Victorian Day in Fergus: Cogs & Clockwork Festival + Antique Mall
A Scottish stone town, dressed for the nineteenth century
Fergus was built by Scottish settlers in the 1830s, and it still looks the part — grey limestone storefronts, wrought iron, window boxes, and a handsome bridge over the Grand River. On an ordinary day it's one of the loveliest small towns in the province. On the second Saturday of September, downtown fills with several hundred people in Victorian dress at the 4th annual Cogs & Clockwork Steampunk Festival: Frock coats and top hats, bustles and boots, lace parasols and pocket watches on brass chains. Over 70 artisan booths line the downtown — handmade jewellery and silverwork, milliners with hats, leatherwork, hand-turned pens, blown glass, vintage clothing and linens, loose-leaf teas and small-press books signed by their authors. Many makers give short demonstrations at their booths, so you can watch a piece being made before you buy it. You'll also have time to see the town itself, not just the market. Fergus's own shops stay open and busy — gourmet food and cheese shops, a fine independent bookshop, galleries, bakeries and boutiques. The walk across the Grand River and along the water is short, level and very pretty, and Templin Gardens is a quiet, shaded place to sit down when the street gets busy. Dress as you please. Most visitors come as they are and enjoy the spectacle. But if you've ever fancied a hat, a brooch, a pair of gloves and a length of ribbon or feel like going all the way and dressing like a character from Murdoch Mysteries or a Jules Verne book — this is the one day of the year when nobody will think twice, and you'll be in very good company. Leaving Fergus in the mid-afternoon, we carry the theme home with a stop at the Freelton Antique Mall, the largest antique mall in the area and a family-run institution since 1997. More than 200 vendor booths fill a warm, dry, indoor building on two floors: Victorian furniture, china and glassware, silver, jewellery, vintage linens and clothing, classic books, advertising signs, mid-century homeware and a great deal of pleasant clutter. We will have short comfort stops on the way to and from Fergus. |
Tour Dates1-Day Trip
Sat Sep 12, 2026 PriceFully refundable if you cancel for any reason at least 7 days before trip departure.
$109 per person
All prices are per person, in Canadian dollars. All taxes and tips are included!
Pickup Locations7:30 AM Vaughan Weston Rd & Hwy 7
8:10 AM Scarborough Town Centre Next to Cineplex Movie Theatre 8:35 AM York Mills Station 9:10 AM Mississauga McDonalds Hurontario & Courtney Park Drive To book over the phone
please call (866) 208-2950 |
Inclusions
- Round trip transportation on highway motorcoach with a washroom and WiFi.
- Visit to the Cogs & Clockwork Festival. The festival does not require an admission fee but requests a donation. A donation to the festival is included in the tour price.
- Visit to the Freelton Antique Mall.
- Lunch is not included, there are plenty of varied dining options in downtown Fergus.
- Escorted tour with ShortTrips.ca tour director available during tour.
- All tips & taxes included.
Approximate Return Times
- Mississauga 5:00 PM
- York Mills 6:00 PM
- Scarborough 6:25 PM
- Vaughan 7:10 PM
Deposits, Payments, Cancellations & Refunds
- 100% full refund if you cancel at least 7 days before the trip departure date.
- Sorry but no refunds if cancellation is received less then 7 days before trip departure date.
- You can transfer your seat to anyone else you know, up to the time of departure without penalty.
Travelling With Children
- Children 10+ are welcome on this tour. Price is the same as adults.
So — what is Steampunk?
A fair question because the name gives away almost nothing.
Steampunk imagines a world where the Victorian age never ended — where the elegance of the 1800s carried on, but its inventors kept going and built the future out of brass, copper, leather and clockwork rather than plastic and silicon. Think of Jules Verne's submarines and flying machines, or a beautifully engineered pocket watch scaled up into an airship. It's the nineteenth century as it might have imagined itself.
In practice, it's a community of makers and dressmakers. The people you'll meet in Fergus sewed the coat, tooled the leather and wound the watch spring themselves, and they are almost without exception delighted to tell you how. There's no story to know beforehand and nothing to keep up with — it's Victorian craftsmanship and Victorian manners, worn with a wink.
Come for the market, Fergus's architecture and the gardens. Stay for the hats!
Steampunk imagines a world where the Victorian age never ended — where the elegance of the 1800s carried on, but its inventors kept going and built the future out of brass, copper, leather and clockwork rather than plastic and silicon. Think of Jules Verne's submarines and flying machines, or a beautifully engineered pocket watch scaled up into an airship. It's the nineteenth century as it might have imagined itself.
In practice, it's a community of makers and dressmakers. The people you'll meet in Fergus sewed the coat, tooled the leather and wound the watch spring themselves, and they are almost without exception delighted to tell you how. There's no story to know beforehand and nothing to keep up with — it's Victorian craftsmanship and Victorian manners, worn with a wink.
Come for the market, Fergus's architecture and the gardens. Stay for the hats!
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