Fall is the best season Newmarket has to offer. The maples along the Tom Taylor Trail turn, Main Street fills with festivals, and the calendar gives you every excuse to get outside with the people you care about.
It is also the season we come together for something bigger. On September 13, hundreds of neighbours will walk the trail for Mental Health in Motion, raising money so that anyone in York Region and South Simcoe can get free mental health support when they need it. If you do one thing this fall, make it this.
So here is your guide. We are starting with the four dates worth circling in permanent marker, then rounding up everything else happening around town.
Circle these four dates this fall
1. Mental Health in Motion 5K Walk — Sunday, September 13
This is the one we are asking you to show up for.
Mental Health in Motion returns to the Tom Taylor Trail at AOK Park (535 Timothy Street). Activities run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the 5K walk steps off at 10:00 a.m. The route is fully accessible for strollers and wheelchairs, and there is a virtual option if you cannot be there in person.
It is a morning, not just a walk. Expect a tour of the MOBYSS mobile youth clinic, a photobooth, guest speakers sharing lived-experience stories, a Kids Zone, light refreshments, and the new Steps for Stories Memory Pathway, where you can dedicate a sign to someone who matters to you.
Registration is free, and every participant is encouraged to raise $250. Every dollar stays local and funds free programs for people right here in our community. Here is why it matters: 1 in 5 Canadians live with a mental health problem or illness in any given year. This walk is how a whole community answers that.
Register for the walk here, or gather a team and walk together.
2. World Suicide Prevention Day — September 10
Three days before the walk, the world pauses for a conversation we too often avoid. If someone you love has been on your mind, this is the week to ask the direct question. You will not make things worse by asking. You might change everything.
Support is available any time through the 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text 988) and York Region’s Community Crisis Response Service at 1-855-310-COPE (2673). Share those numbers with someone this week. See how free therapy works through our OSP program.
3. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — September 30
Also known as Orange Shirt Day, September 30 is a time to honour the survivors of residential schools and remember the children who never came home. Newmarket typically lowers its flags to half-mast, lights Riverwalk Commons and the Fred A. Lundy Bridge in orange, and shares reading lists through the Newmarket Public Library, in partnership with the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.
Wear orange, and watch the Town of Newmarket and York Region event pages for this year’s community walk, presentations, and gatherings.
4. World Mental Health Day — October 10
A global reminder that mental health is health, full stop. It is the perfect day to finally book the appointment you have been putting off, share a resource with a friend, or simply be a little kinder to yourself.
If you have been waiting for a sign to reach out, let this be it. You do not need a family doctor or a referral to get started with free, publicly funded therapy through CMHA York Region and South Simcoe.
What else is happening in Newmarket this fall? Check out these Newmarket Events!
Once you have those four locked in, here is the rest of what the season has to offer around town.
- Walk the fall colours at Fairy Lake and the Tom Taylor Trail — any day, free. A flat, accessible loop off Water Street, part of the Nokiidaa Trail system. The October view across the water is hard to beat, and time outside is one of the simplest things you can do for how you feel.
- Newmarket Farmers Market — every Saturday to October 31, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Riverwalk Commons. Squash, apples, fresh bread, and local makers, plus an easy place to bump into people you know. Details at the Newmarket Farmers Market.
- Culture Days — September 10 to 19. Free arts, heritage, and community programming around town under the theme “Many Voices, One Community.” See the Town of Newmarket events page.
- New’Bark’et and the Pooch Plunge — September 12 to 13, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A family-and-dog-friendly festival the same weekend as the walk. Check the Main Street BIA calendar for the full lineup.
- Ghost of Old Town Hall — October 8. Halloween-season tours of one of Newmarket’s most storied buildings. A fun, low-key night out as October gets going.
- Pumpkin Parade — November 1. Bring your carved pumpkin out for one last glow before it heads to the compost. A small, oddly lovely way to close out the season.
If this fall feels heavy, here is where to turn
For some of us, fall is festivals and foliage. For others, the shorter days and the run-up to the holidays land differently, and that is nothing to be ashamed of.
If you are finding things hard, help is closer than you think. CMHA York Region and South Simcoe offers free, publicly funded therapy through the Ontario Structured Psychotherapy program (no family doctor or referral required), and young people aged 12 to 25 can drop in to our MOBYSS mobile clinic with no appointment needed.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 any time, or reach York Region’s crisis line at 1-855-310-COPE (2673).
Whatever your fall looks like, take care of yourself out there. And if you can, we will see you on the trail September 13.
This article is for general information and is not a substitute for professional advice. If you are struggling, please reach out to a qualified provider or one of the crisis lines listed above.
