We’re very excited about this year’s event. In addition to all the amazing plants that have been donated to us, we’re also holding a loonie auction, there will be live music by The Gala Vanters (www.thegalavanters.com), the Oliver Ambassador program will be holding a Barbeque (all profits go to support their program), and Leza McDonald will be running a kids craft corner and art show. There will also be information booths and a seed swap.
Come on out and see the Oliver Community Garden’s new look and support us at our Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday, May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm. The sale will be held at the Oliver Community Garden at the Quail’s Nest Art Centre on Airport Road in Oliver, across from Transwest Helicopters. Bring a friend!
We’re very excited about this year’s event. In addition to all the amazing plants that have been donated to us, we’re also holding a loonie auction, there will be live music by The Gala Vanters (www.thegalavanters.com), the Oliver Ambassador program will be holding a Barbeque (all profits go to support their program), and Leza McDonald will be running a kids craft corner and art show. There will also be information booths and a seed swap.
Come on out and see the Oliver Community Garden’s new look and support us at our Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday, May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm. The sale will be held at the Oliver Community Garden at the Quail’s Nest Art Centre on Airport Road in Oliver, across from Transwest Helicopters. Bring a friend!
by Heather Whittall, Oliver Community Garden Society
We’ve been hard at work preparing for our big Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street. We’ve held a plant sale in combination with Communities in Bloom for the past 3 years but this year we’re flying solo as the Communities in Bloom competition is finished for Oliver, for now.
Gardeners will want to check out the plants and other gardening products for sale, as well as bring along some seeds for an informal seed swap on site.
This year we’re hoping to make the sale more of an event. We have The Gala Vanters lined up to play some live music, there will be a craft corner for the kids, food, local vendors, loonie auction, lots of gardening information and of course, lots of plants. The Oliver Ambassadors will also be on hand for the festivities.
We still need help with a few things:
First, we need plants to sell! If you’re digging in your garden and have plants to divide and pass on, send them our way! We’ll gladly take those extra perennials or bulbs. Rearranging and no room for that rosebush? Let us help you find it a new home. Please call or email us and we can arrange to pick the plants up from you. In-kind donations are welcome from local businesses and individuals who want to support this very “green” community garden project. It’s a great way to show your support of this eco-friendly group, and encourage more gardening. Donations of soil, fertilizer, seed, garden equipment, gardening clothes and accessories, or anything else related to gardening would be warmly welcomed.
The second thing is a food vendor. We’d love to have a BBQ set up selling hamburgers and hotdogs so consider this an invitation to a local service group to grab an extra fund raising opportunity. You can keep all the profits – we’d just like to have food available as part of the event.
by Heather Whittall, Oliver Community Garden Society
We’ve been hard at work preparing for our big Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street. We’ve held a plant sale in combination with Communities in Bloom for the past 3 years but this year we’re flying solo as the Communities in Bloom competition is finished for Oliver, for now.
Gardeners will want to check out the plants and other gardening products for sale, as well as bring along some seeds for an informal seed swap on site.
This year we’re hoping to make the sale more of an event. We have The Gala Vanters lined up to play some live music, there will be a craft corner for the kids, food, local vendors, loonie auction, lots of gardening information and of course, lots of plants. The Oliver Ambassadors will also be on hand for the festivities.
We still need help with a few things:
First, we need plants to sell! If you’re digging in your garden and have plants to divide and pass on, send them our way! We’ll gladly take those extra perennials or bulbs. Rearranging and no room for that rosebush? Let us help you find it a new home. Please call or email us and we can arrange to pick the plants up from you. In-kind donations are welcome from local businesses and individuals who want to support this very “green” community garden project. It’s a great way to show your support of this eco-friendly group, and encourage more gardening. Donations of soil, fertilizer, seed, garden equipment, gardening clothes and accessories, or anything else related to gardening would be warmly welcomed.
The second thing is a food vendor. We’d love to have a BBQ set up selling hamburgers and hotdogs so consider this an invitation to a local service group to grab an extra fund raising opportunity. You can keep all the profits – we’d just like to have food available as part of the event.
The Oliver Handbell Ringers and the Oliver Community Garden Society are two new groups under the umbrella of the Oliver Community Arts Council.
The Oliver Handbell Ringers, under the direction of Sue Gay have been performing for the last few years. Their concerts have been gaining in excitement as the ensemble has been gaining in skill. The ensemble attains a clear warm sound, with music that can both stimulate and relax. Proceeds from their concerts and donations from the community have gone towards purchasing tuned sets of bells and sheet music.
The ensemble is always looking to train new members. It’s an exciting and non-threatening way to learn music, and gives you a gentle workout in the process. What more could you ask for?
The Oliver Community Garden Society has also recently joined. See the article below (“Arts Council growing relationship”) for more information about this community-spirited organization or check out their website (click on the link at right under “Member Organizations”).
The “umbrella” of the arts council is a unique opportunity for groups and businesses to:
* have a forum for co-operating and networking within the local arts community,
* take advantage of advertising and promotional opportunities (like this one!),
* apply for financial aid, and
* to have a greater voice municipally and provincially to increase awareness of and access funding for arts groups.
And what about you? There’s lots of room under the umbrella! Contact olivercac@gmail for more information about becoming a member or fill out the membership form by clicking the link under the banner above.
The arts council hopes to grow a green thumb in 2011.
Oliver Community Garden Society reps Heather Whittall and Marji Basso proposed a partnership with the arts council at the January meeting of the OCAC Board. The Community Garden has been seeking a new location, after their two-year tenancy at the Murray property on Main Street. The Murray property has been slated for other development.
The Community Garden proposal included a request for land use at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre (34274 95th Street) and installation of 20 – 30 container beds, a small storage shed, and other garden features. The proposed area is a narrow strip of land 100 x 25 feet running north-south along the west side of the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre property, adjacent to a back alleyway.
An exciting component to this partnership are proposed arts and culture projects. Whittall and Basso suggested events of mutual benefit to the two societies, including educational workshops, children’s gardening programmes, and joint artistic installations such as painted picket fencing, decorated paving stones, a gazebo, birdhouses, and statuary. Basso described the proposed garden as a “magical” space, that would be an attractive, inviting and self-contained area.
A joint committee of the two organizations is currently writing a memorandum of understanding that will delineate land use, leasing arrangements, security, liability coverage, and water usage and access.
by Heath Whittall
