GNAG – the beating heart of the Glebe
What makes a community centre the heart of a neighbourhood? Everyone might have a different answer based on how they use the centre and its services. In the last few months, I have seen and heard many ways in which GNAG embodies the beating heart of the Glebe. Parents have told me the Glebe Community Centre is the safe place they always tell their children to go to in the event of an emergency; it’s a place for meetings, programming, creativity, gathering and, most of all, it is a place where people feel at home.
Creating that atmosphere is not an easy task, but we want anyone who walks through the doors to feel safe, relaxed and at home. Among those who feel most at home in our building are our preschool children. The preschool playground is used by many different organizations and community members daily, but it is close to the end of its lifecycle and if it is not replaced, it will eventually not meet early years licensing standards. To that end, GNAG applied for a minor capital grant with the City of Ottawa to redevelop the playground to provide users with the best possible facility.
The grant was approved and many different stakeholders have donated to this cause. We have a collaboration of funds with the City of Ottawa, Councillor Shawn Menard, Glebe Cooperative Nursery School (GCNS) and Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG). We are so excited to have a gorgeous natural playground plan for our fenced yard. The design has been drafted and we’ll give you a peek prior to its final iteration. Due to high costs of construction, we are still lacking the last $15,000 for the project.
To help raise this final amount, we are throwing a Trivia Night on December 1st at 7:30 p.m. This night will be filled with trivia and fun and all the proceeds will go to the playground redevelopment! Each table can comfortably fit six to eight players, so bring some friends and prove you’re the smartest crew in the Glebe. There will be snacks at each table; charcuterie boards as well as bottles of wine and pitchers of beer available for purchase. The Glebe Cooperative Nursery School will be there to host a silent auction. GNAG is donating priority registration for one family for the 2023 Summer Camp Program – imagine not having to log on and try to get a spot! See our website for more details!
Holiday shopping at the Glebe CC
The annual Glebe Craft & Artisan Fair is back for two weekends, featuring 40-plus vendors each weekend. Leave Jeff Bezos off your gift list and start your holiday shopping by supporting local artisans. Check out the list of vendors at GNAG.ca.
Saturdays, November 19:
10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Sunday, November 20:
11 a.m.–5 p.m.
Saturday, November 26:
10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday, November 27:
11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Taste in the Glebe is back!
We are thrilled to announce Taste in the Glebe will be back on January 26. Tickets for the traditional cocktail-party-style, food-and-wine show will go on sale online on November 21 at 7 p.m. Last time, the tickets sold out in seven minutes so get ready to type fast.
We will also be hosting the premier event, a seated tutored tasting, on March 7, 2023. This offers us an opportunity to seat our guests in the Main Hall and give everyone a little more breathing space. Premier tickets will go on sale January 12 at 7 p.m., just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Don’t forget
Winter Program registration!
Beat the winter blahs with GNAG. Registration begins Tuesday, December 6 at 7 p.m. The Winter program guide will be available at GNAG.ca on November 21.
Halloween event
On behalf of myself and the team, I want to thank all the part-time staff, volunteers and the crowd – about 250 people –for coming out and participating in our Halloween event. Many hours were spent planning, building and creating our Enchanted/Forbidden Forest. It is so nice to be able to celebrate the holidays again and have so many families attend an in-person event. A special shout-out goes to First Quality Sound for illuminating and adding to the Halloween atmosphere. Finally, thank you to the full-time team – this event would not have been possible without your wild imaginations, creativity and passion for community programming.
Glebe Central Pub recognition
A big thank you to the Glebe Central Pub which ran a charity golf tournament and 50/50 draw in support of GNAG. I had a great time attending the post-golf dinner where we raised $1,480 for our Community Development Fund. We will be using these funds for subsidized spots for children wanting to attend camp including Winter Break, March Break etc.
