This weekend’s weather got a little crazy with strong winds, tornado warnings and heavy rain. I heard someone got their patio furniture across their deck…it was brief but strong…No big damage reported so far, which is good news

Last week, a lot of you didn’t receive the email because of a strange technical issue I still can’t fully explain. I put a lot of effort into putting all of this together, so it was really frustrating to have an unexpected problem stop the email from going out.

I fixed everything and I hope this one reaches you…

One more thing: I'm moving send day to Monday. That way you've got the week's info when it's actually useful, not mid-Wednesday when half the things I mention are already sold out.

Alright, Lets get into todays edition!

📩 Was this forwarded to you? Sign up to get it

🏒 The Kitchener Rangers are up 2-0 in the OHL Finals after another overtime win. Read

🎨 Cambridge just turned 10 local businesses into an art gallery you can explore all summer with a passport and prizes. Read

🏛️ Five free public exhibitions are popping up across Galt this month as hundreds of architects descend on Waterloo Region for the first time ever. Read

🏥 Your property taxes could go up to help pay for a brand new hospital…and Cambridge is already fighting for its share. Read

🚑 Waterloo Region's ambulances and snowplows just got named one of the best fleets in all of the Americas. Read

In 1859, a British explorer stumbled across a skeleton on Gladman Point in the Arctic. The body was dressed in a steward's uniform, but the pockets held the personal papers of Harry Peglar, Captain of the Foretop on HMS Terror. That mismatch created a question that sat unanswered for 166 years. Was this Peglar, or someone else wearing the wrong clothes?

This week, a team at the University of Waterloo settled it. It was Peglar. Zero genetic distance from a living descendant, his great-great-grandniece. A perfect match.

Dr. Douglas Stenton, an anthropologist in UW's Faculty of Arts, has been running a DNA identification program for the Franklin expedition since 2013. The work is specific and slow: extract DNA from bones recovered across King William Island, then track down living descendants of the 129 men who left England in 1845 and never came back. This week's findings, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports and Polar Record, bring the total to six identified sailors.

The other three are William Orren, an able seaman. David Young, a Boy 1st Class who was seventeen when he signed up. And John Bridgens, a steward whose living descendant turned out to be Rich Preston, a BBC journalist who used to host a genealogy show. Preston had no idea.

All four survived three years frozen in Arctic ice before walking away from their ships with 101 others in April 1848, dragging boats on sleds across King William Island. None of them made it.

Stenton started this work in 2013. Six names in thirteen years. I keep thinking about that pace. It's the kind of research where you spend a decade hunting for one person's great-great-grandniece, and the whole thing hinges on whether she happens to exist and whether she picks up the phone. But the descendants keep getting that call. And it keeps mattering.

We all want to be remembered. That's maybe the most basic thing about being a person. You want someone, someday, to know your name and care that you were here. David Young was seventeen. He signed up for something enormous, walked into the ice, and disappeared for 180 years. Now we know his name, his face, and exactly where he fell. Someone at the University of Waterloo made sure of that.

The team is still looking for more descendants who might carry a DNA match. If your family line connects to the Franklin expedition, UW's anthropology department wants to hear from you.

What does this puzzle mean?

Last week’s winners were Dianne Hansler, Clare and Daryl Cosgrove. Let’s see who’s the fastest this time

House of the week: 477 Blair Creek Dr, Kitchener

New Openings: Blondie’s Pizza in Waterloo

Fundraisers : Vote and give a chance for your local pet shelter win $5000 for animals in need

Adopt Me 🐾 : Waffle the dog and Mila the cat

got an event to share? SUBMIT EVENT

🎨 The Residue of Starlight – Ella Morton | May 9 – Aug 8 | Queen's Square Library, Cambridge. A visual art exhibition running all summer at the Cambridge Public Library. Free.

🌱 Planting Day | Sat, May 16 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm at Preston Library Community Garden, Cambridge. Help plant the community garden and enjoy nature activities. Free.

🎤 Clara Hughes: Open Heart, Open Mind | Wed, May 13 | 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Humanities Theatre, Hagey Hall, University of Waterloo. Six-time Olympic medalist and Bell Let's Talk founder speaks on mental health, movement, and resilience. Free — registration required.

📚 Lit and Wit: A Novel Trivia Night | Wed, May 13 | 7:00pm – 8:30pm at Central Library, 85 Queen St N, Kitchener. Book-themed trivia — solo or team up to 6 for a chance to win. Free. Registration required.

🎭 From the Top Step – Creative Collective Showcase | Thu, May 14 | 6:30pm at The Registry Theatre, Kitchener. A youth arts showcase from Growing in the Arts.

🏒 Kitchener Rangers vs. Barrie Colts – OHL Finals | Thu, May 14 | 7:00pm at The Aud, Kitchener.

🚂 Mystery Express: Rum Runners | Fri, May 15 | Waterloo Central Railway, St. Jacobs. The train turns into a rolling 1920s speakeasy…join a smuggling ring, dodge cops, play gangster games, and maybe walk away in cuffs.

🗡️ Swords & Tease – Sideshow & Burlesque | Fri, May 15 | Doors 7:30pm, show 8:00pm at THEMUSEUM, 10 King St W, Kitchener. Burlesque from Vixens and Tease plus Ripley's-featured sword swallower Neil E. Dee.

🎤 Karaoke and Paint | Sat, May 16 | 7:00pm – 10:00pm at Hall, 247 Northfield Dr E, Waterloo. Guided painting first, then karaoke to close it out.

🎤 Waterloo Must Laugh | Sat, May 16 | Doors 5:00pm, show 6:00pm at Forbes Family Hall, RIM Park, Waterloo. International comedy showcase hosted by SACO, with a stacked lineup including Acapella, SLK, Rich White, and Seye Sax.

🃏 CardCore Collectors Expo | Sat, May 16 | 9:30am – 3:00pm at Bingemans Conference Centre, Kitchener. Pokémon, One Piece, sports cards, slabs, and singles from vendors across Ontario. First 100 through the door get a free Pokémon pack.

🌿 Annual Heritage Plant Sale | Sat, May 16 | 9:30am – 12:00pm at Doon Heritage Village, 10 Huron Rd, Kitchener. Flower and vegetable varieties straight from the heritage gardens — same ones growing at Doon.

🎸 Long Weekend Band Crawl Vol. 16 | Sun, May 17 | Doors 6:30pm across 7 Uptown Waterloo venues. 25+ bands, one $25 all-access pass. 19+.

🎹 K-Man & the 45s with The Hydrotonics | Wed, May 13 | 7:45pm at Maxwell's Concerts & Events, Waterloo.

🥁 Valérie Lacombe | Fri, May 15 | 8:00pm at The Jazz Room, Waterloo

🎸 Acoustic Country Night Showcase | Fri, May 15 | 8:00pm at Midnight Run Cafe, Waterloo.

🎭 Boogie Down Broadway: A Singalong Dance Party | Fri, May 15 | 7:00pm at Maxwell's Concerts & Events, Waterloo.

🎷 Alain Bédard's Auguste Quartet | Sat, May 16 | 8:00pm at The Jazz Room, Waterloo.

🎶 Live Music with Crowded Table | Sat, May 16 | 1:00pm at Waterloo Legion, Waterloo.

🎸 The Grapes at the Malt and Barley | Sat, May 16 | 7:30pm at Malt & Barley Public House, Kitchener.

📩 Was this forwarded to you? Sign up to get it

[email protected]