Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival

The 17th annual Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival fills Amherst with five days of rug hooking, quilting, weaving, and stitchery from Tuesday, October 13 to Saturday, October 17, 2026. Events spread across a walkable cluster of downtown venues — church halls, the Cumberland County Museum & Archives, the Amherst Centre Mall, and the studio of world-renowned rug hooker Deanne Fitzpatrick — turning the Cumberland County seat into the fibre-arts capital of the Maritimes for one October week. Most events are free or donation-based, and the festival's town-wide format rewards arriving without a car-friendly itinerary: you can wander between a quilt show, a hooked-rug exhibit, and a working studio on foot. It is a natural anchor for an autumn trip to the Northumberland Shore.

For 2026 the festival has deliberately narrowed its mandate to showcase the makers of the region itself, starting with its guild members. The two anchor exhibitions return: the Cumberland Quilters Guild Quilt Show and Sale and the Northport Loopers Rug Show, each with select vendors, running Friday and Saturday at Trinity St. Stephen's United Church (Heartz Hall) and First Baptist Church. New this fall, the Cumberland County Museum & Archives (150 Church Street) hosts "Chair Pads of Cumberland County" — an exhibit of hooked chair pads viewable 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with a reception Thursday at 6 p.m. — plus a plein air rug hooking demonstration during the week. A fibre arts display and demos run all week at Focal Point Photography & Framing on Victoria Street East.

Hands-on participation is the festival's heart. Wednesday brings the Sew-In at the Arts and Entertainment Centre in the Amherst Centre Mall and a Rug Hooking Tea and Hook-In with special treats at Deanne Fitzpatrick Studio (11 a.m.–2 p.m., preregister — the tea accepts a donation to Cumberland Public Libraries). Thursday's "Hooking Barns" workshop with Mary Williams at the Fitzpatrick studio runs 1–4:30 p.m. for $169 via hookingrugs.com. Friday's Victoria Quilts luncheon at the Masonic Hall (11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m., $10 at the door) and Saturday's "Fall for Us!" house tour (3–8 p.m., supporting the Cumberland Care Hospice Palliative Care Society) round out the calendar. Fitzpatrick's studio at 33 Church Street is worth the trip on its own — she is one of the world's best-known modern rug hooking artists, with work in public collections, and Tripadvisor reviewers regularly describe the shop as reason enough to visit Amherst.

Pair the festival with the rest of an October weekend on the Northumberland Shore: the Extravaganza Gravity Festival at Keppoch brings downhill mountain bike racing to Antigonish the weekend before, and the Sable Island guide and family travel guide cover the region's gentler draws. Coming from the west, Amherst sits just inside the Nova Scotia border on the Trans-Canada Highway — see the Nova Scotia car-free travel guide for bus options, or browse more ideas in our free things to do guide. Admission to the shows is largely free; workshop fees and tour tickets as noted. Confirm the final schedule on the festival's official blog before you go, as events are still being added.

Make the most of your time in Northumberland Shore - pair Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival with our Sable Island guide, Family Travel Guide, and Free Things to Do guide. They're each packed with itinerary ideas, local tips, and everything you need to extend your stay.