Check out what’s on at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market this Thursday, September 5th, 3-7pm:
On top of our farmers and local food vendors this week we have:
Community Wellness Booth:
Empath School for Arts and Magic is a small workshop studio dedicated to arts programming and community for neurodivergents, trauma survivors, and sensitive creatures with big big feelings.
Create Art Studio is a welcoming, community art school with classes and workshops for all ages in pottery, painting, drawing and crafting. Let us take care of your next birthday party, ladies night out, corporate team building event, or kids camp!
The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3:00-7:00 p.m. between June 6 – October 17 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page or by following us on Twitter.
It’s that time of year again: when the nights get a bit cooler, school starts again, and we prepare for all things fall. Here at DECA, when we reflect on all that we accomplished over the summer months with the help of our fabulous #DanforthEast community (Farmers’ Market, 880 Streets event, Arts Fair prep), one thing that stands out is the awarding of our Young Leaders Scholarship to local resident Rayne Fisher-Quann.
2019 DECA Young Leaders Scholarship winner Rayne Fisher-Quann
We want to tell you all about Rayne (because she is all kinds of awesome!), but first, a brief bit of background on both the scholarship and DECA in general. When DECA formed in 2007, our express goal was to build, rather than fight against, something. Over the past 12 years, we’ve gathered around kitchen tables and in local businesses to advocate for and work towards #DanforthEast being a more vibrant, safe, and inclusive space for all its residents. An ambitious goal, to be sure, and with much still to be done — but we are proud of the efforts of our all-volunteer board and all the community members that have contributed.
The Young Leaders Scholarship was born out of our core desire to build. Building for our #DanforthEast community of the future means enabling community-minded and socially conscious young people to pursue their educational goals, and allowing their experiences to help shape community, social, and governmental initiatives. Our scholarship awards $2,000 to a high school student entering post-secondary studies or training who is involved in supporting and/or improving their communities. To be eligible for application, a young person must be entering their first year of post-secondary education or training in fall of the application year; live or go to school within DECA boundaries (Main Street east, Lumsden/Mortimer north, Monarch Park west, and the train tracks to the south); and be actively working to improve their school and/or neighbourhood in some demonstrable way. The proceeds of the scholarship is the result of funds raised by DECA through our assorted community events, principally our annual Retro Dance Party.
Now to introduce 2019’s winner. Rayne Fisher-Quann graduated this June from William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute in the MACS program for advanced math, science, and computer science, and is heading to the University of British Columbia for a planned major in physics and a planned minor in political science or international relations. In the years leading up to her graduation, Rayne worked as a prominent education and gender equality activist in our community, across Canada, and beyond. Most recently, Rayne helped lead March for Our Education andStudentsSayNo — student advocacy groups that were formed in response to recent changes to the Ontario educational system — as they organized 200,000 students in a mass walkout, the single largest student protest in Canadian history. Rayne was invited to speak at various universities and conferences, and was also approached by the United Nations, who asked her to join a team of a select few activists from around the world to lead the Girls’ Education Initiative, for which she co-wrote a global call to action and contributed a video lecture.
Rayne also serves as Vice President of Define! youth, a registered non-profit with the goal of allowing young people of all social, economic, and cultural backgrounds to achieve the same footing in the professional world, and to create spaces where everyone can have an equal opportunity. To date, Define! youth has held three conferences that offered workshops on scholarship application, youth activism, networking, resume-building, and more. For her work in these and many other capacities, Rayne was named Toronto’s LGBT Youth of theYear at the INSPIRE Awards, a Woman of the Year by Chatelaine Magazine, and one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women of 2018 by Refinery29.
DECA Co-Chair Jennifer Scott, Scholarship winner Rayne Fisher-Quann, and DECA board member Alison McMurray
To say we are inspired by this amazing young person is an understatement, and it has been a great privilege to help her pursue her educational dreams!!
If you are interested in volunteering with DECA for this initiative and/or have ideas about how we can make our #DanforthEast neighbourhood an even more amazing place, get in touch with us by email at info@deca.to.
Inspired by #DECAF19 to make your own art? Our friends at Beach Photo Club would like to invite you to their meetings:
Inviting all shutterbugs to check out a local photo club. Our first meeting of the season will be Thursday September 5th.
We offer a range of activities including guest speakers, mentorship, opportunities to share your work, photo excursions, competitions, practical seminars and more!
When: Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month from September to June.
Where: Beach United Church, 140 Wineva Ave (unless specified in program)
Danforth East Community Arts Fair is back for its 11th year at East Lynn Park the weekend of September 14-15, and you won’t want to miss it!
Join us for this annual community gathering where you can enjoy the talent of dozens of local artisans, listen to some live music, savour some of the neighborhood’s most delicious food, and have your kids take part in some fun and creative activities.
Here is the rundown for what to expect during your visit:
FAIR DATES: The fair runs Saturday, Sept. 14, 10am – 6pm, and Sunday, Sept. 15, 10am – 5pm. Admittance and all live entertainment and activities are all FREE.
ARTISANS: There is something for everyone, with prices ranging from $5 to over $1000, with over 50 amazing local artisans and food vendorsto see and taste! Follow #decaf19 and the Fair’s FacebookandInstagram accounts for daily vendor profiles, and start making your wish list now.
ENTERTAINMENT: As always, there is free entertainment! Catch performances byThe S.P.A.C.Eand Pegasus Dance Studioson Sunday, Sept. 15, between 10am – 11am.
ACTIVITIES: There are lots of activities to keep kids entertained too! Be sure to check out what’s in store with Fresh Paint StudioSaturday 10am – 1pm and Common Threads2pm – 5pm. On Sunday, Silly Goose Kids 10:00am – 1:00pm, and DeSerres 2pm – 5pm.
It’s time to stock up on those kid-friendly veggies and fruits (green beans and blueberries anyone?) and some good ready-made meals (pies, soups, donuts big enough for a breakfast!) for the busy fall ahead. While you’re at the market this Thursday, check out our guests!
Community Wellness Booth: GO Sauna will be on hand to show off their sauna tent. Here’s what they say about their business:
“We’re a little sauna tent that temporarily resides in community places. You can sauna with us wherever we are: at the beach, on a back patio, in the woods…essentially, somewhere outside.
The beauty of a sauna tent is you can literally sauna with us anywhere!”
Kids’ Tent: PlayPass is back with a crafts and colouring table. They say:
“We’re PlayPass, a new website that helps parents discover, book, and save money on local kid activities! We’ve partnered with over 25 local children’s activity providers in the East End (Create Art Studio, Fresh Paint, Little Robot Friends to name a few near East Lynn Park) who list their activities on our platform for parents to book.”
This weekend, DECA is so very excited about Canada’s first ever Vision Zero Popup Street Makeover!
As we wrote in our August 2 post, on Friday August 23rd at 5pm until Saturday August 24th at 3pm this Pop-up Event will reimagine the Danforth from Woodbine Avenue to Woodmount Avenue into a safer, more vibrant block in the city, using simple materials and with the help of volunteers.
Planned and organized by 8 80 Cities and The Better Block Foundation with support from DECA, the Danforth Mosaic BIA, Councillor Brad Bradford and The Workaround, this fun event is designed to engage everyone in the possibilities for creating city streets that are more liveable and walkable for our communities.
“From August 23rd – 24th one block of Danforth Avenue will be transformed into a street that exemplifies the City of Toronto’s aspiration to get traffic fatalities down to zero. With temporary paint, and simple materials we will show that community can come together to build solutions for safer and more vibrant streets. The street will include expanded pedestrian space, protected bike lanes, parklets, street furniture, and community programming for all ages.
The pop-up street makeover will take place over 2 days on one block from Woodbine Ave to Woodmount Ave. This will be the first pop-up street makeover of its kind in Toronto, bringing internationally renowned tactical urbanists The Better Block Foundation to Canada for the first time.”
