Q: When does Supercrawl take place?
A: Supercrawl takes place on the second Friday-Saturday-Sunday of September. The 2025 festival will take place on the weekend of September 12, 13, and 14.
Q: When will the Supercrawl lineup be released?
A: The music lineup is traditionally released around the end of June, with the remainder of the festival programming released in late July or early August through the festival’s website and social media channels.
Q: When will the Supercrawl schedule and festival map be released?
A: Supercrawl’s schedule and festival map are released around the end of August, in the two weeks leading up to the festival, and promoted through the festival’s website and social media channels.
Q: How can I get my artwork featured as an installation at Supercrawl?
A: Each year, Supercrawl issues a Call For Artist Submissions that is featured prominently on our website and social media channels as well as through various arts media. The 2025 call will be opened in mid-January and will be held open for roughly one month. Once the applications window closes, the field of potential artists is reviewed and curated, with projects selected based on artistic merit, originality, and ability to integrate within the festival’s scale and energy. Calls for Entry are publicized prominently and extensively through the festival’s website and social media channels. Only materials as part of the official application will be considered. Third-party petitions, social media polls, gimmicky marketing campaigns and the like will not favourably impact your likelihood of having a successful application. To the contrary: Attempts to influence curation will be counterproductive. The music and arts lineup is traditionally announced at the end of June.
Q: How do I submit a non-visual artist or group for festival consideration?
A: Each year, Supercrawl issues a Call For Artist Submissions that is featured prominently on our website and social media channels. The 2025 call will be opened in mid-January and will be held open for roughly one month. Once the applications window closes, the pool of submissions — music, fashion, dance, theatre, authors and more — is reviewed and curated by Supercrawl’s Committees. Calls for Entry are publicized prominently and extensively through the festival’s website and social media channels. Only materials as part of the official application will be considered. Third-party petitions, social media polls, gimmicky marketing campaigns and the like will not favourably impact your likelihood of having a successful application. To the contrary: Attempts to influence curation will be counterproductive. The music and arts lineup is traditionally announced at the end of June.
Q: How do I become an on-street vendor?
A: Supercrawl’s applications for on-street craft vendors and food trucks are featured prominently on our website as well as social media channels and stay open for roughly one month. Once the applications window closes, the field of potential vendors is reviewed and curated by Supercrawl’s Vendor Committee. Costs vary depending on vendor requirements and will be included with the release of the application. The vendor call window opens in late winter and is publicized through the festival’s website and social media channels. Only materials as part of the official application will be considered. Third-party petitions, social media polls, gimmicky marketing campaigns and the like will not favourably impact your likelihood of having a successful application. To the contrary: Attempts to influence curation will be counterproductive.
Because of rigorous crowd flow and emergency access requirements for an event of this scale, unauthorized vendors will not be permitted to display and/or vend their wares within the festival enclosure (i.e. no pop-up sidewalk vendors). Supercrawl’s organizers must be informed of and approve all on-street activity within the festival’s street closure. If you lack explicit and official written approval from festival organizers, Supercrawl staff, police and/or security are required to ask you to remove your wares from within the street closure.
Q: I missed out on applying as an on-street vendor. What are my options?
A: Since 2012, Supercrawl has provided a free, outdoor, off-street space at the festival for artists, craftspeople, and artisans such as those who would line James North to sell their wares during the neighbourhood’s monthly gallery crawl. Supercrawl provides this space not just on the festival’s Friday night, but on Saturday and Sunday as well — free of charge — offering makers and creatives far greater exposure than at any other time of the year. Supercrawl organizers have covered all expenses related to renting, staffing, insuring and setting up this first-come, first-served area in order to be able to provide a limited supply of free market space, access to which has been obtained through agreements with private property holders. This area is known as the Supermarket. Guidelines for participation are available by clicking here. In 2024, the Supermarket will again be located at 108 James North (aka The Tivoli Lot). The area is designated for visual artists and handmade vendors only, and is not open to food vendors or other businesses, service agencies, marketing agencies or other such organizations. Please Note: Those who are not official on-street vendors and who wish to display or sell their art and handmade wares at Supercrawl are only allowed to do so within the perimeter of the Supermarket.
Q: Can I busk at Supercrawl?
A: Absolutely, although courtesy-forward conditions apply. Buskers (whatever their art form of choice) may not use any amplification and may not perform to amplified pre-recorded music/backing tracks. They must not interfere with emergency vehicle lanes or pedestrian flow or encourage audience formation that causes/creates such interference or inhibits crowd movement. Maximum performance time is 60 minutes per location, to keep things fresh and fair. Performers must be considerate of vendors and businesses in close proximity. Buskers may receive monetary appreciation freely volunteered by an audience but may not solicit funds, whether for charity or profit, and may not sell music or merchandise. Any buskers found to be selling goods or soliciting funds will be asked to leave the festival corridor and barred from future appearances. Dogs and other animals may not be used as busking entertainment, paid or otherwise. High-risk or unsafe performances which may put performer or audience at risk (including but not limited to juggling knives/swords/axes, chainsaws, fireworks/pyrotechnics or flaming objects/fakir skill displays) are explicitly prohibited inside of the festival. And at the request of event staff or law enforcement officials, performers must immediately cease any activity and remove any instruments, gear, performance equipment or related materials.
Q: Can I drive my e-scooter through the festival?
A: Not unless it is a mobility scooter and you are travelling at the speed of nearby pedestrians. Supercrawl is a high-density pedestrian-centred event that is explicitly programmed in such a way that the entire street is effectively a giant sidewalk. There are enough random connections made without unnecessary collisions being one of them. Organizers prohibit all motorized vehicles inside the festival enclosure, with mobility assistive devices and production carts being the lone exceptions. You are welcome to drive your e-scooter or e-bike down and park it outside the festival road closures, but out of respect for others do not enter the festival itself except under your own power.
Q: Can I bring my dog to Supercrawl?
A: Yes, but: Individuals intending to do so should visit in the early afternoon, when crowds are at their least dense. Any dogs brought to Supercrawl must be municipally licensed, up-to-date with DA2PP & rabies boosters, and must remain on a short, fixed (non-retractable) lead and under the control of their human companions at all times. Dogs and other animals may not be used as busking entertainment, paid or otherwise. Dogs will not be permitted in licensed areas and should not be led into crowds around stages. Handlers should respect other festival-goers with dogs and remain distanced and moving when passing. Individuals who do not comply with these expectations may be asked to leave. Please only bring your dog to Supercrawl if it is well-behaved, non-aggressive, non-reactive, and doesn’t get stressed out in crowded, stimulating and noisy situations. The things about Supercrawl that humans find exciting and exhilarating can be overwhelming to a dog and tax their system — including (but not limited to) random aural and visual stimuli, loud music, expressive street performers, plus a wide variety of foods and recreational drugs that people can enjoy but which can be toxic to dogs. Owners should be mindful of their companion’s well-being at all times, keeping them adequately hydrated, and scheduling frequent chill-out and bathroom breaks away from the action. Please pay attention to your canine friend’s cues and prioritize their needs. Be prepared and willing to leave the event if they become tired, stressed, reactive or agitated. Supercrawl loves dogs and asks for everyone’s co-operation in making the festival environment safe and enjoyable for all.
Q: I’m running for public office. Can I flyer or campaign at Supercrawl?
No, you may not. Proselytizing of a religious or political nature is not permitted at Supercrawl, whether in a tented booth, in the crowd or on. the sidewalks. We are glad to see civic engagement in all of its forms but third-party marketing and soliciting is prohibited at Supercrawl. Candidates are welcome to attend in unbranded street clothes, leave their campaign swag at home, and enjoy the best of what our city has to offer alongside their neighbours and would-be constituents. We respectfully ask that politicians’ campaigns take a breather for the weekend. You deserve downtime, as do we.
Q: Can I flyer Supercrawl, stage guerrilla marketing stunts, or hand out marketing materials onsite during the festival weekend?
A: No. Your event/new business may be a game-changer but there is no marketing of third party events/businesses at Supercrawl. No random sample drops, no Nor are any fundraising activities, charitable or otherwise, permitted within the festival corridor.
Q: I have planned an event on the weekend of Supercrawl. Can I use the Supercrawl logo to promote it?
A: Probably not. The Supercrawl logo and wordmark enjoy intellectual property protections and are to be used exclusively with regard to officially curated programming and select programming presented in sanctioned partner venues. The festival’s logo and wordmark shall not be displayed in a manner that implies partnership or sponsorship with, or endorsement by Supercrawl without advance written approval from Supercrawl Productions.
Q: Can I fly a drone over Supercrawl?
A: Hard no. The festival is a drone-free zone. Drone operation near or over Supercrawl, whether undertaken for recreational or commercial purposes, is not permitted, and may constitute a violation of Transport Canada regulations on numerous counts.
Q: What will the weather be like on the weekend of Supercrawl?
Check the Hamilton 14-day forecast for the general picture, but bear in mind that as expansive as Supercrawl is, its festival enclosure has a footprint of around 2.5 square kilometres of downtown in a city that covers more than 1,100 square kilometres. Prep accordingly if you don’t like the odds.
Q: What if it rains?
Supercrawl takes place rain or shine. If it rains, it rains. Bring an umbrella or rain jacket and a sense of perspective. The rain will pass. You’ll possibly be wet for a bit. But then you’ll dry out and have a great story. Supercrawl 2015 had unbroken rain for the entire duration of the festival — yet only one performer had their set scrubbed, and 135,000 people showed up to enjoy three days of arts and music. Supercrawl organizers take the safety of the public, performers, participants and crew very seriously and in the face of severe weather, stage times may may be delayed, but there is rarely cause for cancelling an artist’s set. Under extreme and unsafe weather conditions, visitors will receive status notifications through stage announcements by festival staff and led through evacuation procedures where required. But because Supercrawl is located in the downtown James North neighbourhood with abundant shops, restaurants, cafés and galleries, it’s easy to improvise a plan B if the weather isn’t to your liking.
Q: Do you have a lost & found?
Yes. If you find an item you would like to reunite with its owner, please turn it in to event security, the Info/Merch booth staff at James & York, or Supercrawl Check-In (28 James St. N.). If you have lost an item and would like to try and locate/reclaim it, you can ask staff at the Info/Merch booth or Supercrawl Check-In (during the event) or by emailing the festival (post-event) at lostandfound@sonicunyon.com.
Q: I’m a member of the media interested in covering Supercrawl. How do I get accredited /obtain a photo pass?
Requests for media accreditation and coverage proposals should be submitted here. Photo passes will be distributed at the sole discretion of the festival. Please be aware that submitting a request does not guarantee approved access. If you have a request that is not covered by the form, please reach out to media liaison David Young at deege@sonicunyon.com.
