The Kiwanis Music Festival movement consists of regional music competitions in most Canadian urban centres. Its origin probably traces as far back as an inaugural 1908 festival in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, where Governor General

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

 Earl Grey

Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey

Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey was a British nobleman and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the ninth since Canadian Confederation....

 advocated the establishment of music festivals throughout Canada's provinces.

These festivals are named after the Kiwanis

Kiwanis

Kiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...

 service clubs which generally support the events in each community. Typically, musicians and speech arts performers at each festival are given the opportunity to perform and compete for scholarships.

Festivals by city

City	Founded	Website	Notes
Barrie Barrie Barrie may refer to:* Barrie, city in Ontario, Canada* Barrie , Canadian federal electoral district* Barrie , provincial electoral district* Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford, former Canadian electoral district... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....	1979	http://www.barriemusicfestival.com/indexmusicfestival.htm	Originally the Barrie Music Scholarship Competitions, the local Kiwanis chapter assumed operations in 1987.
Calgary, Alberta Calgary Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...	1917	http://www.calgarykiwanisfestival.ca/	Kiwanis became actively involved in 1954, and was formally named the Kiwanis Music Festival in 1968.
Chatham, Ontario Chatham-Kent, Ontario Chatham–Kent is a unitary authority in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Mostly rural, its centres of population are Blenheim, Chatham, Dresden, Ridgetown, Tilbury and Wallaceburg. Modern Chatham–Kent was created in 1998 by the merger of Kent County and its municipalities.- History :The former city of...	1945	http://www.chathamkiwanis.com/musicfestival/
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...	1908	http://www.edmontonkiwanis.com/musicfest/
Guelph Guelph Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city... , Ontario Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....	1981	http://guelpharts.ca/kiwanismusicfestivalofguelph/
Halifax, Nova Scotia	1935	http://www.hfxmusicfest.com/	Originally entitled Halifax Music Festival.
Kelowna Kelowna Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"... , British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...	1926	http://www.kelownakiwanisfestival.com/kmf/	Originally the Okanagan Valley Music Festival, which was hosted in a 3-year cycle among Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon. Kelowna's festival became fully autonomous in 1981.
Kingston, Ontario Kingston, Ontario Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...	1973	http://www.kiwanismusic.ca/
Kitchener Kitchener, Ontario The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census... -Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....	1948	http://www.kwkiwanismusicfestival.org/
Lethbridge, Alberta	1931? (2008 marks the 78th festival)	http://www.kiwanislethbridge.org/musicfestival2.html	Originally the Lethbridge Music Festival, the Kiwanis Club has operated the festival since 1953.
London, Ontario London, Ontario London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...	1959	http://www.kiwanismusicfestivallondon.com/	First year a small, limited competition. 2008 is indicated as 40th anniversary, where 1960 was the first of regular annual competitions.
Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...	1945	http://www.ottawakiwanismusicfestival.com/	Originally Ottawa Music Festival Association until 1985 when Kiwanis became actively involved.
Penticton, British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...	1926	http://www.pkmf.org/festival/	Originally the Okanagan Valley Music Festival, which was hosted in a 3-year cycle among Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon.
Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...	1946	http://www.kiwanismusicfestival.com/
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...	1946	http://www.peikiwanismusicfestival.ca/index.htm	Four local festivals (Kings County Kings County, Prince Edward Island Kings County is located in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.It is the province's smallest, most rural and least-populated county. Kings County is also least dependent upon the agriculture industry compared with the other two counties, while being more heavily dependent on the fishery and... , Queens County Queens County, Prince Edward Island Queens County is located in central Prince Edward Island, Canada. The county is geographically divided by the Hillsborough River's estuary, a tidal inlet which almost splits the county and Prince Edward Island... , West Prince Prince County, Prince Edward Island Prince County, is located in western Prince Edward Island, Canada. The county's defining geographic feature is Malpeque Bay, a sub-basin of the Gulf of St...  and East Prince) lead to provincial finals, then to the national finals.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...	1952	http://www.kiwanismusicfestivalsj.org/
Toronto, Ontario Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...	unknown	http://kiwanismusictoronto.org/
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...	1923	http://www.vkmfestivals.org/	Originally the British Columbia Music Festival, established by the fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been... . There are several smaller festival events from February each year (Jazz, Concert Band, Choral) leading up to the Main Festival in April.