Updated Sept. 7, 2024

I teach international students business communication at Conestoga College and regularly hear questions about what events and festivals happen in the Cambridge-Kitchener-Waterloo area.

Fall fairs are events I always mention in September. They usually include demolition derbies, animal displays, a midway, and live entertainment. And lots of food.

The easiest fall fair for Conestoga students to reach without a car is the Cambridge Fall Fair, Thurs., Sept. 5 through Sun., Sept. 8, 2024, at Dickson Park in Cambridge.

Dickson Park is on the Grand River Transit bus Route 57, which runs between the Doon and Cambridge Campuses of Conestoga College, and the Ainslie Street GRT bus terminal at 35 Ainslie St. in Downtown Cambridge.

Thursdays and Sundays offer free admission, but there is always a charge to take midway rides. Admission is $10 at the entry gates on Friday and $15 on Saturday when most events are scheduled.

Route 57 buses run Monday through Saturday, morning, afternoon, and evening.

On Sunday, you’ll have to take a bus to the Ainslie Street terminal and then walk about 10 minutes to Dickson Park through the old Galt Downtown area. (If you’re heading to the fair in Cambridge on Sunday from Kitchener or Waterloo, your probably best to take the Route 302 or Route 206 express buses to the Ainslie Terminal).

There are other fairs in the Waterloo Region area, but they’re not easy to reach by public transit. Here’s a link to all the fall fair dates in Ontario.

The Wellesley Township Fair runs on Sept. 10 and 11, 2024, at the Wellesley Recreation Complex Centre, 1401 Queen’s Bush Road, Wellesley. That’s a 20-minute car drive northwest of Waterloo.

The New Hamburg Fall Fair runs Sept. 12-15, 2024 at 251 Jacob St. in New Hamburg Fairgrounds, west of Kitchener. To reach that location by public transit from Kitchener or Waterloo, you can take the GRT Route 77, but only on weekdays mornings or afternoons. That doesn’t work well to visit the fair in the evening.