Food Trucks Invade East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market

Food Truck Festival

While you’re picking up your fresh, Ontario produce this week, why not stay for dinner? We’ve invited some food trucks to our lovely market. They’ll be featuring some of the delicious produce, like potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes, from the farmers themselves.

The food trucks will be along East Lynn Avenue.

If you’re wondering what’s in it for the wee ones this week, we’ve got that covered too. Our friend Dan Yashinsky, storyteller extraodinare, will be at the market at 3:30 pm making our children’s imaginations pop and faces glow as he tells interactive and entertaining stories. Then, at 4:15 pm Hannah Naiman will get their little bodies dosidoing and swinging with their partners for a Family Barn Yard Square Dance. Yee Haw!

This week will also feature music from local talent – Kanuckistan! They describe themselves as a Root-blues, international folk and original music band. Sounds interesting!

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The East Lynn Farmer’s 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.

What’s On This Week?

I’ve talked about my son’s interest in Ontario produce here before.  This week he suggested we go forth and get ourselves some Ontario strawberries for dessert.  “Oh sure, we can go get some strawberries,” I innocently reply.  “No, mummy, I said ONTARIO strawberries!”  Seriously – I’ve got to get this kid on the payroll at Foodland Ontario.

Strawberry Canning Workshop Tomorrow 

It’s all about strawberries this week.  If you love local strawberries, then you need to attend the Strawberry Canning Workshop.  It’s tomorrow – Wednesday, June 29th.  Register at melaniej.thompson(at)yahoo.ca or just show up.  The workshops start at 7 p.m. and run about 90 minutes in the basement of the Mennonite Church (north side of Danforth, just east of Woodbine).  Cost is $10/session to cover our costs.  Come one, come all!

World Famous -East Lynn-Canada Day-Farmers’ Market-Square Dance-Strawberry Festival   

It’s the Strawberry Festival!!!  It only happens once a year so we are going to dance about it with a real down-home urban square dance at 5 p.m.  This is our second annual square dance and it is the most fun you can have with your boots on.

At the Kid’s Korner this week we’ve got Melissa doing the up cycling tee shirt Craft at 3:30. There is still space so register at decacrafts@gmail.com.  There is also storytelling and face painting starting at 4 p.m.  And The SPACE dance studio is getting the dancing started at 4:30 p.m.

Stop by the community tent and visit the nurses from Toronto East General Hospital as they dole out advice on how to beat the summer heat.

And when you are finally pooped from doing all this awesome stuff, buy some food, nourish thy selves and stock up for the long weekend.

Friday Canada Day Parade

The East York Canada Day parade is a long-standing tradition and why not?  Shriners, fire trucks and marching bands spell the start of a great weekend if you ask me.  The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Overlea and Thorncliffe Park Dr. and makes its way to Stan Wadlow Park by noon.

In The News

You may have seen DECA quoted in the Toronto Star story about the big hole today, if not, here it is.  Also, this is a link to a good Open File story on Little Ethiopia from a while back.

To Market, To Market…

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The grand opening of the East Lynn Market was a great success last week.

First, it was sunny! Second, fabulous DECA volunteer, Susan Crofts, unveiled her handy work by way of a new market apple costume and Pria was a sport and showed it off all afternoon long.

Another amazing DECA volunteer, Jon Isaac, spent his winter, not only becoming a father for the second time, but giving birth to two amazing old-fashioned carnival games — a ring toss and bean bag toss.  Bothwere unveiled last week. Judging by the number of kids crowding around them, I’d say they were unanimously considered awesome.

The clown on stilts entertained the other kids by juggling, telling jokes and pulling long strings of ribbon out of his mouth and people’s heads.

Charlie from Columbo’s Pizza’s made swift business selling slices of pizza and rice balls swimming in pasta sauce. Both he and the Cozy Cafe sisters will be selling warm meals at the market every week this month, so arrive hungry.

And the city councillors lined up to cut our ribbon. Thanks to Janet Davis, Mary Fragedakis and Mary-Margaret McMahon for supporting the market!  It was a wonderful kick-off to a wonderful summer of Thursday evenings in the park.

This week – Kids’ Activities at the Market:  More than face painting and honey sticks!

Puppets, crafts, story-telling and more are on the line-up for the “Kids’ Korner” of the East Lynn market this year.  On the (very high) heels of last week’s stilt-walking clown, we have two very special activities this Thursday.  At 3:30, Melissa Peretti will teach kids paper pot planting (register at decacrafts@gmail.com).  At 4:30, Beth Yarzab from CareerFitMom will run a Playfit class with everyone — parents and kids alike will have a chance to play and get fit!

And of course, there will be face painting.  Our hours for now are 4:00-6:30, and may expand when we get more volunteers.

Strawberry Social – Thursday June 30

 

 

At 4:30 , the dancers and singers from the local S.P.A.C.E studio will put on a medley for the crowd. I’m told some Hairspray songs, a hip hop number and a ballet piece from Swan Lake are on the program. A real treat!

Then, at 5 p.m., DECA will host its second square dance in the park. That’s right city slickers, dust off your cowboy hats and overalls! Members of the Kitgut Oldtime Stringband will venture up to East Lynn from their usual haunt at Kensington Market to  play mountain music on their fiddle, banjo and guitar, and singer Ivy Mairi who moonlights as a square dance caller will talk us all through the steps.

Ivy specializes in teaching beginners. So bring your granny and your kids for the evening!

Hope to see you there.