As we look forward to the Danforth East Arts Fair this coming weekend – September 14 & 15 in East Lynn Park – we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the wonderful community sponsors and volunteers who make #DECAF possible!
We asked our sponsors: what does our #DanforthEast community mean to you?
Melissa of Melissa Peretti Imagination + Design is an award-winning interior designer specializing in unique and practical interior design for families:
“Our community is incredible about supporting local business, shops, and talents. Art and art-making have always been a part of my life. It was the arts fair that first clicked for me as an event I wanted to be involved in after joining DECA. Making the fair even more family-focused by adding the kids’ activities is one of the additions to the fair I am most proud of spearheading. Animating our neighbourhood through these wonderful volunteer-led initiatives has been incredibly important and effective in transforming the area.”
Common Threads is a home economics studio offering classes in sewing, cooking, money and time management:
“We have a vibrant and engaged community. I see our residents as people who work hard, are open to new ideas. As a past participant of the fair, I was amazed to at how much local talent there was hiding along our quiet residential streets. A supported community is a vibrant community and I’m happy this one is in my backyard.”
Juliette Fergus of Trust Realty Group is a Real Estate Broker who focuses on our vibrant Danforth East Community:
“This community is the very heart of not only my business, but my life. Being a neighbour, I love our local businesses, DECA and our BIA. It sounds cheesy I know, but I love walking down the street and getting caught up in numerous conversations with fellow business owners, staff, parents, and neighbours who I have crossed paths with. Community keeps us all connected, and nowhere have I experienced connections as heartfelt as in Danforth East.
DeSerres is a veteran sponsor to the fair and a fixture in our community.
DeSerres is a family-owned art and craft supply business, and ours supplies our neighborhood with all the fixings to cook up something creative. Need to frame a picture? Learn to scrapbook? Pick up some kids’ crafting supplies? Our local DeSerres has you covered and we thank them for their ongoing support of the fair. Why do it? In their words: “Because life is a canvas.”
Create Art Studio is a welcoming community art school in Toronto that encourages positive development through creative exploration:
“Create Art Studio was started by local mom, Jennifer Thompson, who wanted to start a business that would allow her to spend more time with her young children. In early 2017, she put her idea into motion – bringing her vision for an inclusive and welcoming space for children, teens, and adults to gather and learn, about art and themselves, in the vibrant community of Danforth East.”
Small Business People Inc. creates and delivers personalized, simple bookkeeping plans for small business owners:
“In this neighbourhood our children go to school, know the local shop owners by name and experience a family community within a large city. It is also a neighbourhood of small business owners and the self-employed who support each other. In short, the neighbourhood represents our values: Family, Community, People, Service and Time. Much of what makes a community, to us, is its social and cultural fabric – the arts fair is a great place to contribute.”
The Danforth East Community Association is the parent association behind DECAF19. 
DECA formed over twelve years ago with the goal of making #DanforthEast a more vibrant, walkable, and safe neighbourhood. Thanks to our all-volunteer board and the many contributions of our community, we have brought that vision to life, helping to revitalize local businesses through our Pop-Up Shop program, animating East Lynn Park through our various events, advocating for smart city planning and safe streets, and fundraising for important initiatives like refugee resettlement and our annual scholarship. There is nowhere else in the city quite like our community, and we are so proud to be able to continue to put on the Danforth East Arts Fair!
BIG #DECAF19 THANK YOU!!
Danforth East Arts Fair (DECAF19) takes place Saturday and Sunday September 14-15 in East Lynn Park. Follow us on social media up to and during the fair on Facebook and Instagram.
Volunteers needed! Sign up here to help out for a couple of hours and help make the tenth year of our annual fair a success!