WHO WE ARE
The Egyptian Coptic Festival was established with a vision to showcase Egypt’s unique culture through integration within the diverse Canadian fabric
- Since its inception, the festival’s organizing committee has been keen to come up with an annual theme that would ensure an enhanced visitor’ experience.
Some examples of our themes include:
- 2018: “You are linked” encouraged everyone to explore how they are linked to Egypt; whether through a passion for history, arts and music or through the desire to explore the exquisite Egyptian cuisine.
- 2019: “ Nothing Compares” aimed at highlighting the fact that nothing compares to the richness of the Egyptian culture or the uniqueness of the festival’s programming which included the National Folklore Dance Group who flew especially from Egypt to be part of our memorable event, our second generation youths as they changed = in a harmonious choir and performed a play telling the history of Egypt, and the superstars who joined us to entertain the visitors in a free, open air, event.
- 2020: “Visit Egypt” was a direct invitation to encourage everyone who has Egypt on their bucket list to take the leap and make their dream a reality by visiting the land of the Nile.
- 2024: “ A Place for All” was the theme we chose for this year’s festival; realizing that Canada is a place for all; that the City of Mississauga as it celebrates its 50th anniversary as a city, is a place for all; and that the Egyptian Coptic Festival as an inclusive place that brings everyone together in a family friendly environment to enjoy artists and musicians who come from various Middle Eastern countries to entertain us, is also a place for all.
The Egyptian Coptic Festival is a niche, inclusive and free festival with programming suitable for all family members.
- The Egyptian Coptic Festival started in the fall of 2018 and was the very first festival of its kind to showcase Pharaonic, Coptic and modern Egyptian arts and culture in Mississauga’s Celebration Square.
- With a packed program, engaging performances and a great Egyptian cuisine, the festival attracted some 6,000 visitors in its first year and exploded into 25,000 in its second year as per City of Mississauga staff estimates. In addition, the festival helped highlight 60 local businesses and was graced by the presence of numerous federal, provincial and municipal politicians in addition to dignitaries from Quebec and the Egyptian Ambassador to Canada.
- This year, post pandemic, the Egyptian Coptic Festival is coming back bigger and stronger as it will be held over the span of two days, on Sept 20 and Sept 21, 2024, representing a big summer finale in Mississauga’s Celebration Square, and featuring two mega stars; namely Carole Samaha and Hamza Namira in addition to many other surprises you wouldn’t want to miss.