Sorauren Sports 2023 registration open 

Kids playing soccer at Sorauren Park, with families looking on

Some program codes have been corrected from original post.

After three long years it is a great joy to advise the children’s Soccer and Baseball season is returning to Sorauren Park. The program is a collaboration between the volunteer Sorauren Park Sports Association and Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation.
 
·       The season runs May to end of June.
 
·       All games are played at Sorauren Park, from 6-7 pm or 7-8 pm
 
·       Sorauren Park Sports Association runs on the steam of volunteers.
 
·       Coaches are required for (34) teams. NO experience is required, only a fun attitude towards the game.
 
·       All games are refereed with City of Toronto Parks and Recreation staff.
 
·       If you would like to be a Volunteer Coach please email Liz Leason – liz.leason@rogers.com. Or 416-697-5902
 
·       Register through City of Toronto eFun. Below are the registration codes. Please have your City-issued family number and a client number for each participant.
 
NOTE: Some codes have been corrected from the original post. They are also correct on the poster below.

Soccer
4-5 Girls Code 4202910
4-5 Boys Code 4202909
 
Soccer
6-7 Girls Code 4202907
6-7 Boys Code 4203580
 
Soccer
8-9 Girls Code 4202905
8–9 Boys Code 4202904
 
BASEBALL
4-5 T-Ball Code 4202881 Mixed
6-9 T-Ball Code 4202882 Mixed
 

RC Toy Car Rally April 1 at the park

Action from the March 2022 RC Toy Car Rally at Sorauren Park

The Second Annual Radio-Controlled Toy Car Rally zooms into the park on Saturday, April 1 starting at 10 am.

The fun takes place on the course formed by the rink boards on the baseball diamond. While the rink didn’t get much skating action this winter, it will serve one last purpose before the boards come down.

This year there will be different races for different categories, based on car size. Register on-site, participation is free.

The first Rally was held last year and was a ton ‘o fun, with cars of all sizes zipping around the course, over and through obstacles. Volunteer race marshalls registered the participants, rescued stranded cars and kept things moving.

Follow @SoraurenPark on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates, or sign up for the park newsletter. Brought to you by Friends of Sorauren Park and Rally volunteers.

The RC Toy Car Rally is sponsored by Scooter Girl Toys. All race participants will be entered into a draw to win a Lite-Hawk Radio-Controlled Rocket. Plus, you can win a Rowdy Radio-Controlled Toy Car by visiting Scooter Girl on Roncesvalles between March 13 – 26, and dropping off a picture or a few words about what your favourite part of going to the park is. Or, you can like a Scooter Girl post on Facebook or Instagram and tag two friends between March 13 – 26 to enter the car draw.

Family Day fun Feb. 20 at the park

The Sorauren Farmers’ Market and Friends of Sorauren Park are teaming up to bring extra-special Family Day fun to Sorauren Park on Monday, February 20… Family Day.

Ball hockey on the Town Square starts at 1 pm, all welcome. Then the Market gets under way at the Fieldhouse and the bake oven at 3 pm. The Market will have a hot chocolate station, fresh-made delights from the bake oven, kids’ games and activities, face painting and a maple syrup demo. The Market runs till 7 pm.

Mark your calendar now and see you at the park!

Warm weather challenges rink

A chaulk board at the edge of the empty natural ice rink says, "Park and Rink Updates at SoraurenPark.com" The ice looks wet and slushy.

The warm weather is a natural ice rink’s worst enemy. Regular flooding by the volunteer Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew has halted while temperatures are above zero. Conditions become even harder as the calendar moves to March, but the Hosers will continue to monitor the forecast in case there is a change for the better.

Watch this space for updates, or follow @SoraurenPark on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for updates.

Sorauren Farmers’ Market winter schedule

photo of the two-storey brick Sorauren Fieldhouse at night, with lights shining from inside, and bicycles and strollers parked in front
The Market moves indoors at the Sorauren Fieldhouse

The Sorauren Farmers’ Market moves indoors to the Sorauren Park Fieldhouse for its winter schedule.

For the rest of 2022, enjoy the Market every Monday 3 – 7 pm until and including December 19.

In 2023, the Market will run every third Monday of the month, 3 – 7 pm, in the Fieldhouse on these dates:

  • January 16
  • February 20
  • March 20
  • April 17

The Market is produced by the non-profit Sorauren Farmers’ Market Association. Visit the Market website for up-to-date information.

Sorauren Pumpkin Parade returns Nov. 1

Photo of a long line of jack-o-lanterns lighting up Sorauren Avenue Park

The world-famous Sorauren Pumpkin Parade returns to Sorauren Park November 1, the day after Halloween.

With more than 1,500 pumpkins on display in some years, the Parade is a neighbourhood and even regional highlight of the season. From witches and cats, to politicians and world events, the artful jack-o-lanterns represent the spirit of Halloween and also the spirit of the times.

Add your pumpkin to the parade. It starts at 6 pm, with the busiest times after dinner. There is no competition… but will your pumpkin get noticed? And what will be the dominant theme this year?

Place your pumpkins along the inside edge of the path around the park. Please light your pumpkins with wax candles and not battery-powered lights or tin-bottomed tea lights that contaminate the eventual compost. Your candle-lit pumpkins make the parade come alive.

Walk or take transit to the park. The streets are narrow and busy and there is no parking at the park. The 505 Dundas and 506 College streetcars stop at the top of Sorauren, a three-minute walk from the park. The 47 Lansdowne bus stops at Rideau St., also a short walk away. Be safe.

Pumpkin Sale fundraiser Oct. 22 for the park

Under blue skies, hundreds of pumpkins create a pumpkin patch on the pavers of the Town Square. Family arrive to buy their pumpkins.
The Pumpkin Patch on the Sorauren Park Town Square

The annual Pumpkin Sale fundraiser in support of Friends of Sorauren Park and free park programming returns to the Sorauren Town Square Saturday October 22 from 9 am till noon… or until all the pumpkins are sold.

The Pumpkin Sale is generously supported by Chander Chaddah, Broker, Sutton Group Associates Brokerage, who donates all the pumpkins and 100% of the sale proceeds to the Friends. The Pumpkin Sale has raised more than $30,000 over the years to support community programming and projects at Sorauren Park and Charles G. Williams Park, including outdoor movies, natural ice rink, festivals, dance programs, bake oven and more.

Many of the pumpkins, transformed into jack-o-lanterns, will return to Sorauren Park for the city’s best, and original, Pumpkin Parade on November 1, the day after Halloween. See you there!

MOCA virtual art comes to Sorauren, featuring Ai Weiwei

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) on Sterling Avenue is bringing a global virtual art experience to Sorauren Park starting October 1. One of the stops at Sorauren Park features celebrated Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei.

To experience the exhibits, you need to download the Seeing the Invisible app to your iPhone or Android smartphone, details here.

From the MOCA website: “MOCA presents the acclaimed augmented reality (AR) contemporary art exhibition, Seeing the Invisible, in partnership with the City of Toronto and Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation. Presented for the first time by a museum and in free public spaces, the exhibition includes AR works by thirteen internationally recognized artists: Ai Weiwei, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Sarah Meyohas, Timur Si-Qin, Isaac Julien CBE RA, Ori Gersht, Refik Anadol, El Anatsui, Pamela Rosenkranz, Mohammed Kazem, Mel O’Callaghan, Daito Manabe, and Sigalit Landau.

Continue reading →

Sorauren Farmers’ Market Country Fair Sept. 5

Poster for the Sorauren Farmers Market September 5. Shows a friendly bear and a chicken.

The Country Fair edition of the Sorauren Farmers’ Market returns to the Town Square on Labour Day Monday, September 5 from 3 – 7 pm.

Enter your best jam, pickle, cookie or pie in the BEST IN FAIR competition at the Country Fair on September 5th. Lots of great prizes for the winners of each category. Fill in the online form to enter.

You can also enter the DOG FAIR by dropping in at the Market’s info booth. Prizes for Best Trick, Obstacle Course and Feelin’ Cute.

Plus you’ll enjoy all the regular features of Toronto’s best park farmers’ market. Brought to you by the Sorauren Farmers’ Market Association.

Rink open… for now

Thanks to Sorauren Hoser heroics and a polar vortex, the natural ice rink at Sorauren Park is now open. Conditions are not perfect, but the ice will welcome some light skating, especially for the little ones.

Join us for a last-minute Sorauren Hosers Happy Hour Skate Party, 4-6 pm today February 4. Bring your skates (or not) to savour what we can from this lemon of a winter.

The rink has been flooded day and night the past few days by volunteers from the Sorauren Park Hosers Rink Crew. Follow @SoraurenPark on social media for conditions and updates… the weather has thrown curve balls this year, and we don’t know how long the ice will last.

Special thanks to our patient Rink Sponsors: Scooter Girl Toys; Chander Chaddah, Sutton Group Associates Brokerage; and Evolve Roncesvalles.

Logos for Scooter Girl Toys, Chander Chaddah and Evolve Chiropractic.