J&J CELEBRATES 35 YEARS
A childhood love of collecting and trading sports cards inspired Jason Schill and his brother Jim Schill to turn their hobby into a business. This month, they are celebrating 35 years of operating J&J Cards & Collectibles in Waterloo. The business has grown from sports cards to become the region’s go-to spot for everything from board games and Dungeons & Dragons to puzzles and card […]
https://www.communityedition.ca/jj-celebrates-35-years/
KWARTZLAB PROVIDES MEMBERS ACCESS TO INVALUABLE TOOLS
Hobbies can quickly become expensive, especially if it’s one that requires specialized tools like a laser cutter or full-size floor loom. But what if you did not have to buy those tools or find space in your basement for them?
That is the mission of Kwartzlab, a volunteer-led maker space located at 145 Bedford Rd. in Kitchener. Kwartzlab offers monthly memberships for $59 plus HST, which provides 24/7 access to the space’s wood, metal, textile, and pottery shops and tools.
Kwartzlab opened in 2009 inside the Boehmer Box building on Duke St., before moving to a space near Kent St. and Charles St.
Sarah Jones, Kwartzlab’s president, said the idea for the space came from a group of people who wanted to get together and build things.
“It was very much a hacker type of place, and some of those people are still members today,” Jones said.
“I used to have to tape every wooden corner because they would catch my sweater. Our metal, wood and welding shops would fit into one room here,” she said.
Kwartzlab moved the space on Bedford Rd. in 2019, and has taken over additional space since to add a textile area with looms and knitting machines. Today, it offers 9,000 square feet of space to its 230 members.
The membership base includes individuals and some small businesses. Jones said they have chosen to offer a single membership rate rather than a tier-based system.
“There’s a fundamental belief [that] we don’t want businesses to pay more and then suddenly feel like they have more privileges. We often get asked about student rates and things like that, but honestly, our rates are so much lower than any other maker space that it’s kind of hard to lower it any more,” Jones said.
In addition to memberships, Kwartzlab does offer rental spaces for members who need to store items onsite or for private workspaces.
“Membership pays for the lights on, and then studios end up paying for all the extra tools that we want to buy,” she said.
The general public can experience the Kwartzlab space at its Tuesday Open Nights, monthly mending and repair drop-ins, or at member-led workshops. At the Tuesday Open Nights, non-members can come to Kwartzlab and use general tools like sewing machines or hand drills. Specialized tools like the laser cutter or CNC machine are reserved for members.
“So, if you have something to sew and you want to just borrow a sewing machine, you could come in and do that. We’ve had in the past somebody who came in every Tuesday for two months and sewed a shirt,” Jones said.
As the space approaches its 20th anniversary and begins planning for its next chapter, Jones said accessibility is the top priority, whether that means staying on Bedford Rd. or finding somewhere new.
“That last move was chaotic. We lost members, we burned out the rest. We’re already planning ahead for how we manage it better this time,” Jones said.
Regardless of the space or the tools, Jones said what makes Kwartzlab work is the people and a willingness to try something new.
“Here it’s okay to not know everything. You can say, ‘I’ve never rewired an outlet, could somebody show me?’ And somebody will. I joke that we’re all weird around here. You just want the right kind of weird,” she said.
#AlexKinsella #arts #communityCollective #hobby #kwartzlab #LocalArt #rove #SarahJones #StudioSpace #Tools #weaving
KWLOT: NEIGHBOURS WORKING TOGETHER
When people think of a library, they largely think of books. But the KW Library of Things (KWLoT), offers tents, sewing machines, mitre saws and more.
Launched as a partnership with Extend-a-Family Waterloo Region (EAFWR) in 2018 by Wilfrid Laurier University graduate student Devon Fernandes, KWLoT’s catalogue has grown from 350 items to over 1,000 available to its 350 members.
KWLoT has four membership tiers that offer different options for the number of items that can be checked out and the length of the loan. Annual memberships range from $50 for the base to $500 for the community builder membership, which covers the cost of three base memberships for other community members.
The library was started as a school project by Fernandes, a community psychology student at Laurier working under Felix Munger in the psychology department. Fernandes was researching other community-based lending libraries and was searching for a host partner when they approached the team at EAFWR.
EAFWR supports individuals with disabilities and others who face barriers by fostering connection and inclusion throughout the community. Al Mills, executive director at EAFWR, said the organization was a willing partner for the program.
Mills said the program serves three purposes for the organization; promoting a sharing economy, providing paid and volunteer opportunities for people living with disabilities and leading a mission to be environmental stewards by keeping excess waste out of landfills.
“For many of our members, we’re giving them access to things that they either don’t have the money to afford; they don’t have a space to store it, or maybe they only need it once a year,” Mills said.
The KWLoT is managed by paid staff and volunteers, many of whom are supported by EAFWR and its programs.
While the main benefit to members is reducing the need for multiple people to purchase the same items, Kim Sproul, KWLoT program manager, said that is only part of the program’s role in environmental stewardship. KWLoT offers volunteer-led repair clinics and workshops for people in the community who want to extend the life of an item, from electronics to clothing.
“We have a local beauty of a human being named Murray Zink who works with the University of Waterloo’s UWRepairHub. He started bringing his volunteers, and you don’t just drop off your items. You sit with them as they repair it, and they’ll talk you through it and ask about the item and what it means to you,” she said.
KWLoT received a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2025 to hire additional staff as it expands its catalogue and workshops. Mills said the organization is also looking for environmentally motivated partners who can help support their work to reduce waste.
As the organization enters its eighth year, Mills said they are still guided by their belief that “we’re better off together.”
“Our goal is to be a community of belonging. KWLoT is a demonstration project of what it can be like when neighbours work together and share what they have,” Mills said.
#AlexKinsella #eafwr #fostering #kwlot #library #mills #neighbours #organize #organizing #workingTogether
SHAWERMA PLUS: lOCAL, AWARD-WINNING
Waterloo’s Shawerma Plus is growing its fanbase across Ontario with the opening of two restaurants in Mississauga and one in Port Elgin. Founded in 2012 by Asem Ghabra and Baraat Khudeir, Shawerma Plus started with a space on King St. N. before moving to its current 2,300 square foot space in University Plaza in 2016. The family opened its second location at 1111 Westmount Rd. E. about a year ago. While other shawarma chains have pursued aggressive provincial and national expansions, Jawad Ghabra, cofounder and partner at Shawerma Plus, said the brand is taking time to make sure each new restaurant meets their standards.
“We opened a few locations, and then we pulled the brake a bit to see what needs to be fixed or changed. The more locations we open, there is always a chance that we’re going to miss something with the quality, experience or culture that we bring,” Jawad said. The idea of planning the expansion of his family’s business is something Jawad said he never thought he would be doing when his father first told him about the idea for a shawarma restaurant in Jawad was living in Dubai, newly married and expecting his first child when he received a call from his father who was living in Waterloo.
“He’s always been passionate about food and catered on the side. He and my mom are amazing cooks. But I told him I didn’t recommend it because the success rate is very low. Restaurants are risky. They didn’t have the network either. But he wasn’t going to listen to any of us telling him to slow down or stop,” he said. Jawad said his father was set on opening a shawarma restaurant and spent months perfecting his recipe and looking for a space. The family is originally from Syria, and Jawad said his father had lost much of his savings when the family fled the country.
“He put all his remaining savings into the building and opening of the restaurant. That was a crazy risk, because that’s everything. There’s nothing left on the table,” Jawad said. Ghabra flew to Waterloo to help with the branding, website and the build-out of the restaurant. After returning to Dubai, the restaurant opened and, while sales were good, Asem told Jawad that he was quickly running out of capital and did not see the restaurant being open for more than a few months. With a young family and growing career in Dubai, Jawad knew that he could not let his father’s dream fail. Without being asked, he sent his father most of his savings.
“He asked why I did it, and I told him that I could tell from his voice that he didn’t want to give up. Six months down the line, he called back and said that money was gone. I genuinely remember this moment. I didn’t want them to close. I didn’t want to get into the food business. But I told my wife, ‘I’m going to quit my job and we’re gonna go to Canada’,” he said. Jawad and his family landed in Waterloo in 2013, and he quickly got to work at the restaurant, just not in the way he thought he would.
“We arrived at the restaurant and he said, ‘Jawad, go do the dishes and clean the washrooms’,” Jawad said. After giving up his life in Dubai, Jawad was stunned and asked why. His father gave him a lesson that would shape how Jawad would lead the restaurant from its original location to the growing franchise it is today.
“He said, ‘Let me ask you this, do you know how to make a shawarma? Do you know how to handle the register? Why are we even debating? Just go.’ I went. That’s how I started,” he said. “It’s been a crazy journey, and the journey is just not mine. This is the journey myself, my family, a lot of our employees, and partners have taken,” Jawad said.
An earlier version of this article stated that the restaurant moved to their University Plaza location, which is 1,000 sq. ft., in 2019. This has been corrected to 2,300 sq. ft. and 2016. It also stated that they moved to the Kitchener location in 2016, which was corrected to around a year ago.
#AlexKinsella #Business #familyBusinesses #jawanGhabra #localBusiness #localFood #portElgin #shawarma #waterlooRETRO ROLLERS ROLLS INTO KITCHENER
Waterloo Region’s first roller rink in over a decade celebrated its grand opening on Feb. 28, 2026. Retro Rollers, located at 563 Highland Rd. W. in Kitchener, offers roller skating, fitness classes, and party rooms for birthdays and company events.
Retro Rollers is the culmination of almost a decade of work for co-owners Elaine Beck and Phil Morris. The partners started the business in Wellesley in 2017, renting out the Wellesley Arena during the summer and hosting events. Shortly after, the City of London issued a request for proposals to take over management of its roller skate program.
“We got accepted and we’re still there today. We’ve done all kinds of pop-ups, private events, fundraisers and worked with roller derby teams like Tri City, Forest City and Royal City,” Beck said.
The original plan was to open a permanent roller rink, but that was delayed by the pandemic. Beck added that, while they would have liked to open sooner, the delay gave them time to build the right experience to open the Retro Rollers roller rink.
“When we look back at our original business plan, it was always to open a roller rink. Back then, the banks laughed, and they still do,” she laughed.
Saving the capital needed to open the roller rink was one thing, finding the space was another.
“We had to find a space that was big enough and the right price. We didn’t want to charge people $50 to come and roller skate,” Morris said.
“As soon as we came down here, I saw a way to take advantage of a layout that would foster both beginner skaters that are just learning and those that are really experienced,” she said.
Beck and Morris added that the landlord was great to work with and the rent made it possible to offer pricing that is accessible to as many people as possible. Retro Rollers offers three-hour sessions for $15, with skate rentals for $5. The venue is alcohol-free, a choice Beck said is for liability and for the experience.
“Roller skating releases natural dopamine, and you can burn 400 to 600 calories every hour on roller skates,” she added.
The space is nostalgic, with pinball machines, a snack bar, a DJ booth and retro-inspired murals painted by Beck and her daughter.
“We see a lot of people that turn into a kid when they put their skates on. They’re screaming and laughing—it’s amazing,” Beck said.
Morris and Beck said seeing the impact Retro Rollers is already having in the community is validation for pursuing their dream.
“We saw what was going on around us with social media and the way it was sucking everybody in. We wanted to bring people out. We’re not here to make a lot of money, but for us, the biggest paycheck at the end of the day is seeing people smile, have a good time and enjoy their lives,” Morris said.
#563HighlandRoadWest #AlexKinsella #elaineBeck #fitnessClasses #forestCity #kitchener #localBusiness #localBusinessOwner #localSports #pandemic #partyRooms #philMorris #Pinball #pinballMachines #retroRollers #rollerRink #RollerSkates #rollerSkating #royalCity #snakcBar #socialMedia #sports #triCity
CINDY WARD: ENTREPRENEUR EXTRAORDINAIRE
In a community that celebrates its innovators and business leaders, Cindy Ward’s story is one that stands out from the crowd. Ward is the founder and CEO of Dr. Ward’s Fresh Mists, a line of all-natural air, fabric and body refresher mists. The company is Ward’s first time building a consumer product brand, but it is far from the first business for the Kitchener born-and-raised entrepreneur.
Her career has included stints as an auditor, stockbroker, restaurateur, behavioural economics researcher and competitor on CBC’s Dragon’s Den and CTV’s Master Chef Canada.
“I think I have a real knack for grassroots business and invention. I love finding an idea that you want to pursue and then finding every possible creative way to get it done,” Ward said.
Ward’s first experience with entrepreneurship was in high school as part of the Junior Achievement Program. She said while most Junior Achievement companies do not earn a profit, her company did. That experience was the first taste of success that inspired her to pursue new opportunities.
“I’m just a glutton for experience and knowledge,” she said.
Ward began her career as an auditor for Revenue Canada before becoming a licensed assistant for a broker at ScotiaMcLeod Wealth Management. Her next change was becoming a small business owner with the opening of The Art Forum on Queen St. in Kitchener.
After the art store, Ward pivoted again to launch an office canteen service. While it was successful, getting up at five in the morning to prepare meals was not for her, and she sold the business. Over the next 10 years, Ward worked on a number of businesses, all while driving a taxi. It was during this period when her next opportunity presented itself.
“I’ve always wanted to own a restaurant, and then I saw that the City of Kitchener was accepting applications for the Boathouse property in Victoria Park,” she said.
Ward put together a business plan and proposal and shared it with her brother. Impressed with the plan, her brother offered her a loan to get started.
“Once my proposal was accepted by the city, I was able to open the Boathouse for less than $13,000,” Ward said.
During her run at the Boathouse, Ward became pregnant. She said that, while people have raised children in the business, it was not right for her. A lifelong student of psychology, Ward decided to return to university and pursue a degree. That turned into a nine-year journey where she earned her PhD in social psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University.
“I loved it so much, so I just kept going. You’re always learning as you go,” she said.
After graduating, Ward worked as a business consultant at a behavioural science company in Toronto advising large enterprises including Canadian Tire and the Royal Bank of Canada. She ran experiments about everything from button placement on a banking website to how to present point totals for a rewards program.
“It was an exciting time. I’d been gaining [knowledge] over the years, and then I was learning about large scale consumer demographics. I decided that I wanted to build a multinational brand, something I’d always wanted to do,” she said.
Ward started with an idea for a wooden hair stick brand but was soon inspired to take on an entirely different challenge due to her experiences wearing a mask during the pandemic.
“One of the biggest challenges of my business is how to describe it. Do I describe it as a natural cleaning product that’s also good for you, or do I describe it as aromatherapy that also cleans?” she said.
Ward pitched the business to the world on CBC’s Dragon’s Den in 2024. While she did not walk away with a deal, she did leave with new inspiration to build Waterloo Region’s small business support network. Ward noted that the pandemic showed the fragility of the local supply chain and presented an opportunity to build something stronger.
“There are no pitch opportunities for non-tech companies. We need every type of business to build a healthy economy that can take a future blow,” she said.
For Ward, the goal is bigger than selling more units of Fresh Mist. She wants to prove that physical manufacturing and small-scale entrepreneurship are just as vital to Waterloo Region as the next big app.
#AlexKinsella #CindyWard #CTV #drWardsFresh #dragonDen #masterChefCanada #restauranteur #sccotiamcleod #stockBroker #theArtForum #wardsFreshMists #wealthManagement
A SLICE OF PERFECTION
Even an extreme cold warning on a blustery January afternoon could not keep pizza lovers from grabbing a slice at Willibald Pizza in downtown Galt. The restaurant has been earning positive reviews for its food and atmosphere from residents across Waterloo Region and beyond since opening in November 2025. For head chef Brian McCourt, the warm welcome is based on more than great pizza.
The new restaurant at 135 George St. N. in Cambridge is the second location for the Willibald team.
“There’s a lot of creativity around Galt, but there wasn’t a community spot where you could come and get a few slices. We just wanted to have that neighborhood spot…it just gives that great community vibe of different generations all eating the same thing and enjoying it,” McCourt said.
Owners Cam Formica, Jordan van der Heyden and Nolan Jordan van der Heyden opened the original Willibald Farm Distillery in Ayr in 2017 and added a restaurant in 2018.
McCourt joined the restaurant as head chef after working across the Waterloo Region culinary scene. A self-described “lifelong pizza head” from his earliest memories of a pizza being delivered by motorcycle in his native Dublin, Ireland, McCourt developed his pizza skills working at Wildcraft, Bauer Kitchen, The Rich Uncle and Graffiti Market.
After working more management roles, McCourt wanted to get back into the kitchen.
“I wanted to get back in there, and when the Willibald opportunity came up, I put my name in the hat and that was that,” McCourt said.
As word of mouth spread for the pizza at the Willibald Farm, McCourt said they found themselves turning more and more guests away.
“The farm was bursting at the seams. Then I heard that the previous tenant of this space wasn’t renewing their lease. As a joke, I said, ‘We should open a pizza shop.’ Then two weeks later, they came back and asked if I was serious. I was, and that’s how Willibald Pizza was formed,” McCourt said.
Opening a second location also presented a branding dilemma for the Willibald team. Formica worked with Toronto-based graphic designer Joel Malkin to create the brand and called upon Malkin to help adapt it for Willibald Pizza.
“It’s challenging to balance how modern and clean the current Willibald branding is with something a bit more nostalgic feeling. We wanted it to feel like somewhere you’ve been before,” Formica said.
Malkin incorporated influences from classic pizza shops—handwritten cursive lettering, checkerboard patterns and a Willibald-twist on one of Formica’s favourites.
“Even the light shades—I used to go to Pizza Hut as a kid, and I just love the old Tiffany’s stained-glass lights,” Formica added.
With the look and feel locked down, McCourt set to work on the kitchen. Willibald Pizza dough ferments for up to six days before it sees the oven. The restaurant serves up to 250 pizzas on Fridays and Saturdays. McCourt said word of mouth demand has helped the restaurant sell out pizzas on a few nights already this year.
“We’re looking at expanding over the next few weeks to make our walk-in a little bigger so we can keep up with the demand,” McCourt added.
But even with gourmet ingredients and a labour-intensive process, McCourt said they want to make food that is affordable as well as comforting.
“We’re using premium ingredients. We’re giving a great product with everything sourced from Ontario, and it’s still in that price range where it’s quality. You can come here, have a quality meal in a comfortable setting and still feel satisfied,” McCourt said.
#AlexKinsella #BrianMcCourt #camFormica #DowntownGalt #localBusiness #localFood #nolanJordan #nolanJordanVanDerHeyden #pizza #waterlooRegion #wildcraft #Willibald
QUEEN STREET COMMONS SET TO RE-OPEN
The Working Centre’s Queen Street Commons Café in downtown Kitchener is set to reopen this spring after a six-year hiatus. The cafe closed its doors in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and has remained shuttered as the non-profit organization focused on changing priorities for the communities it serves.
In 2024, The Working Centre began planning for the reopening, including upgrades and a layout change. Cassandra Polyzou, community tools and enterprise hub lead at The Working Centre, said that, as with any renovation, there were unexpected challenges that pushed the reopening into 2026.
“Anyone who is working on renovating a small business knows that we all face challenges. Everyone is trying to do their best. But it has meant that the process has been slow,” she said.
Queen Street Commons opened in 2006 as a third space for the community, regardless of income. Polyzou said the goal is to be that third space again and bring the community together.
“The space is going to look different…We’ll be able to do things like film screenings and concerts in the space,” she said. “It’s refreshed, but it certainly still is going to feel like the Queen Street Commons that we’ve all known and loved.”
There is no set opening date yet, but Polyzou said the cafe has two concerts scheduled in March to welcome people back to the space.
The Queen Street Commons is hosting The Boo Radley Project on Mar. 6, 2026 and I, the Mountain on Mar. 7, 2026. The cafe is hoping these big launch events show people the new space and what can be done with it.
Downtown Kitchener has changed in the six years since Queen Street Commons closed. Conestoga College’s two downtown campuses opened and closed, multiple new condominium and apartment buildings have opened, and many major employers have opted to continue with remote work instead of renewing their office leases.
There has also been a significant increase in the people experiencing homelessness across Waterloo Region, including the 100 Victoria St. encampment across from The Working Centre’s recently opened Making Home space at 97 Victoria St. Polyzou said the changes are a motivator to bring back the spirit of “radical hospitality” that Queen Street Commons was known for.
“Queen Street Commons was always a place for everyone. Things have changed, and the need is very much there. We hear it from people all the time who say they miss this kind of space that is really a bridge across communities that brings diverse people to sit at tables beside each other and share food and coffee,” she said.
When it opens, the cafe will continue to offer affordable and vegetarian menu items, including coffee, baked goods, and soups. Polyzou added that volunteering opportunities will also return to the cafe.
“We know that people have missed that opportunity. It’s such a gift. Or maybe they’ll just come for a bowl of veggie chilli and a cup of coffee, and that’s great,” she said.
#AlexKinsella #bakedGoods #cassandraPolyzou #Coffee #DowntownKitchener #Food #pandemic #QueenStreetCommons #queenStreetCommonsCafe #soups #veggieChili #volunteeringOpportunities #WorkingCentre
MINI-DOSES OF AWE AND WONDER
A staycation is a vacation you can take in your home country, rather than abroad. For the sake of this piece and my wallet, I’ll be focusing on staying in your own city or, better yet, your own home.
These mini vacations are useful because they’re easier on the budget but also help you learn about your own community.
As you explore your city, you can create more relationships that flow into your everyday life and deepen your connection to the place that you live. Staycations are also much easier to plan, considering you don’t have to worry about accommodations, flights, trains, packing, etc.
Like all vacations, a staycation requires deviation from your regularly scheduled programming. If you can, empty your schedule in advance—take a couple days off work or have a weekend where you have no other plans. I will sit down with a monthly and weekly calendar to help me visualize. I also try to set aside at least three days because I tend to be restless the first day that I deviate from my regular work, so I need some time to get into a more relaxed mindset.
Then, consider what you need. Are you tired of monotony and want to add something interesting to your life? Or are you just tired and need some rest. Pay attention to your body and your thoughts in the days leading up to your time off.
The answer is usually not so complicated. For example, if you find yourself bored at mealtimes, you might want to explore more food options either at home or outside. If you keep wishing that everyone would leave you alone, then you probably need some rest and alone time.
Doing a brain dump of all the thoughts you have (especially all your complaints) can help with understanding the stressors of your life, which might change the type of staycation you choose to take.
Now, you can decide what it is that you need in a staycation. Do you need more time with friends or time alone? Do you want to meet new people or deepen the connections you may have been neglecting? Does exploration and social time rejuvenate or exhaust you?
Considering these questions can help you decide whether you want to spend your staycation exploring your city or exploring your home.
If you choose the former, it is possible to explore your surroundings spontaneously. Choose a starting point—e.g. downtown Kitchener or brunch at your favourite cafe—then let the day take you where it will. I especially like doing this with friends, since I am not very adventurous.
Another method is to make a list of all the places you either never get a chance to go back to, or that you wanted to explore, but never got a chance. This could be cute cafes (cafe-hopping!), bookstores, parks, trails or any number of places. What has caught your attention before, but you weren’t able to go back to it?
Other people’s houses can also be on that list. So many social plans rely on us going out, but visiting a friend in their own space can be just as fun. It also means another way of learning more about them, especially if this is a new friend.
Finally, a staycation can happen in the confines of your own home. This is my personal favourite and is the most versatile type of staycation.
I like to start by deep cleaning my spaces, doing my laundry and dusting, maybe even rearranging some furniture. Freshening up your space also helps refresh your mind.
Now, I know that most people are not like me. Where I would include cleaning and reorganizing as part of my vacation, but for others, it would be considered work. If you’re in the latter group, I would suggest doing all the cleaning and chores as preparation for your staycation.
Then, the world (or your house or your room) is your oyster. Exploring your home can take many forms—you can go through all those old photos and clothes and declutter, or just bask in the nostalgia. Go shopping in different rooms to change things around, create new outfits from all your clothes, bust out the puzzle you never got to do or the art supplies you haven’t used in the two years since you bought them.
The goal is to rest, but also to see your own space in a new light. What is your house like when you’re usually not home? For example, over quarantine, I discovered that the leaves of the tree in our backyard cast shadows on my wall during sunset and to this day, that is one of my favourite aspects of my room. It is incredibly calming to watch the shadows of those leaves swaying while I’m not doing anything in particular.
Some other things I like finding are hiding places, places to sit that you haven’t thought of before, what space is the most relaxing, what seat is the most comfortable. Forget about everything you know about your space, and rediscover how charming a place you live in.
If that’s too much work, just lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. That’s super fun.
My favourite thing about staycations is that they don’t have to end. That new cafe you liked, you can revisit as often as you like. You can keep making the new dish you discovered, you can go back to the bookstore you fell in love with, you can spend 10 minutes lying there and watching the leaves swaying on the wall when you need to.
A staycation is a reminder to take a step back, look at your life and your space from a fresh perspective, and maintain a sense of awe in the regular, the common and the everyday.
#AlexKinsella #HarleenKaurDhillon #hidingPlaces #homeCountry #Houses #light #localExploration #Love #relaxing #rest #SelfCare #stay #staycation #Vacation
KITCHENER GETS NEW ARTS LEADERS
The City of Kitchener’s arts and entertainment department has added two local arts leaders to its team to support the launch of the recently announced Kitchener LIVE destination marketing brand. Green Light Arts’ co-founder and managing director Carin Lowerison will be taking on the role of Manager of Arts and Entertainment Venues and music industry veteran Will Muir will become the city’s Music Officer.
Kitchener LIVE was first announced at Mayor Berry Vrbanovic’s State of the City address on Oct. 21, 2025 at Centre in the Square. In his address, Vrbanovic said Kitchener LIVE will be a centralized platform for residents to discover events, purchase tickets, and learn how to host an event at a city-owned facility.
The new brand is a small part of the city’s growing Arts and Entertainment Department. Led by Director of Arts and Entertainment Jeremy Dueck, the department includes three divisions: Arts and Creative Industries, Special Events and Arts and Entertainment Venues.
Arts and Creative Industries is managed by Andrea Hallam and includes calls for public arts, the 44 Gaukel Creative Workspace, and the city’s film and music offices. Special Events is led by Steve Roth and includes the city’s Canada Day celebration, Way Back Festival, and the Christkindl Market. Music Officer Will Muir will work with the Special Events team to integrate local talent into events like the Roos Island Music Series.
Lowerison will lead the third division as the Manager of Arts and Entertainment Venues which oversees the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, the Victoria Park Pavilion, the City Hall Rotunda and Carl Zehr Square.
The Arts and Entertainment Venues team is also responsible for the Kitchener LIVE platform. Dueck said the platform’s vision of “Your City. Your Stage.” is designed to help audiences and artists connect across all of the city’s venues, from Centre in the Square and The Aud to Roos Island and Carl Zehr Square. Kitchener LIVE will also include information on public art calls that are coming up and camp opportunities at THEMUSEUM and Centre in the Square.
“How many times have you talked to people and they say they didn’t know that an event or concert was happening? We think all these events are common knowledge, but it’s not. Our community is growing so quickly that even for the people who’ve been here for a long time, they may not always know what’s happening,” Dueck said.
For audiences, Kitchener LIVE will be the brand for its existing KW Tickets website and will include events at all city-owned venues and spaces. The new platform will also include information and tools for event hosts and producers to help book venue space.
“There’s never been an easy entry point if you want to organize an event in one of the major event spaces. That’s what Kitchener LIVE will introduce,” he added.
In addition to Kitchener LIVE, Dueck said the new department structure will help improve communication across the city’s owned and operated venues.
“When the Mayor and Council created this division, one of the visions they had was, we need our venues to talk more. Now we meet monthly where we can share what’s coming up. Through those conversations, we get more insight as to what the other venues are doing,” Dueck said.
While the new platform helps guide the public and event organizers, Dueck said the overarching goal is to present a cohesive brand to potential event hosts. The new structure can potentially help the city to attract major destination events, such as national award shows.
“Down the road, if we’re trying to attract a major destination event, the Canadian Country Music Awards or the Junos, if we’re trying to go after an event brand, Kitchener LIVE helps us package and present our experience in the arts and entertainment scene here in Kitchener,” he said.
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The Community Edition