JC Community Picnic

August 2019

 

The end of an era for the JC Community Picnic

By Kristin Kobayashi-Reid on behalf of the JC Community Picnic Committee

 

The sun set quietly on a beautiful, clear Canada Day evening as it always does. But this time it marked the last time the JC Community Picnic would be held at the historic Caledon Place.

 

Caledon Place has been a part of the picnic’s history since it opened its doors to the public in 1985, and though it wasn’t always owned by the JCCC throughout those years, we were fortunate enough to still be able to hold the picnic there through the generosity of the property owners. Our arrangement with the current owner is now coming to an end, and the picnic as we know it is changing.

 

Attendance has been gradually going down over the past decade as our community aged and sansei and yonsei families made new traditions of their own for Canada Day. We are grateful for all the great memories we’ve had over the years, and we especially need to thank all our tireless volunteers who have been so dedicated to continue to put in the work even when we weren’t sure anyone would show up. We still had over 215 attendees in our last year and it was really heartwarming to see so many new faces and younger generations joining us in recent years. They are the reason the picnic has continued to thrive over the last 40+ years.

 

We owe a big thank you to our fearless leader, the voice and chair of the picnic committee since taking over from the late Mike Shin, Marty Kobayashi. He is the true beating heart of the picnic, spending many hours and weekends up there with a crew cutting the grass, moving picnic tables around, cleaning the washrooms and tidying up the BINGO pavilion. Thank you to our treasurer, Rick Takashima, who has been doing our financials for decades. Thank you to the Shin family for organizing the fukubiki prizes; Dawna Kobayashi and the BINGO helpers; Christine Takasaki, Kevin Kobayashi and all our races and games helpers, and everyone who helped set up, man the front gate, sell 50/50 tickets, and everything else required to prepare, run and clean up after the picnic.

 

Lastly, to our loyal community members, friends and families who have been coming to the picnic year after year, you are the reason we have kept the tradition alive. We don’t want to think of this as the end, but perhaps this is an opportunity to create new customs to carry on for future generations. We hope everyone who has been to even one picnic since it started as the Japanese Canadian Centennial Picnic in 1977 will cherish those memories, for this is truly the end of an era for all of us.