Morning. It's Thanksgiving week, and the shop guide you built is finally here.
This week's Buzz is brought to you by Stay Grey Bruce. If the shop guide turns into a whole weekend, Neustadt makes a good base. There's a three-suite inn in an 1881 grocery store there, a short walk from the village shops and the brewery. It's one of the cottages, chalets and inns across Grey-Bruce on Stay Grey Bruce, every one booked direct with the owner, no booking fees.
Inside: 69 little shops you nominated, a pumpkin patch near Teeswater where nobody works the till, Thanksgiving pie from Ravenna's old general store, and a free Thanksgiving party in Sauble with horse and wagon rides.
Let's get into it.
Do you have an event coming up that our readers should know about? Submit your local events HERE to be featured in upcoming editions.
The Buzz Shop Small Guide
69 little shops, picked by you
Holiday shopping is coming whether we like it or not. This year, let's keep more of that money close to home.
You sent in the little shops you always pull over for. We checked that every one is open, sorted them by area, and turned the whole thing into a guide. No big box stores. Independents only.
There's a hardware store in Clarksburg that still rings you up on a hand-cranked register. A candle barn with goats. A village with four shops on one street that most people drive straight through. Every shop name in the guide links straight to them.
Buy a gift at one of these and the money goes to somebody local, not a head office somewhere else.
Long weekend's coming. Pick an area, pick three or four shops, and make a loop.
Tell them the Buzz sent you.
Top 3 this week
Here are our 3 favourite events happening this week
Thanksgiving weekend, three ways: four days of harvest fun at Blue, food trucks on the beach in Kincardine, and a free party in Sauble.
Apple Harvest Weekend — Friday-Monday, October 9-12 | Fri 4:30-7 PM, Sat-Sun 11 AM-7 PM, Mon 11 AM-4 PM | Blue Mountain Village
Four days of fall at the bottom of the hill. The kids get a barnyard, a scavenger hunt and a Touch-A-Truck with a giant tractor. You get live music on the Subaru Stage all weekend, with 93 North closing out Saturday and Sugar on Sunday, a cover band that goes from Donna Summer to Dua Lipa. It's the easiest way to tire out the cousins before the turkey.
October Food Fest — Saturday, October 10 | 11 AM-6 PM | Station Beach, Kincardine
Kincardine's fall food party moved down to the water this year. Food trucks, local restaurants bringing out their signature dishes, and a whole row of sweets and treats vendors. Eat, walk the beach, go back for dessert.
Sauble Gobble — Sunday, October 11 | 1-3 PM | Sauble Beach Community Centre
The Sauble Beach Chamber throws a free Thanksgiving party, timed for exactly when you need the kids out of the kitchen. Inflatable games, balloons, and horse and wagon rides. It's two hours, so you're home before the gravy.
Full Weekly Calendar
Community Calendar
Our Community Calendar covers Grey & Bruce Counties. It's a large area, so if we missed an event we are sorry, we will do better next time!
484 events across Grey and Bruce this week. Thanksgiving markets in Flesherton and Tobermory, the last Thornbury Farmers' Market of the season on Sunday, the Owen Sound Attack at home Saturday night, and Practically Hip doing the Tragically Hip in Clarksburg. The Thornbury Turkey Trot sold out, but the costumes are worth watching from the sidewalk. And the all-candidates meetings keep rolling ahead of the October 26 election.
It all lives on the map. Open it, find your town, tap a pin, see what's close. Same events, way less scrolling.
3 more worth getting off the couch for:
Salmon run evening hike — Owen Sound, Wed Oct 7, 7 PM. A free 6 km Bruce Trail hike that stops at the Mill Dam to see the salmon run. Register ahead.
The Irish Descendants at Meaford Hall — Meaford, Fri Oct 9, 7:30 PM. Newfoundland folk with 35-plus years on the road. About $56, and seats are going.
Harvest & Howl at Frontier Ghost Town — near Durham, Sat Oct 10, 6 PM. Live music in the saloon of a recreated Old West town, with a potluck jam Sunday. $75.
Foodie Flash
Ravenna Country Market - Ravenna
At the crossroads in Ravenna, the old general store has a new owner, and the pies didn't go anywhere.
The building was Ravenna's general store for more than 60 years. In 2009 it reopened as Ravenna Country Market, and the couple who ran it until this spring wrote that the place "has always been famous for butter tarts and pies."
On May 1, Season Leone took over. She runs Culinary Designs, a catering company in Thornbury, and she's kept the pies coming.
Two things people order over and over. The sandwiches come up in reviews more than anything else. For the roast beef, they roast AAA eye of round in-house, no packaged deli meat. Then the butter tarts, which reviewers have been writing about for years.
And this week, there's pie. Over a dozen flavours, from fruit to pecan to coconut cream. One customer tried the blueberry, cherry and apple this summer and called it "three wins."
Grab a sandwich for the drive, something from the freezer for a night you don't feel like cooking, and a pie for Monday.
One planning note: hours have shifted since the new owners took over, so check before you go, especially on Thanksgiving Monday.
Buy two pies. One's for the drive home.
Community Bulletin
Quick hits from around Grey-Bruce
Marley wants a quiet house and some company
Meet Marley, an 8-year-old Cane Corso and bully cross at the Grey Bruce Animal Shelter. He's friendly and gets along with people, dogs and cats. He's got some arthritis, so he's after a quiet home where somebody's around most of the day. Another furry friend would be a bonus. The shelter recommends big-dog experience. Call 519-372-1911 to book a visit.
Three weeks to election day. Are you on the list?
Municipal and school board elections are Monday, October 26, and you need to be on the voters' list to vote. The online sign-up closed in August, but if you've moved or aren't sure, it's not too late. Your municipal clerk can add or fix your info right up until polls close on election day. While you're on the phone, ask how your town is voting, since some municipalities do it online or by mail. Bring one piece of ID with your name and address.
Want your thing in next week's Bulletin? Reply to this email.
Hidden Gem of the week
Chloemeadow Farms - near Teeswater
Out on Bruce Road 12, just north of Belmore, there's a pumpkin patch where nobody's working the till.
Chloemeadow Farms is a family farm that grows pumpkins and squash, and the whole stand is self-serve. Pick what you want, pay by cash or e-transfer, and carry on. They've been doing this long enough that they retired the old straw maze back in 2017 and renamed the place.
But let's be honest about why people really go. Buy a pumpkin and the corn maze and the spook walk are free. The family figures the maze takes most people 10 to 15 minutes, and the trail through the woods adds about 15 more. Reviewers keep landing on the same things: fair prices, lots to pick from, and a trail that's "very well maintained." Some days the barn's open too, and kids have gone home talking about the goats and the baby calves.
One planning note: it opens at 3 on weekdays and 11 on weekends, and Thanksgiving hours aren't posted yet, so check their page before you drive out.
Bring small bills. You'll leave with more pumpkins than you came for.
Know a hidden spot that you want to share? Reply to this email and let us know!
Poll of the week
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Thanks for spending a few minutes with us.
If one of today's events sparks a little adventure, hit reply and tell us how it went, we love hearing your stories.
Forward the Buzz: Know a friend who's always asking, "What's happening this weekend?" Pass this email along and help them get in the loop.
Catch you next Tuesday with a fresh batch of local events, hidden gems, and small-town surprises.
Stay curious,
— Cody & The GB Buzz Team
P.S. Quick reminder of how the Buzz works: nobody pays to be a Foodie Flash or a Hidden Gem, ever. Those spots are earned, not sold. The clearly marked sponsor spots are what pay for the rest, and a couple open up every month. Fall is booking now. Want your business in front of 8,000+ neighbours across Grey-Bruce? Hit reply and I'll send you what's available.