General meetings are held monthly from September to May at 7 pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The location varies; the January and February 2023 meetings will be online owing to weather concerns.

Guest speaker presentations are diverse, current, educational and thought-provoking. Interested women are welcome to attend a CFUW meeting whether in person or online. Just email  cfuwstratford@gmail.com for further information or consult our Facebook page.

Each meeting consists of a presentation and questions, a social break and the club’s business meeting. This year’s agenda:                     

September 26 (Stratford Perth Museum): Kathryn Graven                                                                                                                    Kathryn’s 40-plus years in journalism began in Tokyo at the ABC News Bureau, and later she became a Tokyo Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. A writer, mixed-media artist, musician and lifelong sewer, Kathryn’s appearance at our September meeting celebrates her new book, “Memoirs of a Mask Maker”. The committee invites you to guess the type of mask she is referring to in her title.

October 24 (The Local): Phylis Hinz (new CFUW Stratford member)                                                                                                              Co-author of the Stratford for All Seasons book series. For anyone who loves Stratford these books are full of surprises! Note the change of location for this event because The Local Community Food Centre (aka The Local), which is featured in Phyllis’ newest book, has invited us in to see their space — in person at last!

November 28 (Stratford Perth Museum):  Scholarship Committee

December 09 at noon (Queen’s Inn): Something friendly and seasonal!

January 23 (via zoom): Rita Shelton Deverell                                                                                                                                             For over five decades, Rita Deverell has charted a singular path in Canadian arts and media as a broadcaster, a director, a scholar, a producer, an educator, a playwright, an actor, and an advocate. To quote a CBC news article: “When racism slammed doors in her face, Deverell led the struggle to open new ones.“

February 27 (via zoom): Jessica Shadian                                                                                                                                                Jessica Shadian is president and CEO of Arctic360, an independent think tank focused on Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. She says, “I really enjoy talking with people who are interested and would like to learn more about the challenges, opportunities, realities, etc. of all things Canadian North and the Arctic region”.

March 26 (Stratford Perth Museum): Resolutions

April 23 (Stratford Perth Museum): Advocacy Committee

May 21 (Stratford Country Club): AGM

Please note this will be held on May 21 as the fourth Tuesday in May coincides with the Stratford Festival Opening Night.

We look forward to your participation! 

General meetings are held monthly from September to May at 7 pm on the fourth Tuesday of each month. The location varies; the January and February 2023 meetings will be online owing to weather concerns; we will be moving to a hybrid format in March.

Guest speaker presentations are diverse, current, educational and thought-provoking. Interested women are welcome to attend a CFUW meeting whether in person or online. Just email  cfuwstratford@gmail.com for further information or consult our Facebook page.

Each meeting consists of a presentation and questions, a social break and the club’s business meeting. This year’s agenda: 

Sept. 27 Avoiding Litigation   – Martha Cook, lawyer in Stratford

Oct. 25  Confronting Hate       –  Carrie Wreford – local business owner, activist

Nov. 22 Welcoming Refugees  – Kathy Vassilakos – co-founder of Stratford Welcomes Refugees 

Dec. 3 Saturday Holiday Social – Lunch at the Stratford Country Club 

Jan. 24 Young Women in Business – Joys & Challenges – Elsa Fahraeus, Renée Dijk, Alondra Galvez  – Business owners 

Feb. 28 Navigating Uncertain Times: Moving Forward in 2023 – Dr. Cranla Warren – Social scientist 

March 28 CFUW Resolution Workshop Part I –  Part II TBA

April 25 Who Are You Anyway?  – Bev Symons – Genealogical research enthusiast 

May 23  – Dinner, AGM, and The Power of Story –  Alison Wearing – Bestselling and multiple award winning author, playwright and performer.

We look forward to your participation! 

Location & Time: Will be determined with guidance from provincial government directives. Please follow the CFUW Stratford website or Facebook page noted at the bottom of the page for more information.

A year of adversity, isolation and uncertainty has taught us the value of building resiliency. The 2021-22 Stratford CFUW program will offer discussions and hands-on experiences that will inspire us to better understand and contribute to changes in our physical environment, the arts and culture community, and the economy supporting a resilient self, a resilient Stratford, and a resilient world.

September 28, 2021         Welcome newcomers and welcome back old friends!

Introducing our theme: Building Resilience. Julia Merritt, CEO and Director of the Stratford Public Library will showcase the surprising variety of resources that our modern library offers.  CFUW’s many Interest Groups will be featured.

October 26, 2021            CEO Pamela Jeffery will speak about The Prosperity Project, a new and exciting not-for-profit organization working to mitigate the impacts of Covid 19 on women across Canada.

November 23, 2021           Cynthia Carlson, CFUW Stratford vice-president, will present the project Resilience: the story of how a ground-breaking “Roadway Gallery” of artworks by fifty Indigenous women artists took place coast to coast and then was developed into inspiring educational materials.

December      Holiday Social – details TBA

January 25, 2022           Kendra Fry, new GM at Stratford Summer Music will share her story of community resilience through creatively repurposing venerable faith buildings into multifaceted community hubs.

February 22, 2022          Debra Swan as our speaker. Learn how this Stratford initiative is striving to increase the resilience of our community by empowering people to access and prepare healthy food. It will be a zoom meeting. 

March 22, 2022       CFUW Resolution Workshop

April 26, 2022           Stratford Climate Summit – A panel of representatives from local initiatives who are each working to fight climate change and support resilience in nature on our planet.

May 24, 2022            AGM and How Women Get Things Done. A panel of local women in leadership positions share their vision for the future and their insights on women’s developing resilience in politics and business.