Village Green onboards new manager
The possibilities are endless, says Ivy Leishman-Martin of the Village Green, where she will officially step into her role as manager on July 4.
The Creemore Community Foundation committed to staffing the park as a result of a 2019 community consultation process and a management committee was established to do the hiring of a full-time manager who will oversee programming and operations at the park, with the help of two summer students, and a maintenance person. The job is to activate the park year-round with activities through partnerships with existing organizations, supporting volunteers, and creating signature events. Once she starts in her new role, Leishman-Martin will be on site as much as possible, sometimes working out of Station on the Green.
Construction of the Village Green is in its final stages now as officials prepare for a grand opening event on August 20-21, when the hoarding will come down and visitors will be invited to join in a weekend of activities.
The park is equipped with a stage, a splash pad, ping pong table and grassy area that will double as a skating rink in the winter.
“People need people and this is a place to be together with community, neighbours and friends,” said Leishman- Martin.
Leishman-Martin grew up at Sunnidale Corners and has worked with her parents at Leishman Pottery for 23 years but as her parents prepare for retirement, the job posting for the park manager job caught her eye. Leishman-Martin said her job as a potter is creative, but she also loved the customer service and the community connection. Although she had initially intended to take a little time to figure out what she wanted to do next, she was inspired to apply for the job because of the potential to become deeply connected to another part of the community, and set down roots as a way of staying anchored.
“Having this position is the most important decision I have ever made,” she said. “It allows me to maintain a connection to the community I grew up in.”
Leishman-Martin said she has felt very supported by her family, friends and community and hopes to foster that sense of generational connection for the next generation of community members so that they can then become caring members of society.
In her other job, although volunteer, Leishman-Martin is the president of the Collingwood Girls Hockey Association, which encompasses players from a large area, including Clearview and Mulmur. It is there that she has learned how to take a collective idea and bring it under one umbrella and make it a reality for everyone, she said.
“I know what it’s like to be a volunteer 24/7,” said Leishman, adding that she knows an essential part of her role will be to alleviate some of the pressure on volunteers who have been working to enhance the community, and support businesses.
Plans are already in the works for weekly Saturday afternoon family focussed entertainment that dovetails with the Creemore Farmers’ Market, a beer garden as part of the Copper Kettle Festival with performers on the stage, programming as part of the Creemore Festival of the Arts weekend, and the Creemore Farmers’ Market anniversary in September.
For the launch, there will be an official ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 20, a time capsule will be buried, there will be ball hockey in the parking lot, and lots of family activities and entertainment until 4 p.m. On Sunday, Sass Dempsey will lead a yoga session at 10:30 a.m. and there will be afternoon tea at 2 p.m. honouring the Creemore Horticultural Society. Guided tours of the park will take place throughout the weekend.
Watch for more details in The Echo and on social media @Creemore Village Green.
All the best Ivy. You will slay it.