An Announcement
It’s almost September, when things settle down after all the comings and goings of the summer holiday season. This is a time for returning to our routines refreshed, and for new beginnings. I haven’t had a paid work regimen or an organization to do things with or through since the pandemic hit. I'm ready for adventure, hungry for association, and eager for some regular returns.
To that end, I’m getting set to launch, without fanfare and without having worked out every detail, an experimental weekly series of "Sandhills Parlour" conversations, starting Tuesday, September 5 from 5 - 7pm at Schneider Haus National Historic Site. The main subject will be what it means to be a resident and a citizen in central Kitchener, with emphasis on all the neighbourhoods that surround the original civic and business district, and how arts, culture and heritage fit into the picture.
The Proposition
Sandhills Parlour is a project of Home Range:__________, an as yet unincorporated organization founded in 2020 to keep some projects going that had been started during my time doing programming and development at the Commons Studio at The Working Centre, originally known as the Multicultural Cinema Club. One of those projects is Promenade, a “community radio magazine” that airs Mondays at 8pm via 98.5 CKWR, Canada’s first community radio station (past issues of the program are available here in podcast form).
“Home Range:” is the main title; the subtitle has varied: Story Kitchen; Adventures in Media; Digital Media Collaboratory; Associates in Digital Storytelling. The blank space after Home Range:________ can be filled with the name of the place where the activities happen. “Home” signifies a definitive aspect of the project: an emphasis on the local and regional dimension of the civic domain — the here and now. This is meant to be a grounded enterpise.
The field of the endeavour has broadened since I began exploring possibilities three years ago: For now, the best declaration of purpose I can think of is to establish “a do-tank for practical pursuits in the civic realm.”
The Sandhills Parlour project is intended to be practically purposeful, right here in Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, especially original Kitchener (Berlin, Ebytown, Mount Pleasant, Sandhills). This means the older parts of the city, starting with what was built on the sandy high points of the Waterloo Moraine in the middle of Block 2 of the Haldimand Tract, land granted to the Six Nations of Upstate New York in recognition of their service as “His Majesty's faithful Allies” during the American Revolution.
A “parlour” is a place to talk, to receive guests or to be a guest. The word comes from the same root as “parliament.” The main objective is conversation that is friendly, neighbourly but also purposeful. It is expected that, when the opportunity arises, there will be some parleying around concerns that are divisive, with a view towards rising above conflict and harmonizing differences, in order to clear the way for practical pursuits -- in other words, for getting down to work.
The Parlour concept is modelled on the Thursday evening "Berlin Circle" salons at the Walper Terrace Hotel that came out of Kitchener's first CulturePlan I, which was officially adopted 26 years ago. This time the impetus comes from my involvement with the Downtown Community Working Group, a task force of about 30 citizens charged with articulating “a new vision for the downtown … [including] a set of equity-based guiding principles for the next generation of community-led transformation.”
The aim is to build on what the Working Group has accomplished, with emphasis on:
-- developing a complementary vision for the constellation of heritage neighbourhoods that surrounds the city’s foundational civic, business and cultural centre;
-- developing a collateral vision for arts, culture & heritage in original city precincts, starting with the “kilometre of culture” concept from the CulturePlan I;
-- moving from vision and principles to practical, concrete action led by residents engaged with and committed to our city: What would a citizen-led Greater Kitchener Downtown “do tank” look like?
Related notions, issues and concerns likely to come up in conversations that I end up being part of include:
-- local democracy: the original city (basically, all neighbourhoods established before 1950 or so) in a city-wide, regional, provincial and federal context, with emphasis on harmony and balance;
-- addressing the gaps caused by a decades-long diminution of and absentee control over local/regional media in all forms;
-- originally and independently conceived, managed and operated local/regional businesses, and their role in creating a vibrant city with walkable, “22-minute” neighbourhoods; 100-mile supply lines; smart, sustainable development; a new, 21st-century conception of what prosperity really means;
-- mandate-based enterprise (or “non-profit”) governance, management and operational innovation;
-- intergenerational, intercultural, inter-faith, interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral and omni-partisan approaches;
-- bread, and roses too: “community beauty a civic duty”; STEM -- science, technology, engineering, mathematics -- and MACH too: maths, arts, culture, humanities;
-- truth and reconciliation; peace and love … .
The Sandhills Parlour project will begin with an experimental run of Tuesday cinq à sept gatherings held in a succession of locations moving clockwise through the quadrant formed by the intersection of King and Queen (SW, NW, NE, SE).
If everything goes according to plan, the schedule for next month could look something like this:
5 September 5pm - 7pm: Schneider Haus National Historic Site, in the backyard amphitheatre area;
12 September 5pm - 7pm: at a heritage church in the NW quadrant, like St John the Evangelist Anglican; First Church of Christ, Scientist; St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, or Church of the Good Shepherd, Swedenborgian;
19 September 5pm - 7pm: somewhere in or near the Kitchener Market complex;
26 September 5pm - 7pm: Inter Arts Matrix Courtyard work space at Globe Studios, 141 Whitney Place.
Invitation
Drop by between 5 and 7 on any Tuesday in September. Everyone is welcome. The main business of the first four Sandhills Parlour sessions will be to see if this is an idea worth developing, and if so, determine what shape it should take, and what the next steps forward will be.
As the day approaches, check the Home Range: Facebook page for up to date information regarding location, et cetera. You are also welcome to contact me at mdg131@gmail.com or 519 880 5454 (text is preferable over voicemail).
Subscribe to The Evening Muse for reports and further thoughts as the project unfolds (no pay wall; no “subscriber only” material, but we may accept donations in support of purposeful pursuits at some point in the future).
Appendix 1:
Here are the draft vision and principles distilled from the Downtown Community Working Group sessions; click here for a detailed report on the work done by the task force.
Vision
Downtown Kitchener is the inclusive, dynamic and energetic heart of the city. Together our community can thrive through vibrancy, connection and belonging.
Principles
· Vibrancy
· Connection
· Belonging
Vibrancy
The DTK community is vibrant. As our city’s economic and employment hub, our streets bustle with entrepreneurs’ unique shops, restaurants and experiences to explore. World-class cultural institutions, a burgeoning arts scene, unique places, and a diversity of lively festivals define our downtown’s identity.
Connection
The DTK community builds meaningful connections. Diverse residents come together through a shared network of dynamic public places and community spaces. Our downtown prioritizes pedestrians while providing a full range of safe and accessible transportation choices within and beyond the core.
Belonging
The DTK community is a place where everyone belongs. Thoughtful planning, sustainability and exceptional design weave new growth into the history of DTK, where complete neighbourhoods offer diverse housing forms for people at all stages of life. Our collective decisions center on inclusivity and empathy to build a welcoming, equitable and accessible downtown where everyone can thrive.
Appendix 2
from CulturePlan I (1996):
Recommendation 13: that City Council approve the creation of a Kilometre of Culture as indicated on the accompanying map [basically, a circle with one kilometre radius centred at the intersection of King and Queen]; incorporate it as appropriate into the Municipal Plan; and request appropriate involvement of Parks and Recreation, Planning and Development, Public Works and the Downtown Action Team.
C.9 This would be an area of the core where existing and future arts facilities and attractions are integrated into a lively and vibrant downtown and linked with a marked walkway and various amenities such as fountains and murals. The Centre In The Square, Kitchener Public Library, Market Village, Water Street Theatre, City Hall and Civic Square, Victoria Park Pavilion, churches, Joseph Schneider Haus are some of the existing facilities; proposed facilities include the St. Jerome's Centre for the Arts, live/work studios, artist's retirement facilities, and retail and commercial outlets with an arts and culture focus. The Kilometre of Culture is not dependent on the City funding and operating it; rather, it will become a reality through the participation of a wide spectrum of funding opportunities in the private sector, public sector, and charitable and nonprofit sector.
Recommendation 23: that City Council commend the organizers of the arts and culture Salons for the initiatives they have taken in this regard, and congratulate them on their success.
E.19 These gatherings would help to promote public interest in the arts and continue the many fruitful interactions that began during the CulturePlan process. A performance or lecture at the beginning would focus the evening; the reception time following would enable conversation about current projects and concerns among artists and persons interested in the arts. At the time of writing, three such gatherings have been held as an outcome of the CulturePlan process. Most recently, the Walper Best Western Hotel has offered to host an Arts and Letters Club each Thursday evening at 8:30 in the second floor Barrister's Lounge. Seventy people were present at the inaugural gathering on June 6 for hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, spontaneous entertainment and an atmosphere conducive to conversation.