6 Must-Attend Food Events and Festivals on Prince Edward Island in 2022

Here’s a fun fact about Prince Edward Islanders: they love any excuse to celebrate. After all, what’s the point of living in paradise if you don’t take every opportunity to enjoy it? 

And one of the best ways to enjoy Canada’s Food Island is through its food, drink, hospitality, and unique culture! With that in mind, we put together our list of must-attend food events and festivals taking place across PEI this year. Keep reading for all the deets and then mark your calendars and pack your stretchy pants! 

1. PEI Setting Day Culinary Festival

Taking place on the Charlottetown harbourfront from April 29th to May 1st, this fresh faced festival (from the folks behind the Small Halls Festival) promises to be the best kind of party – with plenty of feasting, live East Coast musicians, and plenty of party-goers! 

Touted as a way to honour the gifts of spring, the PEI Setting Day Culinary Festival marks a new way to celebrate the beginning of the lobster season (learn more about Setting Day itself in #2 of this list).

The line-up of musical talent alone is enough to get yer feet stomping, with headliners including Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy, David Francy, Matthew Byrne, and Old Man Luedecke . 

And then there’s the other rockstar of the show – the PEI lobster! Tuck into The Freshest Lobster Feast with Chef Jesse MacDonald on Saturday night and/or enjoy an all-you-can-eat roving-feast of fresh Island hors d’oeuvres at the Chef’s Showcase on Friday evening. 

If you want in on PEI’s biggest party of the spring, get your tickets before they sell out!

Dates: April 29 – May 1, 2022

Website: www.settingdaypei.com

2. Setting Day 

Get your hankie out, because Setting Day is going to tug at your heartstrings – in a good way, of course!

But first, what the heck IS Setting Day?  In PEI, Setting Day most often refers to the first day of the Island’s spring lobster fishing season, when fishers set their traps at sea. It usually takes place on May 1st, but the date may be moved back/ahead a few days, depending on weather and water conditions.

On Setting Day, fishing villages across the Island are filled with locals lining the harbour to wish their lobster fishers a safe and abundant season as they head out to sea in the early hours of the morning. Every boat is stacked high with lobster traps and hopes for a good haul!  In some villages, you’ll even find a bagpiper markingSetting Day with an impassioned piping serenade. 

It’s a longstanding tradition that many Islanders hold dear. It’s also a reminder that even in 2022, Islanders remains intimately connected to the waters and ways of life that have shaped it for over two centuries. 

There are plenty of ways to celebrate Setting Day:

You could set your alarm for really, really early in the morning, hop in the car and make your way to one of the Island’s +40 fishing ports to watch a parade of boats leave the harbour.

You could send well wishes to PEI fishers on social media and catch outtakes of the big day from Local Food Advocates and other folks sharing stories, reels, and more on social.

AND, as mentioned above, you could go all in on celebrating this cherished Island tradition with the PEI Setting Day Culinary Festival (see more details in #1)!!! 

3. PEI Burger & Potato Love

Prince Edward Island beef AND potatoes take centre stage in this special 2022 edition of the annual celebration. In this friendly competition, restaurants and eateries across PEI are tasked with creating an epic burger and vie for the title of ‘Most Loved Burger’, which is determined solely on votes from the hungry public.

In past years, over 80 restaurants have participated in PEI Burger Love. Typically taking place in the month of April (but moved to May for 2022), Burger Love tends to mark the end of winter hibernation. Burger-loving pals plan epic eating adventures, restaurateurs hire extra kitchen help, and folks share their burger reviews on social media and through PEI Burger Love’s website voting platform. 

Notably, in recent years, the campaign has allowed restaurants to enter other types of burgers, such as chicken and veggie burgers. Still, PEI beef appears to remain the preferred choice of chefs, with almost all restaurants offering a beef burger and some offering a second non-beef entry. 

This year, the folks behind PEI Burger Love are adding a big side of starchy deliciousness to the menu by inviting PEI spuds to join the VIP (Very Important Potato) party.  We can’t wait to see how it all comes together. One thing we know for sure – you’re going to want to pull out your stretchy pants for the month of May! 

Dates: May 1 – May 31, 2022

Website: www.peiburgerlove.ca 

4. Tyne Valley Oyster Festival

What do you get when you drop incredible musicians, the best PEI oysters, and Canada’s top shuckers into a small-but-mighty village in western PEI? Why, the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival, of course!

Don’t let its small size fool you, Tyne Valley knows how to put on a party that’ll knock your rubber boots off. No, seriously, pack an extra pair of boots.

The Tyne Valley Oyster Festival is actually TWO big celebrations packed into one 5-day festival – the Rock the Boat MusicFest and the Canadian Oyster Shucking Championship. And really, what better pairing is there than PEI oysters and rock music?!

This year’s music line-up includes Canadian legends Randy Bachman and Our Lady Peace along with renowned bands and musicians including Default, The Road Hammers, Arsenal Mills, Hired Guns, and Andrew Waite. 

 Since 1973, Tyne Valley has been the home of the Canadian Oyster Shucking Championship. Oyster shuckers from across the country converge in Western PEI to put their skills to the test on the main stage. It turns out, the musicians aren’t the only rock stars at the festival! 

And, of course, the biggest star of the festival remains the PEI oyster. Festival-goers can look forward to enjoying all-you-can-eat oysters, fried oysters, and/or the event’s much-beloved oyster and scallop supper.

It’s an epic time on Canada’s Oyster Coast that you don’t want to miss!

Dates: August 3 – 7, 2022

Website: www.tvoysterfest.ca

5. The PEI Fall Flavours Festival (Award-Winning!)

PEI’s premier award-winning culinary festival is a month-long, Island-wide celebration of all that makes Canada’s Food Island one-of-a-kind. It’s also a foodie’s dream come true. Celebrity host chefs from across Canada and top working chefs from PEI come together to serve up unforgettable dishes in unique venues from tip-to-tip. And yes, everything is delicious

Established in 2008, Fall Flavours offers up something for every taste and budget. PEI lobster, mussels, oysters, beef and potatoes take centre stage at Signature Events such as Toe Taps & Taters, Savour Victoria, and Harbour Feast. While each Signature Event offers a unique experience and menu, they all serve up a pairing of inspired PEI food, top-notch entertainment, and incredible hospitality.

Notably, almost all Fall Flavours Signature events are capped at 180 or fewer guests, ensuring an intimate experience often lost at other culinary festivals. For those that want a really up-close-and-personal taste of PEI farming or fishing, the Festival also offers Culinary Adventures. 

A restaurant dining program and smaller-scale culinary events round out the Festival’s jam-packed schedule. In other words, there’s something for everyone who loves food (and who doesn’t?!)

Dates: Sept 15 – Oct 9, 2022

Website: www.fallflavours.ca 

6. The PEI International Shellfish Festival 

It’s a shell-ebration like no other when the PEI International Shellfish Festival sets up in Charlottetown for 4 days of seriously epic food, music, and competition that you don’t want to miss.

This year marks the Festival’s 25th anniversary and we have no doubt they’ll be pulling out all the stops to make it the biggest East Coast kitchen party ever!

While this year’s schedule has yet to be released, we have it on good authority that you can expect everything the Festival is known for plus more!

During the day, the Festival plays host to high-caliber and high-stakes industry competitions including the Raspberry Point International Oyster Shucking Championship, PEI Potato Chowder Championship, Tie One on Mussel Championship, and the not-to-be-missed Garland Canada International Chef Showdown! 

At night, the lights go down and the volume goes up under the Festival’s ‘big white tent’. That means it’s time to dance the night away. Every year, Festival-goers wait with bated breath to find out who will headline the Friday and Saturday night parties! Rest assured, it’s always an incredible line-up of East Coast and Canadian talents that know how to raise the roof and bring the partay! 

And, of course, there’s always plenty of shellfish on offer throughout the Festival, from fresh oysters to lobster grilled cheese sandwiches and plenty more. It all kicks off with Feast & Frolic, an unparalleled evening featuring PEI lobster, PEI beef, a massive oyster bar, potato chowders and much more! 

Dates: Sept 15 – Sept 18, 2022

Website: www.peishellfish.com/

And That’s Not All…

These 6 events are just a small sampling of the incredible cornucopia of food-centric celebrations, parties, festivals, and shindigs in the works for 2022. Be sure to check out our events calendar for all the upcoming fun times taking place on Canada’s Food Island.