The photos can speak for themselves! The is truly something special about the people who hang out at East Lynn Park on Thursday afternoons.
This week’s wellness guest is Mary Ganzon of Counterbalance teaching a 3D workout at 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. It is a workout that can be with you for your lifetime. Both sessions will be a half hour long. Come and talk to her about the programs at the studio!
CareerFit Mom is providing entertainment at the Market this week. Workout with your kids (ages 2 & up). Parents get a sweat-session while children engage in developmental exercises. Everyone has fun exercising together using unique moves, toys and games that brings out the kid in everyone! Drop in whenever you can – you’ll see Beth and her crew frolicking around near the north/east side of the park!
The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 5 – October 9 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting theEast Lynn Market Facebookpage.
Volunteers Needed for Arts Fair
By now you’ve likely made sure your weekend plans involve stopping by the Danforth East Arts Fair. But if you have two hours to spare, the organizers are looking for volunteers for a variety of different roles – everything from sitting in a chair and talking to shoppers to helping the artists with set up and take-down of tents and supplies. Please click to find out more about volunteer openings.
Nordic Pole Walking Demo
Ever wonder about those people you see walking around with ski poles in the summer? Well you can get all your questions answered this Saturday in Monarch Park. Learn about the benefits of this low-impact for of physical activity with a nordic pole walking demo and clinic put on by Cool East Market (1390 Danforth Ave). See their flyer below for all the details.
DECA Chair, Anita Schretlen giving the 2013 rundown at the 2013 Annual General Meeting and party
A note from DECA’s Chair, Anita Schretlen:
Thanks to all of you who made it out to DECA’s annual general meeting and cocktail party last week at Hirut Restaurant! It was so nice to mingle with neighbours, enjoy some great food, drink and music, and celebrate all that we have achieved this past year. And we have so much to be proud of.
2013 in review
This past year, thanks to your participation, volunteer support and membership dollars, our little pocket of the city was a real hub of community activity. Here are the highlights of what DECA accomplished:
our 5th year of weekly Farmers’ Markets from June – October
our 5th annual Danforth East Arts Fair, boasting 60 vendors
our 4th annual Pumpkin Parade – our biggest ever with over 700 pumpkins! (Thanks to Councillor McMahon for sponsoring)
we organized 20 pop-up shops, along with a Shop Local campaign (and an exciting partnership with Woodgreen, with support from the Metcalf Foundation!)
our 1st annual Danforth East Yard Sale, with 120 participating households
our 1st Holiday Tree Lighting, sponsored by Home Hardware and Danforth Mosaic BIA
an ambitious adopt-a-tree program throughout the area
the re-launch DECA’s Safety Committee and DECA Learns
getting our Neighbourhood Visioning team off the ground
…and we aren’t done yet for this year! Stay tuned for more info about the upcoming Danforth East Holiday Festival!
It’s been an amazing year, but to keep this up we need your help.
Volunteer! All of our efforts are run by volunteers. If you can spare even just a few hours for one event or on one project, please consider volunteering with us. Do you have an idea that isn’t on our list? Great! We love new ideas! Contact Jane, our volunteer coordinator, by emailing her here.
Sign up or renew your membership for 2014! An annual membership to DECA is only $10 per household. This paid membership gives us a small budget for our projects and more importantly, gives us clout and credibility with city hall and other groups. Sign up/renew here. Note: You have to live within our borders in order to be a member, but anyone and everyone is welcome to volunteer and/or come to our events. Borders are Main (E) – Lumsden/Mortimer (N) – Monarch Park (W) – Train Tracks (S)
Announcing DECA’s 2014 Board!
The 2014 DECA Board
At the AGM, we elected DECA’s Board for 2014. This year, we are welcoming committed DECA Volunteers Amanda Olson and Christal Psyhk as new members. We also have a change in Treasurer, from Lorraine Chen to Sheri Hebdon.
Over the course of 2013, we had a few board members leave us for various personal reasons – I’d like to thank Anne Howatt, Susan Bates, Darcy Fedorchuk, Catherine Porter and Tak Bui for their valuable contributions.
The DECA Board for 2014 is:
Anita Schretlen – Chair
Alison McMurray – Secretary
Sheri Hebdon – Treasurer
Amanda Olson
Christal Pshyk
Jane Davis-Munro
Lorraine Chen
Melissa Peretti
Natasha Granatstein
Paul Haines
Shelley Darling
Stephen Wickens
Thank yous!
Thanks to our local representatives who took time to join us at the AGM, Michael Prue, Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon and Councillor Janet Davis.
Thanks also to Hirut Restaurant and owners Tibebe and Hirut for hosting our event this year, so warmly and graciously. (If you haven’t been to Hirut Restaurant yet, I highly recommend it – such great food and warm atmosphere!)
And last, but certainly not least, I want to give a big thank you to our 2013 Board and to our committed volunteers from this past year. It is your time, energy and passion that is helping to make our community such a wonderful place to be.
-Anita
Pictures from the AGM/Party!
Mrs. Darling meets ‘Mrs. Darling’ (a.k.a. Shelly and Melissa)Laurie talking SafetyMelissa (a.k.a. Mrs. Darling) talking Danforth East Arts Fair.Catherine talking DECA TreeLorraine talking moneyAlison talking Farmers’ MarketAmanda (minus her 4 week old baby!) talking Pop Up ShopsSome of DECA’s youngest volunteersRandal, Melanie, Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon.Alison joining Tak and the band for some melodies
It takes a village to raise a child. And it takes a community to put on a farmers’ market.
While our farmers’ market is always first and foremost about the farmers, there are also countless volunteers, every single week, who help to make the farmers’ market the magical place that it is for our community all season long.
We had students who helped paint little faces; entertainers who entertained at the five festivals; local bakeries and bistros that fed us while we shopped and played; local organizations, businesses and professionals who brought their information to our community; and, musicians who always created a festive mood. To all of you – thank you!
Another group of neighbours volunteered to be the friendly face of DECA each week, answering questions, helping deliver dinner to the farmers, setting up children’s board games and helping clean it all up each evening. Lia Munro, Kendal Gerard, Gala Arh, Kim Dolan, Susan Bates, Heather Bean, Nana Jokura, Amy Illingworth, Sarah Kiriliuk, Marianne Sheshko, Laura Walters, Sarah Hutchinson, Shannon Connors, Mary Vallis, Justine Saccomanno, Catherine Dorton, and Sheri Hebdon, Steve Wickens, Paul Haines and any others who jumped in at the last minute to help – thank you too.
Don’t forget, there are still two more Thursdays left to shop at the East Lynn Farmers’ Market! Make sure to stop by the park to fill up your tote bags with the freshest of Ontario’s autumn bounty while you can!
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Just for fun, here’s a slideshow of the Harvest Moon Festival that DECA put on a few weeks ago with the generous help of SUGARMOON and Alterna Savings:
We’re looking for help for the Farmers’ Market, both paid and unpaid, but all very much appreciated.
First – we’re looking for a fabulous Market Manager. The Market Manager needs to be at the East Lynn market from 1:30 – 7:30 on Thursdays and the pay is $125/day. The manager generally works with the farmers and ensures the whole thing runs smoothly. If you would like more information, contact Diana Gonzalez at dianardo.gonzalez@gmail.com. (P.S. Diana’s also looking for Market Managers for the markets at Sick Kids (Tuesdays 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) and Liberty Village (Sundays 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
We also need a few strong guys and gals to help out with barricades (carrying them in and out of the shed and then standing near them and allowing the local cars on to East and West Lynn Ave.) We’ve got a few students, but we need some help in June and September to help until around 3:30. There would be some payment for this.
Second – Our Market is pretty darn terrific. Not to toot our own horn, but everybody says so. Still, we could use a few extra hands to help out. Think about it: you get to hang out with cool farmers and fun farmers’ market folk; you get to be outside enjoying the oh-so-short summer; you get to run into all your neighbours; and you get to contribute to an amazing community event that is helping to make this a ‘sought after’ neighbourhood. How can you get involved? Glad you asked.
DECA Booth Hosts When needed: 1-2 people each week for two shifts (2:30-5:00 and/or 5:00-7:30)What to do: Greet market attendees, provide directions, answer questions about DECA, sell DECA memberships, set up/take down of small tent and table, help farmers if needed, help coordinate and serve farmer’s meals.
Farmer Feeders When needed: 1-2 people each week – What to do: Create and deliver fantastic meals to serve our ~30 devoted farmers. You can use farmers produce but need to scoop it 1 week prior.
Photographers When needed: one person each week at whatever time they are available, particularly around the 4:30 p.m. What to do: People to capture the moments and memories of the farmers market, with your own digital camera.
Public Relations When needed: various times through out the summer. What to do: Champion public relations activity for the Farmers Market, including creating and distributing regular press releases to local papers.
Face Painting When needed: 1-2 people each week for two shifts (2:30-5:00 and/or 5:00-7:30) What to do: Use your talent and artisan eye to paint children’s faces who visit the Farmers Market. Paint supplies provided.
Market Entertainment When needed: one session each week at 4:30. What to do: People and/or business with some talent in putting on a free demonstration or entertainment session for the Farmers Market crowd, particularly the children. For example, family-focused yoga session or children’s book reading.
Flyer Distributors When needed: various times through out the summer. What to do: distribute 100-200 flyers to local business and residences to promote the Farmer’s Market.
