Buckle Up, October 5th, 2026
Good morning, London. I’m Matt Brown and this is Buckle Up, sponsored by the Hamilton Road BIA.
It’s Monday, October 5th and this is your weekly update about all things London brought to you by London Ontario Online News, that’s The Loon for short.
Listen to this week’s Episode:
If you’ve listened before, you know that every Monday morning, I co-host this program with a member of our team or a special guest, giving you the information you need to prepare for the week ahead.
With me today is a special guest Steve Cordes. He’s one of the co-owners here at The Loon and lately he’s been busy interviewing mayoral candidates. Two Fridays ago he posted a conversation with incumbent Josh Morgan.
This past Friday, he posted a conversation with challenger Susan Stevenson and soon, he’ll have a new episode of Steve’s Reflections for you - that one will be a conversation with challenger Kirsten Krose.
On this episode Steve and I discuss:
Steve’s Reflections:
Note: there are 12 candidates running for mayor. You can learn about all of them by visiting The City of London’s list of candidates.
Rogers tv Mayoral Debate:
Moderator Christine Taleski and veteran Journalist Bob Smith joined me this past Saturday to provide comment and analysis on The Loon’s Matt Brown Podcast. You can listen to that episode here.
And you can catch the entire 90 minute debate regularly on Rogers tv channel 13 or watch it on Rogers tv’s YouTube Channel here.
The Urban League’s All Candidate Meetings are still taking place across London:
You can learn more about these meeting here.
Rogers Television will be broadcasting each of them regularly as election day approaches. The Loon has been thrilled to partner with the Urban League this year - we wrote many of the questions and have been helping to promote the events. For a grass roots, not-for-profit, volunteer led organization, they really have gone above and beyond with this initiative.
All 14 Ward All-Candidate Meetings will soon be available on the Rogers tv YouTube channel. In the meantime, here are the meetings you can watch now:
Advance Polls:
Thursday, October 8th & Saturday, October 10th
Beacock Library, 1280 Huron St
Cherryhill Library, 301 Oxford St W
East Lions Community Centre, 1731 Churchill Ave
Masonville Library, 30 North Centre Rd
Sherwood Library, 1225 Wonderland Rd N
South London Community Centre, 1119 Jalna Blvd
StarTech.com Community Centre, 501 Southdale Rd W
Today - Monday, October 5th, through Saturday, October 10th
City Hall, Committee Room 5, 300 Dufferin Ave
What’s Happening in London this week?:
Music & Concerts:
Canada Life Place
Tuesday, October 6 — Bring Me The Horizon, with Motionless In White and The Plot In You.
At Rum Runners or London Music Hall
Tuesday, October 6 — Almost Monday
Thursday, October 8 — Buffalo Traffic Jam: Pictures of You Tour
Friday, October 9 — Nora En Pure
Friday, October 9 — Awake & Dreaming: The Inevitable Tour
At Centennial Hall
Friday, October 9 — The Carpenters Songbook: A Live Celebration
At the weekend:
Rum Runners
Saturday, October 10 — Grafix at System Saturdays
The Beer Kitchen - Kellogg Lane
Saturday, October 10 — Allison Brown & Dan Henshall
Side Launch Brewing – London Beer Garden.
Sunday, October 11 — Warm & Fuzzy Fest ft. Joel Plaskett
Festivals & Community Events:
October 2–31 — Pumpkins After Dark
Running throughout the week at Storybook Gardens. This is the major ongoing seasonal attraction during this period.October 8–11 — Oktober Fall Fest: Week Three
Beer Kitchen at 100 Kellogg Lane. Tourism London lists the event as running Thursday through Sunday.Thursday, October 8 — SOUPer Bowl 2026
The Grove. Tourism London lists it as a special/fundraising event.Sunday, October 11 — Warm & Fuzzy Fest ft. Joel Plaskett
Side Launch Brewing – London Beer Garden.
Film & Cinema:
Hyland Cinema:
Friday, October 9 — Scream 2
Saturday–Sunday, October 10–11 — Monster House
October 10–14 — The Craft
Sports
Canada Life Place.
Friday, October 9 — London Knights vs. Erie Otters
Sponsor Highlight: Hamilton Road BIA
Thanks, as always, to our show sponsor, Hamilton Road BIA. Through advocacy, investment, beautification and promotion, the BIA works to strengthen the Hamilton Road community while celebrating the rich history and diversity that make the area unique.
Buckle Up is Sponsored by Hamilton Road BIA
www.hamroad.com
Supporting independent local journalism in our community
The Loon (London Ontario Online News) lineup
New content every day.
We’ve teamed up to send you a new feature every weekday:
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown
SPONSORED BY HAMILTON ROAD BIATuesday - Tours with Cedric Richards
SPONSORED BY LONDON BICYCLE CAFÉWednesday - City Hall Notes by Mike Donachie
SPONSORED BY SPERO LAWThursday - the Forest City Arts and Culture Roundup by Diana Tamblyn
SPONSORED BY DOWNTOWN LONDONFriday - Reflections with Steve Cordes
SPONSORED BY OLD EAST VILLAGE BIA
Also on Fridays: the local news ROUNDUP.
Every other Saturday: The Matt Brown Podcast. It’s the show about all things local, and maybe some other stuff too. (SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE.)
If you’ve been following what we’ve been up to here at The Loon you’ll know that we are bringing together London voices to deliver fresh content each weekday. Through podcasts, articles, video features, and in-depth analysis, we cover the civic decisions, local issues, arts and culture, and community stories that matter most.
Thank you to everyone who has already taken out a paid subscription to support this work. If that’s not you just yet, you can help too. A subscription to The Loon gives you more than news - it gives you the insight to understand your city better while helping sustain independent local journalism for the future. If you’re not in a position to take out a paid subscription, that’s okay too, we’re glad you’re here with us. And, everyone - you can help by following and sharing The Loon, far and wide - with your family, neighbours, colleagues and friends.
