Congratulations to Lauren Wakelam for being QEXCA’s Volunteer of the Month for December 2025!
Congratulations to Lauren Wakelam for being the Volunteer of the Month for December 2024! Lauren bought her first house in the Exhibition area earlier this year. Prior to that, she lived in the Queen Elizabeth area for 4 years. She is currently serving as the President of the QEXCA. Lauren sells building materials for a living, and in her spare time she enjoys gardening, and cooking. She is excited to spend her first holiday season in her new house, with her son and their dog.
This holiday season we, your community association for the Queen Elizabeth, Exhibition and West Haultain neighborhoods, are conducting a food drive from December 12–20 to help restock the food lockers in our community. To help make this food drive a success, we are asking for community members to donate non-perishable food items. We already have plans in place to pick up and distribute these donations, so all you have to do is decide what you would like to donate.
If you would like to donate to this food drive, please fill out this form so we can make arrangements to pick up your donation. If you would like more information about this food drive, or would like to donate, but there are no pick up times that work with your schedule, feel free to email us at info@qexca.ca.
Congratulations to Cat Woloschuk for being QEXCA’s Volunteer of the Month for November 2024!
Cat has lived in the Haultain neighbourhood for the last 12 years and has enjoyed receiving the QEXCA newsletter in the mailbox each Fall. A recent graduate from the U of S, Cat joined QEXCA this summer as the newsletter coordinator and was recently elected to the Board of Directors at the AGM. Cat is passionate about lifelong learning, safeguarding tangible & intangible heritage for current & future generations, building community connections, and thoroughly enjoys walking around the QEXCA neighbourhoods – feel free to say hi if you see Cat out and about!
Do you want to dance and boogie the night away in a fun and spooky way, and do you live in Queen Elizabeth, Exhibition or West Haultain? If yes, then plan on stopping by the Halloween Dance at the Queen Elizabeth School gym on Friday, October 25. This free dance is taking place at 7-9pm and includes a live DJ! We’ll see you there!!
With winter slowly approaching, QEXCA is looking towards offering additional programming for the community for the upcoming year. To help with this task, we are asking you, the community members from the neighbourhoods of Queen Elizabeth, Exhibition, and West Haultain, to let us know what you would like to be offered. All upcoming winter programming is expected to run from January to March 2025.
If there are any programs that you would like to be offered in the community, please fill out the following form, or email us at programs@qexca.ca.
Congratulations to Karla Combres for being QEXCA’s Volunteer of the Month for October 2024!
Karla has called this neighbourhood home for over a decade, living here with her husband and three school-aged children. They love the area, especially its warm community spirit and proximity to everything Saskatoon has to offer. As the community association’s liaison with l’École canadienne française – Pavillon Monique Rousseau, Karla enjoys fostering connections between the local francophone school and its neighbours. As a Legacy Guide and Celebrant, she helps people and organizations uncover their core values and stories, and shape their ideal legacies. She does this through workshops, speaking engagements, one-on-one guidance, and custom ceremonies. A fan of potlucks and music jams with friends, she deeply appreciates the fantastic events and programs organized by the community association. Karla encourages everyone to find a way to get involved in our community, no matter how big or small!
The public library is, of course, an important resource to every city and community. Private little libraries add value by encouraging reading, making books more available and building community. Patrons may take a book and return it, keep and /or leave one in its place.
Over the past couple of years, I have found more little libraries popping up in Your Community. There are now at least seven, one or more in each neighbourhood. In Exhibition: on Lorne Ave., and on Hilliard St. E. In Queen Elizabeth: on Maple St., on Adelaide St. E., on William Ave. and on York Ave. In West Haultain: on 4th St. E.
The “Librarians” are retirees, working folk, professionals, all of whom are interested in reading and encouraging others to read. They are all involved in the community.
Their motivation to erect the libraries is as varied as the books in them: For Rick, it was a winter woodworking project. Natasha’s was a gift from a friend, who built it from an old cupboard. She had appreciated the ones she had used while living in Kenya. Adrian was inspired by one he had seen that was created by an artist. Andrew made a few additions, to a Christmas gift from a family member, to reflect the couple’s interests. Another librarian received hers as a Mother’s Day gift from her children.
The rewards for their efforts are, primarily, seeing folks reading; having books being re-read and not thrown into a recycling bin. It’s interesting to watch the comings and goings, interact with their neighbours and make new friends. Interesting conversations have been started beside the library. Sometimes there are tangible rewards like treats left for the dog.
Most don’t monitor what others add to the library but some don’t include religious books or eroticism. When there are children’s books, they go quickly. It’s not always books that are left: CDs, puzzles, a Meccano set, crayons, crochet cotton – even plants have been left under a box.
The patrons of the libraries are of all ages: adults, children, young adults, all interests and come from all walks of life.
The neighbours have provided good support and use of the library. There has been little graffiti and comments have been complimentary.
It’s not just libraries. Don’t forget the Free Little Art Gallery can be found on Hilliard St. E If you know of others, please, tell us where to look (info@qexca.ca).
If you search for “little libraries” online, you will find the “Little Free Library” organisation. Currently in Your Community, only the one on Hilliard St. is registered with the organisation.
Know your responsibilities and risks. Provided that the library box does not include a permanent structure, there are no issues with erecting your library on City property, including the easement. The City of Saskatoon and utility providers sometimes need access to public land, for example, to maintain underground utilities or build or repair sidewalks. This means that your library could be removed or damaged. The City and utility providers are not liable for damage to or removal of materials or structures on public land. The same guidelines apply as for Boulevard Gardens.
Can you match the photos to the locations? Do you know of any others Library Boxes in Your Community? Share a photo by email, Facebook or Instagram.
The City of Saskatoon wants the residents of the city to experience all that cities’ parks have to offer; to help do this, the city has created a contest! Until August 18, 2024 you can take a selfie or video at a park in the city then tag the city at @CityofSaskatoon on Facebook, Instagram or X with the hashtag #ExploreYXEParks, only if you are a Saskatoon resident aged 18 or older. If you are lucky, you will win 1 of 14 prize packs, which include a $100 Leisure Gift Card!
Not all parks in the city are included in this contest. Please visit the City of Saskatoon contest page for more information on which parks are included, the official contest rules and suggestions of transit and active transportation methods for getting to your park of choice.
The City of Saskatoon is asking for feedback to help improve the connectivity and accessibility for walking and cycling traffic on Victoria Avenue from Taylor Street to Ruth Street. There are two ways for you to provide input for this project, as you may have seen from the flyer delivered to your door.
On Tuesday, July 23rd, there will be an open house at Avalon Alliance Church (413 Cascade Street) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm that you can ask questions and provide input for this project.
From now until Tuesday, August 20th there is an online survey that you can fill out to share your ideas.
For more information about this project, like the current timeline, please visit the City of Saskatoon website. Your feedback on this project will help shape the future of our community.
If you are looking for a way to keep your kids active this summer, Kids in the Park maybe for you (and your kids)! This year, Kids in the Park will have their drop in soccer program in the Exhibition and Queen Elizabeth neighbourhoods. Starting on Wednesday July 3rd, this program will be held weekly until Wednesday August 21st, as both neighbourhoods have their programs on the same day make sure to double-check the times for which location before attending.
For any questions, or for more information, please visit the Saskatoon Youth Soccer website.
Your community association is looking for additional help to continue to improve our community. Do you want to make a difference in your neighborhood? If so, then we invite you to join the QEXCA!
Currently, we are looking for volunteers for the following positions:
