Finger Lakes Festival Guide
By Jason Bunnell
February 27, 2026
Here is a guide to Festivals in the Finger Lakes that shows festivals in Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca, and other locations in the Finger Lakes for 2026.
The Finger Lakes Film Festival is an annual celebration of short film held each February at the historic Smith Opera House and the Dove Block Project in downtown Geneva. Free and open to the public, the festival screens diverse short films from around the world — animation, documentary, narrative, and video essay — with a special focus on Upstate New York filmmakers. Regional premieres, filmmaker meet-and-greets, and student showcases make it a one-of-a-kind cultural event.
High degree of artistic quality has been a guiding principle of Geneva Music Festival over its 14-year run. The festival features a four-week festival with 9 events. More details can be found at FLXmusic.co and Geneva Music Festival.
Rochester's beloved Lilac Festival returns to Highland Park each May for 10 days of music, food, art, and of course — lilacs. Celebrated every spring since 1898, the free festival draws 500,000+ visitors from across the region and Canada to experience the most extensive lilac collection in the Northeast, with 1,200+ shrubs in over 500 varieties. Highlights include 100+ live musical performances, 300+ juried arts and craft vendors, a local farmers market, the Lilac Run, and kids activities set among 150 acres of fragrant blossoms. For more information, check out the Rochester Lilac Festival.
Taking place in Sterling, New York, the Sterling Stage FolkFest is a three-day camping festival featuring folk, bluegrass, Americana, and jam band music. The festival also includes camping, art vendors, and outdoor activities in a scenic wooded setting.
Usually the first weekend of June, organizers bring together nationally headlining acts and regional favorites to the Erie Canal-side village of Palmyra for a landmark event held at Wayne County Fairgrounds. This year the Finger Lakes Country Music Festival is featuring Lee Brice with special guest Avery Anna. Check out Finger Lakes Country Music Festival for more details.
Geneva's Rosé Soirée is an elegant annual fundraiser held each June at Pulteney Park, inspired by the French tradition of Dîner en Blanc. Presented by Geneva Community Projects, the ticketed outdoor evening features six samples of dry Finger Lakes rosé wines poured by regional producers, a commemorative glass, live music, and food vendors. Guests are encouraged to dress in their finest shades of pink. Since 2016 the event has raised over $93,000 for local Geneva community initiatives. For more information, check out Geneva's Rose Soiree.
Estival Festival is Upstate New York's premier family-friendly camping festival, held each June at Sugar Mountain in Caneadea, Allegany County. The three-day celebration features 25+ regional and national acts spanning blues, funk, jam, bluegrass, reggae, and Americana across three stages, alongside hot air balloon rides, a kids' zone, circus acts, fire spinning, yoga, workshops, and fireworks. Kids 12 and under attend free. For more information, check out Estival Festival.
In June, Ithaca Reggae Fest raises awareness for the protection of Cayuga Lake through a celebration of Ithaca’s legendary reggae community and its history at Stewart Park over two days. For more information check out Ithaca Reggae Fest.
Located in Sherman, New York, near the western edge of the Finger Lakes region, The Great Blue Heron Music Festival is a family-friendly event featuring live music on multiple stages, workshops, arts and crafts vendors, and camping. The festival showcases a mix of genres, including folk, rock, blues, and Americana. For more information, check out The Great Blue Heron Music Festival.
Held annually in Trumansburg, just outside of Ithaca, GrassRoots is a multi-day festival featuring a diverse lineup of music, including folk, roots, bluegrass, reggae, and world music. The festival also includes dance performances, workshops, and local food vendors. Playlist coming soon. For more information, check out GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance.
For 37 years, Historic Downtown Canandaigua's Main Street has hosted this three-day celebration combining fine art and live music on the shores of Canandaigua Lake. Over 150 artists showcase ceramics, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, glass, photography, and more, while live music on the Maxion Stage in Commons Park spans bluegrass, blues, rock, jazz, and acoustic performances from Upstate New York artists. For more information, check out The Canandaigua Arts & Music Festival.
Held each summer on the pristine shores of Skaneateles Lake, the Skaneateles Festival has been one of the Finger Lakes region's premier classical music events for over 40 years. The festival spans four weeks and features world-class chamber musicians performing in intimate venues across the village of Skaneateles, making it one of the most unique classical music experiences in Upstate New York. Joyful, inspiring, and deeply rooted in the community it calls home. For more information, check out Skaneateles Festival.
Geneva's Drumstock Music & Arts Festival is a free, one-day celebration held each September at Lake Drum Brewing on E. Castle Street, featuring 12+ local and nationally renowned acts across two stages and 14 hours of live music spanning funk, jazz, jam, world music, and beyond. Presented by the Geneva Rising Arts Foundation, Drumstock pairs performances with hands-on art workshops, live painting, local food and craft vendors, and a family bike ride — all united by a mission to strengthen community through the arts. Check out the Geneva's Drumstock Music & Arts Festival. Music playlist coming soon.
Borderland Festival returns September 18–20, 2026 to Knox Farm State Park, a stunning 633-acre historic estate in East Aurora, just 16 miles south of Buffalo. Now in its eighth year, the three-day camping festival features 30+ acts spanning rock, Americana, jam, and indie, headlined by Jack White, Alabama Shakes, and Lord Huron, with sets from The Pixies, The Head and the Heart, Jesse Welles, and more. For more information, check out Borderland Festival.
While not solely a music festival, the Naples Grape Festival in Naples, New York, features live music along with grape-related activities, food vendors, arts and crafts, and a grape pie contest. The festival celebrates the region's grape harvest and wine industry.
Middlesex Music Festival is a beloved one-day celebration of local music and community held each August on a private hillside field on the eastern shore of Canandaigua Lake in Middlesex, Yates County. One of the oldest festivals in the region — predating both GrassRoots and Great Blue Heron — it has gathered neighbors, families, and musicians since 1981 for an intimate day of bluegrass, folk, zydeco, and Americana. Free, family-friendly, and gloriously low-key.
Finger Lakes Film Festival
Feb 28The Finger Lakes Film Festival is an annual celebration of short film held each February at the historic Smith Opera House and the Dove Block Project in downtown Geneva. Free and open to the public, the festival screens diverse short films from around the world — animation, documentary, narrative, and video essay — with a special focus on Upstate New York filmmakers. Regional premieres, filmmaker meet-and-greets, and student showcases make it a one-of-a-kind cultural event.
Geneva Music Festival
April 11 thru May 30High degree of artistic quality has been a guiding principle of Geneva Music Festival over its 14-year run. The festival features a four-week festival with 9 events. More details can be found at FLXmusic.co and Geneva Music Festival.
Rochester Lilac Festival
May 8 thru May 17Rochester's beloved Lilac Festival returns to Highland Park each May for 10 days of music, food, art, and of course — lilacs. Celebrated every spring since 1898, the free festival draws 500,000+ visitors from across the region and Canada to experience the most extensive lilac collection in the Northeast, with 1,200+ shrubs in over 500 varieties. Highlights include 100+ live musical performances, 300+ juried arts and craft vendors, a local farmers market, the Lilac Run, and kids activities set among 150 acres of fragrant blossoms. For more information, check out the Rochester Lilac Festival.
Sterling Stage FolkFest
May 22 thru May 25Taking place in Sterling, New York, the Sterling Stage FolkFest is a three-day camping festival featuring folk, bluegrass, Americana, and jam band music. The festival also includes camping, art vendors, and outdoor activities in a scenic wooded setting.
Finger Lakes Country Music Festival
May 30Usually the first weekend of June, organizers bring together nationally headlining acts and regional favorites to the Erie Canal-side village of Palmyra for a landmark event held at Wayne County Fairgrounds. This year the Finger Lakes Country Music Festival is featuring Lee Brice with special guest Avery Anna. Check out Finger Lakes Country Music Festival for more details.
Rose Soiree
June 13Geneva's Rosé Soirée is an elegant annual fundraiser held each June at Pulteney Park, inspired by the French tradition of Dîner en Blanc. Presented by Geneva Community Projects, the ticketed outdoor evening features six samples of dry Finger Lakes rosé wines poured by regional producers, a commemorative glass, live music, and food vendors. Guests are encouraged to dress in their finest shades of pink. Since 2016 the event has raised over $93,000 for local Geneva community initiatives. For more information, check out Geneva's Rose Soiree.
Estival Festival
June 19 thru June 21Estival Festival is Upstate New York's premier family-friendly camping festival, held each June at Sugar Mountain in Caneadea, Allegany County. The three-day celebration features 25+ regional and national acts spanning blues, funk, jam, bluegrass, reggae, and Americana across three stages, alongside hot air balloon rides, a kids' zone, circus acts, fire spinning, yoga, workshops, and fireworks. Kids 12 and under attend free. For more information, check out Estival Festival.
Ithaca Reggae Festival
June 26 thru June 28In June, Ithaca Reggae Fest raises awareness for the protection of Cayuga Lake through a celebration of Ithaca’s legendary reggae community and its history at Stewart Park over two days. For more information check out Ithaca Reggae Fest.
The Great Blue Heron Music Festival
July 2 thru July 5Located in Sherman, New York, near the western edge of the Finger Lakes region, The Great Blue Heron Music Festival is a family-friendly event featuring live music on multiple stages, workshops, arts and crafts vendors, and camping. The festival showcases a mix of genres, including folk, rock, blues, and Americana. For more information, check out The Great Blue Heron Music Festival.
GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance
July 16 thru July 19Held annually in Trumansburg, just outside of Ithaca, GrassRoots is a multi-day festival featuring a diverse lineup of music, including folk, roots, bluegrass, reggae, and world music. The festival also includes dance performances, workshops, and local food vendors. Playlist coming soon. For more information, check out GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance.
Canandaigua Arts & Music Festival
July 17 thru July 19For 37 years, Historic Downtown Canandaigua's Main Street has hosted this three-day celebration combining fine art and live music on the shores of Canandaigua Lake. Over 150 artists showcase ceramics, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, glass, photography, and more, while live music on the Maxion Stage in Commons Park spans bluegrass, blues, rock, jazz, and acoustic performances from Upstate New York artists. For more information, check out The Canandaigua Arts & Music Festival.
Skaneateles Festival
July 30 thru Aug 22Held each summer on the pristine shores of Skaneateles Lake, the Skaneateles Festival has been one of the Finger Lakes region's premier classical music events for over 40 years. The festival spans four weeks and features world-class chamber musicians performing in intimate venues across the village of Skaneateles, making it one of the most unique classical music experiences in Upstate New York. Joyful, inspiring, and deeply rooted in the community it calls home. For more information, check out Skaneateles Festival.
Geneva Drumstock Music & Arts Festival
Early SeptemberGeneva's Drumstock Music & Arts Festival is a free, one-day celebration held each September at Lake Drum Brewing on E. Castle Street, featuring 12+ local and nationally renowned acts across two stages and 14 hours of live music spanning funk, jazz, jam, world music, and beyond. Presented by the Geneva Rising Arts Foundation, Drumstock pairs performances with hands-on art workshops, live painting, local food and craft vendors, and a family bike ride — all united by a mission to strengthen community through the arts. Check out the Geneva's Drumstock Music & Arts Festival. Music playlist coming soon.
Borderland Festival
September 18 thru September 20Borderland Festival returns September 18–20, 2026 to Knox Farm State Park, a stunning 633-acre historic estate in East Aurora, just 16 miles south of Buffalo. Now in its eighth year, the three-day camping festival features 30+ acts spanning rock, Americana, jam, and indie, headlined by Jack White, Alabama Shakes, and Lord Huron, with sets from The Pixies, The Head and the Heart, Jesse Welles, and more. For more information, check out Borderland Festival.
Naples Grape Festival
Sept 26 thru Sept 27While not solely a music festival, the Naples Grape Festival in Naples, New York, features live music along with grape-related activities, food vendors, arts and crafts, and a grape pie contest. The festival celebrates the region's grape harvest and wine industry.
Middlesex Music Festival
August 8Middlesex Music Festival is a beloved one-day celebration of local music and community held each August on a private hillside field on the eastern shore of Canandaigua Lake in Middlesex, Yates County. One of the oldest festivals in the region — predating both GrassRoots and Great Blue Heron — it has gathered neighbors, families, and musicians since 1981 for an intimate day of bluegrass, folk, zydeco, and Americana. Free, family-friendly, and gloriously low-key.
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