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Tis the season!Two more sleeps until Jingle Bell Night, an evening event where the businesses of downtown Paris give back to the community with festivities, holiday savings and arranging philanthropic opportunities like the Paris Firefighters Club's Toy Drive! ![]()
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The Paris Firefighters Club's Christmas Toy Drive invites you to donate new and unwrapped toys (monetary donations also accepted) to support; the following Downtown Paris, Ontario businesses carry toys if you wanted support small at the same time: ![]()
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🚒 Baby B. Home a great range of toys, both playful and educational!![]()
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🚒 Miller’s Candy Co. has candy AND they have small toys too! ![]()
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🚒 The Rustic Palm has cuddly crochet toys and fidgets! ![]()
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🚒 One Sixty One has educational toys and things for older kids! ![]()
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🚒 forest + folk in The Paris Wincey Mills Co has ceramic fidgets, hand puppets and felted creatures!![]()
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🚒 AJ Chicoyne's Gift Shop on Grand River St North has cute toys which come with merry messages! ![]()
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🚒 John M. Hall - The House of Quality Linens has a few cute toys that come with cozy blankets!![]()
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We're looking forward to an evening full of local love; join us Friday November 21st from 5 PM to 9 PM for Jingle Bell Night 2025 in downtown Paris, Ontario, there will be: tree lighting, stilt walkers, dancers, choirs, Santas galore and lots of offers for holiday shopping too.![]()
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Thanks to Janice Louise for this great pic from the 2018 Jingle Bell Night!![]()
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#ParisFireFighters #LoveLocalBrant #DowntownParisOntario
Special thanks to Christine Ibbotson for her informative Vibrant Living workshop on Learning the Money Secrets of the Wealthy to better understand what financially successful retirees are doing differently. With her signature interactive style and extensive financial background, Christine shared how to grow your money, and stay out of debt. She provided valuable insights and actionable steps to protect your financial future.
Talking about Your Financial Future at the November Vibrant Living Workshop!On a sunny November 20th, people gathered at T.B. Costain Community Centre to listen to Christine Ibbotson discuss “Learning the Money Secrets of the Wealthy” to better understand what financially successful retirees are doing differently.
With her signature interactive style and extensive financial knowledge base, Christine shared how to grow your money, and stay out of debt. She provided valuable insights and actionable steps to protect your financial future.
The Grand River Council on Aging, who co-hosts the event, were on hand to share information about the programs and activities supported by the GRCOA and to provide opportunities to get involved.
Attendees were happy to receive a copy of the Age-Friendly Calendar as a token of appreciation for supporting the Vibrant Living Series!
GRCOA volunteers Vaseem Baig, Peggy Wickham, and Lucy Marco attended Part 2 of the Inclusivity Speaker Series on Wednesday November 12.
The featured speaker, Nicki Straza, spoke about nurturing a workplace where every generation can flourish.
The series is co hosted by workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, the Brant Human Resource Network and Six Nation Polytechnic.
What’s New!
The Community at Home workshop series is designed by volunteers to encourage socialization, participation, and community connections, while creating awareness about topics and issues of interest.
Core Strengthening Chair Exercises 
The Grand River Council on Aging invites you to Sadaf Akhtar from the Adult Recreation Therapy Centre for core strengthening exercises that boost your confidence in daily activities and help you live a more active, healthy life.
Wednesday December 3, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
To register for this virtual workshop, please email admin@grcoa.ca or call 519 754-0777 ext. 439
Enjoy past recorded workshops when you CLICK HERE
Chamber of Commerce Trade Show
The Best Western Brantford Hotel and Conference Centre was a hive of activity on Thursday October 23 for the Annual Chamber of Commerce Trade Show.
The GRCOA joined 52 other Chamber members representing diverse businesses and organizations that had tables set up around the conference centre
This free event invited the community to engage with and support the Chamber members like the GRCOA.
One of the biggest components of the trade show is business networking. GRCOA volunteers shared opportunities for businesses to partner with us by sponsoring events, advertising in the Age-Friendly Calendar, presenting at the Community at Home Workshop Series, submitting content to the Newsletter, or following GRCOA on Facebook.
Many connections were made and attendees were happy to receive a copy of the 2026 Age-Friendly Calendar!
The Grand Parade Committee met at Williams Cafe on Thursday November 13 for the final debrief meeting for the 2025 Grand Parade Event, held on Saturday September 20 at Kiwanis Field.
The signature fundraising event raised over $37,000 to support the essential activities of the GRCOA.
Committee members provided feedback on what worked and how the experience could be improved for sponsors, walkers and volunteers.