COVID Stage 3. By the time this is published, we should know what will happen with the rest of the summer and whether the hall can be “open.”
It’s now early June and the hall is getting many requests for rentals from hopeful people wanting to hold events. Weddings and birthday parties are filling up the schedule! I hope we will be able to host them all safely within the guidelines and restrictions we have in place at the time. We also have many summer camps running at the hall, karate, a new Friday night Zumba group, and hopefully dance pop-ups with Miss KareBear! Anyone want to plan a welcome back to the HCA BBQ for the fall?
This summer the skate shack is getting a fresh coat of paint, some new bleacher style seating, and an updated look. We would love to be able to rent the space out to local community groups, as well as have it ready for the upcoming skating season. Do you have ideas for the skate shack? What would you like to see in the space?
What do you think about a new “Adopt a Garden” program? Many green spaces around our community have secret garden ninjas that help maintain them. At the front of the HCA, we have planters that were brought to the hall in secret and have been duly watered and maintained by “Mystery T.” This person also looks after the two Haysboro signs (at the hall and 14th Street). There are a few people who have been helping look after the natural playground… pulling weeds and laying mulch. But it is such a big space that needs lots of care! We encourage every parent that brings their kids to the playground to pick up a few of the larger rocks and put them in the “stream beds”, or brush the gravel and mulch from the grass, or pull just a handful of weeds every time they enjoy the park.
As well, does your child’s school have a garden area that needs some love? Fifteen minutes of weed pulling or picking up garbage can help so much. Is there a garden near you that needs some love and care? Why not adopt it yourself? Is there space you see that could use some work from the City (14th street dog run I’m looking at you…!) Call 311 or use the app to report weeds on a larger scale. Is there a city space you would like to see trees planted? Again, call 311 and talk with Urban Forestry.
Our bottle drops continue to be successful to date. We will be having our next bottle drops on July 17 and September 11. We still need volunteers to help with the bottle drop preparation and flyer distribution, as well as volunteers for the days of the drops. Ideally, we need a small committee of people who can take this on. If you have been looking for a way to support your hall this could be it. Please! We need your help.
Now is the time to sign up to get a new community membership or renew your community membership! It is still free (for now) to get a membership. But let’s get to 1,000 members! (We are at around 650 current or lapsed members right now!) If you need assistance, please email me at [email protected].
Please watch the website and emails for upcoming events including, (hopefully), returning fall programs. Hope to see you all soon!
Diane Ward, in the office
