diff --git a/doc/api/api_changes/2017-08_TAC.rst b/doc/api/api_changes/2017-08_TAC.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..31e55c977c84
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/api/api_changes/2017-08_TAC.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+:meth:`matpltolib.cbook.CallbackRegistry.process` suppresses exceptions by default
+``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
+
+Matplotlib uses instances of :obj:`~matplotlib.cbook.CallbackRegistry`
+as a bridge between user input event from the GUI and user callbacks.
+Previously, any exceptions raised in a user call back would bubble out
+of of the ``process`` method, which is typically in the GUI event
+loop.  Most GUI frameworks simple print the traceback to the screen
+and continue as there is not always a clear method of getting the
+exception back to the user.  However PyQt5 now exits the process when
+it receives and un-handled python exception in the event loop.  Thus,
+:meth:`~matplotlib.cbook.CallbackRegistry.process` now suppresses and
+prints tracebacks to stderr by default.
+
+What :meth:`~matplotlib.cbook.CallbackRegistry.process` does with exceptions
+is now user configurable via the ``exception_handler`` attribute and kwarg.  To
+restore the previous behavior pass ``None`` ::
+
+  cb = CallbackRegistry(exception_handler=None)
+
+
+A function which take and ``Exception`` as its only argument may also be passed ::
+
+  def maybe_reraise(exc):
+      if isinstance(exc, RuntimeError):
+          pass
+      else:
+          raise exc
+
+  cb = CallbackRegistry(exception_handler=maybe_reraise)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
index 423319df6d43..80dfc8551c01 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
@@ -249,9 +249,12 @@ def __hash__(self):
         return self._hash
 
 
+def _exception_printer(exc):
+    traceback.print_exc()
+
+
 class CallbackRegistry(object):
-    """
-    Handle registering and disconnecting for a set of signals and
+    """Handle registering and disconnecting for a set of signals and
     callbacks:
 
         >>> def oneat(x):
@@ -286,8 +289,29 @@ class CallbackRegistry(object):
     functions).  This technique was shared by Peter Parente on his
     `"Mindtrove" blog
     <http://mindtrove.info/python-weak-references/>`_.
+
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    exception_handler : callable, optional
+       If provided must have signature ::
+
+          def handler(exc: Exception) -> None:
+
+       If not None this function will be called with any `Exception`
+       subclass raised by the callbacks in `CallbackRegistry.process`.
+       The handler may either consume the exception or re-raise.
+
+       The callable must be pickle-able.
+
+       The default handler is ::
+
+          def h(exc):
+              traceback.print_exc()
+
     """
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self, exception_handler=_exception_printer):
+        self.exception_handler = exception_handler
         self.callbacks = dict()
         self._cid = 0
         self._func_cid_map = {}
@@ -301,10 +325,10 @@ def __init__(self):
     # http://bugs.python.org/issue12290).
 
     def __getstate__(self):
-        return True
+        return {'exception_handler': self.exception_handler}
 
     def __setstate__(self, state):
-        self.__init__()
+        self.__init__(**state)
 
     def connect(self, s, func):
         """
@@ -365,6 +389,13 @@ def process(self, s, *args, **kwargs):
                     proxy(*args, **kwargs)
                 except ReferenceError:
                     self._remove_proxy(proxy)
+                # this does not capture KeyboardInterrupt, SystemExit,
+                # and GeneratorExit
+                except Exception as exc:
+                    if self.exception_handler is not None:
+                        self.exception_handler(exc)
+                    else:
+                        raise
 
 
 class silent_list(list):
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
index 7e9f845e3548..f254b173c1ae 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
@@ -262,6 +262,45 @@ def test_pickling(self):
                        "callbacks")
 
 
+def raising_cb_reg(func):
+    class TestException(Exception):
+        pass
+
+    def raising_function():
+        raise RuntimeError
+
+    def transformer(excp):
+        if isinstance(excp, RuntimeError):
+            raise TestException
+        raise excp
+
+    # default behavior
+    cb = cbook.CallbackRegistry()
+    cb.connect('foo', raising_function)
+
+    # old default
+    cb_old = cbook.CallbackRegistry(exception_handler=None)
+    cb_old.connect('foo', raising_function)
+
+    # filter
+    cb_filt = cbook.CallbackRegistry(exception_handler=transformer)
+    cb_filt.connect('foo', raising_function)
+
+    return pytest.mark.parametrize('cb, excp',
+                                   [[cb, None],
+                                    [cb_old, RuntimeError],
+                                    [cb_filt, TestException]])(func)
+
+
+@raising_cb_reg
+def test_callbackregistry_process_exception(cb, excp):
+    if excp is not None:
+        with pytest.raises(excp):
+            cb.process('foo')
+    else:
+        cb.process('foo')
+
+
 def test_sanitize_sequence():
     d = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}
     k = ['a', 'b', 'c']