Kitchener’s Festival of Neighbourhoods team is seeking a candidate with experience in creation of audio/visual promotional material to assist in planning, hosting and disseminating stories about neighbourthood activities and gatherings during the pandemic for the first online Festival of Neighbourhoods 27th Annual Celebration to happen on November 15, 2020.
Festival of Neighoburhoods was founded in 1994 and has been a support and a recognition program for Kitchener residents who are bringing their neighbours together. Usually, neighbours who organize gatherings on their streets, in the parks or buildings, would come together to share what worked well and how life in their neighoburhoods changed because of the connection made. Inclusivity is of particular interest to the Festival of Neighbourhoods and this year, because of the pandemic, we will bring the neighbours together online to showcase the joy, the fun and the mutual care that flourished during the times of distancing.
The job would include supporting the Festival of Neighbourhoods Team in designing the online Annual Celebration and preparing promotional material needed. We would need to gather information, audio interviews and visuals of the COVID activities organized; your keen sense of showcasing the creative, safe and inclusive ways to connect during the pandemic; skilled production of short video and audio clips, visuals and infographics to represent neighbourhood solidarity and vibrancy during distancing.
The successful candidate would need experience in:
– creation of audio/visual material,
– research, interviewing and content writing
– promotional material design
– organizing online events, webinars or conference calls
– communication and team building skills
Send you resume and cover letter in one document by midnight of September 4th
Email the selection committee from John MacDonald Architect and Social Development Centre Waterloo Region at admin@waterlooregion.org
This modified version of the classic Brooklyn game Skelzies is perfect for 2-6 players and can be played while physical distancing outside! Grab some chalk, a few small stones, marker lids, or bottle caps and meet your neighbours!!
Grab some chalk and cover your neighbourhood in games like this one!
Create your game board on the ground with chalk, mimicking this picture.
Place a stone at the start line and flick it around the board from 1-13. If you miss then it is the next player’s turn. See who can get to 13 in the least amount of turns.
Remember to stay at least 2m / 6ft apart to keep everyone safe!
Print the poster and invite your neighbours to play!
Bring your neighbours together and brighten your neighbourhood with this community clean up.
Gather as many neighbours as you safely can! Encourage your neighbours to wear masks, gloves, and bring hand sanitizer Maintain physical distancing by staying 2 meters / 6 ft apart. Ask all participants to bring a garbage bag and a reusable bottle of water to stay hydrated!
Enjoy the results and tell us your favourite parts! Email: entries@festivalofneighbourhoods.ca Tag us on Facebook: @FONKitchener Tag us on Twitter: @FONkitchener
Scavenger Hunt Building Community While Stopping the Spread
Some communities have put rainbows and teddy bears in their windows and gardens and let the neighbourhood go on a scavenger hunt.
Scavenger Hunt Instructions
Reach out to your neighbours and decide on an item or theme. It could be pictures, drawings, teddy bears, cats and dogs, or whatever else you can imagine.
Have your neighbours place the items somewhere visible to passersby.
HAPPY SEARCHING!!
Enjoy the results and tell us your favourite parts! Email: entries@festivalofneighbourhoods.ca Tag us on Facebook: @FONKitchener Tag us on Twitter: @FONkitchener
As the Covid-19 restrictions in the province begin to relax, we wonder how the pandemic has affected our community.
While we are being asked to stay close to home, and reduce our exposure, our own neighbourhood is more than ever our centre of gravity. We are not going far for goods, services and recreation; without school or summer camps, our kids are spending more time at home; more are working from home, and have eliminated their daily commutes. Others, have simply lost their jobs. Our cars are spending more time parked in our driveways, and traffic in our streets is quieter. In the present climate of uncertainty, knowing our neighbours, connecting with them and being supportive is more important than ever.
To date, many city and neighbourhood gatherings and activities that attract large crowds have been cancelled. We might find that we have been left to our own devices when it comes to making our own fun.
Are we going to discover that this is the year of “My Neighbourhood”?
This summer we might not have the taste to hold face-to-face neighbourhood gatherings, even if we were allowed, but as the weather warms up, we can rev up our creative powers to think up ways to connect with our neighbours while keeping at least 2 metres apart.
These efforts will help build stronger neighbourhoods, from the ground up. Some of our neighbours might feel very vulnerable to Covid-19, or might have to self-isolate, regardless of new relaxed restrictions. Others might be struggling from the impact of isolation, or changes in their lives that have left them feeling lost. Be thoughtful and open to help out if you can.
In Kitchener we have seen people running errands and doing yard work for others, playing music, displaying art work, chalking messages of encouragement on sidewalks, making noise for frontline workers, using little libraries as pantries. Many have more time in their hands. We are seeing more people going out for walks, beautifully groomed front yards, and neighbours spontaneously spending some time to chat in their walks. Others are pulling out their lawn chairs, as invitations for neighbours to stop by for a few minutes.
All the signs are pointing at the growing importance of your neighbourhood in your life. Make the best of it; make it caring, safe and fun, for yourself, your family and your neighbours.
November 17, 2019, 1-3 pm Kitchener City Hall Rotunda
Neighbours connected and shared skills and ideas at 26th Kitchener’s annual Festival of Neighbourhoods Celebration. The Festival Season has encouraged and recognized once again this year a wonderful range of neighbourhood gatherings large and small, totaling 69 in all. Neighbours have taken the initiative to organize and attend gatherings at which they meet one another, exchange ideas and strengthen the fabric of our community.
Citizens from neighbourhoods across Kitchener, city councillors & staff, and representatives of various supporting businesses and agencies came together in a spirit of celebration to share ideas on how to make their neighbourhoods stronger, and to be inspired by the stories of others. Participants struck conversations while enjoying ice cream and snacks, and visiting informational stations that highlighted the key aims of the Festival and recognized the energy and efforts of participants. The Celebration was organized as a “gathering of the gatherings”, staying true to the overall aims of the Festival for bringing people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to meet and engage with one another.
The Victoria Commons Neighbourhood and Chicopee Neighbourhood were the recipients of the Festival’s two $20,000 capital grants, provided by the City of Kitchener. They will work side by side with the City in the coming months to make improvements in their neighbourhoods.
Councillor Kelly Galloway-Sealock drawing the capital grant neighbourhood recipients
The Williamsburg, Sprucedale Crescent, Stanley Park South, Victoria Commons and Chicopee neighbourhoods were highlighted by the Festival and the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region for holding neighbourhood gatherings that strived to be as inclusive as possible. These neighbourhoods have worked to identify barriers to participation and have found practical and innovative solutions to participation in the spirit of the Festival’s motto: Reach!
The Trudy Beaulne Award, from the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, was presented to the North 6 Neighbourhood in order to provide support for engagement and community development activities that strengthen social connections and capacity throughout this neighbourhood and community. The newly formed North 6 neighbourhood, centred in the Westmount and Ottawa area, looks forward to the possibilities.
Social Development Centre Waterloo Region offering Trudy Beaulne Award to North 6 Neighbours
The Ward Challenge went to Ward 10 (Councillor Sarah Marsh), with 22 registered neighbourhood gatherings. The “Neighbourhood to City” station highlighted how a neighbourhood becomes stronger when neighbours come together, and how city councillors & staff can offer support to citizens to make their neighbourhoods even greater. The Ward challenge is a fun way to highlight areas of the community where registered participation in the Festival is especially strong.
After a Neighbours Day Picnic, the organizers felt the positive changes in Chicopee neighbourhood. In the words of one participant: “I noticed after our get together, people are smiling more and saying hi to each other. The children feel safe playing outside.I see some residents talking to each other on a daily basis. It has become a warm and pleasant environment.”
Victoria Commons held their first Block Party in June.“Many people made new connections, and people seemed more inclined to be walking in the neighbourhood saying hi after the Party”
This year’s Sponsors of the Festival and its aims include: Boehmers Brampton Brick, Steed and Evans, the Victoria Park Neighbourhood Association, Alejandra Ivic Re/Max Twin City Realty Inc., the Grand Valley Society of Architects, Swansons Home Hardware Building Centre, the Independent Living Centre of Waterloo Region, and the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
The supporters at this year’s Celebration were Tina’s Zentangle, Articulate Photography and Four All Icecream!
Festival of Neighbourhoods is a joint initiative between John MacDonald Architect and the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, with support from the City of Kitchener.
