Cord Community Edition April Issue

VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013 - WINNERS & MORE PAGE 11

ORD COMMUNITY COMMUNITY.THECORD.CA

APRIL 2013

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

75 University Ave. W Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 519-884-0710 x3564

3 News Taking a gamble on casinos, how it’s harder on the outside and a new look for Waterloo Park

9 Civic Space Why Waterloo is the best place to live

11 Features Volunteer Impact Awards 2013: We get to know some of the hardest working people in Waterloo

16 Urban Exploring Dressing like a Disney Princess, grown up hobbies and a new look for Empire Public School

18 Community Conversations With Bloomin Earth

19 Arts and Culture Record Store Day, Jamming with Rick Hutt and young art at KWAG

Volume 1, Issue #7 Next issue: May 10, 2013 Advertising All advertising inquiries should be directed to Angela Endicott at 519-884-0710 x3560 angela.taylor@wlusp.com CONTRIBUTORS Editor-in-Chief H.G. Watson hwatson@thecord.ca

Photography Manager Nick Lachance nlachance@thecord.ca

Publisher Bryn Ossington Bryn.ossington@wlusp.com

Photography Manager Kate Turner kturner@thecord.ca

Cord Editor-in-Chief Justin Fauteux jfauteux@thecord.ca

Copy Editor Erin O’Neil

Creative Designer Taylor Gayowsky Taylor.gayowsky@wlusp.com Rebecca Allison Christina Almudevar Carly Basch Laura Buck Amanda Chang Carrie Debrone Kevin Delaney Ashley Denuzzo Alanna Fairey WLUSP ADMINISTRATION President Executive Director Advertising Manager Treasurer Vice-Chair Director Director Corporate Secretary Distribution Manager Web Manager

Bob Egan Helen Hall Stephen Hargreaves Cassie Hunter Cristina Rucchetta Mark Shiffer Jordan Smith Stephanie Truong Lena Yang

Emily Frost Bryn Ossington Angela Endicott Tom Paddock Jon Pryce Kayla Darrach Joseph McNinch-Pazzano Allie Hincks Angela Endicott Adam Lazzarato

The Cord Community Edition is the monthly magazine version of the Cord, the official student newspaper of the Wilfrid Laurier University community.

Started in 2012, The Cord Community Edition is an editorially independent newspaper published by Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. WLUSP is governed by its board of directors.

22 Reviews 23 Monthly Events

Opinions expressed within The Cord Community Edition are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, The Cord, WLUSP, WLU or CanWeb Printing Inc. All content appearing in The Cord Community Edition bears the copyright expressly of their creator(s) and may not be used without written consent.

The Cord Community Edition is created using Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.5 using Adobe Creative Suite 4. Canon cameras are used for principal photography.

MESSAGE BOARD Editor’s note

Notes This issue is all about change, whether it be our urban landscape (Welcome to Fabulous Waterloo? on page four), changing attitudes (Harder on the outside on page nine) or making a change (Volunteer Impact Awards on page 11).

Ideas to Change Waterloo

It’s only fitting that our next issue will tackle this topic even further as we introduce our Ten Ideas to Change Waterloo. As you read this, the votes are being tallied and we are reaching out to the people and organizations selected to find out how they are going to make Waterloo region an even more interesting and awesome place to live.

You’ll find out which ideas are going to make a big change in our May 10 issue.

But for now, read this month’s CCE and think about how you too can make a difference.

-H.G. Watson

The CCE is always looking for talented writers, artists, designers and photographers. If you’d like to get involved, email us at communityeditor@thecord.ca Got something on your mind?

Want to talk about one of this month’s articles? Submit your letter to the editor to communityeditor@thecord.ca

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PREAMBLE TO THE CORD CONSTITUTION The Cord Community Edition will keep faith with its readers by presenting news and expressions of opinions comprehensively, accurately and fairly. The Cord believes in a balanced and impartial presentation of all relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy.

The staff of The Cord shall uphold all commonly held ethical conventions of journalism. When an error of omission or of commission has occurred, that error shall be acknowledged promptly. When statements are made that are critical of an individual, or an organization, we shall give those affected the opportunity to reply at the earliest time possible. Ethical journalism requires impartiality, and consequently conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest will be avoided by all staff.

The only limits of any newspaper are those of the world around it, and so The Cord will attempt to cover its world with a special focus on the community of Kitchener-Waterloo. Ultimately, The Cord Community Edition will be bound by neither philosophy nor geography in its mandate.

The Cord has an obligation to foster freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This obligation is best fulfilled when debate and dissent are encouraged, both in the internal workings of the paper, and through The Cord’s contact with the community.

The Cord will always attempt to do what is right, with fear of neither repercussions, nor retaliation. The purpose of community press is to act as an agent of social awareness, and so shall conduct the affairs of our magazine.

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

NEWS NEWS LINE

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This month we’re talking about...

K-W community mourns Oktoberfest executive director On April 1, Mark Kreller, the executive director of Kitchener-Waterloo’s famed Oktoberfest since 2010, died suddenly in his sleep. The 54-year-old was involved with Oktoberfest for 27 years, working in various capacities including drumming for the Black Forest Band before taking over as executive director. The outpouring of remembrance was vast, as Kreller was a staple in the K-W community.

Quantum Valley resurgence BlackBerry (formerly Research In Motion) co-founder Mike Lazaridis was back in the spotlight last month. Lazaridis and fellow RIM co-founder Doug Fregin — the somewhat lesser-known member of the group that includes Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie — announced plans for a $100-million fund to help support Canada’s quantum computing industry. The fund, Quantum Valley Investments, will be based in Waterloo.

Adventure in Cambridge On April 7, Cambridge residents got a chance to channel their inner "Amazing Race” participant at the inaugural Cambridge Urban Adventure Race. The race challenged the participants both mentally and physically as they raced between historically significant points in Cambridge, where they needed to answer questions about the city’s history.

Life’s good in the ‘sunshine’

Elmira gets sticky An estimated 70,000 people flocked to Elmira on April 6 for the 49th annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. More than 2,000 volunteers served up thousands of pancakes as the community celebrated Elmira’s claim to fame as the host of “the world’s largest one-day maple syrup festival.”

Estimates are still rolling in on the number of sticky fingers and cavities that came out of the festival.

The annual Ontario Sunshine list, which reveals the salaries of public sector workers in the province who make more than $100,000, was released on March 28. The two local universities had a combined 1,491 people on the list, while Conestoga College had 239. The Waterloo Catholic District School board had 140 names on the list, while the public board had 406. Among City of Waterloo employees, 63 earned above the $100,000 mark, whereas that number was 105 for City of Kitchener employees and 88 for the City of Cambridge.

IN FOCUS

A group of young combatants have a bit of fun celebrating International Pillow Fight Day at the Waterloo Public Square. • CRISTINA RUCCHETTA CCE CONTRIBUTOR

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

What having a casino in Waterloo Region could look like • ALL GRAPHICS BY LENA YANG CCE CONTRIBUTOR

HG WATSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

When you drive into Windsor, Ont., the first thing you see across the long flat plains of south western Ontario is the skyline of Detroit, rising up impressively in the distance.

You’d be forgiven for missing the two tallest skyscrapers that dot the sky on the Canadian side of the border – Caesars Casino. Closer to the downtown, however, the twin white hotel towers loom over the core. In contrast to the greys and browns of Windsor’s downtown, Caesars gleams white. The blue windows mimic the Detroit River it sits beside, offering no glimpse inside.

The inside of Caesars couldn’t be any further from it’s calming exterior. It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dark, cavern like rooms that hold hundred upon hundreds of slot machines. They whir and sparkle, some screaming slogans from popular films and TV shows. A group of elderly women sit in front of a bank of machines modeled after Star Trek – Captain Kirk appears briefly on screen and informs them they get to play the mini-game, “the Trouble with Tribbles”.

The machines surround banks of blackjack tables. The crowd gambling here is younger, sporting the baseball hats and t-shirts of their favourite American college teams. The distinctive twang of the Michigan accent – “hackey” rather than “hockey” - is unmistakable. Upstairs, poker players sit shoulder to shoulder, 20 to a table, carefully watching each other for signs of a good or bad hand.

This, for better or worse, is what a casino is like in Ontario. A place much like Caesars may soon be calling a new municipality its home. Toronto, Hamilton and various other municipalities have all been identified as potential casino sites.

On March 25 the city councils of both Kitchener and Waterloo voted to have public consultations about whether to have a casino in the region. It’s a debate we share with many other municipalities and like any game involving a casino, the stakes are high.

“We would not have been able to do most of the projects that we’ve done without casino dollars” Casinos weren’t even up for discussion just 30 years ago. The Canadian Criminal Code made gambling illegal, which meant people had to jet off to Las Vegas or Cuba to get their fix. But slowly certain forms of gambling were legalized. Lotteries, bingo halls and eventually casinos began to open across Canada.

In 1998, Caesars Windsor — then called Casino Windsor — opened its doors. At the time, it was leapfrogging off the success of temporary casinos just down the street. It had a lush gala opening and people lined up to get in. A year later, OLG Casino Branford opened.

Brantford Mayor Chris Friel — himself once a proponent against casinos — is enthused with the benefits having a casino in town have brought his small community.

“We would not have been able to do most of the projects that we’ve done without casino dollars,” he said. Friel credits money generated by the casino for much of the downtown revitalization that has occurred in Brantford. As well, funds used from the sale of the building the casino is currently in were used to help bring Brantford its Wilfrid Laurier University satellite campus.

Brantford has received anywhere from $3.5 to $3.8 million over the last few years from casino dollars. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the overall money that OLG brings in every year. Last year overall revenues for OLG were about $6.7 billion, almost half of which came from resort casinos and OLG slots. Money not slated for municipalities goes towards paying resort operators and into government of Ontario programs, including the Trillium fund that provides money for non-profits and other organizations.

OLG is now pursing an aggressive “modernization strategy” as they call it, in response to the changing taste of gamblers.

Online gambling options have become

attractive for many players and their key customers are aging. The corporation has also noted a drop off in foreign spending since the opening of American casinos close to the Canadian border. Part of their strategy going forward is the expansion of privately owned casinos — opening the door for companies like Wynn Resorts, Sands Corp., MGM and Rockhammer to come court municipalities for their property and dollars.

Casinos are a machine for making money and they are very good at what they do. Even in Ontario, which lacks the glitz of Las Vegas, there is clearly money to be made. Each casino also brings along a whole host of jobs with it. Friel noted that 905 people in his community are employed because of OLG Casino Brantford. “They’re good jobs,” he said. “They have benefits, they pay well - even the number of long full time to part time is as good as any industry that functions within the community as a whole.”

It’s easy to see why casinos are attractive for some municipalities. It’s a combination of jobs and revenue that’s attractive, especially given losses to blue-collar jobs in other municipalities. But many argue that the impact of casinos may be more mixed than it first appears to be.

“The funnel from the tunnel” Tunnel BBQ — so named for its proximity to the tunnel between Windsor and Detroit — has sat in the shadow of the casino since it arrived in 1998. Thom Racovitis, the owner of Tunnel BBQ, remembers well the first days of Caesars. “’The funnel from the tunnel’” they called it,” he recalled. “90 per cent of the business was cross the border. They [Americans] had no casinos so the flood of business was astronomical. Traffic was non-stop” But today, a sunny Friday in March, there’s no evidence of the same flood. A trickle may more accurately describe the amount of cars crossing the border. If you were to look south into Detroit, you would see three new additions to the skyline; MGM Grand

Detroit, Motor City Casino and the Greektown Casino. Those competitors, in addition to the tightening of border security after 9/11, have led to a decreased demand from the Americans who went to Caesar’s Windsor in its early days. The casino has certainly felt the loss – it recently laid off 38 unionized employees.

The economic benefits of casinos are debatable. Atif Kubursi, an economist based at McMaster University, is one of those who might debate it. He argued that you have to look at casinos in the abstract while appearing on “In the Neighbourhood,” a radio program on CFMU 93.3 in Hamilton. “What else could have this money been spent on?” he asked host Matt Jelly. Kubursi also pointed out that because OLG wants to open more casinos in Ontario, it becomes less likely you’ll attract out of town customers when every neighbourhood has one.

Local businesses like restaurants and food suppliers worry that when a casino comes to town, it represents a threat to their livelihood. OLG reported that they purchased over $50 million in products locally to support their casinos in their last fiscal year. When Caesars Windsor opened, Racovitis had to be proactive to make sure that the casino sourced local food. “It was a totally unknown commodity coming into our community,” he said. “[We worried a] big American company would come in and outsource all their purchases and products and not purchase locally, so we petitioned the government quite emphatically.” He and a group of local suppliers were successful at getting the casino to purchase locally initially. “[I encourage people to] really get together and be very assertive about being treated fairly.”

The potential financial gain also has to be weighed against the social costs of bringing a casino into a city. A majority of Canadian and American research indicates that proximity is the biggest factor in encouraging problem gambling – gambling without the ability to stop. Problem gamblers face bankruptcies and mental health issues. Las Vegas,

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

for example, has the highest per capita suicide rate of anywhere in the United States.

Critics of the problem gambling argument point out that only about one per cent of the population of Ontario are at risk of becoming problem gamblers. But Kevin Harrigan, head of the Gambling Research Lab at the University of Waterloo points out that this number can actually be misleading. “It’s true of the general population [that the percentage is low] but of the people that are gambling a good percentage are problem gamblers,” he said, referring to the people on the gaming floor at any given time. “Somewhere around 20 per cent that are problem gamblers,” he added. Casinos also make over 30 per cent of their revenue from problem gamblers. It’s a troubling statistic because it means that a large chunk of money is coming from a few people who have a really bad problem.

Friel dismissed much of the economic and social criticisms against casinos. “We’re on the ground. If we saw a massive increase in suicides we would know it and we would measure it. If there was a massive increase in bankruptcies we would know it; in crime we would know it. [But] all of these things are in fact the rolling average.” “…and never open to public scrutiny.”

When so much money is at stake, the lines between right and wrong can sometimes become blurred. In Hamilton, where debate over a downtown casino raged for the latter half of last year, this became apparent when city councillor Sam Merulla publicly released an e-mail from Mayor Bob Bratina asking Merulla to retract disparaging comments about the possibility of a downtown casino.

The letter appeared to have been directly copied from one sent directly to Bratina from

APRIL 2013

PJ Mercanti, the president of Carmens group, one of the groups interested in operating a casino in Hamilton.

“Hamilton does not have a registered lobbyist policy,” said Matthew Green. He, along with Dan Jelly, are part of a coalition opposed to a downtown Hamilton casino. “Anybody, be it MGM, Caesars, Wynn…can be meeting with staff and politicians that are never recorded, never documented and never open to public scrutiny.”

Their anti-downtown casino campaign also strengthened calls in Hamilton for a mandatory lobbyist registry, like those already in place in Toronto and Ottawa.

Neither Waterloo or Kitchener has a lobbyist registry. “We’ve never felt that it was required here in this community,” said Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr. Zehr has been very open about the fact that he has previously met with casino operators and landowners, though he would only consider the casino question if someone brought it to city council (as it was on March 25). According to Zehr, the City of Kitchener works hard to ensure transparency even without a mechanism like a lobbyist registry (Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran could not be reached for comment regarding lobbying in the City of Waterloo).

Zehr did not anticipate that the City of Kitchener would put in place any sort of lobbying rules regarding the consultation period as they have for the LRT process, in which councillors are banned from speaking with any of the companies bidding on the project.

“I don’t think it’s required. [It] doesn’t have the same significance.”

But as both municipalities open public consultations, it’s not unreasonable to believe that more and more interested operators will step forward. Mark Bingeman, the president of Bingemans Entertainment Complex,

has openly stated to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo his desire to operate a casino. Bingeman was also a listed delegate at the March 25 council meeting where Kitchener City Council decided to go forward with public consultations.

“We’ve already defied that and are rebuilding the city the way we want it rebuilt.”

Hamilton shares much in common with the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Once an industrial centre, the downtown core suffered as manufacturing and heavy industry left. Yet in the last few years, the city has seen a revitalization thanks in part to a rising creative class and more educational facilities moving downtown. It’s part of the reason downtown residents mobilized quickly to push back against a proposed downtown casino.

Green and Jelly first met at a Hamilton subcommittee meeting on the casino issue.

Initially interested simply in getting information, they swayed to the con side and started organizing a campaign against the downtown casino. “Because we started using web and social media the campaign just got bigger and bigger,” said Jelly. The two spearheaded the campaign, culminating in a huge gathering during one of the council meetings. “We had horse racing people show up,” said Jelly (“with horses,” Green chimed in) in support of keeping the OLG slots and racetrack in Flamborough instead of moving it downtown. Hamilton has since pushed back their final decision on a casino until 2014.

Shawn Micallef, one of the founders of Spacing Magazine, a magazine dedicated to exploring urban issues, believes that casinos are simply “crappy urban citizens.” The writer and editor, who’s own father was a blackjack dealer at Caesars Windsor for seven years, thinks that there are more creative solutions

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to bring jobs and money into the downtown.

“There are a lot more innovative ways to create jobs and create exciting urban landscapes and create that excitement then casinos,” said Micallef. “It’s a like a kneejerk solution for people who have no other ideas.” He added that while a casino will always simply be a casino, other businesses offer the potential for evolution in dynamic ways.

This reflects the experience Green and Jelly had in Hamilton, a city that they believe is already evolving. “These were people from the outside coming in to tell us what we should want,” said Jelly. “But we’ve already defied that and are rebuilding the city the way we want it rebuilt.”

Another day…

While online consultation happens regarding the casino in Waterloo, the City of Kitchener will host a public forum April 23. If after these consultations the city councils vote no, the issue may simply fade away. But should they vote yes to simply being open to having hosting a casino in the region, K-W may find itself grappling with the kind of issues that have been faced by cities like Windsor and Brantford for some time.

Back in Windsor, we step out of the casino and walk back into the now blinding light, past a line of bored cabbies reading and smoking. Cars speed down Riverside Drive and people walk their dogs and bike in the park adjacent to Caesars.

Just another normal day in the shadow of the casino.

For more content about casinos in Ontario, visit community.thecord.ca.

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

CITY OF WATERLOO | OUR COMMUNITY w4 WARD 4 COUNCILLOR

Diane Freeman t: 519.747.8784 c: 519.569.9955 diane.freeman@waterloo.ca

Spring marks the return of the robin, Earth day celebrations and the return to cycling as an environmentally friendly and cost effective way to commute. Before you get back out there this year, consider the following tips and suggestions to maximize your cycling safety and fun!

w5 WARD 5 COUNCILLOR

Mark Whaley t: 519.747.8784 c: 519.635.9436 mark.whaley@waterloo.ca

Party on, party town!

Well, we got through another St. Paddy’s day in Waterloo not too much the worse for wear.

w6 WARD 6 COUNCILLOR

Jeff Henry t: 519.747.8784 c: 519.998.5883 jeff.henry@waterloo.ca

Spring is just around the corner which means work on the North Clair Creek and Clair Lake project is about to resume. Much progress has

• Give your bike a complete tune-up and make sure the tires are fully inflated.

• Make sure you have a CSA-approved bike helmet – helmets are cheap and save lives!

• If you plan on biking at night, make sure you are easily seen – bike lights are required and affordable. I also recommend the use of reflective gear that will reflect vehicle headlights from dusk through the night.

• “Lock it or Lose it” – when you’re out and about the city you can keep your bike safe at any number of bicycle stands.

If you are new to the world of cycling, navigating the city can be intimidating but if you follow these simple rules of the road, Here at City Hall we feel like we dodged a bullet after reports came through that though the crowds were large at parties all over town, no major incidents marred proceeds. Whew!

It is interesting that Ezra St. has become the centre for festivities during the day and some estimates placed the number of young people in the streets this year at more than 7,500.

A casual poll was taken at the event which uncovered the fact that a good percentage of the partiers were from out of town. We worry about such things because it is often those been made since construction began back in September – sediment has been removed from the lake and the dewatering area. Once the warmer spring weather arrives, the water level in the lake will be lowered to make way for plantings and other rehabilitation work in the lake and around the dam area. Similar plantings and final restoration work will be completed along Clair Creek. While the trail running through the construction area will remain closed for safety reasons, the detour route will remain open around the fenced

your commute will be that much easier and safer. Remember that cars have gone several months now without seeing bikes out and about so be smart and assume they cannot see you. Ride in the direction of traffic in the bike lane or on the right-hand side of the road.

Remember to share the road and even though you may have the right of way in certain situations, it may be a good idea to give way so you can avoid a collision.

And what about those roundabouts?

What is the best and safest way for cyclists to navigate through them? Cyclists can claim their lane by riding in the middle of the vehicle lane and ride through or, you can dismount and walk your bike across the designated from outside Waterloo, with a less vested interest in community life here that could be a catalyst for disruption. And on a street as tiny as Ezra, packed cheek to jowl with celebrants, it doesn’t take much to go from fun to frantic.

If you were there you saw that our local police presence was cordial and accepting of the young participants’ right to have a good time on such a special day. Only the really unruly types who crossed the line to belligerence had anything to fear from our peace keepers. This is in marked contrast to other areas where police dewatering area to connect the trail through the park.

When work resumes later this spring, there may be temporary trail closures when the contractors arrive and depart each day.

On behalf of the City of Waterloo, I’d like to thank the residents for their ongoing patience as we work to revive this treasured area. I’d also like to thank the task force members for their commitment to the preservation of this lake and the habitat it serves.

pedestrian crosswalks. Seasoned cyclists most often ride through in the vehicle lane.

If biking through our extensive trail system is more your style, visit www.waterloo.ca/en/ gettingactive/cycling.asp. In Waterloo there are 130 kilometres of trails so I encourage you to check the map so you can get out on your bike and enjoy some fresh air and exercise!

The Waterloo Cycling Club is another great way to enjoy cycling. This organization offers programs, training and more to help cyclists get the most out of this great activity. You can find them at www.waterloocyclingclub.ca Remember, when you are out and about on your bike, be alert, be safe and enjoy the ride! forces enact a zero tolerance approach to street parties on St. Patrick’s Day and that inflexibility often leads to uncontrolled outbreaks of bad behavior, even riots.

So my hat is off to our local police, bylaw enforcement and liquor inspection teams.

Your smiling faces and gentle encouragement made for a good time for all. As well I salute those who came out on the street to have a good time and were respectful of the bylaws in place to keep our city safe.

Party on, party town!

Construction is slated to continue through much of 2013 and I encourage you to stay informed about this project. You can do so by visiting www.waterloo.ca/clairlake or by signing up for an email alert at www.waterloo.ca/en/news/subscribe.aspx

A Message From City of Waterloo Mayor Brenda Halloran ...

On March 22, I hosted our annual State of the City address. The Rotary Club of Waterloo has graciously hosted this event for many years and I am thankful for everything they do to make it so successful. I’d like to thank everyone who purchased tickets to attend – all proceeds from this event benefitted KidsAbility – a local not-for-profit organization that empowers children and youth with disabilities. I am proud of our supportive community and am already looking forward to next year’s address.

State of the City is one of the highlights of the year for me as it gives me an opportunity to discuss our successes as well as the challenges we face. It was particularly enjoyable this year because I had Mayor Josh Bechtel to introduce me. Josh is a grade 5 student at N.A. MacEachern public school who submitted a winning video for our Mayor for the Day contest. It gives me great joy to know the youth of our community are interested in local government – should Josh become mayor of Waterloo one day, I am certain he will find our city as strong and exciting as it is today.

From established powerhouse companies to up-and-coming superstars, our reputation for technology is global. Three internationally renowned post-secondary institutions attract over 45,000 students each year and our research institutes are second-to-none. And don’t forget about our thriving manufacturing industry, first-class insurance and financial services industries – not to mention our vibrant cultural lifestyle – all of these things contribute to the superior quality of life our residents and visitors have grown to love.

I am proud to lead our community and am grateful to be working alongside our residents and our city councillors – each of whom is committed to making Waterloo the best city it can be. Together, we will ensure our community remains one with a treasured past, a dynamic present and a bright and exciting future.

To read the State of the City address, please visit our website at www.waterloo.ca

We are a community of choice to live, work, learn and play.

Visit us online and join in the conversation at

/citywaterloo

The City of Waterloo is committed to providing accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities. If another format would work better for you, please contact:

P. 519.886.1550

E. communications@waterloo.ca

TTY. 1.866.786.3941

www.waterloo.ca

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

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EXPLORING THE MEANING OF ‘HOME’ LAURA BUCK AND ASHLEY DENUZZO CCE CONTRIBUTORS

The auditorium was buzzing with excited energy, a room full of people who were anxiously awaiting the start to a day dedicated to considering, sharing and discussing ideas.

On Wednesday, March 27, TEDxWaterloo was hosted at the Centre in the Square Theatre in Kitchener. A variety of speakers, each with very different backgrounds, took to the stage to discuss the theme “chasing home.”

The day was divided into three sessions. The first focused on the concept of “homeWITHIN,” the second, “homeTOGETHER” and the third, “homeBEYOND.” TED is a U.S. based not-for-profit group, committed to “ideas worth spreading” from the fields of technology, entertainment and design. TEDxWaterloo was formed in 2009 and since has established itself as a leader in bringing innovative ideas to a local level.

homeWithin The opening group of speakers discussed ideas around the topic of “home within.” This included discussions about the intimacy of the human brain and internal organs, ranging to the very personal topics of self-acceptance and identity.

The discussion was opened with Holly Painter, a young slam poet who shared her difficult and emotional journey to self-acceptance. Painter struggled with her identity as a gay woman in a small town. She shared her story by saying, “For most, first love marks a coming of age. But for me it was an inability to come out and tell anyone her name, so she and I made new homes inside our closets.”

Following Painter’s empowering personal story, the discussion moved onto the topic of the brain, which as Chris Eliasmith,

a neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo, explained, “Is perhaps our most intimate home.”

The first session concluded with the wit and humour of Mag Ruffman, a Canadian actor, author and contractor. Ruffman shared her ideas about the positive effects on the brain of hands-on work for children.

Aaron St. John, an audience member, was excited about the energy in the room. “I think the environment is really chaotic,” he said.

“Everyone’s very excited; everyone’s so willing to participate with the speakers. There’s a very good sense of unity amongst the crowd.”

homeTOGETHER The second session of TEDx Waterloo was appropriately named homeTOGETHER, representing the complexities of human relationships and co-existence. This session took on a more sociological theme as speakers directed their talks towards how humans function together.

Noel Biderman, CEO of ashley.madison. com, spoke about the psychology behind human infidelity.

He explained that unfaithfulness is extremely age-sensitive, and that his website, often criticized for promoting cheating, makes us think about why we have these mid-life revelations and can help society recalibrate how we structure the home.

Sudz Sutherland focused on the assimilated home and is currently working with deportees. Noting that many landed immigrants eventually consider Canada their home, he asserted that we need to “look systematically” and promote citizenship. Failing to do so could lead to deportation and a life sentence of homesickness.

Dr. Mark Greenburg continued this theme of finding “home” together with his

TEDxWaterloo brought out a variety of performances. • LAURA BUCK CCE CONTRIBUTOR

discussion on the difference between curing and healing. He recalled many cases where children may have been “cured” from their disease but ran into many psychological, behavioural and societal issues in the future.

Although the impact of an illness can never wholly go away, Greenburg feels that modern medicine needs to focus on the long-term effects — trying to heal the family as well as the patient.

homeBEYOND TEDx Waterloo takes home outside the planet itself in the third session, homeBEYOND. During the final segment, speakers of great scientific backgrounds spoke about their contributions to modern science and how their findings will affect us on Earth indefinitely.

Alison Lister, a particle physicist, has spent years studying the molecules that were present moments after the Big Bang. She explained that science is never ending and that society needs more people with a natural curiosity for the subject.

Moving forward, Wade Larson introduced his company, UrtheCast, which is putting HD cameras on the International Space Station.

Essentially, a visual of Earth will all be accessible to anyone who has an Internet connection. Larson called UrtheCast a mash up of Google Earth and YouTube and hopes it will provide a new perspective of the beauty behind our home planet.

Rob Manning, the man behind the missions to Mars, closed off TEDx Waterloo with a different perspective of the home. Manning has developed a deep philosophical view on humanity’s infinite reach for the stars and with a unique twist on the theme, questioned, “Could we one day call Mars our new home?”

TEDx Waterloo concentrated on the concept of the “home” and took it beyond the walls of buildings. Ultimately, the speakers gathered under the same conclusion: the individual who lives there determines what is a “home.”

WATERLOO PARK UPGRADES APPROVED ALANNA FAIREY CCE CONTRIBUTOR

After months of negotiations and planning, Waterloo city councillors have signed off on several changes that will be made to Waterloo Park, expected for 2014.

Waterloo mayor Brenda Halloran addressed the Region’s plans to move forward with these changes in her State of the City address March 22, where she revealed that the federal government had given its approval.

“A favourite destination for our Waterloo residents is Waterloo Park,” Halloran said.

“Thanks to a federal government grant, this jewel of our city will undergo upgrades in the near future.”

The changes that will be made to the park include restoring an old wooden playground, establishing new trails that will lead directly into the recreational area, enhancing the parking lot and integrating fibre optic cables as well as Wi-Fi expediency.

Eckhard Pastrik, the landscape architect for Waterloo Park, shared that the master plan for Waterloo Park had been completed four years ago. The need to improve the

The planned layout for the updated Waterloo Park. • COURTESY OF THE CITY OF WATERLOO

quality of the park has remained a priority of the project components that councilors had wanted to implement.

“One of the major issues we found when we did the master plan was the park had limited visibility on roadways around it,” Pastrik explained. “This is our opportunity to give it a front.”

The committee and the public asked that the playground located in the west side of the park be fixed. According to Pastrik, this playground has come to the end of its useful life.

Once the changes are made to the west side park, Waterloo residents will notice that this recreational area will be much different than others found in other local parks.

“We’re looking to replace that with this new accessible playground,” Pastrik said.

“This playground will focus on a sort of passive play instead of the traditional playground that is used elsewhere.”

Discussions to implement these changes to the park began late last year. The process began with a concept development stage where they sought public input. Through this, individuals were able to express what they would like to see changed about the park.

“We’ve met with committees of council who have a particular interest in this project.

We then had a public information center back in November of last year at the end of that conceptual stage,” Pastrik said.

“We’ve been fortunate to find out that we were given the grant money, so we have moved into the general design stage so we’re refining it to the next level. We’ll be ready for construction inmid-to-late June of this year.”

The committee is hoping to complete the designs for the park changes by the end of April, and they will then put the designs out for public approval.

Once these designs have been completed, the committee will start looking for contractors who will then complete the project.

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

K-W WELCOMES BIKE SHARE

Pair of local bicycle sharing programs could be launching soon HG WATSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Waterloo Region may soon be home to not just one, but two bicycle-sharing programs.

Both Grand River Public Bike Sharing (GRPBS) and The Working Centre are in the midst of rolling out systems that would allow residents of Waterloo and Kitchener, respectively, to rent bikes from docking stations for as long as the rider needs.

At the Sustainability Fair at the University of Waterloo last month, Bianca Popescu, a volunteer with Active Community Transportation, explained to interested onlookers exactly how bike-sharing works and who needs it. “I think because Waterloo has so many university students this would be a great system for students to use,” she explained.

Community members can buy a membership for up to a year, or as little as 24 hours.

Once purchased, they have access to branded cycles that can be driven from station to station, where they are docked after use. It’s a system that has become popular throughout Europe and is making headway in North America. In Canada, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal have programs operated in part, in some cases, by Bixi. Closer to home, Hamilton’s city council recently approved a bikesharing program.

GRPBS and The Working Centre have both gotten the support of various proponents of alternative forms of transit in the region. “We find generally that public bike systems encourage more people to try cycling on a more regular basis,” said Norma Moores, the project manager of the draft of Region of Waterloo’s Active Transportation Plan. It could also encourage demand for better cycling infrastructure in the region. “[The two] kind of tag team each other.”

The GRPBS program will be similar to Bixi’s. However, The Working Centre’s plan will see the bikes operating on a different type of docking system.

“The way that we generally designed the system is that the station will have a bike rack and it’ll also have somewhere where the keys are stored,” said Adrian Underhill, who leads

Grand river public bike share makes a presentation at sustainability week at the University of Waterloo. • HG WATSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

the bike-sharing program for the centre.

While the two systems aren’t integrated due to the different technology that they use, Underhill did say that he is in talks with GRPBS to determine how the two programs could work together.

Bike-sharing programs have come under fire for being a financial burden to municipalities. In 2011, Montreal’s city council approved a $108-million bailout to Bixi after the service found itself deep in debt.

Unlike the programs in other Canadian cities, GRPBS plans on being 100 per cent selffunded. “We don’t want to rely on tax dollars,” says Prasad Samarakoon, one of the founders of GRPBS. “We want to build a sustainable model.”

GRPBS needs to wait to get funding from sponsorships and from people signing up for memberships ahead of the launch.

“We need to meet a minimum of 800 members before the launch,” said Samarakoon.

They’re also waiting for additional final approvals from the Region of Waterloo and the City of Waterloo before they can set the date for their official launch.

The Working Centre was granted $15,000 for its program from the Community Environmental Fund according to James Lapointe, a transportation demand manager and planner with the Region of Waterloo. However, The Working Centre notes on its website that it plans to cut costs by about two thirds by not using the same technology as Bixi sharing systems. They expect to have their stations operational sometime between May and June.

Underhill hopes that a yearly membership to the Working Centre’s program will cost

$40. A regular annual fee for GRPBS will cost $78 ($70 for students). However, GRPBS has also reduced yearly fees in hopes of reaching their 800 member goal by the end of the month.

Cycling enthusiasts are hopeful that the two systems can integrate to provide complete service to residents. Mike Boos is a member of the Cycling Advisory Committee in Kitchener and an advocate with TriTAG. “I would say in TriTAG’s perspective we would really like to see good cooperation between the two providers,” he noted. “It would be great if they could operate on the same technology and be entirely interoperable.”

The benefits for the region of both bikesharing programs could be a positive boost to cycling culture in the region. “It’s eco-friendly, healthier and very economical mode of transportation,” said Samarakoon.

LEARNING THE BUSINESS OF DOING BUSINESS Young entrepreneurs strut their stuff at Junior Achievement trade show CARRIE DEBRONE KITCHENER CITIZEN EDITOR

There is no better teacher than taking hold of an opportunity and trying something for yourself.

That’s clearly the philosophy behind Junior Achievement’s (JA) Company Program, a program that encourages and supports high school students as they create and run their own businesses. The students collaborate with professional volunteers to design and operate a real business, leading to a greater understanding of the role of business in society and what it takes to guide your own enterprise through the risks and rewards, maintain ethical standards and maintain positive

relationships with business partners, clients and others in the business community.

The JA Company Program runs from the end of October to mid-April each year in the Region of Waterloo, offering an opportunity to get experience in marketing, sales pitching and event execution.

Nine JA companies from Central Ontario competed at the 3rd annual Sun Life JA of Waterloo Region Company Trade Show on March 13. Each company profiled a new product it created and designed and came to the show prepared to sell it. The companies were then judged by a panel of Sun Life financial volunteers.

This year’s winning company, called Scanned and Found, created a sticker with

a personalized Qr code on it that can be manufactured to contain personal contact information.

The sticker can then be attached to personal items and if they are ever lost, the owner can then be contacted by scanning the sticker.

Other companies at the show included E.T.C., which sold gift mugs with chocolates and gel candles; As We Grow, selling its flagship product the ‘Mystery Plant” which blooms into a mystery flower; Priceless, a company offering personalized greeting cards and 4 GB USB bracelets; Sigma Designs selling the Pocketer; Limitless, selling duct tape wallets and T-shirts; Side Kits selling a mini emergency kit with 31 items; Asterisk

Inc. selling fashion bracelets; Delta Style selling crew necks, mugs and gift boxes; dOts, offering UV bead bracelets that change colour when exposed to sunlight; Doce selling soap, hand cream and fragrances; Showbiz Events, a service company, which was selling tickets to a talent show called Dramatis that it created showcasing the talents of local young performers; Wired, a company offering an array of decorative handmade candles; Ecovation selling a pouch that holds your phone while it is charging at an outlet; Wraps industries selling Snap Jax, a wire winder to keep headphone wires neatly organized and protected; Torrid selling reusable, portable heat packs and Insula selling scarves, travel mugs, chocolates and seeds.

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

JUST AS SCARY ON THE OUTSIDE CARRIE DEBRONE KITCHENER CITIZEN EDITOR

One of the most difficult things facing women who have been in prison is successful reintegration into society after their release.

There are few companies willing to offer former prisoners jobs, few low-income housing options, little support for mental health or addiction issues they may still face, and almost no support for former women prisoners who are often the sole providers for their children.

Women who are released from prison need jobs that will pay them enough money to allow them to look after themselves and their families — but how can they find a job? Who will hire them? Who will take the risk to help?

If they can get involved in local businesses, education and training programs while they are serving their prison terms, they will likely have a better chance of being successful when they are released.

Currently over 80 social agencies, schools, churches and local organizations work with Grand Valley Institute for Women (GVI) in Kitchener to help prisoners get onto a productive path.

GVI also has 200 volunteers involved directly with prisoners in chaplaincy, recreational, leisure, support and program-oriented activities.

Many prisoners work on educational upgrading to achieve grade 12. There are currently over 90 women involved in education, with 19 women on a waitlist to start attending school and 23 involved in post secondary studies and through partnerships with Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto, which provide courses for “inside” incarcerated students and “outside” social work students to work on under and post graduate credits.

While acknowledging that the prison system has made great strides in recent years towards successful reintegration, many say it is not enough.

If society wants to help prisoners change from a life of crime to become responsible members of society, the community must step up. Many more community partners are needed to offer opportunities to incarcerated women before they are released– that’s the message sent from five current and released Grand Valley Institute women prisoners.

“We’re not bad people. Just people who made bad choices,” Jade, an inmate, said.

And their message was echoed by the institute’s warden, Nancy Kinsman, and the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Women, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), Kelly Blanchette who were also guest speakers at the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council’s 4th Annual Forum for Federally Sentenced Women, Celebrating and Enhancing Community Connections, held March 20 at the Victoria Park Pavilion.

Hosted by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, the event invited people from social agencies, local businesses, school boards and universities to be part of a discussion about how to provide work experience and education to women in prison.

“The safe transition of these women into the community is a key goal of the CSC,” said

Blanchette, adding “We can’t do it alone. We must partner with the community.”

Blanchette said that more new partnerships are needed especially in the areas of mental health and employment.

Over 225 people, many from local social agencies and businesses, listened to the personal stories of five courageous women who either are currently or had been incarcerated at GVI, one of the five regional facilities for federally sentenced women in Canada.

Filled to capacity and overcrowded, GVI will open a new 40-bed minimum-security unit this summer.

The local prison was constructed in 1997 with a capacity to house 70 women. Over the past 15 years it has undergone six residential expansions. Two years ago there was a sharp increase from 120 to 190 prisoners incarcerated there. To meet this need, some rooms became shared accommodation and a portable housing unit was added to accommodate up to 16 women. Currently most of the women live in two storey houses that they share with about ten other women.

The new three-storey unit will have several ‘ranges’, each with a common shared kitchen, living room area, shared washrooms and single bedrooms. The new unit will have several adjoining rooms to allow children to live with their mothers.

Candace, released from GVI two years ago, told her story of being on her own since she was 15-years-old and turning to a life of crime to support herself. While in prison she was separated from her daughter, with whom she has since been reunited.

She said that by taking programs offered at the prison and with the help of good support worker there, she was released to a half way house in Hamilton. She now works in retail and serves on the board of the Elizabeth Fry Society. She hopes to attend Conestoga College and become a social worker.

“Change is possible but we need supports in the community. The more supports available the more successful we will be, “ Candace said.

“Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Tina, who entered prison six years ago, said she felt hopeless in the beginning.

“I was told by a judge that I would die in a cage if I didn’t change,” she said.

A job at the Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society, where she works every day

* There are currently 341 federally sentenced women in Ontario region. The current institutional count at Grand Valley is 201, and the remainder are under supervision in the community. * Most women prisoners are considered low-risk * The majority is serving sentences of three years or under * 25 women are serving life sentences * The cost of incarceration is $211,086 per woman, per year. * 58% require some type of mental health care * More than 80% have experienced physical or sexual abuse and returns to prison at night, has allowed her to get over her self-hatred, she said.

“Most of my life I felt hopeless and worthless. When I went to work there I thought they would judge me, but they showed me support. I felt accepted and appreciated by strangers. They were compassionate,” she added.

She said the prison system needs to offer more grants, bursaries and scholarships

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* 80% have some type of substance abuse problem * 30% have finished high school * Many are single mothers and often the sole providers in the family * Many of the women have experienced homelessness, foster care and prostitution * Many suffer from low self-esteem * 20% of GVI’s population is Aboriginal * 25% have self-identified as Black * 15% have self-identified as Asian, Latin American, Caribbean or Filipino. * 13% are deportable upon release for prisoners so that they can educate themselves and be ready to work when they are released. Completing her BA this spring, Tina said she wished more prisoners could have the opportunity to work that she has had.

“I feel unconditional love from the animals and from my co-workers. The opportunities I have been given have encouraged me to change my life and be successful,” she said.

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APRIL 2013

civic space

BEST PLACE TO LIVE? DON’T LOOK FAR Why doesn’t Kitchener-Waterloo get the respect it deserves?

MARK SHIFFER CCE CONTRIBUTOR

Moneysense.ca has posted a list of “Canada’s Best Places to Live in 2013.” There were 200 cities categorized. Calgary, Ab., was named number one while Lachute, Que., placed last.

The city of Waterloo came in at number 46, Kitchener at 68 and Cambridge took the 82nd spot. Well I don’t agree. I think we’re number one — or closer to it at least.

When I moved here from Toronto in late 2005, I had some initial reservations. Okay, in reality I was scared. There were questions.

What is there to do here? Will I ever feel at home? Will friends and family come to visit?

The cities of Waterloo Region are not huge. But combining them makes it one of the larger metropolitan areas in Canada. We are close to the largest city in the country, yet there is also easy access to smaller towns and rural areas. It’s a nice mix.

Employment prospects are better than in much of the country. This is especially true for entrepreneurs and innovators. BlackBerry is rebounding in Waterloo and the future looks promising. Google has an office in Kitchener. Toyota has a production plant in Cambridge.

Our educational institutions are academic leaders. With two excellent universities and one college, student life is vibrant. The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is generating cutting edge research. There is also the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

The area is a great place to work and study.

But there is much more to do here, including arts and culture. There are major events like Oktoberfest and the Elmira maple syrup festival. Music lovers flock to the annual Jazz

and Blues festivals. Buskers perform every summer in Uptown Waterloo. Fresh local food is available at the lively farmers’ markets in St. Jacobs and Kitchener. The Shaw and Stratford festivals as well as African Lion Safari are nearby tourist attractions.

Even celebrities like to visit. The Queen herself has dropped by. Elton John played here and Sting is coming. Stephen Hawking likes to visit once in a while.

So why aren’t we rated higher in the listings? Some categories are simply out of our control. Rankings were lowered for things like days without rain per year and days above zero degrees Celsius. Winters are typically cold and damp while summers tend to be hot and humid.

The family doctor shortage hasn’t helped our cause. We are not close to any large bodies of water, with all due respect to the Grand River and Bingemans Big Splash water park.

Our water is hard and living here was the first time I was introduced to the need for water softeners and heavy softener pellet bags.

Public transportation within and between cities can be improved, as well as having more bike lanes installed. Downtown cores can be upgraded, particularly in Kitchener and Cambridge.

Still, I think the Moneysense rankings for the region should have been higher. I can confidently say that I am glad I made the move to this area. It has been a good place to live and raise a family.

To answer my earlier questions, there are lots of things to do here. I have come to feel that this is my home.

Sadly, rarely do friends and family visit from Toronto. Apparently it is a lot farther to drive here then to go see them.

An annual busker’s festival in Uptown Waterloo. • ELLI GARLIN FILE PHOTO

Vocal Cord If you didn’t live in Waterloo, where would you live?

I don’t really know how to answer. I really can’t think of anywhere else.

Andrea Perella, Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University

Either Toronto or Bristol, England.

I love Toronto, it’s the first place I moved when I came to Canada, and then Bristol’s my hometown.

Juliette Hunter, Waterloo resident

It would probably be Hope Bay, Ontario which is where I grew up.

Kathleen Stahlbaum, Outdoor programming assistant at the City of Waterloo/University of Waterloo student

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

FEATURE

APRIL 2013

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VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013

PRESENTED BY THE VOLUNTEER ACTION CENTRE AND MEDIA SPONSOR THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

• STEPHANIE TRUONG CCE CONTRIBUTOR

The news is full of stories about unemployment, failing economies and dubious futures. It’s enough to make anyone feel a little pessimistic. But you won’t find any of those pessimists in these pages. Instead you will find 12 people and organizations who believe in giving back to their community.

They’ve donated their time and expertise to making Waterloo Region a better place for lots of people, whether it’s kids who love books, artistic teens or the very fashionable.

The Volunteer Action Centre’s Volunteer Impact Awards, now in its eighth year, are a chance for the community to give back to the people who have put so much of themselves into their volunteer work. On April 18th — during the launch of National Volunteer Week — the 12 winners along with all the nominees will be recognized at a gala dinner reception. It’s just all of our way of saying thanks.

Turn the page for an in depth look at what makes all of this year’s winners so special.

Keep reading on page 12 >>

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VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013

Shining Stars: Caring Action Award

Twinkling Stars: Outstanding Youth Award

Shining Stars: Administrative Action Award

David Ogram

Alicia Mizzi

Donna Robertson

Out of the Cold, The Food Bank of WR, Upward Sports, LOGOS

Ray of Hope

Community Support Connections - Meals on Wheels and More

There certainly wasn’t a shortage of people looking to nominate David Ogram for a volunteer impact award. Involved in multiple charitable organizations in the community, Ogram was put forth for the award by his church, the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Out of the Cold program. “‘We help,’ that’s what my dad always used to say,” said Ogram when asked why he does so much volunteer work. “Someone asked him why he does it, and he just said ‘I like to help people.’”

Ogram spends every Friday night from November to midApril helping in the kitchen at the K-W Out of the Cold program, which provides the city’s homeless with meals and a warm place to sleep. On top of that, he is a team lead for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, helping any time there is a food drive — a natural choice, given he works full time in warehousing.

In addition, Ogram is heavily involved in other programs run by his church. He helps cook meals on Thursday nights and volunteers with a sports program on Tuesday nights that gives kids a fun, safe atmosphere to learn new skills.

“I’ve been going to my church for about 30 years, it’s just something I’ve always done,” said Ogram, noting that his Christian values are very important to him. “I work in warehousing as my full-time job, that’s why I started working with the Food Bank and the Out of the Cold, I just wanted to do something more for the community.”

In his time volunteering Ogram has had many great experiences, but what he loves to see is the generosity of other people.

“One of the Food Bank food drives that we did, I was at one of the stores and a woman came out and she pushed an entire cart full of food to us ” he said. “She said ‘I needed the food bank 10 years ago, I’m fine now, give this to people who need it.’ It was at least $100 worth of food. That was pretty amazing.”

There’s a connection between winners Alicia Mizzi and Ken Wideman. “He was talking about how sometimes fate brings people in for the right reasons,” said Mizzi. Wideman was in need of someone who could teach art lessons. Mizzi has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and was looking for a way of using her skills in a volunteer setting. “Right at that moment I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” She’s been an art teacher with Ray of Hope for over two years.

Mizzi teaches art at Ray of Hope’s alternative education centre for youth who are transitioning out of correctional facilities.

For the people Mizzi works with, art is an opportunity for them to feel empowered. “With art they can have complete control over what they’re doing,” she noted. “They can choose their medium, if they want paint or draw or use clay. For a lot of them, they don’t have that control in their lives right now.”

She takes lessons one day at a time. Instead of planning lessons, she tries to get a feel for what her students are ready to do that day. “You have to just do what feels right at that time so it’s a lot more trying to encourage them to get involved in something.”

Mizzi is certainly dedicated. As of February, she has logged over 560 volunteer hours with Ray of Hope, in addition to being a student and taking on other extra-curricular activities.

“Sometimes you think you’re going to help people but a lot of times you end up learning so much more than you thought you could,” Mizzi said, adding that she’s incredibly happy to contribute.

Despite having a fine arts background, Mizzi has always known that she wanted to help people. “I originally wanted to be an art therapist,” she recalled. Now she is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Social Work. “It made me feel like I was in the right field,” she said. “You never know until you start volunteering and you start working with people.”

Donna Robertson almost ignored the e-mail telling her she’d won a volunteer impact award.

“I’m one of these cautious seniors who’s very wary of names that I’m not familiar with,” she said. “I thought, ‘no I better not open this’. Then I looked at the subject line and thought ‘maybe I should open this’ and lo and behold it was telling me that I won this award and I couldn’t really believe it.”

The Volunteer Action Centre are recognizing Robertson for her work with Community Support Connections and Meals on Wheels and More, which spans over two decades. In 1990, shortly before her retirement, Robertson joined the board of directors for the K-W Friendship Group for Seniors, which would later amalgamate with other groups to form Community Support Connections and Meals on Wheels and More.

Shortly after retiring, Robertson began looking for volunteer work, and didn’t have to look far, joining the volunteer team for the K-W Friendship group for Seniors, initially doing clerical work. She then took on the responsibility of calling seniors who were on the waiting list for a volunteer from the organization’s “friendly visitor” program.

“These are people who in most cases are living alone. They’re lonely and a lot of them were quite elderly,” said Robertson.

“I had one woman that I started out with when she was about 98 years old and she died when she was 106. She was truly amazing.

“We kept contact as long as we were able. She was just a wonderful lady, I loved her to pieces.”

When the K-W Friendship Group for Seniors was merging to form the new organization, Robertson was unsure if she would stay. However, she decided to stick around, a decision she’s very glad she made.

“Everybody is so nice here,” she said. “I never leave without people saying ‘thank you’ and that means a lot. I’ve done some other volunteer work where they didn’t really appreciate what the volunteers did but this is just a wonderful place to volunteer.”

“I’m just happy to be a part of so many great organizations.”

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VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013

Shooting Stars: Volunteer Manager Award

Twinkling Stars: Adult Ally Award

Stellar Volunteer Award

Ken Wideman

Lisa Doran

Random Act of Kindness Day - Founder. Also: United Way of Kitchener Waterloo and Area, Rick Hansen Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Outstanding Women of Laurier, UW Tech Park Golf Tournament...

Ken Wideman isn’t a volunteer, but he spends a lot of time working with them. As the volunteer coordinator for Ray of Hope, he wrangles more than 2,000 volunteers who work a combined 52,041 hours each year. But he isn’t even a little tired.

“I love it!” he said. “It’s one of those jobs where you get up in the morning and you look forward to going in to work. That’s always been a neat part of life to have a job that you enjoy doing.”

Wideman is an expert in finding the right volunteer post for the right person. He often encounters people who want to contribute their time but aren’t sure how. That can be especially daunting at Ray of Hope, a large non-profit that offers a wide variety of services to people in need. Out of their community centre space, they even serve hot meals year-round. Much of their work depends on the volunteers Wideman finds and assigns to jobs. “It takes a massive commitment of man power, energy and enthusiasm,” said Wideman. Some of his volunteers work for as a little as a day, others for as long as 15 years.

“Part of what I like to do is explore colouring outside the lines,” said Wideman. It’s how he managed to find Alicia Mizzi, also an award winner, and help her become the fine arts teacher for Ray of Hope’s alternative school. “I started something that had never been done, someone teaching art as a volunteer in our education centre.” Mizzi is a great success story for Ray of Hope.

“She has been doing it for two years and is well loved and well appreciated.”

Now it’s Wideman’s turn to get some of the appreciation. He was thrilled to hear that he had won the award for best volunteer manager. “I’m happy to hear that they’re finding that they’re being able to come to me and get answers to questions, solutions to problems,” Wideman said. “It’s gratifying.”

There’s an old adage that one person can make a difference, but a group of people can change history. It’s something that Lisa Doran, manager of children & youth services at Family and Children’s Services (FACS) at Waterloo Region, has been able to experience first-hand.

In November 2011, she and a group of young people transitioning from protective care went to Queen’s Park to tell the provincial legislature what it means for kids to lose support once they turn 22, which is when the system releases children from provincially funded care. “Everyone should have a caring adult in their life,” said Doran. “There should be a sense of belonging and permanency.”

Their presentation pushed the government to establish a youth leaving care working group and to allow some financial support for youth past the age of 21 who are in post-secondary education and training.

Doran’s support of the youth goes well beyond advocating for them before politicians. She was nominated for the Adult Ally award because she tirelessly works to ensure children and youth have the tools to transition out of care.

“My passion is to raise the voices for kids in care and make things better for them,” said Doran. She also implemented changes at FACS to ensure that her team is actually working with kids one-on-one. Part of what she advocates is ensuring that people really listen to youth: “Listen to understand.”

One of her favourite parts of her work is the youth advisory board at FACS, which provides feedback for the agency about what they are doing right and wrong, from the perspective of the kids in care. They’re a dynamic group that motivates Doran. “Every time I meet with them I get so inspired personally and professionally from what they’re saying and how they are talking.

They’re just so resilient.”

For more than 20 years this has been Doran’s work. For her, the satisfaction comes from empowering teens. “You make a difference,” she noted, adding that it’s satisfying to help people share their own story and develop their own path.

Ray of Hope

Family and Children’s Services

Debb Ritchie

Inspiration struck Debb Ritchie after a stranger’s random act of kindness — and after viewing a Kevin Spacey film.

“I went to a meeting and I was parked in a parking lot to get a ticket stub, and while I was sitting there a fellow came forward and asked if I was going to be there for a while,” said Ritchie.

“His meeting got cancelled and he had just paid for parking.”

The anonymous stranger handed over his ticket and Ritchie, after finishing her own meeting, passed the favour on to the next stranger who came in the parking lot.

Paying it forward is a familiar concept thanks to the film of the same name (Ritchie watched it a few weeks after her run-in at the parking lot). Ritchie, who works in marketing, knew there was a way of turning this concept into an event that would get everyone else paying it forward.

Random Act of Kindness day is the result of Ritchie’s organizing efforts. Each fall, on a certain day, you’re encouraged to do something kind for a friend, neighbour or random stranger.

You also get a card that you pass forward, on-and-on for who knows how long as people keep doing nice things for each other. “[Cards circulate] quite a bit,” said Ritchie. “We’ve had cards sent back to us from different locations around the world: British Columbia, California, Florida and even Ireland.”

Ritchie’s volunteer experience is much too extensive to list here. Suffice it to say, she’s had a long and storied volunteer history — it’s even put her in some well-heeled circles. “I had the opportunity to meet the Queen [of England] 11 years ago,” Ritchie laughed. For her, volunteering is a way for her to see creative and innovative ideas come to life and improve the community. “I’m always coming up with different things to do.”

As for Random Acts of Kindness, there is one thing she won’t be doing anymore: giving out her parking ticket stub. “I actually found out it’s illegal [to do that],” Ritchie laughed.

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013

Shining Stars: Planning Action Award

Constellations: Small Group Constellations: Large Group Award Award

Peter Gray

Children’s Water Education Council, Underground Water Festival founder

ARTA Romanian Association

In 1993, Peter Gray took a trip to Nebraska and came back with an idea. While south of the border, he was exposed to the notion of a children’s groundwater festival and thought it might work in Ontario.

Twenty years later, the Kitchener-based Children’s Water Education Council (CWEC) — formed in 2001 — is still going strong and Gray is still helping execute water festivals throughout Ontario.

The first festival was held in Milton in 1994 and since then, Gray and his team have expanded to carrying out 25 annual festivals across Ontario.

“I’m a hydro geologist myself. I’m a dad, I have four kids and I have seen how they like to learn,” said Gray, noting that the festival is mainly geared towards kids in grades two to six.

“We find that that very tactile way of learning is a great way of engaging the kids. That’s why we use the word festival as well. It’s a great time, it’s very exciting, there aren’t clowns or anything like that but we use the word ‘festival’ to capture the fun that the kids are going to have.”

A typical water festival consists of 40 or 50 hands-on activities through which kids learn different lessons related to water. Gray said the festivals cover a very broad base of topics relating to water: everything from water conservation and sustainability, to water issues in third-world countries, to watershed management.

Aside from one paid staff person, CWEC is completely volunteer-run, something Gray is very proud of. But he’s even more proud of the impact the festivals have had on some of the early participants.

“I want to step back and let the younger people do it,” he said.

And when it comes to his thoughts on receiving a volunteer impact award, Gray remains humble.

“Hundreds of people could be recognized for this,” he said.

“It’s not me being recognized, the cause is being recognized.”

Settling into a new country can be a daunting task for any immigrant. The ARTA Romanian Association works to ease that transition for new arrivals from Romania, while looking to preserve the nation’s culture.

Created in 2000, the organization was built to help new Romanian immigrants integrate into Canadian culture. However, it is also a means of maintaining Romanian culture for the children and grandchildren of immigrants.

“It’s not always easy, but it means a lot for the first generation of immigrants and for their children,” said Mirella Banica-Stanei, a Romanian immigrant and founding member of ARTA. “We want to help [new immigrants] integrate into a new community and society and on the other hand to preserve in our community the traditions and language.”

While Waterloo Region is known for its heavy German influence, Banica-Stanei estimates the Romanian population to be pretty sizable, at about 10,000 people.

“We participate at different Romanian events and also multi-cultural festivals in Kitchener or in Guelph or at different events in the larger community, not just in our Romanian community,” said Banica-Stanei.

The group came from humble beginnings, starting mainly as a dance group. It was able to purchase traditional Romanian costumes thanks to a Trillium grant. Since then, they’ve expanded to have an active presence in the community.

“There is a need for organizations like this,” she said. “They are, on one hand, a gate between the larger community and the ethnic communities, so they kind of build this bridge between the two parts. They also are a comfort.”

When they received the recognition from the Volunteer Action Centre, the group was taken completely by surprise.

“We didn’t expect it all,” said Banica-Stanei. “But it’s a wonderful recognition of the work of many volunteers in our community.”

Carol Parsons & Spring Promenade Fashion Show Committee Every year, the Spring Promenade Fashion Show gives attendees a chance to check out the latest fashion trends. But the event has a much larger purpose.

Currently in its 19th season, the Spring Promenade Fasion Show has raised over $525,000 for the Hospice of Waterloo Region since the show’s inception in 1995. Held at Bingeman’s Marshall Hall, the fashion show features models showing off the latest spring styles, with proceeds being donated to the Hospice of Waterloo Region, “People are excited to get rid of all the nasty weather and see al the fashions coming out in the spring,” said Carol Parsons, this year’s fashion show chairperson. “People can spend some money on themselves and of course raise money for a great cause.”

The planning committee of 10 women has seen the event grow every year, getting more and more clothing stores — with a focus on local, independent retailers — involved and raising more and more money and awareness for the Hospsice. The funds raised by the fashion show helps the Hospice grow the number of programs it offers and keeps them free of charge.

“We know that at some point in our lives most of us will know someone that will benefit from the services hospice provides,” said Parsons.

“At the show itself we have a volunteer from the Hospice that speaks and their stories are always very inspirational.

Being able to get that perspective really validates why we put in the time to help.”

Parsons and the committee were thrilled and honoured that the Hospice of Waterloo Region nominated them for a volunteer impact awards.

“It is hard to put into words because we really don’t look for that recognition,” said Parsons. “We’re all very humble people, we’re successful professionally and have great family support and to be appreciated for the time we put in to help support this organization, it was very well received by our committee and we were very thankful.”

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

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VOLUNTEERIMPACTAWARDS2013 Additional winners: Shooting Stars: Outstanding Leadership Award Merv Redman

Mosaic Counselling & Family Services Nominees included: Large Group Award Kitchener Youth Action Council (KYAC) Kitchener-Conestoga Rotary Club Sun Life Financial - Waterloo Wellington Financial Centre Wright Auto KPMG Scotiabank Group Shining Stars: Administrative Action Award Adrian Goberdhan and Nick Vafiades Marlene Pink Rebecca Broderick

Twinkling Stars: Youth Engaging Organization Award Kitchener Public Library Kitchener Public Library has earned a nomination for its excellent work engaging youth volunteers through its various programs and events. We spoke to Sherry Erb, coordinator of volunteer services, about what the nomination means for her.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your youth programs.

A: Our programs have gotten quite large. We have an incredible group of teens who are helping with a wide variety of opportunity. I thought it would be nice to highlight what they do and how they’re involved in so many different aspects of the library. For example every summer we have a special program where we recruit teens just to give us two weeks of their summer to help with summer programs. They have a great rapport with the kids and a lot of enthusiasm. It just makes our programs a great success both for the kids and the staff.

Q: What do you think draws teens to volunteer at the library?

A: I definitely think they’re like-minded individuals. They like books or like helping out, helping kids or met friends who have similar interests. Some are looking at building their resume or looking at letters of recommendation, and they know that if they stay with an organization they have that letter available for them. A lot of them love books. It’s an easy place for them to volunteer their time with in their neighbourhood.

It’s a really great fit.

Q: How do you feel about KPL winning the award?

A: I’m very excited. I’m so happy that we’re being recognized that way. Teens are going to be excited about it but I also think the staff that work with the teen volunteers they make it a success because they’re supportive.

Shining Stars: Special Event Award Waterloo Potter’s Workshop It sounds like a lot of work for 25 potters to make 600 bowls — and it is. But for the members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop, it’s a labour of love.

Every year since 1999, the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop — a group of local potters that has been in existence for 45 years — has been making bowls for their Empty Bowls event, which aims to combat hunger and poverty in the region. The Empty Bowls event is hosted by the Clay and Glass Gallery and gives participants a chance to buy a handmade bowl and sample some gourmet soup donated by 10 local restaurants.

All the proceeds from the event go to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. “[The idea for the empty bowls event] originated in 1991 in Michigan,” explained Laurie Cowell, a member of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. “There was a high school teacher who was looking for a project for his students that would get them involved in the community and he came up with the idea of having this “empty bowls” event.

“One of our members heard about it and she thought ‘oh, we could do it’ and we took it on. It’s been really well received.”

Three years ago, the Potters’ Workshop started a partnership with the Robert Langen Art Gallery at Wilfrid Laurier University to run a separate Empty Bowls event. The potters provide WLU with 100 bowls, which are filled with soup provided by WLU food services, and the money goes to the Food Bank.

In its first year, the event raised just over $2,300 for the Food Bank, but according to Cowell, it now regularly brings in over $25,000, including the money raised by the event at Laurier. Cowell added that since 1999, the Empty Bowls event has raised $194,555 total.

“We always think of the empty bowls as a very positive experience,” said Cowell. “We have some people that come every year. We had one person that said she’d been coming every year for 15 years, I don’t know where she’s putting all these bowls.”

Shining Stars: Caring Action Award Anne Ruby Christopher Bluthardt Harold Vanwyck Heather Yates Hui Zou Justin Gautreau Kassandra (Kassy) Chiarello Mary Patterson Michael Malleck Patrick Berg Peter Higgins Shirley Hambly Verna Martin Shining Stars: Planning Action Award John Jackson The ILCWR Board of Directors Shining Stars: Special Event Award Cindie Hietanen Lawrence Bingeman Mike Begin Ros Hood Morris Shooting Stars: Outstanding Leadership Award Carl Roney Dr. Barry Colbert Henry Dejong Jack Gould Karam Joseph Yousif Lynn Guénard Sue Morgan Veronica Strauss Victor Zamin Shooting Stars: Volunteer Manager Award Jennifer Ball Jennifer Carreiro Small Group Award More Than Engineering (MTE) Twinkling Stars: Adult Ally Award Joanne McQuiggan Twinkling Stars: Outstanding Youth Award Emerson Carmichael Paul Ingram Sabrina Simmons

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

URBAN EXPLORING

FINDING THE PRINCESS IN ALL OF US

From a travel blog to a Disney fashion blog, Leslie Kalbfleisch, a K-W native and creator of the popular DisneyBound describes the inner workings of running one of Tumblr’s most popular blogsites Q: When did you start DisneyBound?

DisneyBound started as a travel blog. I was going to Disney World with one of my best friends, we had been planning this since we were ten and then we were both in our early 20s which is why we wanted to go on this trip. So we created this Tumblr out of excitement and that was about two years ago. So I started to do these outfits and after the first five outfits [designed] I noticed 1,000 views. Then I was like “holy crap, 1,000?” and then I kept going on from there.

That was within a week of going live I didn’t intentionally mean for it to be a fashion blog, it became one.

Q: So “DisneyBound” comes from the act of you and your friend wanting to travel to Disney?

Yes, we were literally ‘Disney bound” and now it’s become a more figurative meaning of being bound to the Disney magic and lifestyle.

Q: You mentioned you got 1,000 views on your first week? What strategies did you use to market your blog in order to get hits and how were you able to track your views?

I was creating the outfits on Polyvore [a collaborative fashion website designed for people to put together outfits] that’s my main resource for when I go and create the outfits for the blog and that gives me a better tracking device. [Polyvore] was able to show me the views and who was clicking on the images. The first day I was sitting at my computer, creating these outfits and I was watching the views go up in front of me.

Q: What was your reaction to that?

I remember going to my mom and saying “Mom, I got 3,000 views this weekend!” and she was like “That’s nuts!” Since then, 3,000 views is nothing. Polyvore has given me better insight for viewers, Tumblr doesn’t show you page visits.

Q: How many followers do you gain on an average week?

I try not to keep track of it too much but the last time I checked I was getting about 50-100 new followers a day and getting close to 10,000 views about every two weeks or so.

Q: How do you make it consistent?

It’s evolved a lot because it started as a hobby. From there as it started to get shared across the web I realized that I should make these images look a lot better so I put a lot more effort into laying it out and what pieces to choose.

Q: What’s your routine of putting the blog together in depth?

My weekly schedule is that most weeknights I do about seven outfits. I have a list of requests that people want to see and so I’ll go through the list and pick a character and then I start to think ‘What kind of look do I want to do this time? Do I want it to be formal or casual or athletic?’And then I just start to look for the right pieces, so I start off with the shirt and then the pants, or a dress. Accessories are the main thing that really pull everything together. For example when I put together an outfit for the Mad Hatter [from Alice in Wonderland] there’s a hat I incorporate and accessories like a tea-cup ring. And then on Friday I do about ten outfits and Saturday I do about 15. It’s lots of organization that goes with it or else I completely forget what I’m doing.

Q: How long has it taken you to develop a schedule?

DisneyBound has kind of taken over my life but I make sure that I give myself Sundays off.

When I started off my outfit posting would vary, I would post 15 outfits a day, three outfits the next. Then I realized that I had a following with people constantly checking in so I had to find a balance with peak hours of when people were logging on which was mostly in the evenings after people got out of school. But I also have a social life so it got to the point where it took over and I felt like I couldn’t go out on a Saturday night because I had so much work to do. So I

created my own schedule and I’m my own boss where I’m very strict with making sure I post a specific amount of outfits each night. There are some days where I’d very much rather go to the beach but I have to get my 15 outfits done first (laughs).

Q: We notice that you repost other people’s outfits, do you think that gives a more wholesome view for people to get inspired when searching DisneyBound?

Yes, the whole purpose of DisneyBound is to inspire people to find their own style and create their own ideas. I actually get some people angry with me because I don’t make things that work for them but I can’t make everything based on everyone’s budget and style so the challenge is trying to create an outfit everyone can use. I try to inspire people to do what works for them based on the examples that I give them. You don’t have to go out and splurge money on the shorts that I used for the outfit but you can get an idea and go find something that’s similar and for a cheaper price. I just want them to have fun with it and make it their own.

Q: What knowledge and experience do you use to channel your blog?

I have a background in fashion and it was my go-to hobby during high school. I’m really into fashion, designing and sewing and I graduated from Conestoga College in the marketing program so with that I used my knowledge of social media and marketing to market myself which I think has helped me because I knew the basics of how to market myself and connect with the public.

Q: Looking at your inspirations, you mentioned on your blog that your aunt is one of them.

How has she channeled that inspiration with DisneyBound?

She helped me a lot with fashion. I would always go to her place and sew and she taught me a lot of sewing. She was very creative and she would help me with focusing on anything creative.

I never got to tell her about DisneyBound but I think if she were here today, she would be very impressed. I think [DisneyBound] would be something she would’ve really liked.

Q: What’s been the most interesting and exciting experience you’ve had with DisneyBound with a fan/follower?

I had done a series with Bob Mackie because a bunch of people from Mackie’s team had reached out to me asking if I would design some of their Barbie Dolls, so I did that in December and Holly Madison tweeted a couple weeks ago that she liked the series. I’m also a Bob Mackie fan so that was really cool from a Hollywood perspective, especially with a celebrity acknowledging what I’ve been doing.

But I did a collaboration with a denim shorts line based in Chicago and so I went to their fashion show. I was standing there talking to someone and I get a tap on the shoulder and this young girl who is about 12 said, “Excuse me are you Leslie from DisneyBound?” and I said, “Yes” and she had tears in her eyes. It made me feel like I was Justin Bieber so that was pretty cool to have someone so excited to see me and want to get a picture with me and have their mom be equally excited.

Q: Why do you think people enjoy dressing up as Disney characters?

I think because we are told that we are supposed to grow up but there’s no point where, bam, you’re an adult. So I think the people who really enjoy Disney and being creative and having a big imagination, they don’t want to let to go of that. So I think they enjoy playing dress up without actually having to [wear a costume]. And I think it helps people with fashion and accessorizing as opposed to looking at a model. It gives them examples to really get into fashion.

Looking for inspiration from Disney like Alice in Wonderland is much helpful than looking at a 90 pound model. I think that’s what people have really enjoyed about DisneyBound and dressing up.

-Cristina Almudevar and Carly Basch

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

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re-DEVELOPMENT Empire Public School

New gym city

Empire Public School, built in 1954, is getting a $4-million face lift that will include a new gym, improved kindergarten classrooms and better overall facilities.

The giving tree

Empire’s status as one of the first certified Ecoschools in the region is a point of pride for many of the students and community members. Recent events, however, have threatened this reputation.

Save our trees

The renovation plans also require the removal of 22 mature trees in order to expand the parking lot. Concerned parents quickly rallied to protest the school board about this decision.

Pave over paradise?

Not yet! The Waterloo Region District School Board has indicated they are willing to listen to community concerns and potentially come up with an alternative plan.

This May, The Cord Community Edition is looking for ten great ideas. Be they big or small, we want to know what you’re doing to make Waterloo Region an amazing place.

Ideas to Change Waterloo

Online voting is now open! Visit community.thecord.ca before April 18 to decide which idea has the best chance of changing Waterloo Region. Results will be revealed in our May 10 issue.

Your vote will be counted along side the votes of our judging panel, which includes: • Cathy Brothers - Executive Director in Residence for Capacity Waterloo Region • Nicole Neufeld - Director of Public Programs for KW Art Gallery • Ken Seiling - Regional Chair • Jim Erb - former Waterloo City Councillor

and partner at Erb and Good Funeral Home • David Marskell - CEO of THEMUSEUM • Nabeel Rana - Organizer of the World Religions Conference • HG Watson - EIC of the Cord Community Edition

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APRIL 2013

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS with Bloomin Earth

Every April brings warmth and re-growth back to Waterloo Region. To celebrate, each April 27 — right on Earth Day — Bloomin Earth takes over downtown Kitchener. The street sale brings the best artisans and community members into the core to show how vibrant it is. HG Watson spoke to Megan Goos about the evolution of Bloomin Earth

H.G. Watson: What was the inspiration for Bloomin Earth?

Megan Goos: It started about seven years ago when hand made wasn’t really a term I wanted to use to explain my things that I made because people still thought it was very popsicle stick looking craft kind of thing.

[Toronto is] where the big shows were and they were doing so well and used the word so freely. I was like ‘I don’t want to drive to Toronto every single time. We need to have something here in Kitchener.’

I grew up when Kitchener was busy. It was always people downtown. The stores were filled and there were sidewalk sales everyday…downtown Kitchener is not like that anymore. I wanted to try and build it back up again by having festivals and bringing people downtown showing them what was available in their community.

HG: What did the intial Bloomin Earth look like?

MG: Originally it started off as 20 artists. We were inside city hall and we all had our tables set up and none of us knew anything about presenting our art for a show, so we kind of all learned together. As the years moved on, we got some Toronto artists in and we kind of learned from them.

Now its grown to about 50 artists that are from here in the K-W area. When I first started the show nobody would say that they made stuff, so you never really knew when you met someone. It’s nice to see that they’re proud of it now. [They say] ‘yes I make things and yes I have my own business.’ So we’ve — I like to say we’ve — come a really long way.

HG: What can you expect when you go to the market?

MG: [One vendor] takes wine bottles and beer bottles and things like that and she uses them to make her stained glass art. She also makes coasters and cuts the end of the bottles off to make drinking glasses out of them. Everything she uses is recycled product.

Another girl makes all her gift cards, stationary, bows — all that stuff you would need for say a birthday — and makes it out of scrap pieces of paper. We also have a woman who makes jewelry out of butterfly wings; real wings that she encases in glass.

HG: There are activities as well, aren’t there?

MG: Because we want to show people what downtown has to offer as well, the belly dancing crew is from is coming called Faith Dance. [The instructor] teaches at one of the studios downtown. They’re a Bollywood dance troupe.

HG: What will next years event look like?

MG: I want to take over more of the street. This year it’s looking like we’ll have about a block…I want it to be big like the Blues Festival. Tons of people are excited about Earth Day, the environment and shopping handmade.

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

ARTS AND CULTURE

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Returning to vinyl tunes To embrace feelings of nostalgia and for the opportunity to buy one-of-a-kind records, the regions’s music lovers will be heading to local stores this month to indulge in Record Store Day KEVIN DELANEY CCE CONTRIBUTOR

It’s a quiet Saturday morning and Encore Records in Kitchener is, for the most part, empty. Despite the soft warble of Louis Armstrong in the background, there is a palpable stillness to the place, a quiet air of anticipation. Of the four people in the building, one sits behind the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and organizing merchandise. The other two are with me, out amongst crates and crates of vinyl records. The tranquility of the morning is enhanced by the steady rhythm of the soft thwap LPs make as they brush against each other.

There is an unmistakable nostalgia that accompanies buying music on vinyl, probably because most people consider it to be outdated and irrelevant. But hardcore audiophiles swear by the sound, and events like Record Store Day are bringing the medium back into the eye of the music industry. “I’ve been here since 1981 and I’ve seen the demand for vinyl ebb and flow,” says Encore Records owner Mark Logan, “but LP’s are coming back in a big way, and events like Record Store Day are certainly building that momentum.”

The brainchild of Chris Brown, head of marketing at an independent record store in Portland, Maine called Bull Moose, Record Store Day has taken place the third Saturday of every April since 2007 and is a celebration of independent record stores everywhere.

The concept is simple. Artists from around the globe put out collectible, one-of-a -kind records that are only available on Record Store Day. These records can be anything from reissued 12” LPs to rare 7” singles. In turn, these records are only available in independent record stores, which the official website for Record Store Day strictly defines as, “a stand alone brick and mortar retailer... whose product line consists of at least 50% music retail [and] whose company is not publicly traded.”

While the availability of releases here in Canada is smaller than down south, Record Store Day is certainly taking off. Logan has been involved since day one and has witnessed the event’s growth first hand: “The first year was pretty dismal. Though there was tons of promotion and hype, we were only able to get about five per cent of the product that was available,” he recalled.

“Each successive year we’ve been able to get more though, and each year it gets bigger and bigger. Last year there was a lineup outside the store.”

This interest in vinyl is being driven by a young, hip crowd, most of whom were born after the invention of the CD. “Yeah, older folks are dusting off the turntable and bringing their crate of records out

“Each successive year we’ve been able to get more though, and each year it gets bigger and bigger.”

—Mark Logan Owner of Encore Records of the garage and saying, hey, this sounds pretty good, but if it wasn’t for the hype of the university students, they probably wouldn’t have given it any thought.”

Charles Janzen, co-owner of Orange Monkey in Waterloo, has begun to notice the youthful demographic more and more: “Two people came in today, separately, and both had just gotten turntables as birthday presents. They must have been about 19 years old and neither of them had ever owned a single record before.”

Many stores have special events or host live performances with the intention of getting people off their computers and interacting with music in a physical way.

This year, more than 450 limited edition records will be made available world wide (over 160 locations in Canada alone) and include unreleased music from David Bowie and Bob Dylan, as well as reissues of GZA’s Liquid Swords and The White Stripes’ Elephant.

It helps that the bands and labels releasing records are promoting themselves in a technologically savvy way. It’s becoming common practice to insert a CD or a coupon for a free digital download into the record sleeve, allowing the listener to have their proverbial cake and eat it too.

Here in the Kitchener Waterloo area, both Encore Records and Orange Monkey will have a selection of RSD records available, but neither Logan nor Janzen know which ones they will be able to get in as the distribution of these much anticipated releases are done through random draw, meaning a record store can order specific items but isn’t guaranteed to get them. Doing it this way not only helps create fair availability, but it also encourages people to come out and take part in RSD. The only way to know what your local record store will have is to head on down and join the fun.

And rightly so. Hunting through rows and rows of records is all part of the experience and makes vinyl engaging in way that pressing play on an iPod isn’t, something Janzen is quick to agree with; “You want a nice sound?

You want a great thing to do at home? Pop a record on. There’s nothing like it.”

TOP: Zach Fowler browses records at Encore in downtown Kitchener. BOTTOM: Katie Cooper and her son Cal. She’s visited Encore every Sunday for the last three years • NICK LACHANCE PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

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Rick Hutt in his Kitchener recording studio • COURTESY BOB EGAN

Bob Egan catches up with local artist Rick Hutt who took over a failing K-W studio in the 1970s, paid the bills by writing jingles and simply kept playing music BOB EGAN CCE CONTRIBUTOR

Years ago, when I first moved to K-W and sought out the music community, I kept hearing about this amazing guy I had to meet — Rick Hutt. With every conversation his legend grew — he was a composer, a songwriter, an engineer, a producer, an artist developer, a studio owner, a mentor and evidently a very wise man. And to top it all off he’s been working successfully in the music business since the 1970s!

How on earth could someone survive, let alone flourish, in the brutal business of music for over four decades while living in the relatively small market of K-W? I finally got a chance to sit down and talk to Hutt and he laid out his philosophy.

“If you don’t start with the song, that’s a mistake, that’s short-sighted. If the song is not good it doesn’t matter how you produce it or market it or who plays on it — the song is still not good.”

This approach served him well when he started his musical journey in the 1970s. He and his partner took over a failing K-W studio because they needed a place to demo their original songs. They ended up recording all their friends (for not much money) and paying the bills by writing jingles — commercial music for radio and T.V. In fact, Hutt’s jingle for Silverado ran for over 25 years.

I wondered if there was a disconnect between writing “serious” songs and writing jingles. “Not at all,” says Hutt. “I see jingles as 30-second pop songs that will get tons of airplay. They need melody, harmony, rhythm

Rick Hutt’s greatest hits • Two country artists, Jamie Warren and Sean Hogan, are making their 7th record with Rick.

• He produced Beverly MaHood’s first 2 records in the 90’s and now composes the music for her reality show “Pick a Puppy” which airs in over 90 countries.

• He wrote the theme for the T.V. series “Province Wide” in 1982 and now composes music for the host’s son, a gaming designer.

• He produced and played on the Northern Pike’s most successful, platinum-award winning album “Snow in June.” and a hook just like any pop song.”

While Hutt is first and foremost a songdriven artist, he realized that to succeed in KW he would have to offer his clients more than a just a song and a studio. He would have to expand his role as a producer to help artists navigate both the creative and business worlds.

“My job is to help my clients define themselves, help them to become a small business. I provide a sober look at the likelihood of success.” To accomplish this, Hutt sees his projects through all the steps from composition to marketing. It is a 360-degree approach.

Hutt is truly the musical renaissance man of K-W — a 40-year career spanning television, radio, gaming and the pop charts with a synergistic, well-rounded artist development approach based on good songwriting. We are lucky to have him among us!

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

“Winston” by Alexandra Murray, a Grade 12 student at Preston High School.

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“The Pull” by Katie Huras, a Grade 12 student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute.

CELEBRATING THE ‘STRANGE AND WONDERFUL’

Art from local students takes centre stage at K-W Art Gallery’s Expressions 38

CARRIE DEBRONE KITCHENER CITIZEN EDITOR

The 2013 Expressions exhibit’s theme of the ‘Strange and Wonderful’, is the inspiration for several hundred pieces of student artwork on display now at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, 101 Queen St. N. in Kitchener.

The work, which spans the whimsical to the fantastic, includes drawings, paintings, sewn items and sculptures done by local students in grades one to 12.

Several hundred student artists and their parents attended the opening reception at the gallery March 24.

The theme, inspired by the artwork of two students at St. Aloysius Catholic Elementary School titled “The Purple People Eaters,” challenged the student artists to find the extraordinary in the unexpected, to understand how a change in perspective can alter what we see, and invited them to imagine these transformations.

The exhibit also celebrates the contributions of teachers in the Region of Waterloo who foster imagination and cultivate creativity and featured several selections from the gallery’s permanent collection that represent this year’s theme.

Run in conjunction with the annual show, the In/Sight program provided an opportunity for some of the students to work directly with professional local artists. Soheila K. Esfahani helped Grade 12 students from St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School design and assemble cultural mash-ups, while Grade 7 and 8 students from Sunnyside Senior Public School teamed up with artist educator Karoline Varin-Jarkowski to transform old books into new creations. Their work is part of the Expressions 38 show.

Expressions 38 runs until April 28.

“Pop Art Tiger” by Cara Lobrutto, a Grade 10 student at Sir John. A MacDonald.

“Two-Eyed Monsters” by Brianna Eveleigh, a Grade 2 student at Silverheights Public School.

“Jurassic Park T-Rex Model” by Hossam Ehab, a Grade 7 student at Scholar’s Hall. • ALL PHOTOS COURTESY CARRIE DEBRONE

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THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

REVIEWS

PARTS OF A WHOLE Clay and Glass Gallery’s new exhibit explores meaning and the creative process Like a piece of music, each note add to complexity and understanding, and once removed disrupts a piece in its entirety. This concept is explored in the Clay and Glass Gallery’s new exhibit Distillations and Eruptions. Since opening on March 28th, Distillations and Eruptions has portrayed the precarious understanding or separation of the part and whole.

As each piece stands, they are in themselves something to be marveled and observed. But as one walks about the exhibit each piece or sculpture blends with the others near to form a new idea or vision to be seen and noted.

Though ideas plucked from nature, each piece emanates the physical and ethereal understanding of their purpose. Tina Aufiero’s “Thrust” portrays the interaction of swans, but swans rarely swim by with small lights. Like the beacon of lighthouse, the swans appear to be drawn to the warm glow of their comrades.

However, as with “Urban Rebutia” created by Patsy Cox, each portion of a piece can appear to tumble sporadically and randomly to form something of meaning and purpose. As the fragments of one colour mingle with others, they merge into an ocean of interest and distinctiveness in which every piece is required, much like society itself.

Nature in itself is chaotic but like a puzzle each section comes together to form something of meaning and form. As with the pieces featured in Distillations and Eruptions, life is often the interference, transference and circulation of ideas and interpretations where no vision or individual is more or less important than any other.

-Photo and story by Rebecca Allison

PICK A PIPER Pick a Piper Mint Records

DELTA MACHINE Depeche Mode Mute

I was listening to a YouTube uploaders’ old tape of Detroit radio station WJLB’s late-80s/ early-90s program The Wizard before I stuck in Pick a Piper’s debut disc, and I may have stumbled upon why it’s such an appealing record. The organic/electronic project produced by Caribou drummer Brad Weber is electronic, spacious and sonically vast. Like the early electronic rap crossover mixes that pumped boom boxes from WJLB, Pick a Piper is accessible. The sound is poised between organic and synthetic and is arguably better than Caribou’s output.

Cover-to-cover the LP features a lovely selection of well picked synths and sequencers, well layered and produced vocals, but the album’s strength is creating a series of tracks with exciting and varied percussion that you can still dance to.

Depeche Mode’s 13th album, Delta Machine, hit digital and physical music shops Tuesday.

The feel is that that we have come to expect from DM: David Ghan’s crooning is like tar and glitter, a Nick Cave that you can take to the pop-charts. The lyrical sleaze/salvation motif that he found in the barrel of a syringe in the ‘90s has proven harder to kick for Ghan than the heroin.

The classic analog machinery that the band started with in the late ‘70s and returned to with 2009’s Sounds of the Universe is back and Martin Gore proves that he is not only a competent songsmith but also still a master of tones, textures, layers and sound.

Delta Machine may be a better album than Sounds of the Universe and that was their best in 20 years.

-Stephen Hargrevaes (The Lance)

EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING Shotgun Jimmie You’ve Changed Records Shotgun Jimmie has brought a new album to life, Everything, Everything, released March 26, once again recalls the simple pleasures of what surrounds us. A true one-man-band is sight seldom seen since the 50s but this artist proves that a man doesn’t need other band members.

Jim Kilpatrick, a.k.a. Shotgun Jimmie, recently went out to the seclusion of a cabin near Lake Clementi, Man. and emerged with songs that are not just pages of a melancholy journal matched with music but songs that bring you to the places you visit every day with exciting melody. These songs aren’t sung with images of dreary nights, but clothes lines in the wind and alcohol-filled Skype dates. His new collection shows his past work but with a twist of a clearer, more professional direction.

-Stephen Hargreaves (The Lance) -Cassie Hunter (The Lance)

FROM UP ON POPPY HILL Dir.: Gorō Miyazaki Studio Ghibli From Up on Poppy Hill is Studio Ghibli’s latest film, that combines the talents of both Hayao Miyazaki as the writer of the screenplay and his son Goro Miyazaki as the director. The film takes place in Yokohama, Japan in 1963 while Japan is a buzz with excitement for the 1964 Tokyo summer Olympics.

An effort to modernize the country starts an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ attitude amongst the people. One of the many buildings set to be demolished to make room for new buildings is the Latin Quarter, an old clubhouse for students at the main protagonist’s, Umi’s, high school. Umi and the other students are soon swept up in a movement to save it.

As the students work to clean up the Latin Quarter, Umi begins working closely with a male student named Shun. To no surprise Umi and Shun start to fall for each other but an obstacle soon threatens their relationship.

From Up on Poppy Hill is a beautiful film with great animation and a good story, but by the end of the movie I was left wanting more. The film starts with passionate students saving their clubhouse, with a great theme being the importance of the past. As the story progresses, the clubhouse’s importance fades behind Umi and Shun’s blossoming relationship and the passion the students had at the beginning of the film seems to vanish.

The story no longer feels like a fight to save the clubhouse but rather a cute student project to give the clubhouse a face lift. It was a shame that the clubhouse became nothing more than a place where Umi and Shun could meet.

I did enjoy the love story and found myself rooting for Umi and Shun’s relationship to work out but I was still a little disappointed with the ending.

From Up on Poppy Hill started out quite promising, but as it progressed I feel the film tried to cover too much in the time given and as both storylines fought for attention, they both somehow fell short.

-Amanda Chang

THE CORD COMMUNITY EDITION

APRIL 2013

MONTHLY EVENTS THIS MONTH WE’RE GOING TO....

MUSIC

MUSIC

Arts Awards of Waterloo Region Presents: Last Band Standing Maxwell’s Music House, $10, 7:30 p.m.

Shaken Not Stirred: The Music of James Bond Break out the black ties and cocktail dresses, because Bond is coming to K-W. The music of James Bond, that is. Neil Donell (lead vocals), Rique Franks (lead vocals) and John Regan (piano/host), with help from members of the Jeans ‘n Classics Band on guitar, electric bass and drums, will take you on a trip through the years of Bond. This fun event is great for any Bond-lover, as well as anyone who loves a classic soundtrack. So be sure to check out the not-so-top-secret spy music of 007.

Centre in the Square See centre-square.com for ticket details Wednesday Apr. 17 and Thursday April 18 @ 7:30 p.m.

ARTS Focus on Kintting Though the cold months are over (or almost over, anyway), knit accessories continue to be a large part of fashion. So why not make your own? Though this class is not for beginners, it teaches people who already have solid knitting skills how to work more colour into their pieces. As opposed to making a single-coloured scarf, you could make one with multiple colours. You could even go further than that, and work in different types of colourwork, such as intarsia, Fair Isle and stranded. This class teaches you how to create those types of colourwork, as well as colour theory and more, to help you make your own knit accessories just how you like them.

Waterloo Region Museum, $20 Saturday May 4 @ 9:30 a.m.

COMMUNITY Kitchener Community Blood Donor Clinic As we’re sure you’ve heard many a time: “it’s in you to give.” Giving blood saves lives everyday, and now it’s your turn to help.

Never had the time to make an appointment to give? No problem. This public blood donor clinic doesn’t need appointments. Just come to the Calvin Presbyterian Church and you can give. However, if an appointment does work better for you, you can always call 1-888-2DONATE to book one. You will be helping save a life.

Calvin Presbyterian Church Monday Apr. 15 @ 2:30 p.m.

–Compiled and written by Adele Palmquist

APRIL 11

Absolutely Free wsg. Dusted, and Rituals Starlight, $8 advance, 8 p.m.

Led Zeppelin: IV Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 7:30 p.m.

Barely Naked: An Evening with the Brothers Creeggan Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, see kwsymphony.ca for ticket details, 7:30 p.m. (until April 12)

APRIL 12 Aisles CD Release Party wsg. Honour Roll DJ’s, and Delaney Jane Starlight, $15 advance w/album package, $17 at door, 8 p.m.

Elizabeth Fry Charity Event Maxwell’s Music House, Donations Accepted, 8:30 p.m.

Joni NehRita Quintet The Jazz Room, $15, 8:30 p.m.

APRIL 13 Harley Cord Trio The Jazz Room, $16, 8:30 p.m.

APRIL 14 Shannon Lyon wsg. Mike Trebilcock The Jane Bond, $14, 8 p.m.

Youth Orchestra Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 2 p.m.

APRIL 16 The KWS Volunteer Committee presents – Edwin’s Guide to the Orchestra Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts, $40, 7:30 p.m.

APRIL 18 Ron Hawkins and the Do Good Assassins Starlight, $18, 8 p.m.

Ben Wilins, A Yellow Field, The Sailboat & The Sea, Adam Evers Maxwell’s Music House, $10 advance, 8 p.m.

APRIL 19

Lysistrata [After Dark] Theatre of Arts – UW, $7 general, $5 student/senior, 7:30 p.m.

MFA Thesis 1 Opening Reception University of Waterloo Art Gallery, 5 p.m.

APRIL 12 ScrapFest in Kicthener Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, 9 a.m.

APRIL 20 Michael Adkins Quartet The Jazz Room, $18, 8:30 p.m.

APRIL 26 Cirque de la Symphonie Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 8 p.m. (until April 27) Kite Trio The Jazz Room, $12, 8:30 p.m.

APRIL 27 Adrean Ferrugia Quartet The Jazz Room, $18, 8:30 p.m.

APRIL. 28

The Weber Brothers Starlight, $9, 8 p.m.

Kristine Schmitt and Her Special Powers wsg. Ol’ Timey The Jane Bond, $10, 7 p.m.

Box Tiger, Will Currie and The Country French, Trap Tiger Maxwell’s Music House, $7, 8:30 p.m.

MAY 3

Kellylee Evans Studio Theatre @ Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 7:30 p.m.

Just for Laughs: Road Show Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for details, 7:30 p.m.

Larry Larson and his Jazz Guys The Jazz Room, $20, 8:30 p.m.

ARTS APRIL 11

23

Viennese Delights Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 8 p.m.

Jason White Trio The Jazz Room, $15, 8:30 p.m.

MAY 4 The Harmony Factory Centre in the Square, see centre-square.com for ticket details, 2:30 p.m.

Roberto Occhipinti Quartet The Jazz Room, $18, 8:30 p.m.

Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, $60, 1 p.m.

APRIL 13 Intro to Paper Clay Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, $60, 10 a.m.

APRIL 20 Upcycling Earth Day Workshop Waterloo Region Museum, $25, 9:30 a.m.

APRIL 21 One Love or War?: Peace and Violence in the Life and Songs of Bob Marley The Museum, 11 a.m.

APRIL 28 Old Masters KW|AG, Free, during gallery hours

Intro to Paper Clay

COMMUNITY

APRIL 11

APRIL 20

Forbes Waterloo Mazda Car Care Information Session Forbes Waterloo Mazda, Free, 6:30 p.m.

Pruning Trees and Shrubs Workshop Waterloo Region Museum, $10, 9:30 a.m.

Waterloo Region Hall of Fame Induction Waterloo Region Museum, free, 2 p.m.

Tim Hortons Community Clean-Up Event McLennan Park and Waterloo Park, 10 a.m.

MAY 11

APRIL 12 Out of the Ashes Benefit Concert Parkminster United Church, 7 p.m.

APRIL 28

Preparing to Garden Workshop Waterloo Region Museum, $10, 9:30 a.m.

Coming soon...

Visit community.thecord.ca/blog for more details.