From Winter Carnival to the Christmas market, here are the ten Quebec City events and festivals that make the strongest backdrop for a branded video in 2026.
Quebec City draws more than four million visitor days a year, and a good share of that energy happens in public, in costume, on a stage, or on a riverbank, exactly the kind of setting that turns a corporate video from "nice footage" into something people actually want to watch. For a brand filming in or around the capital, timing a shoot to one of these ten recurring events is one of the fastest ways to get production value that would otherwise take a much bigger budget to build from scratch.
Here are ten Quebec City events worth planning a video shoot around in 2026, from midwinter to midwinter again.
1. Carnaval de Québec
Held every winter since 1955, the Carnaval de Québec is one of the largest winter carnivals in the world, built around the mascot Bonhomme, night parades, the ice palace, and the canoe race across the frozen Saint-Lawrence. For a brand, it is a rare chance to film genuine winter energy (bright colors against snow, costumed crowds, fireworks) without staging any of it.
2. Festival d'été de Québec
Every July, the Festival d'été de Québec turns the Plains of Abraham and several downtown stages into one of the biggest multi-genre music festivals in Canada. The sheer density of the crowd and the stage lighting make it a strong source of b-roll for any brand associated with music, youth culture, or nightlife, provided the right accreditation is secured in advance.
3. Les Grands Feux Loto-Québec
This international fireworks competition lights up the sky above the Montmorency Falls and the Saint-Lawrence over several nights each summer. Few events deliver a more dramatic closing shot for a brand film: the falls, the river, and the fireworks in a single frame.
| Event | Season | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Carnaval de Québec | Winter (February) | Bold winter visuals, crowds, color |
| Festival d'été de Québec | Summer (July) | Music, youth culture, large crowds |
| Les Grands Feux Loto-Québec | Summer | Dramatic wide shots, closing scenes |
| Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France | Summer (August) | Heritage, costume, storytelling |
| Marché de Noël allemand de Québec | Winter (December) | Holiday campaigns, warm lifestyle shots |
4. Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France
Each August, Old Quebec turns back the clock: thousands of participants dress in period costume, markets fill the cobblestone streets, and the whole historic district becomes a living set. For a brand with a heritage story to tell, a few hours at the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France can supply more authentic texture than any studio backdrop.
5. Marathon SSQ de Québec
The city's biggest running event, held at the end of August, closes streets across the old city and draws thousands of runners and spectators along the Saint-Lawrence. It is a natural fit for any brand in sport, wellness, finance, or insurance looking for honest effort and movement rather than a staged scene.
6. Expo Québec
Running for over a century, Expo Québec is the city's large summer agricultural and entertainment fair: midway rides, livestock competitions, concerts, and local food vendors packed into a few days each August. It is one of the few places to film a genuine, unposed cross-section of Quebec families having a day out.
7. Plein Art Québec
This open-air crafts fair brings hundreds of artisans to the Plains of Abraham each August. For brands in design, home goods, or local retail, it is a source of close-up, tactile shots: hands at work, materials, color, and texture that a product video can borrow from directly.
8. Festival International de Musique Militaire de Québec
Held every August on the grounds of the Citadelle, this military music festival brings marching bands and pipe-and-drum corps from several countries into one of the city's most photogenic fortified sites. The combination of uniforms, formation, and the Citadelle's stone walls is hard to replicate anywhere else in Canada.
9. Marché de Noël allemand de Québec
Place George-V fills with wooden chalets, string lights, mulled wine, and holiday crowds for this German-style Christmas market each December. It is one of the easiest ways to film warm, cozy holiday-campaign footage without building a single set piece.
10. ComiQc
Quebec City's own pop-culture and comic convention draws cosplayers, collectors, and fans every year. For a brand targeting a younger, culture-forward audience, the costumes and energy on the show floor make for some of the most visually dense, high-contrast footage on this entire list.
Planning a shoot around a live event
The gap between a usable shoot and a missed one is almost always planning, not talent. Permits and accreditation for a festival or fair need to be requested weeks ahead, and a shot list built around a fixed, unmovable schedule forces the kind of discipline that actually protects a production day. For a deeper look at building that schedule and protecting the budget behind it, this brief and ROI guide and this Quebec pricing guide are good starting points.
Keep reading
- Video production in Montreal: how to choose the right partner
- How much does video production cost in Montreal? A 2026 pricing guide
- How to brief a video production agency (and actually measure the ROI)
Sources: Carnaval de Québec, Festival d'été de Québec, and Ville de Québec tourism event listings.
