Organizers monitoring air quality ahead of busy festival weekend

The view from Baden, Ont. on July 16, 2026. (Courtesy: Carol Sztorc)

Organizers of festivals planned for this weekend are taking a wait-and-see approach amid air quality concerns.

Communities have been cancelling events or making last-minute location changes in response to the smoke that has drifted down from northern Ontario, where forest fires continue to burn.

In Waterloo Region, air pollution remained a “very high risk” on Thursday.

Uptown Night Market

The Uptown Night Market was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Waterloo Public Library. Due to the health warnings, organizers moved it to the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival

One of the city’s biggest events, the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, runs from Friday to Sunday.

Thursday night’s launch party at Waterloo Town Square was cancelled, but the rest of the festival will continue as planned. Organizers said they will continue to monitor the latest alerts from Environment Canada.

“At this time, we are proceeding,” said Steve Joyce, the event’s president and media and marketing manager. “[We are] anticipating a full festival schedule.”

While Environment Canada is predicting Waterloo Region’s air quality will only be a moderate risk on Friday, it could return to high risk later in the day.

Joyce said organizers of the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival will adjust their plans as needed.

“Depending on the air quality forecast, we may ask artists to change their performance times if they are able but right now, we don’t think that is necessary.”

Downtown Kitchener Ribfest and Craft Beer Show

The Downtown Kitchener Ribfest and Craft Beer Show also runs from Friday to Sunday at Victoria Park.

“Obviously, we’re monitoring the weather,” said event manager Guy Exley. “It’s a big, monumental decision to cancel the event. I’ve had a few people call me and asked me if I can reschedule, and that’s really impossible. There’s so many moving parts of vendors and suppliers and everything else, it’s impossible to reschedule. So, it’s either cancel or [it goes] ahead. As of now, we’re going ahead as planned.”

Some of those calls have been from vendors.

“I’ve had one indicate a concern, they are indicating they might pull out,” Exley said Thursday. “Of course, every vendor has to make their own decision.”

He added: “Every supplier was here yesterday and today, every vendor except one so far has shown up.”

Exley’s team has been setting up in Victoria Park over the last two days. He said the crew has been taking breaks and all of them have access to masks.

“I’m personally on the hook for probably over six figures (in dollars) spent on suppliers and things and that money’s gone, whether I do the event or not. I obviously don’t want to cancel for my own personal reasons, but also for the public and the community aspect of the event.”

Exley explained that the Downtown Kitchener Ribfest and Craft Beer Show could be turned into a two-day event, but organizers will wait as long as possible before making any major decisions.

“It’s going to be an 11th hour decision,” he said. “We’re not going to cancel tomorrow based on today’s weather forecast. We all know that that can change drastically day-by-day as the weather patterns change.”

All they can do is hope conditions improve.

“We’re crossing our fingers,” said Exley. “The event industry has been pretty hammered the last couple of years. Obviously, between the pandemic and now with this smog alert, and the weather patterns for outdoor events seems to be, I used to be concerned about all-day rain. Now I’m more concerned about the 10-minute microburst storms that seem to be hitting everywhere.”

“It’s a tricky business doing outdoor events,” he added. “We just cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

Celebration at Preston Royal Canadian Legion

The Preston Royal Canadian Legion Branch #126 celebrates its 100th anniversary on Friday.

The event is still going ahead but, if conditions change, organizers will reevaluate.

“The safety of our members, veterans, volunteers and visitors remains our top priority,” said Joe Gowing, the legion’s president, in an email to CTV News.

The celebration will be mostly indoors, except for an outdoor Remembrance Ceremony at 2 p.m. Gowing said if conditions deteriorate, they will adjust the celebration as needed.

“We encourage everyone attending to make decisions based on their own health and comfort level, particularly those who may be more sensitive to smoke,” he urged. “Fortunately, because most of our celebration is indoors, we expect minimal disruption to the day’s activities.”

Other festivals

Other festivals and events happening this weekend include Hillside Festival in Guelph, which runs from Friday to Sunday, and the AfroVibes Festival in Kitchener on Saturday. CTV News has also reached out to those organizers to find out if air quality will impact their event.