The Community Edition: June 2019

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 9 • JUNE 2019

SUMMER EVENTS CALENDAR INSIDE

THOSE SUMMER NIGHTS

CHOOSING TO STAY IN DTK OVER THE GTA

PART OF THE FURNITURE WITH BRETT PAULIN

LAST DAYS AT THE WALPER BARBER SHOP

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PAGE 8

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IN THIS

ISSUE

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 9

JUNE 2019

THIS ISSUE OF TCE WAS FUELED BY EDIBLE COOKIE DOUGH AND CORRESPONDING TUMMY ACHES.

FEATURE

18-19 FRAMELINES: THE WALPER BARBER

EDITOR’S PICK 6

BREAKING UP WITH TORONTO FOR KITCHENER

INSIDE

3 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 9-12 13 14 14 15 16 16 17 20 20

IN BRIEF FEMCARE TACKLES PERIOD POVERTY ESCAPING THE THERAPY COUCH PROS AND CONS OF ONE BIG CITY SEXPLANATIONS: ABORTION CARE IS HEALTHCARE CELEBRATING PRIDE AT HUSTL+FLOW MENTAL MATTERS: UNDERSTANDING YOUR EMOTIONS LOVE AND DESIGN WITH BRETT PAULIN DTK EVENTS CALENDAR GETTING SAUCY WITH KRIS PHIPPEN A GARDEN FULL OF BEER EASY BEING GREEN: IN FAVOUR OF TESLAS HARU NOON // EVENT LISTINGS 519 SCHMECKS: EATING ALONG THE IRON HORSE TRAIL REFUGEE DAY IS NOT FOR ME HYPERLOCAL TRAVEL: ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER ALWAYS A BRIDES(MADE) NEVER A BRIDE 519 SCHMECKS: EATING ALONG THE IRON HORSE TRAIL

COVER BY JESSE DERRY

Volume 7, Issue 9 Next issue: July, 2019 75 University Ave. W Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 519-884-0710 x3564

All advertising inquiries should be directed to Care Lucas at 519-884-0710 x3560 care.lucas@wlusp.com

THE COMMUNITY EDITION TEAM

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION

Editor in Chief Beth Bowles beth@communityedition.ca

President Aaron Hagey

Publisher Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp.com Social Media Coordinators Brit Kovacs Ramona Leitao Staff Writer Melissa Embury Photo Editors Nick Stanley Paige Bush Jesse Derry Web Manager Care Lucas General Inquiries info@communityedition.ca

Executive Director Lakyn Barton Advertising Manager Care Lucas Directors Rosalind Horne Emily Crump Arshy Mann Alyssa Di Sabatino Kashyap Patel

CONTRIBUTORS Trisha Abe Jenna Aquino Justin Clouthier Marinus De Groot Marika Galadza James Gowland Aaron Hagey Safina Husein Ramona Leitao Rachael MacIntosh Andreas Patsiaouros Matt Smith Cara Vandermey COLUMNISTS Nick Benninger Stacey Danckert Stacey Jacobs Bashar Lulu Jabbour Juanita Metzger Erik O’Neill John Roche

TWITTER @THECOMMUNITYED INSTAGRAM @COMMUNITYEDITION

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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.

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IN BRIEF

Should Waterloo Region become one big city like Galt, Hespeler and Preston? Read more on page 5.

NICK STANLEY PHOTOS

NEWS

ARTS

URBAN

LRT CRASHES BEFORE OPENING

SMOKIN’ DOPE AT EVER AFTER

IF I HAD 227 MILLION DOLLARS

The first reported LRT related crash occurred May 31 at around 12:30 p.m. by Duke Street West and Water Street North in downtown Kitchener. The front end of the LRT vehicle connected with the rear end of a van, which had two children and a 41-year-old driver.

Charges have been laid on the driver, which includes failing to stop at a red light.

Kitchener’s Ever After Music Festival, which will take place June 7-9, has announced that it will allow attendees to bring and consume cannabis onsite. Those who do bring cannabis must have their cannabis pre-rolled before entering the festival grounds. Festivalgoers are also limited to 10 g or less per person and will be limited to designated spaces on the grounds.

The City of Kitchener has reported a need to fill a $227 million gap in infrastructure funding for facilities. The majority of the 255 buildings owned by the City, such as community centres, aquatic facilities and arenas, would need approximately $25 million each year to keep them in repair. This may propose an issue due to budget cut requests.

CONESTOGA MOVES TO DTK

I AM KITCHENER

SCOOTIN’ ON ROADS?

Conestoga College will have a new Kitchener campus located in the downtown Kitchener Market Square. The space will provide business programs and serve about 1,000 students by January 2020.

Conestoga College president John Tibbits hopes to expand the lease space and accommodate more than 2,000 students, within the next three years.

Indigenous Art Market Kitchener (I AM Kitchener) and the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre will be having a pop-up space leading to Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations at 220 King St. from June 12-15. Free tables will be provided for Indigenous artists and crafters, as well as performances.

The Waterloo Region is on board with potentially allowing E-scooters access on public roads. Currently, E-scooters are not defined under the HIghway Traffic Act, which means they cannot be used on roadways.

This might change as the Ontario government is considering allowing such vehicles on public roads. Scoot scoot.

POPPING UP AROUND DTK

NEW ART FOR CHARLES ST.

NO MORE PARKING TICKETS?

The west wing of Kitchener City Hall is now a pilot program called PROJECT 220. 220 King Street West will provide space to local groups and entrepreneurs from now until spring 2020 for varying time spans. While there is no rental cost, groups are required to purchase a pop-up business license and proof of insurance if products are being sold.

New public art has been installed on Charles Street and other LRT stops in Kitchener.

Because Cats Can’t Fly is a 20-foot-tall structure that depicts a cat on a bicycle atop a gear. Artists Veronica and Edwin Dam de Nogales say the pièce is inspired by the gear of the local industry, bicycles and clocks.

Beginning June 3, the new Administrative Monetary Policy System (AMPS) will replace parking tickets with penalty notices. The new system is aimed to reduce wait times for parking issues from 8-9 months, to 2-3.

Drivers who are charged with a parking penalty can visit the Kitchener by-law enforcement office to seek a resolution.

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TACKLING PERIOD POVERTY FEMCARE’S MISSION IS TO REWRITE THE NARRATIVE AROUND MENSTRUATION

MELISSA EMBURY CONTRIBUTOR Period poverty is popping up on social media more and more lately — and the stats are shocking.

“Many women don’t even know what a menstrual product is and are forced into silence by taboos around women’s health,” says the founder of FemCare Halima Al-Hatimy.

What FemCare wants people to know is that it’s not just happening in less developed countries like India and Africa; it’s happening to many women silently in Canada and in our own communities.

Although Al-Hatimy initially started the foundation out of Hamilton, FemCare is bringing the #freetheflow campaign to the Waterloo Region. They are submitting a delegation to the City of Waterloo to lobby the municipal government to fund menstrual products for low-income and people experiencing homelessness who menstruate. Selam Debs is our local representative here in KW. FemCare Waterloo aims to “rewrite the narrative around menstruation and pave a way towards a world where all who menstruate experience optimal health and wellness.”

In April, Debs and FemCare organized a menstrual drive to gather donations of menstrual products from the local KW community. Various businesses set up collection centres, and the response was overwhelmingly positive, according to Debs. FemCare also garnered support from heavyweight Canadian menstrual cup company Diva Cup, who donated a large number of menstrual cups to their cause. The yoga lifestyle brand Lululemon is also on board, and local employees helped organize the

drive.

Debs has her own story of period poverty while growing up. Her family did not have enough money when she was young to buy period products.

“This is a real-life situation for many,” she said “I was in a situation where I didn’t have support from my family in any way financially. So I was hustling to survive and choosing to eat or buy tampons/pads that month.”

Debs shared how she would use fabric rags or paper napkins as a substitute for period products.

“I can remember all of my experiences growing up, hiding my tampons, hiding my pads, being scared, being embarrassed.”

Debs said she began to realize that it actually was a systemic problem after hearing many young girls and women share similar stories.

Menstrual education is at the heart of FemCare’s mission. By delivering community-based menstrual management workshops, they hope to help eliminate barriers people face in the local community accessing menstrual products. They have been offering training on how to use a menstrual cup, which is a convenient and eco-friendly way of managing menstruation, and are much more economical than tampons or pads.

“We want to create more awareness.

We’re looking to integrate more conversations in the school systems.

The education system is still very outdated and does not have actual proper languaging and information on menstrual health for young girls,” Debs said.

Last month, John Bryant, director of education for the Waterloo Region District School Board said in a release that starting next school year, all WRDSB schools will make menstrual products freely available in accessible, all-gender bathrooms in every school and alternative education sites. This was a decision after a staff survey determined a

high need for these products, with 88 per cent of staff saying period poverty exists.

“No student should have their learning disrupted because they cannot access products,” Byrant said.

“

PART OF THE LARGER CONVERSATION OF US RECLAIMING OUR POWER AS WOMEN, TRANS PERSONS, THOSE WHO MENSTRUATE, IS THE IDEA THAT WE’RE NOT TO BE FULLY OURSELVES. -SALEM DEBS, FEMCARE WATERLOO

”

In March of this year, THEMUSEUM in Kitchener debuted their FLOW exhibit, which featured pieces reflecting the topic of menstruation and reproductive health. The curator, Virginia Eichhorn, said in a CBC interview that “menstruation is also a really great indicator of women’s health.

If some women aren’t bringing that up with their doctors or caregivers because they’re embarrassed, that can have serious consequences.”

FemCare also hopes to destigmatize the period and change how women openly discuss the topic.

“Part of the larger conversation of us reclaiming our power as women, trans persons, those who menstruate, is the idea that we’re not to be fully ourselves. We need to embrace the fullness of our experiences as women and girls and

Salem Debs is the KW representative for FemCare. She’s also into yoga.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO be fearless talking about it in any situation,” Debs said.

Al-Hatimy and Debs spoke at Stories of Resilience — a “TED Talk style” event on May 31 at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener.

Debs and Al-Hatimy shared their stories of period poverty, abuse, lack of access and the importance of menstrual health and equity and how those two are linked.

FemCare’s future plans are to widen the #freetheflow campaign and empower more women.

“We will elevate the voices of those who have been affected most by this kind of systemic issue and get the word out there,” Debs said.

“The menstrual movement is being likened to the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s. What we’re witnessing is not simply a new trend but literally the third wave of feminism. Our feminist movement is inclusive, diverse, enlightened, collaborative and entrepreneurial.”

If funding for menstrual products is approved by the local government, FemCare believes they will be one step closer to their goal of achieving menstrual equity for all in Canada.

TAKING THERAPY TO NEW HEIGHTS JAMES GOWLAND CONTRIBUTOR Clinical social worker Brandon Spunar now works his craft outside of the office. Since last October, Spunar has spearheaded Get Out Adventure Therapy, allowing clients to explore their mental health in a more pragmatic way: with mind and body.

The 36-year-old former House of Friendship group counsellor and Ontario Certified Hike Leader provides clinical counselling whilst walking side-by-side on a hiking trail or 40-feet up on a rock-climbing wall — and clients are responding.

“It’s really powerful for people who felt they could never trust a counsellor,” said Spunar. “Something almost magical happens when we’re sharing this experience, needing to trust one another in different ways.”

Spunar has learned to embrace the power of an informal setting with his clinical work and has clients range from first responders struggling

with addiction, to children and youth dealing with depression, anxiety and/or ADHD. For many of his clients, these mental health issues are interrelated with grievingbased difficulties, trauma and/or PTSD. Children and youth tend to be a group that really responds to the nature and adventure aspects of the therapeutic work and Spunar acknowledges that it can be nice to compliment the work of other mental health professionals as well as the work that families have already done. For many youth, it is the first time they have talked to someone outside of the family.

“I feel pretty honoured to be a part of it,” said Spunar.

The nature-adventure aspect has always been important for Spunar, as he struggled with his own mental health and addictions growing up.

He admits that he is grateful for the opportunity to now utilize his informal, yet successful, therapy style and pay it forward.

“I think, for a lot of people, we’ve kind of lost touch with how mental health is affecting our body,” said Spunar. “So by being able to focus on how these emotions are affecting the body, [and] where we hold stress,

physical activity can be a really powerful step.”

Get Out Adventure Therapy has also created short-term inclusive projects called A4A, or Adventure for All. Spunar spends and utilizes a portion of his own profits and energy to help others who may not be able to access these opportunities in the community. This includes free or discounted clinical counselling.

Spunar recently and successfully coordinated the first A4A venture called the Strong Women Project.

This allowed women who were part of the climbing community in Waterloo Region to donate memberships to Grand River Rocks in order to provide opportunities at the climbing gym for women in the community who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go.

“For anyone who knows climbing culture, it’s a really supportive community and a pretty powerful experience,” said Spunar. “The adventure and nature piece sometimes allows us to build that trust far faster than maybe other situations could.”

Brandon Spunar runs Get Out Adventure Therapy, taking therapy and counselling services outdoors.

JAMES GOWLAND PHOTO

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Hespeler used to be its own city. Until it wasn’t.

NICK STANLEY PHOTO

CAN UNITY DESTROY AUTHENTICITY?

MUCH LIKE THE AMALGAMATION OF GALT, PRESTON AND HESPELER — SHOULD WATERLOO REGION, AS A WHOLE, FOLLOW SUIT?

OPINION

MARINUS DE GROOT CONTRIBUTOR “Well let’s talk it out … Let’s take the opportunity for a frank discussion,” wrote Carl Zehr, former Mayor of Kitchener on the provincial review of our local governance structure currently underway. Zehr published an op-ed in The Record in March about amalgamating Waterloo Region, the now tenth largest community in Canada.

Unless you believe that the twotier system imposed on Waterloo County 46 years ago is the best it can possibly be, there is no reason to oppose an open discussion of how it could be improved.

Most of the talk heard so far has polarized around a flat refusal to consider the limitations of the current system on the one hand, and a 1970s-style “one big city” approach on the other.

Zehr favours one local government, with one set of bylaws, one land use plan, one fire service, one library, and one arts, culture and heritage plan, that can represent the Region with one voice, and as one brand.

These are all reasonable objectives if by unity we mean concord. But unity can also mean a total disregard for nuance and difference.

The greater Waterloo area is not, has never been, and can never be a single, uniform whole.

Almost all amalgamations that have happened in Ontario recently – Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Hamilton, Chatham — have involved dominant population centres annexing adjacent areas.

Here, we’re contemplating the

establishment of an integrated order among three distinct mid-sized cities, each of roughly equal weight, with four townships thrown in for good measure.

The fact that one of our cities is the result of a larger entity annexing two smaller ones further complicates the picture.

Ironically, the strongest, and the most convincing, voices against amalgamation come from Cambridge, where they often cite the bitter experience of having to cope with the unity that was forced on them going on fifty years ago.

Is it possible to imagine a new order that can remedy some of the mistakes of 1973? At the very least, there should be a frank discussion about how to make sure they are not repeated.

An integrated local governance structure doesn’t have to be centred in one place. Just as there are single Waterloo Regional Police Service

with three divisions, municipal departments can be organized any number of ways.

There is no reason to decommission our public squares or sell off priceless public assets like city hall in Galt or Kitchener.

Arts and culture is one area where the current structure has certainly been a hindrance. So by all means, let’s create a harmonized strategic plan, especially for major facilities and institutions.

But a simple formula crudely applied can complicate things. For instance, Zehr talked about “one library system.” Since the library system in Cambridge includes the city’s public art galleries, this implies one big library and gallery conglomerate – a daunting prospect.

Culture-related endeavour usually emerges out of, reflects and benefits a specific place. It has to be an authentic place, with its own history and character. Unity crudely

imposed can destroy authenticity.

Culture is also one of the primary fields where meaningful community engagement happens.

Civic engagement in all forms is primarily local. Subsuming all of our Region’s distinct places under one homogenized whole can extinguish a sense of belonging.

The fact is, centralization runs against the grain of the history and character of Waterloo County.

Harmony, however, is always a desirable end — especially in a place where diversity has been a distinguishing feature from the beginning, and where a capacity for co-operation is considered a strength.

So yes, let’s talk this out – examine it from all perspectives, and consider every possible outcome. Let’s improve what can be improved, but also protect what is fragile and precious.

MOST COMMON RESPONSE AFTER ABORTION: RELIEF

SEXPLANATIONS

STACEY JACOBS COLUMNIST Making abortion illegal does not reduce the number of abortions.

It reduces the number of safe abortions. An abortion is a simple and safe procedure when conducted by a trained and licensed health care provider. The emotional response after an abortion is different for each individual because the circumstances of each individual considering an abortion are different.

The most common emotional

response reported after an abortion is relief.

I am pro-choice. I think everyone has the right to decide what happens to their body and people with uteruses have the right to decide whether or not they want to be pregnant, give birth or use birth control.

It enrages me when someone without a uterus wants to make abortion unthinkable. It enrages me when people are arrogant enough to think they know what is best for another person. I also think many people do not understand abortion in Canada, and speak without education or knowledge. I would like to share some simple facts about abortion to hopefully lessen the confusion, ignorance and hate that surrounds this topic.

Although Canada does not have

criminal laws about abortion, this does not mean abortions are performed throughout pregnancy.

The Canadian Medical Association regulates abortion, just like it regulates other medical procedures.

The vast majority of abortions are performed in the first trimester of pregnancy (under 12 weeks).

Abortions are not available in Canada over 24 weeks. The abortion pill can be taken if the pregnancy is under 9 weeks. The abortion pill was approved in 2015 in Canada, but is still not readily available.

Many people who get pregnant are using birth control. Birth control is not 100 per cent effective. What does increase the effectiveness of birth control is dual protection.

Condoms, pulling out and vasectomies could be additions to the birth control plan, taking some

of the onus off the person who can get pregnant. Hormonal birth control can have serious side effects for the people using them. People should never be forced to put a specific medication into their bodies without the opportunity to make an educated choice about it.

Having an abortion does not decrease your chances of having a healthy pregnancy in the future. It does not increase your chances of getting breast cancer. People of all racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds have abortions.

People of all ages and abilities have abortions.

The number one way to reduce abortion is through comprehensive sexual health education. If people learn about their bodies, menstruation, pregnancy and birth control, they are less likely to get

pregnant when they do not want to. Other ways to reduce abortion are to make birth control free and accessible, and improve the methods, providing more nonhormonal methods.

It is also important to destigmatize abortions so they can be discussed openly and honestly, reducing the shame and guilt many people feel.

Although I would like to see more sexual health education, I feel that abortions will always be an essential and necessary procedure within our health care system — a system that hopefully respects all people and their personal choices.

Stacey Jacobs is the sexual health educational manager at SHORE.

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Trisha Abe in front of her mural across from City Hall in downtown Kitchener.

NICK STANLEY PHOTO

DTK > GTA

I BROKE UP WITH MY REALTOR IN TORONTO BECAUSE OF A LOVE AFFAIR WITH DTK

OPINION

TRISHA ABE CONTRIBUTOR It was November of 2018 when I sent the official break-up text to my realtor in Toronto. After two full months of venturing half-heartedly to the big city for various apartment viewings, I had finally made the decision to stop looking for a place in Toronto entirely.

Something was urging me to stay in downtown Kitchener. At the time, I wasn’t exactly sure what that was; I had no long-term friends here, a serving job that didn’t excite me, a very small, shitty apartment and a recent ex that lived down the street (fun!).

The only thing I did have in Kitchener was the potential to grow in a city that was also growing.

I grew up in the suburbs of Mississauga and moved to Kitchener-Waterloo for school in 2013. I was absolutely thrilled to see streets without the same six cookie-cutter

houses repeated, roads that didn’t all intersect at perfect 90-degree angles, and no SmartCentres in sight!

To a kid that came from a boring suburban life, I was finally in a city that had character.

That being said, I had always seen KW as a temporary stop, as most students do. Even the people I would meet that grew up in this city would constantly talk about planning their escape from it. It was only in the last year of my science degree when I actually decided to move out of Waterloo’s student bubble to downtown Kitchener.

That’s when I graduated and decided not to pursue what I had studied for the last five years. Instead, I picked up a serving job and dusted off my art supplies in an attempt to revisit my creative side.

It was around this time that I noticed a growing interest in the art I was creating from the people around me. I found myself giving away more and more of my serving shifts to spend time on commissioned art pieces and even large murals!

It was also around this time that I started looking at places in Toronto because, “you have to move to the big city to make it as an artist” — right? A tech-dominated city like KW

has no place for a creative — right?

There’s a handful of reasons as to why I chose to stay in DTK. A very obvious reason is the cost of living, I was paying $625/month for a 250 square foot apartment in KW which would cost $1500+ in Toronto.

I was quickly running out of room for my supplies and canvases. Sure, moving to a big city meant I could have 6 shawarma places within a 1 km radius of me, but I didn’t need that — I needed more space.

I also needed support. I heard of so many people “escaping” Waterloo Region only to find themselves coming back in need of their support systems. I liked seeing familiar faces wherever I went but was also a quick drive to several unfamiliar cities if I ever felt like being a stranger.

I stayed in DTK for the community.

I am fortunate to be able to work full-time as a painter/muralist and I am truly grateful for a community that believes in me — sometimes even more than I believe in myself.

KW is going through some major change. I stayed because I wanted to witness that growth, and maybe even be apart of it.

Trisha Abe is a local artist and muralist.

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REGULATING YOUR EMOTIONS LIKE A PRO MENTAL MATTERS

JOHN ROCHE COLUMNIST

JESSE DERRY PHOTO

PRIDE MONTH

AT HUSTL + FLOW JENNA AQUINO CONTRIBUTOR Local wellness collective Hustl + Flow is taking strides to change the way people approach personal fitness through their communityfocused programs and uplifting environment. Offering group fitness classes including Boxing and Beats, Cycling and Yoga, everything about this studio is designed to elevate your mindset and help you connect with your body and the people around you.

“We are all about connection through movement and music.

It’s about building a sense of community, and I think we have done a really good job of creating a safe space for that,” said Courtney Fonseca, owner of Hustl + Flow.

With June being Pride month, Hustl + Flow is hosting a series of classes and events that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. All of these events will be by donation, the proceeds of which will go to local charities such as KitchenerWaterloo’s SPECTRUM. “We’re trying to jam-pack the month with as many events that celebrate the community as possible, to demonstrate the support, love, and inclusivity that is Hustl + Flow. We want that to infiltrate the greater community, and showcase our commitment to it,” Fonseca announced.

Kicking off in the second week of June with a “Pride Ride” cycling class, the studio will host two Pride classes a week throughout the month, including a “Strut It! With Brett” heel dance class, an “Ally Rally Ride,” as well as Pride-themed yoga and boxing classes. A big part of their celebration will take place on June 14 when they bring their bikes onto the street for a “PRIDE RIDE on KING,” where anyone can hop on and make noise with the whole group. Finally, they are planning a dazzling “Drag Ride” to cap off the excitement at the end of the month.

While emphasising LGBTQ+ artists and allies, Hustl + Flow’s Pride events will be especially lively and fun. The studio itself will reflect this energy as they step away from their usual black-and-white aesthetic and prepare a rainbow wall, a confetti wall and bright colours all around.

“We’re always looking for additional opportunities to ensure that we are going above and beyond to be an inclusive space and to be a leader in that capacity … we want

to collaborate and be community builders,” Fonseca elaborated.

“This is a month that gives us an opportunity to do something different. We do have a lot of members in our community who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, and this is a great opportunity for them to showcase their passion and play a bigger part in making this a safe space for everybody.”

Beyond hosting fitness events that amplify LGBTQ+ culture throughout the month, the studio will also welcome one and all to their “Pride Talk” on June 27 where an array of speakers will ignite a discussion around the subject.

“It will be an open dialogue with some members of our community [who] do work on things like intersectionality and what it means to be an ally … and other members of the LGBTQ+ community who want to share their experiences and contribute to the conversation,” Fonseca explained.

“We’re coming from a good place, and we know the intentions of everyone in our space are good. I think it’s important that we give people the platform and a safe space to ask questions and talk about these things without judgement.”

No judgement is a core value for Hustl + Flow since they encourage people to come as they are and be proud of that. To that end, there are no mirrors hung throughout the studio, and the lighting in the workout spaces are dim.

“It’s intentional – we want people to not focus on how they look in the movement and while they’re in the space. It’s about how you feel and how you connect with yourself through the movement and the music,” Fonseca revealed.

“Our classes are welcome to all.

All abilities, all ages, all genders, all races – we have a really diverse, eclectic mix of people that are a part of this community and I think Pride is a month where we can really celebrate that and bring more light to it.”

Fonseca included that while she is quite happy with what the studio has become, her team practices their commitment to maintaining and improving the space.

“Because of our values, we do always want to be learning and checking in with our members. [We want to know] how we can be better, know better, do better for everyone in our community – not just those with certain privileges. We want to light you up,” Fonseca said.

“Pride is going to be a really fun month – colourful, vibrant, and full of love … there has to be an event right for you!”

For most of my life, I had no idea what emotions were. Growing up, they were treated as a sign of weakness to be avoided at all costs.

Since suppressing emotions is the psychological equivalent of pushing a beach ball under water until it shoots back up to hit you in the face, treating my feelings as enemies ended up giving me an anxiety disorder.

As a (super anxious) undergrad, I discovered the spirituality and the mental health movements, where people took a different approach toward emotions. I heard liberating but vague statements from self-help gurus about how I should “honour” or “listen to” my emotions, but nobody really told me why.

It wasn’t until I was a grad student in counselling that my adult education in emotions began. At that point I learned that emotions, like our senses or our ability to reason, are just another method we humans have evolved to gather information about our environments and

mobilize appropriate responses.

Said in a less geeky way: emotions communicate information to ourselves and to others, and they motivate us to act. Nothing shameful, nothing weak: just useful automatic responses to common situations, hardwired into us through evolution.

Sadness, for example, communicates to us that we’ve lost something important, and it communicates to others that we’re in need of support. The action impulse of sadness is to slow down, reflect, and seek social support.

From an evolutionary perspective, this makes perfect sense: slowing down and talking things out with supportive people in the wake of a loss allows us to properly adapt to our new, radically different reality.

As another example, fear communicates to us that we’re in the presence of a threat and, like sadness, it communicates to others that we need help. The action impulse of fear is to flee or avoid. If a threat is present, running away and/ or mobilizing others to help is an awesome idea.

The list goes on. Name an emotion, and it has a function that’s been handpicked by millennia of natural selection.

Unfortunately, our culture’s view of emotions is pretty unsophisticated.

We tell people that having emotions

is weak or shameful, which is about as dumb as telling someone that eyesight is weak, or that you should pretend not to have a sense of smell, or that using reason is something only sissies do.

The only problem is that sometimes we have an emotional response that doesn’t fit the present situation. This is usually because a present-day stimulus has triggered a trauma response. We may feel debilitatingly sad without having lost something, panicked in the absence of a threat, guilty without having done wrong, and so on.

It can be tough to figure out whether you’re having an appropriate emotional response to a current situation or a trauma response. To further complicate things, the best way to deal with an appropriate response is totally different from the best way to deal with a trauma response.

It’s all pretty complicated at first, but I have good news: the process of therapy is dedicated to helping you navigate the labyrinth of your emotions. A good therapist will teach you about the functions of your emotions, and how to deal with them when they show up. Before too long, you’ll be regulating your emotions like a pro.

John Roche is a therapist in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Destination Wedding Pop-up

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JUNE 2019 // @THECOMMUNITYED

8

These chairs in the VIVE Developments office were made by Brett Paulin. Dog not included.

DESIGNING SPACES WITH LOVE WORDS: BETH BOWLES PHOTOS: MATT SMITH

Local interior and furniture designer Brett Paulin did what a lot of Waterloo Region natives do — he left his childhood home in Galt for Toronto at age 18 in search of something more. In Toronto, he tried a few different school programs like graphic design, sound engineering and furniture design, but ultimately decided that school wasn’t really for him.

It was a job in a Toronto retail store that really sparked his interest in interior and furniture design. It was more hands on than school — less learning and more doing.

“I got a job for Urban Outfitters; they had a position where you could be the artist at their store,” Paulin said.

“You’d [display] all the furniture, and do all the displays and all the decorations. They would give you a plan and you would reinterpreted the plan for whatever store you’re in.”

The creative freedom he was given at Urban Outfitters really solidified his career path. In Toronto, he teamed with two partners and started an interior design company, but in the end, he moved back to Cambridge to start his solo project: Brett Paulin Design Inc. It’s a common story: leaving Waterloo Region for the big city in hopes of finding something — or yourself.

In the end, Paulin came back to be closer to family, just like so many do.

“Something about Cambridge, I think I just felt more complete here,” he said.

He said while this is his home, Waterloo Region is still going through exciting changes, similar to the constant motion you would find in the GTA. “What I think is neat about Cambridge [and Kitchener-Waterloo] is that you don’t expect people to be from where they’re from or to have the experiences that they’ve had. I’m meeting a lot of interesting people, which is pretty cool and pretty

inspiring,” he said.

While Paulin’s homebase is Cambridge, he works all over. He’s designed restaurants in Hamilton and Toronto. He’s responsible for the bright-coloured geometric mural in the front entrance of Monigram Coffee Roasters in Galt and he just completed VIVE Developments office in Kitchener.

All these projects have required something different — the mural at Monigram wasn’t just creating a plan to revolutionize a space, it was an actual hands on artistic project.

“I find it’s all kind of the same.

Working in design, I always found that people have their compartments, but the creative process, to me, is kind of all the same,” Paulin said.

“Whether you’re making a chair or doing a painting or doing up drawings — they’re kind of all the same skill set, you’re just making a different product [sic].”

The office space for VIVE Developments was one of Paulin’s biggest projects to date. The building was condemned, so Paulin was a lot more involved in the construction process, from start to finish.

“I do more hands on than a typical designer. I try to focus on doing more creative installations,” Paulin said.

While it’s hard to box any artist in, Paulin describes his style as “eclectic.” The photos on his website showsminimal spaces with dark wood and leather — the kind of room you’d expect to find an old man with a handlebar moustache smoking tobacco from a pipe. Contrastingly, Paulin’s mural in Monigram is bright, using royal blues and sunshine yellows. The VIVE Developments office mixes old and new, with exposed brick, woven leather chairs and a bright orange geometric wall decal. If photos had scents, the photos of Paulin’s designs would smell like old books, sandalwood and mahogany.

“For interiors, you jump around a lot, but what I’d say are common threads are art, anything that has a lot of texture or artistic composition. Just classic architecture and mid-century [style],” he said.

That classic/mid-century inspiration is visible in the furniture he designs, also. Paulin collaborates with Galt Wood Company — he does the design and any leather work and they make the frames. Unlike the furniture you may buy at cheap and trendy box stores, Paulin’s pieces are meant to last.

“The leather that I use is all made in the United States [with good working conditions]. The wood is all sustainable — black walnut grows pretty quickly where we’re from.

I think, for me, that stuff’s really important, to have [furniture] that’s sustainable and also like heirloom quality: really great materials, it’s going to last forever and it does cost a bit more, but I feel like it means a lot,” Paulin explained.

“I feel like there’s a big difference between if you saw one of our chairs and an IKEA chair. I feel like some of the artistry is transferred into the furniture. I want to make something that’s full of love that people will cherish and love.”

While Paulin primarily works with commercial or office spaces, he confirmed that he’s put a lot of love into his own living space, as well.

“I just want to be around things that are really special … if I have a connection with something, I usually buy it and fit it in my house … If I had bad furniture around me … I think I would die,” he joked.

Paulin’s favourite designers are Roman and Williams, based in New York City. They do a lot of work on hotels, something Paulin hasn’t done, but would like to tackle.

“To make a space that’s as warm and inviting and full of character as they make,” he said, “I would love to do those kinds of projects.”

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SUMMER’19

DOWNTOWNKITCHENER.CA / SUMMER

#DTKSUM

JUNE

Sat 1st 12pm-9pm | Tri-Pride Festival A celebration in Victoria Park with live music, vendors and more!

• tri-pride.ca

Thu 2

Golden Crawl a happen

by Fran DJ Lean

Mon 3rd 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 5th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 6th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions Jung Tsai performs classical cello for your relaxation needs in front of City Hall

Fri 7th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Jesse Webber performs your favourite covers in front of City Hall

Sat 8th | Neighbours Day

On the second Saturday in June, neighbours from across the city come together to celebrate the vibrant and diverse community we live in. Participate in free events, like BBQs and movie nights, taking place across the city - or host your own event! • lovemyhood.ca

Sat 8th 8pm-1am | Summer Lights Art Festival Free collision of art, tech, makers, games, musicians, performers and community in DTK • summerlightsfestival.com

Sun 9th | Shop Sounds Secret monthly pop-up concerts happening in grocery stores across DTK

Mon 10th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 12th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 13th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions Rick Guzic comes in hot on the accordion in front of City Hall

Fri 14th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Trina Nadeau performs classical cello in front of City Hall

Sat 15th 4pm-11pm | King StrEATery Food Truck Festival + Our World Music Festival 20 food trucks assemble across King Street, plus an outdoor beer garden, music and fun activities in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters Waterloo Region. To make the night even better Our World Music Festival kicks off at 7pm and runs until 11pm in front of City Hall to keep the party going!

Fri 21s

Celebrat at THEM traditiona course –

Fri 21s

Goodvib Square s 9:06pm

Sat 22 Celebr

To celeb Light Ra Kitchene with the

Fri 21s

Dan Cor

Sat 22 Festiva

This cult and food

Mon 2

Free drop

Wed 2

An intim 15 mark cooking #Market

Wed 2

Free drop

Thu 27

An annu

Fri 28t

Luke Hu

JU

Mon 1

Celebrat featuring

Wed 3

Mon 17th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 19th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 20th 5pm-11pm | DTK Patio Crawl

Check out your favourite DTK restaurants, bars and patios! This year’s crawl is happening during True North Festival!

• downtownkitchener.ca

An intim market v demos, • kitchen

Wed 3

Free drop

Fri 5th

Paul Mit

Sat 6th

The reg at City

MMER’19 EVENTS & SERIES

20th 5pm-11pm | True North Festival

Sun 7th | Shop Sounds

Thu 1st 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions

n Hour Yoga, Human Recharge Station, DTK Patio and Art$pay pop-up gallery are just some of the things ning across DTK. Don’t miss the FREE concert headlined nk Walker, featuring rock duo Crown Lands and opened by nne Rhymes • truenorthwaterloo.com

Secret monthly pop-up concerts happening in grocery stores across DTK

Ross Daly soothes the soul with some classical violin in front of City Hall

Mon 8th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park

st 6am | At First Light: Sunrise Ceremony

te National Indigenous People Day and the Summer Solstice MUSEUM! Join us at the crack of dawn for an outdoor al Sunrise Ceremony followed by music, dancing, and of – coffee! Please RSVP for this free event • themuseum.ca

st 7:30pm | LIGHT + LOVE

bes Juice Co. hosts a Yoga Day celebration on Carl Zehr starting at 7:30pm with a free class running from 8:06 pm and a DJ - plus some other fun surprises!

2nd 12pm-8pm | Sights and Lights: rating ION

Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 10th 4pm-8pm | Mid-Week Market An intimate Midweek Market evening experience complete with 15 market vendors, an outdoor beer+cider garden, live music, cooking demos, activations on Eby Street and other fun surprises!

• kitchenermarket.ca

Wed 10th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Fri 12th 3pm-11pm | Cruising on King Street

Free classic car show and parade through Downtown Kitchener with a 50th anniversary of Woodstock theme this year! • kitchenerevents.ca

Fri 12th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Amy Dinino performs piano jazz in front of City Hall

Sat 13th-14th | Kultrún World Music

Free multidisciplinary festival in Victoria Park featuring local and international music acts and vendors • nerudaarts.ca

Mon 15th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Fri 2nd 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Allister Bradley performs piano classics in front of City Hall

Wed 7th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 8th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions Dave Thompson stops by for mellow jazz guitar tunes in front of City Hall

Thu 8th-11th | Kitchener Blues Festival Live performances take over downtown • kitchenerbluesfest.com

Fri 9th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Eric Moffat performs classical flute in front of City Hall

Sun 11th | Shop Sounds Secret monthly pop-up concerts happening in grocery stores across DTK

Mon 12th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 14th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 15th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions

Wed 17th 4pm-8pm | Mid-Week Market

JoJo Worthington is back with ukulele originals in front of City Hall

An intimate Midweek Market evening experience complete with 15 market vendors, an outdoor beer+cider garden, live music, cooking demos, activations on Eby Street and other fun surprises!

• kitchenermarket.ca

John Solberg performs piano jazz in front of City Hall

Fri 16th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Sun 18th 11am-5pm | KidSpark Free family fun celebrating all things kids in Victoria Park • kitchenerevents.ca

brate the official launch of ION, the Region of Waterloo’s apid Transit service, UpTown Waterloo and Downtown er have put together a fun-filled day and evening to enjoy whole family • downtownkitchener.ca

Mon 19th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class held at the Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

st 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch

rrigan performs rock, pop and country hits in front of City Hall

2nd-23rd 11am-8pm | KW Multicultural al

tural festival, in it’s 52nd year, features more performances d tastings than ever before

24th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park

p-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 17th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

26th 4pm-8pm | Mid-Week Market

Fri 19th-21st | Ribfest and Craft Beer Show

mate Midweek Market evening experience complete with ket vendors, an outdoor beer+cider garden, live music, demos, activations on Eby Street and the launch of tWalkDTK • kitchenermarket.ca

Annual BBQ’d meat and craft beer extravaganza runs in Victoria Park

Fri 19th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch

26th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park

Sun 27th 5pm-11pm | Rock and Rumble

Katrina Liddell performs classical cello in front of City Hall

7th 5pm-9pm | Tame the Lane

Motorcycles, food trucks, craft breweries and a free classic rock concert featuring Men Without Hats and Haywire in front of City Hall • kitchenerevents.ca

ual block party in DTK with awesome games, food and music

Mon 22nd 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park

p-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch

Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

unter performs pop hits on piano in front of City Hall

Wed 24th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park

ULY

Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 21st 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park

Thu 25th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions

Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wendy Wagner performs classical flute tunes in front of City Hall

Thu 22nd 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions

1st 4pm-11pm | Canada Day Celebration

Fri 26th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch

Aaron Solomon and his guitar cover favourite pub tunes outside City Hall

te Canada Day in DTK with thousands of your closest friends g a concert headlined by The Reklaws • kitchenerevents.ca

3rd 4pm-8pm | Mid-Week Market

mate Midweek Market evening experience complete with 15 vendors, an outdoor beer+cider garden, live music, cooking activations on Eby Street and other fun surprises! nermarket.ca

3rd 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park

p-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

h 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch

tchell performs jazz classics in front of City Hall

h 11am-6pm | KW Vegfest

gion’s 2nd annual vegetarian food and culture festival hosted Hall • kwvegfest.ca

Ralf Buschmeyer performs jazz and pop hits in front of City Hall

Mon 29th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 31st 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

AUGUST Thu 1st | Shakespeare in the Park presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream Driftwood Theatre Group presents Midsummer Night’s Dream at Civic Centre Park as part of its annual Bard’s Bus Tour • driftwoodtheatre.com

Fri 23rd 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Keith March and Brother Glenn perform guitar jazz in front of City Hall

Sat 24th-25th 12pm-8pm | Link Picnic Experience African and Caribbean culture in Victoria Park!

• linkpicnicfestival.com

Mon 26th 5pm-6pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Wed 28th 12pm-1pm | Yoga in the Park Free drop-in class @ Victoria Park Clocktower led by Queen Street Yoga

Thu 29th 8pm-9pm | Sunset Sessions Mike Slute kicks things up with rock and country in front of City Hall

Fri 30th 12pm-1pm | Live at Lunch Sue Windover performs blues and rock in front of City Hall

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13

JUNE 2019 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

PHLIPPEN GOOD SAUCE

KRIS PHIPPEN IS TAKING KW BY STORM WITH HIS HANDCRAFTED, HAND-SMOKED SAUCE

AARON HAGEY CONTRIBUTOR

Kris Phippen’s sauce can be found at various stores and restaurants in KW, like ForeQuarter Butcher Shop.

JESSE DERRY PHOTO

STEEL RAILS IS A MYSTERY ART PARTY HAPPENING ON JUNE 22

COMMUNITYEDITION.CA/STEEL-RAILS

Local sauce connoisseur and entrepreneur Kris Phippen, of Phlippens premium sauces, may not have initially imagined his future being one that would unfold into a growing sauce empire, but it may just be the one he’s getting — one jar at a time.

In less than two years, Phlippens sauce has grown to be stocked in more than 15 restaurants and 300 retailers across Ontario.

As a man who could be dubbed the Willy Wonka of smoked sauces, Phippen is a born-and-raised Kitchenerite — Kitchenerian? — whose rapid and growing success has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue. But who is Kris Phippen and what makes his sauce so “phlippen” good?

Phlippens sauces can be described as true “everything” sauce: whether it’s used in a pasta, on a pizza, as a barbecue sauce, for vegetables, as a salsa, a chutney, a dip or a spread — Phlippens prides itself on being a unique, versatile and community-based product.

Phippen himself even describes his products as a bit of an “everlasting gobstopper” — a “sweet, tangy, hot, smoky” and overall extremely flexible sauce that can be used in a nearly endless number of delicious dishes.

The sauce itself is hand-smoked and handcrafted in small batches, using fresh, whole ingredients and no fillers,

artificial products or heavy hickory-flavour smokes — made slowly, with endless passion and local pride.

And like his sauce, Phippen’s personal history is equally complex and layered.

“I had my daughter when I was about 20, I was in sales … about nine years ago, I got into a company that got me into the corporate sales role, so that had me do a lot of travelling, three and a half weeks a month,” Phippen said.

“Basically, from there, the whole reason the sauce started was because I had lost a really good friend of mine, then lost my step-dad about two weeks after his 60th birthday — and it was just one of those ‘life is too short’ moments.”

After feeling like he was missing out on so much of his daughter’s life and those close to him, Phippen realized what he really wanted to do, leading him down the smoky path towards his destiny.

Phippen promptly quit his job, came up with a recipe in his garage and worked tirelessly to come up with the perfect sauce, logo, branding — all while orders for his sauce grew rapidly over a period of months.

And as far as the logo goes, Phippen thought that “if I’m going to come up with something, then I want to stand behind it, throw my name on it — and my face.”

But one of the hardest parts of this process was getting it into stores.

“Basically [they told me] “this might be the hardest thing” and “you’re an idiot for trying to start a sauce in probably one of the toughest markets there is,” and I just had a heavy pas-

sion ... that I could, hopefully, make something work,” Phippen said.

“It grew [from] 30 stores in my first six months, into somewhere around 250 and [I’m] almost ready to take it as a national brand.”

Despite his success, Phippen is still fiercely loyal to Kitchener-Waterloo, because of the businesses and residents that understand not only his product, but his story, and have stood behind him as he has grown his business.

“This city alone is definitely part of the whole story … my sales, the network, the people, the most talk about it is in Kitchener-Waterloo, which makes me extremely happy. I don’t think I could have just hit Toronto with this product and launched it like it did,” Phippen said.

“It started to build momentum here, and now stores are calling me, and restaurants are calling me — it’s blowing up into something that I never [foresaw].”

And with every jar sold, and every store who starts to carry his sauce, the Phlippen family grows a little bit bigger.

“Every store and every customer that I post about or talk about [on social media] is Phlippen family, and one of the things that’s pushing me to do that is building those tight relationships,” Phippen said.

If Phlippens goes national, or international, his love for Kitchener-Waterloo — and the people who gave him his success — is one thing about his business that he says will never change.

NOW HIRING Part-time Shoe Sales Associate

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•An outgoing/friendly personality when interacting with coworkers/customers •Flexibility to work various shifts including evenings and weekends

TO APPLY

Bring your resume IN PERSON to: Shoes 22 - 133 Weber St. N. Waterloo, ON

JUNE 2019 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

14

BUYING AND LOVING A TESLA EASY BEING GREEN

STACEY DANCKERT COLUMNIST Recently my family made a decision. When we needed to get a new car a couple of years ago, and we decided on a Kia Soul EV which we knew wasn’t a perfect solution for a one-car family with relatives that live at a distance — it had limited range.

We were disappointed because we thought that in one or two years the industry would explode and there would be ample choices of electric vehicles. Since then, there have been small gains, but sadly, the industry isn’t really much further ahead.

We loved our Kia, but the limited range, travelling with my son’s basketball team, my mother living at a distance and suffering medical issues, meant that we made a rather sudden decision to buy a Tesla Model 3 (their newest and most “affordable” model) this year.

My brother bought one a year ago, but other than seeing his, we bought it online, without seeing it first, for far more than we ever wanted to spend on a car. Here’s why.

Really early in my journey to environmental awareness, I heard about this little company in California that was producing solely electric cars with a goal to “accelerate the world’s transition to

sustainable energy.”

I was captured by the bold approach of Tesla and the leadership of Elon Musk — a clever approach that started by developing a luxury vehicle that would dispel the myth of electric cars as golf carts. Tesla seems to be the only company that has been truly working toward the success of electric cars.

In 2016 the Sierra club sent 300 volunteers to dealerships and found that more than 1 out of 5 Ford and Chevy dealerships didn’t have a vehicle that was available and charged for a test drive. Only a third of salespeople discussed tax credit options. Many didn’t have an electric car at all.

Apparently car dealerships rely on service for profit and with fewer maintenance requirements, electric cars are unappealing to sell. The unwillingness for dealerships to sell electric cars, and assumptions people make (that they are too expensive, funny looking and not safe) have lead to a slow build for the industry.

While media and car manufacturers claim that people don’t want them and that it can’t be done, Tesla continues to impress.

There are a few other options, but I think they are limited by the fact that the companies are relatively inexperienced with electric cars and don’t spend as much on them as other models.

Joe Rogan said that after driving a Tesla, “it makes other cars seem stupid.” This is exactly how I felt.

Their mission and approach to achieving it is fundamentally

different. They know they need to convince people that electric cars are worth getting by making them better than their gasoline counterparts. So they have built well-designed features, amazing automation, the safest rating of any car ever and constant updates that continue to make it even better.

When my husband and I worked out the cost over time, it became obvious that it made sense. A recent comparison of total cost of ownership over just three years found that a Tesla Model 3 (even the more expensive version) outstripped a Toyota Camry when you incorporate the expected cost of fuel and service and was expected to widen over time.

This isn’t a sales pitch for a Tesla, though it is hard to find an owner that isn’t in love with their car. I did, however, intend to highlight that there are a lot of pressures against electric cars right now, but I encourage you not to be dissuaded if you are in the market for a car. There are options available.

Don’t believe the myths that have been perpetuated over time and do a bit of your own research. Connect with the Waterloo Region Electric Vehicle Association, if you need some help. I’m pretty sure that one test drive is likely all it will take. And with the new federal rebate — they may be even more in reach than you imagine!

Stacey Danckert is co-director of Waterloo Region Environment Network (WREN).

NICK STANLEY PHOTO

NEW PATIO WILL

HAVE YOU RUNNING

TO ST. JACOBS

OPINION

JUSTIN CLOUTHIER CONTRIBUTOR

WE SERVE BEER (and wine)

APOLLOCINEMA.CA

It’s all about the local at The Village Biergarten, a beautiful patio-centric business that offers a perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon.

This new St. Jacobs business is the culmination of a partnership between Block Three Brewing, a familiar St. Jacobs staple, and Mekong Brasserie, a new offering from Wooden Boat owner Chef Thompson Tran.

A sprawling patio dominates the space and it’s clear that this was always intended to be the focus.

Two large trees offer just the right amount of shade with plenty of seating and standing space set back from the street. Honestly this place is so damn inviting it’s almost impossible to stay away.

With Block Three Brewing just down the street, you shouldn’t be surprised to see a number of rotating locally made craft beer offerings from the brewery on the menu. This location happily shows off some of the brewery’s patiofriendly beers, giving people a great new space to enjoy their product.

The three beers on draft during my visit included a Helles lager, a Belgian amber, and an American pale ale. I enjoyed the crisp Helles lager out of a nice large 20oz stein and the experience was definitely made that much more enjoyable outside.

While the selection of beer might not be as robust as the selections at the brewery, the biergarten’s menu and atmosphere really help to set it apart, and there is always the option of walking over to the brewery afterwards should you want to

explore the offerings a little further.

While I stuck with beer this visit I did see plenty of others exploring the other beverage options available, and there are surprisingly quite a few. Every beverage on the menu is crafted in Ontario with cider, wines, pre-mixed cocktails, kombucha, coffee, and craft sodas available.

I can’t imagine that anyone could feel left out with all the options presented here, making it the perfect location to bring friends or family members. It’s nice to see other great Ontario businesses represented and it is always nice to have nonalcholoic local options.

The same care and attention has been given to the food menu from Mekong Brasserie. Chef Thompson Tran repeats the success of one of my favourite Waterloo Region food spots, Kitchener’s Wooden Boat, by offering another delicious menu focused on local and sustainable ingredients.

Vietnamese twists on familiar patio fare like burgers, fried chicken and fries make up the core of the menu with other great options rounding it out. Our group shared the fries and moon dumplings, which were phenomenal. While we didn’t have a chance to sample the entire menu it was clear that everyone around us was enjoying the food.

Overall I was very impressed by the Village Biergarten. This new patio focused business is a successful collaboration. Great local beverages, great local food, a great location, and great people make this spot ... great.

It’s hard to not enjoy yourself here, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Justin is currently enrolled in the Brewmaster program at Niagara College.

JUNE 2019 // @THECOMMUNITYED

15

EVENT LISTINGS

WE’VE HAND SELECTED SOME COOL UPCOMING EVENTS AND WRITTEN SOME WITTY COMMENTARY. YOU’RE WELCOME.

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

JOJO WORTHINGTON ALBUM KWLT

THE SEAT NEXT TO THE KING HAGGEY HALL, UW

STEEL RAILS SHH, IT’S A SECRET

Did you read about JoJo Worthington’s new album on page 20? No? Go read it now. We’ll wait ... Now put June 7 in your calendar because you can experience JoJo’s newest work The Company You Keep (TCYK) live with a band a string quartet. Also featureing music from special guest Elsa Jayne.

First produced in the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival to high acclaim, The Seat Next to the King is set in a 1964 Washington, D.C. public restroom.

A white man enters looking for sex.

The next man who enters is black. A fictional tale of very real men who sat next to some of the most powerful men in America. Running June 12-16.

It’s finally here and we’ll (probably) stop talking about it. But Steel Rails is an interactive mystery art party that fundraises for this paper you’re holding right now. It’s also having its 10th birthday and we’re pretty stoked of our baby becoming a tween. This party is going off the rails - see you there.

Music • $20-$25 • 7pm

Art • $15-$20 • Multiple performances

Fun • $55 • 5pm - 11pm

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

NEIGHBOURS DAY YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

BOTTLE FEED BABY GOATS GROWING HOPE FARM

WALK WITH REFUGEES DTK

It’s a beautiful day in this neighbourhood / A beautiful day for a neighbour/ Would you be mine?

It’s Neighbours Day! Events across Kitchener are being run by the City and other groups. Find out more at lovemyhood.ca/neighboursday.

I have always wanted to have a neighbour just like you.

For the low price of $6.99 you can bottle feed a baby goat. A kid if you will - but not like a real kid ... I want to bottle feed a small goat not a cousin’s baby I just met at a family gathering. All funds go to support the Mennonite Central Committees food security program. Running until July 31. Timed tickets needed.

This annual event is one of many celebrating World Refugee Day 2019. The local theme for the day is “Becoming Neighbours” and Walk With Refugees is a 2 km walk that will feature stops along the way to hear personal stories from refugees.

Starting at Kitchener City Hall and ending at Victoria Park

Fun • Free • 8am - 10pm

Fun • $7 • Various times

Community • Free • 1pm - 3pm

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

SUMMER LIGHTS FESTIVAL DOWNTOWN KITCHENER

HOMES FOR DOGS COLDWELL BANKER

KW MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL VICTORIA PARK

Summer Lights Festival is back!

Taking over 10 blocks of King Street in DTK, this party is one for all ages. Celebrate the start of warm evenings filled with art, food trucks and good old fun. Summer Lights Festival is also returning to uptown Waterloo this year with WaterLUKE Festival from 5pm-8pm

Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty also wants to make sure dogs have a home to call their own alongside their human friends.

Partnering with Pound Dog Rescue, this pet adoption and fundraising event is heckin’ cute. There’s even a dog costume contest. Adopt don’t shop and support your local rescues.

The 52 annual Multicultural Festival is hosted by the Kitchener-Waterloo Multiculural Centre and is running June 22-23 this month. We’ve heard there will be more performances and food options than ever before and we can’t wait. So run down to Victoria Park, bring a blanket and take in the great tunes.

Fun • Free • 8pm - 1am

Community • Free • 10am - 1pm

Community • Free • 11am - 8pm

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26

GRAND PORCH PARTY UPTOWN WEST WATERLOO

QUEER FOLX YOGA BIG BLISS

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE APOLLO CINEMA

A free music festival held on the front porches of homes in the uptown Waterloo West neighbourhood. What streets are those? Well: Alexandria, Dawson, Dunbar, Avondale, Menno and Euclid. This community-made festival is a day of good tunes, good vibes and a great community.

From June 2 - August 25, Big Bliss in DTK hosts a bi-weekly traumainformed, basic level yoga class for people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. It is donation based and those without funds will not be turned away. All donations go to Spectrum, the Region’s LGBTW+ community centre.

Local MPP Laura Mae Lindo is hosting and inviting you to join her at this free community screening. Knock Down the House is a documentary that follows four women running for office in the United States. Before the screening there will be a #womeninpolitics panel.

Community • Free • 2pm - 5pm

Community • Free -$10 • 3pm - 4pm

Film • Free • 7pm - 10pm

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19

SATURDAY, JUNE 26

BERLIN FLEA MARKET BREITHAUPT COMMUNITY CTR

UPTOWN WATERLOO

EBY STREET NORTH

The parking lot of Breithaupt Community Centre becomes a marketplace for local artisans in a car boot style flea market. In addition to shopping local artist creations, you can also participate in a clothing swap, plant exchange and even a labyrinth meditation. Two Smiths also have an art installation.

True North returns to Waterloo Region. There’s a ton of events happening in uptown including a campfire with live bands performing, a cocktail trail, giant games and instruments. Many of the uptown businesses have also opened their doors for select hours for unique programming.

Eby Street will soon be home to an 18-meter public art mural. Creation of this mural has already begun so you should snap your before pics soon. The piece is inspired by the Kitchener Market and the official launch party will have beer and cider gardens, vendors, live music, chef demos and games.

Market • Free • 8am - 2pm

Fun • Free • 5pm - 1am

Community • Free • 4pm - 8pm

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

THURSDAY, JUNE 27

I AM KITCHENER KITCHENER CITY HALL

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY / UPTOWN SQUARE

9 TO 5 SCREENING

I AM Kitchener is a pop-up art space leading up to the multiple events and celebrations for Indigenous Peoples Day. This Indigenous Art Market will take place inside Kitchener City Hall for Indigenous artists and crafters to display and sell their work. We’re excited for this and you should be too!

National Indigenous Peoples Day recognizes the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada.

There are a few celebrations throughout the Region including in the Waterloo Public Square where artists Luke Swinson and August Swinson will be live painting.

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen / pour myself a cup of ambition — Song? Amazing. Movie?

Incredible. The youth are currently loving this song again (it’s true) and Dolly’s having another renaissance because nothing can keep her down.

Let’s also not forget the spectacular Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

Market • Free • 12pm - 3pm

Community • Free • 3pm - 4pm

Film • Free for members • 7pm-9pm

TRUE NORTH FESTIVAL

COMMUNITYEDITION.CA @THECOMMUNITYED

MURAL LAUNCH

APOLLO CINEMA

JUNE 2019 // @THECOMMUNITYED

16

EATING ALONG THE IRON HORSE TRAIL

519 SCHMECKS

NICK BENNINGER COLUMNIST 5.5 kilometers of old rail line turned community trail connects beautiful downtown Kitchener to the heart of uptown Waterloo, Victoria Park to Waterloo Park, goose to peacock, physicist to factories — it’s all along the line. Established in 1997 as a joint effort between the two cities, the Iron Horse Trail moves an awful lot of local traffic.

Let’s abandon feet for taste buds and explore the real thing at hand here — food and drink! The Iron Horse Trail has become gastronomical highway.

Walk with me and experience the trail the best way. Let’s eat it!?

Let’s start in Kitchener at Ottawa St — Stock Exchange is my first stop. It’s not open to the public, but we’re family so I sneak in. Jill makes an amazing product we know and love, but rarely take time to make — nutrient dense and delicious bone broth. Available in over 200 stores, it’s all made here — a bones throw from the trials head. A perfect first stop, the frozen tubs will act like a cooler in my bag.

The next stop is Short Finger Brewing. In addition to being the

number one spot for homebrew everything, Rob and team brew beer — amazing barrel aged funky, fun beer.

Grab a few bottles for later and have at least one in their tasting room while you enjoy some “where did this come from” incredibly good Vietnamese food from local food hero Thomson Tran and Wooden Boat Food Co. in the same building. Bahn mi and beer in hand, brewery bay doors open, trail rolling by — the horse is good.

Once we’re back on the trail, it’s time for ice cream, KW is spoiled with culinary stars and Four All Ice Cream may top the list. Not much to say here, Four All rocks and you know it.

They make some of the best ice cream money can buy; it’s that simple. Just off the trail it somehow transforms the concrete banks of Schneider Creek to something truly sublime.

Onward, we’ll make your way through Victoria Park where one will always be tempted by the amazing smells of a myriad of multicultural barbecues and where families and friends gather over feasts taking advantage of the park. This area is also home to some great neighborhoods where you are sure to see community gardens, signs for the annual Cherry Park Cherry Fest. If the wind blows just right, smells of the smoker at T and J’s Seafood cranking out top notch goods.

That reminds me, you’ll cruise right past City Cafe where you can find the best bagels in the 519. Be sure to pull a wide u-turn, get some T and J’s

smoked salmon to top the bagels.

Back on track and nearing Belmont Village, our bag will be growing heavy and our bellies should be nearing full. No stopping this time, but just drool through the next 1,500 metres passing Graffiti Market, Arabella Park, Culinary Studio, Belmont Bistro, Raja Fine Indian — to name a few.

Next bend brings Vincenzo’s, the culinary gateway to Uptown Waterloo, so we should load up on cheese.

Leaving Vincenzo’s we are once again overwhelmed with dining options, until we reach trails end in Waterloo Park we won’t be out of sight or smell of great local gems, Red House and Thai Sun boasting tempting patios to the wavering walker.

Unique buildings and architecture surround us as we enter the park. The juxtaposition of the Grist Mill is not lost, the windows of the Perimeter Institute playing backdrop to the Mill’s stone walls really sum up Waterloo nicely for me. I’m off to see a peacock about some cheese and enjoy a beer under the shade of a large old tree. The laws about that are changing, right?

Check out my recipe online for an incredible pho style soup using beef broth from the Stock Exchange — Iron Horse Soup.

Nick Benninger is a local chef and restaurant owner.

Four All Ice Cream is one of Benninger’s recommendations along The Iron Horse Trail.

NICK STANLEY FILE PHOTO

WORLD REFUGEE DAY? NOT MY PROBLEM WORLD REFUGEE DAY IS CELEBRATED ON JUNE 20, BUT IT DOESN’T REALLY AFFECT YOU OR ANYONE ELSE — RIGHT?

OPINION

MARIKA GALADZA CONTRIBUTOR If you don’t know a refugee, or have lived in Canada for a long time, you may feel like World Refugee Day, commemorated on June 20 every year, is not a cause relevant to your life.

Let me tell you why that’s not true.

With the upswing of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy coming out of government in Ontario, Quebec and most recently Alberta, you would think we simply had no use for immigrants, refugees and refugee claimants in Canada anymore.

In April, the Ontario provincial government made 30 per cent cuts to legal aid and instructed Legal Aid Ontario’s CEO that they could no longer cover new immigration and refugee services with provincial funding. In July of last year, the province decided to dismantle the provincial Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, in existence since 1982.

If we take a look next door to Quebec, our neighbours have reduced

the number of refugee arrivals by 20 per cent and seem to be moving towards a ban on public religious symbols, that will not only affect thousands of newcomers who identify as Muslim, but also Orthodox jews, Sikhs and Christians. No coincidence then, according to CBC that “Ontario and Québec had the largest increase in the number of hate crimes reported to police, according to the latest data available in 2017.”

Waterloo Region is not immune to this — most recently a video went viral, caught by a group of young Muslim women on the Laurier campus, accosted for not “looking” or “dressing” Canadian.

We seem to have forgotten that immigration and cultural diversity shaped this Region. Waterloo Region has a long history of resettlement.

Nearly 20,000 Russian Mennonites resettled in the area in the 1920’s; they didn’t speak English, they certainly dressed “different” and today are pillars of the Regional identity.

Many local businesses, restaurants and grocery stores that you rely on for amazing food — Arabesque, East African Cafe, Northern Thai — would not exist if it were not for refugee and immigration pathways. According to the most recent census, 25 per cent of Kitchener residents were born

outside of Canada, a sizable portion as privately sponsored, government assisted or refugee claimants.

Fake news and inflammatory news — like the headline I’ve chosen for this article, gain traction, but I challenge folks to better understand the facts and figures that make immigration (and the refugee process as a pathway

“

MANY OF OUR LEADERS CONTINUE TO PERPETUATE MYTHS AND STEREOTYPES, SHOWING A LACK OF UNDERSTANDING.

”

to immigration) imperative to a healthy, functioning society and economy. Isn’t that worth standing for this June 20, regardless of your political affiliation or length of residence in Canada?

I encourage you to plug in to the many events, forums and initiatives that commemorate World Refugee

Day in Waterloo Region, and hear from people with lived experience of displacement.

One such project is the “I am your neighbour” photo project, a collaboration between Reception House, Mennonite Central Committee Ontario and other members of the local Community Coalition for Refugee and Immigrant Concerns. It gives voice to the folks often spoken about, spoken for, or relegated to statistics.

“The project allows people to define their own story through three questions,” says Shelley Campagnola, Executive Director of Mennonite Coalition for Refugee Support and one of the founders of the project.

“Some may identify as refugees, others will have shed that identity a long time ago — in any case, they have a past, present and future, but are often portrayed as one dimensional characters in need of assistance. This may be true for a while, but it’s not the whole picture” Many of our leaders continue to perpetuate myths and stereotypes, showing a lack of understanding about the refugee journey. Overall, immigrant and refugee earnings match the Canadian average about 12 years after arrival, and thanks to immigrants and refugees, many of the

services we rely on, despite our aging population, are able to continue.

I know you’re on my side — you wouldn’t be reading this paper if you weren’t. But please, do me and our community a favour. Share this article with a person you know who leans towards the other side of the spectrum.

Are “refugees” really “a problem”?

And although I hate this line of argument, if not for this “problem arriving in our country” who would be caring for our sick, stocking our grocery store shelves, harvesting fresh produce and taking care of our kids at daycare - in other words, turning the wheels of our economy? If every single person who arrived in Waterloo Region as an immigrant or refugee went on strike one day, we would see the gaps left in their wake. We need each other.

On June 20, and throughout the month, show up for the folks who are being villainized and problematized by provincial policies. Show the government that it’s not my or your problem. It’s just not a problem.

Marika Galadza is a member of CCORIC and works at a refugee resettlement agency in Kitchener.

HEY, HEY YOU. DO YOU LIKE WRITING OR TAKING PHOTOS? VOLUNTEER FOR THE COMMUNITY EDITION. EMAIL BETH@COMMUNITYEDITION.CA FOR MORE INFO.

17

JUNE 2019 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

JUANITA METZGER PHOTO

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER

HYPERLOCAL TRAVEL

JUANITA METZGER CONTRIBUTOR “As much as possible, we’ll stick to the left side of the river,” Gary Berger advises me.

“That’s the natural course of the river so the water is deepest and the current is stronger.”

With this direction and a click of my lifejacket we flopped our behinds into two bright red river tubes waiting for us at the grassy edge of the Grand River. We launched ourselves into the brown ripples to float eight kilometres from Moyer’s Blair Landing (Fountain Street, Cambridge) to Riverside Bluffs on the edge of Galt.

Berger, co-owner of Tubing the Grand, alongside his daughter Julia and wife Amanda, has floated, kayaked and canoed this river hundreds of times — but I’m seeing it from this vantage point for the first time.

The Grand River is a pretty lazy river

during the summer but we bobbed and twirled and coasted at four km/hour due to the rainy spring this year. By mid-summer, the river slows to almost two km/hour.

Either way, it’s the perfect speed and viewpoint to watch the river activity.

Red wing black birds trilled in the reeds while swallows dipped and skimmed above the water’s surface.

Great blue herons whooshed up from the river bank as we approached and Canada geese herded their goslings on the grass islands when a lazy current circled us too close for comfort. At one point, a curious family of peeping

ducklings trailed along behind my boat until their parents collected them from danger.

Despite some distant hum of road traffic and lawn mowers, floating down the river is a delicious, leisurely way to spend three hours on a sunny afternoon. It’s so relaxing and peaceful I could have read a book or pulled my hat brim down to catch a short nap.

But honestly, I couldn’t do it, I didn’t want to miss anything.

This stretch of the Grand River passes by Cambridge parkland, a golf course, some private homes and the protected landscapes of rare Charitable Research Reserve. I had no idea there are limestone cliffs that serve as bald eagle habitat along this section of the Grand River; but there they are, stretching 12 metres above me, dripping with ferns and waterfalls.

Tubing the Grand, which just opened in May 2019 provides the very stable (and comfortable!) river runners, lifejackets, paddles, a dry sack for your keys and phone and a map of what’s around you on the river. They also provide a taxi voucher to get you from Galt back to your car at Moyer’s Blair Landing. For $35 plus tax, it’s a perfect gateway to explore a blissfully peaceful view of our Region.

After visiting international cities located on rivers or waterfronts, I often decry Waterloo Region’s lack of water access and our ‘land lock-edness.’ But, the more I think about it, I realize that Cambridge has the best access to water in our Region with two major rivers – the Grand and the Speed River – winding through the communities of Blair, Preston, Galt

and Hespeler.

Anyone who lives there has direct access to it daily.

If tubing isn’t your thing, try riding your bike along the Mill Run Trail that follows the Speed River from Riverside Park in Preston all the way to Jacob’s Landing at Mill Pond Park in Hespeler (6.5km one way). Pick up some picnic goodies at the shops in downtown Hespeler and lounge away the afternoon by the water.

In downtown Galt, several staircases allow you to access the river’s edge along cement walkways. I also love walking through the Cambridge Sculpture Garden on the west side of the Grand River. For a lunch or weekend outing, grab take-out from L.A. Frank’s on Water Street North and enjoy some people watching in Mill Race Park where old stone walls stand beside the river.

The people behind Surf Cambridge are hoping to bring a new activity to the Grand River within the next couple years. Kelly McDowell, president of Surf Cambridge, believes surfing could get even more people from across Waterloo Region out on the water.

“If people aren’t using the river, we will eventually lose access to it,” McDowell implored.

We have beautiful natural waterways in Cambridge so let’s make the most of them. Maybe I’ll even take up surfing when the opportunity comes around.

The author floated the Grand River courtesy of Tubing the Grand. They did not review or approve this column.

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OPENS JUNE 14 • PRINCESS TWIN • princesscinemas.com

JUNE 2019 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

18

FIXING EVERYTHING, EVEN IF IT’S NOT BROKEN

FRAMELINES

WORDS & PHOTOS BY ERIK O’NEILL I spent a day shooting at The Walper Barber a few weeks after their landlord served them with an eviction notice.

According to Jordan, Linda, Robert and Sandra, they were not given a chance to stay in the 126 year old barber shop, nor were they given a chance to negotiate a new lease.

Instead, they were told that their shop was being replaced by a new “more progressive” barbershop. In the April 10th edition of The Record, the barbershop’s landlord, Craig Beattie (a partner in Perimeter Development Corp.) stated, “to attract a new generation of clientele, you have to tweak the

business ...” and “We want to work with like-minded people who are thinking progressively.”

Yet for generations barbers have kept the business afloat, working independently with no lease and no boss to profit from their labour.

I spent most of my day speaking with Robert and Sandra, both longtime barbers at The Walper Barber.

Although devastated about their upcoming move, the two seemed less concerned about their own livelihood and more concerned that a significant piece of Kitchener history is being gentrified away. Robert spoke of his hurt from being replaced, as he considers The Walper Barber his second home. The general mood among all four barbers seemed to be confusion from the gaslight.

I wanted to capture the mood of a

business that is being pushed out of its own community with no reasonable explanation. While the eviction notice hung heavily in the air, the barbershop was busy and spry. A steady stream of clients were coming in for haircuts, some of which have been coming there for 37 years.

However, many of the people I met that day were newer clients of the shop — younger folks who live and work downtown. In fact I’d even describe them as the exact “new generation of clientele” that Beattie said the newer barbershop will attract.

I believe that when Beattie refers to “like-minded” and “progressive” people he’s actually just referring to the affluent portion of our downtown community — some of which are already clientele of The Walper Barber.

I suspect the newer barbershop will

aim to service this population but will potentially cut out all clientele who cannot afford a $40 haircut (after tip).

The vicious cycle of what’s popular demands that we fix everything, even if it isn’t broken, until the thing that replaced the old thing is the thing that’s being replaced. I am sad to see a piece of history in downtown Kitchener disregarded and so easily replaced.

I am thankful that The Walper Barber has found a new location that will be opening mid June.

Shot on Leica M10, Summilux 35mm and Summilux 50mm Framelines is a new photo-heavy column by local cinematographer and wannabe photojournalist, Erik O’Neill.

This is its first installation.

19

JUNE 2019 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

FILLER RIGHT

HEADLINE

HERE

I spent a day shooting at The Walper Barber a few weeks after their landlord served them with an eviction notice.

According to Jordan, Linda, Robert and Sandra, they were not given a chance to stay in the 126 year old barber shop, nor were they given a chance to negotiate a new lease.

Instead, they were told that their shop was being replaced by a new “more progressive” barbershop. In the April 10th edition of The Record, the barbershop’s landlord, Craig Beattie (a partner in Perimeter Development Corp.) stated, “to attract a new generation of clientele, you have to tweak the business ...” and “We want to work with like-minded people who are thinking progressively.”

HERE

Yet for generations barbers have kept the business afloat, working independently with no lease and no boss to profit from their labour.

I spent most of my day speaking with Robert and Sandra, both long time barbers at The Walper Barber.

Although devastated about their upcoming move, the two seemed less concerned about their own livelihood and more concerned that a significant piece of Kitchener history is being gentrified away. Robert spoke of his hurt from being replaced, as he considers The Walper Barber his second home. The general mood among all four barbers seemed to be confusion from the gaslight.

I wanted to capture the mood of a

HERE

business that is being pushed out of its own community with no reasonable explanation. While the eviction notice hung heavily in the air, the barbershop was busy and spry. A steady stream of clients were coming in for haircuts, some of which have been coming there for 37 years.

However, many of the people I met that day were newer clients of the shop — younger folks who live and work downtown. In fact I’d even describe them as the exact “new generation of clientele” that Beattie said the newer barbershop will attract.

I believe that when Beattie refers to “like-minded” and “progressive” people he’s actually just referring to the affluent portion of our downtown

GO

HERE

community — some of which are already clientele of The Walper Barber.

I suspect the newer barbershop will aim to service this population but will potentially cut out all clientele who cannot afford a $40 haircut (after tip).

The vicious cycle of what’s popular demands that we fix everything, even if it isn’t broken, until the thing that replaced the old thing is the thing that’s being replaced. I am sad to see a piece of history in downtown Kitchener disregarded and so easily replaced.

I am thankful that The Walper Barber has found a new location that will be opening mid June.

Shot on Leica M10. Summilux 35mm and Summilux 50mm

JUNE 2019 // @THECOMMUNITYED

20

HELPING BRIDESMAIDS STAY ON BUDGET SAFINA HUSEIN CONTRIBUTOR Local entrepreneurs Mallory McKewen and Kaleah Baker are paving the way for women in the business industry as the founders of BridesMade.

BridesMade — a socially and environmentally responsible, womenrun company — works to make the process of being a bridesmaid both easy and cost effective.

Baker and McKewen both met while completing their MBA’s at Wilfrid Laurier University. When McKewen began considering options of becoming an entrepreneur, the idea behind BridesMade sparked through observing those around her.

“I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur before I had any ideas, I wasn’t particularly inventive, so I focused on the complaints of people around me. And, being a young millennial woman, that’s who I primarily surrounded myself with,” McKewen said.

A common complaint McKewen heard revolved around the cost of being a bridesmaid.

“I started doing a lot of interviews

with brides-to-be to see if those in the target audience would also agree that there’s a business model here and what that business may look like. It was those interviews that shaped up a rental model for the company.

From there, McKewen launched a website which quickly garnered traction and traffic.

Now entering their third wedding season, BridesMade has grown exponentially. From receiving 60 orders in their first year, McKewen and Baker said they received over 250 orders in their second season.

BridesMade offers bridesmaid dresses for both purchase and rent.

Rentals are approximately $100 while purchased dresses cost around $200.

Customers can access BridesMade dresses at their boutique store located in Kitchener or through one of their retail partners across Canada. Those without access can request a try-on kit that’s sent to their house for fittings.

From there, BridesMade takes care of shipping the dresses two weeks prior to the wedding, and arranges pick ups one week after the wedding. “[Customers] have a good time at the wedding, they put the dresses back in the boxes, they don’t have to worry about dry cleaning or anything like that, we’ll do that for them and they never have to think about it again,” Baker said.

“It’s out of their closet and only have

Mallory McKewen (left) and Kaleah Baker (right) have launched BridesMade, a company devoted to making the process of being a bridesmaid easier and more cost effective.

ERIK O’NEILL PHOTO to ever think about it when they see the pictures later.”

In three short years, BridesMade has accomplished several major milestones, such as the recent launch

of their boutique store on Ahrens St. in Kitchener.

“Now we’ve outfitted around 1500 bridesmaids so far, just focusing on Canada. We’ve had really vast

growth and we’ve been able to build a really cool team right here in KW of smart women to build this business,” McKewen said.

KW-based musician JoJo Worthington is coming out with a new album, The Company You Keep, on June 7.

PAIGE BUSH PHOTO

KEEPING COMPANY WITH JOJO WORTHINGTON RACHAEL MACINTOSH CONTRIBUTOR This month, Kitchener-Waterloo singer-songwriter and producer JoJo Worthington is releasing her new album, The Company You Keep.

The release will correspond with an album release concert on June 7 at the Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre.

Worthington will be playing with her band along with, for the first time, a

string quartet.

“I think it’s going to be really special and beautiful,” said Worthington about the new arrangements. The concert will be opened by Elsa Jayne, another local artist, who has opened for several of Worthington’s album releases.

Worthington’s music has been described as post-experimental folk.

Essentially, her music combines folk acoustic with electronic and experimental elements. This combination paired with Worthington’s impressive and unique vocals results in a sound that has been described by many critics as dream-like.

Worthington has been influenced by musical pioneers such as Björk, and

hopes to innovate both musically and lyrically through her work.

“I’d like to innovate pop music, but change the messages so the messages aren’t so stagnant and aren’t so shallow as pop music usually is,” said Worthington.

Though Worthington has worked as a co-producer on her past albums, she has recently begun to produce for other musicians and take on a larger role in the production of her own work.

“I co-produced [The Company You Keep] with the engineer, whereas last time I was producing it with a few other people. This time, I felt able to express myself more easily,” she said.

“Stabilize” and “Small Encounters”

are two singles from the new album that can be found on Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube.

“The way that you hear a lot of the songs — “Stabilize,” “Small Encounters,” and “Argument” — they were written as loops and it’s the loops that you’re hearing. That’s how I wrote them, so you’re hearing the very beginning [of the process] and how it has morphed into [the final product],” Worthington said.

The song “Small Encounters” is described as, “a hazy recollection of navigating tumultuous relationships.

It is a memory of fleeting, momentary encounters.” The lyrics of the song also touch on how the people around

you influence you, reflecting on the album’s title, The Company You Keep.

“The theme of the album also relates to the womb and how close we are to what’s within the womb and how our comfort bubble is like a womb and how who we let into this bubble will influence us,” Worthington explained.

The Company You Keep will be released on June 7, but until then, it can be preordered on Worthington’s Bandcamp site.