What’s Happening in Guelph This Week

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What’s up in Guelph

May 5th – May 12th

Hey Guelphites!

Happy Tuesday! For previous subscribers your eyes are not deceiving you, we are here a day earlier! After some thought, we decided to start sending this newsletter out on Tuesdays instead of the regular Wednesday. Tuesday seems to be one of the quieter events days so it’s better for readers to get it before Wednesday comes along!

Also… we have a new Submit an Event form on our website. If you have or know of any upcoming events and you want to make sure we don’t miss them, you can fill out that form and we’ll definitely see it! We have also improved our process a touch so you might notice more and more events!

Lastly, we are still looking for a local social media expert to help manage our Instagram. We are looking for someone who already attends local events, and is comfortable filming, photographing, and talking on camera!

Thanks again for being a subscriber! Together we are supporting the local economy and also getting out of our homes and being part of the Guelph community.

Recent Articles on What’s up Guelph

This Weeks Featured Event

Is there anything better to do on a Sunday afternoon than be outside at a local market? That’s a trick question, because there is nothing else you should be doing!

The Hive is bringing you weekly markets every single Sunday from April to October (excluding long weekends) at the tennis courts on top of the hill right beside Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate at 75 Dublin St. N.

Here you can expect local farmers, local artists, local musicians, locally made food and tons of activities for the kids! You can check out more about the Hive Market here on their Instagram!

Daily Snapshot

Tuesday – May 5

Finding Home: A Salmon Journey Upstream 10am @ River Run Centre (Info)
Cinco de Mayo Celebration 5-8pm @ Fixed Gear (Info)
Kids Art Classes (Ages 5+) 6-7:30pm @ Evergreen Senior Centre (Tickets and Info)
Guelph language exchange by The language club Every Tuesday from 7 pm to 9pm @ Williams café (Info)
Destroyer Concert 8pm @ Sonic Hall (Tickets and Info)

Wednesday – May 6

Hello Sunshine! Suncatcher Workshop 6pm @ Strawberry Sunshine Candles & Beyond (Registration and Info)
Understanding Youth Today: Substance Use and Digital Life 6-8pm @ St. James Catholic High School, Free (Registration and Info)
Clairfields Craft Group – Knitting + Crochet 6:30-8:30pm @ Cavan Coffee, Free (Registration and Info)
Film Screening: Thinking Beyond the Market – a film about affordable housing 6:30-9pm @ Dublin Street United Church, Free

Thursday – May 7

Collaborating Through Scores 1 12-4pm @ Guelph Youth Dance, Free (Registration)
Pressed Flower Frame Workshop 6:30-8:30am @ 77 Suffolk St W, (Tickets and Info)
Celebrate HER Market Night Market 5-9pm @ Red Chevron Club (Info)
Something Rotten JR., 7pm @ Guelph Little Theatre (Tickets and Info)
Big Ideas: Care, Storytelling and Spacemaking with Sundus Abdul Hadi, 7-9pm @ Guelph Black Heritage Society, Free
Guelph Rain Garden Rebate Webinar: Ideas, Planning, & Design by Reep Green Solutions 7-8:30 pm @ Virtual (Zoom) Free (Info)
Science on Tap: Companion Animal Health 7-9pm @ Royal City Brewing & Beer Hall (Tickets and Info)
Stu & Jay Peterson 7-10pm @ Manhattans
Film Screening — Celestial Queer: The Life, Work, and Wonder of James MacSwain, PWYC Entry 7-9pm @ 46 Essex Street (Info)
Mothers Day Floral Workshop, 7-8:30pm @ Cox Creek Cellars (Tickets and Info)
Trivia Night 7:30pm @ Fixed Gear Brewing Co.
In Conversation with The Woven Ones 8pm @ River Run Centre (Tickets and Info)
Giggles in Guelph 8-9:15pm @ The Ward Bar at Spring Mill Distillery (Tickets and Info)

Friday – May 8

Toddling Among the Blooms – Forest Therapy for Toddlers and their Caregiver 9:30-10:45am @ The Arboretum (Registration)
2026 Emergency Preparedness Pavilion 9:30am-3pm @ West End Community Centre, Free (Registration and Info)
Collaborating Through Scores 2, 11am-3-pm @ Guelph Youth Dance, Free (Registration)
Baby Steps – Forest Therapy for Newborns or Infants and their Caregiver 11:15am-12:30pm @ The Arboretum (Registration)
Bloom & Belong Summer Drop-In for BIPOC Youth 4:30-6:30pm @ Heritage Hall, Free (Info)
Carve & Create: Linocutting Workshop 5-7pm @ Art Gallery of Guelph (Tickets and Info)
Made With Love: Mother’s Day Workshop 6pm @ Strawberry Sunshine Candles & Beyond (Registration and Info)
Guelph Lecture—On Being 7-10pm @ River Run Centre (Tickets and Info)
Paint & Sip 7pm @ Williams Fresh Cafe (Tickets and Info)
Something Rotten JR., 7pm @ Guelph Little Theatre (Tickets and Info)
Woody Woodbrn 7-10pm @ Manhattans
Drew Jurecka Trio 7:30-10pm @ Eden Mills Community Hall (Tickets and Info)
Vino & Glow – Mothers Day Spa Day 2026 8pm @ Cox Creek Cellars (Tickets and Info)
Friday Night Live – Baden Klein, 8pm @ Fixed Gear
Live at The Albion w/AJ Bate 8-9:30pm @ The Albion (Tickets and Info)
Matt Endahl & Nancy Walker Jazz Duos 8-10:30pm @ Silence (Tickets and Info)

Saturday – May 9

Guelph Farmers Market 8am – 1pm @ 2 Gordon St (Info)
Eramosa River Trail parkrun 9-10am @ Eramosa River Trail, Free (Registration)
Annual Family Fun Day in celebration of National Police Week 9-12pm @ Guelph Police Service Headquarters, Free (Info)
Building Your Inner Shrine Art Retreat 9:30-5:30am @ St. Brigid’s Villa, Ignatius Jesuit Centre (Registration)
Live Reading & Book Launch of Hilot Means Healer by Jo SiMalaya Alcampo 9:30-1130am @ River Run Centre, Free
Silent Saturday – mini meditation retreat 10am-1pm @ Avalokiteshvara Kadampa Buddhist Centre (Tickets and Info)
Mother’s Day Cookie Decorating Workshop 11:00am @ Strawberry Sunshine Candles & Beyond (Registration and Info)
Hooks and Needles 11am-12pm @ Wellington County Library Marden Branch (Registration)
4th annual Spring Market 11am-4pm @ St. George’s Anglican Church (Tickets and Info)
Something Rotten JR., 12pm and 4pm @ Guelph Little Theatre (Tickets and Info)\
Talk & Book Launch of The Sound of the Homeland Drum by Peter Schuler 1-3pm @ River Run Centre, Free (Info)
Mom & Me – Bath Bomb & Shower Steamer Workshop 1:30pm @ Strawberry Sunshine Candles & Beyond (Registration and Info)
Mother’s Day Pretty in Pink Tea Party 2-4pm @ Guelph Lake Commons (Registration and Info)
Bloom (A Creative & Healing Experience) 6-7:30pm @ 33 Cork St W (Tickets and Info)
Luke Burazin 7-10pm @ Manhattans
The Femmes Rebelles Present: Pop Burlesque! 7-11pm @ Guelph Curling Club (Tickets and Info)
Rainbow Chorus of Waterloo-Wellington presents How the Light Gets In 7:30-9pm @ Harcourt Memorial United Church (Tickets and Info)
Resistance Revue featuring The Ratskin Family Band, Taqralik Partridge and Lacey Hill Drag Country Band 8-10pm @ River Run Centre, Free (Info)
Brilliant Corners – Pat LaBarbera Quartet 8-11pm @ Silence (Tickets and Info)
Highlights of the Kiwanis Music Festival 7-9pm @ Dublin Street United Church (Tickets and Info)

Sunday – May 10

Special Mother’s Day Service and Community Event @10am-2pm @ Memory Gardens Funeral Home & Cemetery, Free
Bend your ear: a panel conversation on listening 10-12pm @ 42 Garden Street
Mother’s Day Tea 10:30am @ Guelph Civic Museum (Tickets and Info)
Guelph Correctional Centre Grounds Tour 11am-12:30pm @ Guelph Correctional Centre (Info)
Markets on the Court hosted by The Hive 11-3pm @ 75 Dublin St. N (Tennis Courts on the Hill) Local vendors, live music, fresh goods, kids activities (Info)
Something Rotten JR., 12pm @ Guelph Little Theatre (Tickets and Info)
Plant Hanger Macrame Workshop 1-3pm @ Cafe Galata (Tickets and Info)
Mom & Me Paint Event (Kids and Adults) 1-3pm @ Mr. Puff (Tickets and Info)
Mother’s Day: Dixon’s x Play With Clay 1-4pm @ Dixon’s Distilled Spirits (Tickets and Info)
Mother’s Day Sip & Shop by Spring Mill Distillery 1PM-5PM @ 43 Arthur St S. (Info)
Performance: L CON in collaboration with Nina Vroemen // Karen Ng 2-4pm @ ImprovLab, Free
Empathy supper: improvising new ecologies of trust 5-8pm @ 10C Shared Space, Free

Monday – May 11

Learn to Play Duplicate Bridge 12:45pm-4pm @ Kortright Presbyterian Church (Info)

Tuesday – May 12

Guelph LeadTribes In-Person 2pm @ Royal LePage Royal City Realty (Tickets and Info)
Time Management – A New Way To Connect With Time 6:30-7:30 pm @ 42 Carden St (Tickets and Info)
Candle Making Experience with The Scented Market 6:30-8:30pm @ The Scented Market (Registration and Info)
Reiki Share 7-9pm @ 6 Mallard Court (Tickets and Info)

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Business Spotlight

Sweet Violets Flower Shop

For anyone looking for a thoughtful local gift this week, this week’s business spotlight is Sweet Violets. Located in the heart of downtown Guelph, this bespoke flower shop creates custom bouquets, arrangements, plants, and gifts for all kinds of occasions. With Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday, it’s a great local stop for anyone hoping to pick up something beautiful, personal, and a little more special than the usual last-minute gift. You can take a look at their website here or Instagram here or stop by downtown this week.

Around Guelph This Week

Looking for a cheap way to eat out?
A new website in the city is making rounds as it’s helping locals find the best daily deals each and every day! Quite useful in today’s economy! Check out here!

New Guelph Transit and Fleet Services facility is starting construction
The City is starting construction on a new Guelph Transit and Fleet Services facility near Stone Road East and Watson Parkway South. The project is meant to replace older, overcrowded spaces and support Guelph’s growing transit and fleet needs.

A new Burger King is being proposed on Eramosa Road
A standalone Burger King drive-thru has been proposed for the Rexall plaza at 265 Eramosa Road, near Metcalfe Street. The proposal is expected to go before the Committee of Adjustment on May 14.

City looking for archaeological artifacts at Exhibition Park
Before adding new playground equipment at Exhibition Park, the City is planning an archaeological assessment in the area near the playground. The work is required ahead of future park improvements.

GO train changes coming for the long weekend
If you’re planning to use GO Transit over the upcoming long weekend, keep an eye out. Metrolinx says weekend trains to and from Guelph will be cancelled, with more details still to come.

Guelph Musicfest is celebrating 20 years
Guelph Musicfest is marking its 20th anniversary this year with a five-concert chamber music series running from May 22 to June 19 at the Guelph Youth Music Centre.

Public Works Week Open House is coming up
The City’s Public Works Week Open House is happening May 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 50 Municipal Street. Families can check out City trucks, equipment, displays, and behind-the-scenes services that help keep Guelph running.

Cafe of the Week

A great cafe in the city if Found Coffee. The coffee is amazing, the ambiance is great for working and meetings and their salmon toast is to die for…(seriously, you have to try it). It’s also conveniently located across the Farmers Market which makes for a perfect Saturday afternoon. Check them out on their website here or their Instagram here.

Recent Updates

10 Best Cafés in Guelph, Ontario (Ambiance, Coffee, Remote Work + Food)

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