Shield & Bow
June 11-14, 2026

Absolutely. No matter where you are in your transition, you are welcome. If the statement that trans women are welcome bothers you, this event is not for you.

The festival is held at Christie Lake Kids Campground just outside of Perth. Their address is 1264 Althorpe Road, Westport ON, K0G 1X0

The festival will be held June 11-14th, 2026.

The festival has a tiered pricing system. You can find the information under Pricing here on the website.

Festival fees (excluding day pass holders) cover a bed in a bunkie, shower facilities and access to everything listed on the program. Some workshops have a small fee attached to help the hosts with costs (such as a felting workshop). This is rare and will be clearly defined in the program.

Preregistration opens March 1st @ 11am EDT.

Shield and Bow is a 16+ event. Children bring a lot of magic and joy into spaces, but this event is for us as individuals to relax and connect with other adults. Children or non attendees cannot be on-site for Shield and Bow.

Pets are not allowed on-site. The only exception is licensed guide and therapy animals. You must contact us if you will bringing a service animal to S and B because of the sleeping accommodations. Service animals that are aggressive, unsafe or disruptive (lunging, snapping, excessive barking etc.) and their owners will be asked to leave without refund. Any damages caused by service animals will be charged directly to their owners. Service animals cannot be left unattended for any reason at any time while on site. Service animals that are left unattended and their owners will be asked to leave without refund.

Yes! Smoking is allowed on-site BUT it will be limited to smoking sections. This will apply to smoking of any kind and vaping. But don't worry, it's smokers setting up the locations and they will be numerous.

No it is not. The entire space will be for our event.

Starting in 2025, we will have exclusive use of the space and it is extremely unlikely (but not impossible) that male identifying folks will be on-site.

Yes, OMG yes! The new location has many indoor locations. Many will be included in your festival fee and some will be available to rent (such as cottages with bathrooms, electricity and heat). Details regarding indoor space can be found on our accommodations page and here in the FAQ under accommodations.

Sisters helping Sisters is a program that helps with entry fees. The program was born in 2018 when another attendee donated two free entries. Since then, we have offered free entrances through this fund. Applications open May 1st and close May 10th at 11:00am. To apply, please send an email to shieldandbow@gmail.com (shieldandbow@gmail.com)with your name. No explanation for your need is necessary and the fund runs on the honour system. You will receive a reply email with a number. When the application time period closes, we run a live video with a random online generator on our socials and send an email to everyone who has applied. For 2026, the fund is open May 1st to 10th at 11:00am.

There is no ATM on site. Please bring cash.

There are no hydro sites at CLC for trailers. We will have charging stations, bunks and cottages with electricity.

No, there is no food sold on site.

The festival is completely run by volunteers. All staff, workshop hosts, security etc. are volunteers associated with the S and B community.

Each year, we get a range of attendees from 16-60+.

On our Facebook account in mid May, we start a ride share thread within the current year's event page. If you get a ride, please be on time and negotiate gas $.

No, nothing for the event is mandatory. This is your festival experience, you may participate in as little or as much as you like.

Yes. This event is welcome to all 16+ who identify with womanhood and is not based on your spirituality.

No. We encourage an environment where we do not build ourselves up by tearing others down. This type of behaviour will be kindly discouraged.

During Shield and Bow, no personal fires are allowed. We have communal sacred fires. Please do not throw anything into our fires without the express permission of our dedicated fire keepers.

Here is a list to get you started: An extra sleeping pad/mattress/foam etc. that can fit on top of a twin in case you don't like the mattress. WARM sleeping blankets. It can get surprisingly cold at night in September. Clean sleepwear Clothes for rain or shine. Layers are key depending on the year. Cotton soaks up water so keep that in mind when packing. Boots and/or closed toe shoes. Bathing suit Musical Instruments Towels Food Something to cook food on Toiletries. Small first aid kit that includes band-aids. Any medication you take. Flashlight Chair Bug spray A bag/cart to transport your belongings between event/workshop locations.

Please send us an email to shieldandbow@gmail.com (shieldandbow@gmail.com)and someone within 72hrs will get back to you.