Once again EACA will be hosting Halloween fun for children and adults the evening of Friday, October 31! The event will include a costume contest, trick-or-treating, a pumpkin carving contest and much more!

Thanks to overwhelming community support, the inaugural Dogtoberfest in EAV was a huge success, attracting more than 300 dogs and 500 people. An even bigger turnout is expected at this year's event, which will be held from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19 in the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market space at 561 Flat Shoals Avenue.

This dog- and family-friendly event offers a Halloween costume contest for dogs, low-cost microchipping, dog massage demos, vendor booths featuring local businesses and artists, story time for kids, yummy treats (for humans and dogs), and raffle drawings for a wide variety of prizes. And - of course - a parade of adoptable dogs from various rescue groups will help those who might be looking for a new best friend. The entrance fee is $5 per dog.

East Atlanta Village residents Lauren Janis of Big Daddy Biscuits and Morieka Johnson of Soulpup.com founded the event last year, and they decided to do things a little differently this time when determining which group would benefit from the event proceeds. Local rescue groups submitted an application for the 2014 Dogtoberfest in EAV grant. Proceeds from this year's event will go to the winning organization, Pitties in the City.

If you would like to get on board as a sponsor, vendor, raffle contributor, or volunteer, please contact dogtoberfesteav@gmail.com. More information can be found on the Dogtoberfest in EAV Facebook page. Until then, mark your calendar, and start working on your dog's Halloween costume. 

EACA would like to thank everyone who joined us on October 4 for the Community Appreciation Picnic. There was good food, good weather and great attendance.

The picnic coincided with the East Atlanta Kids Club's Art of Good Mural Painting Block Party where participants had a chance to help with the mural and install a bike rack in Brownwood Park. A special thanks to Allstate, Lowes, Midway, and Argosy for helping to make this event a success.

EACA would like to congratulate the following recipients of the Community Appreciation Awards. We are glad to have neighbors like these.

• East Atlanta Excellence in Education - Suzanne Jacobs.
• East Atlanta Community Involvement- Michelle Rice
• Art for East Atlanta - Susie Antell
• East Atlanta Community Leadership -  Debbie  Murphy
• Makin' East Atlanta Shine - Nancy Hennessey
• Public Good for Public Places - Helen Franks
• Best Business for the 'Hood - The Midway Pub
• East Atlanta Non-Profit for the Neighbors - East Atlanta Foundation
• East Atlanta Economic Development - Mike Bland
• East Atlanta All Around Community Member - John and Ruth Cameron, Lynn Bryant (and Henry)

There is one more EACA-sponsored opportunity this year to contribute to the beauty of the Village! Please join us Saturday, November 15, as we prepare for the East Atlanta Santa. 

• Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the intersection of Flat Shoals Ave. and Glenwood Ave.
• Rain day is the following day (announcement will be made).
• Please bring gear to protect yourself (gloves, hat, eyewear, sunblock, etc.).
• Pruning may also be necessary, so if you have pruning tools that would be helpful too.

Friday Food for Firefighters

firefighters, and it has been a little while since they have had a visit!

Providing a meal means having a cooked meal to hand over to the firefighters at Station 13 on Friday evening. The firefighters request food without pork. A full kitchen is available to them at the fire station and they can heat something as needed. Meals should be delivered between 5:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Sign up here (password is "friday") to see what dates are available for meals. You might think about sharing different parts of a meal with friends--one or two people might provide the main meal, another could provide bread or a side dish or dessert.

Please call Beth-Ann Buitekant at 404-455-8746 for information or with questions. 

East Atlanta Security Patrol

The EASP hires off-duty city of Atlanta police officers to patrol the neighborhood in order to supplement the APD officers assigned to the area. EASP officers have full police powers, are in uniform and carry a gun, but unlike on-duty officers, they never leave East Atlanta to answer an emergency call. They are paid by our community, and patrol only in East Atlanta. It is very common for on-duty officers to leave their beat in East Atlanta to go into neighboring communities to respond to calls dispatched by the 911 call center, making the presence of the EASP officers even more critical.  

EASP officers are not on duty 24/7, they work during the hours where major crime is most likely to occur and response times for the police can be very slow. Whether you live on Gresham, Pasley or Metropolitan, you can expect the officers to respond to your call within 3-5 minutes when they are on duty. The EASP does not require that you be a member to call, but memberships are the only source of revenue to pay officers. To join, go to the EASP membership page.    

To best utilize the EASP, we request that you call 911 first if you need an immediate police response, then call the EASP.  While calling 911 would seem to be sufficient, many 911 calls are held until an on duty officer is available, meaning the EASP officer may not know to respond unless you make a second call to us at 404-954-1568.

Atlanta City Council, 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.

Branan Towers Bingo, 3rd Tuesday of the month.

DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.

East Atlanta Business Association, 1st Monday of the month.

East Atlanta Community Association, 2nd Tuesday of the month.

Grant Park Neighborhood Association, 3rd Tuesday of the month.

Neighborhood Planning Unit-W, 4th Wednesday of the month.

NPU-W Land Use & Zoning Committee, 1st Tuesday of the month.

NPU-W Transportation Committee, 4th Wednesday of the month.

South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development, 2nd Thursday of the month.

Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools, 2nd Thursday of the month.

Please view the EACA calendar here for more information on locations.

As a valued EACA member, you have access to our EACA Rewards Program. In partnership with local businesses, this program provides special promotions within the community when residents present their EACA membership card to participating businesses.

Current EACA Rewards Member Benefits:

• Adore Me Studio - 10% off all regular price items through 12/31/2014
• Bound to Be Read Books - Get an extra 10% off the purchase of any used book (excludes rare/collectible books and special orders) through 12/31/2014
• Park Pet Supply - 25% off all pet toys for dogs and cats when you show your card!
• Homewatch Caregivers - 10% off all services through 12/31/2014
• East Atlanta Copy Center - 10% off any order over $5 when you show your card through 12/31/2014
• Traci with an Eye Graphic Design - 25% off all graphic design services (limit one discount per customer) through 4/1/2015
• Elder Tree Public House - 10% off on all food excluding already discounted food specials (eg., $5 burger night)
• Village Fitness - 10% off New Gym Membership
• Big Daddy Biscuits - EAV Thursday Farmer's Market Special - Bag of Dog Biscuits $4.50
• GALISH GROUP Insurance Solutions - Free smoke detector just for letting us quote your home or auto insurance, no purchase necessary
• Dance 411 - 20% off apparel and merchandise, 20% off drop-in classes, special discount rates on memberships (Fitness $19.95, Foundation $49.95, Ladies Liberation $59.95, All-Inclusive $89.95), 20% off studio rentals and private parties (Price variable, name on booking must be EACA Member). Offer valid only on drop-in classes, monthly membership rates, studio rentals, and on-site product/retail purchases. Can not be combined with any other offers. Valid through 12/31/2014.