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What’s In What’s Out

It’s spring and there are a whole lot of new things popping up on the Danforth.  Yes there is this place called ‘Retro Burger‘ beside Shopper’s Drug Mart near Coxwell.  Its menu of deep fried food includes Mars Bars.  No I’m not kidding.  Then there is the ‘Circus Coffee House’ beside Carter’s Ice Cream on Woodmount at Danforth.  Rumour is it’s owned by this guy, but I haven’t verified that with three sources.

Speaking of coffee shops, you read here that the owner of True Brew coffee shop and cafe had sold the business.  The new owner has painted and done some work inside to brighten it up.  Susan L. (not the former owner) wrote to tell me that “people are not making the effort to cross Woodbine and discover this gem in our neighborhood!!!!  Great coffee, all homemade soups, sandwiches, quiche, and desserts!!!!!! Absolutely fabulous food. Please advertise this place so the owner does not have to close down due to poor attendance!”

Up for lease is the former Ethiopian community centre at Danforth and Woodbine.  Cuts by the federal government last year have meant this agency is consolidating its services in one location in the west end.  Columbo’s Pizza is under new ownership. Columbo’s serves pizza, pastas, sandwiches and the much-loved rice balls.  The new owner, Charlie, tells me he has done some work to open up the kitchen and fix up the front of the restaurant (a new paint job etc).  He also told me he is renovating the basement and will be making it available for parties – including make-your-own-pizza birthday parties!

Treasure Land used furniture has opened at 2038 Danforth. They are selling gently used home and office furniture and offer free pick up and free delivery and a seniors discount.  The owner of the business did quite a bit of work on the shop – which had been a crumbling eyesore – painting and generally fixing up the shop.  He makes an effort to make his front window look inviting and that earns praise from deca diaries.

O.k. I know I’m forgetting some things.  Post your updates on the Danforth here or send me a note and let me know the latest happenings on the Danforth.

DECA Safety and Self Defense

Early in April, more than a dozen people participated in the self defence class at the DragonZ Martial Artz Centre – hosted by DECA’s safety team.  Sir Marvin Prashad spent two hours teaching safety and self-protection techniques.  Not only was the class educational it also provided a fitness component in a fun and enjoyable environment.  The event was such a success that Marvin wants to make this a reoccurring event by offering self-defence classes every first Sunday of the month for all to attend.  For more information visit www.dragonz.ca

DECA Executive Meetings

If you’re interested in attending a DECA executive meeting (and you should, we eat and drink and are merry!) mark these dates on your fridge.  We meet at 7:30 p.m. in the back room of Sarah’s pub on the Danforth.

  • May 31
  • September 13
  • October 25

But if you just want to be a fly on the wall, check out the minutes from the last meeting on our shiny new website! 

Earl Beatty Fun Fair

This year the 7th annual Earl Beatty Public School Fun fair will be held on Saturday, May 28th from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at 55 Woodington Avenue (two blocks north of Danforth, east of Coxwell).  In partnership with the Earl Beatty Community Centre, this event provides a day of family fun including a ball hockey tournament, inflatable games, face painting, auctions, raffles, a barbeque, bake sale and some live entertainment.

Coleridge Ave. Break-Ins

Kathy sent me a note to let me know about some break-ins happening on her street, which is one block east of Woodbine.

“Early Monday morning (9:00) I discovered that someone had riffled through our car. We immediately assumed that we’d forgotten to lock it the night before. As near neighbours emerged from their homes, they, too, discovered that someone had been through their cars. It would appear that we all did not forget to lock our cars, but rather that someone using a slim jim got in, and was even able to by-pass a car alarm. Fortunately there was no damage, nothing of value seems to have been stolen (except a pack of smokes that were smoked whilst breaking into the other cars). We did, though, discover that a few items like sunglasses and a hand tool ended up being left in other people’s cars, and we believe all was recovered. Reminder to all: do not leave valuables in your car/trunk regardless of how secure it appears to be!  My husband did notify the police and advised that many vehicles had been broken into, though I don’t believe that any other neighbours did contact them. Other than knowing what occurred at our end of the block, we don’t know how many others might have been affected. We do know that six cars were accessed.”


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Come One Come All!

If you would like to get involved in your community, meet some cool people and have some fun, this is the news for you!  Herewith a call for volunteers and some ‘what’s happening’ information on a number of fronts.

Farmers Market

One of the wonderful things about the East Lynn Farmers’ Market is that it is more than a row of vegetable stalls, it’s an event every week.  We like to have music and face painting/children’s activities every week and we like to host special events.  Our market has always been about community – a way to bring neighbours together, increase foot traffic on the Danforth and strengthen the fabric of our neighbourhood.  If you have an idea for an event or activity at the Farmers’ Market, we’d like to hear about it.  We’ve had square dancing, unicycling, music of all kinds, theatre, storytelling, paper-making, movies, food demos, corn-shucking contests.  If you would like to help organize an event, please contact Catherine at catherine_porter(at)rogers.com.  Also contact Catherine if you would like to cook for the farmers this year.  If you are able to spare a few hours on a Thursday afternoon at the DECA tent being an all around helpful person, let her know that too.

Art of the Danforth 2012

The absolutely fabulous Art of the Danforth will be back in all it’s glory in…2012!  And Cindy sent me the note below to tell you a bit about what is in the works and how you can get involved.  And let me tell you – you want to meet interesting people in your neighbourhood – this group is the place to start.

Art of the Danforth is returning in May 2012  and we have some stuff to tell you!

In short….

·         We are now accepting applications from artists to fill three curatorial roles, as well as for initial project proposals for the 2012 event.  Deadline:  May 31.  Full details at www.artofthedanforth.com or email info@eastdanforthcreative.com

·         We are recruiting volunteers, especially those interested in taking on ongoing, important roles over the next year.

·         We are holding our first community meeting on Thursday, May 12  2011, 7 pm – 8:30 pm at LucSculpture Studio & Schools, 663 Greenwood (just north of Danforth).  All are invited!  RSVP to info@eastdanforthcreative.com

And now, the juicy details….

The Event

Art of the Danforth is a large scale multi-disciplinary art event held along Danforth between Greenwood & Woodbine.  Established in 2010, the first AoD broke new ground in bringing together artists & members of the community together in creative collaboration.  The next  Art of the Danforth will be held May 1 – 31, 2012.  The goals of the AoD 2012 are to:

·         Bring community members together through the creation of art

·         Increase the sense of history and engagement in the community

·         Explore the aesthetic possibilities of urban space

·         Increase pedestrian traffic down Danforth between Donlands & Woodbine

AoD 2012 is inclusive and open to all forms of artistic practice.  Free public exhibitions of art, site specfic installations and the popular Art in Stores program will run all month long, May 1 to May 31st.  In addition, performance (music, dance, theatre) activities will be presented on the weekends.  Finally, community workshops will be held leading up to and during the festival, allowing community members to participate in the creation of visual art exhibits and performances.

AoD 2012 is public and aims to transform as much public space as possible into venue for creativity. Please see our website for a preliminary list of potential spaces:  www.artofthedanforth.com

 Curatorial Proposal Submissions

Deadline: May 31, 2011 

We are currently accepting proposals for curators to present exhibitions in one of three regions within the event boundaries. See website for zone descriptions. Curators will be requested to address one or all of the goals of the event. Preference will be given to proposals which involve local community involvement and use of existing resources. Whimsy is encouraged.  Each curator / curatorial team will be given a budget of up to $3000 (including honorarium), to commission the creation of 4 – 8 public art projects that will stay up for the duration of the month of May 2012.  Projects in all media are encouraged, with particular emphasis given to works that involve community interaction and revitalize the neighbourhood.  At least 1 project must involve the input of community members.

To apply, please complete and submit the application, available online at www.artofthedanforth.com.  For more information email info@eastdanforthcreative.com

Project Proposals – Initial Call

Deadline: May 31, 2011

Art of the Danforth is currently accepting proposals from artists and art groups for visual art exhibits or installations, performing arts and community workshops series that will result in a visual art piece or performance for exhibition, for inclusion in the Art of the Danforth 2012.   Examples of projects and available locations are available online. Both new and pre-existing work will be accepted. Preference will be given to works that either involve the community or engage public space. Approved new work may be eligible for some funding.

To apply, please complete and submit the application, available online at www.artofthedanforth.com.  For more information email info@eastdanforthcreative.com

Volunteers Needed

We also are on the hunt for dedicated volunteers to take on major roles of responsibility for the next event.  In particular, we are seeking community-oriented individuals to fill the following major event roles:

·         Interactive Coordinator: responsible for envisioning & implementing social media outreach, i.e. updating facebook, twitter & website updates (wordpress)

·         Music/performance Coordinator: to help coordinate a world music showcase in East Lynn park.

·         Social Coordinator (i.e. “the party person”): responsible for planning & organizing entertaining activities to help us build community and balance our work with fun (not that we’re not fun already, of course)

We also need volunteers to team up with our planning committee to help with:  neighborhood outreach and promotional.  If interested in any of the above, email info@eastdanforthcreative.com, visit our website, or come to our community meeting on May 12.  And speaking of….

Community Meeting Thursday May 12

Interested in Art of the Danforth 2012? Thinking of volunteering or submitting a project but want to meet the event team first ?  Come out and chat with us at our first AoD community meeting:

Date & Time: Thursday, May 12th from 7 – 8:30 pm.

Location: LucSculpture Studio & Schools, 663 Greenwood Avenue (just north of Danforth)

Business Improvement Association Fun Fair

The Danforth Mosaic BIA will be hosting a fun fair on June 11 and 12 in East Lynn Park.  There will be inflatable things and games and many other fun activities.  They’re looking for volunteers to help out with all of those activities and more.  If you would like to know more or to kindly offer your services, contact the Chair, Litsa at litsakosta(at)gmail.com.

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Park People and Our New Website!

Drum rolll…….we have a beautiful, wonderful, practical, user-friendly, fabulous new website!  Hooray!  You can see it in all it’s glory here at www.danfortheast.ca.  Thank you very very much to Jay Lilley and Angela Matich for all of their hard work.  At the new and improved website you can access this blog, become a DECA member (yes – you get all this community spirit, information and volunteer labour for a mere $10/year), read our charter, by-laws and executive terms of reference, read meeting minutes and find information about everything that we do and how you might want to get involved.

DECA’s Parks Team

As you may remember, DECA has formed a new sub committee – the Parks group.  Its first task has been to do an inventory of the recreation facilities in our community.  We hope this will be useful for two reasons: first as a resource to our members and second to determine what facilities we have, what shape they’re in and if we should be doing something to improve them.  The Parks team is in the midst of this inventory and we’ll let you know when it’s available to take a look on our website.

Park People

Speaking of parks, DECA exec member, Catherine Porter went to a city-wide meeting of a new group called Park People: Toronto Alliance For Better Parks the other week and she sent along the dispatch below.  We are linking with the Park People because let’s face it -we’re Park People too.  While there she met Helen.  Helen lives in our neighbourhood and, with her sister, writes a gardening blog called Toronto Gardens.  Currently they have a post about the closing of Reeves Nursery on the Danforth, boo.

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Park People is a new lobby group for parks in the city, run by Dave Harvey, a former advisor on the environment to Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The group is meant to both lobby for parks and act as a resource to individual community park groups.  They want to help connect, inspire and navigate the bureaucracy – both inside the city government and out. Harvey is big on public-private partnerships, following the model of Tupper Thomas, a bigwig from Brooklyn who masterminded the turn around of a big park there called Prospect Point.

Prospect Point is the size of High Park, with a forest and man-made lake, carousel and sports fields. She secured funding from the private sector to redevelop parts of the park and pay for operating costs; and she oversees 6,000 volunteers who help do everything from tree maintenance to children’s education.

The basic plan for Park People, at least for now is:

* Provide a central resource for parks groups. Compile a master list of “Friends of” groups, and things they are doing, their expertise.

* Advertise park events through a Facebook page

* Host park talks, starting early this June, that tour different parks in the city and bring local expertise there to talk about how they achieved their goals. (ie. Jutta Mason can tell groups how to get a bake oven up and running; Greenwood Park can talk about community camp fires, etc.) The local group hosts the event and showcases its park to other groups who come to hear the speaker.

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Danforth Gems

I promised this post (ahem) a little while ago so here is what I know about what is going on in our little world.

First  – I don’t know what is happening with the former CIBC building on the corner of Woodbine and Danforth.  It’s been sold.  And I believe it is available for lease.  All rumours you’ve heard about random coffee chains do not seem to be true.

Career Fit Mom – The spring sessions of these mom and babe group fitness classes begin next week.  Beth is running programs at Eastminster Church at Chester and Danforth, in East Lynn Park at Woodbine and Danforth, in Cassels Park at Woodbine and Gerrard and in Taylor Creek Park at Woodbine and Cosburn.  There are a number of different types of classes from drop-ins to stroller fit to play fit.  Learn more about the fitness coaching and the job coaching at careerfitmom.ca

Patisserie La Cigogne – This Bayview Ave. bakery is opening a second location at Danforth and Monarch Park.  From the website: At Patisserie La Cigogne, we strive to bring the quality and freshness of Alsatian delicacies to you each day. French master pastry chef Thierry Schmitt crafts traditional French desserts, croquembouches, wedding cakes, pastries, breads, chocolate and other sumptuous French fare . These delicacies, combined with the cafés friendly atmosphere and service, keep La Cigogne’s devoted clientele coming back for more. It is set to open mid-May and offers an array of yummy things from sandwiches and quiches for lunch to wedding cakes,  truffles and pate. Yay!

Cyclepath – Jennifer tipped me off about the Patisserie La Cigogne and she sent me this note about the wonderful bike store on the Danforth just west of Coxwell:

I bought a new bike from The Cyclepath on Danforth this past weekend (before the snow).  The staff and service there are fantastic!  Carlos and Christine, the owners have made a real investment in our community by buying their building and setting up an amazing new store.  I hope that DECA members and the rest of the community will repay that loyalty.

Bistro Camino – Last fall I wrote about Bistro Camino at Danforth and Dawes Road.  Lillian wrote me to tell me she tried it out and here’s her review…

If you haven’t hiked along the Danforth to Dawes Road for fine dining of late, hike now.   Dinner at Bistro Camino is always good, but last weekend was the first time I enjoyed their ‘four hors d’oeuvres’ plate.  If I counted correctly, it actually worked out to be seven types of appetizers all artfully arranged.  It included an absolutely delicious parsnip soup, wonderful smoked salmon, wonderful beef carpaccio, tomato and bocconcini on a skewer, escovitch fish, a tiny spring roll filled with duck and mini pot-stickers that were (I think?) filled with shrimp.  This fabulous presentation was part of a $25 set-price meal that also included a main entree of shrimp Americano with rice and a really nice assortment of vegies, and then a beautiful Pear Helene for dessert.  I have a feeling that that appetizer plate alone would go for $25 in some places downtown.  Good wine as well.  This place is a true neighbourhood gem.


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So Much To Say

Apologies dear reader, I’ve been neglecting you.  Always something else that needed to be done.  No matter, there is lots to tell you about today.  I’m going to give you the news in this post and then send out another post in the next few days with a bunch of Danforth Gems to tell you about.  Don’t let the length of this post discourage you.  If you need to take a break and go make a cup of tea in the middle, do so, but make sure to come back and read all the way to the end.  Trust me, you won’t want to miss the last section.

Danforth East Arts Fair – September 17/18

Coming soon to a park near you: the third annual Danforth East Arts Fair. On Sept. 17 and 18, East Lynn Park will transform into an outdoor gallery where artisans from near and far will display and sell their wares.  The first application deadline for artists’ applications is April 30, so get cracking. Download your application at www.deca-arts.caThis volunteer-run, juried arts fair sprang out of an idea that a resident put forward at one of our meetings back in 2007. You see what happens? Action, people. It’s amazing what a few committed, created citizens can do.

You may remember the iron ukuleles from last fall’s arts fair. Or the skull rings. Or the gorgeous oil paintings. Or the beautiful harp music wafting through the park as people wandered down the path. Maybe you enjoyed a slice of pizza under the sun as you watched all the activity.

If you’re interested in helping out this year, drop the arts fair folks a line at deca.arts@gmail.com. And put Sept. 17 and 18 on your calendar now. Whether you’re helping out or enjoying the show, you wouldn’t want to miss it.

DECA’s Business Revitalization Team and Cozy Cafe and Bakery

Stephen Caissie photo

By guest DECA diarist, Catherine Porter

The Cozy Cafe’s anniversary party/ community celebration was a huge success — both for the lovely sisters Vera and SzaSza, and for those of us lucky enough to drop in, eat and dance.   At one point, I looked up at my two kids dancing in front of my neighbour, musician extraordinaire, Chris Bennett, and I thought: damn, we are lucky to live here.

The sisters figure about 300 people came to their party, given the jugs of coffee they went through. It was so crammed when I arrived, I could barely make it through the door. There was great food, of course, great music, and as promised, at the end of the party, the sisters and the Ontario Folk Dancing Association led some Serbian and Jewish folk dances around the store.

I have written a couple columns about the Cozy Cafe, and the generosity showered upon it by our east end hood. (Not to plug them, but in case you want to read the background here they are:  http://tinyurl.com/3ca2ced, and http://tinyurl.com/4sltfet. Okay, that was plugging them….)

It’s quite a story, really — that a stranger would offer to renovate your store for free, that a strange flooring company across town would offer to give you the flooring for free, that a customer with a furniture company would throw in two $600 tables for free, that a designer would sketch out a brochure and a photographer snap the photos of it, and that locals would drop off cheques, only because we all love this place and want it to thrive and keep serving us food and laughter.  This type of stuff doesn’t happen much.

So, for the record, a few people need to be thanked:

*Chris Bennett and Lucas Stagg from Twelfth Fret played at the party, which was wonderful.

* Local east ender Alex Zamayoa  and Mi Casa Furniture for the tables

* DECA member Steve Caissie for the photos

* Thomas Giannousopoulos for the brochure design

* the DECA Business Revitalization Team for weeks of work on the store, from the frosted window, to painting, changing the store layout and lining up artists to show their work there.

For those of you who don’t know about us, the Business Revitalization Team has now helped transform six stores along the Danforth, starting a couple years ago with Plank Road Market. Our tagline is: “If one smashed window can bring a whole neighbourhood down, what can one smashing window do?” By improving the look of a few stores along the strip, we hope to draw new stores to the area and fill the Danforth in.

The Cozy Cafe was our latest business. If you have another business in mind, which is a gem in the rough, let us know! Email me at catherine_porter@rogers.com

Our team consists of stagers, designers, business branders, real estate agents and schleppers like me who are sick of waiting for a change to come to the Danforth, and want to do something about it. Our rules are simple: it has to be a store with the right stuff but the wrong look. It has to be a store we want to see prosper in the hood. (So, no questionable massage parlours.) The owners have to be people we want to spend our free time with — nice. We supply the expertise and some of the leg work, the owner supplies the basic supplies.

Empty Storefronts

At our last DECA meeting (minutes to come soon), we talked a lot about empty storefronts.  We all hate them.  What can be done about them?  We’re thinking we’d like to try and find out.  Why are they empty is the first question.  Taxes, disinterest in maintaining the commercial space when the residential is rented, absentee landlords are a few of our thoughts.  Then we’ll try to figure out what might be done about it.  This article  from Open File is great place to start thinking about it.  Be sure to read the comments too.  If that inspires you to want to get involved in this little project, send me a note – natasha.granatstein(at)gmail.com

Dealicious – Today’s Menu – $25 for $50 worth of food – until midnight tonight (Thursday)!

First – check out the latest local dealicious.ca deal from a store called Today’s Menu.  Located at Woodbine and Gerrard, it offers deliciously prepared meals cooked by chefs on location, with the unbeatable convenience of either delivery OR shopping at. Meals are made fresh daily and quick/flash frozen to lock in flavour: all you have to do is heat and serve.

East Lynn Farmers’ Market

Are you a musician interested in busking at various Farmers’ Markets across the city this summer?  We’re looking to fill 4 spots per week (Sunday 10-2pm, Tuesday 9-2pm, and Thursday 9-2pm and 3-7pm)  If you’re interested, please contact Diana at diana.mymarket@gmail.com

Community Clean Ups This Saturday

Make sure you get yourself to one of the many community clean ups that are happening in our neighbourhood this Saturday.

  • Earl Beatty School 10 am – noon with the Earl Beatty Community Centre, school and eco team
  • Danforth Avenue 11 am – noon – Clean eastward with the Danforth Mosaic BIA – meet at the corner of Coxwell and Danforth
  • On your street.  In your nearest park.  Wherever you see a public spot that could use a little TLC.

All Candidates Meeting – Wed April 20, 2011 

The good people at the Beach United Church and Neighbourhood Link are hosting an all candidates meeting for the federal candidates in Beaches East York on Wednesday, April 20, 2011.  140 Wineva (north of Queen) from 7-9 p.m.  They’re even offering light refreshments – how fancy.

Were you the victim of a break and enter?

In the last few months there has been a rash of break and enters in Division 55 from the Beaches up to Danforth Ave. Police have arrested a couple and allege that they are a husband and wife who integrated themselves into their neighborhood in a normal, friendly manner then set out to rob their neighbours.  Much of what they allegedly store is now available to be claimed. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of a robbery in the last few months call the police at 416-808-5500 to describe your stolen items and then you can set up an appointment to view the goods and hopefully reclaim what was stolen.

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Self Defence

DECA Learns – Self Defence

Rachel Jolicoeur is taking on the helm of DECA’s safety committee this year.  The first thing she has organized is a self defence class, courtesy of DragonZ Martial Arts Centre.  Sir Marvin Prashad will provide this two hour class on Sunday, April 3rd from 1-3 p.m. It will include a warm up, situation enactment, proper technique and a fitness component.  DragonZ is at 1998 Danforth, just west of Woodbine.  Those interested can RSVP to rachel.jolicoeur(at)yahoo.ca. The cost is $5 or pay what you can.

Also, if you’re interested in being part of our new safety committee (it took a short hiatus for a while), also send a note to Rachel.

Little Ethiopia

On the one hand, Eye Weekly ran a story this week about Samuel Gettachew’s campaign to name the area around Monarch Park and Danforth, Little Ethiopia.  On the other hand, the large Ethiopian centre on the northwest corner of Danforth and Woodbine is for lease.  When the federal government cut funding to immigrant agencies in late 2010, this group lost a big chunk of its funding and will now consolidate its services in its west-end location.

Beaches Easter Parade

Would you like to help us promote the East Lynn Farmers’ Market and be in the Beaches Easter Parade on Sunday, April 24th?  We’re putting a group together.  You can dress up as a farmers or some sort of local food…a tractor…let your imagination run wild.  Children are welcome too of course!  If you’re interested contact Shelley at  shelleydarling(at)yahoo.ca

Monarch Park students going to Kenya

A group of students from Monarch Park C.I. are heading to Kenya on April 26th as part of  a four-credit special program that includes a one-month co-op placement building a school in Kenya with the organization Free the Children.  Monarch Park is the only school in Canada to offer the program. To learn more, check out this story on insidetoronto.com

Flower Boxes

A few people have asked me about the flower displays that the BIA has been putting into the tree boxes on the Danforth for the last few years.  I understand that the BIA has a significantly lower budget this year and therefore won’t be doing the flowers this year.