{"id":36600,"date":"2025-07-24T19:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=36600"},"modified":"2025-07-31T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T22:08:54","slug":"kitchen-party-will-be-maritime-celebration-to-benefit-local-mental-health-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/kitchen-party-will-be-maritime-celebration-to-benefit-local-mental-health-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen Party will be maritime celebration to benefit local mental health programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A traditional Newfoundland kitchen party is taking shape in Aurora \u2013 and it\u2019s not just a time for a new spin on being Screeched In, it\u2019s all to benefit local mental health programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Newfoundland Kitchen Party in support of Community Mental Health Services is set for Thursday, September 18, at the Salvation Army\u2019s Northridge Community Church and picks up after two years of galas helped foster the important mental health services that come out of their community hub on Leslie Street, just north of Wellington Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela Covert, who has led fundraising for Northridge for the last few years, including the past two years of galas, was inspired to switch things up from the previously formal affair to more of a celebration partially out of the wonderful experiences she and her husband had last summer visiting the Province \u2013 but also in recognizing the unique position our country is now in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had known when I started at the Salvation Army that (the organization) continues to have a very big presence in Newfoundland,\u201d says Covert. \u201cA lot of the officers I connect with through the Salvation Army have their roots in Newfoundland themselves, including Captain Fred Reid here at our office, and I started to think about the impact of the Salvation Army, not just in Newfoundland but in Canada in general. Looking at all that, and having a better sense not only of the Province but its people, the fun, and the impact of the Salvation Army there, I got to thinking about what it might look like to do a kitchen party over the gala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other influence for me has been just the challenges that everybody is facing, not just financially, but just the sadness of what is happening in the world\u2026 and the impact of Trump\u2019s tariffs and also the rhetoric of taking us over, I just wanted something that was purely Canadian and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its inception, the first two mental health galas hosted by Salvation Army Northridge raised nearly $60,000 for their community programs, and has significantly boosted awareness of what the Salvation Army has to offer for people who are struggling with their mental health \u2013 so much so they have formed valuable partnerships with such local organizations as Southlake Health and Abuse Hurts to be part of that mental health continuum in the central and northern York Region area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is expected to only ramp up as they gear up for the September 18 event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It promises to be an evening of great music featuring Off the Rock, North America\u2019s premier tribute to Great Big Sea, a band which has been gaining a steady following in the Greater Toronto Area, traditional food, a type of Screeching In ceremony where, at this alcohol-free affair, a mixture of Newfoundland\u2019s Purity Syrup will be mixed with water as a stand-in for the potent potable, and a marketplace of traditional Newfoundland products courtesy of Freezerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizers also promise \u201ca few surprises that may include a fish,\u201d so perhaps it wouldn\u2019t be a bad idea to bring some Chapstick in case you\u2019re asked to kiss a cod!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took note of all the other events that were happening in our community and there were a lot of galas, a lot of higher-end-price-point fundraisers, and that helps generate funds, but I just wanted to offer something that was a little bit lighter, a lot more fun,\u201d says Covert, adding food will be provided by Carmen Holloway, previously of The Puffin, which served the Holland Landing area with traditional maritime fare. \u201cKitchen party? How much fun is that? When you have people over to your house, where do people often hang out? It\u2019s in the kitchen and that\u2019s where all the great conversations happen. I think it resonates with individuals just because, in my line of work, we just often see the bad, but my hope is this is really going to bring the good and just the joy. I want there to be that atmosphere of, \u2018I\u2019ve come to somebody\u2019s house and we\u2019re just having a party.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur focus is mental health and the event will be for our mental health services. Right now, we have our psychotherapists on staff and my hope is now that that\u2019s getting more and more established, we will be able to branch out into more specific programs for youth and hire at minimum a part-time person who would look at more youth counselling supports.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets for the Newfoundland Kitchen Party in Support of Community Mental Health Services are on sale now. To purchase, call 905-895-6276 or visit Salvation Army Northridge at 15338 Leslie Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong>
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A traditional Newfoundland kitchen party is taking shape in Aurora \u2013 and it\u2019s not just a time for a new spin on being Screeched In, it\u2019s all to benefit local mental health programs. The Newfoundland Kitchen Party in support of Community Mental Health Services is set for Thursday, September 18, at the Salvation Army\u2019s Northridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-9wk","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 07:54:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36600"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36608,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36600\/revisions\/36608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}