What to do.
Tuesday, April 23
Retro Rollers has taken over the old Bed, Bath, and Beyond at The Boardwalk and is bringing your classic rollerskating through August 25! Tuesday’s are Toonie Tuesdays, $2 off admission. 3-6 is 65+ followed by all ages skating from 7 to 10 with a live DJ.
Emma the Bar Witch is launching her own line of bitters—Bitter Baby— at odd duck from 5 to 10 p.m. It’s a night of cocktails to taste and celebrate, featuring Willibald spirits and The Non Binary Bombshell.
The Apollo has Late Night with the Devil at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, April 24
The Falls Road Pub has golden oldies jukebox bingo from 7 to 9 P.M.
Regional Council is voting on bringing back GRT night time transit. If you want to learn more, visit their delegation sign up page.
Romance lovers unite! Join Romance by the Book for a fun evening on zoom or Facebook with authors Opal Wei and Robin Lefleur. Kayleigh Platz will lead the discussion as they dish about their latest novels and their writing process.
Emmanuel United Church presents Nolan + Nolan at 8 P.M. Acclaimed singer-songwriters in their own right, Scott (from Winnipeg) and Joe (from Edmonton) combine forces for a magical night of shared songs and stories. Wait, neither of these guys is named Nolan.
Technically, you could call this a comeback. Civic Tech is a community group that brings together people from different fields and backgrounds to actively solve issues facing our local community using design and technology. They’re having a meetup at Den 1880 from 6 to 8 P.M.
At this month's KPL astronomy talk, Cam Morgan will speak about the CASTOR mission, an ultra-violet telescope that promises to compliment other cutting-edge missions, such as Euclid and the Roman Space Telescope, throughout the 2030s. 7 P.M. at the central branch.
Thursday, April 25
The University of Waterloo Art Gallery has an opening reception for UW Fine Arts MFA Thesis One: Behnaz Fatemi | Jill Smith from 5 to 8 p.m. Fatemi’s We will lose our beloveds ( ما عزیزانمان را از دست خواهیم داد ) is a body of interdisciplinary works which uses feminist autotheory to transcribe lived experience under the Iranian theocracy. Smith’s kupferschmidt / kupferschmid / kupferschmidte is a sculpture and installation-based exhibition which uses materiality and autobiography to question the role and success of self-preservation amid a disruption to identity.
VOC Silent Film Harmonic presents Buster Keaton: Sherlock Jr. & One Week. Two delightful early films from the long career of The Great Stone Face with a live musical track at the Registry Theatre.
The Walper Hotel has a Jack Daniel's Tasting Dinner from 6 to 9 P.M. Jack Daniel's National Ambassador, Christopher Rail, will be at the hotel for a night of whisky and stories.
The Rabbid Fox has NOW! music bingo at 8 P.M. with BeccaHosts.
The Yeti has Chop Sue Me live at 8:30 P.M.
The Grand River Black Music Festival and Conference (GRBMF) Soul Songwriting Circle Fundraising Concert is happening at the The Jazz Room from 8 to 11 P.M. GRBMF founder, producer, and curator, Carlos Morgan, is hosting a soul songwriting fundraising concert featuring Quisha Wint and Chris Rouse, performing their original songs and the inspirations behind them.
Friday, April 26
The Courtney Wolfe Duo plays live at The Rabbid Fox at 7:30 p.m.
Elements has Tyler Joe Miller, Shawn Austin & Andrew Hyatt - The Country Mixtape Tour at 7 P.M.
The Jazz Room has Adam James from Los Angeles at 8 P.M.
The Yeti has WIENER KEBAB, Ruby Doom, and Blue Freezie live. Doors at 8 P.M.
Rusty Nail Comedy has a ton of shows this weekend, including Friday at Mortys with headliner Jeff Paul at 7:30 P.M.
Off The Ropes Studio presents Off The Ropes and The Masters Of The Registry, a live professional wrestling experience at The Registry Theatre with bar by TWB Brewing Co-Op from 7 to 11 P.M.
Minds Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio and Culture Fancier are hosting a gallery reception for Turn and Face The Strange 2, an exhibition of collage works by British artist Mr.Marbles. This is the first showing of an international artist at Minds Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio. 154 Victoria Street South, Unit 7, Kitchener.
Saturday, April 27
Head to Arabella Park Beer Bar on Saturday, April 27 for Motley Cru Day. They'll be pouring the lineup of Bellwoods Brewery anniversary beers as well as some other goodies. Starts at noon.
The Underdog Dance Corp. is opening the Underdog Annex (181 Park St.) on Saturday. They’ll have drop-in classes open for the whole day.
Did you know Uptown Waterloo was home to one of the earliest vintage clothing businesses in Kitchener-Waterloo?! Join the Waterloo Thrift & Vintage Tour with Stroll Walking Tours to find out who made it happen! Search for hidden treasures and refresh your wardrobe as we meet local business owners, discuss fashion sustainability and test yourselves with trivia! Wear your best thrift store find on the tour for a chance to win the 'Best Dressed' prize!
Wave Maker Craft Brewery has the Ugly Dumpling Food pop up from 4 to 7 P.M.
rare has Conversations for Conservation: Beautiful Bats, with Dan Riskin at 7 p.m. inside the UW School of Architecture in Cambridge. You’ll know Dan Riskin as CTV’s Science Guy, but you may not know that Dan got his start following bats. Join rare and Dan for funny stories, breathtaking slo-mo videos, and reflections about the value of curiosity.
Studio Fuzion has its closing party starting at 8:30 p.m. Come celebrate the short but sweet existence of Studio Fuzion for a night of music, dancing, art and togetherness.
Sunday, April 28
Spiritus Ensemble presents its finale concert of the 2023-24 season—Bach Vespers after Easter. Sunday, April 28 at 4 P.M. The Church of St John the Evangelist (23 Water Street North, Kitchener).
The 2024 International Journalism Film Festival is coming to Waterloo thanks to ink-stained wretches. They'll be screening the documentary Killer Water: The toxic legacy of Canada's oil sands industry for Indigenous communities, followed by media panel discussion. 1 to 4 P.M. at the Princess Twin Cinemas.
Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound has its annual fundraiser at AOK Craft Beer + Arcade from 6–8 p.m. Enjoy unlimited vintage arcade games, bumping house music with local legend, DJ/Producer Jay Kaufman, bid on the silent auction, and food and drink from AOK featuring a signature cocktail, the Open Ears Blitz!
Monday, April 29
Bearface Johnsons x Princess Twin present the Art, Design, and Architecture series screening of Very Semi-Serious at 7 p.m. Very Semi-Serious is an offbeat documentary about humor, art and the genius of the single panel. The film goes behind-the-scenes of The New Yorker and introduces the cartooning legends and hopefuls who create the iconic cartoons that have inspired, baffled—and occasionally pissed off—all of us for decades.
Ways to get involved.
Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Week is back!
From April 29th to May 5th, get a Smile Cookie at participating Tim Hortons locations in Kitchener, Waterloo, Elmira, St. Jacobs and Ayr and support KidsAbility and Nutrition for Learning with a simple act that has a profound impact. Your ongoing support for this well-loved campaign has been the reason for our Smile Cookie success, contributing to over $1 million raised for KidsAbility since 2009.
What to read.
Strange beasts stalking Silver Lake in Waterloo (Spencer Turcotte, CTV Kitchener)
Looking to save money on food? There's an app for that. (Jasmine Mangalaseril, CBC KW)
FYI the link to the Courtney Wolfe Duo @ the Rabbid Fox goes to an old raresites.org event instead. Should maybe be https://www.instagram.com/rabbidfox_tavern/reel/C51pIHCgq6C/ ?
*complement - I imagine the event description came from WCA and not KPL but if is the latter, I must say I'm disappointed