Friends of Berczy Park and Toronto Public Library, St Lawrence Branch, invite families with children age five and under to storybook reading in the park.
Each Thursday from 1:00-2:00pm;
(June 2-August 25)
Enjoy these free events in the greenspace in Berczy Park;
Rainy days: St Lawrence Library, 171 Front St East.
Parents: ByoBlanket, to get comfy on the grass
Toronto Public Library, St Lawrence Branch, and Friends of Berczy Park invite you to join our summertime adult reading group.
Each week we’ll provide copies of the story to read together and discuss the themes.
Each Wednesday,
June 1 -Aug 24, 10:00 to 11:30am;
Join these free events, just east of the park fountain at 35 Wellington St East.
Rainy days: St Lawrence Library, 171 Front St East.
Update: Rescheduled due to weather to Sunday April 24, 10am-noon. Join our spring volunteer clean-up activity on Saturday April 23, 10am-noon. Come to our meet-up spot in the Berczy mural garden (gravel area behind the Flatiron Bldg) – Look for Marc, Laura or Mary – and help us collect litter, sweep, scrub and meet a few neighbours . We’ll provide rubber gloves and waste bags but feel free to bring your favorite garden gloves, grocery bag for easy litter collection or broom/dustpan. We ask everyone to keep safe , and report any hazards to our site coordinator.
And, want to help beautiful Berczy, spring through fall 2022? We have a team of volunteers who sign up for a very flexible, one-week shift cleaning our popular terrace tables & chairs sometime between May and October. We provide the bag of cleaning supplies, including gloves and cloths, and our volunteer(s) give the tables a quick polish, so everyone can enjoy our wonderful shady seating area. If you’d like to help us out – perhaps while you enjoy the park, walk your dog, or pass by – please email us at berczypark@gmail.com and say “I want to join Berczy tables team”.
Thanks to seven awesome Friends of Berczy Park volunteers who gave our park a quick, pre-spring cleaning on Saturday March 5. Their efforts to sweep, clean tables, remove dog poop and remove a dead pigeon carcass, enabled hundreds to enjoy the park the next day, when temperatures rose into the double digits. Keep in mind that some of our volunteers spot-clean the park year-round, when they pass through or walk their pets.
If you’d like to join our future volunteer clean-ups, please email us at Berczypark@gmail.com or follow our Friends of Berczy pages on Facebook or twitter.
Join us for the Old Town Toronto Cavalcade of Lights in Berczy Park, on Saturday December 4 for music, lights and fun.
While you’re there, or anytime soon, take a chance at a great holiday prize! Meet Barksy, Berczy Park’s holiday hound (see below) and you could win a $100 gift card to any local business. Just snap a photo with the Barksy festive sculpture, share on Instagram using #oldtowntoronto , and tag @OldTownToronto. That could put some nicely wrapped bones under the tree for your favorite hound while you enjoy the festive atmosphere in your favorite local park.
Our Berczy Park fountain dogs are once again dressed up for the holidays! Thanks to members of our Friends of Berczy Park knitting group, and installation help by the Old Town Toronto BIA crew, our dogs are again modelling home-made wool scarves, to keep warm and boost holiday spirits. It’s the fourth year of this tradition, by which our volunteers knit scarves and later donate them to a local shelter.
And watch for the Old Town Toronto Cavalcade of Lights, coming to Berczy Park on December 4th.
Did you see a crime, vandalism or disturbing behaviour occur in Berczy Park or Old Town and did not know what to do? If it was a non-life threatening event (that would have justified calling 9-11), or it happened and ended faster than you could act, IT IS STILL WORTH REPORTING IT TO POLICE, so that 51-Division has the data to plan for more frequent patrols or added police resources.
To report a crime after the fact, use this form provided below by 51 Division Police, and help make our park and community safer for everyone. thank you!
Or , to report an active, current incident:
*Note: We no longer recommend contacting the 45 The Esplanade/Homes First Shelter Community Safety Team, as recommended earlier in 2021, since this team is now largely focused on on-property safety and incidents. You may call upon their patrols for assistance however if you see them in the community.
By filling out and sending in this form, you can help identify and solve community problems or concerns. All information contained on this form will be reviewed by the Community Response Unit.
If your complaint is of a criminal nature, and you wish to remain anonymous, please visit the Crime Stoppers Torontowebsite and click on “Submit a Tip” button.
Not sure how to mark Canada Day this year? Join your community in our wonderful Old Town parks, including Berczy Park, for socially-distanced entertainment on this national day of recognition and reflection.
The St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association, in collaboration with local arts organization Jamii will be jointly co-hosting this year’s unique Canada Day celebration on July 1 (see tentative schedule below).
To ensure a safe Canada Day celebration that meets COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, we encourage residents to enjoy a physically distanced walk around the neighbourhood, especially in the areas surrounding David Crombie Park, St James Park and Berczy Park where brief presentations and musical performances will be taking place (but there will be no gatherings).
The intent is to encourage residents to experience each of our beautiful parks, and to punctuate their walks with “live arts experiences” that celebrate Canada’s indigenous history, our multicultural communities, diversity, and local talent.
Canada Day celebration Partners include: The Friends of St. James ParkBank of Montreal (BMO) at 101 King St. East – the King and Church BranchFriends of Berczy ParkOur Canada Day Celebration Partners have kindly agreed to sponsor this special program with their support.
As is our tradition, we have invited our local elected representatives to bring greetings to our community and we are pleased to confirm the participation of MP Marci Ien and MPP Chris Glover.
Tentative Schedule (Artists will be announced closer to Canada Day):
*NOTE: there will be no gatherings and we encourage walking through the community while keeping physcially distanced from others.
10:30 am: Parliament Square Park – SLNA and Jamii Opening Remarks and Artist Performance
11 am: Parliament Square Park – (performance)
11:30 am: Crombie Park – Esplanade & George St. – (performance)
12 noon: Crombie Park – Esplanade & George St. – Greetings from MP Marci Ien & Artist performance
1 pm: Berczy Park –Greetings from MPP Chris Glover & Artist performance
1:30 pm: Berczy Park – (performance)2 pm: Berczy Park – (performance)
2:30 pm: St James Park- (performance)
3 pm: St James Park – (performance)
3:30 pm: St James Park – (performance)Please note that this event will also be recorded onto video and shared at a later date on social media so that the experience can be enjoyed by more people online.
For anyone who notices the missing cat sculpture on the Berczy Park fountain (one very tolerant cat among 27 water-shooting dog statues) please do not call the police, 3-11 or an animal shelter, lol. The cat sculpture was removed by The City this weekend when it reportedly came loose, after a park visitor attempted to sit on the slightly-built sculpture.
Although our Berczy Park cat can take a lot – including patiently taking part in hundreds of photo selfies, wearing Pride, Canada Day and Raptors playoff accessories, etc – it was removed for some much-deserved R&R, or perhaps repair or replacement.
In fact, a tweet from an unverified twitter account @PamMcCat noted that “I’m fine, they’re taking good care of me. Thanks for your concerns. Meow.” Sources say the Berczy Park cat sculpture is nicknamed ‘Pam’ in honour of the late City Councillor and Berczy Park champion Pam McConnell.
Stay tuned for the cat’s return as soon as possible.
Berczy Park 