November 2026 Newsletter

Halloween Bike Parade – October 31

October 31 – 1 PM – Father Richard Ward Park

Dust off your costume and your bike! Meet us at Father Richard Ward Park at 1 PM, and the parade rolls out at 1:30 for a short, marshalled loop along Voyageur and Vineyard Drives, finishing by 3 PM. It’s free, family-friendly and part of the Kidical Mass movement for safer streets for kids on bikes.

Pumpkin Alley – November 1

November 1 – 6 to 8 PM – Voyageur Park

Our third annual Pumpkin Alley lights up Voyageur Park the evening after Halloween. Bring your carved pumpkin and a battery-powered tea light (no candles, please) to help line the path. There will be free hot drinks, games for the kids and prizes for the best pumpkins, and afterwards the pumpkins go to local farms.

Invasive Species Removal at Mystery Park

November 7 – 1:00 to 3:30 PM – Mystery Park, 985 Orléans Blvd

Join the Environment Committee to pull invasive buckthorn out of Mystery Park, protecting native plants and cutting down on erosion. We’ll also collect the berries so it doesn’t spread again next spring. Open to adults and youth 14 and up, and students can count it toward their volunteer hours. Bring gloves if you have them; everything else is provided.

CGOW Annual General Meeting – November 10

November 10 – 7 to 8:30 PM – Hall C, Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex

Our AGM is your chance to hear what the Community Association did this year, see the financials, and elect the board for the year ahead. Everyone is welcome, and members can vote. Not a member yet? Joining is free at cgow.ca/join.

Come to the meeting or email [email protected] to hear what we’ve been working on and what’s coming next. Register via the link below or email us to get the virtual link. The agenda will follow as well.

Yoga in the Park continues!

November 18 – Orleans Wood Elementary School – 7 PM

Yoga has moved indoors and will be monthly for September through May. It is free, no registration required, and everyone is welcome.

If you’re willing to join and help out the small volunteer group coordinating these sessions, please reach out to [email protected].

Laura Dudas Re-elected as Ward 2 Councillor

Congratulations to Laura and the other candidates on all their hard work and the important discussions this campaign raised. Thanks as well to everyone who voted, and who came to the Ward 2 Q&A on October 6.

Environment Committee

Repair Cafe 2026 Recap

A record 75 neighbours brought bikes, electronics, clothing, knives and small appliances to this fall’s Repair Cafe, where volunteer fixers repaired them for free, and some people learned to do the sewing repairs themselves. A City of Ottawa visitor said we may be the only community in the city running our own Repair Cafes.

Green Burials: A Natural Option for Your Final Resting Place

Written by Gillian Cantello

A visit to a Pembroke cemetery where wildflower meadows replace mowed lawns, and why natural burial is worth considering. The article covers biodegradable materials, working with a funeral home, and the fact that Ottawa doesn’t yet have a green burial cemetery.

From Rob Attrell, Board Director and Outreach Committee Chair

Sponsor News

We are thrilled to recognize the ongoing contributions and support of two of our sponsors—Dominion City Brewing Company and SAVVY PARTY Inc—who’ve been supporting events and initiatives by upgrading them up to the ‘Neighbourhood Trunk’ level.

Dominion City Brewing Company has been a proud sponsor for two years now and they expanded their sponsorship to a higher level by helping us to put on the first ever Music in the Woods festival this summer. They are a tremendous supporter of the community and many events and causes across the entire city.

Savvy Party have also stepped up their contributions and supported a number of our events, including major support to the music festival. They are an incredible partner that have gone above and beyond to help us put on first class events that bring the community together and strengthen our connectedness.

Thank you to both our new Neighbourhood Trunk sponsors, you are great example of caring and committed businesses that help to make our part of the city a great place to live and play! Contact us to see how your business can contribute to the community association and benefit from a strong partnership with our local community.

Volunteer Opportunities

We have a ton of ongoing opportunities to get involved, please have a look at the full list (linked). Please reach out to [email protected] if you’re interested.

• Volunteering to organize Upcoming Events
  • Community Yoga (Monthly September to May)
  • Hallowe’en Costumed Bike Parade (October 31)
  • Christmas Lights Block Party (December)
  • Weekend School Gym Drop-ins (Fall-Winter-Spring)
• Volunteer Coordinator
  • Send regular updates to volunteer group about new and upcoming opportunities
  • Help event planners find volunteers
  • Help recruit new community volunteers
• Events Coordinator
  • Keep track of upcoming events with leads
  • Make sure events have a poster, date/time, RSVPs, booking, etc.
• A/V Expert/Coordinator
  • Someone that can help out with in-person events that need video or sound to help set things up
  • Can give advice for possible purchases in this area
• Local Experts/Coordinators
  • We’d love to hear from you if you are interested in representing your specific area’s interests within the community association. Our boundaries include Convent Glen North and South, as well as Orleans Wood and everything north of St Joseph and west of Place d’Orléans, and we hear from some parts of the community much more than others.
• School Parent Council Liaisons
  • If you’re affiliated with a parent council, in the community we’d love to be in touch to coordinate events where appropriate.
• Graphic Designer
  • If you have a strong eye for design or visuals, we’d love your help putting together graphics for community promotion or advertising community events.
  • We have been using Canva for design, so experience with that program would certainly be helpful.
  • Tasks we’d be looking for help with include the following:
    • Help us to create posters, flyers, and other materials for events
    • Support graphic design needs like logos or other graphics.

Submit Your Photos Today

The Photo and Video Archive is our attempt at a community-owned, locally-sourced repository of high-quality visuals. By building this crowdsourced repository, we are creating a shared resource that belongs to the neighbourhood.

We are looking for “stock-style” photos and/or video that captures the everyday reality of our corner of Orléans. This includes the beauty of our ravines and river paths, but also the mundane—the intersections we cross, the homes we live in, and the ways we move through the community. You could look to capture something you really love or something you seek to improve. This media allows us to make our perspective visible to the rest of the city.

Contribute Knowledge to your Community

Our new forum is designed to let community residents break out of the algorithmic traps of social media and contribute to a shared knowledge base that reflects community needs and sentiment.

Built using Discourse community software, the CGOW Forum is an online public square for a variety of topics important to our neighbourhoods, and you can even navigate and read the forum without an account.

We now have almost 300 members and our newsletter reaches over 650 people each month.

We’re hoping to get your help to register your friends and neighbours in the community by running a membership drive, featuring ✨prizes✨ for residents who encourage the most new signups (provided those people are residents living inside our Geographical Boundaries).

If you aren’t already a CA member, join today! You can still participate if you’re a brand new member.

Orléans Community Network

The Orléans Community Network is a way for different organizations and community groups to keep in touch, share information, events, and best practices, and unite in advocacy on relevant issues. It’s also a great way for residents to find and get in touch with community groups that are active in Orléans.

To have your organization included in the network, reach out to [email protected] with the name of the organization, its website, and a main contact email address.

CGOW Community Network

The Convent Glen Orléans Wood (CGOW) Community Network is a dedicated way for volunteer groups, schools, and local organizations right here in Convent Glen and Orléans Wood to communicate and collaborate. Powered by your Convent Glen Orléans Wood Community Association, our mission is to foster a more connected, informed, and collaborative neighbourhood. We believe that by making it easier for us all to communicate and work together, we can strengthen the tight-knit bonds that make our community a truly special place to live.

To have your organization included in the network, send an email to [email protected] and let us know the organization’s name, website, and a central contact email address.