All of our wishing and hoping worked out and the weather cooperated for us on August 21st as we held another Movie Night in the Park.

This year we had a Harry Potter theme, and, thanks to everyone who came out, it was a huge success. With so many Harry Potter movies in the franchise it should be easy to stretch this out for a few years to come.

This year’s event featured a small Diagon Alley marketplace, a wand-making session, the Hogwarts Express Bouncy train, an interactive Quidditch demo hosted by our friends from the Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Team, food trucks, and even a Photo Booth Platform 9¾. Several folks came out dressed in theme and our friends at Norwood Dental hosted Harry Potter-themed trivia before the movie. This was an amazing event for everyone to attend and our very own Jordynn Vis was central to making this all happen in participation with the rest of your League board. It was incredible to see the park animated in such an incredible fashion all for the love of a simple movie.

The show played into the evening and reminded some of us older viewers of the days of drive-ins and the late summer evenings.

I am always humbled by the efforts of those who serve the community on the board.

In September we are planning another event for Community League Day (weather permitting, it will be outdoors) so watch the League Facebook page and the Boyle McCauley News website and social media for more info.

On a more serious subject, I wanted to talk just briefly about problem properties and the impact they have on all of our lives. About a month ago there was a podcast produced by CBC called Slumtown that, despite the less than positive title, seemed to effectively draw attention to the issue of what we all know as problem properties and their occupants, and, most importantly, the owners. I have heard and listened to stories from several residents and witnessed a fair percentage myself as we have a house like this within 100 metres of us. I know how frustrating this can be and I know from speaking to some of our EPS members and first responders they are equally frustrated and wish more could be done.

City Council made a motion on July 9th to ask for a report on this subject through the Urban Planning Committee. At the time, it was expected the report would be done 12 weeks later, which would put us at October 1st. While agendas can change and reports get delayed, I would ask that those interested watch that date. I think there may be an opportunity to speak to Council. If things are going to change they need to be done by us as residents. We will endeavour to track this agenda item and encourage residents to sign up to speak to Council and share their lived experiences. It is easy to check the agendas and dates on the City of Edmonton website.

If you have ideas for programming or items you want us to help bring to Council, please reach out. We want to make sure we are delivering what the community wants and needs.

Greg is the President of the McCauley Community League.