Trusted by over 5,000 explorers. Become a Partner.
Happy Wednesday my friends,
What a week: from orange / yellow skies to feels like the perfect weather. Hope everyone had a great time while staying safe. It’s Pi Approximation (22/7) and Hammock Day today so cheers to solving math problems while soaking in the sun ☀
Heads up: Some of you will get info on Dinner Club this week and everyone else next week 🙂.
Enjoy the week, enjoy the rhythm of our region.
with love,
your friendly neighbourhood goose 🦆
A neighbour forwarded you this? Join here to get the next one in your inbox.
Do you have something launching soon?
We care deeply about where we live and like to support local. WRR partners with businesses we’d actually recommend to a neighbour. So if you’re a business owner or decision maker of a local business, reply to this email and let’s have a quick chat.
ON THE RADAR
Goldy's cereal
Goldy's, a cereal co-founded by Laurier grad Daniel Schreiber (BA '07), flew around the Moon aboard Artemis II with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The Canadian Space Agency tested multiple batches before settling on the strawberry lavender flavour, which had to clear a strict bar: Canadian-made, lightweight, nutrient-dense, long shelf life, easy to prepare in zero gravity. The trip paid off back on Earth too, with production scaled up, a brand redesign, and a Walmart launch coming in August. Read
3D-printed contact lenses
A University of Waterloo team led by chemistry professor Dr. Shirley Tang has built a system that designs and 3D prints a rigid contact lens in about 20 minutes, meaning a patient could be measured, fitted and sent home in a single optometrist visit. It matters most for people with irregularly shaped corneas, who today wait weeks or months to find a lens that fits properly. The breakthrough was formulating a printable silicone plus an ultra-thin coating that smooths out the layer lines without distorting the optics. A provisional patent is filed and in-eye studies are being prepared. Read
WATER UPDATE
WE DIDN'T HIT 20%. SO 20% IS GONE.
Good news first. The Region says our water problem is fixed, and building can start again in September.
Then I looked closer.
Remember the spare water we keep for emergencies, for a big fire or a burst water main? The Region wanted that cushion to be 20 per cent. We never got there. So the plan was rewritten to take that goal out and use, in the Region's own words, "a more flexible approach." Nobody has to hold back 20 per cent anymore.
The water didn't change. The goal did.
Here's the other part. The water arriving in September isn't new water. It's the same Grand River water we already drink. The Region built equipment that cleans it faster, that's all. Their own website says it plainly: "not a new water source."
So we can treat more water. We don't have more water.
And out in Wilmot, where wells have been running dry, a new deep well costs $30,000 to $60,000. The Region has offered those owners $4,000. If you take it, you give up the right to ask for anything more later.
REGION THROUGH YOUR LENS
Param shares a beautiful capture:
Clouds stacked up like waves that forgot to break, and somewhere near the top of them the moon found a window and leaned through it. Everything underneath went soft and gold, the way a room looks when someone leaves a lamp on for you. Down in the corner, one tree kept watch.
ROLL OUT ROOTS
Work: two roles posted today, City of Cambridge
Volunteer: Event Volunteer, Kitchener Blues Festival
House of the week: love the exposed stone wall on this c1850 build
Adopt a pet: orange, adorable, and friendly, that’s Mr. Chilli Cheese
AT HOME IN THE REGION
You know that moment when you walk into a house and something just clicks? Great. Now here's the part nobody prepares you for: what actually happens next.
Cheryl Goetz, Real Estate Agent, REAL Broker Ontario Ltd. put together a really clear walkthrough of the offer process, from figuring out whether a listing has an offer date, to what a "condition" actually protects you from, to the deposit clock that starts ticking the second your offer is accepted.
Worth a read whether you're house hunting this summer or just filing it away for someday.
RIDDLE ME
Last week’s trivia: only 35% got it right, loved reading the beautiful memories some of you shared!
Param's photo has us all looking up, and next Wednesday, July 29, that moon goes full. July's full moon has a name: the Buck Moon. But why?
RIFFS & RIBS
The image below has all the eateries I found playing live music this week.
If you are an artist playing in the region
or you have a restaurant / cafe / brewery that invites musicians
reach out to share your details!
ROAM & RAZZLE
So many things-to-do in the region!
FEATURED EVENTS
Make art and craft while mingling. Carry your current work in progress; sketching, painting, stitching, (any medium), settle in with coffee and tea while you create alongside other makers. Studio night with friends. The series runs Thursday evenings.
Rural Roots Brewing turns seven and is throwing the kind of party that works whether someone turns up for the beer or the dogs. Doors open at noon with a dog-focused vendor market, local rescues bringing adoptable dogs, and a fundraiser garage sale raising money for Saving South Paws. Live local music starts at 3:30pm and builds toward headliner Sheltered Life, with beer and food going all day and the celebration carrying on into the evening. The dog side of things wraps around 5pm, so anyone going mainly for that should aim early, while the music crowd gets the back half of the day. Seven years in Elmira is worth a full afternoon.
Got an event coming up? Share it here.
MULTI-DAY EVENTS
Festival: Downtown Kitchener hands its main square over to classic rock for two free nights, drawing a lawn chair crowd that mostly owned these records the first time around (all ages) Fri, Jul 24 from 7pm and Sat, Jul 25 from 5pm, Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener info
Convention - Ragnarok 6.0: THEMUSEUM turns into a two-day tabletop convention, now in its sixth year and pulling players from across the country. Board games, RPGs and miniatures share the floor with vendors, a bring and buy marketplace, craft drinks and a contingent of Vikings, and games run in blocks so people pick their slots rather than camp all day. (all ages) Sat, Jul 25 and Sun, Jul 26 from 8am, THEMUSEUM, Kitchener info
King Street Unplugged: In front of City Hall closes to cars for a week and fills with free programming from 11am daily, the rare thing worth wandering into without a plan. Kids' zone, markets, live music, dance lessons and roller skating rotate through, and Tuesday afternoon brings the Family Splash Jam finale with Drew Ripley's Big Balloon Show. (all ages) Sun, Jul 26 to Fri, Jul 31 from 11am, King St W and Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener info
Theatre - Return to Grace: Matt Cage plays Elvis across the whole arc, from the Memphis beginnings through the Vegas years, backed by a live band and dancers (all ages) Thu, Jul 23 to Wed, Jul 29, St. Jacobs tix
Theatre - Sorry...I'm Not Sorry! Neil Aitchison spends the show as RCMP Folksy humour, a little political satire and some Canadian songbook numbers, in a schoolhouse theatre small enough that the front row becomes part of the bit. (all ages) Thu, Jul 23 to Wed, Jul 29, St. Jacobs tix
Have a friend you always turn to? What makes them special?
⏩️ Forward this to someone who wants in on all the good stuff 🪩
