This past week the Friends of Fort York celebrated their 15th birthday with a special “Blockhouse” cake designed by Daniel et Daniel. The Friends formed in 1994 in response to proposed developments around the Fort York site and concern over what that would mean to Toronto’s birthplace. As with many city issues, the only way to gain political traction is by demonstrating community support for something, so quite often a “Friends” group will be created around an issue, but then fade away after the battle is won or lost, so the longevity of the the Friends of Fort York, reaching this milestone, is remarkable.
What is also remarkable is the collegial nature of the relationship between the Friends and the City of Toronto. The Fort York administration (as well as the City’s Museum division) often works closely with the Friends on various projects and will solicit them for advice or input. It’s a model of how a City government and bureaucracy can work with citizen groups rather than as adversaries. The Friends have evolved from being an advocacy group for the fort into one of the biggest heritage organizations in Toronto. They publish a regular newsletter (though it is much more magazine-y than a newsletter) called Fife and Drum that you can download and/or subscribe to for free here. As well, the Friends have recently started the Fort York Foundation that is in the beginning stages of a capital campaign to raise funds for the planned Fort York Visitor’s Centre to be built by the upcoming War of 1812 bi-centennial. While the scale of this fundraising effort is huge, the act is not a new one — for years the Friends have been funding the Fort York Guard (those students who you see wandering around the grounds dressed as Redcoats).
At Spacing we’ve been fortunate to get to know many of the Friends as their office is just across the aisle from us at the Centre for Social Innovation (in fact Spacing publisher Matt Blackett is now on their board and I’ve found myself on the parallel City Management Board of the fort). It’s been quite something to watch how they work the past few years, and it’s that tenacious collegiality that I’ve most admired. Happy Birthday to all involved. Should you want to support the Friends, or become a Friend yourself, go here.
Past and present Friends, as well as other friends of the Friends, gather outside the Blue Barracks.
The Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Councillor Joe Pantalone, about to attack the Blockhouse cake much like the Americans did in 1812.
Cake cutting method not recommended for children’s birthday parties. L to R: Rollo Myers, DM Joe Pantalone, Joseph Gill.
One comment
Oh I just looove cake models ! The cutting looks so much fun!