Author: HPSC Communications

Hi all!

While the fall seems so far away, for your Board of Directors it is actually very close. Membership renewal opens in just 65 days! The summer is the time we do a lot of planning and discussion for the coming season. And it’s the time we work on the budget for next year. Thinking about what we can do to add value or better serve our members. 

On that note, I would like to thank all of you who have responded to our Members Survey that was sent out last week. If you do not recall seeing the email, please check your junk folder or just click on this link. Your feedback is very valuable to the club. The survey is open until Thursday, July 13. As an added incentive, in addition to a draw for a free membership, we will also draw for one long trip/charter trip Front of the Line (FOTL), which allows the holder to pre-book one of the charter or long trips (along with a travel partner). I will provide some of the highlights of the research results later in the summer in SnoBiz and at the AGM in September.

One item that comes up regularly is the desire for more overnight and charter trips. This year we have attempted to provide for just that. However, one of the constraints to running more trips is having qualified and experienced leaders. During COVID a number of regular leaders chose to step back or retire from the club, and we only had a few members step forward. If you are interested in being a trip leader or train as a trip leader for the future, please read the article below.  

Just as a reminder, the final deadline to register for the upcoming Frank Lloyd Wright day trip to Buffalo on July 22 is TOMORROW (July 6).  There are still about a dozen spots available. I have to confirm the numbers and pay for our tour tickets on Friday. Please ensure your passport is up to date with at least 6 months remaining on it. We will do a passport check before leaving Toronto but will not be able to delay departure from Toronto.   

On a personal note, for those who have asked, I received great news from my surgeon last week.  He said, barring any unexpected findings from a final ultrasound on my knee, there is no reason I will not be able to ski this coming season!!  As well, he cleared me to start riding my bicycle in the next week or so. I want to thank all of you who have reached out and supported me over the last 18 months since I initially tore my quad tendon. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you at our pub night this Friday at Pauper’s on Bloor!

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the 20th century’s premier architects, designing such iconic buildings as Fallingwater near Pittsburgh and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While those are absolute must sees for any architecture buff, they are, unfortunately, a far distance from our homes here in Toronto, while two of his landmarks are just a few hours away in the Buffalo area.

For all of you HPSC architecture buffs who have not seen FLW’s Buffalo masterpieces, this is your chance to do so. HPSC has arranged for a day trip on Saturday, July 22 to visit and tour both the Darwin Martin House complex and Graycliff just outside of Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie.

The cost of this day trip is only $145 Canadian (which covers the club for the ticket costs and exchange rate as well as our credit card fees) and also includes a boxed lunch provided by the café on the grounds of the Darwin Martin House.

Attridge Coachlines, our bus company, is providing the bus free of charge as a thank you to HPSC as a loyal client, so there are is no minimum number of participants to achieve. Therefore the trip is guaranteed to run. 

Since we have to confirm the numbers with the Martin House on July 7, the hard deadline to register is Thursday, July 6.  This trip is open to non-members and guests, so if you know anybody who would be interested please let them know. 

For full details and to register please click here

Historic East End Walk

On June 17 from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm, join your HPSC friends for some fun in the sun viewing murals and places of historic interest in the end end with a lunch stop at Messini Greek Restaurant on the Danforth. Lunch is at your own cost. The walk will be approximately 2.5 to 3 hours and will be led by Dave Flowers. Register here.

Pub Night at Paupers Pub

On July 7, drop in anytime from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm to join your HPSC friends for a casual pub night at Paupers Pub! Food and drinks are at your own cost. Guests are more than welcome. If you have an HPSC shirt, we recommend wearing it so you can help fellow members locate the HPSC group. In order to accommodate numbers, please register here.

It seems like just yesterday we were at the National Yacht Club for election night. But that was almost six weeks ago! While we took a short break in May from SnoBiz, your Board has been busy in other ways. We are currently working on a variety of things for next season and on ways to attract even more members. 

One item that I am personally working on is a Members’ survey to help with planning for next year – please look for the survey invite sometime later this month. Your responses are of great value to the club. 

Over the summer while you are enjoying other activities, we are hoping that you will still want to keep in touch with your fellow HPSC members. In the next month we are having a holding a couple of social events including a historic walk of the Danforth area (June 17), as well as a drop-in pub night at Paupers Pub (Bloor/Bathurst area) on July 7. In addition, there is the special Frank Lloyd Wright day trip to Buffalo (July 22).

Please read the articles in today’s SnoBiz to get further information on what the club is up to during the summer. 

Cheers!

Justin Graham

President, High Park Ski Club

Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the 20^th century’s premier architects, designing such iconic buildings as Fallingwater near Pittsburgh and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While those are absolute must sees for any architecture buff, they are, unfortunately, a far distance from our homes here in Toronto.  However, two of his landmarks are just a few hours away in the Buffalo area.

For all of you HPSC architecture buffs who have not seen FLW’s Buffalo masterpieces, this is your chance to do so. HPSC has arranged for a day trip on Saturday July 22 to visit and tour both the Darwin Martin House complex and Graycliff just outside of Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie. The cost of this day trip is $145 which includes a boxed lunch provided by the café on the grounds of the Darwin Martin House as well as roundtrip transportation. 

Non-members and guests are also welcome.

For full details and to register please click here.