MHBP is nestled between Downtown Kitchener and “uptown” Waterloo. Parts of us even involve the mysterious “Midtown”. Some residents might be interested in the history of Waterloo and there are several fascinating walks being presented. So for a closer look at our neighbour, here is the schedule.

MHPBNA Neighbourhood Garage Sale, June 22, 2019

It’s that time of the year again! Clear out your garages, closets, basements, storage areas!
Sort your children’s clothes and toys!

WHAT?
Mount Hope – Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association is having our annual neighbourhood garage sale.

WHEN?
June 22, 2019
Garage Sale 8 am to 1pm

WHERE?
Garage Sale – Mount Hope – Breithaupt Park area in Kitchener (see map)

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
Garage Sale – Please FILL OUT THIS FORM to add yourself as a participant to the map below! (It may take a day to get added)

Once we’re finished with the sales, everyone is invited to Duke Street Playground at 2pm for the 2nd annual Duke Street West Music Fest!

See below for the Garage Sale Map. It will be updating as more people add their locations.

We will be posting more information about these events closer to the dates. But June is a big month so fasten your seat belts!

June 9th we are co-sponsoring a Flea Market at the Breithaupt Centre. Here is what happened last year.

June 22 we will be hosting a garage sale in the morning (sign up form coming soon!) and in the afternoon the second annual Duke St. West Music Fest.

If you live in MHBP and would like to play at the DSWMF please contact us at mhbpna@gmail.com. We are putting together a list and checking it twice.

We are having our executive meeting tonight at 7 pm in room 201 at the Breithaupt Centre. All our meetings are open to the public so please drop by. We can talk about our initiatives, including our upcoming Flea Market, Garage Sale and Music Festival. Perhaps you would like to ask about a micro grant? Or talk about trees? (We are in favour of trees).

Hope to see you this evening.

By Kate Pearce (Director, Partnerships MHBPNA)

On Saturday May 4, I had the joy of leading a small group and my own family on a Jane’s Walk around the Mount-Hope side of the MHBPNA area. I was asked afterwards why I had chosen to lead a walk and plan that route. I have been on several Jane’s Walks in previous years and thought it would be fun to look at some of the existing elements in our neighbourhood and talk about what they mean to my family. And if I am being honest, I was also looking for an activity that would keep my twin 3 year olds occupied for the morning. The idea sprung to mind while I was attending the Eco Market Low Waste Pantry takeover of the Little Library at Extend-A-Family WR. I know there are many Little Libraries sprinkled across the neighbourhood and across our community, so I thought why not tour around and see what else our ‘hood has to offer for families.

For those who have never heard of Little Libraries or Jane’s Walks before, here are some details. Jane’s Walks are citizen-led walking tours that make space for people to observe, reflect, share, question and collectively re-imagine the places in which they live, work and play. Jane’s Walks happen the first full weekend in May in cities across the world. They cover themes from coffee shops, local history, art installations, social issues, sketching, and more. This year there were 39 scheduled Jane’s Walks across Waterloo Region. While walking or biking through our neighbourhood you may have noticed the little houses that sit next to the sidewalk in front of some homes. Little Libraries are neighborhood book exchanges that invite everyone to take a book or leave a book, and have been running since 2009. Our kids love checking them out as we walk around, you never know what you might find!

We were fortunate to have beautiful weather for our Wee Little Wander which began at Extend-A-Family WR. Our walk opened with an invitation to all 11 participants – share the things you like to do as we move across the neighborhood. I told the group, if you have a favourite place or activity tell us about it!

From our start we headed up Moore St. towards the Mount Hope Cemetery and talked about how many children we all knew who had learned to bike on the winding and protected paths through the cemetery. With my kids in a wagon, we rumbled up Guelph Street, heading slowly toward the Duke Street Playground. Along the way we learned about the Kitchener-Waterloo Central Art Walk happening this October 19-20, 2019 as we passed the mosaic on the corner of Waterloo Street and Duke Street West. We filled the Little Library next to the Duke Street Playground and talked about the upcoming (2nd Annual) Duke Street West Music Fest happening on June 22. It’s a free event being run by MHBPNA with lots of music, pizza and great times for everyone. Then we walked up to the Spur Line Trail entrance at Weber Street where talked about trail etiquette (stay to the right!) and then we raced the 3 year olds over to Guelph Street. We checked out the Community Gardens at the Uniroyal Goodrich Park. There were many questions about the rain collection system and barrels, and I am hopeful that everyone went home to learn some more on their own.

Next, we finished up the trail at the Ferdinand Avenue entrance where we paused to check out the Midtown Chalkboards and talk about the programs offered at the nearby EarlyOn Centre (on Roger Street). I was able to connect with the EarlyON staff who provided some details about what the center has to offer.

EarlyON Child and Family Centres offer free, drop-in programs for children, their parents and caring adults throughout Waterloo Region.  EarlyON Centres are places to engage and connect with others in the community and feel a sense of belonging. We are funded by the Ministry of Education, which means our drop in play areas, activities and onsite supports are all offered at no cost to families.

Knowing where and how to access services for your family can be a challenge. The EarlyON Child and Family Centres in Waterloo Region are a one stop hub of resources and information for families who are expecting, adopting or parenting children up until age 6. You can drop in anytime during centre hours to play, connect with other families, or talk with staff or other onsite community professionals to get answers to questions about your family’s well-being.

We can support you in connecting with specialized services throughout our through brochures, conversation and referrals. EarlyON Child and Family Centres view all children, parents and caring adults as capable and competent.  

For our last stretch as we finished our route, we wound our way up to Dekay Street and filled some more Little Libraries along the way. I think we are lucky to have so many great resources in our ‘hood and I would encourage everyone to take the opportunity to check them all out.

Go for a walk. Borrow or give a book to a Little Library. Look around and admire the art, artists and gardens that fill our neighbourhood with beauty. Talk to each other and continue to share your favourite space across MHBPNA.

A Camping Group for Seniors

Over fifty years old and looking to go camping with your peers?  You can join the senior camping group based at the City of Kitchener Downtown Community Centre on Weber Street.

We have four camp-outs between mid-May and mid-September.   We camp during the week, generally from noon, Tuesday to noon, Friday at area Grand River Conservation (GRCA) Parks.  The camping fee is approximately half the regular price for camping.

And each person must have a Kitchener Group Card at the cost of $15.61 per person, per year.  Seniors from Waterloo Region and beyond are welcome.

We also have two, general meetings, one in April and one in November.  As well, we meet for three other social events during the year.

Camping units vary from tents to motorhomes.  All are welcome.

For more information email:   kw50pluscampers.com.

Jane’s Walk is named after Jane Jacobs, an urban activist and writer who lived in New York City for many years before relocating to Toronto. Since 2007 people have volunteered around the world to lead walks in urban areas. One of the nicest parts of these walks is the chance to meet your neighbours (or people from far away) and talk about community issues.

This year, the many walks in the Kitchener / Waterloo / Cambridge areas are listed here.

One of the walk is sponsored by the Mt. Hope – Breithaupt Park Neighbourhood Association and it is described here.

Check out the list as there is something for everyone. Several occur within our neighbourhood, or within walking distance of it. But it is also exciting to join a walk in an unfamiliar area to explore Waterloo region.

For some context, and memories, here is a walk hosted by MHBPNA in 2014.

The city of Kitchener is working on developing a “Secondary Plan” for the area they call “KW Hospital – Midtown”. This includes part of the Mt. Hope section of the Mt Hope – Breithaupt Park neighbourhood.

General information about this Secondary Plan process is located on the city’s website here.

An open house describing the design process was held at the Victoria Park Pavilion on April 18th. City staff discussed how this process evolved from previous studies and consultation including PARTS (Planning Around Rapid Transit Stations) and RIENS (Residential Intensification in Established Neighbourhoods).

The open house included many helpful posters displaying the key concepts involved in this type of planning. The city will be putting up all the content from the open house soon, so it is a good idea to use the subscribe to this page feature so you can be notified about new content that is added.

The Design Charrette will be held on May 15th from 6 – 8 pm in City Hall’s Conestoga Room.

Here is the full text of the invitation from the city:

Good Afternoon Midtown Neighbours,

As part of the Neighbourhood Secondary Planning process that is currently underway for the Midtown neighbourhood—City staff will be developing a set of urban design guidelines for ‘Residential Infill in Central Neighbourhoods’.

This document will apply to all neighbourhoods within the central city area, and in addition, we hope to have a section that contains guidelines unique to each neighbourhood.   As it stands, the general guidelines have been drafted that will apply to all neighbourhoods—these guidelines will address things like building placement, setbacks, garage projects, landscaping, building design and massing, etc.

We would like to invite you to join staff in a design charrette intended to develop the unique set of neighbourhood design guidelines for Midtown.

The 2 hour design charrette will take place at the following time/location:

Wednesday, May 15th 2019 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at City Hall Conestoga Room (1^st Floor)

I’m hoping you will join planning and urban design staff to share your experience, vision and ideas for the Midtown Neighbourhood.

Your RSVP prior to May 10^th would be greatly appreciated.

Please be advised that the goals and objectives of the charrette are to explore design guidance for the public realm and local neighbourhood. Property specific zoning or other questions pertaining to individual properties will not be discussed at the meeting.

Dayna Edwards, M.PL, MCIP, RPP  
Senior Planner (Urban Design) | Planning Division | City of Kitchener
519-741-2200 ext. 7324 | TTY 1-866-969-9994 | dayna.edwards@kitchener.ca

Relevant Links:

• Current draft of Residential Infill in Central Neighbourhoods document: https://www.kitchener.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/DSD_PLAN_UDM_Design-for-Central-Neighbourhoods.pdf
• Neighbourhood Planning Review Midtown https://www.kitchener.ca/en/city-services/kw-hospital-midtown.aspx

Cookie Decorating at Relish Cooking Studio

On the sunny afternoon of December 2, families and friends from across the MHBPNA neighbourhood arrived at Relish Cooking Studios on Victoria St. for some sprinkle covered fun.

We were greeted with the delicious smell of fresh baked sugar cookies, and the kids (and adults) did not have to wait long to slather frosting on cookies and apply layers of festive sprinkles.

A batch of Basic Sugar Cookies made by the Relish Cooking Studio team.

Donna-Marie Pye, best-selling cook book author and co-owner of Relish Cooking Studios, had some tips to share with the group and suggestions on other ways to utilize the recipe during the holidays and beyond:

• To get cold butter warm enough to beat for the recipe you can grate it using a regular cheese grater
• Use proper measuring cups for wet and dry ingredients
• When measuring flour, scoop the flour from the container into your dry measuring cup and overfill it and then level it off with a flat utensil.

Sprinkles galore! A decorated cookie from the event.

In addition to using festive cookie cutters, you could also try:

• Try cutting out small circles, bake and cool. Then layer your favourite jam on a cookie and top with another for sandwich cookies.
• After cutting out small circles, instead of baking them flat on a baking sheet, fit the dough into mini-muffin trays and bake. Then fill the cookie with chocolate sauce or caramel for a treat.
• This recipe works well all year long. Try using different seasonally themed cookie cutters, or add food colouring to the frosting.

Donna-Marie and Relish Cooking Studio have shared their recipe for Basic Sugar Cookies below so everyone can enjoy some cookies over the holidays!

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough

Method…

1. In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into butter mixture in 3 additions. If necessary, knead to form smooth dough.
2. Divide dough in half; shape into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.(Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.) Let stand at room temperature until soft enough to roll out, about 15 minutes.
3. To Make Cookie Cut Outs: Between waxed paper or on lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Place cookie cutter on dough; cut to make shapes, re-rolling scraps as necessary.
4. Arrange, 1-inch apart, on parchment paper–lined rimless baking sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, in 375°F oven until edges and bottoms are light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on pans for 1 minute; transfer directly to racks to cool completely.(Make-ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container; store for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.)
5. To Make Lemon Frosting: In bowl, beat lemon juice with meringue powder until foamy and glossy, about 2 minutes; beat in icing sugar until stiff, about 4 minutes.
6. Divide icing among small bowls (you’ll need 1 bowl for each colour of icing). Using food colouring, tint each bowl to desired shade. Working with 1 colour at a time, spoon some of the icing into piping bag fitted with small plain tip; pipe outlines around edges of cookies. Let stand until dry, about 20 minutes.
7. Gradually add water to some of the icing, 1/2 tsp at a time, until mixture is consistency of molasses. Spoon onto centers of cookies; using toothpick or skewer, spread to piped edges, popping any air bubbles. Decorate with dragées, sprinkles and/or coarse sugar (if using). Let stand until dry, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies

This event was a partnership between MHBPNA and Relish. For information about partnership opportunities or other MHBPNA events please contact us at mhbpna@gmail.com.

written by Kate, Partnerships Director