After 28 years working on Parliament Street and 31 years altogether on City of Toronto staff, Dale Bilby is retiring. He’s done a great job for us - much more than simply cleaning up the street. His good company has been an important part of the glue in Cabbagetown’s community. A lot of us will miss him. Best wishes, Dale, for your retirement plans.
Restorative yoga at Sundara
Congrats to Angela Jervis-Read. She's just married!
She's announced two new events at Sundara Yoga Studio (492 Parliament)
Be part of Sundara’s restorative Yoga class with Thai massage
on Sunday July 29 from 5 to 7 pm. This workshop gently guides you into a deeper
experience of each pose using traditional Thai massage techniques and gentle
stretching. Sunny Smith, Maryann Cusi and Dwain Jones. Space is limited to ten. $40. She's announced two new events at Sundara Yoga Studio (492 Parliament)
Next week, Mysore Practice with Emma O’Neill starts on Tuesday from 6 to 9 am. Students come and go anytime within that window. The Ashtanga Yoga system is explored at their own pace by each individual. The teacher moves around the room and helps students individually. Practising in this way is similar to having a private lesson at a reduced cost. Click here for Sundara’s website.
Peartree Specials
From now until the end of August, enjoy a $10 discount at Peartree (507 Parliament) when you spend $40 or more on any meal. A gift coupon has been circulated through the neighbourhood so be sure to save it and present it when you want to take advantage of the offer. And while you’re there, check out the newly renovated spaces and the facilities for private parties. Peartree is one of Cabbagetown’s favourite places and well worth the visit. You can see their menus on their website here.
Farmers Feed Cities
Last Tuesday, Farmers Feed Cities hosted a day
at Riverdale Farm for “mommy bloggers” from the GTA. So, of course, I went. Moms who blog arrived with their kids to meet
young farmers and learn how they bring food to our tables. It’s part of a general campaign to increase
our awareness of farming and agricultural issues. The Farm
was a perfect meeting place for the event.
Everyone had a chance to relate the remarks made by the farmers to the
actual animals running through the area.
Cat adoptions
Pet Valu (240 Carlton) is working with Cat Busters to
find homes for all sorts of cats. Their
next adoption date is Saturday July 28 from 10 am to 3 pm. There’s a minimum of fuss involved with your
adoption – fill in some paperwork, pay a fee and then away you go with your cat. This is a regular event at Pet Valu (the next
one is August 11) and we’ll remind you when future dates roll around.
The original Parliament site
On July 12, Councillor Pam McConnell spearheaded a motion
through Council to finish assembling the land where Ontario’s first Parliament
was located. This land, at Parliament
and Front Streets, is currently home to a car wash and car rental agency. The City will do a swap involving a library
processing centre on the east side of Parliament (those services are scheduled
for relocation to Scarborough) and then the Parliament site will become the new
home for the St Lawrence Library as well as a permanent interpretative centre.
Pam has worked for over 15 years on this project and now is overseeing the
complete assembly of an important heritage site.
Instruments for Regent Park School of Music
Anne Pastuszak has organized a drive to collect unused
musical instruments. It’s a blitz –
lasting for four weeks only. Get into
your attic and under your bed – pull out your old drum kit, flute, trumpet,
clarinet, cello and French horn. Any
instrument. It’ll be sent to the Regent
Park School of Music. Anne has arranged
for some help from Long & McQuade who will check over your gift and make
sure it’s working properly. There’s also
an opportunity for you to get a tax receipt.
To find out more or to start the ball rolling, email Anne at
annepastuszak@rogers.com. She’ll send
you a flyer or arrange a pick-up. For information about the program, click here.
New bike lanes
This is good news for Cabbagetown cyclists. Starting in late July, new bike lanes will be built along
Sherbourne from Bloor south to King. There’ll
be two different designs – both separated from the car traffic. The construction will continue until
November. The lanes south of King to
Queens Quay will be finished in 2013. The
Toronto Star has an article about the new lanes here.
These lanes will provide a comfortable zone all the way to the lake.