Tree Stump Carving and other agenda items

Our neighbourhood has older trees, some of which will die in the next few years. As you walk around you can easily identify some of these trees and there are a few that have already been cut down or just have a tall stump remaining. (We learned on one of our Jane's Walks that a tree with two pink dots means it has been identified as being ready to be cut down). Some cities have turned this fact of nature into a positive element by having artists carve the trees into innovative sculptures. For example, London ON has a great website listing all their carved trees and Orangeville is famous for their carved trees as well.

A few people in our neighbourhood think it would be great if we could have a similar set of carvings. It doesn't have to be city wide (but it could be) and there are artists willing to donate their time so it doesn't need to cost very much either.

The City of Kitchener has been approached in the past about this concept (regarding trees that were on boulevards) and they informed us that decay of the roots made tree trunks unstable. They considered it a liability and were unwilling to be involved in any tree trunk art project. It is possible that we might have more success with trees that are on private property.

The MHBP Neighbourhood Mobilization Alliance meets every other month to discuss many issues in our area (By-Law enforcement, policing issues, community gardens etc.). The next meeting is Wednesday, May 18 (7 pm, City Hall) and is on the BLOG calendar. Tree Carving is one of the issues on the agenda so if you are interested in this idea, or anything else that happens in our neighbourhood, please come out to the meeting and talk with your neighbours.

Open Your Ears at OpenEars

I have had many conversations where someone has said something like "KW is ok, but there is not a lot going on, like in Toronto". This makes me get a bit fired up because there are many events that occur in this great area. In fact, with two universities and all the cultural organizations and clubs, it is often difficult to attend all the concerts, plays, films etc. that are being presented. And of  course there is the Kitchener Blues Festival and the Multi-Cultural festival and many other exciting music and cultural presentations in Victoria park. 

But one of my favourite events is the OpenEars festival which occurs every other year. It is on right now with both free and paid concerts. Their website is www.openears.ca. I encourage everyone to take in one or two events at this very special series and I highly recommend the sound installations. They are always fascinating and make you think about sound and music in very different ways. See you there!

MHBPNA Jane's Walk is Announced!

The MHBPNA Blog are pleased to announce another neighbourhood Jane's Walk for the third consecutive year. Details of the walk can be found here. It is on May 7th at 10 am (but you should still click this link because there are details of our route and highlights of the walk).

There are other walks scheduled around Kitchener and Waterloo on both Saturday and Sunday so please visit the www.janeswalk.net website for more information.

"Who is Jane?" you ask? There is information here about her life and legacy.

Please come out to the walk and tell others about it as well. In the past some people have come from other neighbourhoods just because they wanted to see a different part of the city. The best part of the walk is when neighbours talk to each other and we all learn things we didn't know when we started out.

We look forward to seeing everyone on May 7th.

MHBPNA Jane's Walk Meeting Very Soon

In the next couple of days some of us are meeting to discuss our 2011 Jane's walk through our neighbourhood. This year's walk was first announced here. If you would like to participate and share information about the neighbourhood along the way please email us at the Blog and we can include you. If you have any information you would like us to impart to the crowd, then please email that as well. Finally, if you have any ideas or requests, please send them in.

When we have a time, date and subject matter figured out, we will post it to this Blog. Tentatively, we will have our Jane's Walk on May 7, 10 am so put that in your calendars and stay tuned to this station!