First time at Danforth East Arts Fair? We have you covered!

Thanks to DECAF volunteer Caroline Starr for this guest post! 

DECAF - now with buttons! (Photo: Caroline Starr)
DECAF – now with buttons! (Photo: Caroline Starr)
Maybe you recently moved to the neighbourhood. Maybe you’ve noticed Danforth East popping up on a lot of “Best Of” lists in the city and decided this is the weekend to check it out. Maybe you’re friends with one of the very talented vendors and they encouraged you to come support them. Maybe you’ve been in the neighbourhood for a while, but never made it down the arts fair before.

If it’s your first time at the fair, here are a few things you might like to know.

– Danforth East Community Arts Fair, or DECAF, as those of us who dig acronyms like to call it, is completely volunteer run. Art loving volunteers pour through applications early in the spring and make the hard calls as to who will fill the sixty-odd spots that cover the park with creative goodness on the third weekend of September every year. Many of the volunteers are affiliated with local businesses or our stand-out parent community association, DECA. All are passionate about promoting and helping our community grow and improve through events like DECAF. If you’d like to volunteer with DECAF or DECA, please check out deca.to for opportunities.

– East Lynn Park, our home base, is located between Coxwell and Woodbine subway stations (a little closer to Woodbine). Street parking is available. The park is stroller friendly, and wheelchair accessible (thanks to an update this spring).

– DECAF is committed to making art accessible, for both artists and our many visitors each year. Our entry fees are among the lowest in the city for comparable events, and when we’re choosing artists, we work to ensure that artists from a wide range of mediums and with pieces from a variety of price points are represented, so everyone can join in the fun! Many of Toronto’s best known makers set up shop at DECAF in their early days, and have gone on to exhibit at much larger shows like One-of-a-Kind.

– Danforth East is a community on the rise. After you’ve taken your time and perused the many vendors that are set up for the weekend, take some time to check out many of the businesses that work with DECA and DECAF to support the fair, including The Canine Social Club, Silly Goose Kids, and Fresh Paint Art Cafe (our sponsors also include Toronto Honda, Toronto Kia and Deb Dorsey/Homeward Realty). Danforth East is also home to a variety of unique businesses, including Viking Bakery, Toronto’s only Icelandic bakery; Now Magazine’s Best Gourmet Takeout (East of York); three maker retail spaces: Artisans at Work, DesignNook, and NiceNook; The Tool Library and Sharing Depot; many successful DECA Pop-Up shops turned local success stories and much, much more. It’s a great place to spend a day!

– Did you like what you saw at DECAF? Have suggestions for improvement? Please feel free to message us on Facebook, or Twitter! We’d also love to see your Instagram shots! Please tag us at #DECAF16 and follow along at @deca_arts for great pics over the weekend!

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Props to the Pumpkin Parade People

Once again the Pumpkin Parade’s Chief Organizing Officer, Heather Bean, deserves a huge DECA thank you for her role in coordinating the whole event this year.  She was the mastermind behind everything from permitting to promotion and from candles to clean up.  We are all very grateful for her to taking on this work!

Here is a special shout out from Heather to all those involved in making the night happen:

A big thank you to all the volunteers and city staff who helped us with the Pumpkin Parade on November 1. Tak Bui’s poster art was cheerfully spooky, and Jeff Kraemer was our postering champ. We’re grateful to Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon for helping with permitting and the local businesses who offered social media promos, as well.

Our pumpkin haulers were the stuff of pumpkin parade legend–done in half an hour; that team included Paul Haines, Mark Rullo, Elaine Biagi Turner, Chris Bond, Jevon Vandenberg and his father-in-law Mr. Vandermeer, Corinne McCabe, Stephen Wickens, Matt Bickerton, Judah Hetinger, and Andrew Duffy. Thanks to Tyran, our youngest volunteer. And extra thanks to Molly Donovan and Tanya Koivusalo for lighting pumpkins throughout the parade *and* staying on for cleanup.

And finally, I want to thank whoever brought those two beautiful big pumpkins at the west end of the walk to welcome everyone to the parade! They were admired all night long.

Here are a few pictures courtesy of Stephen Rabjohn.  Enjoy!

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The Farmers’ Market – Get Involved!

This week:

The winery this week will be Pillitteri Estates Winery from Niagara.  Stop by for samples!

We’re delighted to have Mrs. Darling join us this week for a fun kids craft activity at 4:30 p.m.

Our Community Booth guest will be SuperShero Amy! She’ll be at the market promoting Habitat for Humanity GTA Women Build initiative.  Come by her booth to take a pic with her, sign a stud, meet & tweet, donate & advocate ! Apparently there will be prizes and more !

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Your Market – Get Involved!

Our market is fortunate to have so many committed volunteers that help each week.  But we’re always looking for more people to help out. There are many different ways to get involved.  First, we need volunteers to be stationed at the DECA booth each week trying their best to answer random questions, being a smiling face to neighours and helping the market manager with setting up and taking down the DECA tent and table. Later in the year we could use a few extra hands closer to 7:00 p.m. to help with taking down of the tents and tables as it starts to get dark early.

Second, we have a number of neighbours who cook dinner for our farmers each week.  That’s right! We don’t let the people who bring us food each week go hungry on their drives back to farm country.  This involves cooking 15-20 meals of your choice in your kitchen and bringing them to the market.  A small honorarium is provided.  We are looking for a few volunteers for these specific roles in July and August.  So if it’s something you’d like to try, send us an email (events(at)danfortheastcommunityassociation.com).

Also, we’re always looking for people with photography skills to take pictures of the market to be used online and in other promotional material and graphic design skill to help us make a few posters each year to advertise our special events.  Finally, we have so many generous individuals and businesses who donate their talents for the weekly children’s activity. If you have a talent or idea to contribute or know someone who does, let us know.
If you’d like to contribute in any of these ways, or have an idea for something else that will add to the volunteer magic that makes our market so spectacular, please let us know by emailing us.

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The famous Sprately Sandwiches.

Wellness Booth

Nana Jokura, ND from Accept Wellness, is getting the neighbourhood to stick out their tongues again at the Wellness Table. The Free Tongue and Pulses Diagnosis (normally done before acupuncture) gives a snapshot of what might be out of balance with your health. Learn about how naturopathic medicine and acupuncture can help with sugar cravings, mood swings, better sleep, land fertility. She’ll be at the market from 3-7:00 p.m.

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The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 5 – October 9 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

Farmers’ Market: Beautiful Images, School Grown & Inconceivable!

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Another submission to the photo contest!  Just beautiful!  Thanks for submitting Stephen.  To see more photo’s from Stephen Caissie, check out the full album on Facebook.

Did you know that some of the produce for sale at the market are grown by Toronto high school students?  School Grown is run out of Toronto non-profit organization, Food Share.  Their goal is to increase food literacy in youth by hiring high school students to run urban market gardens.  Students learn in a classroom  throughout the year, then get practical experience during the summer managing the garden, selling at markets and delivering to restaurants.   The proceeds from sales are reinvesting into ongoing food literacy projects throughout the city.  Be sure to quiz the students on exactly which genus and species the pepper your buying belongs to.

Red rocket, tiburon poblano, islander bell & sweet carmens
Red rocket, tiburon poblano, islander bell & sweet carmens

This week we have guests from the David Suzuki Foundation and Toronto Water attending.  We also lined up a sunny 23 C day for you, your friends and family to enjoy a stroll through the market or to stay for a picnic.

On August 22nd we’ll be having our annual Movie Under the Stars night.  Want a hint at what the movie is?  It’s Princess Bride!  OK, I suck at giving hints.  (We also told you last week, but someone else wrote that post.) The movie won’t start until the sun goes down around at 8:45 pm, but we’re looking for a handful for volunteers to help make popcorn from 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm.  If you or someone you know is interested, send me an email.  It’s simply inconceivable to watch a movie in the park without popcorn!

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7 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 new East Lynn Market Facebook page.

Pop-Up: Musical Talent & New Business Alerts

Musical Talent?

June is going to be a busy time for Danforth East. The Pop-Up Team is busy planing a ‘Pop-Up-Apaloza’ of activities all month long and are looking for musicians/bands of all types to volunteer at the June launch. Although we do not have money to compensate alternate arrangements can be made – like busking or community hour for students. Please contact Maximilien if you’re interested.

New Business Alerts

A few weeks ago we hinted that a new business would be moving into 698 Coxwell where S Sense previously operated out of. Well it’s now official. After a successful experience as a pop-up shop in December and January Len: Democratic Purveyors of Fine Art & Beautiful Things is back in the neighbourhood. They will be doing a soft opening this Saturday, May 4th from 11-6 PM and would love to see their friends from the pop-up shop come in to say hello. Next Saturday, May 11th they will have a Grand Opening with tasty treats for all! And if you haven’t made the connection yet, May 11th is the day before Mother’s Day.

In other pop-up news, one of the vacant store fronts that was the home to the original pop-up shop in October has been rented. Canadian Nutrition Super Stores has opened at 1948 Danforth (formerly Metro Nails). So if you are a fitness enthusiast or wishing you were then you should stop in to say hello to Deon, the store manager. Apparently they aim to please and are offering a 20% discount on everything in the store right now. They don’t mind special orders or stocking special items either. Welcome to the neighbourhood Deon!

Len

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Don’t forget about this Saturday’s Jane’s Walk in our neighbourhood with DECA’s own Steve Wickens @ 10:00 a.m.! For more details, click here.