Pinch Cabaret

09/07/2026

06/25/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

For this month's Pinch Zine Series we’ll release "Canada is a Shell of Itself" by Nathaniel Hicks-Voll. Nathaniel (he/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, a settler in the Willow River Watershed, and a frequent flyer on the Pinch Cabaret stage. They make art about interconnectedness, collective responsibility and what it means to be human. Their zine is a reflection on Canada's identity in a modern colonial era, using analogue photographs by Toronto-based artist Isaac Giles and blackout poetry sourced from Dennis Tourbin's 1992 visual poem, "Canada Is".

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.

06/23/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

Kristopher Mielke is a comedian and Nebula-nominated author with a passion for q***r stories, monsters, and telling audiences every intimate detail of their life. For Pinch, Kristopher will tell jokes about coming out, having social anxiety, and whether or not their mom finds them funny (she doesn't)."

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.

06/22/2026

PINCH CABARET VARIETY SHOW
THIS SATURDAY JUNE 27

OPERA
POLE DANCE
COMEDY
FANTASY WRITING
FOLK-PUNK
ZINES
& MORE

SLIDING SCALE TIX ($5+) AT LINK IN BIO

LAST ONE BEFORE OUR SUMMER BREAK
DON'T MISS OUT ON THE FUNNN

06/21/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

Making Woman is a genderq***r, genre-non-conforming solo act who combines a driving kick drum with high-energy guitar and political lyrics. This self-described solo-punk will make you feel feelings and want to move-around about it. Get ready for a folkpunk transfemme playing acoustic guitar, kick drum, and singing political q***r stuff!

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.

06/19/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

After a hiatus from performing, seasoned pole dance artist Inverted Muse is back upside down and ready to captivate Pinch Cabaret with her deliciously unpredictable style of pole fusion!

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.

06/18/2026

SHOW & TELL IS MOVING INDOORS: KITCHENER CITY HALL!

7pm sign up
7:30pm show

FREE!
FUN!
FABULOUS!

06/17/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

Grand River Opera shares the wonder of opera with the Waterloo Region. Experience timeless melodies of Puccini, performed by Jennifer Carter, soprano, Marcel van Helden, tenor, and Vlad Soloviev, piano.

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.

06/15/2026

Pinch #51 act spotlight!

Vanessa Ricci-Thode is a q***r, disabled speculative fiction author living in Waterloo. She's a community organizer, running the region's largest writers collective, KW Writers Alliance, and always looking for opportunities to help writers level up and to connect with readers. She's the first self-published author to win a Nebula Award, and primarily writes fantasy novels including her firebending sword-lesbian dragon-rider series, Fireborn, and her award-winning kids book, The Young Necromancer's Guide to Ghosts. Sometimes she writes short stories about plagues that kill billionaires, but for Pinch she'll be reading something loosely based on a true story about a large guardian dog vs an eldritch horror.

Pinch #51 is Sat June 27 at
Sliding scale tix ($5-30) at link in bio.

Thanks to and our individual donors for their generous support with the series.