Interest Groups

Arts

Purl

Love to knit? Join us! The group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1:30pm.

Cinema Club

The Film Club will meet at 4:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at The Little Prince Cinema,  62 Wellington St, unless otherwise notified.  The cost is $12.00 per person to be paid at the door.  The choice of films will be rotated amongst the membership.  Space is limited so members are asked to inform Leora each month if they will attend. 

Quilting

Members work on personal projects and sometimes a group quilting project. The group meets weekly on Mondays at 2:00pm in the leader’s backyard as weather permits, or her studio. Finishing times vary but tea or lemonade is usually served at 4:00pm. Due to studio workspace there is a maximum that this group can accommodate comfortably.

Exploring

D.N.A. Group

This group is for genealogy enthusiasts who want to research their DNA results. There will be an initial meeting to review DNA basics followed by workshops to be arranged. Dates and times to be announced.

Excursions

This group explores a variety of destinations, e.g. a farm or a winery, an out-of-town play, or whatever is of interest to members of the group.  Each excursion includes lunch; members carpool to out-of-town destinations. Dates and times vary; 5 to 6 excursions per year.

Indigenous Rights Learning

Members of this group learn about Indigenous issues through reading, discussion, and other learning activities. This group meets on the last Wednesday at 7:00pm. Meetings usually last 1.5-2 hours.

Take a Hike!

For many years, an ambition of mine has been to hike the entire Avon Trail from St. Marys to Conestogo. I would love to have company for any part of this journey!

The trail is 130 km BUT we will do it in “small” chunks depending on the group’s wishes – and the weather. The pace will be easy with lots of stops for water & pictures.

Days and times will vary. Everyone on the list will be consulted. On Thurs Oct. 10 we did the first 10.6k in gorgeous weather.

The goal is to complete it by our May AGM where we will celebrate!

Food and Social Time

Gourmet Club

For this group, each member takes a turn hosting, and the hostess gets to select the theme. The hostess supplies the main dish and other members build around it with appetizers, salads, desserts, drinks etc. A very tasty and social evening! This group meets the 1st Thursday of each month at 6:30pm (start times may vary). Nine is about the maximum number this group can accommodate; however, a secondary sister group can easily be organized for additional interested members.

Lunch Bunch

This group meets on the 3rd Friday of each month at noon to enjoy lunch and socializing at various restaurants in Stratford.

Saturday Breakfast Social

This group is for members to socialize over breakfast on the FOURTH Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. at local Stratford restaurants and some further afield, which may include carpools to St. Mary’s, Wellesley, and New Hamburg. Nine breakfasts are scheduled from September to June each year (no breakfasts in the months of December, June and July).

Fun and Games

Bridge at the Stratford Country Club

Formerly Bridge at the Queen’s

This is not a beginner’s Bridge Club – there is no teaching element. This group meets at the Stratford Country Club starting in October, at noon for lunch followed by Bridge around 1:00pm on the 1st Thursday of each month.

Bridge - Duplicate

This Bridge Club welcomes members and spares who play, or are willing to learn, basic current American rules such as 5-card majors, weak twos, Stayman, transfers. No previous duplicate experience is necessary. Members meet on the 4th Thursday of each month at 1:00pm at Romeo Court.

New! Beginner Bridge

Free Beginner/Rusty Bridge lessons fall/winter 
A big time commitment — 11 lessons  – but bridge is worth it – a great workout for both long and short term memory with lots of team building and socializing opportunities.
If you are a card player,  bridge is (perhaps arguably) the most interesting and challenging  of games.
Please let me know if you are interested, and we’ll try to get it going. 

Cryptic Crosswords

This group meets weekly on Tuesday morning at 10:15am over Zoom. Members work on the weekly Cryptic Crossword Puzzle featured in the Saturday’s Globe and Mail on their own until Tuesday, then they meet to work out the answers together.

Beginner Mahjong

New Group Coming Soon!

Reading

Eclectic Book Club

This club enjoys excellent discussion about books whose topics range from fiction to non-fiction, mysteries, classics, drama, humour, prize winners, biographies, autobiographies written by international, national, and BIPOC authors. The members meet – sometimes in person but mostly via Zoom in the winter – on the 3rdThursday of each month at 7:00pm. Every June, members meet to decide which books will be read the following year. No meetings in July and August.

The Prize Book Club

This group focuses on the books short-listed for Canadian Literary Awards. The Scotiabank Giller Prize in the fall, and Canada Reads in the winter/spring. The group usually meets once before each award for discussion and then gets together to enjoy the awards events.

Cafe Book Club

Join us on the FIRST Saturday of each month from September to June to share your latest read. We meet at 10:00 a.m. at Coffee Culture Café for just over an hour. A great opportunity to discover some new recommendations! 

Mystery Readers Book Club

This group meets to discuss the work of a chosen mystery genre author. Members meet on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30pm.

Mystery Readers Too! Book Club

Due to the popularity of the Mystery Readers Book Club, this sister club was created to accommodate more members. This group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm.