for the Fair, but we also know that it’s a big event and that big events are nerve-wracking with the ongoing reality of COVID and other infections. We aren’t requiring masks, but we do encourage masks as a way of staying safe and showing respect for those around us who may be at higher risk. We were pleased to see so many folks masked up for each others’ sake in previous years and hope for the same consideration this year.
Also, we ask that if you’re unwell, you stay home. We’d all like to come away from the Fair with a haul of yarn, not a nasty infection! Most of our vendors have online shops and will be delighted to furnish you with buying options that don’t involve in-person shopping.
Yarn Winding Station for Charity
Every year, the Guild provides a yarn-winding station where you can have your yarny purchases wound into tidy cakes, in exchange for a donation to charity. This year’s organization is the Food Bank of Waterloo Region.
We can accept cash, or you can donate online through their website and show us your donation confirmation. We are absolutely NOT accepting donations of food or other items. Financial donations only, please; they go much farther, since the organization can purchase in bulk.
Keep up with us on socials
Watch this space and our Instagram account for more information, and check out our Facebook event page and our Facebook account while you’re at it. We also have a brand new BlueSky account. If you have any questions in the meantime, email us at fair@kwkg.ca.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters’ Fair is one of the oldest and biggest one-day knitting events in Canada. Organized and hosted by the not-for-profit Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters’ Guild, it is truly organized “by knitters, for knitters.”