Short Summary
Hi, we are Alison and Sarah and we live in the Brockton Triangle. It feels like a village here, right on the outskirts of downtown Toronto. We have a dream, a dream to have a community dance like in the “olden days”. Communities used to gather and celebrate together, with dances and dinners, in public and in their homes, at their local legion halls, and in their barns, and neighbours all knew each other by name.
Why the St. Clarens Parkette?
The St. Clarens Parkette is the perfect place for this type of communal celebration; and,The Dundas West Fest is the perfect vehicle to launch such an endeavour. This year will mark the 2nd year of the Dundas West Fest. It is a festival swimming with local talent, great food, and fun activities. So on Saturday, June 7th at 7pm we will be dancing in the parkette .
The Parkette is a little patch of green that needs some loving. The local BIA and neighbours have been brainstorming ways to revitalize the parkette. Why not reclaim it by investing in communal activities? Imagine if we used parks as “outdoor civic centres” where we not only play, but we re-animate them as venues for pop-up art shows, community potlucks, choir practice, neighbourhood shindigs!
What We Need
We are but 2 neighbours with no extra funds. While having an outdoor dance doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavour, during the Dundas West Fest we will need to rent a generator and sound system. (Unfortunately, being in its second year, the festival does not have a budget to help us out in this way.) Making the space inviting with lights and decorations would also contribute to it’s success. Oh, and a dance floor. While we are going to do our best to clean the park up, we’d like to rent a dance floor to save our shoes from stepping in... erm “animal waste”. We will also pay the yet TBD musical artist for delighting us with their musical talent. We are asking for $600 to help us launch this dance, with hopes of having various themed dances throughout warmer weather.
What You Get
We are making the coolest buttons and dance cards as give-aways. Plus, people who donate more than $50 will receive an original screen print of the event poster. And, if you donate more $100, you will receive all of the above mentioned AND we’ll throw in a dance with the both of us (at the same time! haha - just joking... or not)
All money donated will be put towards the event. Any left over, will be used for future events in the St Clarens parkette.
The Impact
Slow Dance - No Excuses is an extension of the community building events that we have hosted over the past year. As a part of the inaugural Dundas West Fest we organized Neighbourhood Fan Mail; where community members write and deliver fan mail to their neighbours as well as local businesses. As well as Neighbourhood Fan Mail, we hosted a community feast this past October - The St Clarens Community Harvest Potluck.
With Slow Dance, we hope to continue to build and strengthen the ties we’ve helped make in the Brockton Triangle and beyond. Most of all, we want people to have fun and dance!
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can’t contribute to the event, join us anyway! And tell your friends about it. Spread the word far and wide, through word of mouth and with indiegogo’s social media share tools.
The Dundas West Fest was just voted Toronto's most promising festival. Enjoy the Fest during the day, and end it in the evening with a little slow dance (and some fast dances too).
If you have access to a generator, twinkly lights, and/or dance floor that you would loan us or you can give us a deal on equipment, please do not hesitate to contact us: parkettefun@gmail.com
Thank You sincerely for your time and consideration! You are the reason we want to celebrate.