1/11/15

The 2015 Year Ahead with the MHBPNA

Our Neighbourhood Association executive has met over the past month and identified a number of events and initiatives we would like to promote.




Please contact us at mhbpna@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer for any of these events. We always appreciate help. 

Feel free to attend any of our meetings. Our meeting schedule is listed here.


Events


‘Winterfest’ 2015 Hillside Park: Saturday February 21. We are planning to brighten and warm up the middle of winter. Would your child like to toboggan down the hill and have their speed clocked with a radar gun? Food, lights, music, families = lots of fun!

Jane's Walk: May 2-3, 2015. Here is what we did last year. We should have at least two walks scheduled this year.

Ahrens Street Painting: Please "like" our Facebook Page to follow this initiative. 

PenPal Picnic: June (this is open to everyone, but part of the "Pen Pal Project" initiative).

Soap Box Derby (tentative, depending on interest) Saturday August 22nd. Building a soap box racer is not so hard. Look here

3rd Annual Neighbourhood Bike ride. Probably June?

Margaret Avenue Bridge opening celebration with Olde Berlin Neighbourhood association when the bridge opens. Hopefully in late summer!

MHBPNA will also support other projects such as Dekay St Party, KW Lantern Walk, Dekay Bike Rodeo. 

What else would you like to do? Contact us for our help!



Advocacy


Transit Hub Development:

Advocate for an intelligent entrance off Breithaupt St. so cyclists and pedestrians can continue from Waterloo street down to Victoria. 

Advocate for Community Space to be built in the Transit Hub. The region's website is here.


Neighbourhood Planning:  We will work with the City to list all the existing City and Regional plans so we understand the scope of development planned in the MHBP neighbourhood.

152 Shanley: we will continue to lobby for this building to be developed in a positive manner that will benefit the neighbourhood. For the history of this property please read these two Blog posts here and here.

Maze project  (on hold). We do have a few people interested in creating a "living maze" in Breithaupt Park. Let us know if you would like to be involved.

Margaret Avenue Street Painting (bike lanes will be re-painted).


Use our Web Site as a resource! This BLOG is devoted to providing updated information about "what is going on". These stories feed into our new website where we also have sections for Events and Issues.  

1/3/15

Lantern Walk 2014




The 2014 Lantern Walk on December 21 was a great success, with over 100 people in attendance (some counted over 200)!  Community members began showing up around 6pm, just after dark, and by the time the walk started down Hett St., toward Wilhelm, the crowd had grown to fill an entire city block at a time.  After rounding several blocks, the walkers returned to the starting point by about 7:30pm.  

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)





The MHBPNA coordinated with the City of Kitchener and Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro to turn off the street lights in the neighbourhood, making the streets extra dark on this already dark and clear night. Refreshments were served (hot apple cider) prior to the walk, and a local carolling group provided an excellent musical performance!  In a speech prior to setting off, participants were reminded that the walk was an opportunity to reflect on the year past and coming, and on the importance of finding peace during the busy holiday season.






Of course, no overview of the Lantern Walk would be complete without mentioning the lanterns themselves!   Of these, a wide variety of shapes, sizes and designs were on display.  From the hollow, ice-globes housing tea-lights along the boulevard to the oversized rectangular paper lantern that served as the central beacon around which revellers gathered, the lanterns lit up the darkened streets and provided a very enchanting experience. 





Many were built around mason jars, which seemed to be the easiest and safest method to creating your own lantern.  But everybody added their own embellishments to make their mason jar lantern truly their own.


One really special lantern looked just like a 'Despicable Me' minion.  Cool!


Last but certainly not least, who could forget the giant white dove that led the walk down the street.  Hoisted on sticks held by three supporters, the dove lantern was a suiting icon for the message of peace the organizers' wished to convey (if a slightly awkward one to carry down the street!).


We at the MHBPNA, and in the community, would like to gratefully thank the organizers of this very enjoyable event, including Sarah Anderson who has been at the helm for the past two years. Several local businesses helped out and the City of Kitchener supported us with funding and organizational help. We are eagerly looking forward to taking part in the 2015 Lantern Walk! Happy New Year!

James G.