Events

Shared Threads explores the weaving of community through textile and image. Drawing inspiration from Celtic knotwork—an ancient visual language of continuity, connection, and interdependence—the works reflect how individual lives are bound together into something stronger and more enduring: community. 

This exhibit features art presented by the IRL Festival, driven by people passionate about Irish culture in Waterloo Region. They are a not-for-profit festival celebrating Ireland’s rich history and dynamic, evolving contemporary culture, which reflects how Irish culture continues to grow, adapt, and connect as the diaspora takes root in new landscapes beyond Ireland.

Shared Threads will be open from Sunday, March 1 until Monday, March 30.

You can get more information and RSVP for the opening reception from the Centre for Peace Advancement.

Join us for an inspiring event of Indigenous knowledge, storytelling, and reconciliation, with speaker Phyllis Webstad. Phyllis Webstad is the Founder and CEO of the Orange Shirt Society.  At the age of six, Phyllis was sent to St. Joseph Mission Residential School, and her belongings were taken from her on the first day, including her orange shirt that her grandmother had given her. Now, she tours the country telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system, and the orange shirt has become a symbol of hope, reconciliation and a commitment to a better future.  During the event, there will be opportunities to listen to Phyllis' story and discuss actionable steps toward reconciliation.

The annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest offers Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) students and Grebel residents/associates an opportunity to discuss peacebuilding and social justice issues on campus and beyond. The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). 

On March 25, 2026, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Grebel, the PACS Department and the Grebel Chaplaincy’s Offices are organizing a speech performance and inviting you to participate.  The contest winners will be rewarded with cash prizes. For more information, reach out to the PACS Academic Advisor. 

You can learn more about the contest and meet former PACS or Grebel resident participants.

Application deadline — March 6, 2026.

Conrad Grebel University College proudly hohonours graduates who have lived and studied at Grebel while completing their University of Waterloo degree programs. This special Convocation ceremony takes place several weeks before the University of Waterloo Convocations, where the official degrees are conferred. It is a time for faculty, staff, students, families, and friends to come together and celebrate this significant achievement. We warmly welcome friends and families to join us for this celebration on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 2:00 PM in the Humanities Theatre, University of Waterloo.

Engaging with art demands vulnerability and builds the muscles we need to navigate conflict, political resistance, suffering, and healing in our community and our world. This exhibit challenges viewers to embrace both the beautiful and the broken parts of themselves. Nina Bailey-Dick’s powerful batiks and collages are a feminist declaration of love for the land, self-love, and a call to action: Speak up, take up space, make art, and share vulnerability to build the resilience needed for personal and collective healing and action.  

This exhibit asks us to own and even value our own cracks and messy layers, refusing to choose between suffering and contentment, brokenness and beauty. Nina reminds us that holding both in tension is our work.  

This exhibit will be open from Saturday, April 4 to Wednesday, April 29.