What a decade!
Ten years ago, I had an idea about what a music festival in Muskoka could be - intimate, artist-led, and rooted in my family's history in Gravenhurst. A decade later, I'm so proud of what Muskoka Music Festival has become, and of every artist, audience member, and collaborator who has shaped it along the way.
The festival grew and changed every year. The venues shifted, the programming evolved, the team around it expanded, but the heart of it stayed exactly where it started. Even through the pandemic, when so much of our industry went quiet, we found a way to keep going and to hire artists to do what they do best in partnership with Muskoka Drive In.
This summer, we're marking our tenth anniversary at the Gravenhurst Opera House with two extraordinary artists: Seven time JUNO Award winner, Serena Ryder and acclaimed festival favourite, Mimi O'Bonsawin. It's a lineup that feels like a love letter to everything MMF has stood for - world class performers singing Canadian songs on the Opera House stage in my beloved Gravenhurst. Tickets are on sale now at the Opera House box office!
As you probably know, The Opera House holds a particular meaning for me. My great-great-grandfather, Charles Mickle, built it 125 years ago when he was mayor of Gravenhurst. To stand on that stage as MMF's artistic director, in a building my family helped bring into being, is something I still find hard to put into words. A century and a quarter on, the room is still bringing people together to celebrate arts and culture.
2026 is going to be our final year as a summer festival.
Ten years felt like the right arc for this chapter. A decade of summers, a decade of music, and a chance to close with the kind of night I'll remember for the rest of my life. There's something fitting about closing this chapter in the building where, in a sense, it all began long before any of us were here to imagine it.
Look at all the incredible artists we've welcomed to Gravenhurst!
So this is an invitation. Whether you've been with us since the first summer or you're hearing about MMF for the first time, come and gather with us at the Opera House on August 22nd, 2026. Ten years is worth marking properly, and there's no one I'd rather mark it with than with you.
With love and gratitude,
Miranda
Founder and Artistic Director, Muskoka Music Festival
