Engage with creativity, community and public art in the Great Art Hunt! As part of Ontario Culture Days, this interactive adventure invites participants of all ages to start their day at the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre where you will receive your first location! You will then follow a series of clues that will have you exploring Niagara on the Lake discovering a number of public artworks and connecting with the people and places that make our local arts community so vibrant. Designed to be accessible, family-friendly, and fun, the scavenger hunt offers a playful way to experience art beyond traditional gallery walls with the prize of an original piece of artwork for the participant who finishes the Great Art Hunt first!

The Niagara Grape & Wine Festival is a four-day celebration of Niagara food and wine in historic Montebello Park, St. Catharines. This beautiful park comes alive for the last weekend in September celebrating Niagara wine, local cuisine, live music, and unique experiences that showcase the very best of our region.

Bring your friends and join the party! Enjoy over 100 Niagara VQA wines, delicious curated bites by talented local chefs, 25+ hours of live music, and and unique experiences you won’t want to miss!

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

Join staff from the Welland Public Library on a leisurely walk at Harold S. Bradshaw Memorial Park to enjoy the autumn season. Following the walk, both the Welland Public Library Bookmobile and Lincoln Pelham Public Library Bookmobile will be available to browse and borrow materials! 

We invite community members to join us on a community walk to honour the children who never returned home & the survivors of residential schools. 

Please consider bringing a food donation to the Niagara Regional Native Centre.

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

Join us for a guided tour of the Central Library’s Local History Department. Discover a rich collection of resources—including maps, microfilm, and city directories—that bring our city’s past to life.

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

Harvey joins us at the library to discuss his book, Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge. Harvey Brownstone was Canada’s first openly gay judge and the first sitting judge in the world to write a bestselling book and host a national television show. 

Harvey Brownstone’s story is a tumultuous, sometimes hilarious, and uplifting journey from bullied child to outcast after coming out to his parents, to trailblazing lawyer, to distinguished judge. 

Brownstone colorfully details his momentous and inventive judicial career marked by his numerous innovations of the justice system, particularly revolutionizing Ontario’s child support enforcement program. In retirement, he is no longer shackled by the restraints traditionally imposed on the judiciary, and thus Brownstone provides a frank, unfiltered, and refreshing glimpse into the inner workings of the justice system, boldly delineating the strengths and weaknesses of criminal and family courts, both of which he claims are sorely in need of comprehensive reform.

His remarkable story, reinventing himself from high-profile judge to highly acclaimed talk show host, is a testament to the resilience and triumph of the human spirit. He lives in the Niagara Region of Ontario.

Fan favourite Hugh Fraser returns to the Homestead to get into the nitty gritty of Niagara’s barns and answer all your barn history-related questions! Discover the types of barns historically prevalent to the region, how to date barn structures, how barn building practices have evolved, what was considered when designing a fruit barn compared to a dairy barn, and more! 

Hugh Fraser is the author of Swing Beam Barns of Niagara and is currently working on his second volume on the same subject.

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

St. Catharines Public Library returns to the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre for the third annual SCPL LitFest. Each fall, SCPL LitFest gathers talented Canadian authors in a celebration of local literature. Join SCPL in conversation with celebrated historical fiction authors Bryn Turnbull, Jack Wang, Lisa Rochon, and Joanna Goodman to explore the influence of time and place in storytelling and narrative.

The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Bring your book or purchase one at the event from our friends from Someday Books.

While Past Tense is free to attend, we encourage a pay-what-you-can donation to support future SCPL LitFest events!

SCPL LitFest is an all-ages literary festival celebrating reading, writing, and illustration. It's about discovering literature at any age and unearthing new experiences. This year, we're excited to host a weeklong celebration of learning, literacy, and historical fiction! Join us from September 28th to October 3rd for a series of workshops and events to help you explore your literary creativity, discover new reads, and celebrate local literature.

Autumn Playday invites families to experience Niagara’s agricultural heritage through a hands-on day of storytelling, food, and history. Explore the historic John Brown House (c. 1796), create harvest-inspired crafts, discover the journey from flax to linen, uncover local archaeology, and enjoy stories that bring our past into the present.

Sit down for a storytime with the St. Catharines Public Library, discover the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum Tiny Museum, watch the short vignette "Brief Encounters" from Essential Collective Theatre, and savour fall flavours with Char-in-the-Kitchen.

Adoptions and More!
Come visit our Kitties 
that are looking for their “Forever Home !

Grab the leash, bring your best furry friend and get ready for one of our favourite fall traditions! There’s plenty to enjoy before and after the walk, including:

Dog massages
Autumn-themed dog photo booth
Paint booth where your pup can create their very own masterpiece
HSGN Paw-Linko game
$1 Puppuccinos
50/50 draw
Raffle table packed with prizes
Prize flags along the walk
Event photography by Tara
Pizza
Sweet treats from Sweetie’s Ice Cream Truck
And more surprises throughout the day!

Whether you join us for the walk, stop by for the activities, grab some lunch or simply want to spend a beautiful fall Saturday surrounded by dogs, BarktoberFest has something for everyone.

Best of all, your participation helps support the animals who rely on the Humane Society of Greater Niagara for shelter, medical care and a second chance.

Enjoy afternoon tea with sweet and savoury treats and a fashion show by Donna's Fashions at this beautiful 18th century manor.