The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

15 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,June 9,2022 w aterloochronicle.ca 3 for 1 534 Hespeler Rd., cAMBriDGe (across from Starbucks) 519-624-9220 885 Glasgow St., KiTcHeNer (corner of Fischer-Hallman & Glasgow) 519-741-1233 • Eye Glasses • Sunglasses • Contact Lenses 3 Pairs of PrescriPtion eyeglasses from $199 House Brand Frames with one year Manufacturer's Warranty (Designer frames extra) SpecsAppealOptical.ca COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMS PRESCRIPTION EYEGLASSES, SUNGLASSES & SAFETY GLASSES - CONTACT LENSES WE DIRECT BILL! (see store for details) S & SAFETY GLASSES - CONTAC With COVID-19 restric- tions lifted, many festivals and events will mark their return in person in 2022. Admission to all are free for the most part, except for ticketed fundraising shows. Here's a list of what to look forward to in Kitche- ner-Waterloo this summer. KULTRÚN WORLD MUSIC FES- TIVAL 2022, JULY 7 TO 10 Kultrún, Neruda Arts' signature event, is an out- door, free (but only for the opening night concert) fes- tival celebrating the music of the world. In addition to music per- formers from across Cana- da and beyond, the festival offers interactive work- shops for children and adults, from drumming circles to theatre to dance, as well as international vendors with arts and crafts and delicious food. After being held virtu- ally in 2021, the festival will be held at the St. Jacobs Baseball Diamond, 3 Water St., St. Jacobs. Visit neru- daarts.ca. KITCHENER RIBFEST & CRAFT BEER SHOW, JULY 15 TO 17 2022 marks the 19th an- niversary of this communi- ty event featuring mouth- watering barbecued ribs and chicken, Ontario craft- brewed beer, plus live en- tertainment and a kids fun zone -- all in the open at- mosphere of Victoria Park. The 2022 lineup will be announced soon. Visit kitchenerribandbeerfest- .com. SUN LIFE UPTOWN WATERLOO JAZZ FESTIVAL, JULY 22 TO 24 After a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Sun Life UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival returns this summer. New artistic director Derek Hines has put to- gether a program, includ- ing fan favourite Matt Dusk, on Friday night, Monkey House on Satur- day and Steven Taetz on Sunday. There will be family ac- tivities in the afternoons, a variety of food trucks and the usual beverage service. Performers also include the Iron Tonic Jazz Band, Dave Hjin Trio, Avery Ra- quel, New Vibes Quintet, Youth Jazz Ensemble, Ru- fus John, Rob Gellner Oc- tet, Laura Anglade, Big Band Theory, Top Pocket and Ted's Warren Commis- sion. Visit waterloojazz- fest.com. TD KITCHENER BLUES FESTI- VAL, AUG. 4 TO 7 With more than 50 acts, the TD Kitchener Blues Festival is one of the larg- est blues festivals in Cana- da and will make its return to downtown Kitchener af- ter a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. A fundraising concert on Aug. 4 in Victoria Park will open with Whitehorse and feature the Sam Rob- erts Band. The festival con- cludes Sunday, Aug. 7 with the Fabulous Thunder- birds in front of city hall. The list of performers includes Cheryl Lescom and the Tucson Choir Boys, LMT Connection, Miss Angel and the Ho- mewreckers, Mike McDo- nald, Bywater Call, JJ Wilde, Lachy Doley Group, Everyday People: The Mu- sic of Sly and the Family Stone, Sloan, The Old Souls, Harrison Kennedy, The Vaudevillian, The An- gelina Hunter Trio, Matt Weidinger, Douglas Wat- son Group featuring Gary Martin, David Wilcox, Bette Smith, Blackburn Brothers, Five Alarm Funk, Texas Hill, Ronnie Baker Brooks, The Kram- dens, Coco Montoya, Sa- mantha Fish, Tribute to Albert Collins (Ronnie Brooks/Coco Montoya), Headstones, Drive-By Truckers, Noon Gospel Breakfast, Erin McCallum Band, Chairmen of the Boards, Elliott and the Au- dio Kings, Zoom featuring Shawn Kellerman, Match- edash Parish, Western Swing Authority and Low- est of the Low. Visit kitchenerbluesfes- tival.com. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL WATER- LOO BUSKER CARNIVAL, AUG. 25 TO 28 The 34th annual Sun Life Financial Waterloo Busker Carnival makes its return on Aug. 25 to 28. From acrobatics and co- medians to magicians and firebreathers, the carnival brings the best interna- tional artists in the world to UpTown Waterloo for four days. There's also a midway and delicious food. Admission is free, but the artists make their liv- ing by the tips they receive. After each show, the artists pass the hat for tips and do- nations. How much you tip is up to you. The lineup of entertain- ers will be released this spring at waterloobusker- s.com. BELMONT VILLAGE BESTIVAL, SEPT. 16 AND 17 This two-day communi- ty festival celebrates mu- sic, arts and dance with lo- cal performers and work- shops in Belmont's busi- ness district, where the street is shut down every year, two weeks following Labour Day weekend, to celebrate the official clos- ing of summer. The lineup for Bestival 2022 will be posted shortly at belmontvillagebestival- .com. NEWS FESTIVALS RETURNING TO K-W IN 2022