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News 2006
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posted December 10, 2006
Friday Night Suppers
6 to 7:30 on Fridays at the Rink House
Friday Night Suppers Friday Night Suppers 6 to 7:30 on Fridays
Friday Night Suppers have resumed (6 to 7.30 p.m. on Fridays at the rink house, $6 for the main plate, between $2-$3 each for soup, salad, dessert, no reservations necessary). Also, seven days a week, the “Zamboni Café” snack bar will be serving substantial winter soups, sandwiches with park oven bread, organic hot dogs, mini-pizzas, and various sweets including park cookies. On weekends there may be more.
The price list at the Zamboni café reflects how much money we need to pay for the materials that went into the food, plus a bit extra for other park uses. But if your grocery money is tight, and you and your kids are hungry after skating, even the cheap snack bar food prices may add up too fast.
If you’re hungry, but you can’t pay as much for the snack bar food, pay less. Park staff also like to do trades – if you can do something for the park (help shovel after a snowstorm, wash dishes, sort tools in the tool cupboard, break up wooden skids for the bread ovens) the park staff will tell you that your money won’t work at the snack bar, and you have to eat for free. That goes for kids too.
On the other hand, if you find the food very cheap and good and think it should cost more, pay more. Every penny goes to the park.
2006 News
posted November 30, 2006
First Friday Night Supper for the winter season will be Friday December 8, NOT December 1 as originally planned (ice not ready)
posted November 11, 2006
RINK NEWS
- Dufferin Rink opens on Dec.2. The first Friday Night Supper in the rink house is the night before, on Dec.1 [ed. changed to December 8], to give the traditional “sneak peek” and heighten the anticipation (and to give updates on this year’s rink arrangements).
The details for Dufferin Rink and all other downtown rinks are posted on the dufferinpark.ca web site: hours, shinny times, phone numbers, maps, photos, rink highlights. They’re also posted on the rink house doors.
Schedule this year: mostly the same as other years, with a few changes:
- a new “beginners only” drop-in shinny time Wednesdays 10 p.m. to 11 pm. (free) Read more>>>
- single permits available on Saturdays (9 pm) and Sundays (9.30 pm), $70 , half-price for youth (youth are no longer free -- new City policy!?!)
- Sunday evening family-shinny time (registration needed, but free) is 5 - 6.30pm. This is a volunteer run, communit program: To register send mail to familyshinny@yahoo.ca
- Skating lessons a little different: call 392-0913 or e-mail Mayssan@dufferinpark.ca. Check the schedule here.
See you at the rink!
posted October 2, 2006
Friday Night Suppers suspended until December 8, 2006 [ed. changed to December 1, 2006]
As happens every year, Friday Night Suppers are suspended during the muddy season at the park (October - November). They will resume during the first week of skating, Friday, December 8, 2006 [ed. changed to December 1, 2006].
From the September 2006 Newsletter...
Regular Events In September
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posted September 7, 2006 Pizza MakingAt the Oven: Tuesdays, noon to 2 pm; Sundays, 1 to 3 pm$2 for dough, sauce, and cheese. Herbs, peppers and tomatoes can be picked from the park gardens, free. Or bring your own added toppings. On warm sundays, the wading pool sprinkler will be on, and the food cart will be at the cob near the playground. On weekends, chess sets are available, basketballs and skateboards/helmets can be borrowed from park staff. Giant checkers are set up by field house checkerboard. |
posted September 7, 2006 Dufferin Grove farmers’ marketThursdays, 3 to 7 pmThe year-round Dufferin Grove farmers’ market, by Dufferin Street near the rink house. Organic produce, meats, baking, cheese, and prepared foods. posted September 7, 2006 Friday Night SupperFridays, 6 to 7 pm (except in very bad weather)Good, cheap food from the farmers’ market, with proceeds used to help park programs. |
posted September 7, 2006
Campfire cooking
Saturdays, 1 to 3 pm, at the cob campfire near the playground
With Anna Bekerman. On warm weekend days the wading pool sprinkler will be on, and the food cart will be at the cob courtyard.
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Anna cooking blue corn pancakes at the Saturday afternoon campfire: | |
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posted September 7, 2006
Picnics And Campfires
Anytime
Picnics don’t need a permit and there are plenty of tables. Campfire permits are available from park staff: call the park at 416 392-0913. There are three locations: the main fire circle south of the basketball court; the smaller fire circle beside the cob courtyard, and the fireplace in the cob courtyard. Park staff give a fire-safety review, two bucket of water and another bucket for sand, and a shovel. You have to bring your own wood.
posted September 6, 2006
TASTING FAIR
Sunday, October 1st, 2006 from 1 to 4 p.m.
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From market manager Anne Freeman: The Dufferin Grove market’s annual Tasting Fair returns on Sunday, October 1st, 2006 from 1 to 4 p.m. Join us for a wonderful afternoon of sampling seasonal delights made by chefs, market farmers and vendors, and local enthusiastic cooks.  2005 Tasting fair |
Try as many tastes as you like at $2 each. There's room for more cooks on our list, so if you would like to help support the market and show off your culinary talents, we'd love to hear from you! Send me an email at market@dufferinpark.ca and we'll provide all the details. See photo gallery.  2005 Tasting fair |
posted August 2, 2006
TRADITIONAL CAMPFIRE COOKING
Thursday afternoon, 1 to 3 pm
with park staff Anna Bekerman. By the cob wall. Cook scones, fritters, dovladas, tortillas. Children too.
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Anna cooking blue corn pancakes at the Saturday afternoon campfire: | |
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Food In The Park
posted August 2, 2006
PIZZA DAYS
12 to 2 Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 1 to 3 Sundays.
From park staff Amy Withers: “Pizza is a make-your-own affair but we cook it for you in the oven and the cost is 2 dollars per pizza for dough, sauce and cheese. You can top your pizza with some of the fresh greens the garden is starting to yield like basil, kale, red chard, dill, and soon tomatoes. Of course feel free to bring extra toppings from home. On hot pizza days we set out the sprinkler for kids to dash through while you chat and we have a few toys and books for little ones too.”
Groups on pizza days:
Small groups: Amy says, “If you have a group of less than 12 people just call the park and tell us that you would like to come. Since pizza days are quite busy we suggest a less hectic time, for instance if you come late in the session (at 1.30 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or 2.30 on Sundays) there is more space for a little group.”
Bigger groups: If you want to have a pizza party for a large group, more than 12 people, you must contact the park at 416 392 0913 to book a time separate from, but adjoining, our regular pizza hours (that is, right before or right after the regular pizza day hours). For the extra time and staff required for a scheduled party we charge 60 dollars plus $2 per pizza as usual. If your group has special circumstances and you are willing to make a trade of labour and time or goods for a lowered price, discuss it with staff….we like making deals.”
posted August 2, 2006
FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPER
Every Friday at the big oven, 6 to 7 p.m.
Friday night suppers, weather permitting, every Friday from 6 to 7.30. Same low prices as other years – or free if you want to do swaps (e.g. park garden help, dishes, park clean-up). Contact park staff if you want to make this arrangement – no documentation is necessary, just your willingness to swap something the park needs (like your skills). See Bake Ovens and Food.
posted August 2, 2006
FOOD CART
it’s at the playground every day
Serving coffee, juice, and good plain bake-oven food, mostly organic. You can swap your work skills for food there too, if you like. In this hot summer, don’t forget to bring a cup from home – the water fountain is broken but the cob courtyard has taps that dispense free, clean, delicious Toronto City water. No need to bring bottled water. (The food cart does sell bottled water, if you must.)
Food In The Park
posted July 4, 2006
Pizza days
Dan at the oven
photo by Wallie Seto
12 to 2 Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 1 to 3 Sundays.
From park staff Amy Withers: “Pizza is a make-your-own affair but we cook it for you in the oven and the cost is 2 dollars per pizza for dough, sauce and cheese. You can top your pizza with some of the fresh greens the garden is starting to yield like basil, kale, red chard, dill, and soon tomatoes. Of course feel free to bring extra toppings from home.
On hot pizza days we set out the sprinkler for kids to dash through while you chat and we have a few toys and books for little ones too.”
Groups on pizza days:
Small groups: Amy says, “If you have a group of less than 12 people just call the park and tell us that you would like to come. Since pizza days are quite busy we suggest a less hectic time, for instance if you come late in the session (at 1.30 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays or 2.30 on Sundays) there is more space for a little group.”
Bigger groups: Amy says, "If you want to have a pizza party for a large group, more than 12 people, you must contact the park at 416 392 0913 to book a time separate from, but adjoining, our regular pizza hours (that is, right before or right after the regular pizza day hours). For the extra time and staff required for a scheduled party we charge 60 dollars plus $2 per pizza as usual. If your group has special circumstances and you are willing to make a trade of labour and time or goods for a lowered price discuss it with staff….we like deals."
Amy’s pizza decorating ideas: “July 4th and 5th are the semi-finals between Germany and Italy (Tuesday) and Portugal and France (Wednesday) so we hope to see lots of flag pizza's with fresh greens from the garden, white mozzarella cheese and red tomato sauce though we may need some creative interpretation and perhaps the park garden serviceberries for the blue in the French flag."
posted July 4, 2006
Friday Night Supper:
Every Friday at the big oven, 6 to 7 p.m.
Friday night supper
On the last Friday of June, Yvonne Machado worked with the park cooks to make a Portuguese meal. She showed them how to make leg of lamb braised in beer and port wine, Portuguese corn bread, and orange cake for dessert. Most of the recipes were not in a book but had been taught to Yvonne by her mother. There wasn’t a single scrap of that meal left over.
The park cooks wanted to cook a Portuguese meal because a group planned to show a Portuguese-language film in honour of the first-ever Portuguese-language film festival in Toronto. But there was such a high wind that evening, the screen couldn’t be put up and the outdoor film was cancelled. The food was delicious anyway! Hopefully some other excellent local cooks will share their knowledge with the park cooks too, and Yvonne says she’ll come back again when she has time.
posted May 24, 2005
Elisa Gilmour’s Canada World Youth fundraiser
Friday night suppers will resume with Elisa Gilmour’s Canada World Youth fundraiser on May 26.
Elisa Gilmour
updated May 27, 2005
$800 was raised for Elisa on May 26!!! Congratulations to her and all the people who turned out
SPECIAL CANADA WORLD YOUTH FRIDAY NIGHT SUPPER, May 26, 6 to 7.30 p.m.
Part-time park staff and student Elisa Gilmour has been accepted to go and work at a yet-undetermined French-speaking country in Africa with Canada World Youth after her graduation this year. To go, she has to do a fundraiser for her fare and expenses. So Elisa has enlisted her friends (including a few friends on the park staff) to cook a tasty supper for the first outdoor supper of 2006. Elisa has asked other talented friends to make music. This supper is pay-what-you-can, so people can help out as much as they are willing. It’s a good chance to find out more about Canada World Youth, too, for young park friends who might be thinking about what’s next after school is finished.
posted May 24, 2005
FOOD IN THE PARK, Spring 2006
Pizza days% (you make your own, we have dough, sauce and cheese for $2): starting again on Sunday May 14, weather permitting. Tuesday pizza days will resume on May 16, Wednesdays not until the third week in June.
Friday night suppers will resume with Elisa Gilmour’s Canada World Youth fundraiser on May 26.
The food cart will return to the playground as soon as there are enough staff, earlier if the staff can get a little help from park friends, from time to time.
GST ON PARK FOOD
The park’s food, despite being pretty cheap (cheaper if you can’t pay), is bringing in enough money now that it supports some park extras – not only some special park programs, but also the web site, the newsletter, extra supplies and repairs, and bits of research about City funds. For the moment, administering the food funds is the task of the '''CEntre for LOcal research into public Space (CELOS)'''. This little research group, started at Dufferin Grove Park but not limited to that one place, received its “letters patent” as a non-profit corporation on '''September 21, 2005'''. A non-profit has to begin paying GST at the $50,000-earnings mark (that will be around the end of May). That doesn’t mean the food brought in $50,000 profit (most of the park food earnings go to buy more groceries to make more park food), but profit is not the point. Paying GST is the law, even for charitable groups (which CELOS is not – no group doing research into government accountability can get charitable status).
Loaves of bread and other groceries are GST-exempt, so that means no GST for farmers’ market bread nor for pizza days (people buy the raw materials and make their own pizza, so it’s like buying groceries). But any bit of prepared lunch, even a 25-cent slice of bread-and-butter at the zamboni café or the cob snack bar, will have 6% GST on it. That provides a great math opportunity for all the park kids (!), and a formidable math opportunity for the CELOS person keeping the park accounts.
CELOS can administer the funds because its mandate includes “practical and theoretical research into parks and public space.” Figuring out how food can add to a park is practical research, for sure. Much of that research has already shown results. Now the goal of CELOS is to collaborate with <strong>City park staff</strong> at all levels, over the next two years, to find the best way for park staff to administer park food funds in the long run. The Dufferin Grove Park staff are remarkable – they’re people our taxes pay for, who take charge and make the park work well. Whether the City management can absorb the new ideas coming out of this particular park and these staff people, remains to be seen.
For those park friends who want to know the nuts and bolts of how the park runs, the monthly CELOS park income/expenses reports will be posted on park web site when the GST date begins. Click on about us.
posted March 17, 2006, updated May 24, 2006
Friday Night Suppers - general information
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Everyone Welcome. No reservations are necessary. Park cooks use ingredients from the Thursday farmers' market. Prices: By donation. Suggested donations (to cover cost of materials plus park program fundraising): soup $2, main dish $7 (choice of vegetarian or vegan), salad $2, dessert $2 - $3 depending. |
During the winter rink season, tables are set up in the rink house. During spring, summer, and early fall, the Friday Night Suppers are held outside, by the bake ovens. |
posted February 14, 2006
Special Friday Night Supper February 24, 2006:
The Opening Of Laura Berman's Art Exhibit: Seasons at Dufferin Grove
The walls will be displaying Laura's Photography, Karl Bechmann will be playing jazz piano, and the food and company will be great as usual. For more about the exhibit, see the Arts section.
posted February 14, 2006
March 3, 6 p.m. Friday Night Supper cooked by guest chef Gita Seaton,...
...a park pen-pal (e-mail) friend who just came back from a cooking stint in Japan. Gita worked there at a high-end restaurant that was so formal that the cooks had to wait until the last guest left and bow them out. Only then could the cooking staff go home to sleep. Gita says that people in Japan don’t seem to sleep much anyway, mostly just work. She’s attracted to cooking a meal at the park because she wants to see if it’s possible to do the work she loves – cooking farmers’ market food – without the high-end fussing. She’ll work with the park cooks and they’ll have some fun, and so will the eaters.
At that supper, there will be new postings of the latest information about running the rink with a community board of management.
posted February 14, 2006
March 10, 6.p.m. Friday Night Supper: emergency preparedness group table
Like last year, the last few Friday Night Suppers of this winter will be combined with some park-or-neighborhood-related discussions. Last year there was a Friday Night Supper where Georgie Donais suggested building a cob courtyard, and look what happened! This year, the March 10 supper will have one table for people who want to discuss an "emergency preparedness group" for this neighbourhood. This idea was prompted by the news that the Canadian government is training soldiers to control the population of cities in case of a catastrophic epidemic of Avian Flu. Accounts of what happened in New Orleans this summer, and some recollections of the big hydro blackout here a few years ago, make it seem prudent not to rely completely on governments in times of trouble. During the hydro blackout, the park became an important source of water for people in high-rises, of cooling-off, and of (sometimes inaccurate) news for people living nearby. Now there’s a possibility that the park will become a wireless internet node, life-saving in cases like New Orleans. If you’re interested in joining a conversation about what else is needed for emergency preparedness, leave a message for park friend Mary Jane Young at the rink house (416 392-0913) and Mary Jane will call you back.