Want to buy handmade goods from Kawarthas artisans? You have four main routes: seasonal craft shows, self-guided studio tours, year-round galleries and boutiques, and online marketplaces. Each suits a different kind of shopper — the browser who wants variety in one afternoon, the curious visitor who wants to watch an artist work, or the gift-giver who needs something shipped next week. Here's how each channel works, with real venues and dates to start planning.
Discovering Kawarthas Artisans: Your Guide to Local Craft
Rather than a directory of individual makers, this guide maps the channels themselves, because the Kawarthas craft scene runs on recurring structures you can return to year after year. The region's destination guide points to a dense calendar: art and craft favourites include the Lakefield Jazz, Art & Craft Festival in July, the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts in August, the Buckhorn Craft Show in spring and at harvest, and the Hand of Man Art & Craft Show in September. Permanent spaces — the Art Gallery of Peterborough, Artspace, Whetung Ojibwa Centre, and The English Potter and Co. — carry local and regional work between events. The trick is matching the channel to what you want from the experience.
Seasonal Craft Shows and Festivals
Craft shows concentrate dozens of vendors into a single afternoon, which makes them the best option for comparing work across many makers at once. A useful example of the format: the City of Kawartha Lakes announced that Victoria Manor in Lindsay welcomed local artisans, crafters, and community members to its Summer Craft Sale on Sunday, June 28, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring handmade crafts, gifts, baked goods, and treats from local vendors. The city framed it as a chance to support local businesses and makers while enjoying an afternoon of shopping and community connection.
On the festival side, the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts is listed by Lake.com for August 21–22, 2027, Saturday 10 a.m. to Sunday 5 p.m., at 1782 Lakehurst Road, with free entry. One caution: those dates are projected from the previous edition, and the listing itself advises confirming with the organizer before travelling. Event details shift, so treat every date here as a starting point to verify rather than a guarantee.
