Help a Local Biz; Show Some East York Pride

For those who haven’t met him yet, here’s Allister, owner of Fa.Real Custom Tees, and all-around awesome guy.

Fa.Real started out as one of DECA’s Pop-up Shops last winter and proprietors Allister and Tracey loved our ‘hood so much they moved their family above their store at 1900 Danforth Ave and set out to become a permanent addition to Danforth East. We here at DECA have used Fa.Real’s services for many amazing gifts (just read Catherine Porter’s post about the best baby present ever) and we’ve valued Allister and Tracey’s friendship.

Unfortunately, operating a shop without the backing of the Pop-up Shop program has been a financial challenge and Fa.Real is set to pack it in at the end of the month.

EXCEPT…

They aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. As a final effort to keep the store, Allister has created a line of East York T-shirts (designs are at the end of this post) and he’s hoping you’ll love them as much as you love our neighbourhood.

Here’s the pitch, in Allister’s own words:

First, I would like to thank all of you for coming into our shop and giving me the pleasure to express my creativity on your shirts. I also would like to say that it has been a real delight to meet the people in this community; you all have been outstanding to myself and my family and make us all feel great being here.

A customer one time asked me, “How long are you guys gonna be here?” and I simply replied, “We’re here as long as you guys keep us here.” And that’s the main reason I’m writing this. We are in a position where our stay at 1900 Danforth is limited to OCTOBER 31^st, 2013.

We started printing t-shirts from our basement apartment back in 2011 in our dining room. In January we heard DECA was looking for small businesses like us that were looking to try out being in a store front for a month. My wife and I jumped at the opportunity immediately and out of 70 applicants, we were in the top 3 chosen. Since May 1st, we have been operating the business without the help of the Pop-up Shop Project.

We were so committed, we even moved our family above the store when an apartment became available, and it’s been an amazing experience ever since. We’ve been increasingly busy ever since we opened up, but we have not gotten ourselves in a position where we make enough to cover all our expenses without falling short.

So I had to think, think, think, like Winnie the Pooh. Then it hit me: I wanted to provide something that I’m very proud of and something you guys have pride in as well. So I created a line of EAST YORK t-shirts to big-up the area we call home.

And for each person who purchases EAST YORK t-shirts (if my store gets to stay), I will be offering a special lifetime membership for a 20% discount on all custom t-shirt orders here at Fa.real Custom Tees. (And don’t forget that a custom t-shirt makes a great, inexpensive personal gift for family and friends at Christmas time.)

A lot of you guys already come by here often to get shirts made for yourself or for friends and family. Sometimes, you guys just stop through to say what up and to share on some jokes or have good conversation and catch some positive vibes which is something I really enjoy as well. Help us stay here by supporting our small mom and pop t-shirt shop, and we will support our new home in East York.

Allister Thomas

Fa.Real East York Collection — Fa.Real East York Collect

Contact info:

Fa.real Custom Tees
1-888-502-1112
647-718-3339 (local)

1900 Danforth Ave.

email at info@fareal.com

October 15, 2013

Saying Goodbye & THANK YOU to our Farmers!

So long, farewell…

If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to put on the East Lynn Farmers’ Market, here is how our stats for the season break down:

17 market weeks with 85 total hours of vending (farmers standing on their feet with a long drive to and from Toronto before and after)
600 warm meals made with love from 23 of your neighbours to feed the farmers, who otherwise wouldn’t get to eat dinner on Thursday evenings
212 hours donated by dedicated DECA volunteers (including many by ‘Farmerlicious Femme’ Alison McMurray)
16 different groups set up at our Community Table to spread the word about their organization
425 little faces painted by Rebecca and Renee and their team of student volunteers
24 hours donated leading crafts, singing, dancing from our friends at Mrs. Darlings Imaginarium, Silly Goose Kids, Pegasus Studios, Oaks n’ Acorns, Career Fit Mom, Silver Spirit Karate and Sprout Kids

That’s a whole lot of giving from our community!

Why do we do it? Clearly, because of all that the farmers give to us. They give us countless early mornings picking and packaging fruit and veggies, weekends spent turning sap into syrup, late nights making berries into jams and hours raising beautiful animals into healthy, locally raised meat. They also give us the precious time it takes them to drive, set up, and unpack at the park each week, and then to drive home after a long afternoon and evening of work. While we picnic, splash, chase and chat on long, wonderful evenings, the farmers are there too, working, making the whole thing happen for us.

I know that I speak for many when I say, a great big “THANK YOU!” to the farmers!

Make sure to come to the market this Thursday, and while you’re stocking up for the week, buy a few things for your freezer, and take a moment to say thank you and farewell to this year’s farmers.

October 15, 2013

Music lessons, casting call, and a special request

As you may or may not know, this blog is run entirely by volunteers. We are DECA Board members, and like many people, we have jobs, families and busy lives. We write this blog because we love this neighbourhood, and we love the opportunity to share information from and to our neighbours. We have loose criteria for what we do and do not post, but generally, we focus on news and events that impact our direct neighbourhood.

With that said, I want to share with you a message from a neighbour, Sharon Oliver. Please considering helping her raise money to help treat her daughter’s rare autoimmune disorder, and to start a charity. You can easily vote by using the link below – round one concludes soon, but you can vote every day. Sharon’s Facebook page provides more information (‘like’ it for daily voting reminders and updates).

I need community to vote for my idea — which is to start a charity for children and get some help for my own daughter…the video and link tell all. It is super easy and only takes seconds. The voting has already begun.

http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf16828

Thank you again.. Sharon Oliver — mother of Gwyneth.

*****

And now, the news.

East End Music Project

This new endeavour will launch in January, and will offer a variety of music lessons out of the Church at 1100 Woodbine Avenue (@ Milverton) on Tuesdays to start. Read on for more info about them, and about their fundraising event coming up on November 30, 2013.

A message from Miranda Snyder:

Dear friends,

It’s happening! I’m so excited to announce that, after months of planning, plotting and dreaming, Mathew Peters and I are launching the East End Music Project in January in our neighbourhood. Lots of you have heard rumblings about this, so read on for more info.

The EEMP is a non-profit music school launching lessons in guitar, choir, and piano (and more to come) in January. It’s open to kids grades K-12 and subsidies and scholarships are available for neighbourhood families who otherwise would not have access to lessons due to the systemic issues of poverty. And I would LOVE for your families to be involved. You can make a transformative difference in our community and in the life of a child by simply accessing our programming, spreading the word, and participating. This music school operates as a not-for-profit. We’ve got an amazing team of teachers and co-conspirators working on this, and your child will not receive a better music education in the city. The EEMP is launching as a collaboration and there are lots of opportunities to get involved, support the project, and, of course, sign your kids up for lessons. Lesson registration opens Nov 1. Send us an email to find out more, get on the list, or visit eemp.ca.

To get things rolling, we’re hosting a fundraiser November 30 in the hood. SAVE THE DATE, people. Call your babysitters. Come on out to party with the East End Music Project at the Circus Academy (1300 Gerrard Street East), as we host The Dirty Dishes, The Uplifters, Trainwreck, and the EEMP House Band for an incredible night of live music, dancing and inevitable over-consumption. Email me today to reserve your tickets. This event will sell out, and every penny from this fundraiser goes towards supporting music education and music-making opportunities for local families who need it. So you can feel good and DO good. Tickets are $25 in advance.

Casting Call this Saturday, October 19

Any thespians out there looking for a local acting opportunity? See below, and for more information, email Cameron here.

October 14, 2013

mural survey, trees, lunch and fall fair news!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Does too much gravy have a scientifically proven effect on cognitive functioning? I’ve been staring at the computer for 20 minutes and still, no clever theme is coming to mind. How about this? We live in a great neighbourhood, and it just keeps getting better and better.

Here are four things that prove that our neighbourhood is awesome:

1. Our subway station is getting upgraded, and we can give input into the mural that will be painted on the construction hoarding

(PS – Did you know that those boards around a construction site is called ‘hoarding’? Well, now you know.)

A message from Susan Kohler, Senior Arts Consultant, East District Arts Services:

City on the Move, Young Artists in Transit – East is a partnership program between the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and Toronto Cultural Services with community partners Arts for Children and Youth and Children’s Peace Theatre, aimed at building youth skills in visual storytelling, self expression, engagement and community leadership.

As part of this project, murals are created by youth in the community under the leadership of a professional artist and a Youth Mentor, to be displayed on construction hoarding at transit stations. To date, two murals have been painted for Coxwell Station to be installed in early 2014. We hope you will help us on the design of the Woodbine mural by clicking on http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XR6PGXM

The survey will take only a few minutes to complete. We really value your input! Please forward to anyone you think may be interested in participating in the survey.

If you have any questions please email Susan here.

2. Our parks are getting more trees!

Thanks to Mary-Margaret McMahon for letting us know that East Lynn Park, Oakcrest Park and Merrill Bridge Park will all be getting new trees. With the fall colours in full effect right now, I’m sure we are all appreciating our trees even more than usual. We’ll let you know the details as they become available.

3. Our ice cream shop is staying open over the winter and has a mouth-watering lunch menu

Carter’s Ice Cream (3 Woodmount Ave, near Danforth and Woodbine) is now open over the winter. The hours are Mon-Fri 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and they will be serving ice cream and lunch!! You can also order birthday cakes all year. “Like” them on Facebook to keep up with all their news.

4. RH McGregor is having an awesome school fair on Saturday, October 26, 2013

555 Mortimer Avenue, October 26, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

October 9, 2013

Harvestfest at East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market

This Week: Harvestfest

Come celebrate the harvest with our farmers this week. DECA will be serving up hot apple cider to warm you up. Sprouts Kids will be at the market providing glitter tattoos and putting on a singing and dancing activity at 4:30 p.m.

Winter Market… in your freezer

Fall is a great time to stock up on your favourite fruits and vegetables so you can enjoy local produce all winter long! Peppers, zucchini, squash, berries, spinach, green beans, apples and many more can be frozen! Check out this link for helpful tips on how to best prepare, store and thaw fruit and veggies for your frozen market.

Photo Contest Winner

Congratulations to Jen for her winning submission to the photo contest! You and the mysterious redhead enjoying peas won a $25 gift card to the market!

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.

October 4, 2013

Small Biz Forum, October Pop-up Updates & Help Needed!

Calling all graphic designers!

We’re putting together a fabulous brochure for the holidays (top secret, but watch your mail in November), and we need a little extra help. If you’re an experienced designer and available to volunteer your serivices in the next 2 weeks, please send us an email: renew(at)danfortheastcommunityassociation.com

Pop-up shops news

We’re happy to report that most of the pop-up shops we launched this summer are still around, going strong and heading into their 5th month in the Danforth East community! Check out our website for the shop locations, hours and details.

Here’s the latest:

Yummy Stuff

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the fantastic bakers at Yummy Stuff have been busy creating a mouth-watering menu. The flyer will be posted at the shop too so you can place your orders in person, by phone or email, info(at)yummystuff.ca. Apple Ginger Torte, anyone?

E-Closet

Tons of new fall fashions have hit the floor, and all are priced at the amazingly wallet-friendly deals E-Closet specializes in. Natasha has also changed her hours to match the season and is now open Monday-Saturday 11-6.

In This Closet-Thrift For Her

Our favourite bright pink store has also changed up their hours for the season and are now open Monday-Friday 10-8 and Saturday 11-7. Colleen and Christina have also put all jackets and blazers on special this week–all are 20% off!

Cheap Thrills

We’re thrilled that Eyob and Jonathan are extending their pop-up shop for the month of October. They bring in new products every week, so you really do need to pop by to visit again if you’ve only been once. They’ve also done a little reorganization of the store, starting with an awesome new window display.

Krystle Lee

Krystle is back to doing her signature private appointments only, but be sure to follow her on her social media to find out about her seasonal sales and all other Krystle news.

Plus, stay tuned for even more pop-up shops. We’ve been working hard to bring you more stores for local shopping options this holiday season. We’re still accepting applications from potential tenants until Tuesday, Oct. 8!

Succeeding as a Small Business forum

Back by popular demand, the Toronto Danforth Federal Liberal Riding Association is holding another forum for all interested small businesses on Oct. 15, 2013 at the Estonian House (958 Broadview Ave.), 7-9 pm.

Katherine Roos Manager, Small Business, Economic Development and Culture, City of Toronto, will be speaking and local business owners from LEN and Lazy Daisy Cafe are among the breakout session leaders.

If you run a small business or are interested in starting one, you’ll definitely want to check out this event.