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| - Quite possibly the best park in the city. I am lucky to call this my neighbourhood park. The weekly, year-round farmers' market on Thursdays is the highlight of my week. I like to do most of my grocery shopping here in the summer months and well into the fall, before the market moves indoors for the winter. It's all organic and there's a great selection of vendors to choose from. It's also a great place to hang out with friends and enjoy the summertime ambiance. I'll usually grab some soup or ethiopian, and park myself in a nice spot to people watch.
The park itself is very community-oriented, thanks to the efforts of one local resident, Jutta Mason. Her initiatives to reclaim this park as a safe place for families have transformed it from a once dangerous spot across from Dufferin Mall, to the kid-friendly, welcoming space it is today - day and night. Instead of being managed by the city, the park has it's own association and set of staff and volunteers. They sell bread, made in the outdoor ovens and pizza at the market all year round. They also run the Zamboni Cafe and the outdoor Cob Cafe in the summer, rent skates, handle campfire bookings and training and serve the community dinner.
The community dinner takes place on Friday nights out on picnic tables during the summer months. They offer a vegan and omnivorous meal for an affordable price. I've even spotted a Hollywood celebrity in the line-up, whom I won't name. This person is clearly trying to live a down-to-earth life in Toronto instead of Hollywood.
There's always something artsy, whimsical and fun happening in this park too. Whether it be circus arts, slack lining, Clay & Paper Theatre putting on a puppet show, a bikes on ice rink derby, or free yoga classes, or just half-naked children running around, I'm always left thinking 'only in Dufferin Grove'.
One of my favourite things to do is have a campfire in the park. There are 3 designated spaces for campfires. There's the central pit in the heart of the park, the cob pit to the south and now a little oven-side campfire site as well. I started doing this a birthday thing a few year's ago and it's since taken off so much I kind of regret telling people about it. It's actually a bit of an issue because people who don't know this park or belong to the community don't have the same level of respect and understanding for it. They think they have booked a private rental site, which is not the case. Officially, when you have a campfire you are becoming a park staff temporarily. Anyone can join you at your campfire and you are expected to be a good steward of the park, clean up after yourself and keep an eye on the activity happening around you and report anything suspicious. Strangers regularly join my campfires and I offer them cocoa and s'mores and conversation, not a cold shoulder.
So, if you're hippie enough, check out Dufferin Grove Park. Prepare to see dreadlocks everywhere and if you're lucky, maybe you'll engage a new friend in a conversation about hemp seeds.
See you there!
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