Art in the Park & Emancipation Picnic

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Art in the Park is back at Bronte Heritage Waterfront Park this Monday, August 3, from 10am to 5pm. Now in its 61st year, it's grown into Oakville's biggest art show, drawing thousands to the waterfront every summer.

You'll find more than 175 booths of original work from artists and artisans across the country: paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolour, plus glass, ceramics, photography, sculpture and fine jewellery. Most are there in person, so you can meet the makers and hear the story behind the pieces.

Admission is $10 per person, or $15 for two, and kids under 12 get in free. Run by the Oakville Art Society since 1965, it's earned a name as one of the best-run art shows in southern Ontario.

Quick note: our events guide accidentally listed this event as free, but there is a cover charge. Apologies for the mix-up!

Once you've wandered the booths at Art in the Park, keep the day going by the water. Oakville's Emancipation Day Picnic returns to Erchless Estate that same afternoon, this Monday, August 3. It's free, running 1 to 4pm at the Oakville Museum, 8 Navy Street, hosted by the town alongside the Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton.

The afternoon leans musical: blues from The Real Blues Jammers, the CCAH Steel Band, and a hands-on African drumming session with Drums et al. You'll also find local vendors, food to buy, family activities, and free frozen treats from Mr. Iceberg.

There's history alongside the party. Oakville was once a port of entry on the Underground Railroad, and guided walking tours tracing the stories of the town's early Black residents leave at 1:30 and 3pm, with the Freedom, Opportunity and Family exhibit open inside the museum.

Oakville held its very first Emancipation Day Picnic in 1850, when Black Canadians from across Ontario gathered to celebrate freedom, so Monday keeps a tradition going that's stood for generations.

Falgarwood Pool is getting a major accessibility overhaul this fall, funded by a $125,000 federal grant from the Enabling Accessibility Fund. The Town of Oakville will use the money to install a portable pool lift and new outdoor showers with step-free access at the 54-year-old facility on Gainsborough Drive.

The project also includes Town-funded renovations: a new slip-resistant pool deck, step-free access to changerooms, and tactile striping around the pool edge. Some upgrades are already in place this summer, including a wider entry walkway, an accessible service counter, and redesigned changerooms.

Construction on the remaining features starts after Labour Day, once the pool closes for the season. The improvements bring Falgarwood up to the same accessibility standard as Wedgewood Pool, meeting both the Ontario Building Code and AODA requirements.

Friday, July 31
☁️ Overcast
High: 28°C | Low: 15°C

Saturday, August 1
🌧️ Light Drizzle
High: 31°C | Low: 20°C

Sunday, August 2
🌧️ Violent showers
High: 24°C | Low: 19°C

Oakville Digest is 100% free to read, independently owned, and locally operated (written by me).

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~ Nick