Page 81 – Danforth East Community Association

July 14, 2015

Danny’s Urban Fairies

Have you seen the glimmer of fairy wings as you head to your favourite park or a fairy door appear in one of your favourite shops on The Danny?

gerard pizza — Gerrard Pizza: Artist: Melinda Fraser

Danny’s Urban Fairies are summering right here on the Danforth from July 15^th to August 30^th, 2015! Tucked away in 50+ neighbourhood businesses you will find one-of-a-kind fairy doors. Each lovingly handcrafted by a local artist.

As if the arrival of our fairy friends wasn’t enough excitement, the community will be hosting a series of fairy themed events including, neighbourhood water fights, tea parties, movie nights, pub/food crawls, as well as a saucy fairy burlesque! This summer is all about having fun and using your imagination on The Danny. Take a stroll and discover all the mischief our fairy friends are causing along Danforth East.

Check out Danny Urban Fairies website for more details or join their Facebook page to keep up to date with events and promotions.

To kick off the celebrations, Danny’s Urban Fairies will be launching at The Danny Loves Music festivities this Wednesday, July 15th from 6 pm to 9 pm. Visit their tent to receive a FREE temporary fairy tattoo and to make a fairy craft. Don’t forget to pick up your map listing all the fairy door locations.

There is also going to be a Merrill Dog Park Association fairy dog parade this Saturday, July 18^th starting at 10 am at Merrill Bridge Road Park. The parade will be going to the Woodbine Animal Clinic, The Canine Social Company and Wag on the Danforth to pick up some special fairy surprises along the way. Both pet and non-pet owners are welcome to join the parade.

Don’t forget to enter Danny’s Urban Fairies Facebook Contest this summer to win a $500 gift certificate variety prize package.

This is going to be a fun and magical summer in our part of Toronto.

July 8, 2015

The market this week: peas, jazz and hoola hoops

We’re approaching that magical time of year when so much fantastic food is in season in Ontario. There are still plenty of berries available, the tomatoes are just beginning to show up and the peas are plentiful. Won’t be long now before the crunchy sweet corn arrives.

This week market goers can enjoy the golden sounds of the 30s, 40s and 50s from the Toronto All Star Big Band. They’ll be performing as a part of the Beaches Jazz Fest Farmers’ Market Series. And if the 50s is your decade, then you’ll love to get moving with Amy from Hoopersonic. She’ll be at the park dancin’ and a shakin’ with hoola hoops from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 4 – October 15 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.

July 3, 2015

Pop-up Shop Alert! The Handwork Department

Meet Our Newest Pop-up Shop: The Handwork Department

The Handwork Dept | 1801 Danforth Avenue | Tues. to Fri. Noon – 7pm, Sat. 11am – 6pm

Have you noticed a fun new window at 1801 Danforth? DECA’s newest pop-up shop, The Handwork Department, opened quietly a few weeks ago and we are overdue in sharing the news. The Handwork Department is Maggie Krawczyk’s pop-up shop and she has completely transformed the drab empty space and filled it with an eclectic mix of vintage and artisan goods. There is something for everyone, from the vintage furniture, ephemera, 35mm cameras, toys and housewares to Maggie’s own handmade jewelry and art, works by other artists, kitchen items and more.

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Maggie is a self-taught jewelry artist who started out as a full time machine operator in the commercial book bindery trade. While working in the factory, she discovered her love of origami and creating fun items for people to enjoy. After selling her first few pairs of origami earrings to coworkers, she began to formulate a plan to leave factory work and follow her passion. She is the maker of a few different lines of jewelry including amazing tiny origami creations that she transforms into jewelry called Neogami, and jewlery which is made using text cut from vintage adult novels called XXXLittWear. She is also as an avid photographer of local abandoned buildings, and she’s excited to bring all her creations under one roof, including her experience working in vintage shops. She’s been stockpiling items in her garage in anticipation of opening her own store, and she’s even been spotted toting old ladders on the subway for her new shop, much to the entertainment of fellow riders.

Maggie has named her store The Handwork Department as a homage to her early years spent as a factory worker in the commercial book bindery trade, before discovering her talent for jewelry design and ability to run a home based business. She is looking forward to working with other non-classically trained artists and crafters, to help them sell their products.

Between the imminent opening of Kops Records two doors down, the ever-popular Tool Library and now The Handwork Department, that little stretch of the Danforth is getting livelier and livelier. Please stop by! Not only might you find a great little gift for someone you know, or a fun little treasure to add to your own personal collection, but you will also be supporting DECA’s efforts to revitalize the commercial strip.

July 2, 2015

This week at the farmers’ market: Strawberries!

What could be more “summery” than fresh, sun-ripened, locally grown strawberries? Grab a pint for dessert at the market and take some home for the rest of the week. If you can resist eating them, here are a few recipes from The Ontario Berry Grower’s Association website to give you some inspiration. Please note for all your summer salads: strawberries + balsamic vinegar = perfection.

Spinach Salad

Frozen Strawberry Squares

Sweet tooth? Visit Sun Ray Orchards for a tart

13th Street Winery will be here this week, so please stop by for a tasting from this amazing St. Catherine’s winery.

And here is everything you need to know for your littles:

Face painters will be back!
Crafts, colouring pages and more from the Mooseketeer Kids Club in support of the Walk to End Canine Cancer
4:30 p.m. Rob Joy Concert! Touted by Toronto Life magazine as “One of Toronto’s biggest Names in Pint-sized entertainment.”

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 4 – October 15 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.

June 28, 2015

Local Canada Day events!

Canada Day is a few days away and you should know about these amazing local events!

Of course, the annual East York Canada Day celebration (including a parade, music, midway and fireworks) will once again take place at Stan Wadlow Park. Check out the website for details on the parade route and music lineup: www.julyfirstparade.com

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The amazing group of neighbours over by Stephenson Park have put together a great event that we all should try to attend! Join them for acoustic music from 3:00-9:00pm along with watermelon, cake and lemonade. (If you haven’t been to Stephenson Park, you really should put this on your summer to-do list.) Note – wading pools are open so come prepared!

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Do you know that our BIA is once again putting on concerts at East Lynn Park every Wednesday in July? The series this year is called The Danny Loves Music.

For Canada Day, we can all go rock out to the Spoons. Yes, THE SPOONS (Here is the link to the video for Romantic Traffic, which anyone who lived in Toronto in the 1980s will especially appreciate!).

A lot of people think that DECA organizes this concert series so we’ll say it as many times as possible that full credit goes the Danforth Mosaic BIA, who recently rebranded as “The Danny”. Click here to check out their awesome new website.

Pssst – rumour has it the beer garden will be back!

Show your appreciation to the BIA for these concerts by supporting their members. Shop on the Danforth as much as you can! Summers can be slow for our local shop owners, so try to make a special effort to wander in and make a purchase or two.

Happy Canada Day, neighbours!

June 26, 2015

A New Podcast is out!

Have you noticed DECA has a regular podcast? It’s put out with radio traffic announcer Damon Scheffer and his volunteer-partner-in-crime Emily Anastasiadis, a Grade 4 teacher with a passion for radio.

They’ve just finished Episode 4.

This is what Damon had to say about it:

In this episode we talk to Billy Dertilis. He’s the chair of the Danforth Mosaic BIA, owner of the Red Rocket Cafe and he was also a judge for the DECA Gems contest. Billy talks about his interesting life, working with DECA and the challenges facing the hood.

Danforth Mosaic BIA Chair Billy Dertilis, delivering his decision as a judge at the Danforth Gems finale.

As well, the East Lynn Farmers Market is back up an running again. Every Thursday at East Lynn Park from 3-7pm you can join hundreds of your neighbours at the park and take in the sites, sounds and most importantly, the tastes of fresh, local fruit, vegetables, meats, dairy products and more. Emily Anastasiadis spoke to a number of the vendors at the market and if her report doesn’t whet your appetite you may need to check if you still have a pulse.

And if that wasn’t enough we’ve got a BONUS feature on Face To Face Games. They recently celebrated their grand opening (even though they’ve been open for nearly a year – they just wanted to make it official) so we thought we’d bring you some of the audio Emily recorded the night of the DECA Gems contest finale that didn’t make it into the last episode.

Enjoy and let us know what you think. If you have any suggestions on stories, events, stores or people you think deserve some coverage in the hood, let us know that as well. You can email me at bergkamp13@gmail.com.

To listen, click here.