Happy New Year Parkdale Neighbours!
Last month, December 29 marked 68 years for our community. Community Associations play an integral role – convening and building community while sharing ideas to improve our quality of life. While 2021 tested this with COVID-19, we continued to deliver programs and services to our community.
- Our well subscribed garden program was able to continue to operate safely. New features were added including the Majorie Hyatt Memorial and the Community Resilient Landscaping Hub.
- The Youth Soccer Program provided an outdoor experience for our children. Drills and games kept our youth busy over the spring months. Thank you to all the parent volunteers that make this program so successful.
- The Future of Parkdale community survey was launched to gather feedback on shaping our community design. Stay tuned for workshop dates.
- Introduced the PCA micro-grants to support resident initiatives that encourage community involvement and good citizenship.
- Our biggest events of the year included: YYC Food Trucks in May to July, Jane’s Walk in Parkdale in May, Chalk Art Contests in June, Parkdale Garden Tour on August 8, Parkdale Party in the Park on August 21, and Parkdale Pet Fest on September 11.
- Co-hosted a Ward 7 Candidates Forum with our Ward 7 community association peers.
- We organized our first Holiday Market in partnership with Parkdale Nifty 50’s in November. The Holiday Market was also the launch of our new Parkdale Community Association logo.
- Calgary’s first accessible outdoor rink and hub (phase 2) was constructed. We benefited from municipal stimulus funding and were able to complete the community hub, making our facility the first accessible outdoor community rink in Calgary.
- We ended the year with our annual Santa Sleigh ride through Parkdale on December 4 that included collecting donations for the Calgary Food Bank.
I am really proud that the PCA continues to wade through the challenges of COVID-19 and how it impacted our operations and programs. We were able to maintain a healthy organization (financially) and provide programs to the community.
I am hopeful for 2022 and looking forward to the grand opening of the Parkdale Accessible Community Rink. Join us on January 29 for a free fun community skate with a few surprises to celebrate the opening of our new facility. Celebrating Hockey Day in Canada in Parkdale!
As we move forward into 2021, we need your help. We are looking for volunteers to join our Board of Directors. Specifically, we are looking for a Treasurer – someone with an eye to details including accounting and audit experience. A CA or CFA background is preferred. This role would start in the spring, elected at the Annual General Meeting.
Let’s make 2022 a great year for Parkdale!
Cheers to the new year!
Amanda Affonso
