November 17th marked the 2019 Milton Santa Claus Parade. The streets were crowded with parade goers over an hour before the parade was set to begin. This year was special as Colonel Chris Hadfield joined his parents and Mayor Krantz in the Lead Car at the start of the Parade. Residents were thrilled to see Col. Hadfield who spent significant amount of time talking and meeting with people both at the start and end of the Parade.
The Miracle on Main initiative has raised millions through donations and sponsorships for underprivileged families, McMaster Children’s Hospital, SickKids, local charities and school boards. Last year, Halton Regional Police Services merged Toys for Tots into Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s Miracle on Main Street and the signature event is happening on Monday, December 9th, 2019 in Milton. It is a Christmas carnival with rides, free food and refreshments, entertainment and a massive collection of toys for those in need. In addition to the anticipated attendees, students are bussed in from schools to partake in the activities where admission is FREE with a donation of a new unwrapped toy.
Halton Gujarati Seniors Samaj (HGSS) hosted the Diwali Festival of Light at the Milton Bible Church on Chisolm Drive on Sunday, November 10th. HGSS is a notfor-profit seniors group representing an association of Gujurati-speaking seniors aged 56 to 74 years who live in the Halton region.
The view from the top level was spectacular. Gorgeous string lights adorned the ceiling of the Milton Banquet & Conference Centre. My heart expanded as I looked down upon a room full of women dressed in comfy black and white pj couture. Some women were there because they were curious and finally secured a ticket. Some were there for a ladies’ night out with their besties. Others were there for the ultimate networking opportunity.
It’s a milestone event. Milton Players Theatre Group (MPTG) is celebrating its 40th year in the community. Throughout those 4 decades the group has prevailed in bringing their love of theatre to Milton citizens. Margaret Hamilton was one of the 14 founding members who back in 1979 assembled in another member’s living room to share their theatrical passion after responding to a small advert in the Milton Champion about starting up a theatre group.
One thing many don’t consider when donating to a foodbank are feminine hygiene products. They are among the most requested, but least stocked. Tampon Tuesday seeks to change this. The movement started in 2009 in Southwestern Ontario, and officially made its way to Milton Mall on Tuesday, October 8th, 2019.
October 12th was World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. The Townsend Smith Foundation (TSF) marked the day bringing awareness to hospice care with a series of events throughout the week culminating in a vigil Thursday October 10, 2019 at Chris Hadfield Park. The vigil started at nightfall with a series of readings accompanied by acoustic music.
A massive thank you to The Cliff Barron Team for raising an amazing $468.75 through proceeds from their 4th Annual Pumpkin Giveaway this past weekend. Cliff Barron and his team were at Beaty Trail Park on October 20th giving away pumpkins to Milton families and accepting donations for Milton’s local hospital foundation. “We are so grateful that you chose Milton District Hospital Foundation to be the beneficiary of your event. Thank you to everyone who came out that day to support!”, said Milton District Hospital Foundation in their thank you note online to Cliff and his team.
The EOSCL-Event Ontario Softball Cricket League held their Championship event recently and you could feel the high energy all around. Whether the teams took first place or not the support and encouragement of each other was obvious. As in in soccer, and other sports, Cricket has two levels. The Premier teams and the Division teams.
On April 1, 2019 Dana Hale opened her new store taking over Ditto’s Boutique on Main Street and you can feel the excitement about it in her voice. The store is loaded with fresh new and close to new clothes, shoes, jewelry, wallets and a whole lot of amazing handbags and many of them by designer Kate Spade that Dana calls “super cute” and other designer names.