Laneway Crawl – Danforth East Community Association

August 26, 2016

This is the place to be this weekend

Art, yoga, jazz, Olympians, laneway crawl – Danforth East is the centre of the universe this weekend!

SATURDAY

Art of the Danforth, 10am-10pm in Robertson Parkette (Coxwell & Danforth), FREE

If you haven’t yet checked out this year’s Art of the Danforth (which DECA/Danforth East Arts Fair have proudly sponsored this year) don’t fret. It is not too late. They have created a Festival Hub in Robertson Parkette at Danforth & Coxwell and it’s really very special. If you don’t know where to start, start there. We’ve posted the schedule below but you should particularly note the 3pm Climate Talk (it’s kids interviewing adults and we hear it is really awesome) and the 5pm Syrian Children’s Choir.

12:30pm FREE Neighbourhood Lunch

3:00pm Madeleine Collective – Climate Talks 2

5:00pm NAI – Syrian Children’s Choir – Performance

7:00pm DIRECTOR’s Talk

Yoga in Stephenson Park, Saturday from 9-10am, $5 suggested donation

Jazz at Hope United, Saturday starting at 4:30pm, pay what you can

This Saturday is another Jazz Vespers show at Hope United (Danforth & Main), 4:30pm. PWYC. Paul Novotny and Tom Reynold’s will perform. Here’s a write-up from the Beach Metro for more info.

Penny Oleksiak – Say Congratulations!

A book of well wishes for Penny Oleksiak will be available for signing at Dulux Paint, 2031 Danforth from 11am-5pm on Saturday, Aug 27. This will be presented on Sunday between 12-2 during the formal program following the parade (see below).

PokeParents ‘Learn to Play’, Face to Face Games, 2077a Danforth starting at 2pm -FREE

Face to Face is hosting their third PokeParents event starting at 2pm. Staff will be happy to teach you and your little ones how to play the game or introduce you to other local families interested in the game. Cafe will also be open, including ice cream.

This event is meant for all ages and completely free of charge. Face to Face is above the Pizza Pizza at the corner of Danforth & Woodbine.

Check out the Facebook event for all the details!

SUNDAY

Parade for East End Olympians, Sunday from 11am-noon (rain or shine)

DECA is so proud to be co-organizing the parade for Penny Oleksiak and some other amazing Canadian athletes (still being determined but we will post on Facebook when list is confirmed), along with the Beach Village BIA, Councillor McMahon, MP Erskine-Smith and MPP Potts.

Join us on the route in DECA cheering section from East Lynn Ave to Woodbine! Bring signs, flags and wear red & white!

Note: the parade is not starting in East Lynn Park as some have reported. Please find your spot along the route.

Laneway Crawl, 1-5pm in the laneway north of Danforth between Woodbine & Woodmount, free

We are so excited about our first-ever laneway crawl. DECA volunteers have been collaborating East End Arts and the Laneway Project to pull of this amazing event. If you need the full rundown on all the activities going on, check out our earlier blog post. Here’s a brief refresher of the FREE activities:

5 murals being painted during the crawl – come meet the artists and watch them at work.
pick-up hockey
Zumba dancing
live music
clown
a scavenger hunt by Looking Glass Games
Board games by Game Masters Table
hopscotch
Bunz Zone for trading
Urban Doctors and Art Crawlers.
You can even suggest a name for the lane!

There will also be facepainting for $2 and a laneway patio with refreshments.

Here is a sneak peak of a mural painted last week by local muralist, Monica Wickeler.

Art of the Danforth, 10am-10pm, FREE

Here’s the Sunday schedule – last day of the festival but never too late to check it out! artofthedanforth.com

10:00am Festival Hub Opens

12:30pm FREE Neighbourhood Lunch

6:00pm Centre for Communication and Poetry Research – Poetry Reading

8:00pm A Selection of songs sung by Willis Lloyd

August 9, 2016

Help imagine a future for your laneway and laneways across Toronto!

So excited for our upcoming Laneway Crawl on August 28th. The Laneway Futures team will be joining us! Thanks to guest blogger Mike Stulberg for this post.

On July 3rd, Laneway Futures T.O met with residents of the Danforth East community to learn more about what community members envision for the future of their laneways. As part of the consultation, passersby in the laneway just North of Danforth Avenue and West of Woodbine Avenue were met with the challenge of reimagining that laneway in the year 2035!

Armed with markers and stickers, local residents took to the task of brainstorming potential new uses for some of the things typically found in the laneways today (ex. pavement, garages, curbs, graffiti, etc.). With over 20 participants throughout the day, the exercise facilitated introductions and created conversation, while making areas of common interest between residents visible for all to see.

Caption: an assortment of ideas about what this laneway should look like in 2035 — An assortment of ideas about what this laneway should look like in 2035

“Bringing the community together in conversation around this shared resource may prove to be an important first step towards making collective improvements to these spaces…whatever improvements this community would like to see” says Mike Stulberg of Laneway Futures T.O

In a city with a growing need for residential, commercial, recreational, and green spaces, many believe that Toronto’s 300km of laneways are a significantly underutilized resource. For the Laneway Futures T.O team, made up of recent graduates from OCAD University, using the laneways themselves to play host to this conversation, can help communities engage more constructively- and democratically- in planning improvements to these spaces.

Team — Laneway Futures T.O (Jennie, Eman, Mike) began several months ago when the team received funding from RECODE; a program providing social innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities for College and University students in Ontario

As part of the Danforth East Laneway Crawl on August 28th, responses from last month’s consultation will be used to create temporary laneway installations set in the year 2035. The team believes that providing residents with physical manifestations of their ideas will encourage a deeper exploration of what is possible-and preferable- for the future of Toronto’s laneways.

“One thing that stood out from the responses last weekend was the desire for the laneways to act as a hub of connectivity between neighbours, the community and the city at large; this appeared to be particularly important to local residents in the context of preserving their laneways and reducing unwanted behavior within them. Whatever we stage on August 28th, we will be sure to address these issues as well as other issues we will learn about in consultation with local residents,” says Stulberg.
The Laneway Futures T.O team invites you to join them in the laneway (just North of the Danforth, running East/West between Woodbine Ave. and Woodmount Ave.) on August 28th to experience this scenario first hand.

Futher details can be found on the event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/281588465540070/

The team can be reached at:
LanewayfuturesTO@gmail.com

June 28, 2016

Get ready for a laneway crawl!

Thanks to Gay Stephenson for this guest post

Get ready for a Laneway Crawl

Are you familiar with a pub crawl? Not sure about a ‘Laneway Crawl’? Well, you’re in for a treat! This summer DECA, East End Arts and The Laneway Project are joining forces to bring you the first ever east end laneway crawl.

Laneway Crawl = Pop-up Festival

What the heck is it? A laneway crawl is a pop-up festival that redefines how we think of, experience and use our city’s laneways. Plans are underway to activate our laneway with all kinds of fun activities including things like art workshops, music jams, pickup sports, games, garage/wall mural painting, pop-up greening and more. We’re also looking for organizations who’d like to be part of the festival. Read on for more info!

Mark your calendars for the afternoon of Sunday, August 28th from 1:00 – 5:00pm and join us in the laneway between Strathmore and Danforth, from Woodbine to Woodmount.

bloordale-crawl — Photo credit Katrina Afonso

Naming our laneway

Inviting people out would be so much easier if our laneway had its own name. So, on August 28th, we’ll ask you for name suggestions – then work together with Councillor Janet Davis to officially name our lane. Bring us your ideas! All participants’ names will be entered in a draw and one lucky person will win a prize!

Want to join in?!

Share your ideas

What activities would like to see? We’d love to hear your ideas! Send us a tweet, post on FB or email us at renew@DECA.to.

Host an Activity

Are you part of a sports club, dance studio or other business / organization that may want to host an activity as part of the crawl festivities? Please send us an email.

Join our organizing team or volunteer at the event

Are you a community keener who loves the sound of this and wants to join our organizing team or volunteer during the event? We want to hear from you! Or just come join us on Wednesday, July 6th from 7:30-9:30pm for our first organizing meeting, at Time Capsule Board Game Cafe, 2183 Danforth Avenue.

Lend us your garage or driveway for the day!

Do you back onto this laneway, either because you live on the south side of Strathmore or you live or work on the north side of Danforth between Woodmount and Woodbine? We’d love to chat with you about using your driveway or garage during the laneway crawl or to hear your ideas about how to participate. Please email us at renew@DECA.to.

Request a new mural

Are you experiencing “tagging” or graffiti on your fences, garage doors or building walls? If you live or work on this laneway, we may be able to paint you a new mural. Just send us a note so we can chat about the possibilities. Murals are one of the best ways to prevent future graffiti and help to beautify our lanes.

Events like this one will help us transform our laneways into vital, vibrant parts of our neighbourhood’s public realm. You can read more about the amazing 2016 Laneway Crawl Series or check out this article in the Globe & Mail. We are very grateful for the advocacy work being done by the Laneway Project and for all their support to make this crawl happen!

If you have any questions or ideas or if you would like to volunteer for the event, please email Gay Stephenson at renew@deca.to.

Murals can transform graffiti from this………………………………… to this.