What's happening during the long weekend in Waterloo Region and beyond?
World in a Weekend: International Puppet Festival
When: Thursday, July. 31 – Monday, Aug. 4 (various hours)
Where: Various locations throughout Stratford, Ont.
International puppeteers have arrived in Stratford. Watch as they bring colourful and creative characters to life, one string at a time. The International Puppet Festival is taking place at various locations throughout Stratford, Ont. and includes a mix of free and ticketed events.
Waterloo Rib & Beer Fest
When: Friday, Aug. 1 – Sunday, Aug. 3 (various hours)
Where: RIM Park (2001 University Avenue East, Waterloo)
People wanting to tempt their tastebuds over the long weekend can head to RIM Park for Waterloo Rib & Beer Fest. Aside from meaty morsels, event goers can also catch some live music and enjoy the kids' zone.
Ontario Pirate Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 2 – Monday, Aug. 4 (11 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily)
Where: Marden Park (7368, Wellington County Road 30, Guelph)
Hoist the Jolly Roger, grab your treasure map and prepare for a rollicking good time as the Ontario Pirate Festival returns to Guelph. Swashbucklers and landlubbers alike can wander through the pirate village of Dry Bluffs, perusing merchants and craftspeople, watching live performances and immersing themselves in the pirate's life.
Sunflower Fest
When: Aug. 2, 3, 4 and 7, 8, 9, 10
Where: Brantwood Farms (251 Powerline Road, Brantford)
Summer is in full bloom at Brantwood Farms as Sunflower Fest kicks off over the long weekend. Guests are invited to enjoy the beauty of the golden fields, take a wagon ride, pick sunflowers and, of course, grab a few photos.
Tree for Three at Mill Race Park
When: Sunday, Aug. 3 (7 p.m. – 8 p.m.)
Where: Mill Race Park (36 Water Street North, Cambridge)
Music lovers are invited to enjoy an evening of free music in Mill Race Park as Tee For Three brings their traditional folk music to Cambridge. Event goers should bring a lawn chair or a blanket so they can sit back and enjoy the tunes from England, Fance and beyond.
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Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Film producer Debbie Nightingale co-founded the documentary festival Hot Docs
Debbie Nightingale produced movies and television shows before a personal plot twist led her to become a goat farmer. Over time, her Ontario farm became a popular tourist attraction. Ms. Nightingale, who has died at 71, was a prominent member of the Canadian film and television industry whose many credits included co-founding a documentary festival now known as Hot Docs. In a career lasting more than three decades, she served as executive producer for the documentary Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story, a 2013 documentary about the Winnipeg-born comedian, as well as for the 2010 series, Living in Your Car, a comedy about a high-flying executive convicted of fraud who tries to rebuild his life from his luxury car, for which she received a Gemini nomination. Some other notable projects include serving as producer for Chicks with Sticks, also titled Hockey Mom, a made-for-TV movie; Bailey's Billion$, about a talking golden retriever inheriting a fortune; and Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling, a feature-length documentary about trailblazers in the choreographed sport. Hot Docs returns for 'exciting new chapter' after most tumultuous year in film festival's history The latter had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto in 2004, by which time the showcase was a decade old. A group of documentary filmmakers had formed a Canadian Independent Film Caucus and one of them, Paul Jay, suggested starting a festival to finance their activities. He asked Ms. Nightingale to serve as an unpaid festival manager. 'The feeling was, 'Oh god, not another film festival.' But Paul made a compelling argument. The only thing, he told me, was that I had to raise the money,' she told Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail in 2018. 'It took six months to get about $100,000, which in 1993 was a hefty chunk of change.' Ms. Nightingale's experience running industry events, including for the Toronto International Film Festival, proved invaluable, and Hot Docs grew to become North America's biggest documentary showcase. She became executive director of Hot Docs, while also sharing her expertise by serving on other boards, including Women in Film & TV Toronto. 'Every part of the Hot Docs we know today grew from what Debbie helped establish,' the organization said in a statement released on her death. 'She recognized the importance of documentary filmmaking and providing a place where filmmakers, funders and audiences could connect. Without her, we wouldn't be here.' Even as she succeeded in her entertainment career, she dreamed of raising animals in the countryside. In 2008, she and her husband, a soon-to-retire literary agent, purchased a 25-acre (10.1 hectare) hobby farm with a Victorian farmhouse in Campbellford, about 180 kilometres east of Toronto. The property, which cost $450,000, came with three horses and 20 chickens. While she enjoyed her weekend immersion into a more bucolic lifestyle, she also soon discovered she had a limited knowledge of animal husbandry. For Hot Docs, a new leader and new vision aim to steady a beleaguered film festival 'The chickens seemed easy enough at first: all I had to was feed them, collect their eggs and clean their coop,' she wrote for Toronto Life magazine. 'That was until I walked in one day to find one lying dead. The next day, I walked in to find another dead chicken, and another the following morning. It was like a scene from The Birds – and I was convinced that I was somewhat responsible. When I called the vet in a panic, he burst out laughing. 'The thing about chickens,' he said, 'is that they live, and then they die.' They weren't spring chickens, he told me. They'd died of old age.' She moved to the farm full-time after purchasing four Nigerian dwarf goats at $100 each, juggling her day job as a film executive by e-mail while tending to the farm from dawn until well past sunset. An education in hircine care was gained through YouTube videos and word-of-mouth instruction. The addition of a buck to the herd quickly led to four pregnant does. One morning, she was greeted by a shivering kid separated from the does in the barn. 'I freaked out: whose baby was it? What if it hadn't eaten or bonded with its mother?' she wrote in Toronto Life. 'I called our breeder. 'Just pick up the baby,' she said nonchalantly. 'The mother will start screaming once you do.' She was right: As soon as I grabbed the kid, Pearl bleated bloody murder.' The couple later moved to a 200-acre (80.1-hectare) farm outside Port Hope at Newtonville, about 100 km east of Toronto, adding sheep, pigs, alpacas, miniature Icelandic horses and a mule to the menagerie. Experience in marketing movies and television programs proved invaluable in gaining a following for the farm, named Haute Goat, on social media. The farm became a popular attraction, including such scheduled events as a 'shmurgle,' during which customers spend an hour hugging, cuddling, snuggling, scratching and otherwise enjoying the playfulness of a goat herd. The farm also hosts an annual event called Goatchella. The farm includes an 18-hole disc golf course, a café called the Screaming Goat, and a shop selling products made from goat milk such as cheeses, chocolates and fudge, as well as skin-care products, including soap, lip balm and face cleansers. Deborah Esther Nightingale was born in Toronto on Oct. 14, 1953, to Helen (née Coffer) and Bernard (Buddy) Nightingale. Her Polish-born paternal grandfather was an upholsterer who repaired cinema seats before starting an office furniture manufacturing company, which became the family business. Her father eventually sold the business before working in commercial real estate. Ms. Nightingale died of a rare form of lung cancer at Northumberland Hills Hospital in Coburg, Ont., on July 10. She leaves Shain Jaffe, her husband of 27 years. She also leaves children Sarah, Leland and Noah Nightingale-Forfar; stepchildren Gita Jaffe and Meave Forfar; four grandchildren; a sister, Caron Nightingale; a brother, Ben Nightingale; and her stepmother, Margaret Nightingale. For all the early hiccups in farming, Ms. Nightingale proved an adept agriculturalist. In 2015, she and her husband received a premier's award for their products made from goat milk. At a ceremony, two Ontario MPPs presented a plaque, as well as a certificate from the Premier and a cheque from the province for $5,000. Ms. Nightingale said success depended on their goats. 'They are our livelihood and our inspiration,' she told a reporter from the Brighton [Ont.] Independent newspaper at a ceremony in which she received the award. 'Time to get going. I've got goats to feed.' You can find more obituaries from The Globe and Mail here. To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
Obsessed with Labubus? Why you may want to rethink this unboxing trend
New, Kate Bueckert 'Every trend has a shelf life,' University of Guelph marketing professor Jing Wan says They're a little cute, a little scary — and very, very trendy. Labubu dolls are one of the latest must-have items being driven by social media posts of people unboxing them. The little elf-like toy monsters were created by Japanese artist Kasing Lung and they come in boxes, so people can't tell which one they're getting when they buy them. Videos of people unboxing Labubu dolls are popular on TikTok, with people screaming happily when they get a Labubu they want, or in tears when it's one they don't want. The Chinese toy maker behind Labubus, Pop Mart, is forecasting a 350 per cent profit jump for the first half of 2025 as global demand for the wildly popular Labubu characters surges. Allie Luk of Ajisen Ramen understands the power of Labubu. The Waterloo, Ont., restaurant is running a promotion where they're giving away a doll each month. "The reaction's definitely been through the roof," Luk says of the Labubu doll giveaway. "We've been getting thousands and thousands of comments and tags online. We have people tagging up to even like 20 or 30 friends and families for extra entries to win." It's an obvious win for the restaurant because people are also sharing photos and videos of their food, Luk says, which is "creating a lot of buzz." While it was younger customers who understood the first giveaway, as they prepare for a second Labubu doll winner, Luk says they're seeing people of all ages taking part. "We saw this as like a really unique opportunity to be able to connect sort of with our all of our guests simultaneously across all the age groups. And it's really fun because we saw that we would be able to connect with our customers in the way that sort of goes beyond food and ramen," Luk said. Unboxing excitement similar to gambling: Expert Celebrities Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian have been spotted with Labubus, sometimes as an accessory on their bags. WATCH | Labubu maker Pop Mart forecasting a 350% profit surge: But while Labubus are the current must-have toy, some are worried about the waste they're creating — especially when some TikTok videos show people destroying or throwing out Labubus they don't want. Jing Wan, a marketing and consumer studies professor at the University of Guelph, compared the excitement of unboxing a Labubu to gambling. "You get that anticipation, hope, all wrapped up together when you're about to unbox and find out which exact model that you've pulled and you get to see whether it's maybe one of the models that you were looking for to complete your collection or maybe it's a rare version," she said. "There are actually rare Labubu dolls out there as well that are worth quite a bit of money. And so if... you think you're getting one of those, you can be quite excited." This can lead to overconsumption, Wan said. People will buy Labubus just for the rush, but they may not even want the doll they get. "Normally when we buy products, we're spending money on a specific thing that we want," Wan said. With blind boxes, "you are voluntarily spending money on things that you probably don't actually want. And so you're now buying a lot of things just simply in the hopes of getting that one thing." LISTEN | U of Guelph professor says Labubu doll excitement can lead to overconsumption, environmental concerns: Media Audio | The Morning Edition - K-W : Professor Jing Wan said the demand for specific Labubu dolls means overconsumption is a big problem. Caption: Have you heard of Labubu dolls? They're the current 'need to have' craze sweeping through TikTok and social media. Jing Wan, a University of Guelph professor, says this trend may boost people's moods but it's also hurting the environment. Open full embed in new tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. 'Creating a lot of waste' Then, there's the environmental impact of these kinds of unboxing trends. "That's creating a lot of waste," Wan said. "These dolls are made out of plastics. There's also opaque packaging that typically goes around the dolls so that even when you open the paper box, you don't know what's inside it. You can't see it. That's part of the blind box rush," she added. "That's a lot of plastic to be produced by these sorts of products where some people are actively disposing of them because they don't want them." CBC K-W reached out to Pop Mart for comment about concerns around Labubus waste but did not hear back. Trends can be 'risky business' for toy stores Philip Sullivan is sales associate at Hobby and Toy Central, an independent toy store in Kitchener. He says they don't have any plans to sell Labubu dolls for a very specific reason: trends die quickly. He says he's seen the blind box or blind bag trend with various items over the past five years, including with Lego mini figures, Playmobile characters and Hot Wheels cars. "There's always been what the industry calls chasers, where it's a one out of 500 chance of getting the one that has white wheels and collectors go crazy over that kind of thing," he said. "On the blind bags alone … we're selling a $20 item, we want to make sure that it's something that has some staying power." He added "it's risky business" to try to get in on a trend. "We've certainly been burned on the fads where if you're not in on the ground floor, you might be sitting on the stuff forever," Sullivan said. Sullivan remembers Webkinz from the early 2000s, little plush characters which also had a digital equivalent and video game you could play. The initial launch was very local and the toys were sold through independent toy stores. "Over the course of probably a year... they blew up and that exclusivity disappeared. And all of a sudden you were finding them at all the flea markets, you were finding them a drug stores," he said. "If you didn't get out [of selling them] then, then you would have been the last person on the street still trying to sell these things." WATCH | Want to know the real price of a Labubu?: Wan says it can be really easy to get up in the got-to-have-it trends of the day, but she has advice for people who can feel the excitement rising over a blind box reveal. "A lot of this is probably driven by emotions, that sense of excitement, anticipation. So I think I would like people to maybe just pause for a moment before they buy and ask themselves, what are you doing? Why are you buying this? Do you really want this?" she said. "Let yourself think through that purchase and I also want people to maybe keep in mind as well that every trend has a shelf life. So Labubus won't be the hottest thing forever and with social media, every trend is going by faster and faster so there will be a next Labubu coming up pretty soon I'm sure."
CBC
9 hours ago
- CBC
Don't let his stony gaze fool you. Hespeler Jack brings joy and awe to Cambridge, Ont., neighbourhood
Meet Cambridge's newest stoney faced sensation: Hespeler Jack 5 minutes ago Duration 3:27 A new resident is turning heads in a Cambridge, Ont., neighbourhood. Hespeler Jack stands out for a number of reasons. He's got a quirky fashion sense, a growing fan base and, obviously, a set of rock hard abs. The grey stone statue of a boy stands only about two feet tall or 60 cm. He's located in the Hespeler neighbourhood, at the corner of Adam Street and Rife Avenue. The little figure mysteriously appeared on a traffic island one day. Since then, neighbours like Jennifer Beattie have been jazzing him up with new outfits. "He just looked cold sitting over there, just concrete on a plain median. So I put a little bandana on him," she said, recalling the first time she saw Hespeler Jack in her neighbourhood. "The next day I saw him sitting there and I thought, 'Oh no, he needs some sunglasses,' so I put the sunflower sunglasses on him and that seemed to be the beginning of it." Beattie says she's seen numerous people cross over to the traffic island just to make a donation to Hespeler Jack's growing wardrobe or take a family picture with him. Her husband, Kent Beattie, says he thinks Hespeler Jack first appeared the night of the Hespeler Village Music Festival around July 6. "It's just a small town at heart still. Hespeler is still a small town and [Hespeler Jack] brings everyone together," he said, adding that sometimes the statue gets 10 visitors an hour. A local celebrity with his own Google Maps page Tim Hughes just moved in to the neighbourhood of Hespeler a few months before Hespeler Jack moved in right next to him. Despite Jack's stone-cold expression, Hughes has managed to maintain a pretty good relationship with his new neighbour. "He's pleasant and doesn't have anything bad to say about anybody. Always dresses nicely and really brings a sense of vibrancy to the community ... lacking a little bit in the footwear department, so maybe [I will add] some flippers or something like that," Hughes said. "It adds to the overall community presence and and just the vibrancy and friendliness of the neighbourhood." Ashley Lansink is the director of marketing at Explore Waterloo Region, an online resource that helps highlight exciting things happening all across the region. She says she was excited to feature the stone figure on their social media pages. "When we first came across Hespeler Jack, we knew it was a really fun story that was quirky and felt like Waterloo region," she said. "Seeing that Hespeler Jack is now a destination on Google Maps and people are writing reviews of their experience with him just shows the impact he's having is going beyond the neighborhood of Hespeler. We've been having a lot of fun with it and we know that residents and visitors to Waterloo region are really enjoying him as well."
