It’s Here! Can’t Wait to See Everyone
The day is here, and we’re ready to go!
The Wheels Parade is going to be a flash of colour as the kids speed down the street on their decorated scooters and bikes. We have loads of extra ribbons and balloons if you need them. Come find us in the kids’ section!
The Silent Auction is turning out to be the event of the day with items of all kinds! We have foursomes on golf courses in Toronto and Ottawa; beautiful original works of art; tickets to Rogers Cup 2019 and certificates to local restaurants; plus classes at local yoga and wellness studios and kids’ gymnastics. There’s definitely something for everyone!
The potluck is rounding out with contributions from neighbours and local restaurants; and the music will be outstanding again this year.
Join us in the revelry starting at noon!
Four More Sleeps
We’re days away and are excited to see things taking shape.
If you live on Walmsley, you likely woke up today to a flyer announcing the kids’ talent show at 2pm on Saturday. Very proud of these girls for taking the initiative in getting this new activity up and running this year!
The silent auction is filling up with all kinds of items, including gift certificates for facials and flowers, to restaurants and fitness studios. A weekend at the cottage or a piece of original art.
There’s still lots of opportunities to sign up and help out, and also to get yourself a tee shirt.
Do YOU have something for the Silent Auction?
Efforts are ramping up to find exciting items for our silent auction as Festival Day is only one week away. What do you have that you could offer?
Currently we have some very exciting items for the auction. Items are coming from all spheres of life, including a cottage getaway, restaurant gift certificates, a fitness assessment, a full facial and original art.
What do you have to offer?!
Only 10 Days Away!
Getting very excited for the Festival, which is days away.
Please let us know if you have items to donate for the Silent Auction and if you would like to volunteer. You can email me at saritagardner@yahoo.com; or use the volunteer sign up form here.
Check out the schedule to plan your day — look for the races, yoga, bollywood, talent show, crafts and live music. All kinds of fun all day long!
Volunteer Sign-Up
Please sign up here for an hour of volunteering to help make this the best Walmsley Festival ever!
Bike Parades, Races, Yoga and Bollywood
We had a packed meeting last night, and got the ball rolling on a number of new initiatives this year.
Bike Parade
Get the kids out and on the street to kick things off with a bike/scooter parade.
Races and a North vs South tug of war!
At noon, we’ll have a variety of competitions for everyone to test their agility, speed and endurance. Come out big and small!
Yoga
At 1pm, Oxygen Yoga and Wellness Studio is offering us a free class right here on the street. Bring your mats and come for some family fun.
Talent Show
Do you want to show off your talents? Take the stage at 2pm and entertain with your favourite number.
Bollywood
Join Nidhi at 3pm for our opening musical set as she leads us in some Bollywood moves
Recent Update Plus Action and Feedback Required
Lots of work going on behind the scenes as we get ready. Please read below so you can follow up on your action items (cash contribution; raffle prize acquisitions; and food ideas).
Family Contributions
Please make your family donation (if you have not already) either by e-transfer to saritagardner@gmail.com or by cash or cheque in a sealed envelope with your name and number to #69 Walmsley Blvd. These contributions pay for items like street barricade ($400), insurance ($250), street closure permit ($150), various sundry expenses ($200 – $300). All financial tracking is available for review in the google drive.
Festival Website
Up-to-date information regarding schedules, music, food and raffle will be posted to www.walmsleyblvdfestival.com.
Food – Potluck, paella and food trucks
Last year we felt that we did not have enough contributions to the food table so this year we are considering contracting food trucks. Would people be interested? FOod trucks would require cash purchases. Please comment below on your opinion.
Raffle items
Does anyone have access to sporting events? Jays, Leafs, Rock, TFC, etc? Sporting events are huge hits for the raffle. Restaurants are also great — if you have a favourite restaurant you frequent would you feel comfortable asking for a gift certificate? All proceeds go to our two awesome charities — Nikibasika & Camp Kirk. Their charity numbers are located here. Suzanne is leading the raffle this year so any items to be donated can be directed to #69 Walmsley.
Poster Publicity
This year, a week prior to the event, children will be invited to get together and create posters announcing the Festival. Stay tuned for more details.
Tee Shirts
This year they are RED! Put your order in now — only pre-ordered shirts will be available!
Races and North-South Tug-of-War
Get ready for this year’s addition of exciting (and casual) races and competitions culminating in the Tug-of-War challenge!
Planning Meeting — Notes (next meeting August 8)
Planning is in full swing as the Street Festival is just around the corner. Yesterday we met at Ellie’s to examine feedback from last year’s event, to refine the Festival’s schedule and consider activity offerings.
Some items that came up at yesterday’s meeting:
Garbage: we are looking to do a better job at sorting and dispensing of garbage over the course of the day. We will need volunteers to supervise bins and ensure we do better.
Potluck: we hope this year to have more food, and to present it in a more organized fashion, attempting to display ingredients and to prioritize healthy options over dessert. (Last year, for example, candy — which the kids loved! — came out perhaps too early :). We also would like to ask local, neighbourhood restaurants to contribute to the potluck, particularly since we end up feeding friends of the street as well.
Timing: we think we could push the music forward, and end the entire event a little earlier. It’s a long (fun!) day for those of us who are there for the whole event, but we could condense it a little and not lose anything. We will begin with a camp-like singalong before dinner and continue with the musical programme from there.
Publicity: last year, people felt we could have told some of our family friends of the event since they too would have enjoyed it. Our charities benefit from the additional guests, and our festival has enough activities to handle more guests. The more the merrier. To help spread the word, we are considering a poster-making party at the end of August. The kids can create some poster announcements to put on Walmsley and Lawton.
Volunteers: each main activity will have one supervising volunteer (example: food — Ellie; raffle — Suzanne; music — Sara; garbage — ? ; crafts — Sam; sports — Mike and Denise; carnival games — Nancy). These team leads will be looking for a crew of volunteers to rotate support throughout the day. Please let us know if you will volunteer so we can plan for your help.
Next meeting:
Wed. Aug. 8, 2018 at 7pm
Ellie’s house
2 Walmsley Blvd
Don’t forget:
1. Make your contribution for your family ($25/household) to cover expenses by e-transferring saritagardner@gmail.com
2. Order your t-shirts
Please confirm your attendance at Wed Aug 8th meeting. We will need to secure the volunteer positions.
WBF Team