🎉 Howick Homecoming
📅 July 3–5, 2026
📍 Howick Community Centre, Fordwich
👪 Family Friendly
🏆 170th Anniversary
Howick 170th Homecoming 2026
Once every few decades, the small communities of Howick Township — Fordwich, Gorrie, Wroxeter, and the surrounding rural area — throw open the doors for a homecoming. In 2026, that tradition lines up with something bigger: Howick Township’s 170th anniversary. From July 3 to 5, 2026 at the Howick Community Centre, expect three days of small-town heritage, harvest, and heart, built almost entirely by local volunteers and sponsors.
A euchre tournament, a parade through Fordwich, beer gardens running all weekend, a kids’ glow dance, a Saturday night age-of-majority dance, fireworks over the soccer fields, and not one but three ticketed community dinners. This is the kind of homecoming where the schedule reads like a love letter to the township itself.
🎉 Parade in Fordwich
🍻 Beer gardens all weekend
🍽 3 ticketed dinners
🎞 Fireworks
🎮 Kids Zone
🎥 Live entertainment
🏆 Car show
💡 Meal ticket deadline is June 25, 2026. The Friday fish fry, Saturday BBQ dinner, and Saturday night dance all require advance tickets — don’t wait until the weekend to buy.
✨ Why This Festival Is Worth Your Time
Township homecomings aren’t annual events — they happen once in a generation, tied to a meaningful anniversary, which is exactly what makes them special. Howick Township turns 170 in 2026, and the community has been planning this celebration since early 2025, pulling together local clubs, businesses, churches, and volunteers from Fordwich, Gorrie, Wroxeter, Belmore, and Lakelet.
What you get is a weekend that feels genuinely homegrown: a euchre tournament sponsored by the local care home, a fish fry by the Brussels Legion, a parade route through Fordwich, and an arena floor that hosts everything from opening ceremonies to a BBQ dinner to an age-of-majority dance. It’s not polished or corporate — it’s a township throwing a 170th birthday party for itself, and visitors are welcome at the table.
If you grew up in or around Howick, this is the year to come back. If you didn’t, it’s still a genuinely warm, low-key rural Ontario weekend — the kind that doesn’t come around twice.
📅 What’s On: The 2026 Schedule
A packed three days — tentative and subject to change, per the organizers.
Friday · July 3
2–4pm Euchre Tournament (Arena Floor, $10 registration, sponsored by ATK Care Home, hosted by Wroxeter Hall Board)
2:30–4:30pm Button Making at the Library, hosted by Huron-Perth Public Library
4–9pm Car Show on the Soccer Fields, free admission, hosted by Pentastic Motors
4pm–midnight Beer Gardens, sponsored by Meulensteen Tire
4–7pm Fish Fry Dinner by Brussels Legion, Arena Floor — $25, advance tickets required
~4–7pm Food Trucks, Arena Parking Lot
5:30–9pm Kids Glow Dance, Arena Auditorium (up to Grade 3: 5:30–7pm; Grades 4–8: 7–9pm)
6:30pm Opening Ceremonies, Arena Floor
7–9pm Trivia Night with Ty’s Travelling Trivia, Outdoor Beer Tent — $20/team, pre-registration encouraged
9pm–midnight Live entertainment by the Tylor O’Neil Band, Outdoor Beer Tent
2:30–4:30pm Button Making at the Library, hosted by Huron-Perth Public Library
4–9pm Car Show on the Soccer Fields, free admission, hosted by Pentastic Motors
4pm–midnight Beer Gardens, sponsored by Meulensteen Tire
4–7pm Fish Fry Dinner by Brussels Legion, Arena Floor — $25, advance tickets required
~4–7pm Food Trucks, Arena Parking Lot
5:30–9pm Kids Glow Dance, Arena Auditorium (up to Grade 3: 5:30–7pm; Grades 4–8: 7–9pm)
6:30pm Opening Ceremonies, Arena Floor
7–9pm Trivia Night with Ty’s Travelling Trivia, Outdoor Beer Tent — $20/team, pre-registration encouraged
9pm–midnight Live entertainment by the Tylor O’Neil Band, Outdoor Beer Tent
Saturday · July 4
10:30am 🎉 Parade, starting in Fordwich
11am–7pm Beer Gardens with live music, sponsored by Rolling Acres
~12–7pm Food Trucks, Arena Parking Lot
11:30am–5pm Inflatable Games & Bounce Houses, Kids Zone
1–4pm Zoo To You Reptile Exhibit, Arena Auditorium · Face Painting, Kids Zone
12–7pm 519 Braids, Kids Zone (additional fee)
1:30–2pm Magic Show by Tyler Fergus, Arena Floor
2–4pm Chuckles the Clown, Kids Zone · Cornhole Tournament, Outdoor Beer Tent (sponsored by Barenecessities/Donker’s Harris Ltd., Watson’s Home Hardware & Pentastic Motors)
Evening BBQ Chicken/Brisket Dinner by T&M Catering, Arena Floor — $40, advance tickets required
8:30pm–1am Age of Majority Dance with entertainment by Kyle McAdams, Arena Floor — $25, advance tickets required
11am–7pm Beer Gardens with live music, sponsored by Rolling Acres
~12–7pm Food Trucks, Arena Parking Lot
11:30am–5pm Inflatable Games & Bounce Houses, Kids Zone
1–4pm Zoo To You Reptile Exhibit, Arena Auditorium · Face Painting, Kids Zone
12–7pm 519 Braids, Kids Zone (additional fee)
1:30–2pm Magic Show by Tyler Fergus, Arena Floor
2–4pm Chuckles the Clown, Kids Zone · Cornhole Tournament, Outdoor Beer Tent (sponsored by Barenecessities/Donker’s Harris Ltd., Watson’s Home Hardware & Pentastic Motors)
Evening BBQ Chicken/Brisket Dinner by T&M Catering, Arena Floor — $40, advance tickets required
8:30pm–1am Age of Majority Dance with entertainment by Kyle McAdams, Arena Floor — $25, advance tickets required
Sunday · July 5
8:30–11am Pancake Breakfast, Arena Floor, in partnership with Howick Fire Department (by donation)
9am Youth Ball Hockey Tournament, front parking lot of arena, hosted by Howick Minor Hockey, sponsored by Fordwich A’s, pre-registration required
10–11am Kids Karaoke, Outdoor Beer Tent Stage, sponsored by Ace Strong Excavating
11am–1pm Howick Idol Finals, Outdoor Beer Tents, sponsored by Ace Strong Excavating
10am–4pm Beer Gardens, sponsored by Huron Feeding Systems
2–3:30pm Tie Dye, Kids Zone
4–6pm Free Swim at Howick Optimist Pool, sponsored by Howick Rec. Staff
Dusk 🎞 Fireworks at the Soccer Fields, put on by PyroWorld, sponsored by Dinsmore Farms, Boyd’s Farm Supply, Wightman Telecom and Weber Contracting
9am Youth Ball Hockey Tournament, front parking lot of arena, hosted by Howick Minor Hockey, sponsored by Fordwich A’s, pre-registration required
10–11am Kids Karaoke, Outdoor Beer Tent Stage, sponsored by Ace Strong Excavating
11am–1pm Howick Idol Finals, Outdoor Beer Tents, sponsored by Ace Strong Excavating
10am–4pm Beer Gardens, sponsored by Huron Feeding Systems
2–3:30pm Tie Dye, Kids Zone
4–6pm Free Swim at Howick Optimist Pool, sponsored by Howick Rec. Staff
Dusk 🎞 Fireworks at the Soccer Fields, put on by PyroWorld, sponsored by Dinsmore Farms, Boyd’s Farm Supply, Wightman Telecom and Weber Contracting
💡 This schedule is explicitly labelled tentative by the organizing committee — double-check times closer to the event via the official Schedule page.
📍 The Essentials
Festival Dates
July 3–5, 2026
Friday through Sunday
Friday through Sunday
Venue
Howick Community Centre, 45088 Harriston Rd, Howick, ON
Weekend Pass
$75 (a $90 value) — includes Friday fish fry, Saturday dinner & Saturday night dance; limited quantity
Meal Ticket Deadline
June 25, 2026 — order ahead for all ticketed dinners and the dance
General Admission
Beer gardens, parade, car show, and Kids Zone activities are free to attend; individual meals and the dance are ticketed separately
Best For
Former & current Howick Township residents · families · small-town festival lovers · reunion-style weekends
🚗 Getting There
The Howick Community Centre sits on Harriston Road (Road 87) between Toll Gate Line and Fordwich Line, beside Howick Central Public School — right between the villages of Fordwich and Gorrie in Huron County. It’s roughly a 2.5-hour drive from the Greater Toronto Area and about 30 minutes from Listowel or Wingham. Saturday’s parade starts in Fordwich itself, a short drive from the Community Centre.
📍 Get Directions on Google Maps →
💡 A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go
🎫 Order your meal tickets before June 25. The Friday fish fry, Saturday BBQ dinner, and Saturday night dance all require advance tickets — none of these are walk-up purchases at the gate.
💵 The weekend pass is the better deal. At $75 for two dinners and the dance (a $90 value if bought separately), it’s worth grabbing early since quantities are limited.
🎉 Get to Fordwich early for the parade. It starts at 10:30am Saturday — arrive ahead of time to find a good viewing spot along the route.
👶 Bringing kids? The Kids Zone runs activities most of Saturday and Sunday — inflatables, face painting, a reptile exhibit, a magic show, and tie dye are all free or low-cost add-ons separate from the main meal tickets.
🎞 Stay through Sunday night. The fireworks display at dusk on the soccer fields is the closing event for the whole 170th celebration — a fitting way to wrap up the weekend.
A Township Celebrating Itself 🎉
Howick Homecoming 2026 has been built entirely by a volunteer committee since early 2025, with support from local clubs, churches, and businesses across Fordwich, Gorrie, Wroxeter, Belmore, and Lakelet. The committee is still looking for volunteers if you’d like to lend a hand for the 170th celebration.
Visit Official Website →
❓ Common Questions
Details may change — always confirm on the official Howick Homecoming website before heading out.
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