Enjoy Ribfest! (and other festivals)
Enjoy Ribfest! (and other festivals)
TL;WR for July 16 through July 22 2024
What to do.
Tuesday, July 16
Live at Lunch brings you free live music at Carl Zehr Square from 12 to 1 pm.
BeccaHosts has a hat trick of music bingo this week. First up, 2000s Music Bingo at the Duke of Wellington in Uptown Waterloo at 7 pm.
Wednesday, July 17
Join Chef Surbhi from Indian Gusto for Samosa & Chutney Night, a cooking class creating the most popular streetfood in India! In this interactive class at the Kitchener Market, participants will create their own samosas with a variety of filling options. You will also learn the art of folding samosas.
The City of Kitchener is hosting a LoveMyHood Neighbourhood Celebration at the Victoria Hills Community Centre. Join them to celebrate LoveMyHood’s remarkable journey over the years with food, music, and family-friendly activities, and an outdoor movie starting at dusk.
The Random Sketches Studio and Gallery will be hosting its third Sketch Mob of the month. We will meet under the Square Peg overhang at 220 King St. W. Bring your sketch supplies and a chair and we'll sketch together (free, no experience needed). As a special treat, Sherry from Cantoocity will be giving away dry media sketchbooks to the first 20 attendees!
Thursday, July 18
Underdog Dance Corp. x City of Waterloo present Salsa in the Square. 30 min beginner dance lesson at 7 pm – no partner or experience required. Dancing from 8pm - 11pm is free to the public, but donations to keep the event running are GREATLY appreciated.
Music bingo round two with BeccaHosts with Numbers Music Bingo at The Rabbid Fox starting at 8 pm.
Emmet of PKEW PKEW PKEW is playing live at Short Finger Brewing from 6 to 8 pm.
Rusty Nail has a comedy open mic at the Crazy Canuck DTK starting at 7:30 pm. Walk-ins welcome.
Friday, July 19
The Sun Life Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival is an annual three-day free music festival. It’s the festivals 31st Anniversary Season and they’re expecting more than 28,000 enthusiastic festival goers, so get down there and and enjoy some smooth, smooth jazz.
The Mind's Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio x Culture Fancier are hosting an artist reception for Ama Liyanage's "Roots and Reverie", a celebration of artistic rebirth and the profound connection between past and present. This exhibition delves into the journey of reimagining one's creative roots, blending early inspirations with contemporary insights. 7:30 to 10:30 pm.
The Cambridge Scottish Festival returns to Churchill Park in Cambridge for two days of music, dancing, pipes, and games! Learn more about Scottish heritage in the Avenue of the Clans and Heritage Tent and check out their awesome selection of exhibitors and vendors
Come for the BBQ and craft beer. Stay for the great crowds and live entertainment. That’s right, the Downtown Kitchener Ribfest & Craft Beer Show returns for its 21st year in Victoria Park. Try out ribs, pulled pork, BBQ chicken and more from nine award-winning BBQ teams and beer, cidre, and cocktail samples from over 20 vendors. The Conestoga Meats Entertainment Stage features live music all weekend long, too!
Put on your comfy walking shoes and join McDougall Cottage as tjeu take a summer stroll through the past, exploring stories of disasters, hauntings, murders and other unsavoury events that are part of the make up of Galt's dark history. Tours begin at 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm and run for approximately 90 minutes, departing from, and finishing up at McDougall Cottage.
Sunset Sessions is a live music series brought to you by the Downtown Kitchener BIA and Good Co. Productions. Grab a blanket and head down to Vogelsang Green when the “doors open” at 7 pm. Music starts at 7:30, and each band is a secret until showtime. Join the crew for an afterparty at Bobby O'Briens after the show!
BeccaHosts has one more music bingo round with another 2000s Music Bingo at Rural Roots Brewing in Elmira at 7:30 pm.
Rusty Nail Comedy has headliner Kyle Hickey at the Crazy Canuck DTK at 7:30 pm.
Block 3 Brewing has DJ Palmer live 6 to 9 pm. No cover.
Saturday, July 20
The Apollo’s Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party returns with more awesome Saturday morning cartoons and sugary cereals. The cartoon lineup is always a mystery, but expect to see monsters, sci-fi, sleuths, superheroes and all kinds of 2D silliness, both faves and obscurities spanning the ’60s through the ’90s, all punctuated with vintage commercials, PSAs and station IDs for a 3-hour trip down memory lane. 10 am.
The Random Sketches Studio and Gallery (220 King St. W) will be hosting Kitchener's Kitchens Day! Drop in, enjoy a sweet treat from some of Kitchener's bakeries, and pick up a copy of Della's newest book of sketches, Kitchener's Kitchens. This book celebrates Kitchener's restaurants, breweries, bakeries, and mom and pop grocery shops. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this book will go to Tiny Home Takeout.
Search for hidden treasures and refresh your wardrobe on Stroll Walking Tour’s Kitchener Thrift & Vintage Tour. You’ll meet local business owners, discuss fashion sustainability, and test yourselves with trivia! 10 am to 2 pm.
The Yeti is hosting Sapphic Sirens, the traveling sapphic extravaganza of the summer with the coolest queer femme bands of the region! See dichotomi, Elektrocat, and Fern Sully live starting at 8:30 pm.
Back at the Crazy Canuck DTK, Rusty Nail Comedy has headliner Jen Sakato at 7:30 pm.
The Deep Cut Film Festival returns to the historic Registry Theatre in downtown Kitchener with the world’s best short films from all over the world and our own back yard. There are two shows—an afternoon at 2 pm and an evening at 7:30 pm. You will have a chance to win some delicious hot sauce from KW’s own Ginger Goat, who was kind enough to donate some bottles to the cinematic cause! Tickets? At the door and by donation. Cash only please.
Singing in a choir is beneficial in that it helps form social bonds, a valuable commodity in today’s often alienating world. The joy gained from singing is evident when you listen to the University of Waterloo Choir. This term they are presenting songs by Pearsall, Walker, Gjeilo, Runestad, and Vasks and directed by Liska Jetchick. Hear this 60 voice choir on Saturday, July 20 at 7:30 pm inside the St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church.
Sunday, July 21
Join the Downtown Cambridge BIA for their summer Downtown Cambridge Flower Market from 11 to 4 pm on Lower Main St.
THEMUSEUM x Off the Ropes Studio presents Live Pro Wrestling on July 21! Doors open at 1:15 pm, and the summer showdown starts at 2 pm.
The Apollo’s Don’t Go Into the… Series presents Swamp Thing at 1:45 pm.
Self-love by the Stars is a workshop is designed to help you deepen your self-connection and align with your true self, guided by the celestial energies. Discover the transformative power of the full moon in Capricorn as we gather to cultivate self-love and awareness through astrology and Human Design (HD). 2 to 4 pm.
The Offbeat Spice Show is a multidisciplinary art show featuring burlesque, spoken word, music, visual art, multimedia, and other performance art. Join them at the KW Little Theatre at 7 pm for stories of empowerment, anti-colonialism, feminism, and social justice. This is a ticketed event with proceeds going towards the KW Palestinian Festival.
Monday, July 22
Maxwell’s has Allan Rayman with special guest Michael Lemmo. Doors at 7 pm.
The Princess Twin has a screening of Longlegs at 7 pm.
Ways to get involved.
Do you know a recent high school grad who wants to pursue a career in the skilled trades? Capstone Painting owner Daniel Rust has launched a $1,000 scholarship to a Waterloo Region high school student who plan to enter a post-secondary program in plumbing, electrical, carpentry, masonry, and other selected trades. The Grand Valley Construction Association is matching Daniel to make it a $2,000 scholarship. Learn more here.
What to read.
Visit Waterloo Region with Your Dog: Itineraries for Every Pup Personality (Dog Friendly KW, Explore Waterloo Region)
Kitchener looks to residents for help with new official plan (The Record)
Conestoga College culinary teachers head back to school — in France: Jasmine Mangalaseril (Jasmine Mangalaseril, CBC KW)