Danforth East Community Association is pleased to be part of the effort to keep our East Lynn Farmers’ Market alive this season.
Park permits are closed at the moment so our farmers have created online shops and grouped together on Open Food Network to allow us to shop weekly for their fresh produce.
DECA volunteers have committed to deliver orders to your door every Thursday for a Pay What You Can delivery.
With help from TD’s Park People grant, this week, DECA is matching your delivery donations to go to The Neighbourhood Group’s local senior’s food bank and local Meals On Wheels services for seniors in need:
Suppers for Seniors.
How can you participate?
After you shop at the Online Market, visit the DECA Store and select your Pay What You Can Delivery Donation. All proceeds will go to The Neighbourhood Group AND this weekDECA will match your donation!
Visit the DECA Store and purchase one of our adult or child-sized masks made with love by DECA volunteers using fabric generously donated by FabricSpark (all veggie prints, of course!).
As the lockdown continues and each month seems to bring ever more difficult news, we’re excited to share something positive: the East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market is going online to safely connect you to our farmers (and the food security they represent). The market, like all DECA initiatives, has always been about community building, so we’re equally excited to share that the market will enable you to help your local at-risk seniors every time you shop.
How Does It All Work?
The market opens THIS Friday on Open Food Network (we’re getting everything ready and we will share the link on Friday morning). You’ll be able to shop Friday until Tuesday noon, then sit back and wait for a DECA volunteer to deliver your groceries to your door on Thursday afternoon.
Opening Week Kick-Off: Suppers for Seniors!
With help from TD’s Park People grant, we’re opening this year’s market with a fundraiser to support The Neighbourhood Group’s local senior’s food bank and local Meals On Wheels services for seniors in need: Suppers for Seniors. How can you participate? Donate at our fundraising page! You can also donate in lieu of a delivery fee ($5-15 suggested) at the DECA store at the market. Looking for masks? You can also donate by picking up a beautiful adult or child-sized mask made with love by DECA volunteers using fabric generously donated by ever-awesome FabricSpark (all veggie prints, of course!). Delivery donations and mask proceeds will be collected for The Neighbourhood Group the whole market season.
Mixed Veg Mask sewn and modeled by ELP Farmers’ Market’s Rebecca!
MARKET DELIVERY BORDERS: Victoria Park to Greenwood and O’Connor to Lake Ontario
ORDERS: Fri.-Tues at 12 noon (June 12-16 for delivery on June 18)
DELIVERY: Thursday afternoon
For weekly updates on what’s happening at the market, follow DECA on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
We are entirely volunteer-run! If you would like to help out in any way, please contact us at market (at) deca.to. We’d love to have your help.
Come to DECA’s Annual General Meeting & Community Party! The AGM will be held at Hirut Cafe & Restaurant – 2050 Danforth Avenue on Monday, January 13th, from 7-9pm.
Eat some delicious Ethiopian Food (on us), meet your neighbors and learn about what DECA does – and how to get involved!
There will be some brief remarks followed by the Board election, and lots of time for mixing, mingling, and celebrating another year of community building in #DanforthEast!
PS – there will be a cash bar. And feel free to bring $10 to renew you annual household membership (note: this is not mandatory but appreciated!)
November and December are always busy months: year-end deadlines, planning for the year ahead, and holiday festivities and commitments of many different shapes and sizes. With that in mind, we’ve decided to reschedule our Annual General Meeting to early January – the 13th of January to be exact. Our hope is that, after the busy year-end season, more #DanforthEast neighbors will have the ability to come out and talk about our community in a positive, inclusive, and engaging way!
So mark your calendars: Monday, January 13th from 7-9pm at the ever-wonderful Hirut Cafe & Restaurant, 2050 Danforth Avenue. There will be light dinner on us, much mingling, and the board elections for the coming year.
And two more quick notes:
if you are a local business or are organizing an event in our community in the next month, send us a note at info@deca.to. We will do our best to spread the word!
our 8th Annual Festival of Lights is happening this weekend: Saturday, Nov 30th from 4-5pm in East Lynn Park. Stay tuned for another blog post in the coming days outlining all the details!
Thanks for being such an amazing community! We look forward to seeing you this weekend to light up the park, and work with you – taking your ideas and helping to bring them to life – in 2020!
On Thursday, November 7th at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute , 1 Hanson Street, from 6:30-8:30pm the City will be introducing the Danforth Avenue Complete Streets and Planning Study – and they are asking for your ideas! Your input is vital to shaping our neighbourhood so we encourage you to come out and have your say!
On Tuesday, DECA hosted another successful candidates debate and it was exciting to see how well-attended it was. A big thank you to volunteer organizer, Sheri Hebdon, and to the team who put up posters, kept time, greeted people, and generally who make the debate happen. DECA is very proud to undertake this effort to help our #DanforthEast community be informed about voting options!
Candidates take questions from Moderator David Rider, Oct 15/19
Thank you to David Rider from the Toronto Star for moderating and to Hope United Church for hosting us and of course, thank you to the candidates who attended – Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Liberal), Mae J. Nam (NDP), and Sean Manners (Green).
A reminder that the Federal election is this coming Monday, October 21 so don’t forget to vote.
Events this Weekend
Saturday
10am
Silly Goose Kids is hosting a book reading and signing with author James A. Conan and illustrator Nicolle Lalonde from 10am-noon and, after the reading, kids can help construct a mini-neighbourhood out of empty boxes, and paper towel rolls! If you have any empty cereal boxes please bring along!
1pm
Healing Collective (2005 Danforth) is hosting a Community Care Day this Saturday, October 19 from 1-4pm to celebrate their first anniversary and say thank you for the support of the community. Stop by and learn about their collective offerings, meet practitioners and learn some strategies to improve mental health and awareness. Visit their website for full list of activities.
Upcoming DECA Events
DECA Public Board Meeting (Tuesday)
Next Tuesday, October 22 from 7-9pm we are hosting a Public Board Meeting at the Workaround (2080 Danforth Ave) and would be thrilled to meet you there. Our secret plan is to woo you in with how fun and full of energy we are, and in return, maybe you’ll decide to volunteer with us or bring your idea to the table? See? Win-win. Voting isn’t the only way to make a difference – we can tell you for sure that contributing to the community in a positive way can really soothe the worries of the world and give us a sense that we are doing something.
Seriously though, there is no pressure to do anything – we are just happy to meet you and for you to learn more about our 100% volunteer-run efforts.
Get in touch with us through our social media or by email for more info, but it’s also ok to surprise us on Tuesday.
10th Annual DECA Pumpkin Parade – East Lynn Park (Nov 1)
Reminder! Our 10thAnnual Pumpkin Parade is happening in East Lynn Park on Nov 1st from 6-8pm. And we will offer free Coffee or Apple Cider sponsored by Gervais Rentals (owned by #DanforthEast residents!). Please bring a reusable mug or cup to partake!
Fresh Paint Art Slam (Nov 1 – 7pm)
This is just the coolest event, and we are so stoked that the proceeds will support the 2020 DECA Young Leader Scholarship Fund. Here’s the info:
On Friday, November 1 from 7-10pm, eight artists will enter into a live art competition and create their artistic pieces for an enthusiastic crowd of art lovers. The theme for the evening is ‘Speak Truth to Power’.
Artists will have one hour to create their pieces live and go from blank canvas to creative masterpieces.
When the hour is up and the brushes hit the floor, the audience will vote for their top two art creations. The top prize winners will receive a $100 gift card from Deserres and $50 gift card from Fresh Paint Studio.
The artwork that is created will also be auctioned off! Muskoka Brewery to provide the beer! The evening will also feature the musical vibes of DJ Marlove.
