General Arts and Culture News

[dtkvictim]

It is only a 30-minute bike ride from downtown Kitchener. I have frequently biked past there over the past 22 years, though I never got around to visiting the heritige village and only visited the Museum once, when it first opened. I don't see being in the suburbs something that would keep people away, especially for the car addicted.

I think it's a bigger pain to get to without a car than you are giving credit for. But you're completely right that most of the city has a car and the location is not a deterrence for them. In fact, being somewhere like downtown would probably be a bigger deterrence for them.

[SF22]

Yeah, the museum might not exist if the suburban location with ideal property, already holding a heritage institution, had not been pre-existing. It is unfortunate that it's on an arterial road with poor transit access, especially now that more of the population is moving on from cars.

There had been a consideration of adding a bus stop closer by, but our legendary regional traffic engineers wouldn't permit a pedestrian crossing to allow stops in both directions, so another unfortunate reality.

There has thankfully been a really extensive MUT installed along Homer Watson that is significantly separated from the road that passes right in front of the museum - it goes from about Ottawa/Homer Watson roundabout all the way down to New Dundee Rd/the Conestoga College campus entrance. That's 8km+ of continuous MUT that connects to a bunch of other trails/bike paths along the way. Don't get me wrong, it's potentially a really long ride for a novice cyclist, but there's some decent connectivity there!

[Acitta]

City partners with Toronto’s Caribana Arts Group to bring CaribanaTM Ignite to Kitchener

[tomh009]

City partners with Toronto’s Caribana Arts Group to bring CaribanaTM Ignite to Kitchener

That's great! Really looking forward to that (and the food vendors)!

[nms]

Another shot across the bow in the Kitchener vs Waterloo cultural landscape.  The Waterloo Buskers Carnival runs August 22 to 25, 2024.

Also, was it lazy copy and paste that promoted the superscript "TM" to a regular sized TM in the press release?

[tomh009]

Another shot across the bow in the Kitchener vs Waterloo cultural landscape.  The Waterloo Buskers Carnival runs August 22 to 25, 2024.

Two weeks after the Blues festival, and three weeks after the main Caribana event. My assumptions are that (1) Caribana wants to do the Ignite after their main event, and that Kitchener didn't want to big events on consecutive weekends. So, it ended up at 23-24 August.

[bravado]

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...er-8605759

Despite their lack of taste in parking garage architecture, the Gaslight people continue to do 100x more work creating fun public spaces than city hall.

[Acitta]

https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...er-8605759

Despite their lack of taste in parking garage architecture, the Gaslight people continue to do 100x more work creating fun public spaces than city hall.

I will never go there again for any event after the shitshow of the Walk Off the Earth event. The space is too small for large crowds and the buildings block anyone who doesn't manage to get in from seeing and hearing anything.

[nms]

The event is called Fest2Fall and the headliners include Bahamas and Tim Baker on Thursday and The Beaches and JJ Wilde on Friday.

[Acitta]

Kitchener kicks off summer events season at WelcomeFest

Posted on Monday, April 29, 2024

As the weather gets warmer and days get longer, the sounds of summer festivals, drinks on patios, and weekend celebrations across the city add a buzz to the air – but Kitchener residents anxious for the first big outdoor event of the year won’t have long to wait! The City of Kitchener, Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, and the Downtown Kitchener BIA are excited to launch the 2024 summer events season in style at WelcomeFest, coming to Downtown Kitchener May 24 and 25.

“Kitchener residents love being outside in the summer months and get excited about all the awesome events that take place in Downtown Kitchener and throughout our community,” said Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic. “The vibrancy and energy of our city that comes to life in the warm-weather months inspires us in planning a busy calendar of events, and I am sure that both residents and visitors alike are going to feel as excited as we are as we kick off another season of great events!”

Starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 24, the celebration will launch with a free concert in the heart of downtown. Carl Zehr Square will come alive with music from our headliner, Country singer-songwriter Alli Walker; timeless chart-topping hits delivered by The 99’s; Caribbean jazz ensemble Saint O; UN Jefferson; and The Golden Keys. Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic will announce the City of Kitchener’s 2024 events and festival season, accompanied by a keg tapping from K-W Oktoberfest. Food by ChefD and a licensed bar area will also be on-site all evening.

“We are super excited to host WelcomeFest in Downtown Kitchener this year,” shared Tracy Van Kalsbeek, Executive Director of K-W Oktoberfest. “The festival is free to attend, and we have an incredible line-up of local entertainment. Not to mention all the great activations happening on Saturday with the BIA’s Palette x Palate – there’s something for everyone!”

The festivities will continue Saturday, May 25 with the Downtown Kitchener BIA’s Palette x Palate festival. Celebrating local arts, culture, and food, this brand-new event kicks off the season with a fantastic celebration of summer, delicious eats and creativity, where every brushstroke, note and flavour adds to the palette of our community's identity.

"We are thrilled to present Palette x Palate as an opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate the warmer weather through the creativity, diversity, and vitality of Downtown Kitchener," said Linda Jutzi, Executive Director of the Downtown Kitchener BIA. "This event encapsulates the essence of what makes our downtown unique – art, culture, and culinary experiences."

WelcomeFest is free to attend and open to all ages. Come celebrate the season with your community and help get the party started! To learn more about WelcomeFest and plan your weekend of fun, visit kitchener.ca/WelcomeFest and welcomefestkw.ca.

[panamaniac]

I had occasion to go to the Conrad Centre on Saturday night to see Green Light Arts production of "Late Company", a play about the suicide of a trans teen .  Local theatre company, Canadian play (75 minutes, no intermission).  It was worth seeing and runs until May 26th.

I just wanted to encourage forumers to take in this play - this sort of thing needs local support to thrive.  Seats are priced at $20 - $40.

With the KWSO now (or for now?) a memory and themuseum in trouble (again), folks need to keep supporting local arts.  It really does make a difference to the quality of life in K-W.

[nms]

As someone who hosts local arts events and who attends local arts events, what are your go to sources for information about upcoming events? Alex Kinsella's TL:WR and CBC KW's "Kate's 5 Things" are my usual sources.  I also usually end up seeing what other people did the day after the event on various social media platforms.

[Acitta]

As someone who hosts local arts events and who attends local arts events, what are your go to sources for information about upcoming events? Alex Kinsella's TL:WR and CBC KW's "Kate's 5 Things" are my usual sources.  I also usually end up seeing what other people did the day after the event on various social media platforms.

There is the Social Kindred app. Most things are announced on Facebook, so I subscribe to events on there and they show up on my calendar.

[KevinL]

Cambridge's library system is returning the word 'Library' to it s name. https://www.cambridgetoday.ca/local-news...nd-9345372

It rebranded a decade ago to the 'Idea Exchange'; a dynamic and aspirational name, sure, but also a confusing one.

[ac3r]

Yeah. I like the IdeaExchange name, but it doesn't imply a library. Not that I would think people are incapable of realizing it is, but yeah...