10 Things to do in Cobourg this October

If you can only spare one day, make it this one. 

The Downtown Cobourg Harvest Festival fills the core with vendors, live music, food trucks, and family activities. It’s also the day of the annual Walk A Mile event. The crowd is a mix of neighbours, families and people who drove in on a whim because the trees are starting to perform and the scenery on the drive is part of the entertainment.

Give yourself a little extra time afterward. The independent boutiques, cafés and shops downtown are at their best in October, when there’s no need to rush and there’s usually someone behind the counter with time for a chat. 

The Cobourg Cougars return to home ice at the Cobourg Community Centre in the fall, and a junior hockey game is about more than what happens on the ice. These young players are working toward scholarships, opportunities and the next step in their hockey careers, with many making Cobourg their temporary home while they play here. The hockey might be fast and competitive, but the atmosphere is unmistakably local

Grab a burger at JJ’s or fish and chips at Captain George’s before the game, then find your seat and cheer along with the hometown crowd.

That distinctive, hollow pock you hear as you return the serve doesn’t have to be put on hold until the weather warms again. The Dink Den has quickly become a social and recreational hub in Cobourg. Players of every skill level can stay active in the fall and winter.
 
After your match, head next door to Avenue 18 for dinner and drinks. It's one of those perfectly Cobourg combinations: a little competition, great food, and a night out without ever leaving the neighbourhood. If you’ve still got some competition left in you, this spot also offers indoor golf so settle those scores with a different kind of swing, if you like.

What’s October without a few ghost stories? 

A town that's been standing since the early 1800s picks up a lot of stories. Join a Ghost Walk and wander through historic downtown Cobourg by lantern light, where heritage buildings, local legends and stories from the town’s past take on a different character after dark. 
 
If you yearn to be even more unsettled, the Paranormal Investigation Tours at Victoria Hall and the Art Gallery of Northumberland take you inside one of the town's most recognizable buildings after hours. 

Believer or skeptic, there’s something about being inside a historic building after dark that makes you pay attention to every creak and shadow.

Live local theatre thrives during the fall in Cobourg. Bookmark the Cobourg Box Office so you don’t miss a performance. 
 
Northumberland Players opens the month with The Memory of Water, then returns October 23 with a change of sentiment, delivering Hurry Hard, a dinner theatre production at the Best Western Plus Cobourg Inn & Convention Centre. Dinner with a laugh built in makes an easy way to spend a Friday.

If you’re ready to move from screen to the actual room, the Northumberland Fall Home & Lifestyle Show returns to the Cobourg Community Centre on October 2 and 3. 

Local businesses, designers and home experts fill the floor with ideas, inspiration, and help. It's a good place to finally find the person who can do the project you've been saving on Pinterest for the last two years.

And yes, you can tell yourself you’re just looking!

Northumberland Film Sundays is run by a group of film lovers with a simple goal: bring the kind of movies that rarely reach a local screen to Cobourg. 

Their programming comes through TIFF's Film Circuit, bringing contemporary films and  festivals favourites to a local audience. In October, screenings take place on October 4 and 18. 

Make a day of it. Have lunch, see a movie, then a slow walk arguing about the ending. 

This is the month when a dark theatre and a good story can still beat another scroll through your phone.

Some evenings out are about being entertained. Others are about being curious and experiencing something a little different. 

On Sunday, October 11, psychic medium Jody Reid brings her live group event to the Cobourg Memorial Temple, The afternoon focuses on connection and messages from loved ones who have passed.
Believers may come for connection, while skeptics and the curious may simply want to experience something different. Jody describes it as "soul-friends" more than spectacle – strangers listening and connecting.

On October 14, the YMCA Northumberland Seniors Active Living Fair connects people with the programs, services and wellness resources available across the region. 

It's an opportunity to discuss ti discover ways to stay active, meet peopleand finding ways to connect with the community, new friends, and ways to stay healthy. This event shows what a community builds when it plans for people at every stage of life. Come to learn something or to bring someone who could use it.

Karaoke in a small town runs on a simple social contract: everyone gets a turn, and nobody gets judged for it. 

County Heaven Pub & Grill, Kelly's Homelike Inn and other local spots host nights all month. The best performers are rarely the good singers. They're the people who commit to the second verse when the first has already gone wrong, and the room loves them for it.

Too shy to sing this time? You can heckle kindly from the back. Good food, drink, friends and fun are staples of searching for the perfect song and doing your best to give it justice.