Things to Do in Guelph This September 2026: Festivals, Fairs & Events Not to Miss
The month at a glance
Every September, Guelph turns golden — the Arboretum colours up, the market square fills up, and the city puts on the best run of festivals it has all year. Locals know it's the month the "things to do" list gets long, so we've gathered the dates worth protecting in your calendar.
Some of these are free, most are family-friendly, and a few sell out — the Jazz Festival especially.
The one we clear our calendar for: Guelph Jazz Festival (Sept 10–13)
Three days of world-class jazz right in downtown Guelph, with more free programming than ever in 2026. The centrepiece is François Houle's The Secret Lives of Colour featuring Myra Melford, Gordon Grdina, Joëlle Léandre and Gerry Hemingway, but the weekend is packed:
- Friday, Sept 11 — evening concerts at Royal City Mission, pay-what-you-can (tickets in advance from $10, sliding scale)
Saturday, Sept 12 — free afternoon at Royal City Mission & Art Not Shame, including the Community Parade at 11:30 a.m. and the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble at 1:30 p.m.; evening concerts pay-what-you-can
Sunday, Sept 13 — free performance with Joëlle Léandre at the Guelph Youth Music Centre (75 Cardigan St), noon
There's also the annual Colloquium (Sept 10–11) for the jazz nerds among us. Grab passes in advance on TicketsCandy — the Saturday evening shows genuinely sell out. More at guelphjazzfestival.com.
Free and family-first picks
Cinema in the City: Cars — Friday, Sept 4, Market Square. Bring a blanket and snacks; the movie starts at dusk (8 p.m.) and it's completely free.
Arboretum Expo: Tree Day + Plant Sale — Saturday, Sept 12, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., U of G Arboretum. Tree climbing demos, bird-of-prey encounters, garden tours and a real plant sale — one of the best free fall mornings in the city.
Hope in the Street — Friday, Sept 18, 5–10 p.m., Spring Mill Distillery (43 Arthur St S). Guelph's biggest street party: a full local food and music lineup in the courtyard, kids' activities included, all proceeds supporting Hope House.
Guelph Comics Jam — Saturday, Sept 26, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., 55 Wyndham St. A completely free comic con celebrating Canadian comics and local artists, with a full kids' corner. Downtown parking is free for the first two hours.
Fourth Friday at the Civic Museum — Friday, Sept 25, 5–9 p.m. Part of Culture Days: free exhibitions, live performances and hands-on art, all ages welcome (optional donation).
Date nights and live music
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons — Saturday, Sept 19, 6:30 p.m., Royal City Mission Church. A string quartet playing the Four Seasons by candlelight — a 60-minute, all-seated evening that books up fast. Tickets through Outhere/Fever.
Jazz Festival Friday and Saturday evenings (see above) — the pay-what-you-can shows are the best value in town.
On stage: theatre & comedy
Mean Girls — Sept 10–13, Guelph Little Theatre (176 Morris St). Penny and Pound Theatre's high-energy musical about surviving high school — evenings at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Sept 12 & 13. It lands the same weekend as the Jazz Festival, so it's an easy family add to a downtown weekend.
A Little Bit Much — Friday, Sept 18, 7:30 p.m., River Run Centre Studio Theatre (35 Woolwich St). Comedian Chela Davison's one-woman show opens River Run's 26/27 season — sharp, warm and very funny. Tickets at riverrun.ca.
Books, art and culture
Eden Mills Writers Festival — Sept 18–20. One of Canada's great small-town literary festivals, twenty minutes up Highway 6. The Opening Night event, Art and Truth, runs at the Art Gallery of Guelph on Friday, Sept 18 (6–9 p.m.), then the festival moves to the meadow in Eden Mills for the weekend — authors include Linwood Barclay, Kelley Armstrong and Meghan Read favourites.
Guelph Farmers' Market — every Saturday, year-round, 2 Gordon St. September is peak harvest: the last of summer's peaches, first of the apples, fresh bread and the market's famous dumplings.
Art Gallery of Guelph — "looking in/looking through" opens Sept 17. The 2026 Middlebrook Prize exhibition (medical imaging, identity and the body, with work by Breanne Jeethan, Charline Dally, Miles Rufelds and Hannah Bullock) runs to Jan 3, 2027 at 358 Gordon St — open Tues–Sun, noon–5 p.m., admission by donation.
Fall fairs within 30 minutes
September means fair season in Wellington County. All four make great day trips:
Arthur Fall Fair — Sept 10–13
Aberfoyle Fall Fair — Sept 11–12 (the closest one, just south on Brock Rd)
Fergus Fall Fair — Sept 18–20 (one of the ten oldest fairs in Ontario)
Fall Rural Romp — Saturday, Sept 26 (a county-wide farm tour with open gates across Wellington)
Own the month before the snow flies
September is when Guelph feels like it's showing off on purpose. If you've been thinking about making this city home, it's also the perfect time to see a neighbourhood on a sunny fall Saturday — carve-outs, street parties and all.
We help buyers and sellers across Guelph every week; if you're new to town or just new to the market, reach out and we'll talk through what you're looking for. In the meantime, a few more reads:
