Join us at the Collingwood Neighborhood House Annex for a refreshing break during the Collingwood Days Festival! This is a perfect opportunity to relax, enjoy some light refreshments, and mingle with fellow community members.
Tag: Community Development
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Collingwood Days: Hula & Storytelling with Rani Wangsawidjaya
Unlock a world of creativity and expression. Join us for a transformative experience that combines the art of movement with the magic of stories. Unleash your creativity and connect with the rich cultural heritage of hula and storytelling.
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Collingwood Days: Family Storytime
Join us for a fun-filled program perfect for parents and caregivers with young children! Enjoy a lively mix of songs, rhymes, and stories in a welcoming setting that’s suitable for children of all ages and abilities. It’s a great way to learn and have fun together. Come along and make some joyful memories!
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Collingwood Days: Movie Night in the Park
Bring your chair and get cozy at Gaston Park to watch School of Rock (2003) after dusk. Please note that the movie will only take place if the weather permits.
About the Movie:
After being fired from his own rock band, a struggling musician poses as a substitute teacher at a private elementary school. After getting to know his class, he does everything to form a band with them for a competition called “Battle of the Bands.” They do everything in order to prepare themselves for the competition without anyone else discovering the real truth. -
Collingwood Days: Festival Day
Join us for Collingwood Days’ Grand Festival Day at Gaston Park! Featuring music and dance performances, storytelling, poetry, workshops, stiltwalkers, games, food trucks, and more!
Indigenous Blessing and Artisans, Main Stage Performances, Roving Performers, Marketplace, Kids Zone, Food Trucks (Yo-Bones BBQ and Potato Corner)
Schedule
11 AM: Opening Blessings
12 PM: CCPC 30th Anniversary Cake
1 PM: Watermelon Eating Contest
2:30 PM: Raffle Draws
2:45 PM: Closing Ceremony
For more details, performer bios, and more, visit Collingwood Days’ website.
Performances by
MC HK (Master of Ceremonies)
CW Music School
Hula Dance
SEACHS
Elite Squad
Still Moon Arts Society (roving performers)
Indigenous Performers -
Origami Circle
Happening every second Saturday of the month, the Origami Circle is a space where everyone can learn about the art of paper folding.
These sessions are free and all the materials are provided.
Registration
Online registration is now available through our web portal. Follow the link below or call 604-435-0323 to register on the phone.
For questions, please contact Yoko at 604-428-9142 or at ytomita@cnh.bc.ca.
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Lisa Symons: A ‘critical’ team member of the RCC News celebrates 15 years at CNH
Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At each year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.This year, we recognize and celebrate Lisa Symons for 15 years of service. Here’s what Jennifer Gray-Grant, Executive Director of CNH, had to say about Lisa:
Lisa’s journey with CNH has followed a familiar path: first, her children got involved in programs. Then, she saw a volunteer opportunity and grabbed it. Soon, she was working as a contractor for CNH. In the blink of an eye, more than 20 years have passed, 15 of those as a CNH contractor.
When Lisa was bringing her children to CNH, she wound up chatting with staff. At one point, somebody recommended that she would be a great volunteer for the inaugural Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) committee. The NSG offers grants of anywhere from $50 to $500 to ad hoc groups of neighbours to create a project that improves their neighbourhood socially, culturally or physically.
Lisa tackled the role with enthusiasm, helping to create the promotional materials, figure out marketing, evaluate the applications and work with project organizers to support their success.
She has also held a few other small contracts with CNH, helping to organize community meetings and initiatives.
Lisa is such a natural relating to people that CNH recruited her to the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News, where she remains today, selling advertising for the newspaper. She’s a critical member of the newspaper’s team which works collaboratively to ensure that the paper represents the neighbourhood and recruit people to write for it. She’s well-known to local business owners and managers who hear from her regularly as she reaches out to organize their advertisements to run in the paper.
Lisa continues to volunteer her time with CNH, most recently doing volunteer grocery shopping for homebound seniors during the pandemic. She has also had a role in contacting seniors to let them know about CNH’s services and classes and helping to register them for programs.
Thinking about her 15 years with the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News, Lisa points out that while so many newspapers have closed, the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News has continued to publish. She attributes that success to the community members and businesses that continue to contribute to the newspaper.
As to why she has stayed so long at CNH, Lisa said: “The CNH environment’s inclusiveness and diversity makes it so rewarding; you feel it’s a special organization to work for. Many services and programs operate out of CNH, with countless employees, but as a part-time contractor I’ve always thought my contribution was encouraged and valued.”
To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.
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Julie Cheng celebrates 25-year journey of art, literacy and community news at CNH
Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) proudly recognizes its long-serving staff members. At this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), CNH staff and contractors who have reached the milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of service to the neighbourhood house were thanked by the Board of Directors.
This year, we recognize and celebrate Julie Cheng for 25 years of service. Here’s what Jennifer Gray-Grant, Executive Director of CNH, had to say about Julie:
Around the time I met Julie, I invited her for lunch. She arrived at the restaurant on her bike, ordered a healthy meal and then talked about work but also about her children and partner. At the end of the meal she pulled a container from her backpack to tuck away her leftovers, so she wouldn’t waste food.
That’s pretty much what you need to know about Julie: she’s a healthy, thoughtful, prepared, principled person who is engaged in her work and is a loving partner and mom.
During her 25 years as a contractor at CNH, Julie has worked on a variety of projects. But first, she was a volunteer and sat on CNH’s Board of Directors; this was in the early 1990s when CNH’s main site was being developed.
As a contractor in the 1990s she worked on an arts-and-culture project that created, among other things, the Multicultural Archway in front of the CNH Joyce location. Julie recalls that the Building Community Through Cultural Expression project also spawned the annual Moon Festival and the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News.
She then worked on Multiculturalism Week where, as she distinctly remembers, the week’s activities ended on February 21; Her daughter Kate was born on February 22. Julie said Kate “still has wonderful timing to this day”.
Julie also served as Renfrew-Collingwood’s Literacy Plan Coordinator, a project that brought together 200 people to develop a literacy plan for the neighbourhood.
In 2007 Julie became editor of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News a role she embraced with enthusiasm, working hard to reflect the neighbourhood in the pages of the newspaper. She also used a guiding principle she learned on the CNH Board: everyone has a gift to share. She turned that into a tagline for the newspaper: Every voice matters. Julie recently left that position but still retains the role of online editor.
Julie said her long relationship with CNH has been an amazing journey where she and her partner have raised their children. “CNH has been an important part of it.” As she looks to the future she said she’s looking forward to playing tennis, spending time in her garden and raising mason bees.
Thank you, Julie, and congratulations on this milestone!
To learn about current career opportunities at CNH, visit www.cnh.bc.ca/about/careers.
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Joyce Street banners: Sunbeams lead the way
Last month, a new set of banners lining Joyce Street were mounted, aiming to share stories of the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood.
Illustrated by Aaniya Asrani, the banners lean into past and present, taking inspiration from a series of community gatherings that took place earlier this year.
“It started with community members gathering to [share] what home and community means to them,” said Asrani, noting that sessions took place at St. Mary’s Elementary School, Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) and through a platform called Curiko.
In these sessions, participants collaborated with each other and the sun to capture their thoughts and the present moment using cyanotypes, a type of photographic process. Asrani and another artist named Annie Canto collaborated on some of the workshops, helping participants find materials in their local environment, such as leaves, rocks, grass and flowers. The pair also helped participants make drawings on acetate sheets to lay over top cyanotype paper and fabric, leaving a negative image of the form that was laid down.
Asrani then used these cyanotypes as a base to illustrate the history of the neighbourhood which would then be turned into the street banners along Joyce Street.
“The imagery I created in response was inspired by the history of Joyce-Collingwood, which used to be full of fields, apple orchards, and even a lake,” said Asrani. “As time went on, land was segregated and businesses and homes popped up, along with the road and railways that connected this place to others.”
“I’m super grateful to Loretta Houben’s hard work and research putting together the Collingwood Chronicles which goes into great detail about the history of this place from the perspective of someone who grew up here,” they added. “I was able to use direct references of maps and images of the actual trains to shape the artwork, share the story more accurately, and also develop the concepts around this specific context.”
Students from St. Mary’s participated in a short walk on Sept. 27 to see the banners and were very excited to recognize part of their work on the street, said staff at CNH. The banners are expected to stay up for the next two years.
This project was funded by the Neighbourhood Matching Fund.
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‘It’s been a big part of my life’ says longtime volunteer on CNH
For 13 years, Barry Londry, 67, has found himself inside the kitchen at Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) every Tuesday. A volunteer chef for Community Lunch, Barry says he never expected to stay beyond a couple of weeks but now he’s a permanent fixture of the popular low-cost lunch program. “From day one, I’ve been doing the soups and I’ve gotten known for that, good or bad,” he says with a laugh. “Some people have nice compliments but I don’t think I live up to that.”
With a professional background as a chef and volunteer work with the rooftop garden at CNH, it was a perfect fit when Barry was first asked about participating in the lunch program. However, it’s his passion for food, culture and people that has encouraged him to stay. From congee to borscht and squash soup, Barry says he’s cooked a diversity of dishes at CNH thanks to the monthly menu prepared by the program’s head chef. “I enjoy doing it and it’s easy for me and fun,” he says.
Over the years, Barry has cooked for other events at CNH and in the broader Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood. He has also helped lead other kitchen programs at CNH and was instrumental in starting the Cheyenne Community Garden and the Norquay Food Forest. Barry continues to volunteer regularly at the gardens and participates in the seniors’ karaoke program every month. He also receives cleaning services through Better at Home. However, Barry is no “regular volunteer,” according to staff at CNH. Barry often shares his knowledge and skills within the neighbourhood, working collaboratively “to make the best conclusions,” says Emily Rees, Director of Community Development. “Without him, our programs won’t succeed.”
In fact, Barry’s wealth of knowledge, skills and interest in collaboration has allowed him opportunities that go beyond simply meeting new people at CNH. Through his time at the neighbourhood house, he’s also gained opportunities and experiences beyond his dreams. Most surprising, he says, was being invited to help prepare a feast for C.R.E.W., the Indigenous Youth Program’s annual canoe excursion for Indigenous youth. “We helped clean hundreds of crabs and got involved with a really nice, full dinner with smoked salmon, traditional salmon and chowder,” he says. “I wouldn’t have experienced that otherwise.”
In 2012, Barry recalls a cross-cultural meal he helped prepare for a group of city planners visiting CNH. Another year, he participated in and graduated from a course offered by the Community Development Department for community development and community capacity building at Capilano University. “I completed the course and we had a graduation party,” he says. “It was really great learning about the field by a really diverse group of people who were either working and/or volunteering in the industry.” Later, he was asked about his “dream kitchen” when CNH was building the Annex. Barry worked with the kitchen designer to help design and outfit the Annex kitchen with appliances and major equipment. “When I saw the Annex kitchen completed I felt proud for being a part of it,” he says.
When asked how CNH has shaped his life, it’s difficult for Barry to hold back tears. “It’s been a big part of my life,” he says. “I consider it my home, I really do.” He adds that it was difficult being away from CNH during closures in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic but he is relieved being able to be on-site and back to the kitchen. “It was a tough time but it’s just a big part of my life,” Barry says.” A very positive part.”
This story was originally written for our 2023 Annual Report, which highlights the experiences of program participants, volunteers and community members at CNH. To learn more about volunteering with at CNH, visit cnh.bc.ca/volunteer.
