On November 27th the Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) hosted a Milton HolidayFest with the participation of local businesses. The event featured vendors, artisans, live musical performances, patios as well as road hockey games by the Milton Winterhawks.
It’s that time of year again when families begin to think about the upcoming holiday season. There are many families within the Halton Region that are less fortunate and struggle to provide their children with an enjoyable Christmas, and some who are simply not able to buy their children a toy. This year the Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation (TJSF) believe the struggle could be even greater for more families.
On Saturday October 2, the Community Foundation of Halton North (CFHN) hosted Webathon 2021 and reached its goal of $100,000. This event was a hybrid event, combining CFHN’s physical presence at both the Milton and Georgetown Farmers’ Markets and at the new home of CFHN, with an online celebration on a platform called Pheedloop which featured local charities.
The online virtual piece of Webathon 2021 included 10 hours of programming, exhibiting a series of interviews and videos. It talked about the work of CFHN, local participating charities, generous sponsors and the importance of these coordinated efforts within the community.
To celebrate Ontario Public Library Week (17-23 October) and Canadian Library Month, Milton Public Library will be hosting its fourth annual fine forgiveness programme in partnership with the Milton Community Resource Centre in support of MCRC’s Infant Food Bank.
The Food for Fines campaign will run from 17th October to 7th November, 2021. This initiative invites patrons to bring in nonperishable food items or diapers to any of MPL’s three locations, to help local families in need, in exchange for the waiving of fines on overdue library materials.
On August 1, 2021, the clouds parted on a forecasted rainy day to allow for the 1st inaugural celebration of Emancipation Day in Milton, Ontario. Organized by the Canadian Caribbean
Association of Halton (CCAH), led by VP Sheldon D. Williams, this event marks the beginning of a celebration for many years to come. In collaboration with other community leaders – Milton Public Library, Arts Milton & the African Caribbean Council of Halton (ACCH), the day was filled with a celebration of freedom and harmony of a community.
Milton Culture Days will take place again this year in Milton over a four-week period from September 24 to October 24, 2021. Annual host Arts Milton will offer Miltonians (and beyond!) more than 60 free online workshops, live demonstrations, and pre-recorded arts and culture videos. These free, all-ages activities will cover subjects such as art, craft, literature, philosophy, heritage, science, technology, dance, theater and more!
As they did last year, some events will be hosted outdoors, and Milton Culture Days 2021 will kick off with the Arts Milton Community Project – a “Pallet Painting Party.” Five local artists (Omar Hopkinson, Aparna Rangnekar, Allycia Uccello, Zunaira Mufti and Sneha Mahajan) have been invited to add their artistic touch to functional benches constructed out of wooden pallets. During the Painting Party at Milton Community Sports Park on September 25 between 12 to 4 PM, Milton residents are invited to visit Event Area A and engage with the artists while they work.
Two-way, all-day GO train service in Milton is an absolute necessity. I heard from my neighbours directly in the mornings at the train station, and that is why I’m glad our government is committed to making it a reality. Measured and lasting public transit investments are the basis for building sustainable, modern cities. This is a huge step in connecting Milton to the rest of the GTA and keeping our people moving, forward.” said MP Adam van Koeverden on August 10th in Milton.
A better, faster, and more reliable transportation network will help reduce congested travel times for people and improve the efficiency of moving goods through the country’s trade corridors, which is critical to the success of Canadian companies in a global marketplace.
As part of its long-term commitment on infrastructure, the Government of Canada renewed the National Trade Corridors Fund in Budget 2021 with an additional $1.9 billion in funding for infrastructure projects to improve the fluid movement of people and goods
through strategic trade corridors.
The Milton rail corridor plays a key role in supporting the safe and efficient movement of people and goods through the greater Toronto area, and it is facing bottlenecks. Increased infrastructure
Capacity in the Milton corridor is key to realizing the transportation benefits of fluid freight movement and two-way, all-day service for commuters supporting the growth of the area economy.
The Minister of Transport, the Honorable Omar Alghabra, has discussed the opportunity of improving the Milton corridor with the Province of Ontario and with Metrolinx, as the National Trade Corridors Fund could support the development of this corridor. Today, the Minister confirmed that the Government of Canada is committed to making improvements in the Milton
Corridor. This could come from the National Trade Corridors Fund to address bottlenecks and increase the capacity of this critical corridor to meet the growing needs of moving people and freight seamlessly through Mississauga and Milton in order to support the expanding population and economy in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
On June 12, 2021, hundreds gathered for a vigil in Victoria Park, Milton, to mourn the Afzaal family – victims of a hate crime in London, Ontario. Heartfelt speeches, thoughtful bouquets, and overwhelming support marked the day as a memorable show of solidarity from the entire Milton community. The attack, pronounced a terrorist attack by officials, had killed three generations of a Muslim family and left a nine-year old boy orphaned and recovering in the hospital.
Salman Afzaal, Madiha Salman, Yumna Salman, and Talat Afzaal were all integral members of the London community and losing them left many in shock. After starting the vigil with recitation of Quranic scripture, various speakers commemorated the family and highlighted ways in which Canadians can come together to ensure horrendous acts, such as this one, do not take place again.
On July 4th Milton celebrated it’s 164th anniversary. Milton was first incorporated on July 4th 1857. Yes we are older than Canada..
While Milton’s 164th birthday shows our town has a long history, you may be surprised to know that it’s now the 200 year anniversary when in 1821 Jasper Martin and his wife, Sarah, and their two young sons arrived from England and established themselves on 100 acres in the area now named Martin Street downtown Milton.
Jasper built his mill drawing it’s power from our 16 Mile Creek, and it turned the gristmill and helped drive settlers to our town. Which was then named Martin’s Mills but once they reached the stupendous population of 100 they met, gathered together and decided to change our name to Milton forever more.
Driving along Regional Road 25 into the heart of Milton was brightened recently by the lights of Allendale. This has happened due to an outpouring of love and effort from countless extraordinary citizens in a very short amount of time.
It all began one evening in the middle of December 2020. Laraine Goodban was feeling sad. She had been visiting Gordon, her husband of 53 years. Looking at Allendale where her husband was now living, she thought about how the people on the inside (Gordon included) would appreciate some Christmas lights outside their windows. She asked Allendale Administrator Sean Weylie if it was do-able and he said YES!!!