Media Release
DRAFT
Oct. 24, 2012
Neighbours celebrate at Kitchener’s Festival of Neighbourhoods finale
KITCHENER – The theme of this year’s Kitchener Festival of Neighbourhoods says it all: “Ignite Community,
Rekindle Connection, Spark Hope.” Communities across the city were doing just that, as the neighbourhoodbuilding initiative held its 2012 season finale on the weekend to celebrate achievements, receive the thanks of
community leaders, and garner awards, including the draw for the city’s $10,000 capital improvement grant.
This year, 77 neighbourhood gatherings were registered from 47 neighbourhood areas, with an estimated
participation of about 15,000 participants.
The winner of the festival’s main prize, the $10,000 capital grant, was the Valleyview neighbourhood, an area
bounded by Valleyview Road, Windale Crescent, Howe Drive, and Chandler Mowat Community Centre. They
hosted the “Safety Can Be Fun Fair” on July 21 as a fun and educational way to present information and
resources on safety. This neighbourhood was also the winner of the Youth Award because the leadership for
the event was by an eight-year-old who wanted all kids to feel safe and able to ask for help when needed.
As with the grant award, several of the awards were chosen by random draw from eligible and deserving
gatherings organized around one or several special themes. The Pillar Award, for a neighbourhood who has
registered an event for five or more years, was won by Olde Berlin Town, whose activities were also drawn as
winners of the Safer Neighbourhood Award, and a special award for this 100th year of Kitchener’s city history,
the Heritage Award.
The Trinity Village fall fair was selected by the award sponsor for the Inclusion Award. This event was open to
and attended by people with varying physical abilities, and from different cultures and varying ages. Other
awards given out included:

The Ward Challenge: Ward 10 (Counc. Dan Glenn-Graham), with 18 neighbourhood events, narrowly
beating out several other wards of the city;

The Newcomer Award (for a first-time registered activity): Rosemount Drive east of River Road, who
held a street party with an Olympic Games theme;

The Arts and Culture Award: Dekay Street’s ninth annual street party;

The Green award: Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association, for their community clean-up and
barbecue;

The Neighbourhood Connections Award: Fairview Mall was selected for this award for taking steps to
reach out to the broader neighbourhood and for their interest in working with neighbours and other
community stakeholders to meet social needs.
“Festival of Neighbourhoods is really about providing resources, encouragement and recognition to Kitchener
citizens for taking that small step to bring their neighbours together,” said Janice Ouellette, facilitator of
volunteer resources for the City of Kitchener. “The finale is about sharing what has been done and celebrating
these efforts, so important to our quality of life and connection to the greater community.”
“The community members who bring neighbours together, and build connections in our community, create the
glue that binds our community together, so that we can face the challenges and opportunities of our future,”
said John MacDonald of John Macdonald Architect, one of the founding partner organizations, along with the
City of Kitchener and the Social Planning Council of Kitchener Waterloo.
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