Walkerton Homecoming 2026 — Thursday-Monday, July 30-August 3 | Homecoming grounds at the Walkerton Arena, Walkerton

Walkerton turns 155 this year, and the whole town is throwing the party to match. Five days of it: a beer garden, a car show, a craft market, bed races, tug of war, a kids' zone with a foam party and bouncy castles, and dances every night, with Big Shiny 90s kicking things off Friday. If you grew up anywhere near Walkerton, this is the weekend to come home.

Learn More →

Bruce Power 25th Anniversary Fireworks — Saturday, August 1 | Dusk | Station Beach, Kincardine + Main Beach, Port Elgin

Bruce Power is turning 25 and celebrating with fireworks over two beaches at once. Pick your stretch of sand, Kincardine or Port Elgin, and look up. Earlier that day, their free FunFest takes over the Walkerton Arena from 11 to 5 with free food, a reptile show, magic, and inflatables.

Learn More →

Wiarton Homecoming Weekend — Saturday-Sunday, August 1-2 | Bluewater Park, Wiarton

Wiarton's waterfront reunion: a classic car show, pancake breakfast, market vendors, games, and a Sunday fish fry and pork roast. The showstopper comes Saturday at 10pm, when a drone light show fills the sky over Bluewater Park. Between this and the fireworks down the shore, Saturday night in Bruce County is going to be very well lit.

Learn More →

If you tried to find a campsite for this long weekend, you already know how it went. The good parks sold out months ago, most of them within minutes of bookings opening at 7am.

But here's the secret. People cancel constantly. Plans change, the forecast scares somebody off, the in-laws announce a visit. Those sites quietly go back online at random hours, and whoever happens to be refreshing at the right minute wins.

CampHound does the refreshing for you. It's a new tool built right here in Grey-Bruce by a camper who got tired of losing that game. Pick your park and your dates, pay $15 once, and it watches around the clock for you. The moment a site opens up, you get a text with the booking link. No app, no account, no subscription. And if nothing ever opens for your dates, your next watch is half price.

It currently covers 23 parks, including Bruce Peninsula (Cyprus Lake), Sauble Falls, Inverhuron, and Algonquin. Your August comeback starts here.

Here's an idea we've been kicking around, and before we do anything about it, we want your take.

GB Buzz merch. Shirts, hats, maybe something else entirely. You'd pre-order it, we'd get it made, and it would land in your hands this fall. But here's the part we actually care about: the proceeds would go straight to food banks across Grey and Bruce, right before the holiday season when the shelves need it most. And if it really took off? There could be enough left over to put some toys under Christmas trees too.

It's just an idea right now, and yes, the holidays feel far away. But stuff like this takes a while to pull together, which is why we're asking today. Be honest:

Got a strong opinion on shirts versus hats, or a design idea? Leave a comment after you vote, or just reply to this email. We read everything.

573 events across Grey and Bruce this week. The Civic long weekend is doing the heavy lifting: two homecomings, fireworks over two beaches, a drone show, and live music in basically every town with a bandshell. The full list lives on its own page so this email doesn't break your phone.

Click the button, find your town, make a plan. (Having some problems with the calendar this week, bear with us)

Southampton Arts Festival — Southampton, Fri-Sun July 31-Aug 2

Hanover Raceway Dream of Glory Final + Fireworks — Hanover, Sat Aug 1

Meaford Summerfest — Meaford, Fri-Sun July 31-Aug 2

There's a pub in Port Elgin brewing its own beer in a building that started out as a maternity home.

It's The Wismer House, though nobody in town calls it that. It's The Wiz. Before the pints, this building delivered babies. Their menu still nods to the building's "legacy of gathering and care." Same spirit, different delivery.

Then came 2019. Owner Jeff Carver poured a foundation beside the pub and built Three Sheets Brewing, Port Elgin's first craft brewery. The beers (Idle & Coast Lager, Road Closure Red Ale, Slo Pitch Pilsner) now travel a few steps from tank to tap.

Three things people keep coming back for. The house-smoked brisket, which shows up in tacos and stuffed into warm bao buns with kimchi. The Smash Burger, built on what the menu calls their signature mix of seasoned ground chuck. And the cod fish and chips, dipped in Three Sheets Red Ale batter and coated in crushed potato chips.

And here's the detail we love. Every single item on the menu comes with a printed pint pairing. The nachos have one. The Waldorf salad has one. Somebody sat down and matched a beer to the pickle flight. Respect. Next time invite me..

The move: a shady spot on the patio, something cold that was brewed twenty feet away, and no plans for the rest of the afternoon. Long weekend's coming. This is a good place to spend it.

Check it out HERE

Paisley's gelato window is wide open

Hot week, long weekend, and Bonfire Gelato & Espresso churning small-batch gelato in house with flavours that rotate through the week. If your Saturday involves a paddle in Paisley or a drive to anywhere, this is the stop. And if you never got around to that croissant stuffed with gelato, consider this your second chance. Open Tuesday through Sunday.

Your future favourite lamp is almost here

The Thornbury Summer Antique & Vintage Show hits the Beaver Valley Community Centre August 8 and 9, the weekend right after this one. Saturday 10 to 5, Sunday 10 to 4, and the serious hunters still show up Saturday morning. Consider this your one-week warning!

234 local jobs, one page

Job hunting around here used to mean checking a dozen sites and hoping. greybrucejobs.ca pulls every local opening it can find, from employers, municipalities, and Job Bank, into one page, updated daily across 40 plus towns. Free to browse, and there's a weekly email if you'd rather the jobs come to you. Know someone between gigs? Send them this.

_{Bulletin spots are a mix of paid placements and community picks. Either way, we write the words.}

Follow the back roads inland from Meaford, up into the hills around a hamlet called Rocklyn, and you'll find a 100 acre farm with up to 100,000 garlic plants in the ground.

That's Boars Rock Farm, home of Pure Music Garlic. Lorraine and Paul Irwin grow a certified organic variety called Music, which came to Canada from Italy in the 1980s. The whole business started with a damaged harvest Lorraine refused to waste. She turned those bulbs into powders, chips, and seasoning blends instead, and in 2023 she was named the region's Agri-Business of the Year.

But let's be honest about what goes in the basket first. The black garlic. Whole bulbs slow-fermented under heat and humidity until the cloves turn dark, soft, and sweet. They call it the candy of garlic. Spread it on a burger once and you'll understand.

Harvest season is just kicking off, so the timing couldn't be better. One note for planning: the farm store doesn't post regular hours, so call ahead before driving out, or catch them Saturdays at the Collingwood Farmers' Market.

Your barbecue is about to get more interesting.

Know a hidden spot that you want to share? Reply to this email and let us know!

If one of this week's events sparks a little adventure, hit reply and tell us how it went. We love hearing your stories.

Forward the Buzz: know someone who's always asking what's happening this weekend? Send this along and get them 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. Nobody we feature in this email pays to be here. The clearly marked sponsor spots are what keep it that way, and a couple of them open up each month. If you want your business in front of 7,000+ neighbours, hit reply and I'll show you what's available.