| Etobicoke Celebrates New Square Opening in Mimico |
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Saturday, June 05 2010, 8:00am - 5:00pm |
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| Over 200 lanterns and glow sticks will light up the sky Saturday June 5 as Etobicoke residents proudly celebrate the opening of Mimico Square following an afternoon of musical guests and performances beginning at 2:30 p.m. The launch of Mimico Square creates a new community hub to host events and improves public access to the waterfront. Surrounded by parks and trails the new square extends from Lake Shore Boulevard down to Lake Ontario. “By removing three buildings, we were able to expand Amos Waites Park and have reclaimed a portion of the waterfront and opened views and access to the lake for everyone to enjoy” says Mark Grimes, the South Etobicoke councillor, who is eager to invite the community to the square’s official opening .
“Now you can stand on Lake Shore Boulevard and actually see the lake” says Susan Nagy, South Etobicoke resident. “The square encapsulates everything that’s good about the neighbourhood, the waterfront and the people” Nagy says. In addition to bringing direct access to the waterfront for South Etobicoke, Mimico Square will also become a community venue to host art and cultural events. “The cultural square will provide the opportunity for showcasing our local music, artists and businesses in our neighbourhood,” says Grimes. Nagy who is also the executive director of Lakeshore Arts, another partner in the square's opening event, encourages artists in the community to submit proposals to Toronto Parks and Recreation to host events.
Other community partners for the square’s opening event include, the Toronto West and Mimico BIA, Humber-Bay Condo Association, The Rotary Club of Toronto, and Davies Smith Developments. They all share a similar vision for the space. “We finally have a place that can be the centre for activities for Mimico by the lake” says David Pritchard, director of Mimico BIA and owner of Birds and Beans, a boutique coffee shop on Lake Shore beside the new square. “We now have something that’s unique in Toronto, retail by the lake. We are building towards a place where people are going to want to spend their time.”
Davies Smith Developments (DSD) who’s been working with the community since 2000, took the initiative to revitalize the area. “We wanted to give something to the community that they needed,” says Ian Smith of Davies Smith Developments. DSD along with city staff and Grimes, organized the construction and design of the new waterfront park which involved an environmental clean-up, extensive landscaping and the removal of three buildings to open up access from the street down to the lake. “Great things happen when business and residents work together” says Grimes. “I would like to thank our community partner Davies Smith Developments for helping to make this reality.”
The square’s opening festivities will take place Saturday June 5 from 2:30 p.m to 9:30 p.m in Mimico Square located at the bottom of Mimico Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard in Amos Waites Park. Admission is free. Ceremonies include a community lantern parade from Mimico Square down to the water and back. “ We want the community to feel that the opening belongs to them. We will bring light into the square as a community,” says Nagy.
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| Mimico Square Opening
Saturday, June 5 2010
2:30 – 2:45 Dragon Ritual Drummers
2:45 – 3:15 Musical Mentors (Karen Kain School for the Arts)
3:30 – 4:15 Musical performance: Fair Trade
4:30 – 5:00 Shim Jelly 22 Observation - “Poetry fo |
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