THE START OF AWESOME

...a look back at Downtown Kitchener in 2013.

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“It’s about creating a culture of entrepreneurship downtown,” Michael LittCo-founder of Vidyard and Downtown resident, Michael Litt isn’t just changing the face of Downtown, he’s changing the face of video marketing worldwide. From his office in the Simpson Block, Michael’s company was voted one of the top startups in Canada in 2013. Together with his brother Stephen, they’ve created the informal ‘Green House’ – a tech incubator on Oak Street.

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STARTUPS + ART = AWESOMEIn 2012, we introduced you to some of the amazing people, places and initiatives that are changing Downtown Kitchener. If we had to describe 2013 in just two words, it would be STARTUPS and ART. This year we’re proud to share a whole new group of change-makers. From entrepreneurs to innovators, from creative artists to sandwich artists, these are just some of the awesome people making awesome things happen right here. But what really excites us? The growing number of fusions between these areas – creative collisions between art, technology and cuisine.

Like any great new artwork or startup, greatness doesn’t happen overnight. Through challenges and success, prototyping and retooling, innovation and collaboration, they become great! Downtown Kitchener is no different. We see it happening. Together, our community is building the Downtown of the future. Here and now.

Let us show you what we’re talking about.

For the full interactive version, complete with videos, visit downtownkitchener.ca

On The Cover: Aimee & Martin Kovac Artisan Zone made their debut on King Street. This hub of creative energy features the work of Canadian artists as well as local artisans, a full photography studio and a learning space for

upcoming classes and workshops. The stunningly revitalized interior is a work of art all its own.

Cover Image © 2013 Waterloo Region Record, Ontario Canada

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2013 FOODIE TREND

The art of a great sammieIf there was one food trend that stuck out for us in 2013, it has got to be the rise of the sandwich! And these aren’t the everyday brown bag surprises you remember from grade school. We’re talking handcrafted, artisan creations! Who knew piling loads of hickory sticks inside a grilled cheese sandwich, or wrapping a wrap without a wrap, would make jaws drop?

Helping to lead the trend is Bread Baron who believes the art of a good sandwich means locally sourced ingredients and a seasonal menu that’s always got a new combination of ingredients for you to try. Check them out at the Kitchener Market Saturdays from 7am-2pm, or Tuesday to Friday 8am-3pm.

Go International! The BBQ Pork Vietnamese Sub from Banh Mi Givral Deli

The Carved Roast Beef Sandwich from Williams – fresh and filling

The kickin’ Chili Lime Chicken Wrap with Mediterranean chick pea salad from Bistro Nash

The Chicken Greek at Zoup! Pairs perfectly with a cup of Soup – bad rhyme, we know

Quick Sandwiches’ Montreal Smoked Meat is a Downtown favourite – seriously huge!

Kava Bean’s Montreal Smoked Meat Reuben heated with sauerkraut and Kettle Chips

Big Daddy Cheese – the ‘DUDE’ sammie abides! Macaroni & Cheese, PLUS BACON, on a sandwich!

The Yeti Café’s Pregnant Sasquatch with Jazcon in a collard wrap. It’s gluten free goodness

The Sticky Frenchman (brie and carmelized apple) at Cheeses Murphy doesn’t disappoint

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2013 ART TRENDS

Arts scene comes to life in a big way This amazing new mural installation on Marisol Restaurant (at the corner of Halls Lane and Ontario Street) was handpainted by Chilean muralist collective, Alapinta, with support from Neruda Arts.

1,076 people work Downtown in the fields of innovation.

7,670 peopleattended events hosted by neighbourhood groups.

of survey respondents attended an arts based festival.

of survey respondents attended a performance at Centre In The Square,

Registry Theatre or Conrad Centre.

responded yes, new activity downtown has made

downtown safer.

1,016 people attended Yoga in The Park.

Some stats of 2013

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60% 78.4%47%

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Look what’s happening Downtown

Technology Startups

Food Startups

Arts and Culture

Collaborative Work Spaces

Map is for illustrative purposes only - not all businesses are represented

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AREA OF FOCUS #1 An amazing King Street Experience

“We’re kick-starting a live music scene,” Cory & Curt Crossman2013 brought the Start of Awesome…AT NIGHT! After a few years of experimenting with night time programming, the community embraced it full force last year. ‘Between the Ears’ Night Art Market kicked off the summer season and Dragonette turned Canada Day into a King Street Dance Party! Big Sugar brought the house down at the TD Kitchener Blues Festival, Treble Charger rocked KOI Music Festival’s 4th year opening night (seen here) and NIGHT\SHIFT brought the whole community Downtown for one night of art under the stars.

King Street Art Market at Night, filled the streets with art and music

Bike racks imitate art in Downtown Kitchener! Have you locked your bicycle up to one of these colourful pieces yet?

2013’s Artist-in-Residence Susan Coolen created the Litter-Arti Project – turning trash into beauty.

Gillian and Ken enjoyed a dance on King Street during August’s Art Market “High School Dance Party”

THEMUSEUM’s Studio 54 party rocked a full house

Another first! Downtown’s Food Truck Mini Festival had an overwhelming response from the community - stay tuned for 2014 food truck events!

Big Sugar’s headline show drew potentially the biggest crowd EVER to Civic Square.

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AREA OF FOCUS #2 New Urban Neighbourhoods

“I try to live my entire life downtown,” Stacey TozerWhen we set out on the search for our ideal Downtownee, we were thrilled to meet Stacey. She lives in an amazing downtown apartment, works at tech startup, MappedIn, a few blocks away in the newly revitalized 305 King building and does her grocery shopping at the Kitchener Market. Having recently moved back from Seattle, she was looking for that true urban experience that you can’t find just anywhere. She loves not needing to have a car, being able to find everything she needs downtown… and being a true downtownee, that includes the importance of having amazing coffee shops just around the corner.

The KPLs Pico-Path adds some colour to the construction.

Everyone wore white to the first ever Colour Me Rad…so we painted them!

Community Access Bike Share launched five Downtown Stations, 10-12 new stations to come to KW in 2014.

Helena at StylFrugal leads the Ontario St. renaissance with a blend of Art, Fashion and Big-city energy.

The Duke Street parking garage was begging for a little colour – so we painted it! Now it’s a work of art.

Yoga in the Park grew exponentially this year! Over 100 yogis every Wednesday– all summer!

Bandaloop impressed the crowd at Centre In The Square opening party.

Start up some neighbourhood fun! Hohner Avenue had their first ever Porch Party!

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AREA OF FOCUS #3 Innovation District

“We’re on the verge of becoming a major startup community,” Stephen Lake, Thalmic LabsStartup culture and entrepreneurship is the life blood of innovation. 2013 was the year when dozens of startups began shifting the very fabric of Downtown. As Stephen Lake suggests, the startup community is taking root. If we can cement a culture, and keep the momentum going, we could be at the tipping point to becoming an even larger startup community.

Catherine and Tom’s GoGoMart is a great addition to the Innovation District! Fresh salads, coffee and more!

Jacqui, Gavin, Kevin, Jeromie, and Alex at Auvik, a tech startup located in Workplace One at 51 Breithaupt

Workplace One is home to over 150 people working for tech startups… and some not-so-startups

The Overlap Crew! Hanging out at their shared space in 305 King

A great Christmas card from one of DTK’s newest residents at 305 King Street: Mapped In

In 2013, local startup TribeHR was acquired by Netsuite. Don’t worry, they still call Downtown homebase

Canadian Tech Startup of the Year, the Thalmic Labs team continues to grow in their new space on Charles St.

Another startup to watch in 2014! The team at Vidyard with V-bot in their Simpson Block office

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AREA OF FOCUS #4 Building a Collaborative Community

“Our project truly embodies and reflects the authenticityand collaborative spirit of the community in which we live,” Kim Ho and Chris Mosiadz, ArtistsKim and Chris’ “Let’s Connect” installation for Night\Shift featured over 50,000 business cards, took 300+ hours to stitch together and 15 hours to install, and was enjoyed by thousands. By making room for as many sub-cultures as possible, event organizers Alternatives Journal were overwhelmed by the amount of community support Night\Shift received.

Volunteer crew: Alex Bencz, Lucy Ho, Brooks Way, Shawn Carnahan, Cristina Opris, Deborah Seabrook, Cristina Balaita, Aditya Bali, Calvin Lough, Erick Cardenas-Mendez, Beatrice Law, PJ Mukherjee and City of Kitchener Scissor-Lift Operator, Scott Brown!

CityAge brought together local and global innovation leaders to discuss the urbanization of cities. Co-founder Miro explores the Reality Cave

The Brush Off, live painting competition, at THEMUSEUM was a sold out success!Over 200 Downtownees took part in the “Bike it You’ll Like it” lunchtime ride to the Kitchener Market

Clipped Outdoors hosts weekly Friday night bike socials

King Street: Physical Experience

8.3 Indicators: storefront vacancies, safety perceptions, facade enhancements, new signs, new shops and restaurants, average asking retail lease rate, etc.

King Street: Social Experience

6.2o Indicators: participation in niche social events, participation in fitness activities, participation in BIA Member Networking, E-vents newsletter subscriptions, Twitter followers, cafés/restaurants with WiFi, etc.

King Street: People Activity

6.7 Indicators: Festival attendance, Saturday Market attendance, pedestrian traffic, hotel occupancy, short-term parking demand, outdoor patios, etc.

How did we do in 2013?

18 out of 10Revised2012 - 7.2*

out of 10Revised2012 - 6.4*

out of 10Revised2012 - 6.9*

New Urban Neighbourhoods

7.4 Indicators: population increase, Saturday Market attendance, number of planned new residential units, residential sales, apartment vacancy and lease rates, community centre participation, etc.

Innovation District

7.4 Indicators: Downtown employment in innovation jobs, innovation/tech firms moving into downtown office space, student population, office vacancy rate in the District, asking lease rates in the District, etc.

Collaborative Community

7.0 Indicators: number of collaborative commercial spaces, KPL program attendance, KWAG program attendance, Marketplace attendance/rentals, awareness of major downtown projects, web hits on specific pages, BIA Member Networking attendance

How did we do in 2013?

out of 10Revised2012 - 7.2*

out of 10Revised2012 - 7.4*

out of 10Revised2012 - 6.4*

*2012 scores revised due to new data and indicators

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Canada Day 2013. Art up above

“This is crazy! Contagious energy,“ overheard on King St The 2nd annual Downtown Kitchener Canada Day Concert saw an even bigger turnout and some seriously incredible fireworks above City Hall! Nova Scotia’s The Stanfields got the crowd fired up, and then everyone danced the night away with Toronto’s Juno Award winning Dragonette. Join us in 2014 for an even bigger party to celebrate Canada’s birthday!

• Amazing new restaurants• Bike FixIT stations• More colourful bike racks• CAFKA 14• Open Ears Sound and Music Festival• The world’s first ever ROBOTWALK- June 14,2014• Nerdfest • Startup Landing Pad Grant Program• More BikeShare locations• Amazing food festivals• Summer Lights festival – June 21, 2014• Weekly food trucks return• Night\Shift November 1, 2014• 12 days of #KWAWESOME

What to expect in 2014

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• Huge live music acts• More patios• Google grows into new space at the Breithaupt Block• The Walper’s chef Terry rocks Top Chef on the FoodNetwork• New community funding grants• The Science of Sexuality at THEMUSEUM• The KW Comedy Festival expands to Downtown• 305 King comes to life• KOI Music Festival, Bikefest & Art Markets – bigger and better• Block parties• Art battles• The rise of 1 Victoria, Victoria Commons and the City Centre condos (literally out of the ground) • A unique new way to support local events...and the start of LRT construction

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”I want to capture Downtown’s evolution and show people what it means to me,” Matt Smith

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Meet Matt Smith, local photographer DTK: What brings you to KW, or have you always been local?

MS: I was born in Kitchener and grew up in the Kingsdale neighbourhood.

DTK: What made you get interested in photography?

MS: I believe that photography plays a role in everyone’s life, whether they’re the ones taking the photos, posing for photos, enjoying the memories they hold, or admiring them as works of art. Personally, I was really inspired by the infinite possibilities and

the opportunity to express my perspective through photographs.

DTK: We love your work! But we’re curious, why do you choose Downtown as a subject?

MS: Thank you!! Downtown is really the heart of the city and it’s been amazing to watch it grow and evolve over the past few years. I want to capture some of that evolution and really show people what Downtown means to me and maybe what it can mean for them too.

DTK: You’ve got a very cool project you’re working on for 2014, can you tell us about it?

MS: Absolutely! For this year I’ve decided to capture 1000 images of Kitchener with the primary focus being on the Downtown… a comprehensive set of photos that really says “this is Kitchener.”

DTK: Anything the community can do to help make your project a success?

MS: I would love to have the community check out the project at kitchener1000.tumblr.com and tell me what you think!

DTK: Any hidden gems in DT that you think people ought to know about?

MS: I’m a bit of a movie buff so I often find myself at Far Out Flicks on Queen Street. Definitely worth checking out for your next movie night!

Find out more about Matt by following along with his Downtown photography adventures at @mattskw.

Read more about Matt, his work and his upcoming projects online: downtownkitchener.ca

Economic Development, City of Kitchener 200 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4G7

t: 519-741-2200 ext. 7065 e: cory.bluhm@kitchener.cawww.kitchener.ca or www.downtownkitchener.ca

Downtown Kitchener BIA29 King Street East - Unit B., Kitchener, Ontario N2G 2K4

t: 519-744-4921 www.downtownkitchener.ca

Back Cover: “Visionary” by Jennifer Gough This local artist calls Downtown home and looks for unique ways to connect with the community, most recently with her installation at Night\Shift 2013 at the Walper Hotel. Jen is also represented at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea, New York City with an exhibition in October 2014.