A Belly Full of Laughs and Babes

There’s something for all types of bellies this weekend. First, for the laughing (and possibly beer drinking) belly, Hirut Hoot is having a comedy night this Friday, September 27th at 7:00 p.m. with host Kevin MacDonald ($5.00).

Second, something for baby bellies. Silly Goose Kids has a few spots left in their Prenatal Kundalini Yoga. Classes start this Sunday, September 22nd from 9:15-10:30 a.m.

hirut septmeber 27photo

Silly Goose Kids is TWO! No tax all weekend!

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Celebrate two silly years of toy store excellence with Shamie, Tracey and their amazing team. Here is what they have in store (no pun intended):

No tax all weekend! Plus:

* Face painting 11-2 on Saturday, 11-1 Sunday * Glitter tattoos * Cupcakes By Cecile Bakes (former staff member) *
Lootbags for the first 50 children on Saturday * Chance to win a prize with purchase…and lots more great goodies!

Silly Goose Kids is located at 2054 Danforth Avenue, just west of Woodbine Avenue.

Farmers’ Market & Shop Local September

Farmers’ Market This Week

There is about one month left of our magnificent farmers’ market.  Be sure to stock up on local produce before it’s too late!  Here’s a run down of today’s activities:

  • Mrs. Darling’s crafts: This will be the last week for crafts with Mrs. Darling before she moves her magic indoors with her art classes at Artisans-at-Work. Come craft and say good-bye for the season, starting at 4:30 p.m.
  • City of Toronto – Planning in Public Spaces: City Planners are doing some planning in public spaces this year and will be at the market to hear from you. Bring your ideas and questions about growth and development in our community to their tent this week.
  • Rob from Alistair Ant will be back with his guitar and songs starting at 4:30 p.m.

September Shop Local Specials!

Have you seen those Shop Local signs popping up around the ‘hood, reminding you to support your local retailers? Here’s a round-up of some of the specials businesses are featuring this September to make shopping locally even more enticing:

  • The Canine Social Company‘s selection of summer stuff for Fido is all 15% off.
  • Impressions Dental Hygiene Spa is offering a 25% discount on initial exams
  • Melanie’s Bistro has the following mouth-watering deals: 3 course prix fixe dinner every Tues., Wed. & Thurs. for $28.00 (includes your choice of mains from the regular dinner menu). Sunday Night Steak Dinner 3 course prix fixe for $32.00. And Tues.-Fri. at lunch, homemade BBQ pulled pork for $6.00.
  • The Pillow Shoppe is taking 20% off their fabulous, Canadian-made pillows.
  • Universal Diapers Baby Store has a bonanza of baby deals: disposable diapers and wipes are all on sale, plus soft leather booties are $11.97 (reduced from $14.99) and rain boots are $11.97 (reduced from $15.99)

Happy (local) shopping!

September Shop Local Poster

Event Invite: Community Building with Jim Diers

We are very excited to invite you to an evening discussion on neighbourhood revitalization and community building next Tuesday.

We are so lucky to have a real guru on this topic, Jim Diers, agree to come speak to us next week.  Jim is the author of Neighbor Power and former Director of Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods, where he implemented some very innovative programs and supported thousands of neighbourhood self-help projects.

A while back, DECA’s own Catherine Porter interviewed Jim for her column in the Toronto Star, highlighting Jim’s innovative thinking. You can also get a sneak peak of what Jim is all about by checking out this YouTube video.

Much of what we love about Danforth East – the revitalized East Lynn Park, the Farmer’s Market, the Pop-up shops and more – have been the result of great community engagement.  Let’s keep the momentum going!  Come out to Monarch Park Collegiate on Tuesday September 17, at 7:30 and be inspired!

Be sure to RSVP here since spots are filling up quickly.

We hope to see you there!

Jim-Diers-Poster

Five Fun Facts about DEAF13 & Schedule of Events

The Fair is only a couple of sleeps away!  With another fun-filled family event nearly upon us, the organizers wanted to share a few facts about this annual neighbourhood event.  And see below for the full schedule of events and activity for Saturday and Sunday.

Danforth East Arts Fair: Five fun fair facts about DEAF13

1. Milestone: The Fair is turning FIVE YEARS OLD this year! It’s hard to believe it, but the Danforth East Arts Fair is half a decade old already. The Danforth East Art Fair sprang from the drive of neighbours and dedicated volunteers of the larger Danforth East Community Association (DECA), which supports many other great initiatives in the area that help to make the community more vibrant, walkable and fun.

2. Better and better: Since its first year, the Fair has grown to include more artists from all disciplines along with live entertainment, food vendors and arts demonstrations. Our home is East Lynn Park, and our vendors’ tents fit perfectly in it.  While we’ll likely never get significantly bigger than our current size, we do strive to make the event *better* every year. That means we offer a variety of exhibitors selling a range of unique, high quality goods and services that includes photography, framing, paintings, clothing, ceramics, glassware, bath and beauty items, crafts and more.

3. Fan favourites and exciting new vendors. Some favourites are back this year, including Horst Herget, who makes portraits while you wait using tintype, a form of photography popular in the late 1800s that yields a noteworthy photo with an “olde-timey” feel. And Henna Planet and Henna by Holly will once again be painting lovely temporary henna designs on visitors! As well, we have new artists such as photographer Teresa Miller, mosaic maker Roberto Centazzo of Stone Folio and Fernand Ciraco of local business Ciraco framing, who will be selling unique storage and shelving cleverly repurposed from frame samples. (Ciraco is also a volunteer extraordinaire, more on that later.)

4. Local and beyond: This year approximately two-thirds of our vendors identify themselves as being located near East Lynn Park. We’re so proud to be encouraging creativity in the community! Our jury hand-picks every exhibitor, and while we do encourage local artists to apply, our final cut this year includes artisans from all over Ontario and even Quebec.

5. Volunteers: The Danforth East Arts Fair is completely run by volunteers. The planning meetings start in winter and the jury meets regularly to choose which artists will be included. Leading up to the event, there are volunteers arranging for everything from the live entertainment to the on-site ATM. A big thanks to head organizer Melanie Ramsay, along with volunteers Melissa Peretti, Julie Glick, Mary Vallis, Shauna Rempel, Fernand Ciraco, Danna Lynn McCullough and many more working behind the scenes to make the event a success.

Event post

For more info on the Fair, visit deca-arts.ca/. Or just come on by! DEAF13 goes rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in East Lynn Park.