Waterloo is a southwestern city in Ontario, Canada. Waterloo has a population just shy of 100 000, although during the school season the population balloons to about 115 000. It is often referred to as half of “Kitchener-Waterloo”. In actuality, Waterloo and Kitchener have separate municipal governments. Although they are geographically close, the two cities are far from similar.
While Kitchener is known as an industrial based blue collar town, Waterloo has embraced education and technology. This has helped it sustain its growth in the economic downturn. Waterloo has many attractions to entice visitors, here are a couple:
1. RIM Park: Receiving its name from one of the many high tech companies in Waterloo (Reasearch In Motion), this park facility is one of Southwestern Ontario’s finest. It includes 18 outdoor sports fields, park land, trails and even a golf course.
You could spend all day outside, or you could visit the recreation complex which is host to 4 olympic size ice rinks, an indoor turf field, 2 NBA size gymnasiums and a 10, 000 sq .ft. banquet hall. As you can see this is no ordinary park. If sports aren’t your thing, the park also hosts 4 unique art pieces and is bordered by the scenic Grand River.
2. Waterloo Entertainment Centre: Situated in the heart of uptown Waterloo it is hard to miss the entertainment centre. It is found in a beautifully restored movie theatre from the 1930’s.
No longer showing movies, this facility plays host to live performing arts. From theatre to live jazz and classical music, the Entertainment Centre has everything to please people with more highbrow taste.
3. Waterloo Busker Carnival: Waterloo is home to many festivals, they have the world’s largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany, a popular jazz event, an ice sculpture festival and many others. One of the most popular and long standing events has been their Busker Carnival. 2009 will mark the 21st year of existence of this festival.
This volunteer driven festival began in 1988 and was created to help revitalize Waterloo’s uptown core. It was a resounding success and gains popularity each year. The event showcases some of the best street performers in the country. It is the perfect event to bring the kids too – they will be thrilled by the acrobats and fire twirlers, and love the street treats and face painting. Friday and Saturday afternoons are dedicated to children.
Waterloo is a great city for all ages. If you have children they will love the events, parks and the quiet nature of Waterloo. College age people will love the clubs, schools and good time atmosphere. More mature people will appreciate how Waterloo is continually improving itself to include cutting edge architecture and high brow entertainment.
