F.A.Q.

Makin’ Waves takes place each Thursday evening at 6pm starting July 9, 2026 and ending August 6, 2026.

Makin’ Waves takes place at Wentworth Park in Downtown Sydney, on the beautiful island of Unama’ki/Cape Breton. The park is adjacent to George Street, a main thoroughfare connecting Sydney’s Downtown, Ashby, and Hardwood Hill neighbourhoods.

Walking

Much of Sydney’s Downtown, Ashby, Hardwood Hill, and Shipyard neighbourhoods are within a 20 minute walk to Wentworth Park via main arteries. Sidewalks are abundant on George Street and Argyle Street to connect you to the area.

Driving

Note: George Street is closed between Argyle Street and Byng Avenue from 4PM through the end of the concert each week.

Traveling East on TransCanada Highway 125, use Exit 8 and take the final exit in the roundabout to continue on George Street. From there, continue on George Street to Wentworth Park.

Traveling from Glace Bay/New Waterford, travel the Sydney-Glace Bay Highway into Sydney. Continue straight as it becomes Welton Street and then Prince Street. Once you reach the traffic lights at the George Street intersection, turn left. Continue on George Street to Wentworth Park.

Traveling from Westmount/Sydney River, travel towards Sydney via Kings Road. Continue on to Downtown Sydney, turning right at the traffic lights at Townsend Street intersection. Turn right again at the traffic lights at George Street and continue on to Wentworth Park.

Transit

All routes of Transit Cape Breton will connect to Alexandra St/Route 10 and George St/Route 13 that service Wentworth Park. Route 13 departs the Pitt St transit hub every hour on the hour, with drop off/pickup near Wentworth Park shortly after. Route 10 departs the Pitt St transit hub every hour on the half hour, with drop off/pickup on Bentinck Street shortly after.

Access-a-Bus can be scheduled for drop off and pick up of registered users by calling 902 539-4336.

For up to date bussing information, visit cbrm.ns.ca/transportation/transit-cape-breton/routes-schedules/.

There is no dedicated parking at Makin’ Waves. Fortunately, Makin’ Waves takes place in Downtown Sydney with many options for street and lot parking close by.

Notably, there are parking lots at NSCC Sydney Waterfront Campus, Mercer Fuels on Brookland Street, Centre 200, and City Hall that are all within a 10 minute walk to Wentworth Park.

There is a limited amount of parking for accessibility permit holders, see accessibility for details.

Makin’ Waves is proudly #ALWAYSFREE thanks to contributions from our partners and funders.

No, Makin’ Waves is for folks of all ages. In fact, we frequently see multi-generational families, from infants to seniors, attending together. We believe music is medicine for everyone, and sharing this experience is for folks every age.

Wentworth Park is considered a ’place of public assembly’ and, thus, smoking and vaping are not permitted as per CBRM Bylaw S-200. Anyone found to be smoking or vaping will first be asked to move the activity away from the park, with appropriate actions up to and including fines if activity continues.

Makin’ Waves is a dry event and no alcohol is sold or permitted on site. Anyone found with alcohol or under the influence of alcohol will be asked to leave, with appropriate actions up to and including police action.

Makin’ Waves strictly adheres to a ’don’t be a jerk’ policy. If your actions will negatively impact the experiences of the folks around you, then perhaps Makin’ Waves isn’t the right event for you to attend.

Makin’ Waves will absolutely not tolerate any forms of aggression, hate, or discrimination and strives to be a safe space for people across all designations of social markers, sexuality, gender, and ethnicities.

If you see or experience actions that impact the comfort and safety of your visit to Makin’ Waves, please see any event staff or security to ensure it is addressed.

The schedule largely remains the same each week of Makin’ Waves. The show will begin at 6:00PM with our Front Stage Program artist, followed at 6:30PM by our first Mainstage artist. The night’s Mainstage headliner will take to the stage at 7:30PM. The show ends between 8:30–9:00PM.

Makin’ Waves holds the safety of its performers, staff, and audience paramount in every decision made. If weather threatens the safe operation of the event, Makin’ Waves will pre-emptively decide to move indoors to Centre 200. This announcement is made by 10AM on the day of the show via Makin’ Waves socials.

We do everything we can to ensure the most accessibility across the event as possible. There are inherent obstacles that impede this due to taking place in a public park, but we do our best to mitigate what we can.

We can accommodate parking for a limited number of folks requiring close access for mobility. This must be arranged in advance. Please email recreation@cbrm.ns.ca to arrange.

There are two accessible washrooms on site. These are designed for use by folks with mobility assist devices such as walkers and wheelchairs.

Wentworth Park has paved pathways to traverse the event site. We do our best to keep these clear of chairs and obstacles, though there are many pedestrians and children who can cause congestion.

There is VERY limited fixed seating at Wentworth Park. Many folks bring a camp chair or a blanket to sit in the grass areas. We are not able to provide chairs to the public.

There are a number of food options both on site at Makin’ Waves and close at hand.

Our food truck round up is on George Street adjacent to Wentworth Park. The lineup of food trucks may change every week, but often includes a variety of different foods, drinks, and confections from local vendors. Some food trucks accept debit/credit, but others may be cash only.

On the corner of George Street and Glenwood Street, just steps from Wentworth Park, is Omma’s Korean BBQ. If you’re looking for a sit down meal, these folks will treat you well.

Directly across from both Wentworth Park and Omma’s is Needs Convenience. Snacks, drinks, and many other things are available for purchase here.

There are a number of different vendors at Makin’ Waves each week.

In the Creatives Market, local creatives and artisans sell their made in Cape Breton goods. The vendors change each week, as well as the variety of goods being sold. Check Makin’ Waves socials for listings on who will appear each week.

Our Community Partners also take part in Makin’ Waves. ACAP Cape Breton provides a Hydration Station to fill your reusable water bottles and has ecology based activities for youth. Make-a-Wish is on site taking donations and selling tickets for their nightly 50/50 draw. And Breton Ability is your stop for our Food Drive and Bottle Drive, assisting their programs and that of Loaves and Fishes.

And our Festival Partners bring the love too! Sydney Credit Union always has fun activities and joyful interactions, while Cape Breton Beverages provides cool Pepsi products for the audience. Other partner activations may take place throughout the event.

There is no ATM at Wentworth Park. We suggest visiting Sydney Credit Union on Townsend Street, just two blocks away, for all your banking needs.

Makin’ Waves is produced the CBRM Recreation Department. You can reach CBRM Recreation at 902 563-5510 or recreation@cbrm.ns.ca.

Partnerships are really the lifeblood of our event, and help us to make the largest impact on our community. We take these very seriously and work to overdeliver on our commitments.

If you are a business or organization that is looking for a great way to invest in community, provide opportunity for people to connect and share inspiring experiences, and increase representative performances here in the CBRM, get in touch at recreation@cbrm.ns.ca. We have a limited number of opportunities each year in order to focus our efforts on delivering the most for our partners and our community.

Donations are also welcome. To donate, please reach out to recreation@cbrm.ns.ca. We can provide a tax receipt for charitable donations exceeding $100.

First, every food vendor must have valid licensing through the Nova Scotia Dept of Agriculture and Climate Change, hold valid insurance, and have a CBRM Vendor Permit.

In May, we reach out to every truck with a valid CBRM Vendor Permit as well as a public call for food trucks. There is no fee to be a food vendor at Makin’ Waves, but you must adhere to our Green Event policy and provide a $200 deposit to hold your spot (refundable after your final date).

A public call for vendors will be made in May for the Creatives Market. All vendors must be selling items handcrafted in Cape Breton in order to be considered. No re-sellers, multi-level marketing companies, or sellers of imported goods will be permitted. There is no fee to be a Creatives Market vendor at Makin’ Waves, but you must adhere to our Market Event policy and provide a $100 deposit to hold your spot (refundable after your date).

Make-a-Wish has been our charity partner since 2015 and continues to hold this designation. They take donations and hold a 50/50 draw each week to support wishes granted right here in our community. Until such a time as they are unable or unwilling to continue as charity partner, we are not accepting other fundraising partners.

We do our best to ensure that every activation at Makin’ Waves provides value to our audience. From Partners to Charity to Community, every interaction is vetted to ensure our audience has positive experiences. Information booths and flyers increase trash accumulation, are intrusive to our audience, and frequently only benefit the provider.

For these reasons, we do not allow information booths or flyers at Makin’ Waves.

At this time, we are not accepting volunteers at Makin’ Waves. This is because there are many other events and organizations that need your help, and we do not want to take away any valuable hours that someone may have to give to our community.

Please consider volunteering with any of the remarkable community festivals and events across the CBRM that take place each Summer. Your community needs you!

You do not need a media accreditation to attend Makin’ Waves. It is free and open to everyone. No backstage or behind barrier access will be provided to any media organization.

All interview or comment requests must be made in advance through communications@cbrm.ns.ca.

That’s a really complex question. Let’s break it down into two different categories.

If you are from Cape Breton, we’re watching and listening for you. We read the news, we hear about new releases, and we see the shows that are happening. If you are under 25, you should apply to the Front Stage Program so we can amplify you. If you are not, you should build your audience, make great music, be unique, and be undeniable. If you are working harder than everyone else, filling up your shows, creating awesome music, and being a beacon for live music here in Cape Breton, we’ll be knocking down your door.

If you are not from Cape Breton’ sorry. Half of our lineup is from Cape Breton. That means we probably have five artists from outside Cape Breton, with 80–100% of those being headliners. We look for unique artists who are excelling in their genres, who reflect our core values of access, representation, and inspiration, and who present memorable and exciting live shows.

We sometimes attend Nova Scotia Music Week, East Coast Music Awards, Contact East, and other similar regional and national conferences and events. We read CBC, Saltwire, NPR, Exclaim, The Coast, and a host of other outlets that cover music and the arts. And we admire festivals like Halifax Jazz Fest, Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Sappyfest, Harvest Music Festival, Under the Spire, Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Granville Green, and many others and like to collaborate with or review their lineups.