Photo Recap: Youth Stewardship Program 2017

Photo Recap: Youth Stewardship Program 2017

by | Jul 29, 2017 | Blog

It’s that time of year again! Our youth stewardship program has returned! Here at the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee, we’re big on the environment. For that reason, a number of our programs focus on encouraging environmental conservation and sustainability.

This year, we were lucky enough to partner with both the City of Toronto and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to develop a really engaging and exciting program for our youth.

With the goal of connecting youth from the community with nature, our youth stewardship program gives young community members the opportunity to explore, learn about, and engage with the incredible environment we live in here in Thorncliffe Park!

Some of the programming this year included a hike and trail clean-up in E.T. Seton Park, an interactive workshop on the Don Valley Ravine system, nature photography, and tree stewardship.

Take a look at some of the snapshots from the past week to get a glimpse into this

conservation | environmentalism | nature
TPWC Family Garden Trip to Whittamore’s Farm

TPWC Family Garden Trip to Whittamore’s Farm

by | Jul 12, 2017 | Blog

On Wednesday, July 11th, twenty of the gardeners from the Thorncliffe Family Garden piled onto a yellow school bus, and set off to Markham, Ontario. Our destination? Whittamore’s Farm!

We spent a lovely, sunny afternoon at the farm picking strawberries together. Once everybody’s baskets were full, we took some time to relax, sharing food and stories as we picnicked in a wide, open field, surrounded by nature.

Are you interested in joining us on exciting, community-building excursions like this one? Join our mailing list for more information on our upcoming events!
local food
Inauguration of the TPWC Park Café

Inauguration of the TPWC Park Café

by | Jul 10, 2017 | Blog

This summer has been an exciting one for us here at the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee. After yet another fruitful season of our weekly community bazaar, we hosted the grand opening of our brand new Park Café last Friday!
Thanks to our incredible supporting partners, including Ontario Trillium Foundation, Alexandra Park Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Scadding Court Community Centre, City of Toronto Parks Department, City of Toronto-Economic Development & Culture, the Metcalf Foundation, and Foodshare Toronto, we are so excited to introduce the newest innovation in our neighbourhood’s local economy.

Set in a fully equipped shipping container, our Park Café model utilizes a place-based model of local economic development by leveraging neighbourhood assets such as the park, existing bazaar, and local talent to improve livelihoods of our community members, with a focus on newcomer women and youth. Under the Thorncliffe Park Women’s Committee’s umbrella, this collective model will provide opportunities by reducing barriers for low-income entrepreneurs and making the entry to entrepreneurship more feasible.

This café will also serve as an extension of our summer market, and will act as a space for our catering enterprise, Flavours of Thorncliffe, sharing resources and strengthening the local economy by linking entrepreneurship with local community development.

Our inauguration was a smashing success, with dozens of local residents crowded around the container café, as well as our local government and city officials in attendance – including MP Rob Oliphant, Premier Kathleen Wynne, and head of Toronto Parks, Janie Romoff. After the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, community members and our government officials shared stories over some delicious samosas prepared by our café staff.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend our grand opening last week, be sure to stop by the café this Friday for some tasty treats prepared by your neighbours!

community building | entrepreneurship | local economy | local food | parks
Annual Eid Bazaars – This Weekend!

Annual Eid Bazaars – This Weekend!

by | Jun 22, 2017 | Blog

Tomorrow is the first day of our annual three-day Eid Bazaar event in R.V. Burgess Park! If you’re looking for some quality shopping time, this is the place for you – we have clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories on sale from a multitude of local vendors. Feeling hungry? We’ve got you covered on that front, too! Taste the flavours of Thorncliffe, stopping by for some delicious eats from one of our many local cooks. This is our most popular event of the year, so be sure to make a trip to R.V. Burgess this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday between 5pm and 1am.

This event could also be a fantastic opportunity for you if you’re interested in becoming a vendor! If you have any clothing, jewelry, or food that you’re looking to sell, be sure to register for a table at our bazaars this weekend! The one-day registration fee – which includes both a table and tent – is $60 . If you’re interested in becoming a vendor, be sure to send us an email (sali@tpwomenscomm.org) or give us a call at (647) 203-2545. We look forward to hearing from you!

Eid | R.V. Burgess Park
7 things we love about the Thorncliffe Community Market

7 things we love about the Thorncliffe Community Market

by | Jul 8, 2016 | Blog

As the 2016 market season comes to a close after a very busy and fruitful four months of Friday afternoon markets, we decided to take some time to think about why we love the Thorncliffe Community Market.

1. Bringing community members – of all ages, genders, and races – together to socialize and celebrate in our beautiful, revitalized greenspace.

Click through the gallery to check out our six other reasons why you should “mark – et” down in your calendar for next summer – see you then!

events | programming | R.V. Burgess Park