Our Story

Started in 2016, The Hespeler Village Market is an urban farmers market that focuses on the importance of building community connections and supporting local businesses. Village Market vendors represent a diverse mix of local food, artisan crafts and information booths for charities, not-for-profits and community groups. We focus on integrating the entire community into our Friday night market.

The market runs on Fridays from 3 pm-7:30 pm / June 2 - September 29 for the 2023 season.

Hespeler. 

Hespeler is a historic town located on the Speed River in southwestern Ontario. Its history dates back to 1784 when land was acquired from the Six Nations.

The town of Hespeler was originally called Bergeytown and then New Hope. In 1845 Jacob Hespeler arrived and purchased 145 acres of land on the Speed River. Subsequently, the settlement of New Hope was incorporated as the village of Hespeler in 1859. This was possible due to the arrival of the Great Western Railway to New Hope on its route from Galt to Guelph. As the village grew is was incorporated as a town in 1901.

Historically Hespeler has had a strong industrial base starting with a grist mill, a distillery and a textile mill followed by a foundry, a bathtub manufacturer, appliance manufacturing and the famous Hespeler hockey stick factory.

In 1973 Hespeler joined with Preston and Galt to form Cambridge as part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Since that time Hespeler has continued to grow, adding a number of businesses and residential neighbourhoods. It is this growth and the continuing development of the downtown core that has driven the establishment of the Hespeler Village Market.

The market is located in the downtown core of Hespeler, also known as the Village on the River, on the property of the old town hall and on the main street (Queen St). The Hespeler core contains a variety of business including several restaurants, shops, and services. The market is within walking distance of attractions such as the Fashion History Museum.