Arts Fair Shout-outs & Tips for Meeting Doggy Friends

Who to thank for another stellar Arts Fair

If you didn’t make it out to the Danforth East Arts Fair last weekend, don’t worry, you can catch us at the same spot next year. For those of you who did make it to East Lynn Park, you most certainly ran into one of our phenomenal volunteers. They were running the craft stations, at the DECA booth, photo documenting the weekend, and generally making the park a better place to be for a couple of days. This year’s fair was made possible by our wonderful community sponsors Corinne McCabe at Bosley Real Estate and Jane Davis-Munro at Pegasus Studios, as well as long time sponsor Toronto Hydro.

DECA would like to thank the social media team Shauna Rempel, Imani Thomas and Casey Palmer who have been tweeting, instagramming and facebooking for months. Thank you to Stephen Caissie and Stephen Rabjohn who spent hours photographing the fair for our archives, and to all the wonderful volunteers who helped to set up the park, greet the guests and make East Lynn the place to be: Mary and Maddy Cowan, Rob Symes, Lindsay Martin, Joanne Lindsay, Anita Schretlen, Natasha Granatstein, Jodi Shanoff, Rebecca Green, Terry Perusse, Annette Bourque and Naz Rabhar.

The Danforth East Arts Fair takes months to plan. The core volunteer group meet in the back rooms of local businesses and restaurants to review applications, set up marketing strategies, design posters and marketing materials and talk about art in the community. If this is something that interests you, come out an join us at one of our meetings and share a drink with your neighbours (contact deca-arts[at]gmail.com). Thank you to our organizers: Melissa Peretti, Melanie Ramsay, Julie Glick, Fernand Ciraco, Danna McCullough and Shauna Rempel for another great year.

Meeting Dogs 101

If your kids missed Molson, Tinker and Ellie at the doggy meet and greet at Thursday’s Farmers Market, we have the next best thing to one of their slobbery kisses: a helpful handout from the Merril Park Dog Association (MPDA) on how to properly and safely meet a dog. Thanks, MPDA!

September 26, 2014

This weekend and construction update

The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend, so leave the car in the garage (yeah right, who has a garage??) and enjoy all that our wonderful neighbourhood has to offer. Here are some events this weekend:

– Hirut (2050 Danforth, near Woodbine) is re-opening after some renos, and will kick-off with Hirut Hoot, tonight (Friday) at 9pm. This is high quality comedy for only $5!

– Face to Face Games (2077A Danforth, above Pizza Pizza) is having a tournament night tonight at 7pm. Check out their website for details.

– Silly Goose Kids is having a weekend-long birthday party to celebrate three years of being awesome (my words, not theirs – they are very modest). Upshot for us is that there will be no tax on Saturday and Sunday, plus all kinds of fun and prizes too!

– Ankh Yoga (2017 Danforth @ Moberly) is having a workshop on Saturday from 1:00-3:00pm called Slow Down Momma – click here to check out their website for details on how to sign up, and to check out their list of amazing classes and workshops.

If you have an idea for an event or workshop going on this weekend, leave it in the comments, or post it to our Facebook page!

Danforth Construction Update

Thanks to Corrine McCabe for representing DECA at the update meetings and for providing this helpful update.

Work began on the north side of the Danforth at Woodbine and is proceeding east. This section should be complete by this weekend! They will grind and pave the road at the end of October. The contractor is currently on site repairing road cuts, which has to be done first so the road is useable, then they grind and re-pave all at once.

Urban Forestry have begun planting trees! They will be using three different types of species; 1) Locus: is one of the heartiest trees, salt and disease resistant, 2) Elm: using a new strain of Elm, they do well and are disease resistant, and 3) Maple – Norway, Silver and Crimson. They will apparently plant all year round, so we should get them all in before long.

Urban Forestry will water, weed and mulch the trees. They will begin by doing this weekly or bi-weekly when the trees are first planted.

September 23, 2014

Market this week

Summer may be over but the weather for THIS Thursday is looking very, very nice. And for the next few weeks, Thursdays are still market days!

If the locally grown/produced bread, cheese, wine, apples, potatoes, greens, meat, etc., doesn’t make you want to rush the park at 3:00pm (or 6:00pm for many of us), then maybe these special visitors will:

Our community group will be the Merrill Park Dog Association, who will be chatting about how to foster healthy relationships between kids and dogs. This will be a hands-on demonstration at 4:30pm with some friendly, kid-loving dogs.
Our Wellness Guest this week will be The Kennedy Chiropractic Wellness Centre. They have been providing natural health and wellness-lifestyle care to the East York Community for over 60 years, and are excited to provide East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market patrons a Free individual evaluation, which they explains will use their “state of the art computerized Postural Analysis equipment, that clearly demonstrates the effects of stress on the body.” www.KennedyChiro.ca

Whether you come with the family, the dog, and a picnic blanket, or you are running through on your way home, please try to stop by and buy a few things on Thursdays. Our farmers make long trips to keep bringing us their fresh and delicious fruit and vegetables, and other delicious things – all we have to do is buy and enjoy them.

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 5 – October 16 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page.

September 10, 2014

Top Six Reasons to Attend Danforth East Arts Fair

(By #DEAF14 volunteers)

The Danforth East Arts Fair is turning six this year! To count down to the Fair, which takes place this weekend, (Sept. 13-14) the organizers have prepared a list of the Top Six reasons to visit East Lynn Park.

It’s FREE! As always, the Danforth East Arts Fair is free to attend for the whole family.

New exhibitors: We have a number of new exhibitors offering unique products and services, including papier-mache artist Pulp Culture, fine furniture makers Gunn Woodworks and Jujumama Designs, maker of handpainted children’s growth charts. As well, you can treat your taste buds to “happy meat” sandwiches and other savoury snacks from new food vendor Stock in Trade.

Youth Booth: Also new this year is the #DEAF14 Youth Booth! Thanks to generous community sponsors Bosley Real Estate and Pegasus Studios, talented young artists Stella and Juliette will get a chance to sell their wares as artists.

Returning favourites: Many of your favourite exhibitors, including Henna Planet, Heart’s Haven, Lynn’s Lids and Bijouxbead are back again this year. As well, Celena’s Bakery will once more cross the Danforth to bring their delicious pastries, coffee and more to East Lynn Park!

Live entertainment: Throughout the weekend, check out live performances, activities and demos from talented locals. Children’s activities and crafts will be happening on-site all day, including face painting and artist-led workshops. And a soundtrack of live acoustic music will serenade you as you go from booth to booth.

Best one yet: We say this every year, but it’s always true! This year’s Danforth East Arts Fair is shaping up to be our best ever. So be sure to join us 10 am to 5 pm this Saturday and Sunday at East Lynn Park.

The 2014 Danforth East Arts Fair (DEAF14) takes place Saturday and Sunday in East Lynn Park. And feel free to continue the conversation on social media: #DEAF14 is on Twitter (@DECA_Arts) and Facebook along with Instagram and Pinterest.

Volunteers needed! Sign up here to help out for a couple of hours and help make the sixth annual fair a success!

September 8, 2014

East Lynn Farmers Market, Volunteer for #DEAF14 & Pole Walking

East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market

The photos can speak for themselves! The is truly something special about the people who hang out at East Lynn Park on Thursday afternoons.

This week’s wellness guest is Mary Ganzon of Counterbalance teaching a 3D workout at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. It is a workout that can be with you for your lifetime. Both sessions will be a half hour long. Come and talk to her about the programs at the studio!

CareerFit Mom is providing entertainment at the Market this week. Workout with your kids (ages 2 & up). Parents get a sweat-session while children engage in developmental exercises. Everyone has fun exercising together using unique moves, toys and games that brings out the kid in everyone! Drop in whenever you can – you’ll see Beth and her crew frolicking around near the north/east side of the park!

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 5 – October 9 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page.

Volunteers Needed for Arts Fair

By now you’ve likely made sure your weekend plans involve stopping by the Danforth East Arts Fair. But if you have two hours to spare, the organizers are looking for volunteers for a variety of different roles – everything from sitting in a chair and talking to shoppers to helping the artists with set up and take-down of tents and supplies. Please click to find out more about volunteer openings.

Nordic Pole Walking Demo

Ever wonder about those people you see walking around with ski poles in the summer? Well you can get all your questions answered this Saturday in Monarch Park. Learn about the benefits of this low-impact for of physical activity with a nordic pole walking demo and clinic put on by Cool East Market (1390 Danforth Ave). See their flyer below for all the details.

September 4, 2014

The Market This Week & BIA Wants to Hear from YOU

East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market:

Local Deal Alert: Melanie’s Bistro is waiving the corkage fee on B.Y.O.W on Thursday’s. All you have to do is buy your wine from the market and purchase an entree. What a wonderful idea!

Visit the Community Booth this week where realtor advocate, Deb Dorsey, shares the value of our neighbourhood, providing sales statistics for each street. She’ll be offering tips on a home tune-up and what needs to be done to prepare it for sale, in order to achieve the best return on your investment.

The Wellness Booth this week will be Ankh Yoga & Origin Wellness.

Danforth Mosaic BIA Looking for Input

The Danforth Mosaic BIA marketing committee wants your help! Participate in a one hour workshop on Thursday, Sept 11, 7pm @ Red Rocket Coffee to help define what makes our hood special. Refreshments will be served. More information on attached poster, including RSVP details.