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Here on Prince Edward Island, June is always much anticipated—with school wrapping up, the days warming up, lobster season in full swing, and seasonal spots opening their doors. It’s fair to say Islanders and visitors alike are ready to be swooned by another Island summer.

Best of all? There’s an Island-wide festival to kick the season off, bringing high-octane energy to communities big and small.

That festival is none other than the PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls. We’re very proud to be the title sponsor of this incredible festival, which has become firmly rooted in the ‘hall’ of famed PEI events. Let’s take a look at how it all began—and what the 2025 festival, running from June 13th to 22nd, has on tap.

Seventeen Years and Counting

This year (2025) marks 17 years of foot-stomping, soul-stirring, rip-roaring good times courtesy of the PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls. Founded in 2008, the festival hosted 13 events over nine days in its inaugural year. Sell-out shows and rave reviews confirmed that the organizers had landed on a hit. Fast forward five years to 2013 and PEI Mutual came onboard as a key partner to provide financial stability to the festival going forward. Our enduring partnership with the festival reflects a shared dedication to supporting rural Island communities, celebrating our rich culture, and showcasing PEI’s incredible talents.

Ten Days, Thirty Shows

The 2025 festival holds the promise of something for every age and every taste. Spanning 10 days—from June 13th to 22nd—this year’s lineup boasts 30 incredible performances. It’s jam-packed with locally grown musical talents, including Kellie Loder, Catherine MacLellan, Atlantic String Machine, The Fretless, Martha Chaves, Garrett Mason, Richard Wood, Lawrence Maxwell, and Shane Pendergast.

It’s worth noting that the festival lineup also includes comedy shows, storytelling, and dance performances, including an epic square dance send-off to close out the celebrations on June 22nd.

View the full schedule and get your tickets here.

Celebrating Diversity

With a focus on local artists and performers from Francophone, Indigenous, and other minority communities, the festival is a wonderful opportunity to discover the region’s rich and diverse pool of talent. You’ll find everything from bluegrass to blues, high-energy Celtic fiddle tunes, ragtime hits, soul-stirring folk music, and much more.

Check out the full schedule and book your tickets before your preferred shows sell out (and they will).

Showcasing Rural PEI From Tip to Tip

From its very beginnings, the PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls has been deeply committed to supporting and showcasing rural communities, businesses, and artists across the Island. This year’s schedule continues that tradition, with events as far west as Skinner’s Pond and as far east as Souris—plus plenty of picturesque places in between.

Here at PEI Mutual, we resonate with the Island-wide focus of the festival. While we’re not serving up live entertainment, we’ve always been dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage for homeowners, businesses, farmers, and fishers from tip to tip and shore to shore.

Small Halls, Big Hearts

Every thriving PEI community boasts a gathering place that serves as its beating heart—a place where friends and neighbours come together to break bread, tap toes, attend meetings, and otherwise connect.

Of course, these gathering places are as unique as the communities themselves. We’re talking everything from churches to Lions Clubs, historic theatres to (almost) brand-spanking-new performance centres, and, of course, our quintessential community halls.

No matter what sort of gathering space you find yourself in during the festival, you can bet your bottom dollar the floors and walls will be reverberating with joyful energy from the stage and audience.

Get Out and Enjoy the Festival

Whether you live here full-time, seasonally, or are visiting our fair isle, the PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls is your fast pass to a truly authentic Island experience before the throngs of tourists arrive.

With long days, warm weather, and the stunning rural scenery of PEI beckoning, June was made for adventures that lead to a small hall near (or far!) from you.

Check out the full schedule here.

A Beautiful Reminder

In case it’s not obvious, we are huge fans of the PEI Mutual Festival of Small Halls. Its contributions to our vibrant arts scene, rural PEI communities, and shoulder-season tourism since 2008 have been incredible, and we are proud to play a role in ensuring it remains an enduring part of our island’s cultural landscape.

It’s more than that, though. It’s also a beautiful reminder that the simple pleasures of life—good music, good company, and a sense of community—are also the greatest pleasures.

Pssst… if you are a member (aka policyholder) with PEI Mutual, we hope you also take pride in supporting the festival through your choice to insure with us. As a mutual company, we will always be community-focused and we couldn’t do it without the support of our members!