Category: Events

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VAT Social Committee Needs Your Help

Hello neighbors,

We hope everyone is having a great beginning of fall and looking forward to the fun that the change of weather brings. the VAT Social Committee is reaching out today to ask for your help.The Social Committee is funded solely by donations from homeowners. Last year community children hosted a popsicle/water sale during the annual garage sale and the Social Committee sold water at National Night Out to raise funds and solicit donations. Annual Assessments (ie Dues) are NOT allocated to the Social Committee. This is a committee of your neighbors and volunteers who work together to host events for our community.

Recently we hosted Kona Ice at the VAT Park for our 2023 block party. As is the standard with food trucks a minimum sales threshold must be met – if not, the host of the truck will be responsible for the difference. Last year, we had a great turn out and easily surpassed this threshold and were even able to secure a donation back to the Social Committee. However this year we were not able to meet this threshold and as a result the limited Social Committee funds we had were depleted and our Board Members personally paid for the remaining difference.


We kindly ask – would your household be willing to donate $5 (or more if you are willing/able) to help rebuild the Social Committee funds? 
 

These funds are necessary to secure services like a North Pole representative, Easter supplies, and food trucks for community events. We have some supplies that we reuse year to year but there are still needs beyond this.

Neighbors have requested we host MORE events/food trucks however, without the generosity and participation of our neighbors this simply isn’t possible. Bookings of food trucks carry risk as the minimum sales requirements of these trucks can vary (starting at $500 and going up) and there is no guarantee of participation from the community. We have 275 households in our community, yet our social committee is between 5-10 people and often they are the ones donating to make these events possible.


Please, if you are able, consider a $5 donation to the VAT Social Committee. These funds are held completely apart from Board finances and managed directly. If you are able to donate, please reach out to the Board who will pass along your information to the Social Committee.

Thank you everyone for your time.
VAT Social Committee
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2023 Community Garage Sale – Mark Your Calendar!

Everyone must have spring cleaning on their minds as we have had several inquiries for when our community garage sale is going to be happening. It’s great to see so many households eager to participate!

The dates for 2023 are going to be June 9th and 10th.

We hope to see some great community involvement and hope folks use this as an opportunity to get out and speak with neighbors and new faces within the community.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars.

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Hop and Hunt With the Easter Bunny April 1

photo by gabe pierce

The Village at Thornapple Social Committee is hosting the annual Easter egg hunt at noon on Saturday, April 1 at our park!

Bring your kiddos aged 1 to 10 and your Easter baskets for fun and prizes. Hippity hop along with the Easter bunny and snap a fluffy photo!

This event is rain or shine, so bring your umbrellas just in case, and hop (or hope) for the best weather!

If anyone would like to donate candy, please contact Susan Wood at [email protected] to arrange drop off or pick up by March 23.

See you there! Hoppy Easter!

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Annual Meeting Reminder

A reminder that the VAT annual meeting has been scheduled. All homeowners are encouraged to attend.

Details for this meeting were included in the annual assessment packet and can be found below as well.

Date: Sunday, February 5, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Westland Area Library – 4740 W Broad St

We look forward to seeing everyone.

 

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Vote for the VAT Home of the Holidays!

Have you noticed an especially charming holiday home in the neighborhood? Passed by a winter wonderland while walking the dog? Mention that address you’re loving in the comments below! Inspire your neighbors to take a look! Then vote for it! Voting will take place December 17-21. The grand-prize winner will be announced December 22! Everyone take a stroll or a drive through our winter-wonderful neighborhood anytime between December 17 and 21 to search for your favorite home. Make a note of the address YOU think should win best Home of the Holidays. Then you can cast your vote by paper in the ballot box at the front door of the gate house, or you can vote by email to [email protected]. One vote per household, please and thank you!

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Fall Update – Beggar’s Night/Trick or Treat & Reminders

Hello Neighbors,

Well just as quickly as October arrived it is almost November! A few reminders as we progress into fall and the temperature (and leaves) drop.

Beggars Night/Trick or Treat
Our community follows the city of Columbus date/time set by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. This year Beggars Night/Trick or Treat will fall on Monday, October 31st from 6-8PM. 

Please use caution while driving through our community and watch out for ghosts, princesses, witches, Paw Patrol pups, and all the other fun costumed folks you may see!

Reminder: Neighbors with wheelchairs or strollers can struggle with passing around parked vehicles that block sidewalks.  Vehicles should be parked to not block sidewalks – please utilize on street parking when able.

(Side note: Many folks wonder why Columbus doesn’t always hand out candy on Halloween – check out this article for some local history.)

Reminder: Leaves

Our neighborhood has beautiful fall foliage – sadly it becomes a fall mess rather quickly. A few reminders when it comes to fall(ing) leaves:

  • The city of Columbus does not vacuum up leaves from the curb or clear any street gutters. Please take some time to remove leaves from sidewalks/street gutters. Wet leaves can create dangerously slick sidewalks and gutter drains get blocked not allowing water runoff from rain or ice melt to make it to sewers.

 

  • Please do not leave blown leaves in the street or blow them down the street to other homes. This creates additional work for homeowners who are already battling leaves of their own.

 

  • Don’t forget to check gutters and downspouts for leaves. Backups of leaves trap water and eventually ice in the colder months. This causes gutters to separate from homes and could cause blockages and backups in the sewer systems.

All leaves should be bagged and stored until the next scheduled recycling/yard waste pickup. Our community’s next recycling/yard waste pickup is Monday, October 31st.

Getting ready for the holidays

We know, we know – Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet and already we are looking ahead to Christmas. You know the holidays can get very busy! With that said…

We are hoping to have photos with Santa make a return this year – if anyone would like to volunteer to participate in our holiday event please email the Board ([email protected]) and put “ATTN: Social Committee”  in the subject with your name and contact information.  Also, if anyone has access to large thermoses (that can be used to keep beverages warm) – please let us know. The sooner we have volunteers/equipment the faster we can make plans and get this scheduled.

Finally, just a quick note to say that this year we are holding a “Christmas Vacation” Challenge to the VAT neighborhood!

Many of our neighbors already put on excellent holiday light displays and we know that those lights often start getting hung in the milder weather of November. This year the Board is hoping to get folks excited to channel their inner Clark Griswold and put up some truly excellent light displays. Neighbors could then vote on the household whose display they liked the best.

Currently we are trying to gauge interest for this event. Neighbors that wish to participate should let the Board know via email ([email protected]) and put “ATTN: Christmas Vacation Challenge” in the subject with their name and contact information. The board will need to know no later than December 1st if your household wishes to be included – displays would need to be up no later than December 16th. More details to come!

We hope this message finds everyone well and enjoying all that fall in Ohio has to offer. Wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Reminder – National Night Out – August 2nd, 6-9PM

Hello everyone,

We hope you have had a great weekend and are looking forward to National Night Out this Tuesday at the VAT park!

As a reminder this family friendly event is open to all of the Thornapple community as a way to foster relationships within our community as well as with our local fire and police services.

Our plans for this event include:

Dan & Paul Acoustic – 6-9PM

Kona Ice – 6:30-8PM

Kona Ice will be donating a % of their sales to the VAT Social Committee so please come with your sweet tooth! As a reminder Social Committee funds are dependent on the generosity of neighbors, no funding is provided by VAT annual dues. The Social Committee will also have bottled water and other non-alcoholic beverages available for sale. 

Columbus Fire Department – Fire Truck Visit – 7-8PM

Plus sidewalk chalk, cornhole, lawn bowling, a visit from the Columbus Police Department (hopefully!) , and other outdoor fun! 

We kindly ask that folks DO NOT park on the Aldengate street side directly in front of the park on Tuesday to leave room for both the Kona Ice and CFD Trucks.

This area is a tight fit with these large vehicles and we are anticipating a fair amount of foot traffic, we highly suggest walking to the park or parking nearby and not directly in this area. 

This is a family friendly event and all rules of the park will be in effect (ie, No Alcohol/Illegal Substances, No Smoking, Pets must be leashed at all times, etc). Please help do your part to keep the park looking great by removing any trash upon leaving.

In thanks to the CPD & CFD for all they do we will have some posters available for folks to sign if they wish, thanking them for their service to our community. Please stop by and add your message to these boards!

So grab the lawn chairs and blankets, bring the bubbles and games for the kids, and come join us for an evening of community, fun, and thanks.

See you there!

2022 VAT Board

 

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National Night Out – August 2nd, 6-9PM

Hello Neighbors,

We hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoying the sunny weather!

In the past 12 months there have been lots of new faces joining our community – and with all the construction projects – lots of activity in the surrounding area. 

For the first time our community has opted to participate in National Night Out.  National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. This event is open to all members of the VAT community.

Our hope is that participating this year will give everyone an opportunity to meet one another, learn more about each other, and learn more about how our community is run. 

Plans are still in the works but this is a family friendly event. Neighbors can expect live music, outdoor games and fun, a visit from the Columbus Fire Department for the kids to get an up-close look at a firetruck from 7-8PM, frozen treats for sale benefitting our Social Committee and Columbus Police will (hopefully!) be making a stop as well. 

So grab a lawn chair, bring the bubbles and sidewalk chalk and join us for a community night out. The VAT Board hopes your family can make it out and that this will be the first of additional annual events for the community!

National Night Out – August 2nd, 6 – 9PM
VAT Park

Please note:  In the event of severe weather or lightning this event would be cancelled. A blog post will be created to update the event status.

We hope to see you there,

2022 VAT Board

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