Main Street Markham's calendar from now to the end of November has six events spread across eight dates. Five of the events fall on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., one of them a museum workshop that repeats over five Saturdays, and the sixth is a Friday night that runs until 11 p.m. Those are almost exactly the hours Metrolinx pulled back on the Stouffville GO line this fall. For Hampton Green, at McCowan Road and Raymerville Drive, that changes how you get to the season. On paper, Markham GO is one stop past Centennial and sits right on the main street. This year, though, the dependable way there is the bus along Highway 7.
Metrolinx announced on August 31 that it was adjusting service on the Stouffville, Barrie and both Lakeshore lines. It gave three reasons: lower demand after the summer, a shortage of train crews after the FIFA ridership surge, and a chance to do track work on the Barrie and Stouffville corridors. Rush-hour service is unchanged, and the agency expects the interim schedule to last until spring 2027.
On the Stouffville line, the cuts hit weekends and late evenings. The Stouffville Review reported on September 3, 2026 that six weekday evening trips were removed, including the 11 p.m. and midnight departures from Union Station. It also reported that from September 12 there would be no weekend train service until after 3 p.m. York Region's coverage lists the removed weekday trains at 9 p.m., 9:25 p.m., 10 p.m., 10:25 p.m., 11 p.m. and 12:01 a.m. It describes the weekend change differently, saying the every-two-hours weekend trains between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. were eliminated. The two outlets disagree on the exact hours, but both describe much less weekend rail on this line until spring. Metrolinx points riders to GO Bus Route 71 when trains aren't running.
This matters for Main Street Markham because of where the station sits. Markham GO is at 214 Main Street North, on the main street itself, and it's the next Stouffville line stop after Centennial GO. For most of the year, that one-stop link is the easy way from Hampton Green to the village. This fall, the trains that would make it easy aren't running at the hours you'd need them.
Here's the full season with each date matched to the rail picture.
| Date | Event | Hours | Stouffville rail at that time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Final Main Street Markham Farmers' Market | 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Weekend, before 3 p.m. |
| Saturdays, Oct. 24 to Nov. 21 | Markham Museum family ornament workshop | 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. | Weekend, mostly before 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Trick-or-Treat on Main Street | Noon to 2 p.m. | Weekend, before 3 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Remembrance Day ceremonies | 9 a.m. to noon | Weekend, before 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | 41st Annual Festival of Lights | 5:30 to 11 p.m. | Weekday evening, late trips trimmed |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Santa Claus Parade | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Weekend, before 3 p.m. |
None of these dates falls inside the weekday rush hours that Metrolinx kept intact. The season sits almost entirely in the hours the rail schedule gave up.
Highway 7 links the two ends of this trip. York Region Transit's route map for Viva Purple, Route 603, shows both a McCowan stop and a Main St Markham stop, and lists service Monday to Sunday and holidays. YRT Route 1, Highway 7, also runs seven days a week and holidays. Its eastbound stop list runs from stop 9751 at Highway 7 and McCowan to stop 9753 at Highway 7 and Main Markham.
Before you count on either bus, check the timing. YRT's September 6 changes are in effect now, and its next round of service changes takes effect November 1, 2026. That's before the Festival of Lights and the parade. Run the YRT Trip Planner with the actual event date and time once November schedules are posted.
The farmers' market closes for the year on Saturday, October 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's held in the Guardian Pharmacy parking lot at Main and Robinson, and the BIA gives 101 Main Street North for directions. Keep that lot in mind, because it comes up again in November.
Three weeks later, Trick-or-Treat on Main Street runs Saturday, October 31, from noon to 2 p.m., with local businesses handing out treats. The two hours finish well before any 3 p.m. weekend train. A Highway 7 bus or the car is the realistic plan for an outing with costumed kids.
Markham Museum, at 9350 Markham Road, sits off Main Street but runs on the same Saturday rhythm. Its Slab Building Ornament Workshop, for ages 4 and up, runs October 24 and 31 and November 7, 14 and 21, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and families make holiday ornaments. The museum's Halloween pottery workshops took place on September 26 and October 3, so that part of its fall program is already over.
Remembrance Day is the date where the Highway 7 corridor and the event location overlap. The Markham District Veterans Association lists 2026 ceremonies at Markham Veterans Square and Cenotaph on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. It says times and meet-up details will be posted later. The cenotaph's address is 6031 Highway 7 East. In 2025, Main Street was closed from Highway 7 to Centre Street, and Washington Street over the same stretch, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. No 2026 closure notice has been posted yet.
The 41st Annual Festival of Lights is on Friday, November 27, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. The BIA lists the Christmas tree lighting, live entertainment and family activities. The late end time is the reason to plan the trip home. The festival is still going during the hours when the Stouffville line lost its weekday evening trips this fall.
The BIA hasn't posted a 2026 layout yet. Last year's version shows how the evening is usually set up, but treat it as last year, not this year. In 2025, the festival ran along Main Street between Highway 7 and Bullock Drive. Santa arrived at 8 p.m. at the Holiday Stage beside the Guardian Pharmacy parking lot, the same lot as the farmers' market, and the tree lighting and fireworks followed at 8:15. There was also an artificial skating rink in the side parking lot of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, with free skate and helmet rentals. Voluntary donations went to the Markham Food Bank. Main Street was closed between Highway 7 and Bullock Drive from 2 to 11 p.m. that day. In other words, last year the whole street was closed to cars for most of the day.
The Santa Claus Parade runs the next morning, Saturday, November 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with floats, entertainers and bands. The 2026 listing doesn't give a route. In 2025, the parade ran along Main Street from Highway 7 to 16th Avenue. Main Street was closed from Highway 7 to Edward Jeffreys Drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with no parking on Main Street. If 2026 follows a similar pattern, driving onto Main Street is out from early morning. The parade is also over before any weekend train is reported to run. That leaves the Highway 7 bus as the most practical way to get there.
The trip is easier to plan once you know where you'll sit down. The newest name on the street is Café Inspire at 144 Main Street Markham North. Hello Markham reported in June 2026 that the former Inspire Restaurant, which closed in 2025, was coming back as a coffee, tea and pastry café. Its own site now lists it as open Wednesday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. midweek, serving specialty espresso. That covers every Saturday on the calendar above.
The Duchess of Markham, at 53 Main Street North, has been open since 1980. Co-owner Paul Cicchini told York Region that the menu was reworked in January 2025, adding Pad Thai, a Greek chicken bowl and steak penne. The wing recipe came decades ago from Louis Nemis, owner of Bistro on Avenue Road.
On Monday and Tuesday wing nights, Cicchini told York Region, "expect lineups."
Folco's Ristorante, at 42 Main Street North, is a family-run spot known for handmade pasta, and the founders' children now run it. Love Gelato, at 116 Main Street, makes its gelato in house and also serves sandwiches. If you arrive by bus before the Festival of Lights starts at 5:30, there's time for dinner at one of these first, so you aren't counting on the late-evening schedule for both legs of the night.
Hampton Green sits on the stretch of Highway 7 that connects CF Markville to Main Street Markham, and this fall that corridor matters more than usual. If you're thinking about what a location like this offers, or what your own unit is worth, the team at Walker Parker Real Estate knows these buildings and the streets around them well. Book a Consultation and we'll walk you through the details.
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