UW students and alumni will join Explore Waterloo Region (EWR) in volunteering to prepare for the 2026 Ontario Summer Games in Waterloo. The event will span 4 days, with 23 different sports featured in competition.

“This is the future of sport in Ontario,” said Riley Webster, second-year sport and recreation business student. Webster will be found supporting around 4,200 athletes, aged 12-18, as they step foot into Waterloo region to compete in the multi-sport event. He began volunteering with EWR as a media and signage coordinator in September 2025 before starting his eight-month long co-op position as a fit-out and sport equipment coordinator this January. Webster now works on both committees and is keen on continuing to develop his time-management skills in order to balance his responsibilities.

As a receiver on UW’s varsity football team, Webster credits his experience as a student athlete with giving him the ability to keep up with the varying demands of his job. “I feel that [the difficulties of managing being at football for six hours a day, but also going to class and being able to manage my workload] in my first and second year in the fall set me up pretty well for being able to manage two different aspects of this job,” he explained.

A challenge Webster and his EWR team overcame involved bringing refreshments to each of the event’s venues. With the ministry’s budget and environmental limitations on serving plastic water bottles, he had to be strategic in finding the solution. “Trying to manage the logistics behind that has been pretty difficult, but overcoming it, I was able to use connections I’ve had in the past to solve these problems,” he said. Through networking, Webster found potable water tanks available for rent and made orders of ice by calling local businesses and asking some of them for donations.

Having just graduated from UW’s sport and recreation management program this spring, Logan Landriault also values making meaningful connections in the athletic workspace. His volunteer position at EWR as an opening ceremony coordinator started in November 2025. Since then, Landriault has grown particularly excited to see the community of student athletes and supportive spectators come together later this month. “It’s nice to give [young athletes] a nice send into that competition [while] feeling celebrated and feeling proud of themselves,” he shared.

Logan Landriault, UW alum. (Photo credit: Logan Landriault)

Landriault says that his courses, part-time jobs, and volunteer experience throughout his undergrad prepared him to step into his current work. They each led to him developing his critical thinking skills, which he says are crucial in the hands-on realm of athletics.

Landriault feels especially connected to the Ontario Summer Games this year because they are being held in Waterloo. “The area where they get to [compete] is pretty impactful because… they’re setting the example to their brother, sister, or friends, who are also in the crowd [and may be] younger, hoping to maybe go along that same path. It’s pretty cool to see it all,” he shared.

To spread the message about the Ontario Summer Games, Landriault reached out in February to his friend and former colleague, Diane Choi, to see if she was interested in being an opening ceremonies coordinator & stage manager/volunteer at the games. “Instantly, I [thought] this is something that I know really impacts the athletes, the families, and all those who are involved within the sport. I [thought] that’d be something that I would love to contribute to,” Choi explained.

Diane Choi, incoming 4A student volunteer. (Photo credit: Diane Choi)

Landriault and Choi previously worked together on U Sports Women’s Hockey National Championships committees around two years ago. What they expected to be a short-term collaboration turned into a long-term connection that continues to grow today. “There were long days together… which led to friendship and working with someone you can trust, [who] is also a hard worker,” she noted.

Like Landriault, Choi’s experience in the sport and recreation program has allowed her to discover what she enjoys the most about her line of work. “[The program] wants to give everyone hands-on experience. . . that’s how I learn best. That’s what really helped me kind of take these experiences in Waterloo, which is a city that’s very involved with sporting events,” she said.

With the Ontario Summer Games launching on July 30, Webster, Landriault, and Choi urge the Waterloo community to come out and support the youth athletes by spectating their tournaments. The event’s basketball and rugby tournaments are set to be held at UW. Some of the other sports are planned to take place at Laurier, Guelph Lake Park, RIM Park, and many more venues.

Canada Day is upon us, July 1, and with that comes a list of what places will be open or closed around UW. 

A majority of food services will be closed, including UW Food Services Administration, Brubakers, Browsers Cafe, CEIT Cafe, Evergreen Cafe, Liquid Assets Cafe, Jugo Juice, as well as all Tim Hortons and Starbucks locations. Flock Stop will remain open. 

The Market (Claudette Miller Hall) will remain open from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Any other food service location that is open for the summer will reopen on Thursday, July 2. All libraries on and off campus will be closed, including Davis Centre Library and Dana Porter Library. 

All athletic facilities (PAC, CIF, PAC Pool, CIF Arena) around campus will be closed. Print + Retail solutions will also be closed.

The SLC and SLC Turnkey will remain open as well, but Turnkey@DC will be closed.

Places off campus students may want to go to, such as Conestoga Mall and Fairview Park Mall, will be closed as well. After Canada Day, the malls will resume their usual schedules. 

All regional administrative offices will be closed; including Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge, as well as airport administrative offices. Curbside waste collection will continue. Grand River Transit will operate on a holiday service schedule, which can be found on all route schedules. MobilityPLUS will continue to operate. For those who have subscription trips, the trips for July 1 will be automatically cancelled. 

The following cooling spaces will remain open for Canada Day, following their normal schedules: 500 Parkside Dr., 22 Bridgeport Rd. W. 99 Regina St. S., and 2001 University Ave. E.

Canada Day in the Waterloo region is looking to be an eventful day, with plenty of affordable and fun ways to celebrate. Let’s take a look at some events happening this 159th Canada Day.

July 1 Community Picnic

Drop by Waterloo Park, on the Hilltop Picnic Area between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. for a free and family-friendly community picnic and entertainment event, hosted by the city of Waterloo. There will be 10 live stage performances from local music artists all throughout the afternoon. Many food trucks will also be at the venue, with options ranging from BeaverTails to The Lord of the Tacos. Plenty of ‘giant games’ such as chess, tic-tac-toe, and cornhole will be available. Local caricature artist Aoe Girard will be offering free caricature drawings you can take home. An art market with over 20 local artists will be at the event, so keep an eye out for the chance to purchase some unique finds. A community fair featuring several local non-profits will be at the event to share ideas to get involved in the region. Finally, the night will wrap up with a drone show at 10 p.m. This event is weather dependent and will be cancelled if severe weather occurs, ensure you check the forecast. Full event details are available on the City of Waterloo’s July 1 Community Picnic page.

Canada Day in DTK

The city of Kitchener is also hosting a Canada Day celebration between noon and 11 p.m. at the Carl Zehr Square and King Street, between Water and Frederick. There will be several live performances with many singers, including: Christian Miles, Cheap Shirt, Sydney Jones, Glass Tiger, Steve Strongman, and more. Food trucks will be available at the event. The night wraps up with a pyrotechnic light show at 10:40 p.m. Full event details are available on the City of Kitchener’s Canada Day in DTK page.

Canada Day Comedy Special

If you’re down for some good laughs this Canada Day, visit The Rusty Nail Comedy Club at TWH Social in Kitchener for their Canada Day comedy special. The show starts at 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. This show stars comedians Nitish Sakhuja and Gavin Coscarella, both Toronto comedians with CJ Bishop as a special guest. Tickets are $11.98 + HST and can be purchased on the event’s EventBrite page.

Canada Day at THEMUSEUM

To celebrate Canada’s 159th anniversary, THEMUSEUM in Kitchener will be unveiling two Indigenous exhibitions. Admission will be offered at a special reduced price of $9.99 per ticket. This event runs from 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and is open to all ages. Tickets can be purchased on THEMUSEUM’s event page.