The Community Edition

On July 24 and 25, the City of Kitchener hosted its annual Wayback Festival, transforming Carl Zehr Square and King St. outside City Hall into a two-day celebration of live music, local food and timeless classic rock anthems. This event was originally launched 38 years ago under the banner of the old rock festival; ever since it first started, the event steadily expanded its scope.

From July 11 to July 18, 2026, the AfroVibes Festival was in full swing in the Region of Waterloo. The big finale was the community-driven cultural festival which celebrated African and diaspora culture. “I think the biggest [reason] was to look at creating a ‘home away from home’ experience for African and African-aspiring education,” Peter Pearse-Elosia, the founder of the AfroVibes Festival, said.

Packing’s first full length LP is an album about love, heartbreak, and healing. With tight and technical guitar playing, the project flows seamlessly between indie pop, Midwest emo and Latin rock influences. The album also includes a new version of their single “Sunset” remixed by ReSeT Ryan Tram, offering a fresh new perspective on the song.

In Waterloo Region, the pursuit of knowledge is not confined to university lecture halls or early-career ambitions. For over a decade, Third Age Learning Kitchener-Waterloo (TAL KW) has served as a fixture for residents—primarily retirees, work-from-home professionals and lifelong learners—who are looking to engage deeply with critical global issues and local community affairs. Each fall and winter, the organization hosts a themed, eight-lecture series.

On July 12, 2026, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Sporas (formerly known as Sporas Scattered) hosted their fifth annual KW Palestine Festival, Ounadikom, at Carl Zehr Square. The KW Palestine Festival celebrates Palestinian culture, heritage and resilience in the Waterloo Region. This event aims to immerse the community in rich cultural traditions while fostering deep connections and solidarity within the local diaspora.

In May 2026, the City of Kitchener approved a one-year police surveillance camera pilot program, which allows the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) and automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems on municipal infrastructure. The program’s initial deployment sites include downtown Kitchener along King St. and the Fairview Park Mall area, utilizing existing city and regional infrastructure such as utility and light poles.

The Punk Rock Flea Market KW is bringing its mix of alternative vendors and live music with the event’s 14th edition on Sept. 13, 2026. This year brings two significant changes to the long-running event series. The event is happening at the Kitchener Market for the first time, and Punk Rock Flea Market KW founders Chris Walton and Stacie Jones have handed over the reins to local artists Jon Johnson and Kelsi Sorensen.

On July 18, 2026, Bolo Tie Line led attendees in a dance at Willow River Park. Bolo Tie Line is a queer country line dancing group that hosts masked events in the Waterloo Region. Saff Aldred, also known as Saff the Sapphic, was booked as a drag performer for Spurs Night Toronto’s one year anniversary celebration. Spur’s Night is considered the flagship of Canadian queer line dancing.

My walk with stained glass artist and ordained Buddhist nun Tsunma Jamyang Donma, known as Ani J for short, was punctuated by extremes. The Bob McMullen Linear Trail in Cambridge led us to a plateau showcasing the grandeur of the Grand and Speed rivers meeting, and we also stopped along the shaded gravel path to watch a frog barely bigger than a pencil-top eraser make its way into the grass.

Divination tools have always fascinated me. I experimented with many of them, knowingly and unknowingly, until I realized that one of my most natural tools was a pencil. Drawing, scribbling and entering a flow state are all divination tools. They have been used in this way across cultures, artistic movements and spiritual traditions for centuries. As humans, we’ve long used mark-making to connect and communicate with non‑physical planes.