Local busy-days calendar

How it works

1. 1 Say what kind of business you run, where in Waterloo Region you are, and whether students come by.
2. 2 Paint your usual week: drag over the hours you're open and mark them busy, steady or quiet.
3. 3 Go through the dates that change it, from Oktoberfest and exams to Diwali and long weekends, and mark each one busier, quieter, closed or as usual. Start from our guesses if you like.
4. 4 Print the year on one sheet, work through the to-dos before each date, send your team a heads-up, or add it all to your calendar.

Free, with no account. Everything happens on this page: nothing you mark is sent anywhere, and your calendar is kept on this device only if you tick Remember.

Good to know

Where do the dates come from?

From the people who set them. Campus dates come from the University of Waterloo, Laurier and Conestoga calendars, school dates from the Waterloo Region District School Board and Ontario's school-year calendar, festivals from their organisers, and Jewish dates from Hebcal. Each date links to its source. They were checked on 8 October 2026, and anything the organiser hadn't confirmed says “(verify)”, so check it before you plan around it.

Why does it guess?

The same date lands differently on different shops: exam season empties a café near campus and barely touches a florist in St. Jacobs. The guesses start from your kind of business, your area and whether students come by, to save you taps. They aren't a forecast. Anything you mark replaces the guess, and you can turn them off.

Why are faith dates never guessed?

Because you know your customers and we don't. Diwali, Ramadan, Eid, Hanukkah, Passover and the rest are listed so you can mark them if they matter to your trade. Dates that follow the moon can move by a day once they're sighted, so they say “(verify)”.

Which holidays close stores?

Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act closes most stores that sell goods on nine days: New Year's Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Restaurants and some small stores are exempt, and towns can allow stores to open by by-law. Check Ontario's page on retail business holidays for your town and your kind of business. This is a guide, not legal advice.

What does my usual week change?

The planner shades every day by how busy that weekday usually is and hatches the days you're closed, so you can see at a glance when a busy date lands on an already busy Saturday, or a closed one on a day you'd be shut anyway.

How do the reminders work?

Each marked date brings a few to-dos, timed back from the day: staffing three weeks ahead, stock or an offer two weeks ahead, hours and signs ten days ahead, a post five days ahead, and prep the day before. The calendar file puts them in your phone's calendar with an alert at 9 that morning, and a newer file updates the same events in most calendar apps rather than doubling them (verify for yours).

Is anything sent or stored?

No. Your week, your marks and your own dates stay in this tab, and the calendar file is made right here. Remember keeps them only in this browser, and you can untick it to forget them.