Earth Day Celebration — Special Screening of Beyond Crisis at KPL, Tuesday 22 April 2025 at 5:30pm

What: Film Screening: Beyond Crisis
a story of hope for a rapidly changing world
(Movie poster showing a man sitting on the roof of a barn, with water nearly up to the peak of the roof. There are several award logos at the bottom of the poster, and credits below that (both too small to make out at this resolution) Beyond Crisis
When: 5:30pm to 7:30pm on Tuesday 22 April 2025
Where: Kitchener Public Library, Main Branch, Auditorium
Location: 85 Queen Street North, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Register:Eventbrite Tickets

In honour of this year’s Earth Day, Kai Reimer-Watts has arranged a special screening of his 2018 documentary Beyond Crisis. You and your friends are warmly invited to this rare, free public screening of a powerful Canadian documentary on climate! Please register in advance so we can keep track of numbers, and share widely.

The event hosted by our local MPP Aislinn Clancy, and held in the film theatre at Kitchener Public Library (Main Branch, 85 Queen Street North). The one-hour documentary will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker (Kai) and MPP Aislinn Clancy. There will also be light food and refreshments. It is a non-partisan event for the broader community, to draw attention to climate change at this crucial time here in Canada, and while we are in a federal election.

Also, if you haven’t yet, please check out the Vote for Climate campaign led by the Waterloo Region Climate Collaborative! Non-partisan lawn and window signs are still available this election.

About the film

Beyond Crisis was a three-year filmmaking adventure led by Canadian climate activists, seeking to capture growing movements for change here in Canada and around the world advocating for bold climate action and a just response to the climate crisis. It launched at Princess Twin Cinema in Waterloo in 2018, and has since been screened in festivals, theatres, classrooms and community venues around the world, as a galvanizing story of our current ‘climate moment’ and the many possibilities we have for collective response. While it remains honest about the gravity of climate change, it is ultimately an uplifting and inspiring film about people, and the power of people to transform our realities and together forge brighter futures. It is highly artistic, creative and meditative in sections, and packed with insights from over 50 changemakers – many of whom are Canadian.

The film is only one hour long, split into five connected chapters: The Language of Change; A Dangerous Addiction; Feelings of Change; A Brighter Future; and Building a Movement. Each chapter has its own areas of focus, and together, they tell the story of many thousands of people all over the world working to change our current climate reality for the better. The film was designed in this way to keep chapters short, and to better stimulate ongoing audience engagement and community dialogue after each screening. Kai has received many positive responses by viewers on the film, its emotional/intellectual impact, and unique structure. You can check out the trailer on YouTube to see if it resonates with you.

Thank you for your ongoing support for Divest WaterlooDivest Waterloo and for your part in our collective action to raise awareness and engage our community on issues related to climate change, our pursuit of a low carbon economy, and our movement towards a just and sustainable future.

Power Up! Rally, Saturday 4 November 2023 at Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener

What: Power Up! Rally
When: 1:00pm on Saturday, 4 November 2023
Where: Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener City Hall
Location: 200 King Street West, Kitchener Map

You and your family are invited to the Power Up! Rally where we’ll bring clarity not only to the anticipated near to medium term impacts and implications of climate change on Southwestern Ontario, but also explore the progress being made on Waterloo Region’s Transform WR Plan (to achieve 50% reduction of fossil fuel use in the Region by 2030). In addition, there will be brief presentations by experts in solar power,heat pumps and geothermal projects to highlight clean energy options, and a local federal Member of Parliament about federal initiatives and programming. The Rally will end with ‘what WE can do NOW’ presentations by a variety of local activists and experts.

This Rally is being organized by 350 (left-pointing arrow to the left of numbers 350, white on a blue background)350.org in partnership with 50×30, Council of Canadians, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and Faith Climate Justice. We hope you’ll encourage your children and grandchildren to have fun creating signs, solar panels and heat pumps out of craft materials that they could bring and showcase. Also, please feel free to share this invitation and the graphic below widely through your personal and professional networks. The impacts of climate change are coming at us faster than we may have ever imagined but, together, we can work to ensure the ongoing security and quality of life of people in Waterloo Region.

Edit:
Our first Speaker is Kathryn Bakos from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. She will talk about the expected climate impacts for Southern Ontario, the urgency for transition off of fossil fuels, and steps we can take to enhance energy efficiency, flood and fire protection, while saving money on energy and home insurance premiums.

A variety of speakers will highlight local or nearby climate solutions, such as West 5, which is Ontario’s first mixed-use Net Zero community, and Heather McDiarmid about the potential of Air Source Heat Pumps. We will also have Aislinn Clancy and Deb Chapman give their perspectives on local initiatives, and Mike Morrice, MP, will talk about Federal initiatives.

The rally will end with “What We Can Do Now” to support local initiatives and join local groups. One action is to sign a petition calling on the Federal Government to apply a 15% windfall profit tax on fossil fuel companies operating in Canada, and directing that revenue to support further action on climate change and improve affordability for Canadians, such as investments in public transit, retrofitting buildings and greening the electricity grid.

November 04, 2023 | Join us at Carl Zehr Square, 200 King St W at 1:00pm | Be part of a global day of action calling on our leaders to speed up the shift to renewable energy | Power Up for Climate Solutions! | Find out more at globalpowerup.org/canada