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Danforth news

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Farewell True Brew

A keen observer noticed a sign in the window of True Brew saying that they will be closing for good tomorrow, October 13.  DECA worked with owner Sylvia to update this space earlier this year, and we are very sad to see it go.

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An even better Better Bulk?

It’s official!  Better Bulk is moving across the street to a bigger location at the end of the month.  If you haven’t yet “liked” them on Facebook, click here to like them and you will be among the lucky insiders who receive their updates about sales and stock, including fresh organic produce.  Congratulations Better Bulk!

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Hallowe’en Outlet

It’s My Party has once again opened a Hallowe’en Outlet at 2208 Danforth Ave, at  the western edge of the Honda dealership (where a new KIA dealership is now being built). The hours are Mon-Fri from 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Scary stuff for grown-ups (costumes and decor) is at the front, kids stuff is in the back room, and the really scary stuff (props) is in the back back room!  Boo!

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Groundbreaking News

There was some heavy machinery heard from behind the boards around the ‘big hole’, where the condo is supposed to be going up near Danforth & Woodbine.  Could it be that the ground has been broken at last???

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DECA Pub Crawl

Oops!  We asked you to RSVP to the wrong e-mail address for the DECA Pub Crawl. The exciting event details were given in our last post. The e-mail has been corrected on the page, or you can click here to let us know that you’ll be coming!

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DECA’s busy October

REVITALIZING THE DANFORTH

DECA’s building it, will you come?

DECA’s Business Revitalization Team (BRT) is working with local landlords to put temporary tenants in their empty buildings. This strategy worked wonders in Newcastle, Australia, turning the abandoned downtown to a thriving centre again. It is working in old Oakland, California. Why not here?

Our first partners are Gay and Scott, the owners of 1948 Danforth – the former Metro Nails. They love the idea and hope it will land them a good paying tenant. They’ve given us a month for free in their space, in exchange for some help cleaning and painting. We put out a call to budding entrepreneurs for proposals and got more than 50 responses in a week! After interviews, our committee selected two – a west-end collective of local designers, Birthia and our own Mrs. Darling’s Imaginarium for Girls and Boys.

Please come support us and them on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28. 

If you are a landlord and want to work with us, we’d love to meet you – click here to email us.

And here is what DECA’s own Catherine Porter had to say about this project in the Toronto Star last week.

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DECA PUB CRAWL – Thursday, October 18th, start @ 7:00 p.m.!

We’re here to remind you that drinking is not just for the weekends when you’re with your neighbours. Leave the kids at home and come have a night out with DECA! Thanks to Tara S. for this post.

Starting at Sidewalk Café, we’ll then go to Sarah’s, El Sol, TKOs and finally Relish for karaoke!!  All participating pubs have agreed to prepare special drinks and food for us, so this is an opportunity not to be missed! Come hungry & thirsty!!

Here’s the breakdown:

7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. @ Sidewalk Café (1344 Danforth Ave) 

  • A plate of mini Martinis (sweet, sour & dirty – 1oz each) including a side of Italian sushi (you read that correctly!) $8

7:40 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. @ Sarah’s Cafe and Bar (1426 Danforth Ave)

  • 3 x Mill St. 7 oz samples for $6.00 and half-glasses of Jackson Triggs Chardonnay, St Lucas Torrontes, Porta Merlot & Jackson Triggs Cab Franc at $3.65 per 2.5 oz pour (you can have as much or as little as you like)
  • Mixed Hors D’oeuvres Plate with Roasted Garlic & Brie Crostini, Devilled Egg, Brushetta & Falafel for $8

8:20 p.m. -8:50 p.m @ El Sol (1448 Danforth Ave)

  • Margaritas, Sangrias and Mexican Beer
  • Delicious beef tacos with guacamole for $4.95 – Ole! 

9:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. @ TKO’s (1600 Danforth Ave)

  • Beer tasters and sliders (hamburger, pork and chicken)

9:45 p.m. – onward @ Relish Bar and Grill (2152 Danforth Ave)

  • Beer tasters and tapas selection and Karaoke!

We welcome late-comers along the way, so please join us whenever you can.  In order to make ourselves obvious, we’ll be wearing feather boas and we encourage all of you to do the same (we’ll have a few extras on hand so don’t worry if you can’t find yours). There will also be giveaways, prizes, and Jason from Toronto Model Photography Studio taking photos!

If you know that you want to come or are even leaning toward yes (you know you are), please email here to RSVP so that we can advise the pubs on our numbers ahead of time if possible.

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DECA BOARD MEETING – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m.
If you are a DECA member, or you just want to get to know us a little better, please come and join us for our Board meeting.  This is where the magic happens, and it happens over ginger ales, beers and laughs at a local restaurant.  Where, you ask?  Click here to get more info.
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EAST LYNN FARMERS’ MARKET
Don’t forget that the market continues throughout the month of October.  Stay tuned for more info about this week’s lineup of fun, crafts and surprises.  (Has everyone recovered from last week’s Harvest Moon Festival??)
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Pumpkin Parade Update and Harvest Moon Reminder

Pumpkin Parade Update

DECA’s annual Pumpkin Parade will light up East Lynn Park Thursday, Nov. 1 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. And we need your help!

If you’re a regular Toronto Star reader, you may have noticed that for a few days, our annual Pumpkin Parade was in some peril. (Click here for the article) During the uncertainty, we had a number of businesses and groups offer to donate their time and their trucks, including Local 416.  A huge thank you to everyone for their ideas and offers.  But after a flurry of emails between local Councillors, city staff and parade organizers – a bit of media-coverage pixie dust – we have a parade again!

Now that we will have the City dumpster bins in place and removal is taken care of, we need some volunteers to help run the parade and with clean up.  If you’re interested in volunteering for either of these two roles, please contact Heather Bean by clicking here.

  • Greeters –  During the parade, volunteers will help their neighbours place and light their pumpkins. We’ll need five or six of these volunteers.
  • Haulers –  After the parade, volunteers will load pumpkins into dumpster bins onsite.  If you have a wagon, wheelbarrow, or wire cart, you could be a pumpkin clean-up MVP. For this job, the more the merrier. (roughly 9-10 p.m.)

Reminder: Harvest Moon with SUGARMOON & Alterna Savings TODAY

The forecast is perfect for the Harvest Moon Festival at the East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market today. If you forgot, there will be pony rides for the kids, bouncy castles, garden talks with the Garden Mum, sugaring info from the staff at SUGARMOON, blue grass music from the Ceiligrass Boys, the Touch Table from the Toronto Zoo, pumpkin crafts with Mrs. Darling, and health tips from naturopathic medicine expert Nana Jokura.  If you don’t have time to pack your picnic basket, don’t worry – Lazy Daisy’s Cafe and Columbo’s Pizza will be there with some yummy eats for sale.

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Harvest Moon with SUGARMOON and Alterna Savings!

There will be ponies. There will be bouncy castles. There will be music. And so, so much more.

We’re celebrating the harvest this week at HARVEST MOON, and this is our biggest festival of the year thanks to generous contributions from two local businesses, SUGARMOON and Alterna Savings. If there was ever a week to cancel your afternoon meetings and pack your picnic basket, this is it.

Here is a rundown of Thursday’s activities:

  • A bouncy castle and a bouncy obstacle course starting at about 3:00 p.m.
  • Ever been on a pony? Now’s your chance. Pony rides will be available from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
  • The friendly folks from SUGARMOON will be on hand to answer all of your questions about body sugaring and other services and products available at this sweet spot on the Danforth. They will also be  showcasing their first sugaring take-home kit.
  • Mrs. Darling will be back with magnificent pumpkin painting crafts starting at 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Feel free to bring your own mini pumpkin.  She will also have some available for purchase. 
  • Garden Mum will provide advice about what to do to close up the garden for the season and indoor gardening tips starting at 5:00 p.m.
  • The Touch Table from the Toronto Zoo will be on hand to their hands-on display of plant and animal biofacts starting at 4:00 p.m.
  • Ceiligrass Boys will be belting out bluegrass melodies to help set the mood.

Tell your children. Tell your friends. Tell your friends’ children. This week promises not to disappoint!

The East Lynn Farmer’s Market runs every Thursday from 3-7 p.m. between June-October at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave.

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What’s up at Woodbine and Danforth?

Thanks to one of our DECA Board Members for tracking down answers to questions we’ve all been asking!

When is the Dollarama opening?

Today!  Today, October 1, 2012 is the day that the Dollarama is opening.  The paper came down over the weekend and the sign on the door promised that today would be the day.  Let the Hallowe’en decorating begin!

When is the condo going to be built?

A huge building permit sign has appeared on the Carmelina Condominiums site, which has been a vacant pit for more than decade. Excavation equipment has started to arrive and developer Frank Magno hopes to break ground by mid-October. “We still have a few things to work out with the surveyors and stuff like that, but we’re getting close,” he says. The 148-unit, 12-storey building with ground-floor retail is supposed to be completed in fall 2013.

Stay tuned for details about this Thursday’s Harvest Moon Festival at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market.  Ponies, music and bouncy castles, oh my!

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Whats on this weekend!

Thanks to Sarah K. for this post about things to do this weekend!

Friday – Hirut Hoot

Local comedy night Hirut Hoot at Hirut restaurant (2050 Danforth) is back again this Friday night, September 28, and we’re really excited because this is becoming a successful monthly event supporting a local restaurant and local (or not so local) comedians.

Get ready for some gut-wrenching laughs with our favourite comedian Scott McCrickard hosting the night. The laughs start at 9 p.m. (unless Kevin Macdonald breaks the sound system again….KEVIN!!!) An added bonus is that the domestic beer is dirt cheap and the delicious, tangy and savoury Hirut appetizer platter, which is only $12, is enough food to feed you, your date and your date’s best friend and their date…and so on….

Saturday – Breastfeeding Challenge

This Saturday, September 29, 2012, the Toronto Breastfeeding Network is taking part in an international movement to set a record of having the most children breastfeeding at one time in one place. This is no small potatoes competition – started by a B.C. foundation in 2001, the 2011 event had 4,466 children in 16 countries taking part in a simultaneous ‘feed’. If you’re lactating and want to be part of this magical moment in history, head on over to the East York Civic Centre on Coxwell and register at 9:30 a.m. You can find more information here!

Saturday – Music in the Park is back!

We are super excited to report that this Saturday from 12 noon – 8:00 p.m., the sound of music will once again be heard at Robertson Parkette, the little parkette on the south-west corner of Coxwell and Danforth. The Danforth Mosaic Business Improvement Association (BIA) is hosting a music fest come rain or shine.

The event is hosted by Enza Ruscillo who you might know from Sidewalk Café, and will feature a whole range of musical acts throughout the festivities.  So bring your own blanket and get ready to boogie. A kiddie corner with face painting and popcorn will have your little ones amused.

A late-breaking note from the organizers:

The Mosaic Snack Stop will donate all of the funds raised to Raymond’s Wheel Chair Fund, which will replace an electric wheelchair that was recently stolen in a most terrible crime.
And while we’re on the topic of things to do this weekend, how about lending a hand with DECA’s first Pop-Up Shop?  Please see the invitation below from Anita, our Board’s Chair. 
How often do you walk down our stretch of the Danforth and wish all those empty boarded up shops were filled with great local businesses?  If you’re like me, probably a couple times a week.  Or, you don’t think about it all – you just get in your car and shop elsewhere. DECA’s Business Revitalization Team wants to fill those empty stores with pop-up shops that will help make our neighbourhood more walkable, and more vibrant.

Now is your chance to be part of a making a real change in your neighbourhood. Our first project will take place during the month of October at 1948 Danforth (across from East Lynn Park).  We are busy hatching a plan and sifting through the over 50(!) project proposals we received.  In the meantime, we need to prep the space.
Here’s where you come in!  We need your help to clean and paint this space.  We’ll be meeting there this Saturday morning at 10:30am. Come for the day or join us for whatever part you can.  Meet some neighbours, roll up your sleeves, and help to make our community a better place!
If you have any questions, comments, or you want to let me know that you’ll be there on Saturday, email me here.  Or just drop by on Saturday and surprise us – it’ll be fun, I promise!
 
-Anita