Experiences
Mississauga Brings Big Laughs to Ontario with the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival
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This September, Visit Mississauga is turning Erindale Park into comedy's premier outdoor stage. The arrival of the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival brings John Mulaney, Jeff Arcuri, Hasan Minhaj, Ronny Chieng, Dr. Phil, and more to Mississauga's largest park. Local and touring shows continue across the city once the festival stage comes down.
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This feature is presented in partnership with Visit Mississauga.
For one weekend this September, Visit Mississauga will bring one of the deepest comedy lineups in Canada to the city. John Mulaney, Adam Ray as Dr. Phil, Jeff Arcuri, Matt Mathews, Jordan Jensen, Hasan Minhaj and Ronny Chieng are among the headliners taking over Erindale Park when the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival makes its Ontario debut at Erindale Park in Mississauga from September 11 to 13, 2026.
The festival is the marquee draw in a city with comedy on several kinds of stages. Thursday open mics unfold over dinner on Dixie Road, monthly showcases bring touring comics to a pub inside an 1850s Streetsville building, and the Living Arts Centre has another comedy tour booked for October. For visitors and locals, there is plenty to see through September and into the fall.
THE HEADLINE EVENT ARRIVES AT ERINDALE PARK
The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival launched in 2021 and has since expanded across Canada and into the United States. Mississauga is joining the tour for the first time in 2026 as its only Ontario stop, with five different programs spread across three days.
Erindale Park is Mississauga's largest park, a 220-acre stretch of green space along the Credit River ravine. For the festival, part of the park will become an open-air venue with a large stage, food trucks, bars and festival activations. General admission guests can bring an approved collapsible chair or a blanket, giving the grounds the relaxed rhythm of a summer concert.
Friday, September 11 belongs to John Mulaney, whose exacting delivery and carefully built stories have made him one of his generation's defining stand-up voices. His supporting lineup is unusually deep: Stavros Halkias brings candid stand-up and crowd work, Fred Armisen contributes the wonderfully specific character comedy familiar from Portlandia and Saturday Night Live, and current SNL cast member James Austin Johnson is one of the show's most versatile impressionists.
Saturday's afternoon program is led by Adam Ray is Dr. Phil LIVE, which combines stand-up, improvised conversations, crowd participation and surprise characters. Ms. Pat and T.J. Miller join Ray for a show with the loose unpredictability of a late-night program that has wandered happily off script.
That evening, Jeff Arcuri brings the quick crowd work that has helped carry him from comedy clubs to larger theatres. Brad Williams and Grace O'Malley complete the bill. One dollar from every ticket sold for the Saturday evening show will support breast cancer care at Trillium Health Partners' Carlo Fidani Regional Cancer Centre.
Sunday afternoon pairs Matt Mathews and Jordan Jensen, two candid storytellers. Mathews draws on his Alabama upbringing, family life and farm chores. Jensen recently brought her hour-long special Take Me With You to Netflix. Katherine Blanford rounds out the matinee with stories about Southern family life and adolescence.
The final show brings together three comedians fluent in politics, culture and the strange machinery of the news cycle. Hasan Minhaj is known for the energetic visual storytelling of Homecoming King, Patriot Act and Off With His Head. Ronny Chieng brings the clipped frustration and international perspective seen on The Daily Show and across his Netflix specials. Michael Kosta, a senior correspondent and rotating host on The Daily Show, completes Sunday's closing lineup.
For tickets and the latest event information, visit the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival. Don’t miss out on this fun! If you haven’t already, grab your tickets now and catch all the laughs under the open sky in Mississauga.
WEEKLY COMEDY AT DESI HAKKA AFFAIRS
The city's grassroots comedy scene has a regular Thursday-night home at Desi Hakka Affairs. The weekly open mic begins at 8 p.m. at the restaurant's 3415 Dixie Road location.
Order a few Hakka dishes, settle in and see who takes the mic. The roster changes from week to week, with comics trying out new material in a casual restaurant setting. Individual editions may be free or ticketed, so check the current listing before heading over.
TOURING COMEDY CONTINUES IN OCTOBER
The GenX Takeover Comedy Tour keeps the momentum going at the Living Arts Centre on October 9. The saugaLIVE Presents event brings The Real Slim Sherri, Kelly Manno, Dadbod Veteran Jon Wellington, The Professor Nick Harrison and host Justin Rupple to Mississauga for a show built around the shared references, indignities and nostalgia of Generation X.
The show runs from 8 to 10 p.m., with tickets currently starting at $49 plus fees. A buffet at LIVE Restaurant before the show and a post-show meet and greet are available as add-ons.
In Streetsville, Next Stop Comedy at The Franklin House brings a changing lineup of touring comedians to a pub that occupies a building dating to the 1850s. Performers vary from month to month and often include comics heard on podcasts or seen on television. The next show currently listed is October 23 at 7 p.m. at 263 Queen Street South.
MAKING A MISSISSAUGA WEEKEND OF IT
Mississauga's comedy calendar also offers a useful way into the city itself. Erindale Park puts the Credit River ravine in the foreground. A show at The Franklin House leads into the old village streets of Streetsville, and the Living Arts Centre is in the heart of the city centre. Desi Hakka Affairs adds a neighbourhood stop on Dixie Road.
Outside show hours, there is time for a meal elsewhere in Mississauga, a walk or a paddle along the Port Credit waterfront or a few hours in Streetsville. Pearson International Airport and GO Transit make the city accessible from farther afield, and there are hotels throughout Mississauga for anyone staying after the final set.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE THE FESTIVAL
The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival runs from Friday, September 11 to Sunday, September 13, 2026, at Erindale Park, 1695 Dundas Street West. It is a licensed event restricted to guests aged 19 and older, and valid government-issued photo identification is required. The festival proceeds rain or shine unless hazardous weather prevents it.
For afternoon shows, VIP and GA+ doors open at noon, general admission opens at 1 p.m., and the program begins at 2 p.m. For evening shows, VIP and GA+ doors open at 5:30 p.m., general admission opens at 6:30 p.m., and the program begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets currently start at approximately $51 plus fees, with single-show, day, weekend and group options available through the official Tixr listing.
There will be no parking at Erindale Park or in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Festivalgoers can use MiWay and GO Transit, ride-share, the festival shuttle or a bicycle. A free shuttle will run between Clarkson GO Station and Erindale Park for all evening shows. Limited paid parking will be available at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, followed by an approximately 10-minute walk along a park trail. A complimentary bicycle valet will also be available.
Follow @visitmississauga for festival-weekend coverage and more events across the city.
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