LOCAL HEADLINES

Directors of the Stratford and District Agricultural Society have to be given all the accolades they should, after a very successful Stratford Fall Fair wound down on Sept. 21.

After a review of the City of Stratford’s wase management system, city council elected to stick with the status quo ahead of signing a seven-year contract from 2026 to 2033.

As September nears its end, the fundraiser for people living with Parkinson’s and their families is almost at its goal.

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) has received a $20,000 donation from Nature London to help launch a turtles at risk education program and expand a tallgrass prairie restoration project. The funding will be distributed over four years.

A comic about helping the Earth became an award-winning piece of art for a young student in Stratford, thanks to the Perth County Sustainability Hub.

Peter Meszaros thought to take an extended summer vacation now that he had graduated from university and wanted to make an impact with his time off before continuing his life journey. He decided to bike across the country, from Vancouver, B.C., to St. John’s, N. L., something that he had always wanted to do. He was inspired to raise funds by his family and chose a cause close to home, Crohn’s disease.

Picking up an extra bag of pet food during your next grocery run could support animals and their families in need during a critical time for the regional humane society.

After positive feedback from the first “Honest Budget" session, the Local Community Food Centre is hosting another workshop to help residents better understand and manage their finances.

The Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors only secured one out of the possible four points in their opening week of the 2025-2026 GOJHL season, but three players provided their first career goals in the process.

No running, no contact, no problem. Stratford’s walking soccer tournament is showing how the game can level the playing field for players of all ages, from youth to those in their 80s.

A Stratford production company is playing a big role in bringing the story of Paul Shaffer, the legendary bandleader for David Letterman, to screens big and small around the globe.

After successful summer seasons year after year showcasing independent new and undiscovered plays, Here For Now Theatre will have its first winter season.

After a successful first kick at the can, organizers are bringing back Music and Art at St. James for second time on Oct. 18, an event that will feature the work of more than 30 local and regional artists, as well as performances by local musicians.

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.