The Yale Day of Service is held on the same day around the world by chapters of Yale alumni.
It’s a tradition begun 12 years ago (!) when Yale University alumni in Toronto were looking for a volunteer activity to align with the Yale Day of Service held every May around the world. This year another beautiful morning greeted volunteers who spent a few hours helping to beautify the Fieldhouse garden and mulch park trees.
Our thanks to the alumni and their young family members who have grown over the years. You can see some of them featured in the Sorauren Park 25th anniversary documentary, The Story of Sorauren Park.
Drop something off, pick something up at the Sorauren Spring Swap for sports and recreation equipment
UPDATE: The forecast calls for rain on Saturday, April 23. So we’ve decided to hold the Swap the next day. The Swap will now take place on Sunday, April 24—same Drop-off and Swap times; same place. Please note, the Clean Toronto Together clean-up of both Sorauren and Charles G. Williams parks will still take place on Saturday, April 23, starting at 10 am. If you’ve volunteered for the clean up, dress for the weather.
Mark your calendars: The Great Sorauren Park Spring & Summer Sport Equipment Swap is scheduled for Saturday, April 23 on the Town Square.
The focus is on spring and summer sports and recreation gear. So, drop your gently used bicycles, baseball gear, golf equipment, basketballs, soccer balls, camping gear and more at the Town Square in the morning — and swap them for something new in the afternoon! Rain date: Sunday, April 24.
Please read the details including schedule below. The Swap is brought to you by the all-volunteer Friends of Sorauren Park. All left-over equipment will be donated to KIP Canada, which supports kids with incarcerated parents. Interested in meeting neighbours and supporting the community? You can also help out at the event by volunteering.
Great Sorauren Park Spring & Summer Sport Equipment Drop & Swap Saturday, April 23 Sorauren Town Square (Rain date April 24) Drop off: 9:30 – 11:30 am Swap: 11:30 am – 3:30 pm
Play equipment (roller blades; skateboards, kiddie pools, sand boxes)
Fitness equipment (yoga gear; free weights)
Camping equipment
Golf equipment
Miscellaneous
Everything must be clean, gently used and in good working order.
Will not accept:
Winter sports equipment (hockey/skiing/sleds/toboggans); bike helmets; kayaks/paddles/canoes; anything broken or too dirty, too worn out.
How it works: For each item you drop off you will be given one ticket in return. Each item dropped has an equal value. We will accept a maximum of 5 items per person. Thank you for helping us work towards our goal of a zero-waste event. We cannot accept drop-offs outside of these hours. You are not allowed to drop off items on someone’s behalf. You must be present at the drop-off to collect your own tickets.
Register your drop-off items and collect your swap tickets at the Friends of Sorauren Park info table.
Join the fun every Sunday from 2 to 6 pm on the Sorauren Park Town Square with drop-in ball hockey starting April 3 and running till the end of June.
Bring your stick and a ball. Hockey nets supplied by the Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew. Shinny rules apply. All welcome. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @SoraurenPark for updates and weather cancellations.
Bring your remote-controlled toy car to the first Sorauren RC Car Derby, March 26
Start your (electric) engines! The inaugural Sorauren Park Remote-Control Toy Car Derby is set for Saturday, March 26 at 9:30 am on the course at the Sorauren Rink. All invited!
Now that the ice is gone, and before the boards are put away, the rink will be re-purposed into a remote-control car race track with jumps, tunnels and mud baths.
Events include a multi-lap race, a drag race and obstacle course. (Note: not a demolition derby.) Car names are a must. Car decorating and detailing welcome, and costumes encouraged!
The winner will receive the inaugural Sorauren RC Derby Cup. Also, if you register, you will be included in a raffle for a new RC car donated by Scooter Toy Girls.
Register on-site. No fees to enter but donations are accepted to support park programs. Rain-date the following Saturday, watch this space and @SoraurenPark social media for updates.
The Derby is supported by the non-profit Friends of Sorauren Park and volunteer derby officials and umpires.
Sorauren Rink, now done for the season but the perfect site for the first Sorauren Remote-Control Toy Car Derby, March 26. (Photo from 2021, Oliver Vollmer)
As if a switch was flipped with an overnight thunderclap, winter signalled its exit and spring its arrival, and with that change the Sorauren natural ice rink has closed for this season.
(Who are we kidding, winter will return in some way. But with the sun higher and thaws longer it becomes impossible to maintain the ice surface.)
Big thanks to the 40 volunteer crew members of the hardy Sorauren Hosers, and many other helpers, who maintained the rink with daily floodings and more. (Many Hosers have been volunteering for more than 10 years.) Overall it has been a great season, made more special as the second year of outdoor relief from the pandemic.
Thanks also to Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation for late-night and early-morning staff support and access to the hoses and water. Finally, thanks to sponsors Chander Chaddah, Scooter Girl Toys and Evolve Chiropratic Roncesvalles, whose financial support helps cover rink expenses.
The Sorauren Hosers Rink Crew is a program of the Friends of Sorauren Park, which is planning a great season of warm-weather programming; stay tuned. See you at the rink next year!
Sorauren Park 