We had a great time riding (and walking) in the 48th Annual Oak Bay Tea Party Parade yesterday! We had more members come out to join us, and the crowds were fantastic! It sure helped that the sun shone, and we all got a welcome (albeit brief) reprieve from the cold, wet weather that has marred this Spring.
We decorated with some balloons, ribbon, fresh flowers, and some very creative minds. The crowd-pleaser was the bubbles, so this will definitely be a tradition to carry on for years to come.
We also handed out cards with a link to how to host a Block Party in Oak Bay. We are encouraging Oak Bay to connect with their neighbours by having a block party this summer. There’s no better way to build community than by organizing a party together, and having some fun!
You can see some photos of our cycling community association sensation on our flickr photostream.
Time to get your summer on, and join us in the Oak Bay Tea Party Parade! The Tea Party begins this Saturday!
Your Community Association needs you to join us with your bicycles, wagons, or even just your feet. We hope to have a good number of members out to have fun, and draw new members. The more, the merrier! We had a great time in the parade last year, and hope you’ll come out and join us in raising our community profile.
We’ll be handing out cards with our website address, and a link to how to plan a block party. Our mission is to build community by neighbours getting to know each other at their annual block party.
We’ll also be blowing bubbles.
Please meet us on the street beside Windsor Park Pavilion at 9:30AM. We’ll bring some extra decorations for your bicycles. The parade begins at 10:30 AM. Here’s a map of the parade, in case you’re curious.
When: Saturday, June 5, 2010
Where to meet: Windsor Park
What time: 9:30AM
What to bring: Your bicycle (what a way to wrap up Bike to Work Week!), your kids, your wagon, and bubbles if you’ve got ‘em.
See you Saturday!
Thanks for your support,
Michelle Kirby
Hey Neighbours! Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time to relax and have some laid back, good times with your neighbours!
If you would like to have a block party this summer, now’s the time to put in your email requests to Oak Bay Council! If you want the freedom of a street closed to traffic for your party (street hockey, bicycle races, and people in general enjoy a street without cars!) then you’ll need permission from Council to do it.
All you have to do is send an email to Oak Bay Council at
indicating the date of the party, times and duration of the street closure that you are requesting.
Once you’ve figured out a date with your neighbours, have asked and been granted the street closure from Council, try checking out our Oak Bay Block Party Checklist (42) and get started on your party plan!
Neighbours Project Block Party 101
The Basic Block Party: How-to throw a party in Chicago
Edmonton’s Block Party Planning Checklist
Our Blocks: 10 Reasons to Have a Block Party
Jill Croft, founding member of the Community Association of Oak Bay, and the CAOB Administrative Assistant, is now a prize winning letter writer.
Jill submitted a letter to Momentum Magazine about her family’s Progressive Christmas Dinner. She described how her family cycled or walked (or in some cases car-pooled) from house to house for each segment of their Christmas Dinner. For her effort, Jill won a beautiful Brooks bag. Congratulations Jill! That’s some sweet swag to carry your CAOB membership sign-up sheets around town.
You can read her letter here, and gather some inspiration to try it out with your family for your next holiday celebration!
Not only was the story shared through Momentum, a superb North American cycling magazine, it was also front page news on Christmas Day in Oak Bay.
Congratulations Jill, and thanks for the inspiration! There are going to be more cyclists in our community this year, because of your enthusiastic example!
Contributed by Jill Croft
The Community Association of Oak Bay, CAOB, celebrated World Health Day in Saanich today with the Shelbourne Corridor Bike Ride.
Sunday, April 11th was perfect for a leisurely cycle from Oak Bay Rec through Uplands and Uvic to Gordon Head Rec. Two dozen bikers were escorted through our municipality by cycling Policeman, Chris Gaudy, giving all riders a sense of safety along the route.
As we rode closer to Gordon Head Rec bikers of all ages joined the throng of hundreds of two wheeled recreational riders assembled in the park. What a colourful sight to see families gathered, chatting and admiring each other’s cycling gear. At 11:15 the more than 300 bikers peddled along Feltham, down Shelbourne Street, crossing McKenzie ending up at Cedar Hill Mall, without having to stop for a red light along the route. What a quiet revolution, cycling, bells ringing and a sense of liberation while traveling one of the most heavily car used routes in Victoria!
This was a significant way to proclaim Victorians love of cycling is here!
SUNDAY, APRIL 11TH IS WORLD HEALTH DAY
1000 CITIES, 1000 LIVES
A ONE-DAY WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EVENT
Bike with the Community Association of Oak Bay and celebrate the Shelbourne Corridor. Bring your family for free fun and exercise.
Meet at Oak Bay Rec Centre (Bee Street Entrance) at 10am and cycle to Gordon Head Rec Centre for a police escorted – slow pace – family bike ride from Gordon Head Rec Centre along the Shelbourne Corridor to Shelbourne and Cedar Hill X Road.
Get an “Undriver License”, take part in the Bike Rodeo and grab a snack at a charity supported BBQ.
If Uplands Park inspires you, bring your creations…art, poetry, photography, music…and share with your community. Everyone is invited by the newly formed “Friends of Uplands Park”. Let us know what you can do artistically at this event, by contacting Margaret. (contact information below)
Celebrate Our Garry Oak Meadows in Uplands Park
Sunday April 25, 2010
1 to 3 pm Rain or shine
Information tables will be at the grassy entrance to Cattle Point at Beach Drive. Join a nature walk, sing songs, read your poetry, create some art and let us know your personal connection with the park. Join the Friends of Uplands Park and commit to preserving this jewel in our community. Bring your family, a picnic lunch and your sense of joy.
This event is supported by Oak Bay Parks Dept, Girl Guides and the Community Association of Oak Bay.
Contacts:
Margaret Lidkea mlidkea@shaw.ca 250-595-8084
Kathleen Matthews kathleenmatt@gmail.com 250-598 7995
We had a great turnout for the first ever Community Association Potluck on Saturday!
We had a couple of people come that were new to Oak Bay, and many who have been here for years. We had CAOB Executive members and their partners and families, many of whom were meeting for the first time, as well as new members that signed up at the door to join the Association.
The crowd brought some delicious food, and we hope that you’ll share your recipes on our Forum.
We enjoyed some good luck, and were treated with a huge variety of choices on the table, from homemade soups, bread, mashed potatoes fresh from the garden that day, tabbouleh, cookies and crumbles, Coffee (donated by Neil at Willows Park Grocery and Black Bear Coffee), and so much more!
We enjoyed some great music from Ron and Linden Carter! A huge thanks go out to them for bringing their guitars and sharing their talent with us! Good music definitely makes a gathering fun and memorable!
For more photos from the event, please see our Flickr stream.
Thanks also to the Oak Bay Scouts for renting us the Hall! It was great to have a warm and dry space to come in from the (torrential) rain that day!
The Oak Bay Connector Potluck is today at the Scout Hall, 4:30-7:30 PM, and we hope to see you there!
Bring a dish of food, a plate or bowl, some cutlery and enjoy a good meal with your neighbours!
We’ve got music, and lots of room for kids to run around out of the rain!
The second edition of the Oak Bay Connector has been released! Please have a look in the centre of your Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Oak Bay News to find it!
Download it here: Oak Bay Connector Newsletter - 2nd Edition (125)
Comments (2) 
Loading ...
