Winner Announced, NextFest Class of 2026!
- Ottawa Festival Network
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
After completing a month of weekly learning sessions and submitting their final festival proposals, all 7 of the remaining NextFest teams gathered last Wednesday to pitch their festival to a jury of industry experts.
It was a night resembling "Dragon's Den" with the "dragons" being jurors: Melanie Brulée (Ottawa Music Industry Coalition), Ingrid Meza-McDonald (City of Ottawa), Carl Karamaoun (Latin Sparks Festival) and Jason Roy (FrontDoor+).
5 minutes to pitch with 5 minutes of jury questions, each team did a fantastic job of presenting their unique festival concepts. In the audience, the NextFest teams celebrated and supported each other even while nerves were running high.
Once all the teams were done, the jury met with Ottawa Festival Network (OFN) staff to share their feedback and expand on each team's scoring. OFN then tabulated the jury scores with the scoring of each team's in-depth proposals to come to a final result.
It was a close competition, each team outlined well-thought out plans to develop innovative and intentional festival concepts. All participants have proven themselves capable leaders who will soon usher in a new batch of festivals and events in the National Capital Region. OFN couldn't be more proud of these young professionals and the staff looks forward to working alongside and mentoring each team moving forward.
Now, without further delay. The winner of NextFest 2026 is..... (drumroll)...... BlokJam!
Winner of NextFest 2026 - BlokJam!
Congratulations to team members Julien Fontaine-Carbonneau, Scarlet Torraka, Jacob McGuire, Frédéric Doiron and Breanna Smith.
BlokJam is an outdoor festival that showcases Canada's local and emerging hip-hop scene in the heart of the National Capital Region. Designed as a community-centered block party, the one-day event features high-energy hip-hop performances, live graffiti art, breakdancing showcases, and engaging, creative workshops.
BlokJam outlined that it's mission is "rooted in the linguistic and cultural diversity of the National Capital Region (NCR). It amplifies youth voices and creativity through a unified hip-hop initiative that bridges Ottawa and Gatineau. By elevating anglophone, francophone, and newcomer artists, BlokJam creates sustainable opportunities for up-and-coming talent while challenging stigma and celebrating hip-hop as a multi-generational cultural force. The festival empowers emerging creators to build confidence, expand their networks, and help create a more inclusive cultural environment in the region."
As did all the other teams, BlokJam designed a festival concept that put human connection and creative expression front and center
With this festival, we hope to create a stronger sense of belonging to the National Capital Region. By creating a space where young creative minds can express themselves and be inspired by other like-minded creatives. - BlokJam
"We are inspired by this team's vision and their passion for 'bridging the gap' between Ottawa and Gatineau. With a fully bilingual, multi-disciplinary festival it will highlight the local talent we have in the NCR and motivate people to cross the river and dive into something new. We are really looking forward to working alongside this talented group of young people to bring their festival to the masses later this year!" - Tara Shannon, Executive Director, Ottawa Festival Network
You can find BlokJam on Instagram, @Blokjam, and follow along as they advance their festival into the next stages.
What's Next for the Teams?
BlokJam will now work closely with OFN launch their inaugural festival in 2026 and put their plans into action.
OFN will also be meeting with all teams to provide comprehensive feedback on their proposals and match them with a relevant industry mentor to continue their development. Teams will work to develop proof of concept activations within existing festivals to let their ideas blossom.
Teams will also be connected to each other to share resources and keep the community they've built connected beyond the NextFest program.
"The community of future festival producers this program has fostered is truly remarkable. You could see week-to-week this new network of leaders forming. They all want to support each other and attend each others events. The final pitch night was certainly an inspiring room to be in." - Hayley Combaluzier, Communications Manager, Ottawa Festival Network
About NextFest
NextFest is a festival concept competition designed for young people to jump in, get creative, and make their mark on the city’s vibrant festival scene. This program, new in 2026 and hosted by the Ottawa Festival Network, gives participants hands-on experience in festival planning and production — developing skills and the know-how to turn big ideas to real events. Teams participate in training sessions, connect with mentors, collaborate with other young creatives, and bring fresh energy to Ottawa’s artistic, cultural and entertainment landscape.
This year, NextFest hosted ten teams of young creatives, aged 18-25, with a diverse range festival concepts. The final seven teams that completed all the training sessions and submitted final proposals were:
Anti Scene (XYZ Fest)
Blokjam
Frequency Fest
Operation CanCon (Boundless)
Over The Top (Uncover Ottawa)
Post Credit Collective (Post Credit Festival)
Spaces Reimagined (Spaces Reimagined Festival)
To dive deeper into each festival concept and learn more about each team, check out our Class of 2026 "Meet the Teams" blog series.
NextFest is the launch of Ottawa Festival Network's Innovation Hub, a multi-dimensional initiative that will serve to incubate emerging festival producers and accelerate growth within existing producers through professional development programs and resources. The aim of the Innovation Hub is to foster a sustainable and resilient ecosystem for the festival sector across the National Capital Region.
Class of 2026’s thoughts on the NextFest experience
“I genuinely didn’t expect to get as much value as I did in such a short time. The workshops were practical, clear, and motivating in the best way: you didn’t just talk about “building events,” you showed us how to think and operate like real event producers. ”
-Frequency Fest
“ NextFest has been an incredible opportunity. We’ve always wanted to start a festival but weren’t sure where to begin. This experience has given us the confidence and momentum to make it happen.”
-Spaces Reimagined
"As an aspiring festival curator, NextFest has been a fantastic opportunity in learning the steps to build a community focussed festival: from the initial creative brainstorming sessions all the way to the key areas of programming, budgeting, and safety planning to producing a successful event. I have been working in the local Ottawa festival scene for two years, but NextFest has provided the space and guidance to bring my own ideas to life alongside my amazing team. The weekly training sessions shared insight to integral areas of festival production and opened the floor to network with Ottawa's current event industry professionals."
-Operation CanCon
Comments