New friends are waiting for you…

You know that feeling when you say yes to something slightly outside your comfort zone and it ends up being the best part of your week? That's the whole idea here.

Wednesday, April 30. A local restaurant. You, showing up, ordering something good, and finding out what happens when six people who've never met share a table for a couple of hours.

Take the quiz & meet new people. The seats are going.

Worst case: a decent meal and a story. Best case: you accidentally make a new friend as an adult, which the experts say is medically impossible.

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Picture this: August 2003, the middle of a brutal heatwave. Ajoa Mintah walks into a store needing relief, and instead of walking out with an air conditioner like a reasonable person, she walks out with an ice cream machine. That one stubborn decision is where the Four All story begins.

Fast forward twenty-plus years, countless experiments, and two scoop shops later, and Ajoa's little obsession has become one of the best things to happen to KW

Here’s what they do different:

The scoop shop officially opened for the season on April 1st, and if you haven't made your pilgrimage yet, consider this your sign. Bring a friend, order the Chocolate Peanut Butter, and thank me later. 🍫🥜

📍75 King St, Waterloo & 📍97 King St W, Kitchener

Waterloo's Jazz Festival Is Back & It's Worth Clearing Your Calendar

It's 1993. Some folks in Waterloo decide the city needs live jazz. They book a few musicians, set up downtown, and hope people show. Sixty people come. Now? Over 20,000. The Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival has become the kind of thing you just do every July.

Its happening July 17-19 this year. Bring a folding chair. Four80East kicks off Friday doing electro-jazz. Saturday's Alexis Baro with like two dozen musicians playing Latin-jazz so good you'll actually want to move in your seat. Sunday's Adrean Farrugia from Laurier playing the stuff that makes you feel like you should understand jazz better.

Grab food from a vendor. It's free. Volunteers run the whole thing. If you've never been, this is your sign.

It started with hairspray. Nobody thought twice about it…just grab the can and spray it on your hair. Same with the A/C unit getting installed in your house or the fire extinguisher at work. All totally normal stuff. But they all had the same problem: chemicals that were slowly eating a hole in the ozone layer, that invisible shield protecting us from the sun's worst rays.

By 1985, scientists looked up and realized we'd punched a massive hole over Antarctica. When they started digging into what that actually meant, the answer wasn't great. Without that shield, skin cancer rates would skyrocket, crops would fail. It was bad.

Here's the weird part though. Countries got together in 1987 and actually agreed to ban these chemicals. Companies switched to safer alternatives. People changed what they used. And somehow, it worked.

Now it's forty years later and the hole is shrinking. Last year it was the smallest in five years. If we keep going, scientists say the ozone layer comes back by 2040.

It's one of the few times we humans broke something and actually managed to fix it.

It's proof that when we actually listen and make changes, things get better. Which is why, our region's doing its part on 🌎 Earth Day.

Kitchener Saturday, April 22. Free cleanup supplies. Earth Day celebration at Kitchener Market, 7 a.m.–2 p.m.

Waterloo Saturday, April 27, 1–4 p.m. at Bechtel Park. Pull litter from parks, plant native trees and shrubs, watch live bird of prey shows & Build a bird box with K-W Woodworking & Craft Centre. Free.. Learn more.

Preston (Cambridge) Tuesday, April 21, 11:30 a.m.–1:15 p.m. on King Street East. Free pizza and drinks.

Galt (Cambridge) Saturday, April 25, 9:30–11:30 a.m. at Queen's Square. Free coffee (first 25 people)..

Let’s get together and clean our community!

What does this puzzle mean?…first five people to reply with right answer get a shout out!

VOLUNTEER: Kitchener Nature Stewards & Gardening Volunteer

PETS: Whiskey the dog, Piper the cat, Dandelion the rabbit

got an event to share? SUBMIT EVENT

Family: School vaccine clinic — public health nurses on-site to give vaccines,no health card or appointment needed, 10am, KW Multicultural Centre, Kitchener ( Apr 17 & 24)

Community: Elora Antique and Vintage Show — top dealers selling fine art, furniture, vintage fashion, folk art, quilts, jewellery, and more, Sat 10am, Sun 11am, Jefferson Elora Community Centre, Elora tix

Community: Free seed pack pickup — drop in and choose up to 3 seed packets per household to get your garden started, Kitchener Public Library, all locations info (Apr 13-24)

Community: Annual used book sale . 9am, First United Church, Waterloo info (Apr 17,18)

Live Music: STOMP — the explosive percussive performance show using everyday objects like paint cans and tire tubes , Fri 8pm, Sat 2pm, Centre In The Square, Kitchener tix (Apr 17,18)

Sports: Kitchener Rangers vs. Soo Greyhounds, Round 2 Game 5 of the OHL Western Conference Semi-Final, . The Aud 7pm, Kitchener tix

Workshop: Dried flower painting — create spring artwork using acrylic paint and dried flowers . 10:30am, Cambridge Public Library Queen's Square tix

Live Music: Highbanks Bluegrass Band — banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and tight harmonies from one of Canada's newest bluegrass acts, 8pm, Registry Theatre, Kitchener tix

Theatre: Hello Dolly — the beloved Broadway musical with humour, romance, and show-stopping songs . 7:30pm, Cambridge Arts Theatre tix

Comedy: Jeff Leeson headlines his "Only Gonna Say This Once" stand-up tour in the Centre In The Square studio theatre Centre In The Square (19+) 8pm, Kitchener tix

Social: Fantasy costume ball with D&D campaigns, enchanted gowns, and dancing — a fundraiser for animal rescues (19+) 10am, Hacienda Sereda, Kitchener tix

Family: Kidchella — a festival-style day for families with open studio, live performances, and science demos . 10am, THEMUSEUM, Kitchener tix

Social: Board Game Café — drop in for cards, Catan, and everything in between; bring your own or try something new, no registration needed (16+) 2pm, Cambridge Public Library Queen's Square info

Community: Pages & Pleasures — romance book fair with 75+ authors and vendors; free entry, VIP tickets available for skip-the-line access and a swag bag (19+) 11am, Bingemans, Kitchener tix

Live Music: cleopatrick — Cobourg post-rock duo blending intimacy and volume on their ambitious new album . 8pm, Maxwell's, Waterloo tix

Live Music: Anders Mogensen Quartet — Juno-winning Danish drummer and pianist Carl Winther join Canadian jazz vets for a high-energy swinging set . 8pm, The Jazz Room, Waterloo tix

Community: Kitchener-Waterloo Toys and Collectibles Show — 200+ vendor tables featuring comics, retro games, Pokémon, Lego, action figures, and vinyl records. Vendors buy collectibles . 9:30am, Bingemans, Kitchener tix

Social: The Amazing Road Rally Race — Game Show Edition; teams race across town solving clues, completing challenges, and collecting items, followed by dinner . 1pm, KW Escape, Kitchener tix

Sports: Champions for Charity Fight Night — black tie boxing event with local business professionals in the ring, three-course dinner, and live entertainment, with an after party . 5:30pm, Tapestry Hall, Cambridge tix

Live Music: Spring Spectacular — the Grand Harmony Chorus joins the KW Chamber Orchestra for Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4, "the Italian" . 3pm, Knox Presbyterian Church, Waterloo tix

Social: Knitting and Crochet Club — drop in to share projects, swap tips, and craft with fellow enthusiasts; some experience required . 7pm, Waterloo Public Library Main Branch info

Social: Knit 'n' Chat Meet-up — drop in to knit, share ideas, and chat with fellow crafters; all skill levels welcome . 6pm, Cambridge Public Library Queen's Square info

Live Music: Donovan Woods performing — intimate folk, country, and pop storytelling at The Conrad Centre . 7pm, Kitchener tix

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