Beaver Creek Housing Co-operative

Instead of having a haunted trail this year, Social Committee chose to host a Pumpkin Carving Party. Children and adults gathered together for a fun, and gooey afternoon of carving pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. It was spooktacular!

Landscape Committee publishes a winter exercise program specifically tailored to the location of your unit! Each block has monthly chores which include things such as: shoveling, salting, clearing, etc. a specific area of our co-op. Many hands make light work! (And they keep the budget more manageable.)

School is out; it’s time to celebrate with a host of fun filled events. Volleyball, basket ball, and back by popular demand, manhunt! Refreshments were provided by Social Committee which included an Ice Cream Sundae Bar!

Beaver Creek hosted a meet and greet for our local candidates in our community centre on the very first day of the Provincial Election Campaign. The event was well-attended with may challenging and thoughtful questions from members. We send our congratulations to NDP incumbent, Catherine Fife for winning back her seat and hope she will continue to be a strong representative for our community and our region.

These annual events are coordinated by the Landscape Committee and involves people getting out on our property together, cleaning, maintaining, shoveling, trimming trees, gathering brush, and whatever else is on the list of outdoor chores that need to be done. There are two shifts: morning, and afternoon. Between the two shifts is a wonderful lunch that Social Committee provides for all the workers who join us that day. It is normally a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun as you get to work with your neighbours. And there is a deep sense of satisfaction from a job well done.

During this event, various members of our community gathered together in our Community Centre and showcased some of the hidden talents and businesses we have in our community. Members showed others some of the things they make and sell, such as: paintings, bookmarks, wool creations, hand-painted signs, guitar, wooden boxes, dream catchers, poetry, knitting and crocheting, cakes, Steeped Tea, hand stamped jewellery, and Scentsy.

Accompanying our time after Christmas caroling, Social Committee held annual draw for co-op member who love to decorate and go all out with their creativity for lighting up our community. There were some great gifts this year, including things like: dinner gift certificates and movie passes for the family.

Social Committee hosted our annual Yuletide Feast, which is a potluck meal for all those who want to gather for a Christmas dinner. Turkey was graciously provided for by Beaver Creek, and the fun was provided by our lovely members who attended.

The Food Drive to replenish Mother Hubbard's Cupboard for the holiday season was very successful. The children went door-to-door and collected food donations, filling the tractor's trailer with lots of goodies. Santa joined the kids and he was quite a hit.

Each year we have a host of people who go door to door in our co-op delighting the listeners with lovely songs of the holiday season. After this magical delight we gather together in our Community Centre for hot chocolate and snacks.

In April 2008, the Marketing Committee gave our Community Centre a makeover.

Members and their invited friends made their own hand-rolled beeswax candles to light for a community walk, followed by story telling for all ages and a discussion on “greening” their housing community. Photos are from 2008.

Beaver Creek believes in diversity, as per the first cooperative principle. To demonstrate this, and to encourage others to embrace diversity, Beaver Creek has proudly attended the Tri-Pride festivals in Victoria Park, Kitchener for many years.