TRAVERSING CULTURAL LANDSCAPES THROUGH THE LIBRARIES

If you’re looking for an affordable way to explore in Waterloo Region this winter, look no farther than your local library. With diverse community programs at a variety of branch locations, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and meet new people. Each of the listed events below are free to attend, open to anyone and require advance registration.  

The Region of Waterloo Library serves the residents of Wellesley, Woolwich, North Dumfries, and Wilmot with 12 branches. Below are five cultural events to add to your calendar.  

Celebrate Black History Month with three short films centering Black stories and history from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), followed by a community discussion on Wednesday, Feb. 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Register for the Ayr Branch event online. Afterwards, learn about Waterloo Region’s connection to the Underground Railroad by reading about Buxton, Ontario.  

Did you know that chess, formerly known as chaturanga, originated in India during the Gupta Empire in 600 CE? The strategic game’s playing pieces resembled components of the military and the game traversed the world through trading routes. Join a game every Tuesday and Saturday at the New Hamburg Branch and every Wednesday at the Baden Branch from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  

Hygge—pronounced “hoo-gah”—is perhaps one of Denmark’s most identifiable cultural exports. It is the notion of coziness and encompasses everything from the glow of a candle to spending time with good people. Head to the Breslau Branch on Tuesday, Feb. 10 for a night of Winter Hygge from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for ages 9 and up. Enjoy hot beverages, crafts and puzzles and good company.  

Embracing winter weather is a feat for some and a joy for others. Cambridge resident and globally published freelance journalist Paul Gains will share his love of the Arctic’s snowy owls during a presentation at the Ayr Branch on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.   

Escape the cold and slip into a sunny state of mind without hopping on a plane. Chef Arielle is teaching a Roti and Trini Curry Masterclass at the Wilmot Recreation Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 24 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for ages nine and up.   

The Cambridge Public Library (CPL), Waterloo Public Library (WPL) and Kitchener Public Library (KPL) offer a wide range of tools to rent out, some of which will help support your Waterloo Region (and beyond!) explorations. Visit their websites or branches in-person to borrow skates, snowshoes, trekking poles, wildlife kits, museum passes, or Grand River and Ontario Parks passes.  

Learning a language is a phenomenal way to travel deeper. Start at home with free language classes, French reading buddies, or language circles in French, Chinese, Spanish and English at CPL, WPL and KPL branches.   

Finally, if you’re looking for an activity that’s engaging for the whole family, the WPL is hosting The Great Family Geocache Challenge. Geocaching is an adventurous hobby where participants search for hidden objects based on other participants’ clues. It’s an excellent way to get outside, exercise your brain, and enjoy a new and free activity at home or elsewhere around the world.  

Happy exploring!  

HEATING AND COOLING CENTRES OFFER REFUGE ACROSS THE REGION

Waterloo Region residents can access a network of warming, cooling, and clean air spaces designed to provide temporary relief from extreme weather and poor air quality.  

According to the Region of Waterloo, these designated public buildings offer space for anyone who needs refuge from heat, cold or unsafe air during regular business hours. These spaces are intended for temporary relief and are not meant for extended stays.  

The region made these spaces more accessible during late 2022 and early 2023 by expanding hours beyond official weather warnings. This makes spaces available year-round during extreme cold or heat and opens specific overnight warming shelters.  

“Warming, Cooling, and Clean Air Spaces are buildings in the region that provide space for the public to get temporary relief from heat, cold, or poor air quality during regular business hours,” the Region of Waterloo environmental health webpage state.  

So far, there are 57 spaces coordinated by Region of Waterloo Public Health in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. They are operated by various partners, including the Region itself, area municipalities, community agencies, recreation centres, libraries, and other public buildings.  

In addition to these locations, two Region of Waterloo buildings, 150 Main St. in Cambridge and 150 Frederick St. in Kitchener, are open on weekends and holidays for community members.  

The Region of Waterloo Housing Services is also working closely with community partners, service providers, and those with lived experience to prepare for the cold weather this year.  

“Winter plans include expansions of the emergency shelter system, creating new overflow spaces in shelters and motels across the community, the distribution of winter warming packages, and the opening of two overnight warming spaces,” Scott Cressman, communications specialist at Waterloo Region, said.   

He stated the Region developed warming packages in partnership with co-creators of the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, including items to support people experiencing homelessness. These packages are distributed by outreach workers who can connect individuals to supports.  

Public libraries also serve as designated spaces. Waterloo Public Library currently has three libraries serving as cooling, warming, and clean air spaces. These branches include the Eastside branch, the John M. Harper branch and the Main branch. Due to size constraints, the McCormick branch is not considered a warming, cooling, or clean air space.  

“As public spaces, community members are welcome and encouraged to visit our library locations any time. In extreme weather conditions, we offer our spaces to anyone in the community, along with all our free library amenities, services, programs, and online resources,” Anjana Kipfer, Marketing and Communications manager at the Waterloo Public Library, said.  

Kipfer explained that she does not know when the libraries were designated as cooling, warming, or clean air spaces, but she suspects it occurred quite a long time ago, and the branches will continue to have this designation.  

“We have been used for temporary relief from heat, cold, or poor air quality throughout the seasons, as a cooling centre in the summer during heat waves, as a clean air space during poor air quality conditions, and as a warming centre during extreme cold warnings,” Kipfer said.  

She also said that besides the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system the library has for heating, cooling, and air quality, they do not have other specialized equipment.  

Residents can access these spaces even without official weather alerts. Extreme Cold Warnings are issued when temperatures or wind chill reach -30 degrees for at least two hours, while Heat Warnings are issued during high temperatures or when humidex values meet national criteria.   

Many of the designated spaces operate year-round during business hours to provide relief whenever needed, ensuring that residents of all ages, including those experiencing homelessness, have safe and accessible options during extreme weather or poor air quality conditions. 

WANDERING WATERLOO REGION THROUGH BOOKS

After a busy and potentially expensive holiday season, the last activity one tends to think about is travel.  

What if you broke that mould?  

But what if, from the comfort, ease, and coziness of your couch, you navigated local streets both familiar and unknown? Stick with me, for I am not suggesting the familiar armchair travel of 2020.  

I certainly won’t suggest more screen time. 

What if you made yourself a cuppa something delicious and warm, found a blanket, and cracked the spine of something new? 

 Waterloo Region’s unique demographics easily lend themselves to phenomenal and fantastical stories. The books below can be found at local bookstores such as Words Worth Books or Old Goat Books in Uptown Waterloo, and A Second Look Books in Downtown Kitchener. Alternatively, check out any branch of the Kitchener Public Library or Waterloo Public Library for these and other books about Waterloo Region or by the region’s own talented authors. 

The Waterloo You Never Knew: Life on the Margins by Joanna Rickert-Hall

Joanna Rickert-Hall is a local author, social historian and recipient of the Jean Steckle Award for Excellence in heritage education. 

She writes about the scandals and overlooked yet fascinating tales and the tragedies of Waterloo Region. A delightful assortment of them appear in this book. 

Covering nineteenth and twentieth-century stories of both a sensational and sordid sort, this book shares local history that few locals have on their radar. 

Think body snatchers, cholera, rum running, and sorcery–to begin. Resident readers will be inspired, shocked, and gain new appreciation for the past and present of Waterloo Region. 

Flash from the Past : 140 photographs from the Waterloo Region Record by Chris Masterman and Jon Fear 

For the visually inclined, this collection of photographs from nineteenth and twentieth-century Waterloo Region will transport you through the decades of our collective stories. 

Chris Masterman, a former Waterloo Region Record librarian invited residents to share their memories associated with the archival photos she dug up from the archives. 

Jon Fear is a columnist for the Waterloo Region Record and kept the memory-gathering tradition alive. 

Kissing Bridge: The story of Ontario’s only covered bridge, and West Montrose, the quiet, charming village whose sides it connects by Del Gingrich 

Much as its name suggests, Kissing Bridge is whimsical, magical, and a little mischievous. Woolwich Township, known for its talented Mennonite farming community and calm green landscape, is not the setting you might associate with such a title. 

Yet it is, in fact, where this real-life story continues to take place today. Ontario’s last wooden covered bridge in use, it has a striking red façade, is the location of many an odd and delightful fact. 

Many such pieces of information are shared in the book, some of which include tales of the West Montrose Swifts and the Conestoga Wanderers (local hockey teams from 1915), the real alibi that allowed so many couples to conveniently take their time crossing the bridge, the peeping eyes that spied from the rafters. 

The Back Door by Coral Andrews 

Local author and broadcaster Coral Andrews dishes on Kitchener’s former underground music scene at The Back Door. Musicians, concertgoers and neighbours alike involved in Waterloo Region’s music scene, and perhaps more so those of a certain vintage, will appreciate the deep dive into Kitchener’s legendary punk history.

Should you prefer fiction, Waterloo Region’s creative writers have plenty to offer. From poetry to crime, consider the following titles for your January book list.  

Black Cherokee by Antonio Michael Downing is a coming-of-age story of a mixed-race Black girl growing up in a South Carolina Cherokee community that won’t recognize her identity.  

Nobody Cares: Essays is written by Anne T. Donahue. With humour, she explores friendship, failure, work and what life looks like as a twenty- or thirty-something in modern day. Award-winning local poet Chris Banks has several books.  

Midlife Action Figure: Poems has been described as a “rare book that is as exciting as it is provocative, showcasing both pathos and humor” by the ECW Press.  

Francie’s Got a Gun by Carrie Snyder is a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year and one of the CBC’s Best Canadian Fiction Books of 2022. The survival of a young girl in a small town will keep you on the edge of your seat.  

Former Waterloo Regional councillor, Jane Mitchell, has pivoted from serving her community to crafting murder mysteries with her new novel, Bad Council.  In it, a local councillor is killed when he tries to release information that will change his community forever.  

Set your schedule as “busy”—you’ve got a lot of reading to enjoy this month!

We're moving back to Waterloo next month 😂, so I've been looking for fedi accounts to follow. Searching for "Waterloo Mastodon" was a surprise though due to a large number of articles about mastodons roaming the area back the the day. 🐘

I've followed @WaterlooEvents , @ourwaterloopark , and @communityedition . Oh, and @cardamomaddict .

Any other interesting ones I should check out?

#UptownWaterloo #waterloo #waterloopubliclibrary #waterlooregion #kwawesome

I've pointed my (soon to be) local library at @kagihq 's new Kagi for Libraries program. Seems like an excellent opportunity to run a pilot of search without misleading ads and AI slop.

Hopefully they (the Waterloo Public Library) can get on fedi soon, too.

#waterloopubliclibrary #uptownwaterloo #wpl

Excited about this. Thanks to #waterloopubliclibrary, this cost me $0.60

#Gaslands #icecreamtruck #miniatures #3dprinting #library