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All singers and players are welcome to a weekly music jam at Hirut restaurant at 2050 Danforth, half a block west of Woodbine. Players and listeners can drop in anytime on Saturdays between 2 and 6 p.m. Call 416- 551-7560 for more info.

National Grilled Cheese Day.

Today is an American holiday celebrating grilled cheese sandwiches. The Toronto Star featured the best five grilled cheeses in the city and one of them was right here at our very own True Brew Cafe.

“Silvia Marga, the restaurant’s chef and owner layers seven-grain bread with creamy goat cheese, sliced tomato, Costco pesto and chopped green onions before warming it in a panini press.”

And sticking with the Toronto Star, it called our little neighbourhood a real estate hot spot.

Calling All Gardeners! 

Interested in growing your own food this summer? Applications are now being accepted at a brand new community garden project at The Church of the Resurrection on Woodbine and Milverton Blvd, affectionately known as The Rez. The Rez has generously offered their prime gardening space to community members to have their own individual plot within the garden.  The Garden at the Rez committee is excited to be creating a local gathering place where people can grow food and beautifying a space that can be used for community events.   For more information about getting involved check out the www.gardenattherez.com website or email Miranda at gardenattherez@gmail.com.

Jane’s Walk

DECA’s very own amateur (but extremely interesting and knowledgeable) urbanist, Steven Wickens is leading the Other Danforth Jane’s Walk starting at 10 a.m. on May 5th at Wise Guys at 2301 Danforth. Steve has been doing these walks for the last few years and the reviews are always terrific. Here’s a taste….

For many Torontonians, the Danforth is the main street of Riverdale or a place to eat Greek food. But that image covers just a small strip of this storied street, formerly known as the Second Concession, the Danforth Plank Road and The King’s Highway No. 5. Danforth east of Pape, often referred to as the “Other Danforth,” wasn’t really developed until the 1920s, after the Bloor viaduct opened. The Other Danforth has always tended to be blue collar and gritty.  And while it has seen hard times, especially in the past four decades, the area is almost certainly about to see a wave of gentrification, investment and development.

Community Clean Up

Join the Earl Beatty Community for the annual Community Clean Up Day on Saturday, April 21st from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet at the front of the school and from there teams will scour the area around the school and community centre: north to Milverton, south to Danforth, west to Coxwell, east to Glebemount and the streets in between. We also tidy the school yard, our nearest green space.

The city suggests bringing small bags from home to participate, but rakes, brooms and dustpans are helpful and wearing garden gloves is suggested. Hope to see you there. And if you have another local clean up to mention, post it here on the blog or send it to me and I will.

Send Us Your Bell Boxes!

Or at least the pictures of your Bell Box.  Do you know of a Bell electrical box that could use some art? We’re trying (trying!) to see if we can’t get some art on to these boxes.  It would make them less likely to be vandalized and more likely to be pretty.  First, we need your help to send in a picture of your box and its location. They should be in this neighbourhood, but they don’t necessarily have to be within our formal boundaries.  So send  your pics to natasha.granatstein(at)gmail.com.  Thanks!

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Reminder – Monarch Park Community Consultation Thursday

Citywide parks consultations were conducted last year and recreation programs are slated to be studied next. DECA wants to foster discussion of how it might affect and benefit parks users in our community, beginning with Monarch Park and its most immediate neighbours.

Please bring your views to our consultation session:
Thursday, April 12, 2012, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Monarch Park Collegiate auditorium

Give some thought to the following questions:

  • What’s best about Monarch Park in its present form? What must be preserved at all costs?
  • What problems are associated with living near the park?
  • Are the facilities and hours of operation adequate?
  • How do you use the park, and how often?
  • From your observations of how the park is used (or under-used), what redesign ideas should be considered?
  • How might the schools at either end of the park and the nearby facilities at Felstead Playground be better integrated into a plan that serves the broader east Toronto community?

If you have questions, further feedback or concerns, email us atparks.deca@gmail.com

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Easter Parade

The Toronto Beaches Lion’s Easter parade starts at 2 p.m. until about 3:30 on Sunday. The parade runs from Neville Park to Woodbine along Queen Street E. 

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DECA Monarch Park Community Consult

As you may already know, DECA’s parks team is setting its sights on Monarch Park. It’s a jewel in our neighbourhood with beautiful old trees, a great pool and an ice rink and building. It’s terrific and we think it could be even better.

Citywide parks consultations were conducted last year and recreation programs are slated to be studied next. DECA wants to foster discussion of how it might affect and benefit parks users in our community, beginning with Monarch Park and its most immediate neighbours.

Please bring your views to our consultation session:
Thursday, April 12, 2012, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Monarch Park Collegiate auditorium

Give some thought to the following questions:

  • What’s best about Monarch Park in its present form? What must be preserved at all costs?
  • What problems are associated with living near the park?
  • Are the facilities and hours of operation adequate?
  • How do you use the park, and how often?
  • From your observations of how the park is used (or under-used), what redesign ideas should be considered?
  • How might the schools at either end of the park and the nearby facilities at Felstead Playground be better integrated into a plan that serves the broader east Toronto community?

If you have questions, further feedback or concerns, email us at parks.deca@gmail.com

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Renew Newcastle

The turnout to Marcus Westbury’s talk on community revitalization in March was huge. DECA co-chair, Anita Schretlen was there and sent this report…

 

More than 100 people showed up, including all four city councillors within the DECA boundaries, MPP Michael Prue, and interested folks from as far as Oakwood, Dufferin Grove and Etobicoke.  There is clearly a lot of interest in the issue of empty storefronts and the revitalization of our communities.

The talk focused around Marcus’ experience of taking his Australian hometown of Newcastle from a complete ghost town to a busy, vibrant community that was recently named one of Lonely Planet’s “top 10 must-see destinations in the world.”   An impressive achievement, needless to say, accomplished in a matter of a couple of years.

How did he do it?  Essentially, Marcus convinced landlords to lend out their empty buildings on a rolling 30-day basis and then filled them, rent-free, with people who could use these empty spaces as an opportunity for their various ventures.  Examples included a photography gallery, a jeweller’s shop, a fashion design collaborative, a co-working facility, a visual arts gallery, etc.  Not all of these ventures were viable businesses in their own right, but they were all high quality enterprises that brought some value to the community.

Certainly, there are a lot of nuts and bolts practicalities behind this concept.  Marcus’ group “Renew Newcastle” took care of it all.  This non-profit company acted as an intermediary broker, taking out an umbrella insurance policy, removing any risks the building owners may have of bills not being paid or tenants not leaving when needed, and recruiting suitable ventures.  In Marcus’ words, they created a “permanent structure for temporary projects”.

To date, Renew Newcastle has supported over 70 different projects.  Some of them have turned into huge successes and now pay their own way, some have packed up and made room for the next person, and some simply give back to the community. The priority has never been on the achievements of individual businesses, but rather the overall result of a vibrant, lively neighbourhood.

The effect of such an approach is multi-pronged.  By cleaning up and filling abandoned buildings, the area becomes more attractive, to both foot traffic and to other businesses.  By offering the use of a storefront to a fledgling enterprise, a big boost is given to someone who may not otherwise have the means to get their idea off the ground.  By doing this en masse, a distinctive destination is created, housing many interesting and unique projects.

This was an engaging, informative and inspirational discussion, to say the least.  Thanks need to go to Catherine Porter who spearheaded evening and to the many volunteers at both DECA and GECO (Gerrard East Community Association), who worked jointly to put the event on.  Both groups will be following up on the discussions and ideas that came out of this meeting in the coming weeks.  The real exciting part will be to see where all this takes us next.