May 20-22, 2010

Waterloo

With a population of 120,000, Waterloo is a growing community that offers several attractions both to its residents and its visitors.

Home to two universities and one community college, Waterloo is a student oriented city, filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, and a very lively young community. Driven by its creative and entrepreneurial students, Waterloo has become home to many technology-leading companies, including RIM, OpenText, Google, and AGFA. In fact, Waterloo was named the World's Top Intelligent Community of 2007 by the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF).

Waterloo and its neighbour city Kitchener offer many attractions and activities to learn, have fun, and relax. Cultural highlights include the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, as well and art performances in the Centre in the Square, and in the various city theaters. The Univerisity of Waterloo itself hosts various museums, including the Brubacher House, the Earth Sciences Museum, and the Optometry Museum of Visual Science. The newly opened City of Waterloo Museum exhibits the City's Heritage Collection of over 10,000 artefacts.

Throughout the year, the Waterloo-Kitchener area is home to several festivals and events, like the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, the Waterloo Busker Carnival, the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural festival, the Elmira Maple Syrup festival, and of course, Oktoberfest, the world's largest Oktoberfest celebration outside of Germany.

Any visitor to Waterloo should experience the St. Jacobs Farmer's market. Hosted by St. Jacob's Mennonite community, the market offers fresh produce from across Ontario and local gardens, in a rural and lively environment. For a complete experience, you can reach the market by a short train ride aboard the Waterloo Central Railway's heritage train, which runs on market days from Uptown Waterloo to St. Jacobs with a stop at the Farmer's market.

For more information about the city and its attractions, visit: