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Pumpkin Parade Nov 1st 2017

The Pumpkin Parade is returning this year for the 3rd time!

Tell your friends and neighbours to bring their Jack O'Lanterns to the park the evening after Halloween to light up the autumn darkness 6:30-8pm.  This year there will be more prizes (books for the kids, and stuff for the grown-ups too like massages and personal training) and a fantastic Fire/Glow Hula Hoop performance by Bex In Motion sponsored by Mulholland Ross.    

                    Fun, Friends, Fire!

FREE, Family Friendly Event - all are welcome

In Dempsey Park, Beecroft Rd between Ellerslie & Betty Ann

6:30pm-8 - still drop your pumpkins off earlier if you can't stay for the party

For each pumpkin you drop off, you get a ballot to vote on all the other designs

Spread the word by posting a flyer, or handing out reminders to Trick'or'Treaters (download them here)

RSVP on the Facebook event to stay up-to-date, or follow on Twitter.

If your business or organization would like to add to the prize pool, please get in touch - friends@dempseypark.ca

Volunteer

Events like these happen with volunteer effort.  If you love our park and want to help make more of these events happen, please consider volunteering.  We can put you to work the evening of this event, and you can help plan others in the future.  The more the merrier!  Please help.                        

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2017 Pumpkin Parade

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New Trees

Over twenty trees were planted in the park yesterday.  The attached image is an older version of the planting plan, but of the ones that went in, they should match up here mostly.  We’ll try to get the actual map for those interested in tree id.  There are some fun, not to common species there.

Hopefully that damage done by the work trust to the turf will repair itself by spring.

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Want to help out with Friends of Dempsey Park? This Saturday (Sept 23 2017) come out to this "Park Bench Session" at 10am, or just for the park tour at 12 and connect with Chris.

Details @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/marketing-and-social-media-for-your-community-park-group-tickets-37077848844

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The City now has a little note up about the park.  They describe it as:

Dempsey Park is located close to North York Civic Centre and is one of a number of little parks throughout the area. This park has an extensive playground that will intrigue children and give them the opportunity to play for hours. It's a great spot for a picnic and an afternoon spent outside in the fresh air.

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Easter Egg Hunt

WHAT: EASTER EGG HUNT

WHO: For parents with children 6 and under

WHAT: Outside Mini-Easter Egg Hunt.

We will place baskets (station baskets) with eggs in them around the park and the kids will need to run around and find the baskets and take one egg from each one

WHEN: Friday (Good Friday) March 25th at 2:30pm in Dempsey Park

WHAT TO BRING:

 1) An empty Easter basket for each one of your kids to put eggs into

 2) Each family please bring a basket of 24 Easter Eggs to be a station basket (just plain little chocolate eggs or be creative… little baggies of Jelly Beans, big plastic eggs etc). Each basket will be used in the hunt so every child will end up with one egg from each basket.

THE PLAN: We will gather at 2:30 at the slide area of the park. We will just be a group parents gathering to hang out with our kids; so each parent is asked to help with organization.      

Park Cleanup

Our 3rd Annual "Clean Toronto Together" Park Cleanup will happen this year on April 23 starting at 11am.  Meet near the wagon wheel and we'll spread out with trash bags to spruce up the park for the coming season.

In Other News

Slow Down, Look Closer Photography Exhibition

Dempsey Park-ian Chris Nolan currently has a photography exhibition on at the near by North York Central Library until the end of March.  Check the website of SLOW DOWN, LOOK CLOSER for details of that show and try to guess which images were taken right there in our park.  He has one or two "Meet the Artist" times still available as well.

Jane's Walk #loveTOwalk

The first weekend in May will see the Jane's Walk festival come to Toronto with over a hundred citizen-led walking tours engaging people all over town.  We hope to have a few walks pass through and/or take place at Dempsey Park.  Please get in touch if you'd like to be involved in those.

Games Nights

Seeking 'Gamesmasters' for the spring games nights in May and June.  Get in touch if you or your child would like to lead the activities one week.

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Two Events in Willowdale to Improve our Parks

Read on for details on LEAF's Adopt-A-Park-Tree program and their Young Urban Forest Leaders launch happening at the Memorial Hall Saturday Feb 6th at 10am with a tree tour at our park afterward, and our Community Parks Summit happening the evening of Feb 11th at Edithvale CC in partnership with Park People, the Councilor's office, and the City.  Hope to see you there.

Adopt-a-Park-Tree & Young Urban Forest Leaders

Do you love trees?  LEAF has a new program they are launching called Adopt-a-Park-Tree and they are hosting their launch near-by on the morning of Feb 6.  Also learn about their Young Urban Forest leaders program which is for female-identified people between 18-24 years of age.  Learn more & Register here.  The optional tree tour afterward will take place through our park.

Community Parks Summit

Join Friends of Dempsey Park and Councilor John Filion and Park People for a Community Parks Summit Feb 11 at Edithvale Community Centre to learn how you can start your own Friends of group for other parks.  We have some great parks in the area, and the more groups doing great things in them the better.  Pass along to others who live a little further from us and encourage them to come out and learn how you can help shape our parks.  Details available here.  We'll be covering some of the following:

Help keep our parks neat and green

Liaise with our office and City staff on park improvement projects

Establish neighbourhood connections through park events

Partnering to continue Willowdale’s Movies in the Parks program

Connect with other parks groups to bring great park ideas to our community

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We finally got some snow in the park today... been a long time coming.  Some snowmen were made, dogs frolicked, and much sledding was had.  How do you enjoy the park in the winter?

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Our community caroling singing event made it into the North York Mirror, Christmas Eve print edition today (Dec 24 2015).  Merry Christmas!

Thanks to photographer Irvin Mintz for coming out to get these great photos of some of our carolers.

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Here is the index from the songbooks we’ll be using for the Caroling Event Saturday Dec 19th at 4pm in Dempsey Park.

Gives you an idea of the ones we’ll have the lyrics available for -- maybe an old favourite jumps out at you?

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Caroling in Dempsey Park

Saturday Dec 19 2015 From 4pm til we get cold

Friends of Dempsey Park in collaboration with St. George on Yonge invites you to come out for some Christmas caroling in the park.  Please join us.

No experience or talent required, this is just an opportunity to get together and spread some joy.  We will bring song booklets so we all have the same lyrics, the books have a mix of Christian and Santa songs.

Bring jingle bells or other instruments if you have them, and any Christmas hats/scarfs/antlers you want to wear.

We will be meeting at the park at 4pm and will sing songs to each other and to people passing by.  We are starting at 4pm so it will be still be light out and we can serenade the sun as it sets a few days before the winter solstice.  Also, this way kids can play/sled (will we have snow?!) if they are not interested in the singing.

Depending on logistics, we might figure out how to have some hot drinks available in the park so bring your own mug for that, or those interested can carol through the streets afterward to the indoor coziness of St. George on Yonge one block to the north to warm up and continue the fellowship.

Please contact Jen via friends@dempseypark.ca if you have any questions.

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Jen Nolan’s Monarch Butterfly pumpkin was declared the David Suzuki Foundation’s favourite jackolantern of 2015.  Thank you!

We have a few milkweed plants growing in the kitchen garden, and Mrs Nolan used this photograph taken at the park for inspiration for her pumpkin. Will you sign the Monarch Manifesto?

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Announcing the winners of the pumpkin voting portion last night's event (2015 Pumpkin Parade):

Pumpkin 17: Monarch Butterfly, Jen Pumpkin 15: Leaves, Jen Pumpkin   7: Intricate White, Anonymous Pumpkin 10: Yoda, Matthew Pumpkin 37: Kitty Cat, Avery Pumpkin   5: WIFI is Down, Anonymous Pumpkin 46: Creepy Creeper, Shane, Nicolas, Peter, Matthew, Ivan Pumpkin 21: Smiley, Phillip Pumpkin 22: Pumpkin Eater, Leo

Thank you everyone for your wonderful pumpkins!

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Reminder email blast.  Click for details.

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Sunday November 1, at 6:30PM is our Pumpkin Parade at Dempsey Park in Willowdale.  Join your neighbours in giving an extra day of use from your awesome Jack’o’lanterns as they light up the park.   If you can’t make the event itself, you’re welcome to still drop off your pumpkin and we’ll put it to use.  Someone will be at the park, near the ‘sand pit’ starting at 5PM to receive them.

It would be wonderful if you could promote the event in your neck of the woods too.  You can find the posters and mini-handouts in this dropbox.  The mini ones are good to hand out with your treats at the door, or maybe hang the large flyer on your door, or on a pole near your house.

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Here is a map of all the pumpkin parades happening around town this Sunday. Not too many in our neck of the woods. Shall we see if we can get more than nearby Dallington?

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Event listing for the Pumpkin Parade on snapd.