Spread the Feeling!

Kraft has partnered with the Daily Bread Food Bank for an event on July 24^th at Ontario Place. The Kraft Peanut Butter Bears ‘Smoothie’ and ‘Crunchy’ will be on site sharing free hugs to everyone who visits. For every hug that ‘Smoothie’ and ‘Crunchy’ receive, Kraft will donate one 500g jar of peanut butter to the Daily Bread Food Bank in an effort to help relieve hunger within the city.

Anyone who can’t make it out in person, can still support the cause by visiting http://www.spreadthefeeling.ca/ to send a virtual hug. Kraft hopes to generate enough hugs to donate up to 20,000 500g jars of Kraft Peanut Butter to Daily Bread Food Bank. To date, Kraft has donated 28,218 jars of Kraft Peanut Butter and hope to donate up to 20,000 more on July 24^th. So come out and spread the feeling!

A Reminder: Jumpin' In The Junction!

We haven't had a chance to check this out because we've been out of town. I've heard rave reviews about it! If you missed the last three weeks’ events, be sure to drop by for the last week of Jumpin in the Junction.

What is Jumpin in the Junction? It is a great little festival that will go on four Saturdays in a row from Saturday June 26th to Saturday July 17th. It’s being held at the Junction Train Platform at Dundas St. West and Pacific Ave. There will be free balloons and clowns and face painting and stuff for kids to jump on. It starts at 11:00 a.m. and runs till 3:00 p.m. Multi instrumentalist and Juno award nominee Peter Cliché plays up tempo folk and Celtic tunes on July 17th. A really fun feature each week is the “Sunflower Seed Spitting Contest”. Five spits for a nickel, a prize for each contestant and every one gets an official certificate to take home and frame. And of course there’s the best lemonade in the City at twenty five cents a glass. Even more, one of the Junction BIA members, Jocelyn Short of Jocelyn’s Burgers has stepped up and donated a wheel barrow full of water melons so we’re selling that too at fifty cents a slice. The only thing better than the lemonade, water melon and music will be all the smiles and laughter. So come to the Junction and “Let’s Get Jumpin”!

Stay Cool!

Photo: Toronto4Kids.com

It's now day 5 of this oppressive heatwave and I'm on a mission to find new and interesting ways to keep cool. Staying in the air-conditioned house all day with three kids is a surefire way to drive anyone mad! And keeping the kids from running amok at the local mall is a work-out that I don't care to have.

We've spent two days this week at the Vine Park wading pool. It is fabulous! Lots of shade, a great playground and sandbox, a large field for any of those running around types and a surprising breeze coming across the tracks. We also love the wading pool at Lithuania Park, High Park and Baird Park which are all within walking distance. But we're looking for something new so I thought I'd post of a list of local (and somewhat local) splash pads and wading pools in the West Toronto/Etobicoke area. Follow the link posted after each section to see a map. For up-to-date information about splash pads, wading pools and outdoor pools, including hours of operation, visit http://www.toronto.ca/parks or call the pool hotline at 416-338-POOL (7665).

Other places we might go:
Metro Toronto Zoo has a great splash pad. Worth the drive even just to cool off for a few hours!
Ontario Place has a great waterpark (and kids may have received a free admission coupon during the last week of school)
Centreville Amusement Park on Toronto Island. The ferry ride is half the fun!

See you at one of these cool places!

Splash Pads:
Amesbury Park Splash Pad
Braid Park Splash Pad
Balmoral Park Splash Pad
Bell Manor Park Splash Pad
Beresford Park Splash Pad
Chelsea Park Splash Pad
Coronation Park Splash Pad
Fairfield Park Splash Pad
Flemington Park 2A Splash Pad
Flemington Park 63A Splash Pad
Gracedale Park Splash Pad
Heathrow Park Splash Pad
High Park North Splash Pad
Highfield Park Splash Pad
Kingsview Park Splash Pad
Lanyard Park Splash Pad
Rexdale Park Splash Pad
Rotary Park Splash Pad
Smythe Park Splash Pad
Weston Lions Park Splash Pad
Courtesy of: http://kidsenergyburner.com/swimming/splash-pads-toronto-ontario

Wading Pools:
Beresford Park Wading Pool
Birch Park Wading Pool
Budapest Wading Pool
Centennial Park Wading Pool
Donald Russell Memorial Park Wading Pool
Earlscourt Park Wading Pool
Fairhaven Park Wading Pool
Geary Park Wading Pool
General Mercer Wading Pool
Glen Park Wading Pool
High Park Wading Pool
Lithuania Park Wading Pool
Loretto College Wading Pool
Marie Curtis Park Wading Pool
Mimico Memorial Park Wading Pool
Pelham Park Wading Pool
Primrose Park Wading Pool
Prince of Wales Park Wading Pool
Ravina Gardens Wading Pool
Rennie Park Wading Pool
Rexlington Park Wading Pool
Runnymede Park Wading Pool
Sir Casmir Gzowski Wading Pool
Summerlea Park Wading Pool
Sunnydale Park Wading Pool
Sunnylea Park Wading Pool
Vine Ave Park Wading Pool
Wadsworth Park Wading Pool
Courtesy of: http://kidsenergyburner.com/swimming/wading-pools-toronto-ontario

Outdoor Pools:
Amesbury Pool
Amos Waites Pool
Domenico DiLuca Pool
Eringate Pool
Fairhaven Pool
Flagstaff Pool
Gihon Spring Pool
Giovanni Caboto Pool
Gord and Irene Risk Pool
High Park Pool
Lambton-Kingsway Pool
Ourland Pool
Park Lawn Pool
Pine Point Pool
Richmond Gardens Pool
Rotary Pool
Smithfield Pool
Smythe Pool
Sunnyside-Gus Ryder Pool
Wedgewood Pool
West Deane Pool
West Mall Pool
Westgrove Pool
Westmount Pool
Weston Lions Pool
Courtesy of: http://kidsenergyburner.com/swimming/public-swimming-pools-toronto-ontario

Baird Park Dog Off-Leash Area? Have Your Say!

Love Baird Park? A dog's off-leash area is being proposed in the open area west of the playground where many children and adults play soccer, etc.

Have your say at the Public Information Meeting!!

City of Toronto representatives are hosting a public information update meeting to:

• Review the proposed area
• Receive comments/input from the public
• Discuss next steps

Everyone is welcome to attend!

Date: Tuesday, July 13

Time: 7-9 p.m.

Location: Annette Community Recreation Centre- Gymnasium, 333 Annette Street

For further information, contact:

Aydin Sarrafzadeh, Program Standards & Development Officer

416-392-0582 or asarraf@toronto.ca