I first came to McCauley in mid-winter and was ill-equipped for it. To go anywhere, I had to cross through deep snow in Giovanni Caboto Park. I inevitably ended up with cold, wet feet. However, I also ran across my first random act of kindness.

Someone - I never learned who - used a snowblower to make paths through the park. They didn’t simply clear sidewalks - someone took the time to discover the most used foot paths across the park and cleared them. This made the park much easier to navigate. It made me feel at home in a new and unique place.

Giovanni Caboto Park has meant many things to me. The park’s shining star is when the Heart of the City festival happens. When I first became involved in the event, I got to be friends with the then-President, Charity Slobod. We have stayed friends for years now, and I recently visited her on the West Coast. 

Another of my fondest memories was to be the instructor for “Poetry in the Park,” an event e4c encouraged me to facilitate which ran for two summers. It was so relaxing and entertaining to express my love of the English language through poetry in such a beautiful place and to meet others who love poetry as much as I do.

Giovanni Caboto Park has a long and diverse history. For me, the park is all about the wonderful people who live here or love to visit. I have a close friend who would often bring his son all the way from Old Strathcona for gelato at Spinelli’s Bar Italia. Afterwards, the kid would beat me in a game of basketball across the street or act up as only young boys can, while making short iPhone movies to later show his mom. 

Once, I was chasing a pristine butterfly in the park. It stopped for just one moment, and I got the perfect shot of it. I could have made a coffee table book of the squirrels, blackbirds, crows, woodpeckers, bluejays, and insects that abound. But mostly I am happy just to sit among the majestic trees and soothing sounds of the fountain in my favourite park.

Leif Gregersen lives and writes in McCauley.