Notice – 2019 Annual General Meeting

Hi Friends and Volunteers,

This is a notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Leighton Dillman Park Oven, Garden, and Orchard Association.

The AGM will take place on Saturday, June 29th at 10 AM, at the Park Oven on Park Avenue in downtown Dartmouth. Should rain be in the forecast, it will be postponed to the following Saturday, July 6th, same time and place. The rain notice will be posted on our website no later than 24 hours before the meeting is to start.

We hope to see you there!

Board of Directors
Leighton Dillman Park Oven, Garden and Orchard Association.

2019 Season Kickoff!

First, picking up the dropped ball

Before I say anything about the 2019 season, I want to take a moment to pick up a ball I dropped back in the Fall by not recognizing an incredibly huge support contribution that the Park Oven is a grateful recipient.

Students from the NSCC’s Baking & Pastry Arts Program at the Akerley campus held a bake sale fundraiser will all proceeds going in support of the Park Avenue Community Oven. This is the 2nd straight year the students have held a fundraiser for the Park Oven, and this year raised a whopping $850 in a single go!

The timing of this support could not have been better as over the winter, unfortunately, we lost our amazing firewood sponsor from the last 7 years. Because of this financial support, we will now have the funds necessary to ensure the Park Oven has all the firewood needed to heat our hearts and cook our food for another season.

On behalf of all the other Park Oven organizers and volunteers, a rousing big thanks to the students and NSCC for their support. We appreciate it! Continue reading

NSCC PUTS THE COMMUNITY IN COLLEGE

Recently, pupils and staff from the Nova Scotia Community College’s Baking & Pastry Arts program held a bake sale in support of the Park Avenue Community Oven.

We were fortunate enough to be invited to visit those students and faculty at Fresh Twenty One (a student-led restaurant classroom) to enjoy some delicious food, and receive a cheque for $800 in proceeds from the bake sale! Continue reading

Celebrating Food & Volunteers at the Park Avenue Community Oven (VIDEO)

WARNING, the following video will probably make you hungry! The footage was recorded in Autumn 2015, during the last time the original Park Oven was used before being rebuilt. The video highlights our amazing volunteers as well as the versatility of the oven. Watch as our volunteers prepare pizzas, bake hand-pressed tortillas, cook in cast iron pans and roast meat directly on the coals!

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Annual General Meeting

AGMs are a very important annual event for any society or association. They offer an opportunity for interested members, citizens, and other stakeholders to receive an update on the overall health of the organization.

It is very important that all volunteers (volunteers are association members) attend the AGM and play an active role in governing the direction of the association. Any member of the community is welcome to attend the AGM as well. However, only those who have a garden plot or who have volunteered with us within the last year of the AGM are eligible to attend as voting members.

2017 Annual General Meeting Details:

Date: Saturday, June 24th

Time: 3:15 PM

Location: Starr Room, Alderney Gate Public Library (located on the 2nd floor)

Park Oven Community Garden Compost Sale

A fact we’d like more people to know about is that we also organize a community garden and orchard within the Leighton Dillman Park at the  Dartmouth Commons. Indeed, for many years before the Park Oven was even an idea, some of our founding members helped to organize the community plots near the scenic gardens area of the commons. Both of these initiatives tie in beautifully with our mantra of Grow, Cook & Eat Together.

Compost Sale

We are happy to announce that will be selling compost for $3 per 5 US gal bucket. Buckets will be on hand for measuring but please bring your own bucket/bags if you are taking the compost off-site.

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2016 Season Supporters

suppoer-thank-you-2016The 2016 season is quickly coming to and end and while we don’t have the exact numbers yet, it has been a very busy year for visitors to the park. To keep things running and improving, the Park Oven is fortunate to receive a lot of support from people and businesses in the community. Special thanks this year belongs to:

Continue reading

Updates from the Park

There is lots happening in and around the Leighton Dillman Park these days and this post should get you caught up to speed.

Accessible Gardens

IMG_20160521_174629We are pleased to announce the completion of 5 new barrier-free, accessible garden beds in our community garden area. These plots will enable seniors and disabled persons to enjoy the simple pleasure of getting outside and staying active through gardening. Gardening is known to have many benefits for overall physical and mental health such as improving mobility and flexibility as well as reducing stress levels and allowing the person to relax.
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We could not have accomplished this project without the grant from the Dartmouth Community Health Board that paid for the timber and supplies. We were also extremely fortunate to have Sean Murray from Work of Artz and Mick Doran‘s team from Kildare Construction donate their expertise to help design and construct the new gardens. Sean, Mick, and the team showed up on a Saturday at 9:00 AM and worked straight through to 6:30 PM to complete the project in time for planting season. They even donated some additional supplies that were required. 

Kildare Construction

Rebuild, Grand Re-opening & AGM

IMG_20160507_175811_hdrAs we announced last summer, we were the fortunate recipients of a $25,000 grant from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.  These funds allowed us to complete the rebuilding of the Park Avenue Community Oven through a series of community cob-building workshops. It will also allow us to expand our urban orchard with the planting of new trees and bushes happening in the Spring and Fall of 2016.
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With the rebuild now complete, we are excited to have our soft opening scheduled for Saturday, June 4th and our Grand Re-opening and AGM slated for Saturday, June 25th. As always, the oven will be open every Saturday at noon starting with our soft opening. We also would like to extend an invite to any interested members of our community to attend our AGM which will be held onsite at the Park Avenue Community Oven from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM following by our Grand Re-opening at noon. Bring food to cook!

Volunteering

IMG_20160507_161810Our volunteers are amazing! They help bring the Dartmouth Common to life by enabling our unique venue to be utilized by thousands of visitors each year. Last year alone, we hosted 39 event bookings and 26 Open Ovens, with this year promising to be even busier.

For persons looking to get involved in one of the most happening community development projects in the province, now is the time! We are hosting a volunteer orientation and training session on Sunday, June 5th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the park oven. For more information and to RSVP, please email Owen at paco@dartmouth-oven.com.

Well, that’s the story, folks. Glad we could get together.