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Bake Ovens & Food (Main)
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Friday Night Suppers | Pizza | Food Cart
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Welcome to the Bake Ovens and Food pages
Food is an important part of life at the park, and there's lots of it. The Bake Ovens produce much of the food sold at the park, and they are at the centre of the many parts of the food life around the park. See Food In The Park for more information.
posted April 15, 2004
Where
The two wood ovens are near the basketball courts and the outdoor ice rink, at the northwest corner of the park. They're next to some flower and vegetable gardens that are surrounded by split-rail fences to keep the dogs out. Roses grow over the fence, and beans and squash in season. Sometimes in winter if it's really cold out, skaters come off the ice to stand by the oven nearest the rink, to try and warm themselves. But the ovens are not very warming, because they were designed to channel all their heat into their baking chamber.
Read more about the Bake Ovens>>
News 2010
From the July - August 2010 Newsletter:
FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPER by the oven, 6 p.m
This is also a weekly fundraiser for park programs. All the surplus goes to adding more programming at the playground in the summer. A win-win! General information: Everyone welcome. No reservations are necessary. Park cooks use ingredients from the Thursday farmers’ market. Cost: by donation. Suggested donations (to cover cost of materials plus park program fundraising): soup $3, main dish $7 (choice of meat or vegetarian/vegan), salad $2.50, dessert $2.50 - $3 depending. Pay less if you don’t have the money, more if you want to help more. Cooks this year (taking turns) are Mary Sylwester, Matt Leitold, Yo Utano, and Leslie Lindsay. Supper is served until 7.30pm. Bring a blanket to sit on – the park’s picnic table supply has diminished from 45 to 25.
Read more Ovens and Food news >>
Media 2010
posted on August 29, 2010
Do: Friday Night Supper at Dufferin Grove Park
Published: June 1, 2010
Source: Do Bake Sew ThinkThe best things in life tend to happen without a lot of planning. Friday afternoon, as we were walking with little fromaggi to visit his new daycare, we bumped into not one, but two sets of friends heading to Dufferin Grove Park for their weekly family dinner. It was completely serendipitous as we were in the middle of trying to figure out a tasty and toddler-friendly place to go for supper since most of our stuff was either in a box or on its way to a box.
And tasty and toddler-friendly we got.
I’ve been hearing about this amazing community event for a while, but somehow never managed to make it up there, mostly due to forgetfulness. What an amazing feeling to experience something new and unique in your city!
posted on May 23, 2010
Porter: Why is it so hard to get city permission for a bake oven in a park?
By: Catherine Porter
Published: May 21, 2010
Source: The StarAs Dawn Vrablic sprinkles corn meal on her board and begins to roll the dough, people are wandering down the path into the heart of Christie Pits park. Pushing strollers, stepping off bicycles, unfolding their blankets, settling down.
That’s what happens when you stoke up a community bake oven. Ask anyone who runs them. Clockwork.
“It’s pizza in the park,” Vrablic says. “Simple formula.”
Tonight is this year’s second Friday pizza night in Christie Pits park. Organizers thought they wouldn’t take place this year because of the city’s new permit requirements. Parks staff say it was a misunderstanding and no one ever told organizers they’d have to pay. Hmmmm . . .
Anyway, who cares as long as the wood is burning, the bricks are hot and the crowds are descending to share neighbourly gossip and sprinkle cheese over dough together. Hooray for bake ovens!