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The monthly Cabbagetowner newsletter from the Cabbagetown Residents Association.
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The Cabbagetowner

MAY 2018

The monthly newsletter for members of the Cabbagetown Residents Association and subscribers to the newsletter. To unsubscribe, please email us at: info@cabbagetowner.com.

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Bonjour mes petits choux!

Festivals. Fragrant blooms. Walking tours. An election. Yes, it's spring 2018 in Cabbagetown, Toronto, Canada.

Your residents' association Board of Directors is wrapping up loose ends from the very successful 47th annual Forsythia Festival, and is hard at work planning our Annual General Meeting for Wednesday, June 13. Many other volunteers - from our communications team to the wonderful folks who made our signature Forsythia Festival happen - donate their time to help build community and keep this village-within-a-city informed, aware, and connected. What else is up, you might ask? Find yourself a cool beverage, a place with a breeze, and peruse the May Cabbagetowner.

This month's topics:

Annual General Meeting is on Wednesday, June 13 at Stout Irish Pub

Members (and friends!) of the CRA are invited to our Annual General Meeting. We gather at 7 p.m. for nibbles and each member gets a ticket for a beverage. We're down to business at 7:30 p.m. to hear the year in review, review finances and future plans, hear about safety and security survey and initiatives over the past year, and elect new board directors. We then return to socializing. Membership is $20/ annually per household to support all our activities. See you there!


Read more about why you should attend the CRA AGM.

Track work set to be completed by June 4

We're now in the home stretch (or so the TTC promises) of the scheduled three-week shutdown of Gerrard and Parliament streets to replace streetcar tracks. The shutdown also includes the block north to Spruce and residents, as well as Sprucecourt Public School, have reported increased traffic on residential streets as drivers look to get around the closed roads. The 65 Parliament bus as well as the 506 bus are taking detours. If you haven't already, read all the details about the closure and how traffic is being rerouted. Businesses along Parliament in the affected area have reported a drop-off in business and many have taken to social media to post frequently that they are open and need their customers' support.

Businesses in Cabbagetown hurt by TTC track work (Toronto.com)

Provincial election on June 7

Ontario goes to the polls on June 7 - and you can also vote in advance. Cabbagetown is within the provincial riding of Toronto Centre. The riding's former MPP, Glen Murray, stepped down last summer to become the Executive Director of the Pembina Institute and the area has been without an MPP since then as it was too close to this general election to hold a byelection.

Read more about Toronto Centre and your options for voting.

How to keep your home secure when you leave it for vacation

Our Safety and Security Lead, retired police officer Des Ryan, provides advice on how to avoid break-ins while you are away. His summary: "Keep your vacation plans off social media, have a neighbour keep an eye on your place, make sure your alarm is set, pack your family jewels away, and enjoy your holiday."

Read the full article on home security on the Cabbagetowner website.

New option for reporting non-emergency incidents to local police

Are you experiencing/witnessing an ongoing, non-emergency such as trespassing or other nuisance issues? Toronto Police Services Divisions 51 (that’s us in Cabbagetown) and 55 have set up an easy online reporting form.

Choose “Division 51” on the online form and try to provide as much detail as you can (descriptions, clothing, make, model, colour, etc.) and include your full contact information so that an officer can follow up with you if they have questions.

Read more about the new reporting option
Go directly to the Police 51 Division Community Complaints online form



Forsythia Festival 2018: Wasn't that a party?

Friendly weather gods. Mechanical Raccoon (!) Oysters. Flower crowns. Glitter tattoos. All these new features joined favourites, from burgers and beverages to face painting and bean-bag toss, at the 47th annual Forsythia Festival on Sunday, May 6.

Heck, we even had the mayor present (John Tory) and mayor past (Barbara Hall, proud Cabbagetowner) among our guests (pictured below with Federal Finance Minister and Toronto Centre MP Bill Morneau, and appointed Ward 28 Councillor, Lucy Troisi).

While it's pretty hard to count the crowd, given people meander into our Wellesley Park location from different directions, our unofficial conclusion was that this was the largest Forsythia Festival yet. Many thanks to the 150 volunteers who gave of their time to do everything from set-up to doughnut-tying and especially to co-chairs extraordinaire, CRA board directors Shawna Pereira and Carolyn Jarman. Please check out and support our many sponsors at the Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels. These local businesses, and friends of Cabbagetown, make this family and child-friendly event possible. What a wonderful way to welcome spring.

Committee of adjustment denial of variance requests for 461 Sackville appealed

 An April 11 decision by Toronto's Committee of Adjustment to deny minor variances to the property at 461 Sackville Street to allow for development of a day nursery is being appealed to the Toronto Local Appeal Body (TLAB), the successor to the now-dismantled Ontario Municipal Board. The run-up to that hearing, and the decision, drew wide media coverage, most critical of the objections raised to the application. The TLAB hearing is set for August 17.

Read more about the appeal and procedures.

Cabbagetown in the news

The best places to drink a pitcher of beer in Toronto - includes the House on Parliament (Blog TO, May 2)
Debate over laneway suites continues after council defers decision until June (CityTV News, May 5)
George Smitherman to run for Toronto City Council - in the new Ward 23, which encompasses Cabbagetown (Toronto Star, May 8)
The search for Toronto's best croissant presents endless options - Parliament Street's Tasso bakery ranks in top 3 (CBC Metro Morning, May 17)
See how gardens grow in GTA - feature on several garden tours, highlighting the Cabbagetown Hidden Gardens & Private Spaces tour June 3 (Toronto Star, May 19)
Car2Go to shut down Toronto operations (CBC, May 24)
A sign of things to come in city parks? (Toronto Star, May 27)
Toronto police arrest 3, lift lockdown at Cabbagetown school (CBC, May 29)
3 arrested in police raid at Cabbagetown high school after report of person with a gun (Toronto Star, May 29)
3 in custody after gun call to Cabbagetown  (CityTV, May 29)

Business news

Akasha Art Projects has moved to 204D Carlton Street. Formerly located on Church Street north of Wellesley, the gallery has opened at its new Cabbagetown location in May with an exhibition by artist Judith Doyle, "Insistent Trajectories," which runs until July 14.

Lord knows how your Cabbagetowner missed this coming into our neighbourhood: but, lo and behold, we have a designer selling lovely women's fashions at reasonable prices right here! Hilary MacMillan, located at 224 Carlton (open by appointment only), is a "contemporary, Canadian, cruelty-conscious womenswear brand founded in 2013 with a focus on offering a breadth of styles at accessible price points."

The Social Smiths, a communications and social-media strategy company, has moved into 574 1/2 Parliament Street and is becoming known for hosting monthly comedy nights in their flexible office space, set for the last Thursday of each month (next one May 31).

Hummingbird Metal Arts, a blacksmith shop, has opened at 208 Gerrard Street.

There's been a change of menu and name at what was once the Ben Wicks, then The Local Gest, at 424 Parliament. It's now called The Tilted Dog Pub and Kitchen.

Finally, they've been open for a bit but you need to get a bite of Parliament Shawarma and Falafel at 568 Parliament. This space has seen many restaurants come and go - wishing these new operators the best of luck for a successful run.

Throwback Thursdays 

Parliament Street business from the past (May 24)

Toronto City Council highlights: April 24, 25, 26 and 27

The City of Toronto's Communications team does a terrific summary of each set of council meetings.

Read the report from the four days of council meetings in April.

Upcoming events

Our Cabbagetown cup runneth over in June! Please support these community events in the next few weeks.

ROM Walks at the Necropolis (May 30)
Lucy Troisi Community Meeting at Cabbagetown Youth Centre (May 31)
Cabbagetown Hidden Gardens & Private Spaces Tour - Cabbagetown Preservation Association (June 3)
Cabbagetown Farmers' Market at Riverdale Park West - Begins June 5 and repeats every Tuesday through to mid-October
Cabbagetown: Tales of Winchester Street - walking tour hosted by Heritage Toronto (June 10)
Summer kickoff and bike safety check - sponsored by Cabbagetown BIA (June 10)
ROM Walks: St. James Cemetery (June 10)
Cabbagetown Residents Association AGM (June 13)
Sprucecourt P.S. Fun Fair (June 16)
Copyright © 2018 Cabbagetown Residents Association, All rights reserved.


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