LOCAL HEADLINES

The 2024 Julie Delpy film Meet the Barbarians premiered last year at TIFF and was generously sponsored at the Stratford Film Festival (SFF) by Kathy Vassilakos and Dan Mathieson, CJCS and Today FM, Destination Stratford and an anonymous donor. The sponsorship was in recognition of the similarities to this community that ten years ago embarked on its own mission to sponsor refugees.

SpringWorks, in association with Provocation Ideas Festival (PIF), will feature a new fall pop-up playtime for families and friends Oct. 4 and 5 at the historic Grand Trunk site, where it will transform into a pocket park. If you missed World in a Weekend last summer, this is your chance to get in on the wildly popular free sock puppet making workshops.

The world premiere of Frankenstein’s Daughter will be a Second City reunion here in Stratford this October.

The 184th annual Stratford Fall Fair kicked off on Sept. 18 with an assortment of events. Front and centre was the crowning of Mitchell’s Paige Wilhelm as the 2025-2026 ambassador.

“One of the best-quality Holstein shows that Stratford has hosted for years.”

The Stratford Public Library is hosting a Chinese art exhibition featuring the work of artist Yanni Chen from Sept. 12 to Oct. 25.

A one-of-kind performance created by three talented Stratford artists will hit the stage at Here For Now Theatre Sept. 26 and 27, blending poetry, rap and dance as part of the Stratford Writers Festival.

Flight Studio is now offering creative arts classes for children of all ages from its new year-round home in Room 1D at the Falstaff Family Centre.

Barry James Payne and String Bone Presents!, in collaboration with Tim Harrison and Onrush Music Festival, have launched a new concert series to be held in Stratford this fall.

One of the biggest car and truck shows Stratford and Perth County has ever seen was held recently at the Spruce Lodge Home for Seniors in Stratford.

After two sold-out screenings with Stratford Film Festival (SFF), and a successful run at the Stratford Cinema, the community came out and packed the barn for the screening of We Lend A Hand, The Forgotten Story of Ontario Farmerettes.

The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors underwent their final preparations for the opening week of the regular season at the William Allman Memorial Arena. Like in training camp and preseason, there is great buzz surrounding the team with a blend of young and veteran players.

Led by a 34-save performance from Mason Courville, the Flint Firebirds came from behind to beat local star Jake Murray and the Erie Otters 3-1 in front of an energized crowd at the William Allman Memorial Arena on Sept. 12.

Knox Presbyterian Church’s new minister is eager to get to know the community of Stratford and learn how the church can best serve it.

A traditional Indigenous feast was held on the grounds of the Falstaff Family Centre (FFC) on Saturday, Sept. 13, uniting First Nations, Inuit and Métis (FNIM) people from Perth and Huron counties.

Picture this: I was eight years old when a major movie production rolled into my small town in Southwestern Ontario. The downtown transformed into a film set, and I can remember my mother dragging me by hand to a gleaming white limousine. Security moved to stop us, but Julianne Moore said it was okay, and signed my scrap of paper. I didn’t know it then, but that brief exchange was the spark that led me to study film and pursue a career in the industry—because film doesn’t jus

Black Creek Flower Farms welcomed hundreds of visitors for its Fall Harvest Festival last weekend, raising funds for the local food bank while offering a weekend of autumn fun.

The fourth annual SK8 Jam for Sam is set to honour the life of Sam Beauchamp with skateboarding, live music, raffles and community connection, while raising funds for local hospice care.

Stratford will be known as the City of Dreamers during the Provocation Ideas Festival this fall, beginning with an event portraying the Grand Trunk site in a new light.

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8 will hold its annual honours and awards ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. Veterans and their families are invited to attend, and the event is also open to the public.