When you come . . .

Some places to check out in the Kitchener-Waterloo region

March 16, 2011 | Feature | Volume 15 Number 6
Mennonite Church Canada

In addition to the usual Assembly 2011 activities, local organizers have planned a number of tours of Waterloo Region, including:

  • Historic Ebytown. Engage the historical Mennonite presence in downtown Kitchener over the past two centuries. Tour the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum, whose theme for the week of July 4 to 8 is “Mennonite foodways” (food that really “schmecks!”); the Woodside National Historic Site, the childhood home of William Lyon McKenzie King; and First Mennonite Church, Kitchener.
  • The trail of the Conestoga. Family-friendly tour of Doon Heritage Village and the Waterloo Region Museum. Step back in time to 1914. Newly restored buildings, artefacts, farm animals and more.
  • Up the Conestoga. An exploration of history and culture of the Old Order Mennonites beginning at the Visitor Centre in St. Jacobs, plus a visit to an Old Order Mennonite parochial school, and a discussion with a teacher exploring the retention of a horse-and-buggy tradition while living in a modern world.
  • Up the Nith. Explore  the Nith River Valley; learn about the original 1825 Amish Mennonite settlement; encounter various Amish Mennonite groups; and visit an Amish home, quilt store and buggy shop.
  • MEDA Waterloo Chapter. Tour two businesses owned by local Mennonites: Leis Pet Distributing, a full-line distributor of pet food and accessories; and Erb Group, a transportation company with 1,200 employees servicing Canada and the U.S.
  • Six Nations of the Grand River. Visit aboriginal neighbours who offered the land to our Mennonite forebears. Enjoy the picturesque waters of the Grand River; visit the Woodland Cultural Centre, depicting the life and work of the Anishnabe and Onkwehon peoples; take a guided tour of a residential school; and see a reclamation site on the western edge of the Town of Caledonia.

Learn more about Mennonite history in the Kitchener-Waterloo region: “Meet me at the Grand!”

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