Tractors in Walkerton, trumpets in Port Elgin, and a motocross show at a 163-year-old fair. September's not done.

International Plowing Match & Rural Expo — Tuesday-Saturday, September 22-26 | 8:30 AM-5 PM daily | Bruce Road 3 & Durham Road, west of Walkerton

The 107th opens this morning, five kilometres from downtown Walkerton. Square dancing tractors, a rodeo Thursday, a combine demolition derby Friday and Saturday. $25 at the gate, $5 for kids, free parking. Day-by-day plan further down.

Canadian Big Band Celebration — Friday-Sunday, September 25-27 | Port Elgin & Southampton

Three decades of swing on the Saugeen Shores. Friday is jazz club night in Southampton, $25 for three sets. Saturday at Lakeshore Recreation is the big one: an afternoon dance at 1, then three big bands back to back from 7, capped by the Toronto All Star Big Band. $30 afternoon, $50 for the day. Wear shoes you can move in.

Ripley-Huron Fall Fair — Friday-Saturday, September 25-26 | Ripley Fairgrounds, Ripley

Fair number 163, theme Wild West. Friday is the stoneboat tractor pull from 6. Saturday opens with a Highland Games competition at 8 AM, people in kilts throwing very heavy things, then the parade at 11:30 and an FMX bike show at 2, 3 and 7. Bring a lawn chair.

The colours turn from the top down here. The Peninsula goes first, then the Beaver Valley, then everything south of Owen Sound. For about three weeks, somewhere in Grey-Bruce is at peak.

Stay Grey Bruce is how you chase it. Cottages, cabins and chalets across both counties, booked straight with the owners. No booking fees, no middleman.

A cabin with a hot tub for after the hike. A seven-bedroom chalet for the whole crew. Summer's crowds are gone and the trails are finally quiet.

Pick a weekend, pick a valley, and stay where the leaves are at their peak.

Two weeks ago we asked for the little shops you always pull over for. The count just passed 100. General stores, bakeries, farm gates, a few places we'd never heard of, and yes, somebody nominated their own shop. Respect.

So it's happening. We're putting them into the Buzz Shop Small Guide. We don’t have all the details ironed out yet, but I can tell you it’s going to be good. It lands in your inbox in early October, just in time for the leaf-peeping drives.

Missed the form? It's still open for a bit. If your spot isn't in yet, this is the last week to fix that.

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!

500+ events across Grey and Bruce this week. Five days of Plowing Match, three Oktoberfests (Lion's Head, Kincardine and Owen Sound), the Meaford International Film Festival, fall fairs in Ripley and Rocklyn, and giant kites over a field in Lucknow. Plus the usual pile of markets, legion dinners and library programs in between.

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:

Kites in the Field — Lucknow, Sat-Sun Sept 26-27 from noon. Professional fliers put kites the size of a bus over Walter Street, and Saturday adds a glow party at 7:30 once it's dark. Free.

Meaford International Film Festival — Meaford Hall, Fri-Sun Sept 25-27. Six films over three days, each evening one paired with a dinner at a local restaurant and an afterparty in the hall. $30 a film or $125 for all six.

Pa Sheehy at Heartwood Hall — Owen Sound, Sat Sept 26, 8 PM. The former Walking On Cars frontman, on his first Canadian tour with a full band. He's opened for Springsteen. $30.

There's a restaurant in a Walkerton business park where the dining room faces the kitchen like it's a stage.

That's 519 Table and Pour, out on Old Durham Road on the east side of town. It's 7,500 square feet, which is big for anywhere and enormous for Walkerton. One side is the dining room and that open kitchen. The other is a bar with 14 taps, 23 screens, and a billiards room with six Diamond tables where the local pool leagues play.

So yes, it's a sports bar. But read the menu closely and it keeps naming its neighbours. The wings are local. So are the ground beef, the trout and the steaks. The sauerkraut on the Reuben comes from Pickled and Baked Goods. Three of the wing sauces are Voisin's.

Three things people order over and over. The wings, which come up in the reviews more than anything else, ten to an order with eleven sauces and seven dry rubs to pick from, dill pickle included. The grilled steak sandwich, six ounces of sirloin on toasted focaccia with onions, mushrooms and arugula. And the one you wouldn't expect beside a pool table is a twelve-ounce rainbow trout fillet baked with Voisin's maple syrup and walnuts.

One planning note, and it's why this one's here this week. The Plowing Match gates close at 5, and this place keeps the lights on late. Open till 10 tonight and tomorrow, and till 11 from Thursday through Saturday.

Walk the field, then rack 'em.

On Grey Road 13 at Kimberley, there's a plant nursery where the tour takes twenty minutes and you eat most of it.

That's Fiddlehead Nursery. Ben Caesar moved to the Beaver Valley in 2011, started planting, and opened the gate the next spring. Everything he sells is an edible perennial. Plant it once, eat from it for years. Sea kale, Caucasian spinach, Babington's leek, and hardy almonds, which are new this year. There's a peach tree on the list too, which feels optimistic for Grey County, but it's his list.

The catalogue runs to 103 plants, and every one of them is growing in the gardens out back. No sprays. He doesn't ship and he doesn't sell online, so the only way to shop is to show up.

But let's be honest about why people really go. It's the tasting tour. Ten bucks, or pay what you can, and you walk the garden getting handed leaves, berries and flowers to try.

One planning note: they're open Thursday to Sunday. Tours are by chance or by appointment, so call ahead if that's the part you're coming for.

The valley's about to turn orange anyway. Go eat your way through the garden.

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

Gates open this morning at 8:30 on a farm five kilometres west of Walkerton, and they stay open through Saturday at 5.

If you're reading this over coffee, you can still make opening day. The Bruce Power Opening Day Parade goes at 10, opening ceremonies are at 11:30, and Dave and The Retros play the main stage at 1:30.

Can't get away today? Thursday is the big one, with the Mudmen at noon and the RAM Rodeo at 12 and 3. Friday and Saturday have the combine demolition derby at 1:30. Saturday wraps with Shania Twang at 2 and the closing ceremonies at 4.

It's $25 at the gate, $5 for kids 6 to 15, and free for 5 and under. Parking is free. Buy online and the family pack is $50 for two adults and two kids.

Same three rules as last week. Get the hand stamp if you leave. Bring cash for the vendors. Leave the dog at home.

For the full schedule this week click the button below.

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.