BCA Election Results

With over 40 attendees, this year’s Annual General Meeting had the largest community participation in many years and we are thankful that so many people came out to show their support!

We are excited to announce Jeff Miller as our newly elected President of the Board. In addition to Jeff returning to the BCA board after a 6-year hiatus, we are also happy to announce that Shashank Iyer, William Pfitzer, Mélanie Mathieu and David Purchase have joined returning members Barbara Whittaker, Brent Lawrie, Don Kelly, Jenny Lawrence,  Lisa Margeson, Lynn Lefevre, Miriam Hampson, Nina Ryan, Robert Bellizzi and Satinder Sahota on the BCA board and Jaclyn O’Shaughnessy has agreed to take over as BANAR editor.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to departing board members Mark Lister, Heather McCuaig Edge, Maureen Forsythe, Kiel Dixon-Lawler and Sarah Morgan-White for all their efforts to enhance our wonderful community and to Kendra Brett who has done a fantastic job as BANAR editor.

With Jeff’s leadership and the dedication of our amazing board members, we’re confident that 2024 will be a year of remarkable progress and positive impact for Blackburn Hamlet!

Photo by Kendra Brett

Blackburn Seniors Breakfast Get-together

When: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 & May 1, 2024 @ 9:00 AM

Where: Broadway Bar & Grill, 1615 Orleans Blvd.

Blackburn Seniors (55+) are invited to gather for a great meal, wonderful conversation and lots of laughs. 

Ample parking is available. Guests are welcome.

Hope to see you there.

Questions? Please email seniors@blackburnhamlet.ca.

Free Tax Clinic

Need help preparing and filing your 2023 tax return?

Students studying taxation at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University will be hosting a FREE tax clinic at the Blackburn Hamlet Community Hall on Wednesday, April 10th, 2024, 3-6pm. Students will be supervised by professors and tax professionals from local accounting firms – so don’t worry – your return is in good hands!

If you are interested in having your return filed with us, please fill out this intake form to ensure you are eligible (overly complicated returns will not be accepted, given the experience level of the preparers), and to indicate your availability the day of. 

Seniors Walk and Talk Outings April to June

Our Spring series of walks will depart at 1:00 PM from the southernmost entrance to Diceman Park, off Ridgeburn Gate, and will take place on the following Wednesdays:

• April 17, 2024
• May 1, 15 and 29, 2024
• June 12, 2024

Routes will vary for each walk and participants will have the option to do a shorter or a longer route. 

Water bottles are recommended.

Should there be inclement weather, please check the BCA public Facebook page at facebook.com/blackburnhamlet/ on the scheduled walk day for updates. (You don’t need a Facebook account to access this page.)

Looking forward to walking with you!

Questions? Please email seniors@blackburnhamlet.ca.

April Discovery Café 

YOW -- A Primer on Its Operations

When: Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Where: Blackburn Community Centre, 190 Glen Park Drive

Take a journey through the Ottawa airport as Dick Brown explains each step in the experience of a passenger flying out of Ottawa. He will also talk about the impact that COVID-19 has had on flights and flying from Ottawa.  

Dick Brown was born and raised in Ottawa and worked at Carleton University for 33 years. Following his retirement, Dick joined the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association (OGHA) as their first Executive Director. He has been, and remains, active in a wide variety of both business and community service activities. 

To learn more about Dick Brown, please check the BCA calendar entry at blackburnhamlet.ca/240425.

Admission is free and no registration is required. Refreshments will be served.

People of all ages are welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Questions or Suggestions? Please email barbara@blackburnhamlet.ca.

Spring Cleanup

The annual Spring Cleanup is almost here! Each year as the weather warms up we gather as a community to clean up our public spaces and ready them for another enjoyable season of outdoor activity. 

Join us as a volunteer for this year’s Cleanup! Upon arrival at the Community Hall each volunteer will be given equipment and will be assigned a small area of Blackburn for cleanup. Once you are done cleaning, join us back at the Hall for a free BBQ lunch!

Details:

• April 27th 9:30-11:30 (Rain Date is April 28 at 9:30)
• Meeting Location: Community Hall 190 Glen Park Dr.

Volunteers will each be given gloves and garbage bags. We ask that all volunteers wear appropriate footwear, and wear clothing that covers legs and arms fully in case of poison ivy or ticks.

If you have any questions or would like to help with the event, contact us at: cleanup@blackburnhamlet.ca.

Community Garage Sale

Clutter busters and thrifters unite!! It’s the Blackburn Hamlet Community Garage Sale!

This year’s garage sale will take place on May 4th from 8am-2pm. The entire community is invited…rain or shine! 

Hamlet residents do not need to register or sign up – simply put out a table and join in! As we have done in past years, we will be assembling an unofficial map of participating houses posted on our website at blackburnhamlet.ca/events/garage-sale/.

If you have any questions or would like to register your location on the map, please email us at garagesale@blacbubrnhamlet.ca.

Community Closet Pop-Up

While we weren’t able to run a larger Spring Community Closet event this year, we have moved ahead with plans to run tailored Pop-Up Events for residents in the coming months. 

Each of these pop-up events will be designed to serve specific age groups. Our first event in May will offer Adult Clothing.   

Adult Pop-Up Event Details

Date: May 11, 2024

Location: Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive

Schedule: 

10:30 AM - Doors open for residents with valid BCA memberships

12:00 PM - All members of the community are welcome to come and shop

3:30 PM - Doors Close

We need your donations to make this event a success! Donations of clean, untarnished clothing will be accepted from April 27th to May 10th. Donations can be dropped off at one of the following locations:

121 Westpark Dr.

2188 Orient Park Dr.

Watch for more details on our Back-to-School Pop-Up Event for children’s clothing coming in August!

Want to volunteer to help make these events a success? Please contact Jenny at jenny@blackburnhamlet.ca

First Aid Training

The Blackburn Community Association would like to thank everyone for their interest in our First Aid Training program.  Our first course, scheduled for April 6th, is now at the limit of students as permitted by the Red Cross. However, we are planning another course in June. If you are interested in attending this course please let us know at safety@blackburnhamlet.ca.

Blackburn Library Activities

There are a variety of activities scheduled at the Ottawa Public Library, Blackburn Hamlet Branch throughout the month.

• Tuesdays @ 10:30am Baby Time
• Wednesdays @ 10:30am Family Storytime
• Wednesdays @ 2pm English Conversation Group
• April 6 @ 2pm Spring Cleaning With Meaning
• April 18 @ 2pm Bookchat - The Weight of Ink
• April 18 @ 6pm Online Resources for Employment Skills
• April 22 @ 2pm Estate Planning Workshop
• April 28 @ 10:30am Social Hour
• Jigsaw Drop in anytime during opening hours

More details can be found on the Ottawa Public Library Website.

Upcoming BCA Events

April 3 Blackburn Seniors Breakfast Get-together

April 6 First Aid Training Course (sold out)

April 10 Free Tax Clinic

April 17 Seniors Walk-and-Talk

April 18 BCA Board Meeting

April 25 Discovery Cafe

April 27 Spring Clean-up

May 1 Blackburn Seniors Breakfast Get-together

May 1 Seniors Walk-and-Talk

May 4 Community Garage Sale

May 11 Community Closet - Adults

The BCA gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa / Le ACB remercie sincèrement la Ville d’Ottawa de son soutien financier.