Since the pandemic, recreation managers across Kitchener-Waterloo are noticing a sustained increase in the number of people participating consistently in arts and crafts programming. Radio Waterloo spoke with programming managers for the City of Waterloo, City of Kitchener and the Kitchener market, who all had similar observations: Whether it’s for seniors during the day, the general public in the evenings, or the delivery of solo crafting kits to peoples’ homes, more and more people across both cities seem drawn to taking up a craft in the last two years since programs started opening up after the pandemic. While some thought an interest in crafting might be temporary, the trend seems to be growing, not shrinking.
There are about 25 neighbourhood rinks throughout Kitchener, and they are all run by volunteers who go out in the darkest and coldest time of night to keep the rinks clear and flooded. It’s not a glamorous job, but Chris Letizi, a volunteer rink coordinator for the rink at the Stanley Park Community Centre, says the role a rink plays in fostering community by providing a place for kids and families to get out and skate or for groups to play hockey, is worth it. He says finding volunteers willing to come out and do the work to keep the rinks operating is a problem all across the city and hopes more people will pitch in to share the load. Josh Joseph runs the Love My Hood program with the city and says the outdoor rink program is a decades-old program that could not run without volunteers.
