Category: volunteers

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What’s happening in #DanforthEast

Get your calendars ready for all of this news!

Candidates Debate

On Tuesday, DECA hosted another successful candidates debate and it was exciting to see how well-attended it was. A big thank you to volunteer organizer, Sheri Hebdon, and to the team who put up posters, kept time, greeted people, and generally who make the debate happen. DECA is very proud to undertake this effort to help our #DanforthEast community be informed about voting options!

Candidates take questions from Moderator David Rider, Oct 15/19

Thank you to David Rider from the Toronto Star for moderating and to Hope United Church for hosting us and of course, thank you to the candidates who attended – Nathaniel Erskine-Smith (Liberal), Mae J. Nam (NDP), and Sean Manners (Green).

A reminder that the Federal election is this coming Monday, October 21 so don’t forget to vote.

Events this Weekend

Saturday

10am

Silly Goose Kids is hosting a book reading and signing with author James A. Conan and illustrator Nicolle Lalonde from 10am-noon and, after the reading, kids can help construct a mini-neighbourhood out of empty boxes, and paper towel rolls! If you have any empty cereal boxes please bring along!

1pm

Healing Collective (2005 Danforth) is hosting a Community Care Day this Saturday, October 19 from 1-4pm to celebrate their first anniversary and say thank you for the support of the community. Stop by and learn about their collective offerings, meet practitioners and learn some strategies to improve mental health and awareness. Visit their website for full list of activities.

Upcoming DECA Events

DECA Public Board Meeting (Tuesday)

Next Tuesday, October 22 from 7-9pm we are hosting a Public Board Meeting at the Workaround (2080 Danforth Ave) and would be thrilled to meet you there.  Our secret plan is to woo you in with how fun and full of energy we are, and in return, maybe you’ll decide to volunteer with us or bring your idea to the table? See? Win-win. Voting isn’t the only way to make a difference – we can tell you for sure that contributing to the community in a positive way can really soothe the worries of the world and give us a sense that we are doing something.

Seriously though, there is no pressure to do anything – we are just happy to meet you and for you to learn more about our 100% volunteer-run efforts.

Get in touch with us through our social media or by email for more info, but it’s also ok to surprise us on Tuesday.

10th Annual DECA Pumpkin Parade – East Lynn Park (Nov 1)

Reminder! Our 10th Annual Pumpkin Parade is happening in East Lynn Park on Nov 1st from 6-8pm. And we will offer free Coffee or Apple Cider sponsored by Gervais Rentals (owned by #DanforthEast residents!). Please bring a reusable mug or cup to partake!

Fresh Paint Art Slam (Nov 1 – 7pm)

This is just the coolest event, and we are so stoked that the proceeds will support the 2020 DECA Young Leader Scholarship Fund. Here’s the info:

On Friday, November 1 from 7-10pm, eight artists will enter into a live art competition and create their artistic pieces for an enthusiastic crowd of art lovers. The theme for the evening is ‘Speak Truth to Power’.

Artists will have one hour to create their pieces live and go from blank canvas to creative masterpieces.

When the hour is up and the brushes hit the floor, the audience will vote for their top two art creations. The top prize winners will receive a $100 gift card from Deserres and $50 gift card from Fresh Paint Studio.

The artwork that is created will also be auctioned off! Muskoka Brewery to provide the beer! The evening will also feature the musical vibes of DJ Marlove.

Find out more about the Art Slam here  or check out the Facebook event.

 

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The Market This Week: Last Market of the Season!

       

This week is our last market of the season – the last chance to stock up on all the fall harvest produce. A huge THANK YOU to all of our faithful farmers and local food vendors who showed up each week rain or shine! 

Check out what’s on at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market this Thursday, October 17th, 3-7pm. 

    • Kids Tent:
      • 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.  https://instagram.com/playpassca.
    • Chateau des Charmes will be offering wine tastings
    • Live Music By – Billy Zee

 

This Week’s Scheduled Vendors

SUN-RAY ORCHARDS  

5th TOWN CHEESE 

THE POP STAND 

MAD MEXICAN 

BOLO SOUP 

CEDAR HEDGE FARM

DUNDAS PARK KITCHEN

SHARMAN’S PROPER PIES

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. 

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#DECAF19 Wrap-Up!

That’s a wrap!

Thank you for coming out to the 11th Annual Danforth East Community Arts Fair … and what a fair it was! Rain or shine (and we had our share of both over the two-day event) the community spirit and amazing talent of our #DanforthEast neighbourhood was clear for all to see!

First and foremost we have to give a shout out to our volunteers! The fair, and DECA itself, would not be possible without the volunteers that bring it to life.  Volunteers are the heart and soul of all that DECA has accomplished over its 12-plus years, and remain vital to the continued growth and development of our community.

Look at this amazing organizing committee!

Amazing Humans, left to right: Melissa, Shawna, Betty, Nancy, Julie. Kneeling: Amanda. Not pictured: Taryn, Joanne, Betsy.

The goal of the Arts Fair has always been to animate our community, bringing everyone together to support local artists, restaurants, and businesses.  So our second super big thank you goes out to all of our local sponsors for helping us make that goal a reality – Trust Realty Group, our local DeSerres, Create Art Studio, Small Business People Inc.,& Melissa Peretti Imagination + Design.

And thirdly, to all our musicians who filled the air with sound – Pete Eastmure, Sidecar78, Ben D’Cunha and Bass player Artie Roth and Kristen Lindell, Shannon Butcher, Jeremy and Jenn, and Rick Miller & Friends – and all the local businesses that entertained the little ones – Fresh Paint Studio, Common Threads, Silly Goose Kids and DeSerres  – Thank You!

And last, but certainty not least, thank you to all the restaurants and food establishments that kept everyone going –  Celena’s Bakery,East of York, Taste the Tornado, Cumin Kitchen, Sweet Serendipity Bakeshop, and Mark’s Pizza, and The Pop Stand.

And now the awards.

First up, The Tracey Jacobs Best in Show Award

#DanforthEast lost a true community minded artist earlier this year when Tracey, who co-owned Silly Goose Kids with her partner Shamie, passed away after a long and difficult battle with breast cancer at the age of 51. As many in our community know, Tracey didn’t just co- own and operate the best toy store ever (!) she was a creative force who never stopped giving to our community. Tracey spent countless hours volunteering at the Arts Fair and our weekly Farmers’ Market, opened the doors of her store to help innumerable volunteer operations as a drop off location and, of course, always created the most magical and educational window displays that inspired a whole street to dream big. This year we were honoured to have Tracey’s partner Shamie help us present the inaugural Tracey Jacobs Best in Show award to Gotamago, a fabulous local shop that specializes in original watercolour and ink illustrations designed and printed in Toronto.

Shamie presenting The Tracey Jacobs Best in Show award to Gotamago.

Best New Artist Award
PottsieCo. and her beautiful Kimonos! A close contender for the People’s Choice award, this was this artisans first show! We feel like there will be many more to come!

Best in Fine Art Award
Dave Rheaume and his beautiful vintage urban scenes!

Dave Rheaume’s booth at #DECAF19

Best Artisan Award
Alexander Kastulin (Akart) and all his delicate and intricate work in the language of ceramics!

Alexander Kastuline accepting award from #DECAF19 lead organizer Shawna Cotton.

People’s Choice Award
Nathan Nunn and his amazing pencil/ink/acrylic /digital prints – the people love those cats! This award comes with a free both at next year’s Art Fair – congrats Nathan!

People’s Choice Award for Nathan in front of his art.

As always, DECA is always looking for  volunteers to help run our events and to bring to life new and exciting ideas! Membership in DECA is only $10 annually/family and helps us run events throughout the year. For any questions, email:info@deca.to.

Coming Soon:
Federal Election Candidates Meeting, Beaches-East York Riding: Date tbd – further details coming soon!
Public Board Meeting: Oct 22 @ The Workaround, 2080 Danforth Ave, from 7-9pm
Festival of Lights: Saturday, Nov 30 in East Lynn Park from 4-5pm

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The Market This Week: Thursday, Sept 12th

     

Check out what’s on at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market this Thursday, September 12th, 3-7pm:

On top of our farmers and local food vendors this week we have:

    • Kids Tent:
      • 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!
      • Playpass will be there with activities for the kids!
    • Chateau des Charmes will be offering wine tastings
    • Live Music By – Winnie, Lady of the Dulcimer

 

This Week’s Scheduled Vendors

GODELIE FAMILY FARM 

SUN-RAY ORCHARDS  

5th TOWN CHEESE 

THE POP STAND 

MAD MEXICAN 

BOLO SOUP 

CEDAR HEDGE FARM

DUNDAS PARK KITCHEN

SHARMAN’S PROPER PIES

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. 

 

 

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8 80 Streets Danforth: August 23 & 24

880 posterWe’ve got some super summer news! DECA is excited to be participating in Canada’s first ever Vision Zero Pop-up Street Makeover happening right here on Danforth East!

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.

Would you like to volunteer to help make this event happen? There’s so much to do! Let 8 80 Cities know how you can help by filling out this online form.

For more event info check out the poster below. We’ll keep you posted as more exciting details are announced and we look forward to seeing you on August 23 & 24th!

Interested to know a bit more about 8 80 Cities? They are an awesome non-profit organization based in Toronto, Ontario. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in cities no matter their age, ability, or socioeconomic status. 8 80 Cities brings people together to enhance parks, mobility, and public space so that together we can create more vibrant, healthy, and equitable communities. Their core belief is that if everything we do in our public spaces is great for an 8-year-old and great for an 80-year-old, then it will be great for all people. Thumbs up to that!

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The Market This Week: Thursday, August 1st

     

Check out what’s on at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market this Thursday, August 1st, 3-7pm.

On top of our amazing, local food vendors this week we have:

  • Community Wellness Booth:
    • Bike Repairs and simple tune ups offered by 32 Spokes 
    • Staff from Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) will be on hand discussing the construction activity currently underway to build the new eight storey Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre. They will also have information about their second annual Michael Garron Hospital Cup: Kick the Stigma fundraising soccer tournament www.kickthestigma.ca. Last year they had 32 teams come out to play with just under 300 players, in addition to the tournament they have a community festival that takes place in Monarch Park with live music, bubble soccer, face painting, kids activities and a beer tent
  • Winery –Flat Rock Cellars offering tastings
  • Live Music By – Joseph Landau Trio

 

This Week’s Scheduled Vendors

AUSTIN’S FRUIT & VEGETABLE 

5th TOWN CHEESE 

SUN-RAY ORCHARDS  

THE POP STAND 

MAD MEXICAN 

BOLO SOUP 

CEDAR HEDGE FARM

DUNDAS PARK KITCHEN

GODELIE FAMILY FARM 

SHARMAN’S PROPER PIES

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.