City of waterloo neighbourhoods: strong and connected.

Great neighbourhoods start with you!

Community starts right at your doorstep. Say hello, check in or lend a helping hand - these small gestures help create a vibrant and supportive Waterloo.

If you want to take it further, consider hosting an event for your neighbourhood to build even more connections. Many neighbours tell us these gatherings help them meet people they might not otherwise cross paths with, helping them feel more connected to the community.

If you're interested in planning an event for your neighbourhood, here are three steps to get started!

Reply to this email and connect with our neighbourhoods team to brainstorm your idea.
Take a look at the gathering spaces map to find the perfect space in your neighbourhood to host your initiative!
Apply to the mini grant and receive up to $300 to put towards your neighbourhood event!

Neighbours gathered indoors, standing and sitting.

Get involved

Help bring art to your neighbourhood!

Our Artists in Neighbourhoods grant is now open! This program connects neighbours with local artists to create something magical for the neighbourhood.

Expressions of interest are open until March 31 and you could receive up to $5,000 towards a community art project in your neighbourhood!

Learn more about Artists in Neighbourhoods

More ways to get involved

Lunchtime volunteer drivers needed! If you're available between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on weekdays, please consider volunteering to drive seniors to and from the lunch program at the Community Pavillion on Father David Bauer Drive.
Get your neighbours together and celebrate Earth Day by organizing a community park clean-up! Registration closes April 16.

🙂 Smile corner 🙂

Say hello to Millie! A silly 6-year-old kitty that loves to sit outside and watch the squirrels run around the yard. As she patiently waits for warmer weather to come around, she spends her time snuggling in her bed and playing with her toys. Millie wants to remind everyone that sunny days are coming, and she can't wait to watch people from the balcony again soon.

Share with us something in your neighbourhood that makes you smile! Submit a photo and caption by emailing us.

Get inspired

Indoor and outdoor winter neighbourhood events!

Neighbours in Waterloo have found creative ways to connect this season, both indoors and outdoors!

Group of people behind a table with snacks and disco lights in back

It takes two to tango… or a whole neighbourhood to party! Lakeshore South hosted a Valentine's Day dance party - there was dancing, music and snacks for everyone to enjoy.

This event was supported by a mini grant - apply and do something similar in your neighbourhood!

The recent snowstorm created the perfect opportunity for neighbours to make snow sculptures and creatures together.

This idea was led by youth and their family members. It's a great example that neighbourhood ideas and connections can start at any age!

Neighbourhood kindness

A neighbour wrote in...

"With all this snow this winter, Bryce has gone above and beyond—he’s practically the unofficial neighbourhood snowplow. Clearing driveways for multiple neighbors, multiple times a day! If there was a trophy for snow removal, he’d be dusting it off... just before clearing more snow."

Have a great neighbour like Bryce that you want to thank? Nominate them for our Neighbourhood Kindness program and we'll send them a thank-you package and enter them to win a $20 Uptown BIA gift card.

Nominate a kind neighbour

Get in the know

The Spring 2025 ActiveWaterloo Guide is here!

The ActiveWaterloo guide is now available on our website.

What’s NEW this spring?

Dance Mixx for youth and adults
Adult power skating clinics
Montessori Sensory Play for preschoolers
CAN-BIKE programs
Returning: summer camp, power skating clinics, skate academy learn to skateboard, spring and June daily swim lessons

City program registration opens on

March 4 (summer camps), March 6 (active living, including fitness) and March 20 (swim) for spring.

CARL sport leagues now registering.

More things to know!

Get outside with neighbours to enjoy another skate at your local outdoor rink! The rinks will stop operating mid-March as the weather warms up. Please thank your local rink team for their hard work and dedication; these spots for skating and hockey would not be possible without them. We'll see you on the ice next winter!

Gather your neighbours for a free community skate on March 9 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Waterloo Memorial Complex.

Know a senior in your community that is making a difference? Nominate them for the Senior of the Year Award! Nominations close March 31.

Spectrum Waterloo Region's Rainbow Community space offers a variety of programs and services, check out their website for more information.

Learn more about reporting Hate Incidents or Discrimination: involving Islamophobia, Racism, Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Waterloo Region has a long history of welcoming refugees and refugee claimants. Immigration Waterloo Region shares information on community support for refugees living in our region.

March Diversity Calendar

March 01: Zero Discrimination Day

March 01: Self-harm Awareness Day

March 07: Employee Appreciation Day

March 08: International Women’s Day

March 13-14: Purim

March 14: Holi

March 15: International Day to Combat Islamophobia

March 17: Saint Patrick’s Day

March 20: Nowruz / Norouz (Bahá’í / Zoroastrian / Iranian / Persian New Year)

March 20: Spring Equinox

March 20: Ostara / Eostre / Spring Equinox

March 20: International Francophonie Day

March 20: International Day of Happiness

March 20: Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQQIA+ Awareness to Celebration Day

March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 21: World Down Syndrome Day

March 22: World Water Day

March 24: International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

March 25: Feast of the Annunciation

March 26: Laylat al-Qadr (Shiʿah)

March 26: Khordad Sal

March 26: Purple Day

March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility

February 28 - March 29: Ramadan

March 17 – 23: Neurodiversity Celebration Week

March 03 - April 19: Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Orthodox / Eastern)

March 14 - March 16: Hola Mohalla

Women’s History Month (International)

Irish Heritage Month (Canada)

Bangladeshi Heritage Month (Ontario)

Multiculturalism Month (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Source: Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion's Diversity Calendar

Waterloo Neighbourhoods is published throughout the year to keep residents informed about the good things happening in neighbourhoods across Waterloo. If you’re reading Waterloo Neighbourhoods as a non-subscriber, visit our subscription page to sign up for future editions.

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