April 27th, 2026

Good Afternoon, Waterloo Region!

I'd like to ask for your help in growing the newsletter.

There's a goal in mind for the number of subscribers & we're almost there!

So I'm running a giveaway. And you get the chance to win gift cards, just for sharing the signup link.

Details below in the 'Community Growth' section. And shoot me an email if you have any questions.

In today's email:

• an awesome, free walking tour coming soon!
• some great Korean BBQ
• local sports playoff updates
• a fun, retro workshop
• where the @ symbol came from
• & more

Let's dive in 👇

-Ross at Grand River Buzz

WHAT'S HAPPENING

General

​​​Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience​​ | Centre in the Square, Kitchener | Tue, Apr. 28th, Wed, Apr. 29th & Thu, Apr. 30th at 7pm | "This critically acclaimed, immersive 2-hour theatre production combines side-splitting comedy with a delicious 3-course dinner. Step into the mayhem as Basil, Sybil, and Manuel bring the iconic British sitcom to life with their hilarious antics - all while you enjoy your meal."

Tuesday, April 28th

​Digital Policy Hub April 2026 Research Conference | CIGI Campus, Waterloo | 9am-5:30pm | "This full-day event will feature panel presentations from the Hub’s current cohort, who will share insights on the program’s core research themes, showcasing the work developed over the course of their fellowship term. Free to attend, just reserve your spot."

Wednesday, April 29th

​Trivia Night: That's So 2006 | TWB Brewing, Kitchener | 7pm | "From blockbuster movies and iconic TV moments to unforgettable hits, a lot went down two decades ago. Grab your crew and get ready for a totally throwback showdown — it’s time to prove you still remember it all."

​Blissful Bao Making Class | Counterpoint Brewing, Kitchener | 7pm | "Come join us for a fun and interactive Bao Making Class! Learn how to make these delicious steamed buns filled with a tasty crispy chicken and crunchy veggies."

​Rusty Nail Comedy: PRO AM Night | TWH Social, Kitchener | 8pm | "Only $5 for a great night of laughs!"

Thursday, April 30th

​​St. Jacob's Market Food Tour​​ | 9:30am | "Join us for a guided journey through Mennonite food, culture and history, tasting the best local vendors at the famous St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market."

​​Salsa & Bachata Latin Night​ | Rare Nightclub, Waterloo | 6pm | "We’ll start the evening with a 30-minute beginner dance lesson, designed especially for first-timers. After the lesson, enjoy social dancing with great salsa and bachata music until 10:00 PM."

​Sobreviviendo Canadá: Stand Up Comedy Latino | TWH Social, Kitchener | 6:30pm

​​Darts Night​ | TWB Brewing, Kitchener | 7pm | "Come out for a fun and friendly evening of darts. Partners rotate after each game of '501'. All levels are welcome."

​Musical Bingo: Classic Rock | E.V.O. Kitchen, Cambridge | 7pm | "Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Doors… you know where we’re headed with this!"

​Step Afrika! | Centre in the Square, Kitchener | 8pm | "Step Afrika! celebrates more than 30 years of critically acclaimed percussive performance with this groundbreaking program. The production features exciting new dance works alongside a performance shaped and refined through the Company’s long-standing collaboration with South Africa."

Upcoming Events

​Waste Discovery Day | Waterloo Waste Management Site | Sat, May 9th from 9am-1pm

• Free, fun, and family-friendly
• The region invites the community to learn what happens after carts are collected during Waste Discovery Day
• Featuring family-fun attractions including guided bus tours of the Waterloo landfill, a falconer meet and greet, face painting, mint planting, children’s games, a food truck, and a look at some of the equipment used in waste management.

​Grand River Buzz Upcoming Events Page​

Library Events

Fun, family-friendly and free. Click below to see what's happening at your local branch this week!

• ​​Kitchener Public Library​​
• ​​Waterloo Public Library​​
• ​​Cambridge Public Library​​
• ​Region of Waterloo Library​ (Branches in Ayr, Baden, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Clyde, Elmira, Linwood, New Dundee, New Hamburg, St. Clements, St. Jacobs and Wellesley)

Community Centres

The region's community centres are excellent ways to access fun & affordable/free programs and activities. They have a ton of things to do for kids & teens, and they've got some great adult & senior programs as well!

• ​Kitchener​
• ​Waterloo​
• ​Cambridge​

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

LOCAL NEWS

Region Update: Making Decisions That Matter (April 2026)

• Community collaboration leads to new Conestogo River pedestrian bridge
• Work to begin on new Scheifele Bridge
• Expanding Fischer-Hallman to improve traffic capacity
• New traffic controls and signage will help people move safely
• Seeking new partnerships to advance Mooregate housing project

You can read more about each of the plans here.

Elmira poet's new book inspired by her journey leaving Mennonite community - CBC News​

Forget the Hitchhiker’s Guide – here’s a real map of the universe - UofW​

'A welcome change': 2nd GO train from Toronto to Kitchener added on weekday mornings - CBC News (train starts today!)

WEATHER

🌤️ Mon, Apr. 27th | HIGH 18° | NIGHT 11° | 10% POP

🌧️ Tue, Apr. 28th | HIGH 18° | NIGHT 6° | 100% POP | 5-10mm 💧

🌧️ Wed, Apr. 29th | HIGH 9° | NIGHT 2° | 70% POP | 2-4mm 💧

🌤️ Thu, Apr. 30th | HIGH 9° | NIGHT 0° | 30% POP

SPORTS

🥅 Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

Kitchener lead the Western Conference Final series 2-0 against the Windsor Spitfires (best of 7)

• 4/24: Kitchener won the first game 4-3 against Windsor in OT | #23 Sam O'Reilly was the first star - chipping in the game winning goal and an assist | Watch Highlights​
• 4/26: Kitchener beat Windsor 2-1 at the Aud | #65 Christian Kirsch had an immense night in goal, saving 27 shots | Watch Highlights​
• Next Game: Mon, Apr. 27th | Game 3: Kitchener at Windsor | 7pm
• Next Home Game: Fri, May 1st | Game 5: Windsor at Kitchener | 7pm | *if necessary, tickets will come on sale once the game is confirmed (Windsor need to win game 3 or 4 and avoid the sweep for that to happen)

🏀 KW Titans (BSL)

KW are up 2-1 in the championship series against the Sudbury Five (best of 5)

• Next Game: Mon, Apr. 27th | Game 4: KW Titans at Sudbury Five | 7pm - with a win here, the KW Titans will capture their first ever championship. If not, we'll go to the final & deciding game 5 at the Aud on Wednesday
• Next Home Game: Wed, Apr. 29th | Game 5: Sudbury Five at KW Titans | 7pm | *if necessary

⚽️ Waterloo United

Women's Ontario Premier League 1

• Their last game appears to have been postponed, as no score reports on the site (even though others on the same weekend were reporting - will update on Thursday!)
• Next Home Game: Sat, May. 2nd | Waterloo vs. Vaughan | RIM Park | 7:30pm | Tickets​​​

Men's Ontario Premier League 2

• 4/25: Waterloo drew 0-0 against Master's FA away from home
• Next Home Game: Fri, May 1st | Waterloo vs. Hamilton | RIM Park | 7:30pm | Tickets​​

* what other sports would you like to see included here? reply to let me know what you'd find useful!

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT

"Jane’s Walks are citizen-led walking tours that make space for people to observe, reflect, share, question and collectively reimagine the places in which they live, work and play.

All walks are free and you don’t need to register to attend."

• 🗓️ Fri, May 1st, Sat, May 2nd & Sun, May 3rd
• 📍 Multiple walks & locations throughout Cambridge, Kitchener & Waterloo

You can click here to find out more about the inspiration behind it all, Jane Jacobs - and the ten big ideas the initiative.

And here's the list of walks available throughout the weekend. Enjoy!

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHT

"Step into the Retro Remix Studio and turn a piece of gaming history into your own remix! In this guided, hands-on session, you’ll carefully take apart an original Nintendo controller and transform into your very own NES-inspired Remix featuring your favourite characters from the iconic console."

An awesome way to create something unique for yourself or a loved one - especially if you're into anything retro or video games in general.

• 🗓️ Multiple dates starting May 14th
• 📍 Retro Remix Studio @ Gaslight District

To find out more details and register click here. You'll also be able to see some cool videos of exactly what you'll be creating!

And you can also check out Retro Remix's shop here too - I love the Game Gear Sonic piece - pure nostalgia 👌

* this is not a sponsored placement, but comes from a GRB reader. ads will always be made obvious if so.

FOOD & DRINK IN THE REGION

​Daldongnae Korean BBQ | 51 King St N, Waterloo | 4.6 stars across 1,251 Google reviews

Dinner and a show rolled into one. You fire up a tabletop grill and cook premium marinated meats yourself, while cheesy corn and egg crust bubble away in little side compartments built right into the surface. It's interactive, it's loud, it smells incredible, and honestly? It's just really fun. The meat quality is legitimately impressive, the energy in the room is contagious, and it's the kind of meal that turns a Tuesday night into something worth remembering.

Go hungry. Go with people you like.

Here's a wonderful, 5 star google review from Sofia a few months ago:

"We had an amazing experience at this Korean BBQ! The place itself was really nice and had a great atmosphere, but what truly stood out was our server, Jiwoo. He was extremely polite, friendly, and genuinely funny, which made the whole experience even better. Jiwoo gave us excellent meat recommendations, and they were absolutely delicious. He also changed the grill at the perfect time so we could enjoy the best flavor possible. Overall, great food, great service, and a wonderful experience. We’ll definitely be coming back!"

You can check out their menu here - which includes the 'Table BBQ', sides, lunch specials & drinks.

* this is not a sponsored placement, just came highly recommended and saw some people talking about it recently. ads will always be made obvious if so.

COMMUNITY GROWTH

As of writing, the Grand River Buzz currently sits at 799 subscribers!

Considering the first newsletter got sent to 27 people (shoutout to all you OG's!), this is huge.

But I've got a lofty goal to hit and I've been eyeing the next phase for a while now - 1,000 people receiving the Grand River Buzz every Monday and Thursday.

Naturally.. I want the list to be as large as possible - but it also helps out everyone. The more people we have in the Grand River Buzz community, the more we all get out of it. More people to recommend events, call out great community work, answer the questions of the week, share local tips & more.

All of which will give more valuable content to keep us all in the loop.

So here's the deal.

Share the Grand River Buzz on your favourite social media platform - and you'll be entered in for a chance to win a gift card.

To Enter:

• Make a post on social media about why you like the newsletter, and encourage your friends, family members, etc. to signup
• Use this link: grandriverbuzz.ca/subscribe​
• Once you've done so - reply to this email with "Posted" (I trust you so no need to send in screenshots that you've actually posted, just let me know you've done so and you're in!)

I'll then create a random draw with everyone submitted for the gift cards. (the draw will take place Sunday, May 3rd - with the winners announced the following day on the Monday newsletter)

The Prizes:

• 1st Place: $75
• 2nd Place: $50
• 3rd Place: $25

You can pick anywhere in the Waterloo Region. If they have online gift cards, I'll send the winners over via email... and if not no worries - you'd just need to provide me with your address so I can mail them out or drop them off.

First prize is the first drawn, second prize the second drawn and third prize the third person drawn.

Let's hit 1,000 Grand River Buzz members! I've got some awesome ideas in store for when we get there. (keep on the lookout for those)

Again, there's no pressure here, but if you're getting value out of the newsletter I'd appreciate it a ton.

ps. if you're not sure what to write, here's something you can copy & paste below to make things easier:

"I'm signed up to the Grand River Buzz newsletter and I think you'd love it too. Delivered every Monday & Thursday, it covers local events, news, updates & more from around the Waterloo Region. All with a positive spin, avoiding anything negative (ex. they don't talk politics, robberies, etc.) Signup at this link: grandriverbuzz.ca/subscribe"

RANDOM FACTS OF THE DAY

African Buffalo Democracy: In African buffalo herds, adult females "vote" on their next travel direction by standing up and looking toward their preferred path.The herd follows whichever direction receives the most "votes."

The Origin of the "@" Symbol: When the first network email was sent in 1971, the "@" symbol was chosen specifically because it was a rarely used character on the keyboard, which prevented it from being confused with common names or system commands. (I went down a rabbit hole with this one, apparently '@' was used for centuries in commerce to mean "at the rate of" and was on typewriters as far back as the 1880's)

Dog "Infrared" Noses: A dog's nose is thousands of times more sensitive than a human's, but recent studies suggest they can also sense thermal radiation. This allows them to "see" the heat signatures of warm-blooded animals even if they can't smell or hear them.

THANK YOU!

Hope you're having a great start to your week! See you Thursday. 🐝

ps. Make sure to enter the giveaway, it just takes a minute and really helps out!

INFO STATION:

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

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👋 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!