All city events

New Year's Eve (December 31)

Skate Night Date Night (Wednesdays in January and February)

Skate along to the amazing tunes spun live by an onsite DJ at the uptown rink every Wednesday in January and February from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Winterloo (January 27)

Winterloo is an annual, free festival for all ages that hosts winter-themed activities in uptown Waterloo. More information will be available on the Winterloo website.

World Poetry Month (April)

This social media project will feature the work of literary artists and their poems on the City of Waterloo’s Arts and Creative Industries teams social media pages, Create Waterloo, throughout the month. Applications will be open in early 2024. This is a paid opportunity.

Art Market (May-August)

Art Market features artists, crafters, and makers from Waterloo and surrounding area selling outside at the Waterloo Public Square.

The market runs 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

• May 31
• July 26
• August 30

Additional Art Markets will be held at Open Streets (June 15) and the July 1st Community Picnic (July 1).

Vendor applications will open in early 2024.

Campfire (May-August)

Bring a blanket or your favourite hoodie and head uptown!  Gather around the campfire in Waterloo Public Square with friends and neighbours for local music, games and more. Second Wednesday of the month from May-August from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

• May 8
• May 22
• June 5
• June 19
• July 10
• July 24
• August 7
• August 28

Movies In The Park (June-August)

Hosted in Waterloo Park near the Bandshell, bring a blanket and watch movies on the big outdoor screen! Movies begin at sundown. Dates TBA.

Movie nights are brought to you in partnership with Princess Cinemas and The Beat Goes On and in support of the Waterloo Region Food Bank. If possible, please consider bringing a non-perishable food item to donate on these dates.

Open Streets (June 15)

Open Streets returns to the streets in uptown Waterloo in 2023. Join us in June for a fun-filled day that will take over Willis Way. Watch live performances from KWBreakers, mural painting, browse through the art market, and join in on the fun and games. The event runs 12:00 P.M to 6:00 P.M. 

National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21)

June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. This day recognizes the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples, communities and nations.

The City of Waterloo has been marking this occasion for the past six years by partnering with local Indigenous artists who creates and installs original art pieces on the surface of the Waterloo Public Square. These artworks serves as a visual reminder of the territory and land on which the city was founded.

For 2023, Maddie Resmer, of Western Sky Designs, created the mural. Resmer made a video discussing the significance of this year’s mural design and their recognition of the day.

July 1 Community Picnic (July 1)

The City of Waterloo will be commemorating Canada Day on July 1, 2023 in Waterloo Park with a community picnic, artist showcase and food trucks. The event runs 4:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.

View more information on our web page.

Day of Play (August 10)

Waterloo's own pop-up drive in is back! This event has limited space and spots are on a first come first served basis. Attendees can arrive anytime after 7:30pm and movies will begin after the sun sets. Located at 510 Dutton Drive in Waterloo. 

• April 28: Back To The Future (1985) CANCELLED due to weather.
• May 19: Back To The Future (1985) CANCELLED due to weather.
• September 15: CANCELLED
• October 19: CANCELLED

City of Waterloo invites the public to come enjoy these creative, unique, and vibrant picnic tables featured in the Neighbourhood  Picnic Table Program.

In 2021, in partnership with the City of Waterloo's Neighbourhoods team, Create Waterloo commissioned 18 local artists to create custom artwork on picnic tables located in one of six community gardens throughout Waterloo. In 2022, another 12 tables were added to the collection in four new neighbourhood parks. In 2023, an additional nine artists painted picnic tables in three more neighbourhood parks throughout Waterloo.

 View each picnic table and its location on our online map.

• Heasley Park: Sharon Ye, Tara Nix, Kate Short
• Pinebrook Park: Lupita Guerrero, Lucy Lan, Christie Shen
• Haida Park: Kate Hernden, Esther Slevinsky, Chrissy Kuiack
• Patchwork Community Gardens EMS Site: Chanel Leong, William August Swinson, Baz Kanold
• St. Moritz Park: Ekaterina Abesheva, Kavita Saini, Mayah Moosajee
• Sundew Park: Moumita Rowchowdhury, Aoe Girard, Tara Cooper
• Laurelwood Park: Jason Panda, Danielle Petti, Esther Slevinsky
• Roselea Park: Ashley Guenette, Aoe Girard, Madeline Belford
• Glen Acres Park: Tanner van Vliet, Kate Short, Lori Zenker
• Anndale Park: Sophie Corbett, Kat Hernden, Donia Liu Neekman
• West Wind Park: Isabelle Boucher, Denise Derbez, Hilary Wright
• Old Post Park: Shannon Stehr, Jillian Belkwell, Tanner Van Vliet
• Brighton Park: Ella Dowhaniuk, Kat Herden, Elizabeth Campbell

Trail Mix is an auditory accompaniment for Waterloo trails. 

• Step #1: Select your favourite local Waterloo trail
• Step #2: Strap on some hiking shoes/boots
• Step #3: Find the hidden QR codes along the trail
• Step #4: Use your phones camera to scan the QR code
• Step #5: Put on your headphones and listen to the Trail Mix!

Trail Mix is currently being updated. Stay tuned for updates.

Are you an artist that wants to be featured on a Trail Mix? Sign up to be on the Artist Roster.

Scan the QR code featured on the kiosk or the trailer in the Waterloo Public Square. The playlist features local artists and will be changed multiple times throughout the year.

Now playing: Volume 2 (updated January 2022)

Featured artists: Tanya Rivero, Gareth Bush, Kennen, The MacQueens

The Waterloo Park Art Walk is an outdoor exhibit that stretches though Waterloo Park from Caroline Street to Seagram Drive. 

The Art Walk features the work of 24 local artists selected by a jury to be part of the program. Each of the 24 pieces makes reference to the nature, scenery, and/or landscape of the park. 

Participating 2023 artists: Alex Bray, Anna Buhr, Aoe Girard, Asli Alin, Boris Biberdzic, Buuchau Chau, Caitlin Durbin, Casey Pisula, Christina Vogiatzis, Conan Stark, Donia Liu Neekman, Ellie Anglin, faki kuano, Hope Flynn, Jenny Hu, Kim Collins, Laura Zikovic, Madeline Belford, Maeve Hind, Natalie V. Bochenska, Onie Tam, Simone Cotrell, Soroush Dabiri, Tanner van Vliet

Lumen Lite

A physically distanced festival where light, art & tech meet two metres apart.

More information available on our Lumen Lite webpage. 

The Community Happiness Project connected community members by sharing messages of hope, positivity, welcoming, and connectivity from participants across Waterloo. Messages were submitted online or through our Kindness Phone Hotline and then placed on signs throughout the city with QR codes for people to listen to the messages.

The signs have now been taken down, but you can still listen to the messages and see the accompanying artwork for each sound.

Five poems in five days.

In honour of World Poetry Day (Monday March 21), the City of Waterloo invited artists to respond to an open call to participate in Create Waterloo's World Poetry Day social media project.

This project features the work of local literary artists and their poems being promoted on the City of Waterloo’s Arts and Culture team’s social media pages, Create Waterloo, throughout the week of March 21. In addition to their poems, the selected artists also participated in an Artist Spotlight video where they had the opportunity to introduce themselves and discuss their work.

See the social media posts on Create Waterloo's Instagram account.