WOW magazine for May / June is a great directory

The May / June WOW magazine -- Cowapolooza talent and much more

Compiled by Mark Schadenberg

What's On Woodstock is a promotional magazine that looks ahead at the many great offerings in the City of Woodstock.

The May / June edition is a preview to many events and attractions, but the front cover is announcing that Finger Eleven will be the star attraction at Cowapolooza this summer in Southside Park, August 14-15. Cowapolooza has featured many top Canadian rock bands over the years and Finger Eleven continues that tradition as their 8 studio albums have built a great library of rock music led by Paralyzer, One Thing, Together Right, and Living In A Dream.     

The alternative rockers, Finger Eleven is from Burlington, but their 2026 schedule includes stops in B.C., Alberta, the U.S., Scotland and England,. and of course the Friendly City.

A free Finger Eleven concert in Woodstock is part of the city's 125th birthday celebrations as Woodstock officially became a city in 1901. 

The 2-day Cowapolooza also includes a night of country music on the Friday featuring Rob Fitzgerald, Taylor Moore and also the Bucking Broncos.

The Saturday night roster will also include Stuck On Planet Earth at 7 p.m., plus 3 earlier acts on the main stage of the Southside Park toboggan hill. 

Canada Day free fireworks will be loud, bright and exciting on Wednesday, July 1 in Southside Park -- also loud with Kim Mitchell on stage at 8 p.m. The fireworks show is sponsored by TMMC.

WOW Magazine

The May / June WOW also includes an update and background on the city's revamped website -- now updated at www.cityofwoodstock.ca. Ease of use for the new-look website is key, plus the addition of microsites for economic development, art gallery, museum and other important areas.

The Woodstock Public Library is always among the features of the magazine, including an advertisement for the used book sale May 30 (10 a.m. - 2 p.m.), plus kids' activities like story time and crafts. There is also programming for adults explained like the dates and times for knitting and crochet groups.

The Woodstock Museum National Historic Site utilizes WOW to update citizens on walking tours, on-going exhibits, and even a science-based (STEM) PA Day planned for June 26. A dinosaur themed summer camp is set for July 13-17 with fossils part of the focus. By the way, the Bernadette Smith exhibit continues only until June 20. She was Canada's first elected woman mayor of a city.

Woodstock Art Gallery in WOW features a long list of their scheduled summer camps, and a reminder of the gallery's 60th anniversary party set for Museum Square on May 30. The show Florence's Woodstock continues to August 29 and includes many Florence Carlyle original works from the gallery's permanent collection of the Woodstock artist. Meanwhile, Arctic Abundance is an exhibit continuing until June 20.

There is literally a ton of info on children's summer camps in all areas and the WOW uses a grid checklist system for quick reference for many of the activity weeks and registration fees, but be sure to read WOW for camps at museum and art gallery also.

The current WOW issue includes details about FAIR -- Fee Assistance In Recreation. It's a program to assist in subsidizing registration for both athletic and culture programs and camps, but also transit services around the city.

Mentioning transit already . . . Be sure to participate in the city's transit service survey as the bus system could see quite a change in 2027, and there's a story published about it in the current WOW.  With the survey, you could assist in improving the bus system routes.

Friday Night Fun Nights continue throughout the spring at Cowan Sportsplex including flag football on May 29 and minute-to-win-it on June 5.

Woodstock Minor Ball Association has contributed an impressive update which highlights two new scoreboards to be installed before the 13U national championships take place at Southside Park, Aug. 20 - 23.

An on-going historically-based trivia item in WOW is the COW Tales questions and answers, and they are found on Page 18. Did you know: Woodstock once had a series of collectible coins.

Finally, there is a reminder to possible candidates for the Oct. 26 municipal election posted in the current WOW.

www.cityofwoodstock.ca

https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/media/4aajwia1/wow-mayjune2026-accessible.pdf

www.cityofwoodstock.ca/fair

www.woodstockmuseum.ca

www.mywpl.ca

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Mark Schadenberg

Email: markschadenberg66@gmail.com

(519) 532-2068