Stroll Walking Tours launch new adventure this weekend

Stroll Walking Tours is trying to educate local residents about Kitchener's rich history. Their walks include tours surrounding mural art, great war stories, and the history of the city's transportation.

Their newest tour is called Kitchener Got the Blues and is a music tour that features venues where rock and blues music legends took the stages in downtown Kitchener.

Juanita Metzger is the owner and operator of Stroll Walking Tours and is excited for this new adventure to launch. “People will hear of famous rock and blues bands that came to Kitchener because Glenn Smith invited them due to his love of the music,” said Metzger.

Smith will be leading the tour and used to own many music venues downtown during the '80s. The Royal Canadian Legion, the Hoodoo Lounge and Pop the Gator were all owned by him and they will be featured during the walking tour. Smith's venues saw a multitude of talent throughout the years. Artists such as Koko Taylor, Otis Clay and even Colin James all performed in Kitchener at various venues thanks to Smith.

Metzger described Smith as a story-telling extraordinaire whose passion for music makes him the perfect leader for the upcoming walk. He is the current owner of Ethel's Lounge in Waterloo.

“He knows so much of the music history of Kitchener/Waterloo that i think people could probably come up with a question about a band or a group from the '70's,'80's, or '90's and he would probably know the answer,” said Metzger. “If anyone thinks they can stump Glenn with a question, feel free.”

The first date of the tour is this Saturday, Dec. 11 from 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. There is also a second tour set to run at the same time on Dec. 19.

The walk begins inside TheMuseum in Kitchener to view the Reverberations exhibit. Due to that, proof of vaccination and masking is required. Following the exhibit, the remainder of the tour will take place outside.

“It has been great to partner and share the promotion opportunities with other local businesses downtown.” added Metzger.

“We haven't had much opportunity to travel over the last year. So people have been really focused on local and what there is to see, do, and learn about here within our own community,”

You can check out – www.strollwalkingtours.com – for more information.