November 10th, 2025

Good Morning, Waterloo Region!

The snow has arrived - and quite a decent amount too?!

Some people are getting their skis out and ready to embrace the cold... while others are cozying up with a blanket and thinking 'tropical thoughts'.

Whatever side you're on, hope you're keeping well and we've got lots of great stuff in the newsletter today.

In today's email:

• a superb pasta/pizza spot
• Remembrance Day ceremonies
• which country's national animal is the unicorn
• a local company powering MLB teams
• & more

Let's dive in 👇

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Monday, November 10th

Paint Night | The Canadian Brewhouse, Kitchener | 6:30-8pm | "Unleash your creative side with a paintbrush in hand and a canvas in front of you. Our experienced artist will guide you in creating a beautiful masterpiece to take home as a lasting memory of your paint and sip night out." | Info​

Tuesday, November 11th

Remembrance Day | Dedicated section below with more details

'Little Laine' Movie | Kitchener Public Library (Main Branch) | 6:30-8pm | "Dive into the wild true story behind Little Lorraine, where a quiet Nova Scotia fishing village gets tangled in an international cocaine smuggling ring." | Info​

Holiday Tree Embroidery Workshop | Ernie's Roadhouse, Cambridge | 7pm | Info​

Trivia Night: Guess The Album Art | Four Fathers Brewing, Cambridge | 7-9pm | Info​

Wednesday, November 12th

Paint Night | Bobby O'Brien's, Kitchener | 6:30pm | Info​

Trivia Night: 2000s Hits | TWB Co-operative Brewing, Kitchener | 7-9:30pm | Info​

Comedy Show | Rusty Nail Comedy | TWH Social, Kitchener | 7:30pm | PROAM Night (only $5) | Tickets​

Thursday, November 13th

Christmas Cheerlight Charter | WCR Farmers’ Market Station, St. Jacob's | Multiple Dates/Times | "Climb aboard the Christmas Cheerlight Charter, a spirited evening adventure where guests of all ages help restore the magic of the holidays by completing joyful challenges and collecting stamps in their Merry Mission Passport – all while enjoying our heritage Christmas train ride!" | Info​

The Strumbellas: Into Dust Tour | Maxwell's, Waterloo | 7-11pm | Info​

* none of these events are sponsored. that will always be made obvious if so.

LOCAL NEWS FEATURE

"Two groundbreaking technologies developed by University of Waterloo alumni are reshaping how Major League Baseball teams train and analyze players.

The Trajekt Arc, created by recent graduates Joshua Pope and Rowan Ferrabee, is an AI-powered pitching robot that replicates any professional pitcher's exact throwing mechanics, complete with realistic visuals showing arm angles and release points.

Currently used by 30 professional baseball teams worldwide including 24 MLB organizations, the system allows batters to practice against specific opponents before facing them in actual games."

A really cool project coming out of the region, love to see it!

If you're curious.. you can find out more on their website here, along with how it works.

WEATHER

🌨️ Mon, Nov. 10th | HIGH -4° | NIGHT -10° | 40% POP | 2cm ❄️

🌨️ Tue, Nov. 11th | HIGH 2° | NIGHT -1° | 60% POP | 2-4cm ❄️

🌧️ Wed, Nov. 12th | HIGH 3° | NIGHT 1° | 60% POP | 2-4mm 💧

🌦️ Thu, Nov. 13th | HIGH 5° | NIGHT 0° | 30% POP | <1cm ❄️ | <1cm 💧

SPORTS

Kitchener Rangers 🏒

• 3rd overall
• Friday, November 7th: Saginaw at Kitchener | Rangers win 5-2
• Sunday, November 9th: Kingston at Kitchener | Rangers lose 3-2
• Upcoming: Friday, November 14th | Sault Ste. Marie at Kitchener | Tickets​
• Upcoming: Saturday, November 15th | Kitchener at Guelph

University Football 🏈

• Queen's win the 117th Yates Cup by beating Laurier 30-27
• The Golden Hawks pushed hard in the 2nd half to get back into the game by scoring 24 points - but ultimately fell just short

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Tomorrow is November 11th, Remembrance Day.

A day to honour Canadian armed forces members who served or died in the line of duty.

There's quite a few events going on around the region, with most cities or towns having their own parades and/or ceremonies. CBC has a nice breakdown of everything that you can find at this link.

While it's not a statutory holiday, there are still some government offices and other businesses that are closed or have reduced hours. Details here.

FOOD & DRINK IN THE REGION

​Ennio's Pasta House​

We're lucky to have a few great Italian restaurants in the city, but considering I just had the BEST pasta carbonara (and artichoke dip) at Ennio's over the weekend, I thought they would be a good one to share.

They're a family-run, authentic (think homemade) Italian restaurant with 2 locations - Waterloo and Kitchener. The owner (Ennio Renon), actually started the pasta house "with just two pots, two pans, one strainer and a stove." Quite a cool story when you see what it's grown too over the years. You can find lots of great appetizers, pizzas & pastas, and they also have a good kids menu too.

As always, don't just take my word.

Here's a great review from Petra last month that highlights just how authentic they are:

"We dined at Ennio’s in Waterloo for the first time last weekend (Sunday) for dinner. We are an Italian family, travelling frequently to Italy, with a strong Italian heritage. As Italians, we enjoyed our experience and the food at Ennio’s. Very close to authentic Italian - the sauce was delicious, very similar to my Nonna’s homemade recipe! Great service, rustic Italian ambience, authentic Italian pastas. Highly recommend!"

You can check out their menu here - and if you're a fan of Italian food (and I mean who isn't?!), definitely give it a look!

* this is not a sponsored placement, just a favourite of mine. ads will always be made obvious if so.

RECYCLING PROGRAM

With all the talk of new garbage and green bins lately, they're also some changes coming 'behind the scenes' for our recycling program. Nothing you need to worry about or change just yet, but thought it would be nice to share.

• A new provincial regulation means the Region of Waterloo will stop managing the recycling program
• The new recycling program will be run by a company called Circular Materials
• Program now funded by the companies that create the packaging (ie. if you're a company that sells something in Ontario with recyclable packaging, you'll start putting into this fund)
• No direct changes to note for residents as of yet, business as usual (although I'm sure there will be some changes coming down the line - I've heard about the possibility of more/bigger bins and it going to bi-weekly)
• You can read more about it on the regions website here

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

If you were giving a 'secret tour' of Waterloo Region, what's one quirky or hidden spot (not a major tourist attraction) you would have to include? 🤔

Hit reply to this message to let me know and I'll share some of the best responses next week!

RANDOM FACTS OF THE DAY

🐾 Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. If you were to shave a tiger, the stripe patterns would still be visible on their skin, and no two tigers have the exact same pattern - it's like a fingerprint.

🍌 Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not. Botanically, a fruit is classified as a berry if it develops from a single flower part. A banana fits this description. A strawberry, however, develops from a single flower but uses multiple parts of that flower, which means it is classified as an aggregate fruit, not a true berry.

👑 In Scotland, the national animal is the unicorn. The mythical creature was first adopted as Scotland's national animal in the 15th century because it symbolizes purity, power, and independence.

THANK YOU!

Hope you're having the best day and we'll see you Thursday. 🐝

​

INFO STATION:

❌ Had enough of these emails? No hard feelings, just tap this link to unsubscribe.

😩 Did someone forward you this email? And now you're wondering how to get in on the action? Say less friend, tap here to sign up for yourself: grandriverbuzz.ca/signup​

📖 Do you have an event, funny story or meme about the region you want to share? Hit reply to this email and let me know what you've got to be featured in an upcoming email!

👋 Have a thought, comment or feedback about the newsletter? Or maybe you just want to tell me a random joke.. whatever it is, I love getting replies and try to respond as often as possible. Reach out whenever you'd like by hitting reply.

📢 Think someone you know would love this email? Forward this to them to spread the love.

❤️ Feeling extra generous and loving? Shout us out on your favourite social media platform using this link: https://grandriverbuzz.ca/signup - it really helps spread the word!