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Planning For THE Plan And Other Fun Things To Do This Week

Wednesday, September 21st

The City of Toronto is beginning a review of its official plan that will focus on how and where Toronto will grow.  Stage 1 of public consultations are this fall and include an open house at the East York Civic Centre on Wednesday September 21 between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.  You can drop in at any point to see displays and share insights with city staff.  A presentation and facilitated discussion will occur at 4 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m.

You can visit toronto.ca/opreview to watch videos, take a short survey, submit comments, sign-up for e-dates and learn more about consultation events.

Thursday, September 22nd

Woodgreen Community Services is having its 2011 annual general meeting and keynote address.

Reception 5:30 p.m. followed by meeting at 6:30 p.m. and keynote speaker, Camille Orridge, CEO Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network at 7 p.m. Riverdale Collegiate, 1094 Gerrard St. E.

Now – September 30th 

The Danforth Mosaic Business Improvement Association is hosting ‘Dine Around The Danforth’. Participating restaurants from Jones to Westlake are offering specials and live entertainment until the end of September. Visit the site for information on what special specials are being offered up.

Oct 1st

Drop in and have coffee and a chat with City Councillor, Mary-Margaret McMahon (south of the Danforth, east of Coxwell) from 9 – 11 a.m. at Cozy Cafe (2075 Danforth at Woodbine).

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Applemania

Applemania: [ap-uhl mey-nee-uh]

Enthusiasm, often of an extreme and transient nature for the usually round, red or yellow, edible fruit of a small tree.

Thursday is Applemania day at the East Lynn Farmers Market.  What does that mean for you?It means the lovely and talented, Melanie, of Melanie’s Bistro, will be serving up apple treats.  And it means Rob of Alistair Ant will be performing at 4:30 p.m.  Rob will perform for about a half an hour along with his puppet, Sluggo. 
This week’s Market Craft

What better way to celebrate back to school than by cutting apart books?! This week’s crafts are Bookish Star Ornaments. The ornaments can be displayed either as a star or as a

closed book -simply open to reveal the star shape. All the materials will be pre cut, but there is some gluing, and drying patience, involved. Crafts at the market will now start at 4:30 for the remainder of the season. So now you don’t have to cut school to play.

Also, face painting starts at 4:30 p.m.

DECA Elects

DECA is an apolitical organization. In past, we have organized candidates debates for both municipal and provincial election campaigns. This time around, we’ve invited local candidates to visit the East Lynn Farmers’ Market on Thursday, September 22nd. This is an opportunity for you to meet your local candidates and put them on the hot seat with your questions or simply get to know them a little bit. Watch this space to see who will be there and when.

Park People

DECA will be co-hosting a free public event with Park People: Toronto Alliance For Better Parks on Thursday, September 29th at 6 p.m. in East Lynn Park. This will be an opportunity for anyone who has an interest in parks to learn about what DECA is doing about parks in our neighbourhood and what we can learn from other communities.

Park People is a relatively new organization dedicated to improving Toronto’s parks. It advocates for better parks for all communities by facilitating neighbourhood engagement in their parks, building a network of local community park groups, acting as a watchdog on issues affecting parks and highlighting the importance of good parks to the social, health, environmental and economic well being of all residents of Toronto.

Stay tuned for more on this event in the coming weeks.

Last but not least, check out the cool neighbourhood and street parties that people have written about on the blog comment section!  If you have a street party to tell us about, post it on the blog or send it to me and I’ll share.

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Danforth East Arts Fair – Horst Herget’s Tintype

It is my great pleasure to introduce to you the second in Gillian Grace’s series profiling artists participating in the Danforth East Arts Fair on September 17th and 18th (that’s this weekend!).

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tintype photo example[slideshow]

Everyone has heard of slow food. Some of us — depending on our fondness for the New York Times travel section — have heard of slow travel. But what about slow photography?

Riverdale photographer Horst Herget has recently started taking portraits using tintype, a process developed in the 1850s. Think: a lensman working behind a bellows camera in a period movie; a silvery-hued likeness in an antique locket.

Herget describes tintype as a counterpoint to both his corporate photography work and to speedy, digital shots. Each photo requires varnishing a plate, which takes about 5-10 minutes. The plate must be used while wet, and only once, and require an exposure of at least two seconds. Because of all the hands involved, the result has a unique texture, with “telltale swirls” on the border from  preparation.

In an age when every cell doubles as a camera, tintype requires an unfamiliar commitment — both of time, and, on the part of the subject, involvement in how the final image will turn out. “Because the process is much slower — you can take four portraits an hour — the subject becomes a participant,” Herget says.

At the Arts Fair, Herget, toting a team of assistants, will offer up 4” x 5” portraits for $35;  each works best with one to two subjects, although he can accommodate larger groups. Plan to spend about 15 minutes taking the shot, then another 45 minutes or so exploring the other booths while the tintype is prepared.

“ There’s a tone to it, definitely a softness to the image,” says Herget of the end result. “There’s something timeless about them.”

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Street Parties

This weekend we had a block party on our street. For the second year, we’ve held it in the combined backyards of a few neighbours so there’s lots of room and we don’t have to go through the trouble of closing down our street. Last year, we had a dessert party on a Sunday afternoon. This year we had a potluck dinner on a Friday night.

It was such a wonderful night. The kids played and none of them wanted to leave. The adults laughed and left with hearty  “so great to finally meet you!”  My favourite moment was when two people met and discovered they had been admiring one another’s gardens for years.

It wasn’t hard to organize. We wrote up invitations, printed them and delivered them to the houses on our block.  We set up a few tables and laid out plates, cutlery and cups, a green and a garbage bin and chairs.   We had name tags because we all know there are people you’ve been saying hello to for years and you haven’t got a clue what their name is.

I’d be interested to know all the different kinds of street and/or neighbourhood gatherings that happen in our community. I know there are bouncy castles, tennis parties and movie nights out there.  Tell us what you do on your street.  Either post it here or send it to me and I’ll post it.