Your Guide to This Summer’s Must-Do Events

A summer music bucket list

Hockley folk fatales Divka, comprising Alina Kuzma on the esoteric Ukrainian harp and Zoë Santo on the viola, bring their hauntingly delicate yet powerful Eastern European folk songs to the historic Corbetton Church at the Museum of Dufferin in Mulmur on July 3. With a wild energy and ethereal vocals, Divka wows audiences near and far with their rebellious take on Ukrainian and global women’s music-making traditions. Not to be missed. 

Canadian Celtic rockers Mudmen, known for their fun-loving performances with bagpipes and all, take to the stage at the Creemore Village Green on July 19. Creemore’s summer-long Sundays in the Park concert series is free to the community, with different bands every week. 

And according to Jacquelyn Garrard, owner of Erin Hill Acres, hearing The Practically Hip in concert is a surreal experience. “Close your eyes and you’ll swear Gord and the boys are right there in front of you, belting out every iconic anthem you grew up with,” says Garrard. Catch this Tragically Hip tribute band on the farm’s Courtyard Stage on August 15.

Festival fun

The village of Creemore’s Summer Solstice will transform Main Street into a hub of warm-weather worshippers on June 19 with a performance by the Creemore Drumming Collective, line dancing, live music, and festive floral crowns by the Creemore Horticultural Society. The event runs until 10 p.m.

And renowned Canadian country music star Brett Kissel headlines Caledon Day on June 20. Kissel has won three Juno awards and 23 Canadian Country Music Association awards. Swifties should not miss the high-energy Taylor Swift Tribute Band opening act. There’s also a full-day itinerary of family activities, vendors and a fireworks finale to finish the night.

Nashville comes to Orangeville

The Nashville Takeover touches down in Orangeville from July 10 to 12 with three nights of intimate country performances. Held in multiple venues over the weekend, the event is based on the style of Nashville’s famed Bluebird Cafe where audiences sit just steps away from the songwriters and witness creators in action. 

Event founder Scotty James is an award-winning Canadian country singer from Waterloo whose breakout hit “Wanna Be Loved” climbed the Canadian charts in 2011. The artist roster is secret, by tradition, he says. “We don’t release the lineup, so you only find out who they are when they walk on stage,” says Scott, who lived in Nashville for five years. “This creates that organic feeling of stumbling into a Nashville songwriters’ bar and discovering three artists that you’ve never heard of before.”

Over the weekend, 15 Canadian and American songwriters will perform acoustic sets of country, Americana, pop and folk music. Venues include Barley Vine Rail Co., the Taphouse and the fittingly named Bluebird Café and Grill. Orangeville was just one of 13 towns in Canada to be selected for this year’s Nashville Takeover after last year’s launch in Collingwood and Port Stanley.

Summer art news

Museum of Dufferin’s Home & Heritage photography exhibition features 30 photographers who share their powerful images of what “home” means to them, each reflecting different cultural perspectives. On until September 26.

The historic Alton Mill dam is the star of new outdoor banners at the Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives in Brampton. Toronto photographer Risa Horowitz captured the soft, cascading waterfall, located next to the Alton Mill Arts Centre, using a direct positive-pinhole technique and special photographic paper instead of film. A lifelong fan of rivers and ravines, Horowitz says the image is “an expression of care for, and responsibility towards, the people and places I love.”

The launch of the new Erin Arts Festival brings community creativity to Erin’s Main Street on June 20 where multiple artists will paint en plein air, followed by a juried art show. There’s also a photography exhibition, quilt displays and a children’s arts space in McMillan Park, plus live music, a beer tent and vendors.

You can try making your own masterpiece at Purple Hill Lavender Farm’s idyllic Paint in the Fields experience, where a professional artist will guide you step-by-step while surrounded by an endless sea of lavender. This outdoor paint-and-sip event has multiple dates in June and July.

Golf ‘fore’ a good cause

Tee off for the Headwaters Health Care Foundation at the annual Headwaters Golf Classic on June 22, held at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon. This year golfers have access to two courses for a full day of golf, food, a silent auction, prizes and a cocktail reception – all to raise funds for the hospital’s emergency department expansion. Another golf heads-up: Osprey’s new 30,000-square-foot 18-hole Community Putting Green is now open to the public at no cost.

Creatures of the night

Forget bedtime. When darkness falls, it’s prime time to head into the forest to catch a glimpse of nocturnal critters. On June 26 outdoor education instructor Aundrea Schneider hosts Glow and Behold: A Night of Moth Discovery at the Mansfield Outdoor Centre.

“Entomology – the study of insects – is my lifelong passion,” Schneider says. “I love insects, science and biology, and learning about things that typically go unnoticed.” To allow the group to find and observe moths along the 2-kilometre trail, she sets up a simple but effective observation station: a white sheet strung between two trees, illuminated by a UV bulb that draws in nocturnal insects. 

The sighting possibilities: A striking pink-and-yellow rosy maple moth Schneider fondly describes as “a cute little fuzzy thing” – along with the cecropia moth, which is North America’s largest, and the giant silk moth. To attract these bigger moths who aren’t turned on by UV light, she smears nearby trees with a concoction of mushed ripe banana, stale beer, rum and molasses, which she admits is “gross, but effective.” 

Because the event runs from 8 to 11 p.m., most participants are adults, though kids are also welcome. “It’s fun learning about things most people don’t get to see,” Schneider says. “There are thousands of moth species in Ontario – many that haven’t been recorded yet – but you have to be out late enough to encounter them.” How late does Schneider stay up? “Late,” she laughs. “I’ll often still be out there at 2 a.m.” 

The reel deal

Kids can learn to fish this summer with the Fishing Friendzy Foundation, a non-profit run by experienced anglers passionate about mentoring kids on the basics of fishing, as well as water safety and a respect for nature. The foundation’s Youth Fishing Leagues for ages 5 to 16, described as a “house league” for fishing, will be held at Ken Whillans Conservation Area in Caledon and Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville, with sessions in June and July.

Big fun at the big top

Canada’s Circus Spectacular will thrill the crowds at the Alder Street Recreation Centre with its Circus Rocks tour, a high-energy performance with aerial acts, classic clowning around, motorcycle globe daredevils, acrobats and jugglers. The circus is in town for two shows on June 23.

A decade in bloom

Ten years ago, a team of volunteers began transforming a one-acre plot on Hockley Road into the Mono Pollinator Garden, a lush landscape of flowering perennials that attracts bees and other pollinating critters. Join the team on June 21 for the 10th anniversary event, Celebrating a Decade in Bloom, to tour the garden, learn about pollinator-friendly gardening, and try a family scavenger hunt.

Who’s afraid of a little dirt?

Embark on a 6-kilometre obstacle course of muddy mayhem as Mud Hero, one of Canada’s largest obstacle races, arrives at Albion Hills Conservation Park on August 22. Obstacles include traversing mud pits and trenches, climbing monkey bars, going down slides and crawling up rope walls. Hardcore mudders can opt for a more difficult 10-kilometre race. Expect to be covered from head to toe.

Going to the dogs!

Intense. Focused. Driven. These are the dogs, and their handlers, who will compete from July 30 to August 2, at the Orangeville Fairgrounds in this year’s Canadian German Shepherd Dog Championships and Sieger Show.

Hosted jointly by the Amaranth-based Saugeen Schutzhund Club, one of the oldest Canadian schutzhund clubs (schutzhund is German for “protection dog”), and the Oneida Working Dog Club, located on the Oneida Nation of the Thames Settlement, the German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of Canada’s IGP (Internationale Gebrauchshunde Prüfungsordnung) championships test working breeds in three phases: tracking, obedience and protection. The sieger show rates the conformation and temperament of German shepherd dogs.

Dog-handler teams will have already proven their mettle at regional championships across the country, and the top German shepherds will go on to represent Canada at this year’s WUSV (Weltunion der Schäferhundvereine) World Championships in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. And the top dogs of any breed qualify to compete at international IGP events run by organizations such as the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI).

Vendors of all things dog will be on hand, and food and beverages will be available. gssccnational2026.ca 

— with files from Dyanne Rivers