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Summer continues this weekend: Arts fair, concert, new store and more!

Want to make the most of this unexpected summery weather? Here are some suggestions!

Danforth East Arts Fair, East Lynn Park, Sat & Sun, 10am-5pm

I know you know but here’s the poster again anyway because honestly, our 100% volunteer-run, juried (meaning the vendors were selected as the cream of the crop among many applicants) arts fair is such an amazing event. You must go.

While you’re there, don’t forget to post some pics to social media using #DECAF17

Rikki Nicks Concert, Stephenson Park, Sat 7-9:30pm

How fun is this? Awesome Fleetwood Mac cover band, plus food, wine and beer available for purchase from Sauce, Hooked and Tuana!?!

Stephenson Park is by Main and Danforth, more or less behind Sobey’s. Kudos to Councillor McMahon and Friends of Stephenson Park for organizing.

If you live in the area and want to help our with Friends of Stephenson Park, email us and we will put you in touch or contact them via their Facebook page. They really need volunteers, especially for the winter ice rink effort.

August Kinn Grand Opening, Sat 10am-6pm, 1374 Danforth

A lovely new store for baby things has opened between Coxwell & Greenwood. Visit them today for their grand opening event! They will have door prizes and other fun stuff so check it out.

Other DECA Events

Okay fine, we *just* posted yesterday about our scavenger hunt and the impressive prizes available, plus our two fun #DECAde birthday parties happening on Thursday (Sept 21) and on Saturday (Sept 23) so here’s a link to that post in case you missed it.

Do you love what DECA does? Support us by buying a $10/household membership. Click here! We are also looking for volunteers for events, our Board and for whatever your great idea is!

Even more events later this week!

WAX + WATER 

A collection of recent encaustic and acrylic artworks by Victoria Wallace and Deanna Hutton. September 22-27, 2017 at STUDIO by the Nooks – 1912 Danforth Ave, 1 1/2 blocks west of Woodbine

OPENING NIGHT PARTY – Friday, September 22 from 6-9pm.

For those that can’t make it to the Opening, the Gallery will be open the following days/times.
Friday, Sept 22.……….6pm-9pm – Opening Night Party
Saturday, Sept 23.…..11am-7pm – encaustic demonstrations
Sunday, Sept 24.…….11am-5pm – acrylic demonstrations
Monday, Sept 25.…… 11am-5pm – gallery open
1pm-4pm – *Acrylic Transfer Workshop by Victoria
Tuesday, Sept 26.……11am-7pm – artists painting in the gallery
Wednesday, Sept 27..11am-5pm – artists painting in the gallery

*Acrylic Transfer Workshop – $75 includes all materials – max 8 participants.  To register, please contact Victoria at victoriawallaceartist@gmail.com.

Now Magazine Readers’ Poll

It’s a big deal for our locals to win these “best of” awards so take time to vote and show everyone in this city what #DanforthEast has to offer. Voting closes this Thursday (September 21) at 11pm so do not delay.

To make it easy, our friends at Moberly consolidated all of our local nominees here:

http://www.moberlynaturalfoods.com/2017/07/21/now-best-toronto-find-danforth-east-businesses-nominated/

That’s all for now!

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Trees and Arts – things to do this weekend!

Summer may be winding down, but here are some things to do around the neighbourhood to keep your mind off of your September to-do list.

Stephenson Park Tree Tour & Community Picnic, Saturday August 26

2017 - Stephenson Park Tree Tour and Picnic - August 26

 

Main Squared Festival – Main & Danforth, August 26 – September 3

MainSquared_Poster-1024x791

Main Squared
August 26 to September 3, 2017
Main and Danforth
FREE
Facebook Event Page

Main Squared is a free 9-day arts & community festival that will activate and explore the public square at the corner of Main Street and Danforth Avenue in Toronto from August 26 – September 3, 2017.

Drawing inspiration and insight from historical “public squares” while tapping into community aspirations, the festival will invite residents, community members, and the general public to reimagine the square as a space for social engagement, discourse, and civic activism.

Blending contemporary art and community art projects, the festival will feature art installations, interactive activities, workshops, performances, and more.

Visit the Main Squared website to learn more about the Main Squared Artists & Projects, Community Workshops, Volunteer Opportunities, and more ways to Participate.

Check the Schedule for dates, times, and information about workshops, activities, marketplace, and performances.

Main Squared is produced by East Ends Arts. Contemporary art projects curated by Labspace Studio. Main Squared is a Cultural Hotspot Signature Project.

 

Nookflea, Sunday August 27, Valu-Mart Parking Lot (Cedarvale & Strathmore)

nooks

Join the Nooks for this free event. For more details, check out their Facebook event page.

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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

ART OF DANFORTH (color-cmyk)

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.

mural laneway

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
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Canada Day in the ‘hood

A few Canada Day events to tell you about, but first thing’s first. You need to know what’s happening at wonderful Stephenson Park.

DECA is proud to help sponsor the Friends of Stephenson Park (FOSP) 3rd Annual Canada Day Celebration! If you want to know why you should attend, keep reading.

We asked FOSP founder, Peter Woodcock about his work to bring people together around Stephenson Park. Here is what he told us:

When we moved here 6 years ago, Stephenson Park seemed kind of sad and forgotten, and a bit of a hot spot for some undesirable behaviour. Just over 3 years ago, I decided to organize a park group in an attempt to get the neighbours to start coming out and using the park. A group of us brainstormed for ideas of what we could do with no budget.

Our first event was a picnic in the park in 2014. It was Canada Day and Pride weekend, so we decided to celebrate both with donated watermelons from Sobey’s, a huge slab cake from Costco and little Canada & Rainbow flags adorning the entire fence around the park. Kids played in the pool and we had music by neighbour and artist extraordinaire Tak Bui. What more could we want?

The park is slowly becoming more vibrant and more loved. We have music nights, yoga most Saturdays, an amazing ice rink, community clean ups, new trees and organized tree watering.

And here we are, 3 years later, getting ready for our 3rd Annual Canada Day Celebration, which is getting bigger and better each year. This year we will be having more food and music, and an early evening bonfire with marshmallows. We will be selling corn on the cob and having an old-timey lemonade stand to raise funds for permits and other activities throughout the year. And of course, we’ll still have the Costco slab cake!

Stephenson Park is a pretty darn amazing park, and I am so happy when I hear someone say how much it has changed. Kids laughing and playing is an amazing return on investment. No man is an island or a park. All the success comes down to all the people in our neighbourhood that come to Stephenson Park.

Peter and Joey after Saturday morning yoga in the park. Photo credit: Mary-Margaret McMahon

Other Free Canada Day events

East York Canada Day Parade & Festival at Stan Wadlow, including fireworks! 
Note: they are also looking for volunteers.

Danforth Mosaic BIA – The Danny Loves Music Canada Day concert at East Lynn Park from 6-9pm, Julian Taylor Band (beer, wine & food can be purchased on site)

danny loves music

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Saturday events in the neighbourhood

There’s too much going on today to not blog, so here it is!

Big morning at Stephenson Park!

10am Yoga – $5 suggested donation (this happens most Saturdays in the summer, depending on weather)

10-noon – Danny’s Urban Fairies

Remember when we told you about Danny’s Urban Fairies? Well, they are coming to the park and bringing loads of fun! Free crafts and temporary tattoos, Roller Derby Girls and a sponge water fight at 11! (Don’t forget swimsuits for the wading pool!)

Stephenson Park Fairy Poster July 25th

Wag on Danforth Cat Adopt-a-Thon

Join Toronto Cat Rescue at Wag and find a new friend! 10am-4pm

cat rescue

 

You may have read that Toronto Cat Rescue is taking care of more than 60 cats found in a home, many of whom need veterinary or foster care. Click here for that story, which will also connect you to donation info.

 

 

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Events – Stephenson Park movie night + Hirut Hoot

Councillor McMahon’s Movie in the Park @ Stephenson Park

Tuesday, July 21 @ 8:30pm

Movie:  Jupiter Ascending 

 

Hirut Hoot – July 31, 9pm $5

2050 Danforth Avenue (at Woodbine)

Here is the comedy listing for Hirut Hoot, Friday July 31, 9pm. It is a lineup of pros and up and coming comedians.

With comedians: Jennifer McAuliffe, Frank Spadone, Todd Graham, Lisa Dickie , Sandra Battaglini, Camille Cote, Mini Holmes & George Westerholm

Hosted by: Carolyn Bennett

Hirut Fine Ethiopian Cuisine

Thank you for supporting Canadian comedy, and the Danforth East neighbourhood!