Arnold van den Hoeven, Outreach Committee
As you all have seen over the past months, we have an engaged and enthusiastic team working within the community association to deliver on our mandates. Of greatest importance is our ability to engage with each other and to make and deepen our connections within the community. Our surveys have told us you are seeking more ways to engage with each other and we’ve listened. We are happy to announce a few new initiatives that will be seeking to connect us all in a fun and social way starting this June.
Community Cafe (CGOW.ca/fe)
Starting Sundays in June; 9:30 – noon at Voyageur Park
The CGOW.ca/fe will be starting out in June with a pilot project on Sunday mornings between 9:30 and noon, beginning with the Voyageur park location. There will be a coffee bike cart (with yours truly playing barista) that will be serving freshly brewed coffee and treats at an affordable price, with all proceeds going to help fund and grow more community events for all of us.
The first location will be situated right near the playground so feel free to come out and bring the kids to enjoy summer weather and get to know more of your neighbours in a social setting. My family originally comes from the Netherlands and I was just over there for a family reunion, once again reminded of the great practice of “terrace-je” where everyone socializes outdoors when the sun’s out. We don’t have enough places to regularly meet up with friends and neighbours where we live, we’re hoping this can serve to help us gather and connect.
We will be sourcing all of our products as locally as possible, so come and check out the offerings and stay in touch through our Community Forum here and check out the events on our Facebook group and here on our website. Some preliminary considerations for our first Sunday cafe would be to bring along a chair or blanket to stay and chat longer and feel free to bring your own mug. You might even want to coordinate with some friends to enjoy Bike Sundays and wind up at Voyageur Park for a rewarding coffee and treat!
Community Picnics (Pop-up Park Picnics)
Starting 3rd week of June (21st-22nd; TBD) at Hiawatha Park, details to come.
Our second initiative will be Community Pop-up Park Picnics that will be hosted in every corner of our catchment over the course of the summer. These will be family centric events with free hot-dogs and treats for the kids and a gathering of family and friends to welcome summer in our neighbourhood. This is another excellent way we can work to connect families together and enjoy the best of our many parks and amenities.
Our initial kick off will be happening the third week of June (21st-22nd; TBD) at Hiawatha Park with its nearby splash-pad, stay tuned for more details and for the second and third picnics to be held in July and August. Our goal would be for families and friends to bring their own picnics, ideally sourced from great local businesses that we all want to support. You will be encouraged to share details of your great food finds on our Facebook page so we can all learn about the hidden gems we may not have discovered yet.
Surveying residents has shown that you were looking for more events, and so we are aiming to provide more opportunities to connect and enhance our community. More details will be provided here on our website and Facebook group, as well as our Community Forum, so stay engaged. One important part of all this will be volunteers to help us deliver these events, please consider helping out for one or more of these events, you can contact me at [email protected] or any of our directors and board members. We can’t wait to see you all this summer!
