Sorauren Park 25th Anniversary doc now on YouTube

If you missed the debut of our special anniversary documentary on Facebook Watch Party, fear not… you can watch the half-hour doc on YouTube any time you like.

25 Years of Community Building: The Story of Sorauren Park, captures great archival footage from the early 1990s when the community was fighting for the park. See interviews with advocates, then and now, talking about the early days and what the park has become. Other volunteers tell the story of the park and its role as a community hub, including through the pandemic.

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Sorauren Park Watch Party doc premiere Dec. 4!

Mark your calendar and join us Friday, December 4 at 7 pm on Facebook for a very special event: the documentary premiere of 25 Years of Community Building – The Story of Sorauren Park. The half-hour video tells the story, past, present and future, of our community park, with amazing archival footage and interviews with park volunteers.

Produced by the Friends of Sorauren Park, the video will be shown as a Facebook Watch Party. Visit the Watch Party event page to get reminders and to see the show.

For maximum enjoyment, make sure to visit the Revue Cinema concession stand, open at 6 pm that evening, to get your popcorn, candy, soda, cider or even beer from their take-out service. Support our local non-profit cinema!

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Sorauren Stories: Artists of Sorauren released

Artists Leslie Norgate and Michael Gerry are featured on two episodes of Sorauren Stories: Artists of Sorauren

Sorauren Park’s 25th Anniversary video series, Sorauren Stories, continues this month with the release of Artists of Sorauren Park, two short episodes featuring painters Michael Gerry and Leslie Norgate.

Both local residents, Michael and Leslie have found inspiration in the people, nature, buildings and moods of Sorauren Park.

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Spacing photo essay on Sorauren Park

A park in a pandemic, by photographer Chloë Ellingson

Spacing magazine has published a photo essay by photographer Chloë Ellingson, a local resident, on how residents have been using the park in the pandemic.

Like other city parks, Sorauren Park has seen a noticeable increase in daily usage, even as permitted activities have been cancelled.

Says Spacing:

During the summer days of the pandemic, local photographer Chloë Ellingson found herself spending much more time in Sorauren Park than she ever had before, despite it being only a few blocks away from her place of many years. And she was not alone — many nearby residents would spend their entire days at the park. She took it upon herself to talk to her new ‘neighbours’ throughout the course of a day to discover how life during the pandemic had brought them together.

Thanks Spacing and Chloë Ellingson for featuring our corner of the city.

Join the virtual #PumpkinParade2020

The bad news: no City permits for Pumpkin Parades this year due to COVID-19 and the challenge of controlling crowds.

The good news: Carve your pumpkin and join the Sorauren Park #PumpkinParade2020 global event!

Here’s how it works: Instead of bringing your jack-o-lantern to the park on November 1, take a picture of your handiwork and post it on social media starting at 6 pm on November 1. Use the hashtag #PumpkinParade2020 and also tag @SoraurenPark.

Friends of Sorauren Park social media moderators will share, retweet, repost to a global audience. We’ll create the world’s greatest gallery of pumpkin art.

No special carving experience necessary. All jack-o-lanterns most welcome (and feel free to include the creators in the frame.) Pumpkin democracy in action!