How Do you Do? The Happy Accident of Meeting a Stranger

Time: Sunday May 5 1-3 pm

Meeting Place: Heritage Clock Tower, Victoria Park, Kitchener

Walk Leader: John MacDonald

An interactive session that uses our city as a backdrop for an important conversation.

What are the spaces / places in our community that help us meet people who aren’t like ourselves? How do our actions in public affect our ability to connect with strangers in a positive way? Why would we want to?

What are the forces that isolate us, and what action can we take to counter these forces? What should we demand of community leadership to help create opportunities for citizens to bridge the gaps and forge meaningful connections among citizens of diverse age, ability, background and circumstance?

Lots and lots of questions that we can explore together, using some of the spaces in Downtown Kitchener as a guide for discussion. If nothing else, this will be a safe opportunity to meet someone that is not like yourself, and to enjoy the benefits that flow from that.

Belmont Village: Rubber, Trains & White Elephants

Time: Sunday May 5 3-4 pm

Meeting Place: The Assembly Point in the Parking lot at The Catalayst, 137 Glasgow Street Kitchener

Walk Leader: Barbara Larke

Belmont Village is now part of a vibrant street in the historic Westmount neighbourhood. But, this wasn’t always the way it was and of course the future brings its own changes. Where did the idea for the neighbourhood come from? How has the original vision morphed in the past 112 years? And where is that pesky White Elephant?  

Explore Dickson Hill’s History in West Galt

Time: Friday May 3rd, 7 – 8 pm

Meeting Place: Victoria Park entrance at Salisbury Avenue and Forest Road

Walk Leader: Kevin Swayze

Join journalist Kevin Swayze for a walk highlighting some of the historic homes and landmarks of Dickson Hill in Cambridge. Learn about how the area was transformed in the late 1800s from the wild “Dickson’s Bush” to an enclave of grand homes for leading members of the former town of Galt and for some of its middle-class workers. Share your stories about a neighbourhood where most of the buildings remain generally unchanged and residents celebrate its history with events through the year.  
https://kevinswayze.com/join-me-for-a-janes-walk-around-dickson-hill-in-west-galt-on-may-3-2024/

A Walk Through Time in the Mary Allen Neighbourhood

Time: Saturday May 4th, 10:00 – 11:00 am

Meeting Place: Heritage Green King St. S. and William St.

Walk Leader: Marion Weber and Phil Elsworthy

Then and now – a walk in the Mary Allen neighbourhood, one of Waterloo’s oldest neighbourhoods with many century homes.  We will talk about the Kumpf survey of 1875 and the Hoffman survey of 1855 when lots were first sold, the architecture of the homes, the first residents and some of their businesses in early Waterloo.  We will also see some more recent changes in the neighbourhood – older buildings that have been or are being converted to new uses, and some new buildings.  

Is diversity of housing of an asset to a desirable neighbourhood?

Time: Saturday May 4th, 10:00 – 11:20 am

Meeting Place: Victoria Park Pavilion

Walk Leader: Susan Lloyd Swail

During a 60 to 80 minute loop you are invited to join a retired land use planner to explore the relationship between diversity of housing, density, access to services and shops, connection to greenspace and health. We will walk along the Iron Horse Trail to Henry Strum Greenway along Highland to Heath Green and back to Victoria Park along Queens Blvd passing St. Mary’s hospital. Some subjects we will examine on our walking tour include some of Jane’s favourite topics- gentrification, retaining low cost housing in our cities and what makes a great city. We will be joined by a member of Green Waterloo Region to discuss how cities and residents can reduce ghg’s.