The 6th annual DeClute Light Up The Beach event will take place Saturday, Nov. 30, when Christmas lights strung in trees along the boardwalk will be switched on at 7 p.m., illuminating the section between Leuty Avenue and Fernwood Park. It takes three weeks prior to the event to string 80,000 lights in 20 trees along the route, for the city’s largest seasonal tree lighting event. Santa will lead the countdown to the tree lighting, and the event includes music, singing, free hot chocolate and soup, and ornaments for the kids. Everyone is welcome and donations of non-perishable food items are appreciated. For more information call 416-686-9618.
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The annual Lighting of the Hannukiah will take place on Saturday, Nov. 30 in Kew Gardens, beginning at 6 p.m. Afterwards, the Beach Hebrew Institute, 109 Kenilworth Ave., will host a Latkefest that includes singing, dancing and, of course, delicious latkes. All are welcome. For more info call 416-694-7942.
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It’s almost time for Breakfast with Hamper at Community Centre 55. The Beach’s most unselfish ungulate will be serving up fluffy pancakes on Saturday, Dec. 7, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., at 97 Main St., and everyone is invited. The cost is $3 per person and no reservation is required. For more information call 416-691-1113.
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CC55’s Share A Christmas campaign is gearing up for the big day, when gifts of food and toys are delivered to 800 needy families in the area. Leading up to delivery day are packing and sorting days when volunteers will be needed. Non-perishables will be packed and sorted from Wednesday, Dec. 18 to Friday, Dec. 20, between 6 and 8 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 21, toys will be packed and sorted from 10 a.m. to noon (no children, please). Then on Sunday, Dec. 22, deliveries begin at 1 p.m. and will continue until finished. Food boxes may be heavy, but helpers are readily available. To find out how to help, call the centre at 416-691-1113.
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A Neighbourhood Watch meeting, hosted by the Danforth East Association of Residents Inc., will be held Thursday, Dec. 5, at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 11, 9 Dawes Rd., from 7 to 9 p.m. The meeting is for residents in the Stephenson, Oakcrest, Westlake Avenues and Morton Road area, and will be facilitated by Crime Prevention Association of Toronto (C.P.A.T.). Please RSVP Donna at dears@sympatico.ca or call 416-705-2940.
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Main Street Library, 137 Main St., will be closed for renovations from Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. until the week of December 9. The branch is undergoing some state of good repair renos, including window replacement and the introduction of Express Checkout. Holds for customers can be picked up at the Danforth/Coxwell branch.
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Toronto Water is advising that residents, particularly in the Gerrard Street and Victoria Park Avenue neighbourhood, may notice a decrease in their water pressure while the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant is shut down for some scheduled maintenance. The plant will be closed until Friday, Nov. 29.
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A Beach poet and freelance writer has won the 2013 Walrus Poetry Prize. Kateri Lanthier, a Toronto-born mother of three, takes home $2,500 for her poem The Coin Under the Leftmost Sliding Cup. The piece, which Lanthier wrote here in the neighbourhood where she has lived for over 10 years, appears in the December issue of The Walrus magazine as well as on the magazine’s website, and will be included in a Walrus anthology. Lanthier’s first book of poetry, Reporting from Night, was published in 2011 by Toronto publishing house Iguana Books, and her work has appeared in literary journals in Canada, the U.S. and England.
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