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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

TPL_DECA-poster_Yes-in-my-community!-event

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/

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DECA’s busy October

REVITALIZING THE DANFORTH

DECA’s building it, will you come?

DECA’s Business Revitalization Team (BRT) is working with local landlords to put temporary tenants in their empty buildings. This strategy worked wonders in Newcastle, Australia, turning the abandoned downtown to a thriving centre again. It is working in old Oakland, California. Why not here?

Our first partners are Gay and Scott, the owners of 1948 Danforth – the former Metro Nails. They love the idea and hope it will land them a good paying tenant. They’ve given us a month for free in their space, in exchange for some help cleaning and painting. We put out a call to budding entrepreneurs for proposals and got more than 50 responses in a week! After interviews, our committee selected two – a west-end collective of local designers, Birthia and our own Mrs. Darling’s Imaginarium for Girls and Boys.

Please come support us and them on Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28. 

If you are a landlord and want to work with us, we’d love to meet you – click here to email us.

And here is what DECA’s own Catherine Porter had to say about this project in the Toronto Star last week.

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DECA PUB CRAWL – Thursday, October 18th, start @ 7:00 p.m.!

We’re here to remind you that drinking is not just for the weekends when you’re with your neighbours. Leave the kids at home and come have a night out with DECA! Thanks to Tara S. for this post.

Starting at Sidewalk Café, we’ll then go to Sarah’s, El Sol, TKOs and finally Relish for karaoke!!  All participating pubs have agreed to prepare special drinks and food for us, so this is an opportunity not to be missed! Come hungry & thirsty!!

Here’s the breakdown:

7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. @ Sidewalk Café (1344 Danforth Ave) 

  • A plate of mini Martinis (sweet, sour & dirty – 1oz each) including a side of Italian sushi (you read that correctly!) $8

7:40 p.m. – 8:10 p.m. @ Sarah’s Cafe and Bar (1426 Danforth Ave)

  • 3 x Mill St. 7 oz samples for $6.00 and half-glasses of Jackson Triggs Chardonnay, St Lucas Torrontes, Porta Merlot & Jackson Triggs Cab Franc at $3.65 per 2.5 oz pour (you can have as much or as little as you like)
  • Mixed Hors D’oeuvres Plate with Roasted Garlic & Brie Crostini, Devilled Egg, Brushetta & Falafel for $8

8:20 p.m. -8:50 p.m @ El Sol (1448 Danforth Ave)

  • Margaritas, Sangrias and Mexican Beer
  • Delicious beef tacos with guacamole for $4.95 – Ole! 

9:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. @ TKO’s (1600 Danforth Ave)

  • Beer tasters and sliders (hamburger, pork and chicken)

9:45 p.m. – onward @ Relish Bar and Grill (2152 Danforth Ave)

  • Beer tasters and tapas selection and Karaoke!

We welcome late-comers along the way, so please join us whenever you can.  In order to make ourselves obvious, we’ll be wearing feather boas and we encourage all of you to do the same (we’ll have a few extras on hand so don’t worry if you can’t find yours). There will also be giveaways, prizes, and Jason from Toronto Model Photography Studio taking photos!

If you know that you want to come or are even leaning toward yes (you know you are), please email here to RSVP so that we can advise the pubs on our numbers ahead of time if possible.

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DECA BOARD MEETING – Tuesday, October 16, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m.
If you are a DECA member, or you just want to get to know us a little better, please come and join us for our Board meeting.  This is where the magic happens, and it happens over ginger ales, beers and laughs at a local restaurant.  Where, you ask?  Click here to get more info.
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EAST LYNN FARMERS’ MARKET
Don’t forget that the market continues throughout the month of October.  Stay tuned for more info about this week’s lineup of fun, crafts and surprises.  (Has everyone recovered from last week’s Harvest Moon Festival??)
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Busy Week

Lots of things to tell you about this week…

Photo courtesy of Stephen Caissie

East Lynn Farmers’ Market

At 4:30 p.m. this week, bring your little movers and shakers to dance with Pegasus Dance Studio.

Do you know that along with ballet, hip hop and jazz, Pegasus also offers boys-only dance programs, a preschool arts program, parent and tot music classes and pilates and yoga classes? Pegasus is near Danforth and Coxwell on Glebeholme.

Also Nana Jokura is back with more CranioSacral therapy – a gentle, hands-on therapy where your head and sacrum are stimulated to release tensions of the nervous and fascial systems.

Little Footprints Toys

Little Footprints is an internet toy company run by a local resident and mom featuring eco-friendly toys and games for kids of all ages.  This weekend they’re having a real bricks and mortal sale at 1390 Danforth, just east of Greenwood.   There will be lemonade and toys to try, including the Piggy Paint nail bar where you can try out the ‘natural as mud’ nail polish.  There will be sale prices on educational products for back to school.  The sale starts Friday.  Check out the details at at www.littlefootprintstoys.com.

Walking Tour

On Monday, September 6th, join local historian Gene Domagala for a walking tour of our little section of east Toronto starting at Hope United Church at Main and Danforth at 1 p.m.

Back To School Dinners

If the thought of the hectic school schedule has got you twitchin’ I notice that Cozy Cafe and Bakery at Danforth and Woodbine now has frozen foods to get you through the week.  All homemade and delicious, there are hearty soups, lasagnas (ask anyone about the vegetarian lasagna and be prepared for gushing), shepard’s pie and much more.

Stephen Caissie Photography

All summer long, I’ve been featuring beautiful photographs from the market in this space thanks to DECA member and volunteer Stephen Caissie.  Stephen also did the portraits in the park during the Art of the Danforth and many of his portraits have appeared on the blog webpage of Deca Diaries.  His work is stunning and the prices reasonable.  Learn more about Stephen and his work at stephencaissiephoto.com.