People are loving Day 1 of the DECA Pop-Up Shop. Here are a few pictures. If you missed it or if you have some funky people on your Christmas list, it’s open Sunday from 12-6. Thanks to everyone who showed up today. Just walking in the door is showing your support for a more vibrant, walkable and safe community.
Come enjoy a movie under the stars with Councillor McMahon this weekend. Shrek the Third will be playing this Saturday, September the 15th in Stephenson Park at 8:00 p.m.
Nana Jokura is a Naturopathic Medical Graduate, CranioSacral Practitioner, farmer’s market fan and lives in and loves the Danforth East community.
Thanks to Sarah K. for this post
What do you get when you combine passionate local volunteers with laughter, tears and votable motions? Well, that would be a DECA Board meeting! Our next bi-monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m., and we would love for you to join us! (Just joking about the tears!)
What happens at a DECA Board meeting? Our meetings are where we meet to chat, laugh, debate, brainstorm, share, and plan all of our neighbourhood improvement events and activities.
Maybe you don’t know us? Don’t let that stand between you and DECA. We are your neighbours, and truly, we believe that more is merrier!
Once upon a time we used to meet in each other’s homes but DECA folk are just too much fun for even the most sizeable East York kitchen, so we moved to a local restaurant! That’s right – you can order food and drink at our meeting to tide you over to the very last motion!
Our meetings are open to all DECA members, and/or to anyone interested in volunteering or helping out in some way. If you’re interested in attending the meeting, or if you have any questions about DECA, please email info(at)danfortheastcommunityassociation.com.
By the way, have you “liked” us on Facebook yet? Please click here to find our page!
Dear DECA Diaries,
My name is Natasha Granatstein. Many of us know each other personally, many of us know each other through these blog posts. I wanted to let you know about some changes around the DECA table. Don’t worry we’re not going anywhere. In fact, I think DECA is stronger, more active and engaged than its ever been. We’ve done some terrific things in these last six years…from the farmers’ market to the Business Revitalization Team. From the Danforth East Arts Fair to pumpkin parades and community cocktail parties. We’ve done safety walks and movie nights. We’ve hosted political debates and debates about the ‘big hole.’ And, oh goodness, a whole lot of other stuff.
In that time, I’ve sent out hundreds of blog posts carrying the momentous, the mundane and everything in between.
Six years ago, I would scrape together any old scrap of local news I could find and send it out. Now, we have to be stringent about keeping the information seriously local and there’s more information, news and e-mail than one mere mortal can manage. What a fantastic neighbourhood this is! So, to try and ensure that DECA Diaries is as timely and useful as possible we are expanding the DECA Diaries team. Sheri, Sarah, Shelley and Tara will be keeping you informed of all the local news that’s fit to print. I’ll pop in from time to time with a post or two as well. Of course, as was always the case, you are welcome to contribute. If you have a great local shop that you’d like to write about or something local happening that you want to share, drop us a line. From here on in, please use decadiaries@gmail.com.
One more thing, when we weren’t looking, DECA became an entity with a modicum of credibility. Over the years, our little table has attracted some amazingly smart, interesting, creative and fun volunteers. Getting to know these people has been an absolute joy. It’s also why I’m very proud to tell you that I’ve stepped down as the chair of the Danforth East Community Association. Why proud? Because the incredible people who are joining DECA and volunteering to help have made it possible for me to take more of a backseat role. I’m staying on the executive committee, but letting some people with more energy and creativity sit in the driver’s seat. Anita has been the co-chair since November and will stay on as the Chair. She’s awesome and so is the rest of the bunch. And lately, we never stop hearing from people who want to contribute to their community through DECA.
Thanks everybody, see you around.
Natasha
DECA is very pleased to be partnering with the The Yellow Door Learning Centre at 6 St. Joseph House to paint Bell boxes this summer. We’re looking for artists to participate in the 2012 Bell Boxes Murals Project. Selected artists will paint a mural on one of the Bell Canada outdoor junction boxes located throughout the North Downtown Yonge and Danforth East neighbourhoods. Mural painting will take place during August and September, 2012.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS – MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012
The goal of this project is to brighten Toronto’s streetscapes by creating original works of outdoor art. The theme of the murals is the history of the neighbourhood and is developed in conjunction with the local residents associations. The murals project brings together a wide range of community members in self-organized activities that help to creatively transform neighbourhoods.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Since 2009 a total of 32 Bell outdoor equipment boxes in Yonge and Bloor neighbourhoods have been painted by artists from the Yellow Door Learning Centre and other creative community centres across the city. The Yellow Door Learning Centre is located in 6 St. Joseph House, a community creative resource centre located in downtown Toronto.
The 2012 Bell Box Murals Project will consist of 16 murals painted on Bell Canada equipment junction boxes in two neighbourhoods, eight near North Downtown Yonge Street and eight near Danforth East between Greenwood Ave. and Main Street.
The project is a partnership between the Seeds of Hope Foundation, Bell Canada, the City of Toronto, the Bay Cloverhill Community Association, the Greater Yorkville Residents Association, the Church-Wellesley Neighbourhood Association, and the Danforth East Community Association.
For samples of previous murals and a map of mural locations see the photos section of the Yellow Door Learning Centre Facebook page.
ARTIST ELIGIBILITY
Open to all artists living in the GTA. Preference will be given to artists located in the North Downtown Yonge Street and Danforth East communities. Please indicate in your application if you live or work in these neighbourhoods.
BUDGET
Each artist will be paid $400.00 for their mural. Each artist will also be supplied with a quantity of red, yellow, blue, black and white special outdoor latex paint.
ART THEME
The theme for the 2012 murals program is neighbourhood heritage. Historical photographs of North Downtown Yonge Street and Danforth East neighbourhoods will be interpreted by the artist in a full colour mural. The artist can also choose a smaller section of the image to interpret. For archival Toronto photographs see:
Facebook Vintage Toronto page www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Toronto/256041347799190
City of Toronto Archives – Searchable archive http://www.toronto.ca/archives/photographs/index.htm
click on Search the Archives’ database and search by street or neighbourhood
SELECTION PROCESS
Artists interested in applying are asked to choose a historical photograph of the North Downtown Yonge Street or Danforth East area from the sources described above or any others. The artist should then submit their chosen photograph, a sketch of the proposed mural and other samples of their work as attachments via email to mcavanaugh@6stjoseph.ca by 5:00 pm Monday, June 25, 2012.
The proposed submissions will be reviewed by a volunteer jury consisting of residents’ association members and workers from other community arts organizations. Artists will be notified of final jury selections on July 9.
APPLICATION CONTENT
• email to mcavanaugh@6stjoseph.ca by 5:00 pm Monday, June 25, 2012.
Important: All proposed project submissions will become the property of the Seeds of Hope Foundation, which reserves the right to reproduce and disseminate them for public, non- commercial purposes, e.g. proposals may be posted online or placed on public view as part of the selection process.
There is too much talent hiding behind closed doors along Danforth East. Carter’s Ice Cream is offering neighbourhood artists and craftspeople the chance to share and advertise their talent. Owner Tammy invites you to drop off an 8×11 piece of paper with pictures of your work (along with your contact info) at her shop, located at the corner of Woodmount and Danforth. She’s putting together a binder to showcase everyone’s work. So next time you need a new painting, sock monkey or custom crafted table…think ice cream! Go on down and check out the book of neighbourhood talent.
Baby Steals, Kid Steals
In a neighbourhood teeming with fashionable young children, we’ll bet that many of you have ordered from Baby Steals or Kid Steals, two popular daily deals websites based in Utah. (The Jelly the Pug dress in my daughter’s closet is proof I’ve done so myself!) Well, guess what? They’ve heard of East Lynn Park all the way down there — and they want to see it for themselves. On Thursday, June 21, the women behind these websites, Jana and Rett, will be visiting East Lynn to meet local parents for one of their Canadian meetups. Bring a blanket, some sunscreen and drop in to meet Jana, Rett and a whole bunch of parents who live in our neighbourhood. You can RSVP to their event here. It will run from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. By then, our weekly farmers market will be underway, so you can pick up something fresh for dinner on your way home. Doesn’t that sound like a perfectly delightful afternoon?
