On Sept. 12, 2026, residents gathered at the Old Mill Rd. Bridge and Willow Lake Park to celebrate CreekFest, which featured Singing Resistance KW, a grassroots group that organizes resistance-oriented singing opportunities in Waterloo Region.
The event took place alongside the sixth annual Homer Watson Gallery Art Fair; the festival was hosted through a partnership between local artist collective The Creek Collective and Reep Green Solutions. The event brings people of all ages to Lower Doon to celebrate the local environment and enjoy musical performances and activities. This year’s programming centred around the theme “Reflect, Receive, Return,” featuring a diverse, local lineup of music, poetry and arts workshops designed to deepen public connection to local watersheds.
Among the performers was Singing Resistance KW. Drawing inspiration from the broader Singing Resistance movement, the group seeks to strengthen community engagement through song; its main mission is to build a mass movement of singers grounded in love, nonviolence and solidarity. Organizers note that song acts as an antidote to fear, helping communities name and protect what they hold sacred.
According to Geoff Martin, co-founder of The Creek Collective, inviting the singing group was a natural fit for the festival’s ecological mission.
“In the face of an augmenting climate emergency and political headwinds, we need to cultivate a resilient, ecologically attuned community,” Martin said. “How wonderful, then, to be invited to sing songs together about care for our natural world.”
Martin also said that the community collaboration resonated deeply with the event’s overall vision.
“The community singing was a highlight for many festivalgoers. Kids especially were called into the music, but so too were adults of all ages. Many of us don’t get many opportunities to sing collectively, so it was a gift to be called in together in this way,” he said.
Singing Resistance KW organizer Anna Janecek noted that the festival’s focus on the outdoors made the collaboration an ideal match. “We recognize that climate action and human rights are intrinsically connected,” Janecek said. “It felt like a natural fit in many ways!”
Rather than presenting a traditional stage performance, Singing Resistance KW focused entirely on communal participation.
“Audiences are often a little surprised when they realize we are not here to sing FOR them, but WITH them! But we try to make it easy, accessible and enticing. Our ‘performance’ instead consists of teaching simple songs rooted in themes of love, nonviolence and solidarity,” Janecek said. “A lot of folks are hungry right now for an experience like this… Singing together like this helps us find connection with others and feeling connected helps us feel more hopeful.”
Following their reception at CreekFest, Singing Resistance KW continues its weekly gatherings at Mary Allen Park in Uptown Waterloo.
The group is also preparing to help organize the second Sing in Solidarity event on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 4:00 p.m. at Trillium Church in Waterloo.
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