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A Look Back at Our 2019

2019 has been a tremendous and successful year for us at the West Hillhurst Community Association (WHCA). Throughout this past year, we have seen the return of some of our favourite programming and events, as well as plenty of new opportunities to engage with families and community members in West Hillhurst. We’re always dreaming up new ways to make use of all of our great spaces here at the centre, from the gymnasium and ice arena, to the squash courts and weight room (as well as all of our other green space, rental rooms, and offices).

To showcase the growth we’ve experienced over the years, we assembled some of the numbers and figures from this past year into some helpful graphics to give community members an idea of the scope of the facility and insight into what the WHCA does throughout the year. Please take a look at the images below and let us know ways you think we can continue to improve in the coming years.

Make a Difference in Your Community

There are plenty of great ways for you to get involved in the West Hillhurst community; volunteering, becoming a member, participating in local events/fundraisers, and much, much more. There is almost no better way to have your voice heard and make an impact, however, than joining the board of directors at the WHCA!

By becoming a board member, you have a direct impact and say on the goings-on within the WHCA facility. The minimum requirements for becoming a board member is you must live within the West Hillhurst community and be able to attend the 10 2-hour monthly meetings in the WHCA Boardroom. It also helps if you have a community-first mindset and are motivated to make positive change happen in our community.

We currently have multiple openings on our board so it’s the perfect time to jump-in and get involved! The coming years promise to be exciting ones at the WHCA due to a number of ongoing and upcoming projects. As a board member, you’ll be among the first to know about future plans at the facility and lend a hand in our journey towards community prosperity and success.

Want to learn more about the board, the WHCA, and the community? Be sure to attend our annual AGM! This year (2019) it will be held on Tuesday, November 12th in the Go-Getters.

We hope to see you here!

7 Ways Your Family Can Benefit From a WHCA Membership

The 7 ways your family can benefit from a West Hillhurst Community Association (WHCA) Family Membership.

  1. Gain immediate access to WHCA Free Member Programs.
    • For just $35 a year, you can join other WHCA families for great free programs such as Member Skates, Sticks & Pucks, Friday Family Gym, Tai Chi, and more! 
  2. Experience a healthier and more active lifestyle.
    • On the North-side of the WHCA is the Squash & Fitness Centre, featuring 3 international squash courts, a fully-stocked weight room with cardio equipment, a dance studio, and tennis courts. Members get 10% off registrations for group fitness classes.
  3. Get invited to Members-only family-friendly events year-round.
    • A WHCA Membership means you’ll be on the list for our annual member’s only events, including Taste of the Neighbourhood, Summer Fest, the Halloween Party, Community Garage Sale, the annual Squash Championship, Skate with Santa, and more! 
  4. Get more involved in your community. 
    • With all of the activity at the WHCA, we offer volunteer opportunities year-round. There is no better way to give back and enrich the West Hillhurst community than to volunteer your time and skills. 
  5. Keep the kids active all year long.
    • With soccer, tee-ball, tennis, basketball, and more, we have sports for kids of all ages available all year-round, inside and outside the facility. 
  6. Meet new friends and build stronger bonds within West Hillhurst. 
    • We have over 2,500 active members at the WHCA and serve as a hub for community members to gather, meet, and mingle. Whether you’re new to the community or a long-time resident, we are always open to meeting new community members!
  7. Save big with exclusive member discounts at local area businesses.
    • Shop, save, and support local with 15 great discounts in the West Hillhurst and surrounding communities. Whatever you’re in the market for, our member benefits partners have a little something for everyone. Some of the great discounts include 10% off at Amato Gelato, 10% off wine at Kensington Wine Market, 25% off regularly priced items at Showhome Furniture, 15% off at West Hillhurst Paint & Design, 10% off at The Barn, and much more! 

Visit westhillhurst.com/whca-membership for a complete list of discounts and more membership information. 

Get Your Table for the Holiday Market!

Are you a local artist, baker, artisan, craftsman, etc.? Have you got a collection of your own creations that you know your fellow community members and neighbours would enjoy? Book a table for our annual Holiday Market and get ready to set up shop!

The Holiday Market is not until December, but we’ve opened up tables for reservations and they are going fast! With about half of the tables already claimed, do not hesitate to book yours – they tend to sell out well before the holiday season and we are on-track to sell out before fall. So whether you’ve got some homemade Holiday baking, decor, crafts, clothes, or whatever, reserve your Market table before it’s too late!

If you want to book a table, contact John, our Events Manager, by emailing him, giving him a call at 403.283.0464 ext. 4, or stop by his office at the west-end of the arena hallway.

For more information on the holiday market and to download the application form, visit our events page.

New & Returning Fall Programs

The summer months can be a little slow for our WHCA programs – with the great weather outside and the ice removed for maintenance this year, who wants to be cooped up inside anyways?

Thankfully however, we’ve got some great new programs coming this fall, as well as some of your favorites making their return in September. We’ve heard community feedback and hope to bring you the best programming at the WHCA yet!

Squash & Fitness Centre programs will make their return in September with the return of Spin With Sandra and Family-Friendly Spin. You can also expect to see the return of Intervals and Tot Yoga. There will be new yoga classes too! For adults, we’ll be introducing Yin and Yang Yoga, and Youth Yoga for ages 6 to 9.

You’ll also see the return of our WHCA Music classes, Basketball programs, and some new and innovative takes on youth tennis, as well as other youth sports. Stay tuned!

Most notably this fall is TASTE of the Neighbourhood! TASTE is our annual and premier fundraiser at the WHCA and this year’s plans to be the biggest and best yet. We’ll see the return of many of our fantastic neighbourhood vendors, as well as some new local brands as well. The silent auction is shaping up to be phenomenal, and since people had so much fun with it last year, we’re bringing back the fun-money casino courtesy of Aces R Wild!

So stay tuned to our social media, website, blog, newsletters, and bulletin boards and don’t miss out on anything this fall!

No Arena Ice in July

Our arena runs year round and sees thousands and thousands of skaters every month! Understandably, all that traffic means the ice is undergoing almost constant maintenance and as wear continues, it gets increasingly difficult for our hardworking arena staff to maintain the ice to a usable and acceptable level.

This means that once every few years we have to take the ice out of the arena and start anew. Well, this year is one of those years and we’ve chosen July as the month to do it! So if you’re looking to take part in some ice-based activities at the WHCA throughout July, unfortunately you’ll be out of luck in 2019. But don’t fret, we will be working around the clock to get new ice laid as soon as possible – we expect it to be back to normal by July 28th, brand new and improved! After the ice is replaced, we won’t have to worry about taking it out again for another three years, so you’ll be able to skate year-round until 2022. At least that’s the plan!

So if you or your family wants to hit the ice in the coming weeks, just keep in mind that you may have to wait until August. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we get the new ice down.

Stay tuned for more facility updates. For the latest, be sure to follow us on social media!

WHCA Casino Fundraiser is THIS WEEKEND!

Howdy community members! Looking to give some of your time to help out the community? Maybe you made a New Years resolution to volunteer more? Or maybe you just want to be a part of a fun & exciting evening at a casino while getting in on a free meal! Well if any of those apply to you, consider volunteering for our Casino Fundraiser at Cowboy’s Casino!

We are just a few volunteers short of a full roster and ensuring this event’s success. We have received an extremely gracious outpouring of support this week, so lets continue the trend into the weekend.

If you’ve never done a casino night in the past, worry not. The WHCA and Cowboys highly value and appreciate our volunteers to the utmost degree, and we will guide you along the way. Staff is extremely helpful and will be more than happy to help out and answer any and all questions you may have.

If you’d like to give a little of your time on Sunday and Monday, May 5th & 6th, you can volunteer with us by calling 403.283.0464 ext 6, emailing admin@westhillhurst.com, or fill out the online form on our volunteer page.

*UPDATED OPENINGS*
SUNDAY, MAY 5
6:30pm to 3am
Cashier
11pm to 3am
Supervisor
Staff

MONDAY, MAY 6
6:30pm to 3am
Cashier
Banker

Website Changes Under Way

Throughout the coming weeks, we’ll be making some minor tweaks and changes to the design, layout, and content on the WHCA website. You may have even noticed some of them already, such as changes to the navigation bar, additional pages, and updated content. While we try to keep the website as up to date as possible, we realized not all aspects are totally intuitive or optimized for your convenience. We want your experience on the WHCA website to be as seamless and painless as possible and we hope the ongoing changes will help with that.

For starters, we have now arranged our programs menu into Youth & External programs. Please feel free to check out the new Youth Programs landing page and provide us with any feedback you may have.

We have also added a “News & Events” option on our menu where we have made additions such as access to our monthly e-newsletters, full digital copies of the West Hillhurst Warbler, and a link to subscribe to our newsletter.

You can now subscribe to receive updates about ice & gym time availability under the “Scheduling” menu, as well as get a membership, volunteer, and more under the “Get Involved” option.

There are a number of other small changes we’ve made and more to come, so take some time to explore the website in the coming weeks and let us know what features and changes you’d be interested in seeing.

2019 Gardens Update

The 2019 gardening season is upon us at West Hillhurst Community Association! The garden plots along the front of the facility are now available to community members. We opened plot sales up to previous members around mid-March to allow participants to snag their past-plots and maintain their same gardens they had in prior seasons, but we still have many beds available! By purchasing a 2019 garden plot, you will have 24/7 access to your planter and will be able to grow whatever your heart desires (as long as it’s suitable for the weather conditions)! Plots are available for only $40 and are 5.5′ in diameter.

The front of West Hillhurst Community Association has a beautiful patio consisting of garden beds, benches, a library, and a picnic table for community use. Let’s work together, grow together, learn together! We celebrate individuality and inclusiveness with gardeners of all ages. If you love to grow vegetables but don’t know how or have no space, we can help! We also have a full schedule of gardening seminars to help all levels of gardeners.

All participants must sign up for a volunteer position with the gardens in addition to properly maintaining their own plot all season.

To learn more or to get your plot for 2019, visit westhillhurst.com/gardens, call us at 403.283.0464 ext. 6, or stop by the office.

Join Us for the Kids Easter Party!

The WHCA has the perfect excuse to get you and the kids out of the house over Easter long weekend – the WHCA Kids Easter Party!

On Saturday, April 20th from 1 to 3 pm, we’ll be hosting Easter festivities at the community association for children of all ages. Activities include an Easter egg hunt, kid-friendly crafts, healthy treats, and other fun Easter games. This afternoon is guaranteed to be a lot of fun and engage your kids in the spirit of the Easter season! So come on by the association and take in the great spring weather while partaking in these great Easter activities.

Admission to the Easter Party is only $5 each with a valid WHCA Family Membership, and $10 for non-members. To get a WHCA Family Membership if you don’t already have one, swing by the office and we will be happy to help you with getting one. Family Memberships are only $36.75 a year and can be used by anyone within your household! Along with discounts on events such as these, you also receive exclusive discounts at local businesses.

For more info on the Easter Party, visit westhillhurst.com/whca-events

For more info about Family Memberships & benefits, visit westhillhurst.com/whca-membership

We hope to see you at the party!