David Buchbinder and his fabulous band perform again in the Laneway to the delight of the crowd!

Terrific DJ courtesy of Moog Audio and Beau's - keeping Rush Lane hip

Welcome back Elixir! Taking a break to smell the roses while the writer holds his paint can - a new mural is underway.

Al with his faithful dog Hubble (aka Hubbo) in front of his latest mural commission. Lots of Toronto highlights!

Mattias is still working on his wall - and yes, the flowers made the rounds with the muralists! Thanks for the visit, and for your great work in Rush Lane.

The City of Toronto is welcoming feedback to a proposal for moving the bike lane on Adelaide from the south (right) side to the north (left) side. The website for the proposal has more details, including lessons from comparable cities who have installed or moved their bike lanes to the left side of the street. The principal impetus for this project is to avoid interactions with the loading docks on Bay St., which cause cyclists to have to move in and then out of traffic. We provided the feedback that the City consider working with the Toronto Bike Share to move their docks to the north side as well. That would help prevent cyclists borrowing a bike from having to cross the street in the middle of the block or use the sidewalk to go to an intersection. It would save time and increase safety for bike share users.

We offer for your perusal the maps of the Garment District part of the map as they were just before we added our own stickies. The parts to the east of the maps, which are not shown here, have the most to gain, but, as you can see, cyclists and other users of the street have their thoughts for our neighbourhood. We'll stay interested and involved, and look forward to next year when it will potentially be implemented. 

As someone from Saskatchewan I just had to see this latest production at Factory Theatre at Bathurst and Adelaide. It was a full and appreciative house Saturday night. Break a leg for the run!

GDNA members gathered last night at Rodney's with neighbours from Wellington Place, Draper Street, and the Entertainment District Neighbourhood Associations to mark the end of another busy year. Thanks as always to Bronwen, Julius, Chantelle, and especially Carly for your great hospitality and service. It was terrific to have Councillor Joe Cressy and his colleague Brent Gilliard join us to raise a glass to all the successful activity in this part of the Ward. We also welcomed Anne-Louise Blaikie and John Cruickshank from the YMCA which will soon be a major part of the neighbourhood.  
​Season's Greetings to all, and a very Happy New Year! 

Where:  Toronto Collective, 389 Spadina Avenue
When:  Saturday December 2, 2017 at 9:30pm
What:  A gathering of members from the graffiti community at an event titled Recognition. 

Valerie Eggertson gave our award up for adoption and Sandy Kemsley recorded the occasion for posterity.

Yearly at its AGM of 600 members, Tourism Toronto presents a "Presidents' Award" to recognize organizations and individuals outside the tourism sector that have helped to create an improved business environment for the tourist and meeting industry.

This year, on November 9th, this award went to GRAFFITI ALLEY and by extension to the Queen Street West BIA, the GDNA (represented by myself), The Laneway Project and a representative of all the laneway artists that give "canvas and colour to the spaces in between". 

The AGM was held at the Metro Convention Centre.  Rick Mercer sent a pre-recorded thanks / congratulations message.  At the reception immediately following, some of the graffiti artists demonstrated their skills.  And it was through them that I learned about Toronto Collective, a store that caters to the graffiti community.  

Because the GDNA has no "home" to speak of, it is our pleasure to give our statue up for adoption to Toronto Collective where all their artist/clients can experience a sense of acceptance and pride in knowing that their efforts are indeed appreciated.

Mel from Cedar Glen Organic Farm was also on hand at the YMCA event. She had a stall set up with produce for sale with ground cherries, melons, peppers, kale, and eggplants, and free packages of thyme and sage to sample at home. Having a food market again in St. Andrew's Playground would be fabulous, reminiscent of the summer of 2009.