The Festival

It’s All About Water! The Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival is an event that motivates participants to become water stewards in their homes, schools and community. By combining hands-on interactive activities with messages relevant to their daily lives, students ‘soak up’ knowledge on the properties, uses, connections and importance of water. With this knowledge, students become aware of the value of conserving and protecting water.

Upcoming:

Fall Festival for Schools ( 21st Annual)

Tuesday October 6th and Wed Oct.7th 2026 @ Kinark 

Through a series of 40-50 interactive activity centres, regional students in grades 4 to 6  explore the following concepts:

• Water Conservation – the responsible use of water in our daily lives
• Water Attitudes – historical and present day uses and attitudes toward water
• Water Technology – how water is treated, stored and distributed throughout the community
• Water & Watershed Protectione – the interdependence of ground and surface water, soil, plants, animals and people and positive steps people can take to keep water clean and protect vital ecosystems of our shared Watersheds.
• Water Science – the water cycle, surface and groundwater flow, watersheds and aquatic environments

The learning stations are designed to be hands-on, fun that encourage further understanding of water concepts taught.  They are connected to school curriculum through planning tools and resources we share year-round.  Many of them are animated by post and secondary students gaining experiential learning in environmental education leadership.

Thanks to all who help bring this event to youth and to all the mentors who recognize its importance! Together we are making a splash!

Our main event, the Fall Festival will  held on Tuesday Oct 7th and Wed Oct. 8th at the Kinark Outdoor Centre.  14 schools from the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) as well as families with Haliburton’s Home School network are registered to attend.  Kinark once again offers a great location for this outdoor event in a central location to the TLDSB region with experienced staff support and greater accessibility than other outdoor locations.   

To volunteer, partner or otherwise participate in any of these Children’s Water Festivals, please contact our HMKCWF Coordinator Kara Mitchell at splash@waterheroes.ca

Community HMK Children’s Water Festivals

In July 2023, we offered our first ever ‘mini’ Children’s Water Festival in partnership with a Lake Association ~ the Kushog Lake Property Owners Association (KLPOA).   In 2024 we ran another customized Summer  Festival with the Kennisis Lake Cottage Owner’s Association.  Together with their volunteer members, we offered 6-8 different activity centres to families who live, cottage, or were visiting the lake.  These experiences have offered a template we are building on through our upcoming and  future partnerships with other Lake Associations / organizations.  We have also brought a booth of a few activity centres to community events.  We have, for example, had a splash connecting with families at events such as the Wilberforce Fair, the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust’s Bio Blitz and a Seedy Saturday of the Minden and District Horticultural Society.