Cedar Grove School’s inaugural Light up the Night Lantern Festival was a great success judging by the turnout and excited students showing their parents around. I enjoyed a delicious bowl of vegetarian chili and bought some yummy goodies. Great music too, by Bad to the Bow students. I was impressed by the lovely lanterns made by students that adorned the tables and trails around the school. Bravo CG School community!
What a busy March meeting of the Elphinstone Community Association (ECA)! Director Donna McMahon had a PowerPoint presentation featuring an overview of the budget that directors are currently labouring over. Important topics covered and questioned about were water and garbage. Donna talked about trail development and it was pointed out that Elphinstone does not have a lot of trails. Beach access was raised as a concern. Her latest newsletter is available at everythingelphinstone.ca.
The ECA Annual General Meeting will take place next month – come hear about this past year’s highlights and have a chance to give input for the future direction and renew your membership. The ECA is looking for new board members, especially representatives from neighbourhood associations. Join us at Frank West Hall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10.
At a Resilient Neighbourhoods get-together, I recently heard about the Fircrest neighbourhood and what they’re doing to develop community spirit. It began two years ago when Gwen Willox, who belonged to book clubs for years, decided to organize one on her street. It began as six people and soon grew to 13 folk getting together once a month to discuss the agreed-upon book.
What happened next is quite exciting. They decided to plan a block party and most of the street turned up. Neighbours met and chatted and decided it needed to become an annual event.
Gwen says that Fircrest has “a long history of neighbourly-ness but it had faded out by the time we bought here.” She told me that families with young children are starting to move in again.
The following September a neighbour told Gwen about seed money through Vancouver Coastal Health’s Resilient Neighbourhoods grants and so they applied. They were successful and were able to buy a cake and print some flyers. Their theme was Country Hoedown and even though disaster struck in the form of rain, 50 to 60 people still showed up!
Meanwhile the book club flourishes and they discuss everything from sci-fi to historical fiction to non-fiction. Gwen says that she’s only the “point person” and that everyone on the street contributes. They plan to have their third annual block party this coming September. They are even planning a survey of people on the street – noting skills and needs in case of an emergency. What a valuable thing, especially if you’re an older person living alone, knowing that your neighbours are looking out for you. Contact Gwen at [email protected] if you’re interested in learning more about how Fircrest developed into such a vibrant community.
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