Latest news with #ErickTraplin
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Annual KidsPark event brings family-friendly entertainment to Kitchener park
Kids seen jumping on a bouncy castle in this undated stock photo (Lukas/Pexels). KidsPark, an annual free event dedicated to family-friendly fun, brought games, performances and activities to Kitchener's Victoria Park on Sunday. The event came back to the park for its 37th year. Attendees could enjoy a variety of food, bouncy castles, sports and other games and performances from local talents like Erick Traplin, as well as tribute artists for Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. The Food Bank of Waterloo Region was also at the event accepting non-perishable foods for donation. The event ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Annual city festival aims to cherr-ish community
The annual Cherry Festival returned to Kitchener for its 15th year on Saturday. The festival takes place in Cherry Park, tucked away in the middle of a neighbourhood. 'What better way to celebrate? We have a Cherry Park then to have a Cherry Festival,' said Shirley Gosselin, the past-president of the Cherry Park Neighbourhood Association. The festival one of the events the association runs every year. They've been doing so since 2008, only skipping two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We emphasize a lot about volunteering and giving back to the community,' said Gosselin. 'So, we have smaller events, which are just for our neighborhood but we wanted one event that was for the whole city.' Gosselin said the festival usually brings around 4,000 to 5,000 people to the park to enjoy cherry-flavoured desserts and other food for attendees to purchase and enjoy. The event also had various entertainment including live music, performances by local children's musician Erick Traplin, inflatable attractions, a swing carousel, a pie-eating contest, a vintage car show and a centre stage for wrestling. 'We like to say we have something for all ages,' said Gosselin. 'A lot of people bring their own picnic and just enjoy the music so they're not spending any money and other people come and buy their lunch and go to the vendors. So, there [are different] ways to spend your whole day here.' Spencer Merino is a local of the area who has been to Cherry Park but never to the festival. 'They put up signs around the city, and I heard about it,' he said. 'Me and my sisters seemed interested in it, so we invited our friends out to come and watch.' Merino said these kinds of events are important. 'I think taking part in community things is fun,' he said. 'Making friends in the community and showing that we are a community, all that is good and it's a good place to meet people in your city.' Gosselin said knowing your community and neighbours can help foster healthy relationships. 'I want to live in a neighborhood where people know one another and watch over one another's places,' she said. 'I see people come every year, and they stop and they're talking and they haven't seen each other since the previous year… They look forward to it.' Gosselin explained how the festival is run by volunteers who are passionate about togetherness. 'We have over 100 volunteers, helping make this event run as smoothly as we can,' she said. 'We like to create these festivals and things that the neighbors do that makes our city a welcoming place that people want to live in. You don't want a place where people just go into their house and lock their doors. Come on out, enjoy the park.'
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Kitchener celebrates children's entertainer Erick Traplin
Local icon and musician Erick Traplin was honoured in his very own 'Erick Traplin Day' in at city hall in Kitchener for 35 years in children's entertainment.
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Local legend Erick Traplin honoured in downtown Kitchener celebration
Kitchener Watch Local icon and musician Erick Traplin was honoured in his very own 'Erick Traplin Day' in at city hall in Kitchener for 35 years in children's entertainment.
Hamilton Spectator
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
St. Marys Friendship Centre highlights opportunities for intergenerational connection this Seniors Month
As the St. Marys Friendship Centre gears up for its next intergenerational program, a concert featuring children's entertainer Erick Traplin at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) June 6, St. Marys senior services manager Jenny Mikita reflected on why fostering connections between generations can be so positive. The upcoming concert, scheduled on a PA Day for local schools and set to begin at 9:30 a.m., is yet another event planned in partnership by the Friendship Centre and St. Marys' EarlyON Centre aimed at fostering connections between seniors and young children. 'It's a free event. We're encouraging our population to come – bring your grandkids – and EarlyON is encouraging their families to come, so we hope to have a good turnout for that,' Mikita said. ' … That intergenerational piece just brings joy to people.' The idea behind hosting events for seniors and young children came about naturally thanks, in part, to the myriad groups and programs hosted for a diverse range of ages within the walls of the PRC. While the Friendship Centre caters mostly to older adults, the EarlyON Centre offers free, high-quality programming for children from birth to six years old and their families. In many cases, there is overlap in both the time slots and spaces used for the programming offered by both centres. 'EarlyON actually has a Baby Time program; it's held on Thursday mornings. We run all different programs in all different spaces at all different times, but at that particular time in our main hall, drop-in coffee area, we're running a program called ROMEO – Retired Outstanding Men Enjoying Ourselves,' Mikita said. 'It's just really a coffee time. The purpose of ROMEO is really to draw older men out of their homes because sometimes there needs to be genders for specific programming for specific groups, so that's a group of retired individuals. Some of them are farmers, some of them are professionals; they get together and they enjoy coffee and social. They're supposed to come for fitness and then stick around and have coffee, but they come for coffee first and then have fitness. ' … So, during that time, about a year ago, EarlyON started bringing their families – their caregivers with their young ones, and young is usually under the age of 18 months – over to the main hall. In the main hall at the time, it was the ROMEO group and then other people having coffee, and they'd just literally come over, socialize and connect. And we've seen wonderful connections; like long-term-relationship connections between some of the EarlyON families and some of coffee friends here.' A few of those relationships were so strong, when one of the EarlyON families moved away, they kept in touch with their new friends from the Friendship Centre. And after a programming change briefly ended the visits by EarlyON families, the ROMEO members told Friendship Centre staff they missed their weekly connections with the babies and their families. 'Babies make you feel good when they're not crying, right?' Mikita said. 'We have heard, 'I don't see my grandkids as much as I'd like to.' It's nice to have interactions like that. Providing an outlet for grandparents and grandchildren or caregivers and young ones or different age groups to interact with one another is educational and heartwarming for both the young and the older.' Mikita says the Friendship Centre and EarlyON Centre partners every chance they get to organize programs that have mutual benefit for both young ones and seniors. Beyond the concert on June 6, the centres are in the early stages of planning a grandparents' day in the fall and staff hopes to continue planning similar intergenerational events once or twice a year going forward. For more information about the Friendship Centre and all the wonderful programs and services it offers for seniors, visit . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
