Neighborhood Notes: August 2022

VIP Ticket Giveaway
WTMD continues another season of free concerts at Canton Waterfront Park on Thursday, August 4 at 5:30 p.m. and we’re giving one lucky CCA member 2 VIP tickets to the show! To be eligible, signup as a new member or renew your current membership to the Canton Community Association on/before Tuesday, August 2 at https://www.cantoncommunity.org/join-us.

The August concert features Adia Victoria, Jocelyn & Chris, and Modern Nomad. There are food and beverage vendors on-site. No outside alcohol or coolers are permitted. For more details, visit https://wtmd.org/radio/first-thursday-concerts-in-the-park/.

Dypski Park Update

This has been a summer of progress for Dypski Park. So much has been installed, but we’ve come to a brief lull in the construction while they are waiting on some materials. The two shade pavilions remain in fabrication and are expected to be delivered in mid-August. By early August, the protective playground surface installation will be completed. During the month of August, the remaining electrical work for the decorative fountain will be completed.

BGE electrical service connection cannot be scheduled until the electrical work for the new decorative fountain has been completed. Currently, BGE is scheduling work 8 to 12 weeks out, so the completion of the park construction work is projected to be by the end of September into October.  We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

O’Donnell Square Park Clean Up Assistant Coordinator Needed
Torbin Green is the CCA liaison for Baltimore City Rec ‘n Parks. For several years he has led the ODSP monthly clean-ups, but it’s a lot for only one person to manage, so he’d love some help!

We are looking for someone to help manage the following: 
• Make sure that supplies are available for people that come. Torbin and Amanda are point persons for obtaining supplies and access to them.
• Discuss with Torbin what the focus of each weeding/clean-up should be.
• Ensure that an email goes out to volunteers to see who would be on-site.
• Find someone to be the on-site volunteer that day overseeing things. It doesn't have to be you, but a knowledgeable volunteer. Hopefully, Torbin will be available on some clean-up days.

The administrative activities might take 2 hours/month and then 2-3 hours on those Saturdays if you are in attendance. This is somewhat flexible and specific responsibilities would be coordinated with Torbin. The role can also be divided between 2 people if we get more than one volunteer for this position.

If interested, please email info@cantoncommunity.org and put “lead cleanups” in the subject line.

O’Donnell Square Park Clean Up – 2nd Saturdays

You can join CCA Outreach Chair Torbin Green and the Stewards of O'Donnell Square Park every second Saturday of the month to clean and maintain the Park. Baltimore City Recreation and Parks will provide tools including gloves, rakes, trash bags, and shovels. See you this month on August 13 at 10:00 a.m. For details, email info@CantonCommunity.org. 

NEW CCA Sustainability Committee
The CCA launched a new Sustainability Committee in June. We're excited to have over 20 neighbors sign up so far. Volunteers range from backyard composters to highly trained professionals including a landscape architect, master gardener, arborist, and two neighbors who work for the EPA. If you're interested in joining or attending our next meeting, email info@CantonCommunity.org.

Canton Anti-Racism Alliance
The Canton Anti-Racism Alliance is dedicated to affecting long-term, impactful changes in our neighborhood to foster a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and welcoming community. The Alliance meets the 4th Tuesday of every month via Zoom. To join, email president@cantoncommunity.org for details. Everyone is welcome!

One way we can all be more inclusive is by supporting Black-owned businesses. Last week we visited Simply Marie’s, a breakfast-only restaurant located at 3023 Elliott Street. The restaurant features home-cookin’ from chef/owner Marie Branch. From waffles and pancakes to omelets and combo platters, the Southern-inspired breakfast options are all good! Hint, don’t skip the biscuits and sausage gravy… and did we mention the Eggs Benedict is made with THREE eggs?! Outdoor seating is available in season, and they are mainly open on weekends. Hours may vary, so you might want to call first at 410-342-0822. For more details and to see the menu, visit https://www.simplymariesbreakfast.com/.

Reporting and Preventing Crime – Tip Line
The Baltimore City Police Department asks neighbors to report crimes via this TIP email: SEDtips@baltimorepolice.org. Security camera footage and photos should be included.

CCA NEWS

Community Outreach
The CCA is committed to fostering communication across our community and we need your help. To make sure we are reaching neighbors beyond social media we are looking for businesses, organizations, schools, churches, senior and rec centers, etc. to serve as points of distribution for information. If your business or organization has a place to post a flyer, distributes a newsletter, has an email list, etc. and you would like to help facilitate outreach to our neighbors, please email info@CantonCommunity.org.

CCA Committees
CCA committees include Arts, Economic Development, Education, Marketing, Public Safety, Transportation, Social, Sustainability, Membership, and Volunteer. The CCA also oversees the Friends of Canton Dog Park and Friends of O’Donnell Square, and partners with Canton Canopy and the Canton Anti-Racism Alliance. New members are welcomed. Details can be found on our website at https://www.cantoncommunity.org/committees. 

Block Captains
The CCA is looking for Block Captains to increase communication and help bring about more organization from the ground up. Block Captains also play an important role in the Get Lit Canton project. If you are interested in representing your block, please email info@cantoncommunity.org and put Block Captain in the subject line.

CCA Virtual Public Meetings 2022 September 13 and November 15

CCA Community Dumpster Days 2022
September 10 and November 5 

CCA Social Media - Follow us!
For the latest information about our neighborhood and other helpful community/city news, please follow our CCA pages on social media. Instagram @CCA_Baltimore and www.facebook.com/CantonCommunityAssociation