The heat is here, summer plans are filling up, and next weekend’s Ribfest is one you’ll want to have on the calendar now.

This week also has World Cup games on the big screen at Celebration Square, a rooftop day party by the lake, a Square One pop-up for fandom shoppers, and a few good local food stops if you want dinner to do the heavy lifting.

Let’s get into it!

A few months ago, The Weekly Sauga was a brand-new newsletter. Thanks to thousands of readers like you, it has quickly grown into a local media business.

Now, we’re growing the team.

We’re hiring a part-time Media Operations Coordinator to help with newsletter writing, local research, social media content, sponsor campaigns, and day-to-day operations.

It’s a hands-on opportunity for an organized student or early-career candidate interested in media, journalism, marketing, or entrepreneurship.

Remote · $23/hour · 8 hours per week to start

Know a student, friend, or family member who might be a great fit? Send this their way.

Applications close Sunday, July 5 at 11:59 p.m.

View the Role and Apply

📅 Friday, July 10 to Sunday, July 12 | 📍 Erin Mills Town Centre

Ribfest is the one to circle now, not next Friday when everyone starts asking what the plan is.

The three-day BBQ weekend brings six rib teams, live music, family fun, ribs, chicken, sausages, and festival eats to Erin Mills Town Centre. It’s casual, filling, and easy to do with kids, friends, parents, or anyone who thinks dinner should come with a little smoke in the air.

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📅 Thursday, July 2 to Sunday, July 19 | 📍 Celebration Square

If your family has been following the World Cup, the Square is the easiest place to make the games feel alive.

Tonight has Spain vs. Austria, Portugal vs. Croatia, and Switzerland vs. Algeria on the big screens. Friday brings Australia vs. Egypt, Argentina vs. Cabo Verde, and Colombia vs. Ghana. By the weekend, it’s Round of 16 time.

Go for the crowd, the big-screen moments, and the feeling that half the city is watching the same kick at the same time.

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📅 Saturday, July 4 | 📍 Bar Soho

Saturday afternoon gets a proper rooftop plan in Port Credit.

Bar Soho is hosting The Perch, a summer day party with DJs, cocktails, and a rooftop patio setup made for a group that wants music before dinner instead of a late night. Expect Afro, Latin, and house music from 2 to 7 p.m.

Tickets are listed at $10, so this is an easy one to lock in if your weekend needs something sunny and social.

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📅 Until Sunday, July 12 | 📍 Square One

If you’ve got an ALIEN STAGE fan at home, Square One is where they’ll want to go this week.

The pop-up has exclusive merch, themed displays, activities, and a limited registration gift window through Sunday.

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📅 Saturday, July 4 | 📍 River Grove Community Centre

This is a simple Saturday morning plan if you want to get moving before the day gets too hot.

The ride explores Streetsville roads and trails, with 8 km and 16 km route options. It’s family-friendly, free, and a good excuse to see the village from a bike instead of a car window.

Bring water and go early.

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📅 Friday, July 3 to Sunday, September 6 | 📍 Streetsville, Cooksville & Port Credit

Free outdoor music is back for the summer.

The series starts this weekend and runs Fridays in Streetsville Village Square, Saturdays at Cooksville Four Corners, and Sundays at Port Credit Memorial Park. It’s a low-cost way to make an evening feel like a plan, especially if you pair it with dinner or dessert nearby.

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Looking for a fun, enriching summer activity for your child in Mississauga?

If you're already hearing the familiar "I'm bored!" or looking for ways to balance screen time with something educational and engaging, music lessons may be the perfect solution.

One local program worth considering is Mississauga Fine Arts Academy, Mississauga's largest private music school, serving over 700 students each week. Their year-round music programs help children stay active, creative, and learning throughout the summer months.

Beyond being genuinely fun, lessons keep kids engaged while school's out and quietly build focus, memory, coordination and confidence, with a healthy break from screens built in. And because scheduling stays flexible, they slot in neatly around camps and vacations.

Right now, new students get a free Summer Music Lesson Pack worth $110. That covers free registration and a free first lesson, a $25 music retail certificate, an MFAA water bottle and frisbee, plus instrument-specific gifts and learning materials to get started.

Curious what other parents think? It's worth seeing why so many local families come back year after year.

Prefer to talk it through first? Call/Text 905-276-0251

📍 4099 Erin Mills Pkwy

Last week, we introduced you to Chef Aleem Syed, the chef behind THG’s Hot Chicken. This week, it’s all about the food.

For your first THG’s run, Hot Box Combo 3 is the move: two Nashville hot sliders, one jumbo tender and hot fries. It lets you try a slider, taste the chicken on its own and still get a pile of fries underneath.

Each slider starts with a jumbo tender fried until crisp on the outside and tender through the middle, topped off with cheese, pickles, slaw and THG’s tangy comeback sauce. The pickles and slaw cut through the richness of the cheese and sauce, pulling the whole bite together.

Then there’s the Dirty Mac ’n’ Cheese: cheesy mac topped with chicken tenders and green onion. It is exactly the kind of side that can steal the show.

Pick your heat level, then add their ice-cold, house-made lemonade to cool things down between bites.

THG’s brings together serious crunch, bold sauces and loaded sides. It is unapologetic comfort food made with the precision of a classically trained chef.

Aleem poured years of training, hard work and determination into THG’s. And it comes through in every bite.

📍 40 Dundas Street West, Unit 6

Chapli Kabob is a Cooksville Afghan spot for a filling plate that doesn’t need much explaining once it hits the table.

Go for the namesake chapli kabob, a spiced ground-meat patty with crisp edges, or build a meal around half chicken chirga, lamb shank, chicken kofta, bolanee stuffed flatbread, and mantoo dumplings. Add naan, rice, and doogh if you want the full comfort-food route.

It’s a good call for a casual family dinner, takeout night, or one of those meals where everyone wants meat, rice, bread, and sauces.

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📍 2500 Hurontario St.

King Asian is a Cooksville Chinese restaurant for comfort takeout, family plates, and the kind of meal that works when nobody wants to cook.

The menu leans Szechuan and Cantonese, with wonton soup, dumplings, General Tao chicken, fried rice, noodles, and saucy mains that travel well. It’s especially handy when you want a big order for the table instead of everyone choosing separate meals.

Order a few shareable dishes, add soup, and let dinner be easy.

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Veterans and active Canadian Armed Forces members can now ride MiWay for free year-round with valid proof of service.

That makes local trips cheaper for people heading to work, appointments, services, community events, or just around the city.

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Mississauga has approved stronger rules for renters facing redevelopment or major renovation issues.

The updated rental housing rules are meant to help protect affordable rental units, while a separate renovation licensing by-law starts September 1. For renters in older buildings, this is one of the more important housing updates to watch this year.

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The city is applying for major infrastructure funding that could help move forward five big projects.

The list includes a new transit maintenance facility, a downtown transit hub, community centre and library projects in Mississauga Valley and Cooksville, and road work tied to future housing growth.

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Mississauga has approved a new action plan for the local arts, culture, heritage, and creative sector.

The simple version: artists and arts groups want better access to spaces, more events, easier ways to run creative projects, and better support getting in front of local audiences.

That matters if you want a city with more shows, festivals, galleries, creative spaces, and local talent getting seen.

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IDEA Mississauga and YSpace are accepting applications for EmpowHER Tech Launchpad, a 12-week accelerator for women-led product and technology companies.

It includes mentorship, workshops, and pitch support. Applications close July 12.

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The goal is simple: make it easier to know what's happening around Mississauga and prove our city is more interesting than people think.

See you Tuesday!

— Will