Scarborough Village Neighbourhood Association hosting community festival
Date: Friday, June 02 @ 00:00:00 UTC
Topic: Black Habits Articles


TORONTO – What better way to celebrate community than a neighbourhood block party? Hundreds of people will celebrate the opening of a new playground and enjoy a community festival as part of the one-year anniversary of the Action for Neighbourhood Change (ANC) project in Scarborough Village, supported by United Way of Greater Toronto and the Government of Canada. The celebration occurs this Sunday, June 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is hosted by the Scarborough Village Neighbourhood Association (SVNA).

A highlight of Sunday’s festival is the official opening of a new playground at noon, made possible through the efforts of local residents committed to creating places of community pride. There is also a free barbecue and refreshments, children’s activities, as well as music and cultural dances by neighbourhood performers. There will also be a cricket demonstration, basketball and skateboarding.

Special guests include Frances Lankin, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Toronto; The Honourable John McKay, MP, Scarborough-Guildwood; Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader and Opposition Leader John Tory; Councillor Brian Ashton, Ward 36 Scarborough Southwest; and Gary Crawford, Vice-Chair, Toronto District School Board and Trustee, Ward 18, Scarborough South West. Official ceremonies start at noon.

“The community festival offers a chance to bring the people of the area together – residents, businesses, community organizations – to work to build a healthy, safe and vibrant neighbourhood,’’ said Krishna Badan, a member of SVNA. “We would like a big turnout so that the festival reflects the diversity of the neighbourhood and Toronto.”

Scarborough Village Neighbourhood Association is one of the key outcomes from the Toronto ANC initiative. It is building its presence as an important resident-led organization, working to remove barriers to create opportunities to build a healthy neighbourhood. Issues SVNA is working on include community safety, advocating for additional programs and services for youth, and developing programs and services for Scarborough Village’s incredibly diverse population.

Some Scarborough Village facts Scarborough Village is a community of about 13,000 residents in the Markham Road and Eglinton Avenue area in the east end of Toronto. It’s one of five urban neighbourhoods across Canada participating in the joint federal government-United Way Action for Neighbourhood Change community-engagement initiative. ANC empowers local residents, businesses, schools and others to create a vision and action plan for their neighbourhood. It is also one of the 13 priority neighbourhoods identified by the City of Toronto and United Way. More information on ANC is available at www.anccommunity.ca.

Seventy-two per cent of Scarborough Village’s 13,725 residents are members of a visible minority, and of the 8,372 residents who were born outside of Canada, 64 per cent arrived between 1991 and 2001. Fifteen per cent of residents speak Tamil, and five per cent speak Urdu.

Date: Sunday, June 4, 2006
Time: Noon – playground opening and official ceremonies
11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. – community festival
Place: Scarborough Village Park, located behind Cedar Drive Junior Public School at 21 Gatesview Avenue.





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