The Community Edition: July 2015

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 10 • JULY 2015

STEEL RAILS PAGES 8-9

IF STREETS COULD TALK PAGE 6

FARM TO TABLE PAGE 5

LIKE RIDING A BIKE PAGE 10

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Volume 3, Issue #10 Next issue: August 6, 2015 75 University Ave. W Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 519-884-0710 x3564 Advertising All advertising inquiries should be directed to Care Schummer at 519-884-0710 x3560 cschummer@wlusp.com THE COMMUNITY EDITION TEAM Editor in Chief Allison M. Leonard allison.leonard@wlusp.com Publisher Bryn Ossington bryn.ossington@wlusp.com

Distribution Manager Alistair MacLellan Production Manager Lakyn Barton Social Media Manager Megan Nourse

Photo Editor Matt Smith CONTRIBUTORS Natalee Blagden Anna Beard Lizz Dicesare Dan Herman Stacey Jacobs Jon Johnson

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION President Executive Director Advertising Manager Treasurer Vice-Chair Director Director Director Director Director Corporate Secretary

Cathy MacLellan Christina Proctor Dave Thomas Kurtis Thomas

Bryan Stephens Bryn Ossington Care Schummer John Pehar Abdiasis Issa Thomas Lillo Rafey Sattar Fred Kuntz Angela Foster Gary Doyle Emily Crump

Where we’re going, we don’t need tracks. - Christopher Lloyd, kind of. MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR The Community Edition is an alternative monthly intended to engage and inform the community.

Started in 2012, the 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.

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

The Community Edition is created using Macintosh computers running Mac OS X Yosemite using Adobe Creative Cloud. Canon cameras are used for principal photography.

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The Community Edition circulates monthly. Normal circulation is 6,000. The Community Edition subscription rates are $20.00 per term for addresses within Canada.

Preamble to the Community Edition Constitution The Community Edition will keep faith with its readers by presenting news and expressions of opinions comprehensively, accurately and fairly. The Community Edition 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 Community Edition 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 Community Edition will attempt to cover its world with a special focus on the community of Waterloo Region. Ultimately, the Community Edition will be bound by neither philosophy nor geography in its mandate.

The Community Edition 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 Community Edition’s contact with the community. The Community Edition 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.

FEATURE

8-9 STEEL RAILS OVER 400 PEOPLE GATHERED TO TAKE IN GOOD ART, GOOD MUSIC AND GOOD FOOD ABOARD STEEL RAILS 2015, WATERLOO REGION’S ONLY MOVING ART PARTY. 3 5 5 6 6 6 7 10 10 11 14 14 15 15

IN BRIEF FRESHEST FROM FARM TO TABLE DISCOVERING SECRET GARDENS TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS CURIOSITY BREEDS RESILIENCE THE ION DIALOGUES BRFC ON BEER A WRENCH IN YOURS GEARS IF STREETS COULD TALK: BELMONT SEXPLANATIONS MUST WATCH, MUST READ VINTAGE THREADS LISTINGS

OUR WILD TRAIN PARTY WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT AWESOME VOLUNTEERS MEGAN NOURSE SANDRA MERY ZACH GUITOR GINNY PECJACK MADELINE MCCAFFREY ALLIE BRENNER RAI MADGE SONYA HARGREAVES KURTIS THOMAS NATHAN CLARKE BRYAN STEPHENS HEATHER DAVIDSON EMILY CRUMP MEGHAN ROACH JESSICA DIK MATT SMITH LAKYN BARTON TOM PADDOCK ALISTAIR MACLELLAN EVAN OSSINGTON LAURA MUNZ CARE SCHUMMER DANNY SCHUMMER BRYN OSSINGTON

THANK YOU!

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IN BRIEF

Fire juggling was just one attractions that drew people to downtown Kitchener for Summer Lights Festival on June 20. Hundreds in attendance could take in arts, games, entertainment and food of all kinds as it animated the night. COURTESY BRENT WETTLAUFER.

Imbibe owner Bill McTavish salutes customers as the downtown Kitchener bar closed its doors on June 21. COURTESY BRENT WETTLAUFER.

NEWS

URBAN

ARTS

ELEMENTARTY GRADES DELAYED

UPTOWN STREETS OPEN AGAIN

WR RESIDENT ARTIST SELECTED

Waterloo Region District School Board will be sending students on summer break with a letter stating whether they passed or failed their years instead of full grades. Report cards have been delayed following job action by elementary school teachers across the province. With both sides at a stand still in negotiations it is still unclear whether classes will resume as usual in September.

WRDSB says it will be issuing marks by August 31, 2015 which include comments or feedback.

Open Streets returns to uptown Waterloo July 18. This month organizers are looking to return to the regular route along King St. between Bridgeport and William. June’s event took place in Uptown Square, Willis Way and Hughes Lane. King Street will be temporarily closed to automobile traffic pending LRT construction progress. From 6:00 p.m to 11:00 p.m. there will be live music, art, activities and various community booths and food. Check out openstreetsutw.ca for updates.

Waterloo Region selected its first artist in residence. Rick Nixon, a visual artist from the University of Waterloo fine arts department is looking to engage the city’s community through bird house making workshops. Known for his plaster sculptures, Nixon test-drove the concept with his students. The first workshop took place June 26 with more planned for the rest of the summer. The competed birdhouses will be displayed in September at Albert McCormick Community Centre.

WR ANNOUCES 2015 GRANTS

UPTOWN MARKET NOW IN SEASON

JAZZ RETURNS TO UPTOWN

Community organizations in Waterloo Region have been approved for $230,881 in grants to help enhance the social wellbeing of the region in 2015. The grant money is being divided amongst 15 organizations including Leadership Waterloo Region, Volunteer Action Centre, Food Bank of Waterloo Region and more.

The Uptown Market is now in full swing every Thursday from 3:00 p.m. 7:00p.m. until October. Vendors take over Uptown Square to showcase the region’s food, art and crafts. Every week offers various actives that connect people with the food produced in Waterloo Region. For details visit uptownmarketwaterloo.ca.

The Sun Life Financial UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival returns July 17. The weekend kicks off with local artist Alysha Brilla and closes on July 19 with KC Roberts & The Live Revolution. Parking in the UpTown Parkade is free all weekend starting 5PM on Friday.

Full schedule online at uptownwaterloojazz.ca.

COUNCILOR WETTLAUFER DIES

YEAR OF CODE LAUNCHES

MUSIC CITY CANCELS STEWART

Elected to regional council in October 2014, Wayne Wettlaufer passed away late last month at the age of 71. The cause of death is unknown. Regional Chair Ken Seiling has stated that Wettlaufers seat will be filled over the next 3 months through a by-election or by appointment. Waterloo Regional council will continue to operate as usual.

Year of Code Waterloo Region is launching a year long campaign on July 4 to encourage Waterloo Region residents to learn to code and promote technology literacy.

The launch party will be 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Kitchener City Hall and is free for all ages. Stick around for the King StrEATery Food Festival which starts at 3:00 p.m. and features Food Trucks serving up culinary creations

McLennan Park in Kitchener will host Big Music Festival from July 10 to 11. Rod Stewart, who was to headline the second day’s concert, has been cancelled as ticket holders seem to be more interested in the rock acts. Refunds for tickets bought online will be processed automatically along with with 50 per cent of the cost of a weekend pass. For a full schedule visit bigmusicfest.com.

LISCENSE FREE FISHING

KULTRUN MOVES TO VICTORIA PARK

From July 4 to 12 anyone can fish Ontario waterways without acquiring a license. The Grand River Bass Derby takes place on July 4 and 5. Any Smallmouth Bass caught Between the Belwood Dam and Paris Dam under 12 inches in length are eligible for entry. The derby has been taking place since 1988 and is expected to bring anglers from across southwestern Ontario for the event.

The Kultrun World Music Festival has new home this year at Victoria Park in Kitchener. The four day festival launches July 9 and runs to July 12. The diverse lineup of artists includes representatives from 18 different countries and a dozen genres. For a full lineup of events visit nerudaarts.ca.

GARBAGE COLLECTION CUTS More then 3,000 multi-residential units and 250 business will no longer receive garbage collection from the Region of Waterloo when collection service cutbacks come into effect in March 2017.

Property and business owners effected by the changes will have to seek garbage collection from private contracts.

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MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR

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FRESHEST FROM FARM TO TABLE ALISTAIR MACLELLAN CONTRIBUTOR “My mom always tells me that you should get asparagus the day after a good rain, is that correct or is she just blowing smoke?” I ask Tim Barrie, owner of Barrie’s Asparagus Farm.

“No, she’s right, the asparagus is really fresh after it rains,” he laughs.

My mom isn’t a farmer – she lives in walking distance to uptown Waterloo – but her mission for snappy asparagus, following a good rainfall of course, is fueled by the ease and opportunity to connect with farmers and learn about the food on your plate.

Waterloo Region is often cited for its tech industry. The traditional economies – building a barn rather than a web page, incubating eggs rather than startups – continue to plow through the seasons supplying refrigerators across the country.

Barrie’s Asparagus farm and store, nestled in the rural area between Kitchener and Cambridge, existed only as a family home four generations ago. Barrie’s grandfather was a blacksmith, shoeing horses for local famers and raising cattle. Barrie’s father continued after purchasing the farm until the economy of the time made him consider other options.

“In 1981 when interest rates went through the roof my dad could no longer continue in beef farming because he would buy them, finish them, sell

them, and loose money,” says Barrie.

With financial hardship in mind, and little more than land and farming ability available to him, Barrie’s father transitioned to asparagus and after a couple of years the crop was taking off and customers were buying. He needed to maximize his return so he purchased a cooler in order to keep the leftover freshly picked product overnight and began to grow the business.

“That’s how the business grew, little bits and pieces added one thing at a time,” says Barrie.

Transitioning to a brand new crop isn’t easy but Barrie’s father had a few variables titled in his favour. For one thing, the land where the farm is located is perfect for growing asparagus – a common narrative for Waterloo Region farmers.

According to an economic study sponsored by Region of Waterloo Public Health and Human Resources Development Canada, Waterloo Region reported the second highest level of productivity per acre in the province, only toped by the Niagara fruit belt.

The area is so fruitful that for every dollar generated from a farm, the wider economy, connected to said farm, generates an additional $2.40.

“We have the perfect soil for growing asparagus because we are on sandy soil,” says Barrie.

But asparagus isn’t the only flourishing flora in the region. From apples

to zucchini, one can find a cornucopia of local offerings, and not just fruits and vegetables. In fact, most farms in Waterloo Region raise livestock, specifically for beef and dairy production. Despite the availability of food, farmers face the constant pressure to get their products to market. For some this means sticking with wholesalers, selling produce at market rates. For others this means looking at their farm’s value-chain and figuring out how to add extra value to the food that they produce. Regardless which strategy they choose, marketing can often be the biggest hurdle.

Barrie accredits some of his marketing success to Foodlink, an organization whose mandate is to build a healthy local food system for Waterloo Region.

Foodlink was initially founded when Region of Waterloo Public Health and the Foodbank of Waterloo Region teamed up to examine the region’s local food system, only to discover a massive – and needless – gap between farmers and their urban customers.

Foodlink aims to bridge the gap through a database of farms that offer direct farm-to-table sales and information about seasonal eats in the region. According to Barrie, every year is different, so checking in with your farmer will increase the odds of a meal harvested at its peek.

Generations ago, maybe when

Barrie’s father started to sell his cattle, ruby-red strawberries weren’t an option during the crisp white of winter, and a vibrant, green asparagus shoot wouldn’t be expected on the gray canvas of late fall. Today, instant availability is second nature. Quality – not to mention environmental standards associated with food growth and transportation – are quickly sacrificed for immediacy and convenience.

But Waterloo Region is responding.

Large-scale, added-value farms like Barrie’s Asparagus or Herrle’s Market are gaining momentum. Over 70 community gardens dot Waterloo Region’s map. And farmers’ markets, whether as established as the St. Jacob’s faction or as fresh as Belmont’s neighborhood-driven chapter are becoming a keystone in what it means to be a Waterloo Region resident.

“As a society we’ve moved to this new model where we wanted to have fresh strawberries year round,” says Barrie. “But I think people are realizing that best food is local from your community, fresh and seasonal.”

After the generations of plaza paving, Costco developing and farm taxing that distanced the individual from the farmer, Barrie’s success indicates that things are changing, or reverting to a different kind of consumerism. Perhaps Waterloo Region’s food systems are much like asparagus, best after it rains.

DISCOVERING THE SECRET GARDENS ELIZABETH DICESARE CONTRIBUTOR Waterloo Region’s urban landscape is constantly changing and expanding. New residential developments are popping up near city boundaries, high-rises are being built in the downtown core and LRT construction has torn up major streets to make way for new public transportation. Between all of the urban sprawl, if you look closely, are numerous plots of green space being used by groups of people in the form of community gardens.

This year, there are just over 70 community gardens across Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the surrounding townships. When KW’s Community Garden Council was first founded in 2005 there were only 28 gardens, which shows how much urban gardening has expanded throughout the region in the past decade.

All of the gardens began at the grassroots level. When individuals, or groups, are interested in starting a community garden, they must contact Waterloo Region in order to learn how to do so. Carol Popovic, a Public Health Nurse for the Region of Waterloo, if often their first point of contact.

“Usually I get the call saying, you know, ‘I’m interested in starting a garden, what do I need to do?’” she said.

“I instruct them to find at least two or three other people who they could work with, because it is a big task, to get a garden in the ground, believe it or not. They have to find sponsorship, they have to find land ... it takes about

a year before a garden gets into the ground.”

Sponsorships for community gardens stem from many places. Some are sponsored by churches or schools who donate sections of land, some gain support from neighborhood councils or the city itself, and others relay on the kindness of individuals who lend out portions of their own private land or backyards.

Popovic, along with her team, works closely with all the community gardens. She offers support and knowledge when needed, and points people in the right direction when they are seeking grants or additional sponsorships to help supplement tools and resources. Funding can be difficult to find, but is very important in order to both begin and maintain a community garden.

Some grants have been given to help make community gardens more accessible to gardeners.

“With these grants we’ve been able to incorporate accessibility features in four gardens throughout the region.

So there’s hard-surface pathways, and raised garden beds,” she explained.

There have also been partnerships created with local organizations who, in the past, have donated various tools and funds to community garden groups.

“Some of the sponsorship and support has been pretty amazing,” Popovic continued.

Alisa McClurg, the co-coordinator of KW Harvester, echoed some of the

difficulties of finding resources.

“We have lots of gardeners, but we’re looking for more coordinators,” she said. The KW Harvester garden is located on land owned by Wilfrid Laurier University, near their Northdale campus. While they receive the majority of funding from Laurier Students’ Public Interest Research Group, the garden is open to members of the immediate community as well as WLU students.

Their garden has eight plots: one communal plot, and seven individually assigned plots.

Community gardens tend to follow these two models. With communal models, those involved all work together to garden, and share the harvest. With individual models, those involved pay a small fee to have their own plot that they tend to, and only that individual person or group assigned to that specific plot is allowed to reap the harvest. Depending on the organization, some community gardens may focus on one model, but many incorporate both.

Within community gardens, gardeners have a fairly free range on what they can grow, with the only limitations being on illegal and invasive plants. Local plants are encouraged, but they are largely welcome to grow whatever they want. The plants are also organic, as Waterloo Region has a by-law banning the use of pesticides.

Community gardens also help build community networks, and bring people together. These new relation-

ships offer many new benefits for both the gardeners and and the physical gardens.

“It’s a great opportunity for the public and the community to share knowledge of gardening,” explained McClurg. One benefit that she has seen at the Northdale garden is the participation of multicultural groups.

“Some people in Patchwork -- that’s the multicultural garden -- have been growing what we would consider weeds, but actually in their cultural they eat them,” she continued. “So we have been learning about how you can eat things that we have been thinking are weeds.”

Different community groups, such as food banks and soup kitchens, have also reaped the benefits of community gardens. Many gardens have been known to practice gleaning -- harvesting additional crops that will not be used by the direct gardeners, usually due to overproduction -- and donate the harvest to those in need.

“One garden in Cambridge two years ago donated about 750 pounds of produce to the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank,” said Popovic. “It’s more than just the individual [gardener] who benefits.”

Gardeners, however, do get many benefits: knowledge of gardening, meeting new people, and access to resources that promote healthy living and lifestyles. They are able to escape the urban landscape of the city and get back to nature.

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BUILDING RESILIENCE

CATHY MACLELLAN COLUMNIST When I was about eight years old I wondered if I could jump across the creek that flowed along the side of our yard. I backed up a few paces, ran and leaped. My leading right leg jammed into some scraggly roots that were sticking out of the opposite side of the bank. Not only did I get a soaker, I added yet another scar to my battered legs. Undaunted, I succeeded in clearing that creek within a few weeks.

The most important part of that experience is the fact that “I wondered” if I could make it. Children do a lot of wondering about stuff. Sadly, adults don’t do near enough of it.

The curiosity of a child leads to all kinds of interesting questions and activities and creates a solid base of experience on which to build a resilient life. Curiosity is not just for children. A continuously curious adult will build a competent, compelling, confident and resilient life. Why do we stop asking and wondering about things?

Note that there were no adults around to tell me to not even try jumping the creek, I wasn’t defying anyone, just being curious.

New research indicates that this kind of “free range” play is essential to build resilient adults. A resilient person has the ability to cope and even thrive when life is difficult and every life will be difficult at various times.

Einstein said: “curiosity is more important than knowledge.” Knowledge, in the Google age is easily acquired, curiosity on the other hand seems less ubiquitous.

People who ask a lot of questions are described as nosy, boring, pushy, irritating, attention grabbers, or having “an agenda” or a “bone to pick.”

At least for the greatly curious, they can surreptitiously find many answers online instead of bothering an actual person.

Being curious, exploring new things, is also one of the best stress reducing strategies to deal with the complexities of life. Curiosity builds connections in our brains and increases the brain’s plasticity, which makes the brain more resistant to disease or age related damages.

There is no end of things to be curious about either. From the utilitarian – I recently learned and successfully replaced a toilet fill valve - to the esoteric – as in our Senate expense rules, being curious creates energy and a zest for life. In seeking answers, curious people create experiences, which equip them with tools to lead resilient lives at home, in their neighbourhood, city, province, country and our world.

CONTRIBUTE The Community Edition wants to share your voice, too. From cycling to craft beer, parenting to sex education, if you have an interest in a topic, we’d love to host your voice. Email allison. leonard@wlusp.com to contribute as a guest columnist, or initiate a recurring column with your idea.

Have thoughts on a column we ran this month? Send us your response and we’ll do our best to run it in print or online.

Too much work? Just connect with us online @TheCommunityEd in 140 characters or less.

The 2015 EmployerONE survey indicates that almost 20 per cent of anticipated hires will be for production positions. MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR.

TRADITIONAL MANUFACTURING RISING DAVE THOMAS CONTRIBUTOR There’s a current of optimism about manufacturing in Waterloo Region.

We’ve all heard about layoffs and plant closures, but people who make things are positive, whether it’s small-scale, niche production or larger, globally competitive companies marketing their products internationally.

One of every five jobs in the area is related to production. There are fewer lower-skilled assembly jobs in the sector, but more highly skilled positions are in demand, and will be in the future, says Brad Labadie, project coordinator at the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin. The board conducted the annual EmployerONE survey of companies in all sectors, which found that almost 20 per cent of anticipated hires for 2015 would be for production posi-

tions, mainly because of expansion and restructuring.

The Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and Waterloo Region Manufacturing Innovation Network held the 2015 Manufacturing Summit on Tuesday, June 23. The common themes among presenters were optimism and the importance of having a committed workforce, from the shop floor to senior management.

Keynote speaker Steve Malinowski, president & CEO at The Kraus Group, talked about one of the secrets behind the Waterloo carpeting and flooring company’s turnaround: empowering and encouraging employees. Too often, companies “employ the hands but only infrequently engage the mind and rarely touch the heart,” he says.

“Culture is more than just a few feel-good moments. It is the sum of employees’ discretionary efforts.

We don’t need some employees to sometimes go the extra mile. We need all employees to go the extra inch every day.”

He accomplished that by decentralizing supervision and creating leader-

ship teams that involve workers at all levels. Employees want to be treated with respect, and make good products in a company they can be proud of, says Malinowski. That pride in work is also an essential ingredient for success at the other end of the scale, in small, one-person operations.

Alistair MacLellan makes hardcover, hand-bound notebooks in a garage in his Waterloo business, MacLellan & Baetz. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, he raised enough funds to start production and start an online store.

“There’s a real sense of accomplishment in making something by hand and selling it,” he says.

Because it’s still a very small operation, MacLellan has another job, but he hopes that he can turn it into a full-time business.

“You have to build slowly, and do your best to make things work,” he says.

Megan Campbell started her parttime business, Bayleaf Buttons, after she bought a button-making machine in 2011.

“I always need something to do and with having a button business to run I’m never short on that ‘something’ to do now,” she says. “Running a business is my version of a hobby.”

A strong commitment to quality is important for success.

“Using quality button parts, doing good designs, being friendly and open to a customer’s request, as well as being strict on the quality control” are essential, she says. “If they aren’t perfect what is the point? As well, I have made it a point to not have minimum orders which a lot of my competitors do. I don’t see the difference if someone wants exactly three buttons. Why make them order 100?”

Small-scale or large-scale, producing something of value is something almost everyone can do, whether it’s a craft, a loaf of bread or a robot, says Darin White, one of the organizers of the Maker Expo, a community showcase to be held Saturday, September 19 at Kitchener City Hall.

“We can all be makers,” he says.

“It’s a celebration of the do-it-yourself spirit.”

WHAT GIVES, WR? APPARENTLY, NOT YOU WR UNDER REVIEW

DAN HERMAN COLUMNIST We’re a lucky bunch in KW. As I wrote last month the economic picture in the region is increasingly looking bright.

Despite employment cuts at Blackberry, Manulife and others, both employment levels and median incomes in the region are over 10 per cent higher than the provincial average. And over the past five years, those incomes have grown by 5 per cent in KW. That means that, simply for the sake of comparison, regular household in Waterloo Region has nearly $10,000 more in gross income

than our neighbours in Toronto.

Leaving aside all of the other benefits of living in the region, you’d think this above-average financial situation would make us more charitable. Unfortunately that’s not the case.

Instead, while our incomes are growing and our unemployment rate dropping, less and less of us are giving to charitable causes. Since 2011, the number of residents in the region who give to charities has dropped by 5 per cent, and the total amount of donations in the region has dropped just shy of 10 per cent. This is true for every demographic except those aged 55-65. These declines are significantly higher than both the provincial and national averages and beg the question of “what’s going on?”

We like to think of our region as one built on community and giving to causes is certainly part of that.

However the data seems to indicate that we’re increasingly letting one

part of our barn-raising culture slide, especially glaring since our ability to do so is growing.

It is possible that there’s less need?

This is doubtful. Having served on the local United Way’s Investment Committee in 2014, it was crystal clear to me that charitable organizations serving at-risk populations across the region are seeing demand for their services only grow.

And the stats on local food bank and emergency shelter requests, as well as those efforts focused on international crises such as those in Syria, Burma and elsewhere, only show increasing need.

Now there’s no doubt that for many their decision to give less, or not give at all, is driven by rational decisions on what’s left at the end of the month.

However I also know a lot of people who simply don’t see giving as a priority. My demographic, let’s call us youngish, employed, and rooted in

the region is especially missing from donor lists. Many of us work in and around the region’s burgeoning tech sector or in academia or finance. In the grand scheme of things, we’re all doing quite okay. Yet twenty-five to forty-five year olds in the region have decreased their donations by 10 per cent since 2010.

Are you part of this group that has decreased or stopped giving? Or are you part of the bigger group that has never given? In either case, I’d like you to think about what makes our community great, and how lucky we are as a result.

And then I’d like you to think about what we need to do to ensure it stays great and stay accessible to everyone here. After that, I’ll leave it to you as to whether you might open your wallet up for a good cause. Just don’t get annoyed if I ask you about your decision afterwards.

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We’re hosting ongoing discussions about ION impact. Share your thoughts about LRT construction online, #IONdialogues. JESSICA PETT.

THE ION DIALOGUES: JAY WALLJASPER ANNA BEARD CONTRIBUTOR On June 18, award-winning community builder, journalist, author, and city collector, Jay Walljasper visited Waterloo Region to present 25 common sense ways to create a stronger more connected community as part of the Region of Waterloo’s ION Community and Transit Talk Series.

When he isn’t travelling around the world speaking and presenting, Walljasper lives in Minneapolis and is a senior fellow with the U.S.-based organization Project for Public Spaces.

He is also the author of “The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-it-Yourself Guide to Place-Making,” and numerous internationally published magazine and web-based articles, including “How to Keep Cold Winter Cities Cool and 11 Reasons Why Transit, Bikes & Walking Are Moving Us To a Brighter Future.”

Before he had a chance to address attendees, TCE sat down with Walljasper to hear his thoughts on how we’re doing as a region, how he believes light rail transit will help foster community, and where we should focus our efforts.

TCE: How would you define the concept of ‘community building?’

JW: Community building is art as well as science. It’s not two big decisions you make but rather, 500,000 small decisions that a lot of people make. It’s that investment into where you live – that people can believe that the city can grow in the direction they want their lives to grow. It’s being conscious of the decisions you’re making today and the unseen consequences of those decisions. You know, we’ve made a lot of decisions in North American life – let’s build highways and strip malls but, we didn’t set out to hollow out the centre of our cities or to make walking seem like a quaint antiquated way to live. We didn’t say let’s segregate the wealthy

from the poor or let’s spend the majority of our lives sitting down or sitting in traffic, so it’s about being aware of the consequences of our decisions. The other part of it is being able to be light on your feet and changing direction when you start to realize that your plans aren’t working out.

TCE: Have you had a chance to look through the Region of Waterloo’s Community Building Strategy?

JW: Yes, and I think it’s right on track.

Those planning documents always make imminent sense but it’s about how much you really follow through on all the visions and good intentions and that’s what’s hard. Community building is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes what makes a great community will increase someone’s commute time or take away a parking space from in front of their home or shop. The good part is that you’ll meet people and that you have a common cause you work towards.

TCE: With our community building strategy, we’ve centered it around our transit corridor that will become like a spine that connects the northern end of Waterloo and eventually will reach Cambridge. With that, we’ll be connecting three economic cores. Have you seen an example like this before where a city can create something like this and fill it in, while still protecting those surrounding neighbourhoods and communities that are not largely urban? How do we protect that feeling while still increasing the economic vibrancy of the area?

JW: It’s interesting that you used the word urban because, what does urban actually mean and what are the negative connotations associated with it?

Urban means a lot of people together – that’s a hockey game, that’s a state fair, it’s a theme park or carnival or festival. Those places are all filled with people. I think the ‘urban’ part that makes people leery is a little to do with crime. I think the real issue is traffic.

People don’t fear density because of people but because of cars. What you’re

offering [with this kind of strategy] is the hope that you can have more here with less traffic. That is the light rail, that is the idea of a walkable urban village, that is better walking and biking conditions, carshare, bikeshare, etc. It’s about providing people with a choice now – sometimes I’d like to walk, sometimes I’d like to bike, sometimes I’d like to take transit, sometimes I’d like to drive. There are a lot of big cultural shifts happening that we don’t really recognize yet and so all of these things should allay the fears of people that this growth is going to be somehow a malignant attack on what makes this a nice place.

TCE: To that point, there are some communities within the region that are infatuated with how things are today – they don’t want massive development in their neighbourhoods, they only want to drive. How do we encourage that culture shift to start happening when there is so much resistance?

JW: There’s a reflexive reaction people have to new things sometimes but in most cases that disappears – they realize the roof hasn’t fallen in. The way things are going now, if you continue to build a community where people have to drive everywhere, the exact things they fear are going to happen. If you want the countryside to remain the countryside, you need the cities to take on a larger proportion of that development. It’s a bit of a culture change. It’s a bit of a psychological adjustment. It’s getting past what we’ve been fed for the last 100 years, that the only way people can move from one place to another is with a vehicle unless you’re poor or some kind of eco-freak. In fact we’re already seeing this shift with the number of people who are riding their bicycles.

The whole bike riding boom – no one saw that coming, so we have a lot more options and opportunities for the future than the naysayers say we do.

TCE: Waterloo Region is in an interesting position given that we have a population of just over half a million, but we don’t have one city that has a population larger than about 230,000.

It’s spread thinly and we don’t have that infill yet. In your opinion, and given the cities that you’ve visited, is light rail something we can use to spur that development and continue creating an ecosystem?

JW: Oh definitely, it’s the best way to do it. It’s an investment in what is already an advantage. This isn’t a green-field, you already have business nodes and you want to connect them so I think it’s the way to go. Basically, light rail isn’t isolated alone, it’s connected to more biking, more walking, grouping your trips – it’ll have a big impact on transportation patterns and where people choose to live. I would think from what I’ve seen in just the short amount of time I’ve been here is there needs to be a bigger push for biking. I know you have some trails here and trails are great but you also need protected bike lanes and a bigger bike share system.

This area is designed for bike share because you have a polycentric city and a huge student population that is slightly disconnected. […] Human communities are living organisms, they are ecosystems, and so the rules that are applied to ecosystems apply to cities.

An ecosystem that has diversity is an ecosystem that is going to be strong.

An ecosystem that doesn’t have diversity is a monoculture and we know what happens to monocultures. So having many different types of transportation, housing, demographics, is what makes a city stronger and more interesting.

In addition to his presentation on 25 ways to create a better, more connected, Waterloo Region, Walljasper led a full day community building workshop where attendees could connect with other community builders from across Waterloo Region, brainstorm and dream big about what they want the future of the region to look like. They also spent part of the day finding ways to put community-building aspirations into action to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces along the ION corridor and throughout Waterloo Region.

ALL ABOARD

ON JUNE 26 OVER 400 PEOPLE GATHERED TO TAKE IN GOOD ART, GOOD MUSIC, AND GOOD FOOD ABOARD STEEL RAILS 2015, WATERLOO REGION’S ONLY MOVING ART PARTY.

CAR THREE LAYERING PAINT AND REMOVING CLOTHES

CAR ONE NEW CITY AND OLD SOUNDS

THE VES WHAT’S CAR TWO OVERGROWN AND UNDERDRESSED

CAR FOUR BLOW THE DUST OFF THAT GUITAR THE SHOP ALL THAT JAZZ

CAR FOUR FROM YOUR PAST AND TO THE FUTURE

STIBULE MY AGE AGAIN?

CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE GALLERY ON FACEBOOK FOR EVEN MORE PHOTOS. PHOTOS BY MATT SMITH, HEATHER DAVIDSON AND JESSICA DIK

JULY 2015 // @THECOMMUNITYED

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BRFC ON BEER

JON JOHNSON COLUMNIST As I walked through the doors of the rotating exhibit space at the Waterloo Region Museum, I was greeted by the sounds of classic beer jingles, and empties rolling down the line at the Beer store. This was definitely going to be my kind of exhibit.

Beer! The Exhibit, opened on June 19, and is on display until January 3, 2016. If you’re the kind of person who reads a column about beer, it is definitely worth your time to go and check it out. While the exhibit does cover some general beer knowledge, including, among other things, a brief history of beer and how it is made, the focus is very heavy on Ontario beer, local breweries, and the interesting peculiarities and politics that have surrounded the sales of beer in the province for even longer than I expected.

Trivia and breweriana (yes, that’s a word!) abound.

Moving through the exhibit, there are countless illustrations of the Region’s long standing ties to beer.

From the Oktoberfest section, with the large horse-drawn beer carriage; through the bottle wall, rife with locally produced beers new and old; to the exhibit wall that features brief bios on a number of past and present breweries. In a small feature Jim Brickman is referred to as “the pioneer of today’s craft brewery renaissance” for founding Brick Brewery, known as Ontario’s first craft brewery, in 1984.

As a charming touch, there’s a central games room area offering shuffleboard, cards, and the equipment to play beer pong. This is one of a few interactive portions of the exhibit. This area also features a video documenting the history of some local breweries, and large panels describing different varieties of beer. The panels even indicate appropriate glassware and proper serving temperatures, as well as highlight local and national examples for each style.

There were a lot of things I knew in the exhibit, yet a lot of things that I didn’t know as well. A big takeaway for me was just to marvel at negative treatment beer sales and consumption have received over time, all while breweries have helped our local economies, and overall have been excellent employers.

Before leaving make sure you check out the small beer-related section in the gift shop. Among other things, it features some of the Brooklyn Brew Shop homebrew kits I mentioned in a previous issue.

CONTRIBUTE The Community Edition wants to share your voice, too. From cycling to craft beer, parenting to sex education, if you have an interest in a topic, we’d love to host your voice. Email allison. leonard@wlusp.com to contribute as a guest columnist, or initiate a recurring column with your idea.

Have thoughts on a column we ran this month? Send us your response and we’ll do our best to run it in print or online.

Too much work? Just connect with us online in 140 characters or less. @ TheCommunityEd.

The Kitchener Twilight Grand Prix raced through downtown Kitchener June 19. Competitors cycled a 1.1 kilometre loop around the downtown core. The event is the only Canadian national level criterium event in Ontario and drew teams from across the country of all skill levels to compete in the pro, intermidiate and beginner race categories. Jamie Gilgen and Ryan Roth claimed victory in the pro/elite women’s and men’s races respectively. MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR.

A WRENCH IN THE GEARS OF CYCLING CULTURE

MEGAN NOURSE CONTRIBUTOR Picture this: an out-of-shape girl riding a very old bike up a slightly inclined road so slowly that people are leisurely walking past her, contracting severe second hand embarrassment.

I’m not a cyclist by any stretch; I have a bike that has barely been wheeled outside of my garage since its purchase. In honour of bike month and the start of the car-less phase of my adult life, I challenged myself to bike as much as I could in June.

The world of cycling intimidates me. People in spandex on $500 bikes advocating for shared roads and wider bike lanes is what I picture when I think of active transportation in Waterloo Region. A huge stereotype I’m buying into, I admit. When I approached the idea of biking as my main form of transit, I really could not see how I’d fit in that culture as an out-of-shape 20-something who owns no spandex.

Suzie Taka, the co-ordinator of Community Access Bikeshare (CAB) is an avid cycler herself and sits on the City of Kitchener’s active transportation committee. But even with her

profession and choice to cycle, Taka said she doesn’t fit in the typical cycle culture either.

“I biked everywhere because it made sense, it just sort of happened,” Taka said on how she got into biking. “I don’t call myself a cyclist.”

Recycle Cycles (RC), operated through The Working Centre, hosts a Women and Trans night, providing a female-centric workspace to repair bikes, an activity usually dominated by men. Those workshop nights are what really got Taka into biking. She said learning how to fix and maintain her own bike was empowering.

“I feel kind of bad ass about it, to be honest,” she said.

I definitely was not feeling empowered my first few times riding around town. I was mostly just sweaty and out of breath by the time I arrived at any destination. While Taka, inspired me to keep going, weeks later I’d only pulled out my bike about five times and only when I was going somewhere that allowed me to avoid actual roads. Being on a bike made me feel very vulnerable. A lot of roads in this region are still without bike lanes and though cars and cyclists are meant to share the space, a lot of drivers ignore the signs.

“Just try to keep a positive outlook and know that not every driver is anti-bike,” said the coordinator of RC Holly Pfeffer after I retold my fearful experience biking downtown to get to

the shop.

“You kind of have to command respect,” she said.

On my way to RC in the mid-June humidity, I was on Duke St. feeling okay about the last stretch of my journey when I got to a closed intersection. I don’t have the balance to maneuver narrow pathways or jump the curbs necessary to get around construction. So I walked my bike, moving even slower than usual because the 15 minutes of actual peddling that I did to get this far seriously took a lot out of me. By this point I was very sweaty and my face flushed, looking like I just finished a triathlon.

Most of the time I was on my bike last month I had a very self-conscious feeling that everywhere I went people were looking at me with mild judgment for my visible exhaustion.

That fear became a reality when I was crossing Duke St. and two men behind me started shouting about how their grandmothers could move faster than me in their wheelchairs. My inner independent woman attitude was ready to confront them, but my lack of energy and high body temperature meant it took longer than usual to process my emotions. So they were long gone by the time I’d put a sentence together.

Then I was left standing sweaty and sun burnt at the corner of Duke and College streets downtown, leaning against my bike for support (both

physical and emotional), contemplating my next move when about 100 pro cyclist flew past me; the Kitchener Twilight Grand Prix was in full swing.

By this point my confidence was low and I was considering abandoning my bike downtown and assuming a new identity in a city where no one would have witnessed the last hour of my commute.

By the time I made it to RC my cycling confidence was at an all-time low. I was ready to throw in the towel and commit to a life of public transit and walking. But by the time I left the shop I was feeling the empowerment and badass-ness that Taka had told me about.

RC provides free tools and space for people to fix their bikes, Pfeffer and volunteers are around to help, but the point is for bike owners to do the work themselves.

“It’s an empowering feeling to be able to take care of your own vehicle,” Pfeffer said.

At RC I learned how to change my tires, a basic task that made me feel so much more confident as a bike owner.

Taka said that for her, biking is kind of political and feminist. By the time I was making my way home from RC, I was feeling the same way. My head was higher, I was peddling harder, and no longer considering selling my bike on Kijiji when I got home.

JULY 2015 // @THECOMMUNITYED

11

TCE is sharing the stories of neighbourhoods across Waterloo Region. Tweet @TheCommunityEd to suggest your neighbourhood or to write our next installment. MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR.

IF STREETS COULD TALK: BELMONT VILLAGE NATALEE BLAGDEN CONTRIBUTOR In the pink-skied summer mornings, as prep cooks slip in back doors to trendy restaurants, industrial workers carry coolers with packed lunches toward the looming AirBoss Rubber Compounding plant, the largest building for miles, and a reminder of bygone times when Kitchener was referred to as “the rubber capital of Canada.”

Nearby on the Iron Horse trail, commuter cyclists and young parents with knobby-tired jogging strollers whip by the clanging construction equipment where new luxury condominiums spring up from the dust of the razed Boehmer Box factory.

Belmont Village is literally and figuratively at a crossroads. And that’s what residents love about it.

By bicycle, the ride to uptown is a brief seven minutes for swift riders.

Eight minutes of pedalling toward Kitchener brings you to the warehouse district, known for Communitech, Google’s growing offices, and – soon – the downtown transit hub.

“Before moving to KW in 2010, I had lived in the small town with a population of only 14,000 for most of my life,” says Charlotte Armstrong, one of the founders of Nerd Nite KW. “When I went to visit a friend of mine that lived in Belmont Village a few years

ago, as soon as I saw Belmont Village, I suddenly felt like I was back home.

The side streets were so scenic and filled with giant trees and old houses and Belmont Village itself with its wide streets and small stores.”

“I instantly wanted to live there,” says Armstrong.

“Luckily a rental opportunity came up a year ago and myself and both of my Nerd Nite KW team of Eric Moon and Ryan Consell settled into a 50 year old house that we happily call home. Our space is close enough to all that we need…We bike, walk, and use public transportation and the location is completely accessible.”

Wendy Philpott echoes that sentiment. “It’s good for your health - mental health and physical health, to see people face to face. It definitely builds community. Being close to Blemont, doing this,” she says, ducking between hostas in her front garden. “I always see neighbours.”

If you have a dog, the warm welcome for chit-chat is obvious: silver water bowls occupy front stoops.

With no knowledge of Kitchener-Waterloo geography and only two days to pick a new home after relocating from Regina, Philpott and her husband picked their 80+ year-old home on Claremont because they wanted a mature neighbourhood where they could bike to work, and their two children could play in the streets.

“We soon realized how lucky we were. I love this neighbourhood,” says Wendy Philpott, of 48 Claremont, still rummaging through hostas and other

flourishing greens in her front yard garden. The Philpotts are now regulars in The Old Kitchen Cupboard and the Thai Bistro. Argyle Park is always busy, she says, and she loves the Little Libraries scattered through the area.

Depending where you draw the imaginary lines around the village, the core of Belmont could be said to be dead centre among two, three, or even four neighbourhood associations – Westmount, Cherry Park, Victoria Hills, and Uptown West - all of whom host a plethora of events and activities.

What’s interesting about the proliferation of events here is the collision between communities. To the south, wide, gaping, lawns and hot, empty paved lots remind us of Kitchener’s industrial past. Those in Westmount take pride in their Montreal-inspired streetscapes and adorable “twin” houses (designs replicated in more than one street, visible if you look closely through the shade trees and well-established vines covering the many cross-gabled, Tudor or Georgian, single, detached homes that make the west side enviable and pricey.

Even their most laudable mansions and memorable art deco facades owe their origins to successful bids for factories. That aforementioned AirBoss site was originally Dominion Tire.

Over a century ago, Talmon Rieder brought Dominion Tire to Kitchener, helping to establish then-Berlin as an industrial powerhouse. Based in Montreal, with his family in Kitchen-

er, Reider also influenced the design of the Westmount neighbourhood, which still shows some resemblance to Montreal’s Westmount.

What about rental units, you ask?

Pricey, few, but growing.

Only a handful of high-rise buildings prick the skyline in Belmont, but with more condos going up, and proximity to several transit corridors, the number of young professionals in the area may keep rising.

The central, most well-known bit of “Belmont Village” is a retail strip.

Originally constructed as a make-work project during the Great Depression, a three-block slab of pavement and basic utilities (sewers, lights) were installed with high hopes for development of a convention centre that never came to be. However, the pavement served as a handy spot for midways, festivals, roller-skating and dances.

Today, 75 businesses occupy lowslung buildings tucked between mature trees, several well-tended parks, and wide sidewalks with plants and patio furniture. There’s just enough neon signage and neighbourly policies to keep nostalgia alive, while new businesses come and go; some faddish (remember the Creperie?) and some long-standing favourites with a following.

Kevin Wong, founder of JLB (Janet Lynn’s Bistro, named for his wife, now deceased), says he relocated from King Street in Waterloo to Belmont Village because Belmont Village rent was more affordable and he wanted to return to a smaller space.

“We get all kinds of customers,” says Wong. “Since we’ve been operating since 1985, many of our customers I’ve known them since then. You can imagine that in 1985 we had customers that were 40 years old - and now they’re 70!”

JLB has one of several darling patios on the street, all lined in flowers, welcoming pedestrians to peaceful dining experiences outside of the K-W core.

Casa Rugantino (Italian), Belmont Bistro, and newcomer Raja (Indian) all have patios attracting locals and visitors alike.

Belmont’s new outdoor market on Tuesdays is also ramping up. Wong said the JLB sourdough bread sold out in less than 45 minutes. No surprise, given the demographics here.

Philpott describes the area as “neighbourly”. Among local non-profit organizations and businesses, this sense of consciousness and generosity abounds. For example, the May Court consignment shop is, at a glance, a rather upscale boutique; 40 per cent of the selling prices go to local charities. All Things Tea sells farm-fresh eggs alongside their loose leaf teas and baked treats. Rawlicious caters to those who prefer a raw vegan menu.

For an neighbourhood of coveted real estate with living quarters for maids, stucco and timber facades, and Elizabethan casement windows, Belmont’s big spenders certainly seem keen on sharing the wealth, too.

AL IV ST FE EE FR

PRESENTS

SCHEDULE JULY 9 Kultrún Opening Gala, Victoria Park Pavilion (ticketed) BACK-TO-BACK PERFORMANCES BY: ANITA TIJOUX Hip Hop Activist, Latin Pop Star & Latin Grammy Winner CHICO TR UJILLO Chile’s Rockinest Ska-Cumbia Orchestra LUCHO QUEQUEZANA 2015 Bellas Artes Winner & 2014 Latin Grammy Nominee

JULY 10 Pan Am Showcase, Civic Park on Queen St (FREE) THE WOMYN’S QUARTET (Waterloo Region) All-Stars Collaboration: Alysha Brilla, Janice Lee, Charlena Russell & Natalia Mansilla DR UMS OF THE DIASPORA (Cuba, Brazil, Haiti) Three Masters of Percussion: Joaquin Pozo + Dendê Macedo + Bonga Jean Baptiste LUCHO QUEQUEZANA (Perú) Top Peruvian Composer, 2015 Bellas Artes Winner & 2014 Latin Grammy Nominee ORQUESTA TĺPICA FERNANDEZ FIERRO (Argentina) Buenos Aires’ most popular tango orchestra with a cult-like status & gold records ROBERTO LOPEZ PROJECT (Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Québec) Roberto’s song ‘Soy Panamericano’ is a Pan Am & Parapan Am theme Tune!

ANITA TIJOUX (Chile) Hip Hop Activist, Latin Pop Star & Latin Grammy Winner

JULY 11-12 Kultrún Festival in Victoria Park (FREE)

The Heartbeat of World Music

Big Stage Performances by Over 20 Local, National & International World Music Bands · Special Pan Am Games Showcase of Artists All-Ages workshops & Interactive Activities · Storytelling for Kids · Food & Craft Market · Boathouse Beer Garden & After-Parties! More Info Visit: NERUDAARTS.CA

JULY 9

Opening Gala with Top Kultrún Artists Victoria Park Pavilion (ticketed)

JULY 10

Pan Am Showcase of Artists Civic Park (FREE)

Creative Enterprise Initiative

JULY 11-12

Kultrún World Music Festival Victoria Park (FREE)

SALTARELLO (Québec) Historically Inspired Music from the Four Corners of the Earth LE BAL À L’HUILE (Québec) Traditional Québécois Music by Six Remarkable Singers VOX SAMBOU (Québec, Haiti) Int. Ambassador of Hip Hop Culture and Founding Member of Nomadic Massive TANIA NARANJO & MINA WEURLANDER (Chile, Sweden) Dramatic & Playful Tango by Two Musical Soul Mates LA CHIVA GANTIVA (Belgium, Holland, Colombia) Rock, Rap, Soul and Ferociously Funky Latin Rhythms TRIBU BAHAR U (Colombia) An Afro-Champeta Music Crew from the Colombian Caribbean CHICO TR UJILLO (Chile) Chile’s Rockinest Ska-Cumbia Orchestra PUPY Y LOS QUE SON SON (Cuba) A Cuban Salsa Steam Engine with a Mighty Four-Man Horn Section DR UMHAND (Ontario) Old and New Rhythms on Weathered Skins - Global Beats for Dancing Bodies!

AMAI KUDA and Y JOSEPHINE (Ontario) AfroSoul Duo with Sweet, Smoky Vocals and a Peruvian Fruit Box Drum Kit JONI NEHRITA (Ontario) Jazz, R&B, Funk and Infectious Band Chemistry from a Tri-City Homegirl SOM BIT (Mexico) Music + Movement Heavy on Drums and Afro-Funk Bass and Jazz Grooves ADONIS PUENTES & The Voice of Cuba Orchestra (Cuba-Canada) Cuban-Canadian Juno and Grammy nominee PAULO FLORES (Angola, Mozambique) Acoustic and Electric Semba Dance Rhythms from an Angolan Master ORQUESTA TĺPICA FERNANDEZ FIERRO (Argentina) Buenos Aires’ most popular tango orchestra with a cult-like status & gold records

STEEL RAILS WOULDN’T BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS & PARTNERS

WILLIAM NELSON

David Moore

PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY

JULY 2015 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

14

SEXPLANATIONS

STACEY JACOBS COLUMNIST In Canada you can now buy Trojan vibrators at Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaws.

This was one of the things I learned when I attended the 37th Annual Guelph Sexuality Conference recently.

I have been attending this conference for over 10 years and I always learn a thing or two and meet knowledgeable people from the Sexuality Field. In this month’s Sexplanations, I’ll give the highlights of what is leading discussion in the fields of sex and sexuality.

First, the bad news. Gonorrhea is still on the rise in Ontario and Waterloo Region has the 3rd highest rate (Toronto is number one). The World Health Organization has declared antibiotic resistance in Gonorrhea one of the top three urgent threats worldwide. If you contract gonorrhea there is a chance you will always have gonorrhea. What can you do? Use a condom every time you have vaginal, anal or oral sex, get tested and get treated; a great majority of people are still clearing the infection.

More bad news. Sixty-four per cent of LGBTQ students in Canada feel unsafe at school. This is not ok. What can you do? You can treat all people with dignity and respect. You can use non-gendered and inclusive language.

This means not making assumptions about people’s gender, sexual orientation and bodies. Use terms such as partner or significant other instead of girl/boyfriend or husband/ wife. Ask people their pronouns and name. Avoid terms guys “guys” to refer to a group of people. Do not use the phrase, “that’s so gay” to refer to something you feel is ridiculous or inferior. This may take some practice, but it is important. All people deserve to feel safe.

Some good news. There is a new diaphragm, called Caya, now available in Canada. This is excellent news for people who cannot use, or choose not to use, hormonal methods of birth control. It can be ordered from ecosex. ca for $85, is made of silicone and can be used for 2 years. It must be used with contraceptive jelly, which can also be ordered from ecosex.ca.

For those of you who skip the foreplay you may want to think again.

It can take a vulva and vagina up to 45 minutes to become fully aroused. A vulva has the same amount of erectile tissue as a penis, but distributed differently and mostly within the pelvic floor muscles (also in the clit, around the urethra and under the perineum).

It also takes longer to become fully engorged with blood. P in the V sex will more than likely not provide full arousal or even an orgasm for the vulva wielder. If you haven’t already, it might be a good idea to add hand sex and oral sex to your sexual toolkit.

I will end with a suggestion. We all need to learn to handle rejection better when it comes to relationships and sex.

People must feel ok saying no, or that makes me uncomfortable, or please stop. And people must hear and respect these decisions. I am suggesting we have an open and honest conversation about our sexual likes and dislikes, what we want at the moment and what we don’t want, what we may want to try in the future and what we never want to try. Everyone involved should be invested in the conversation and the follow through.

TCE offers suggestions for pages to flip through in the park and blockbusters worth catching in theatres this summer. MATT SMITH, PHOTO EDITOR.

POP CULTURE BUCKET LIST: WATCH, READ, LISTEN

KURTIS THOMAS CONTRIBUTOR The summer is a great time for popular culture. Big budget spectacles fill the theatres, page-turning novels keep us up at night, and music is played and sung along to loudly. Below are a few summer releases we think you’ll enjoy.

MOVIES

INSIDE OUT From Toy Story to Up, Pixar has been setting the bar for quality animated movies for over two decades; Inside Out looks to continue that legacy. When 11-year-old Riley is forced to move to a new city, her emotions fight to get the best of her.

Led by Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear and Disgust, they try to assist Riley from the factory-like control center inside her brain. But when Joy and Sadness are accidentally swept away into the deep regions of Riley’s mind, they have to work together to find their way back through the dreamscape of a Riley’s subconscious. With Inside Out, Pixar perfectly encapsulates the trials and tribulations of youth in the humorous and poignant way they’re known best for.

ANT MAN Marvel Studios have yet to make a misstep since taking back the reigns of their cinematic universe, starting

with Iron Man in 2008. Now that their film brand is established they’ve started taking calculated risks, and last summers surprise breakout Guardians of the Galaxy worked strongly in their favour. The upcoming Ant-Man looks to be another potential gamble, taking a not particularly well known superhero and launching him into the spotlight.

Ant Man, aka, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a wise-cracking thief who’s enlisted by the enigmatic Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to help pull off a heist that will save the world. Armed with a suit that will shrink him to an Ant-like size, while enhancing his strength (and giving him control over the insects he’s named for) Scott will reluctantly do his best to save Earth and provide a few laughs along the way. Ant Man crawls onto the big screen on July 17.

BOOKS

ARMADA – ERNEST CLINE Zack Lightman loves science fiction and videogames, and like any good daydreamer fantasizes about being whisked away into an adventure like his favourite fictional characters. One day his wish is granted when a flying saucer appears outside his school, and it looks strangely similar to the alien ships he fights in his favourite online game. Suddenly Zack and other gamers are called on to use the skills honed in the online gaming world to defend the planet.

Cline rose to fame with his breakout novel Ready Player One, which expertly weaved popular gaming culture into an adventure novel that was hard to put down. Armada looks to be the fol-

low-up fans were asking for. Armada descends on July 14.

A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS – PAUL TREMBLAY When a new novel gets compared to horror mainstays like Let the Right on In and The Haunting of Hill House, fans of the genre can be assured they’re in for a few good scares.

When Marjorie Barrett is diagnosed with schizophrenia her family is devastated. As her condition worsens, things in the Barrett household get stranger, and the family starts to suspect something other worldly may be going on. Falling on hard times, the family agrees to be the subject of a reality show titled The Possession to assist with their medical bills. The show becomes a hit, but ends on a tragic note, and the show is left to become fodder for campfire stories. Years later an eager writer visits Margorie’s younger sister, Merry trying to get the real story of what happened in the Barrett household. As the true story of The Possession is revealed, the readers are taken on a bone chilling journey that will challenge their mind and expectations. A Head Full of Ghosts is best read on a bright summer day. A head full of ghosts is already available where books are sold. You’ve been warned.

ALBUMS

POSITIVE SONGS FOR NEGATIVE PEOPLE – FRANK TURNER Frank Turner is not slowing down.

Despite putting out a book just a few months ago, this summer he’ll be releasing Positive Songs for Negative People, his 6th full album in 10 years.

If the first songs off the album show-

case anything, it’s that the folk rock singer songwriter is still the master of his craft. Turner writes relevant cultural songs, pleading and encouraging his listeners to be the best they can be.

His mantra, communicated through song, is to live life to the fullest, and never stop fighting for what you believe in.

Best of all he’s still able to cover these topics in songs that lend themselves equally to stereos played at full volume, and half-drunk guitar serenades around a summer campfire.

If the songs are even half as optimistic as the album’s name implies this just might be the insurance everyone needs to have an inspired summer Released August 7.

FREEDOM –REFUSED When Swedish hardcore band Refused released their album The Shape of Punk to Come in 1998 there was no way they could have known how accurate that title would be. In the following decades, punk as a genre evolved around Refused’s aggressive, anti-establishment lyrics and sound, which defied society and the medium as a whole. The album is considered to be one of the most influential records of all time, despite the band breaking up a few months later.

Expectations for Freedom are high, and judging by the first singles released, Refused are meeting, and exceeding them. On the first single ‘Elektra’ lead singer Dennis Lyxzen screams “Nothing has changed” and that’s exactly the kind of reassurance music are looking for.

JULY 2015 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

WEAR OUT THERE

CHRISTINA PROCTOR COLUMNIST Clothing choices are an important form of self-expression. They showcase who we are, who we want to be, and our individual beliefs. In recent decades, it has become increasingly difficult to find pieces that truly reflect one’s personality. Many garments today are mass-produced with little attention to quality and detail, unless they are created by high-end designers.

Lucky for us, we can still purchase unique garments at a reasonable price by shopping vintage. Not only are many vintage clothes one-of-a-kind, they were constructed using higher quality fabrics. Vintage clothes also reflect the societal, political, and cultural context of the time, allowing you to own a little piece of history.

“Every piece in the store has a story,” explains Rachel Kaufman, Owner of Auburn Vintage. “Auburn Vintage is almost a boutique and a museum at the same.”

According to Vogue Fashion, 100 Years of Style by Linda Watson, each decade had its own distinct style and characteristics. For example, the utilitarian look became popular in the 1940s after World War II, which was followed by the feminine styles popular in the 1950s. Fashion may be ever-evolving, but always reflects the current climate and ideology.

“Vintage stores are one of the few places where different generations can enjoy shopping together,” says Kaufman. “We get grandmothers, mothers, and daughters all shopping together in the same place…it’s almost a walk down memory lane for some.”

In recent years, vintage clothes have increased in popularity and have wide appeal for individuals of all ages.

Today’s trendsetters are masters of mixing vintage with new items to create a style all their own. In opposition of today’s homogenous style scene, fashion leaders are breaking free by searching for unique finds to incorporate into their wardrobes. The rise in shopping vintage is also an eco-friendly choice, which is a shift reflective of our current day and age.

If you would like to express yourself with vintage clothes, remember to do it in a modern way.

“I tell my customers to choose one vintage piece that can be the statement for a look, and then pair it with something more traditional,” explains Kaufman. “Wear the funky floral pants, but pair them with a black blazer, for example.”

The best advice for shopping vintage is to try on anything and everything that speaks to you. You never know how the garment will fit on your body, and they are often only available in one size. Locally, an amazing selection of vintage clothes can be found at Auburn Vintage in Conestogo, Meow Boutique and Patina Vintage in Uptown Waterloo, and White Tiger Vintage in Downtown Kitchener.

Spend your time curating a wardrobe with pieces you love, and that reflect your individual tastes. As Yves Saint Laurent once said, “fashions fade, style is eternal.”

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