Yes in my community! Join the tour and community building discussions on Saturday Sept. 29th

You are in for a treat when you say “Yes!” to this event. DECA is thrilled to partner with The Toronto Public Library Danforth Coxwell Branch to host an event in the series “On Civil Society” about community building!

On Saturday, September 29th, 2018 at 3:00pm join us for a walking tour from East Lynn Park to the Danforth Coxwell Library. Pssst… our walking tour includes a rare peek inside the Danforth TTC Garage! If you are curious about this site, here’s your chance to see a bit more.

Then at 4:15pm meet us at the library for refreshments and TED like talks and discussions.

“TED” Talk Participants:

Gill Penalosa, 8 80 Cities

Gill is incredibly passionate about transforming cities into places for all people. He has inspired and advised decision makers and communities in more than 300 different cities around the world on how to create vibrant cities and healthy communities for everyone, regardless of age, gender, or socio-economic status. His focus is on the design and use of parks and streets as great public places, as well as sustainable mobility. His call to action is to move ‘from talking to doing’.

Michelle Senayah, The Laneway Project

Michelle is an urban designer who is passionate about the public realm and what happens in it. She works collaboratively with designers and planners, community members, municipal staff, students and politicians to plan, design and implement projects and policies that redefine how we think about and use our public space.

Matthew Browning, ARUP

Matthew is a senior transportation consultant with a civil engineering background, and leads Arup’s Transportation Master Planning work in Canada. He most often seeks out projects where he can promote sustainable modes of transportation such as transit, walking and cycling and has led the development of numerous master plans and street reconfigurations across Canada, the US, the UK and the Middle East. Working alongside architects, designers, stakeholders, municipalities and members of the community, Matthew finds ways to overcome ingrained thinking about traffic engineering and build cities for people, not cars.

Billy Dertilis, Red Rocket Coffee & Danforth Mosaic BIA Chairperson

Billy is a business strategist looking to share his skills and knowledge and contribute to the neighbourhood he grew up in. The son of a Danforth shopkeeper, some of his earliest memories are of his father’s shop and the sense of connection that grew out of a strong and vibrant retail strip. As BIA chair, Billy is a tireless advocate for deeper ties between the business community and neighbouring residents. 

Moderated by: Mary Vallis, Professor of Journalism at Centennial College, former DECA Board Member & Founder of the DECA Arts Fair

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Itinerary:

3:00PM: Meet at the entrance to East Lynn Park. This is a community tour highlighting East Lynn Park, sites of the DECA Pop-Up Shop initiative, the old Crossroads building, and the Danforth TTC Garage site (which is slated for redevelopment with Toronto Police Services).

The final stop on the tour is the Danforth TTC Garage – we’ll take you inside for a rare look around!

4:00 PM: Tour will head to Danforth Coxwell branch of the Toronto Public Library for light refreshments.

4:15 PM: All are welcome to join us on 2nd floor of Danforth Coxwell Library for TED style talks with guest speakers with questions/discussion to follow.

You are welcome to share the event on Facebook and help us spread the word! https://www.facebook.com/events/273495250153006/

DECA Learns: Reskilling workshops are back!

Many thanks to Volunteer Extraordinaire Melanie for putting all of this together!

ReSkilling Workshops

In the not so distant past, skills like canning fresh food, mending torn clothes and repairing broken items, instead of replacing them, was basic knowledge. Fast-forward to 2014 and these may be less important to you than figuring out what that green button on your DSLR camera really does, but hey, we could use a refresher in that as well.

To this end, DECA is organizing a series of ReSkilling workshops, where the goal is to re-equip people with some of these hands-on skills.

ReSkilling workshops are informal lessons taught by our community members, for our community, so let us know what you would like a refresher in and lets meet locally to brush up. And the best part is, classes will be largely free, or by small donation!

What skills do you have to share? What would you like to learn? Please contact us with any ideas for workshops that you could give, your friend could give, or that you’d like us to find someone to give! Some ideas we’re working on include: canning/preserving, learn how to use your DSLR camera, bicycle maintenance, composting/gardening, and sewing 101.

Canning Classes – Sign up!

Join your neighbors and Bernardin chef Emerie Brine for a three-part canning series this summer. All classes held at Danforth Mennonite Church (2174 Danforth Ave, just east of Woodbine) Load up at the farmers’ market and learn how to preserve the season’s bounty for months to come. Each class will teach you the fundamentals of canning and preserving, provide a live demonstration with one or more recipes and even offer yummy samples at the end of class. Sign up HERE.

June is Strawberry month and Emerie’s recipe for Balsamic Strawberry Jam is a favorite in my house, but Emery has many ideas to help you enjoy your summer berries for the months to come. Workshop scheduled for June 17 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

August is Peaches and while halved Ginger Bourbon Peaches are a delight just out of the jar, there are many ways to preserve your peaches.  Workshop scheduled for August 12 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

September is Tomatoes and Pickles. All that you need to get through fall/winter! Workshop scheduled for September 16 from 7:00-9:00 p.m.

DECA is offering this series as a part of our ReSkilling Workshops and you can sign up for one or all of the classes HERE.

For this particular series there is a suggested donation of $10 per class to cover the cost of the space we are renting.

For more information, email deca.reskilling@gmail.com.

Investing 101 Reminder, Community Space & A Note from LEN

Investing 101

A reminder that the DECA Learns Investing 101 event will be held at Lazy Daisy’s Cafe on Monday at 7:30pm.  Hope to see you there ready to make millions ;)

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Community Space at Artisans at Work

The crew at Artisan at Work are looking to expand!  And in order to do some renovations to their space to make a 1000 square foot community space they are looking to crowdsource funding. If you’d like to contribute to this unique community hub, check out their fundraising page.

A note from LEN:

Christal and I are super-excited to deliver East Danforth’s second-most anticipated spring resurrection – LEN!

Thanks to DECA, most of our neighbours already know that we’ve returned, this time for good. We have a sweet little location at 698 Coxwell Ave, right at the corner of Coxwell and Danforth (thanks again to DECA and an our amazing client, Mary, both of whom connected us to the space!).

So, all East Danforth residents and visitors need fret (or travel outside DECA boundaries) no longer in order to make your home beautiful, woo a special someone or even start a meaningful art collection.

To celebrate and say thanks to everyone for their AMAZING support, we’re preparing a nice little day-long launch celebration for May 11th. This Saturday. 11am-6pm. There’ll be treats and bubbly beverages.

We also made sure we stocked the shop full of especially beautiful things for Mother’s Day. Our prices are more democratic than ever with original Fine Art from established Canadian artists starting at $50, luxurious bath products from Quebec for $11, unbelievably cute organic soy wax candles at $6, Janet Stein sterling silver and semi-precious stone jewelry that’s rare, refined and on-trend for under $100 and spectacular handmade wood cutting boards and other kitchen items starting at $50.

Can’t wait to see our favourite clients and meet new friends this Saturday! To keep up to date on the latest LENvents make sure to visit www.len4all.com, follow LEN on Twitter (@Len4All) and like us on Facebook (facebook.com/Len4All). Even better, visit us in person, 5 days a week during regular business hours or book a private appointment by email (len@len4all.com).

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