TORONTO – the lights are always on . . .
TORONTO is multi-layered, multi-cultured, constantly in flux, noisy, quirky, fun and forever insecure. It’s a sprawling city, but with a walkable, thriving centre, and a dependable public transit system.
Greater TORONTO contains nearly 6 million souls, making it the 5th largest agglomeration in North America (after Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). Pearson International Airport is Canada’s busiest; the Toronto Stock Exchange is 8th in terms of market value worldwide; we have a vibrant arts community and a low crime rate; 50% of us came from outside the country; it’s North America’s new condominium capital, a media, theatre, movie-making, and university town.
Doing a blog on TORONTO is a challenge because so much is happening here. My focus is on the inner city, and what I’ve learned as a tour guide, with an emphasis on arts, architecture, neighbourhoods and navigation. I’ve also thrown in some of our ditzy local politics, and side trips to other worthy cities and towns.
The Big Smoke awaits! Have fun.
DAVID MOORE
Doing TORONTO – May, June/2012 (print the list)
<White lion cubs, Toronto Zoo, photo by Tyler Anderson/National Post>
MUSIC, MUSICALS & DANCE
- May 24 – June 6 – West Side Story, Toronto Centre for the Arts, 5040 Yonge Street, 416-733-9388, <www.tocentre.com>
- May 24 – June 3 – Rent, Sheridan College Music Theatre, Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge Street, <www.mirvish.com>
- May 24 – June 3 – Odysseo (Cavalia), equestrian arts, special effects, White Big Top, 324 Cherry Street, <www.cavalia.net>
- May 25 – Bollywood in the Square, Yonge-Dundas Square, <www.ydsquare.ca>
- May 25 – This is Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Folklore Ensemble, MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building, 80 Queen’s Park, 8pm, <www.balkanto.ca>
- May 26 – Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, Ghosts of Violence, Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, <www.stlc.com>, 416-366-7723
- May 29 – Patrick Watson, indie folk band, the Music Hall, Danforth at Broadview Avenue, 7pm
- Until June 10 – The Green Door Cabaret series, performances by various artists, Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington Avenue, West Queen West Arts District, for times and performers <www.lowerossingtontheatre.com>
- June 1-10 – Hamlet, North American premiere, National Ballet of Canada, Opera House, Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen Street West, <www.nationalballet.ca>
- Until June 3 – Bring It On: The Musical, Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria Street, <www.mirvish.com>
- June 8-10 – Einstein on the Beach, an opera in four acts by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass, Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front Street East, 416-368-6161, <www.luminato.com>
- June 9 – Late Night, Toronto Symphony Orchestra concert, Shostakovich, Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, 10:30pm, <www.tso.ca/latenight>
- June 11-17 – NXNE fest, 650 bands, 7 days, 50 venues, 40 films, <www.nxne.com>
- June 14 – 10th anniversary, Funny Girls and Dynamic Divas, comedy and music cabaret, Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front Street East, reception 6pm, show 7:30pm, <www.stlc.com>
- June 13-17 – Playing Cards 1: Spades, directed by Robert LePage, English, French, Spanish with surtitles, Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre, Front Street East at Parliament, <www.luminato.com>
- June 14-16 – Ohad Nahain/Batsheva Dance Company, North American premiere, from Tel Aviv, MacMillan Theatre, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, 80 Queens Park, <www.luminato.com>
COMEDY, THEATRE & SPOKEN WORD
- May 24 – 26 – Gilson Lubin +++, Yuk Yuk’s Downtown, 224 Richmond Street West, 8pm (24), 9pm (25 & 26), www.yukyuks.com>
- May 24 – June 3 – Michel Tremblay’s ‘The Real World?’, Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, <www.tarragontheatre.com>
- May 24 – June 20 – Home, David Storey’s 1970 masterpiece, Young Centre for the Peforming Arts, 55 Mill Street, Distillery District, Building 49, 416-866-8666
- May 24-26 – Luba, Simply Luba, starring Luba Goy, Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street, <www.canstage.com> 416-368-3110
- May 24 – June 3 – Stockholm by Bryony Lavery, Tarragon Extra Space, 30 Bridgman Avenue, 416-531-1827
- May 24 – June 16 – Kim’s Convenience, last winter’s smash hit, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Young Centre, Distillery District, 55 Mill Street, <www.soulpepper.ca>
- May 24 – John Irving, Toronto Reference Library, Yonge north of Bloor, <www.torontopubliclibrary.com>
- May 28 – June 3 – The Script Tease Project, Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, 416-504-7529
- June 1 – Whoopi Goldberg, 7:30pm, Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, <www.roythomson.com>
- June 5 – celebrity chef Rob Rainford, St. Lawrence Market Kitchen, 95 Front Street East, 2nd floor, 6:30pm
- Until June 10 – Neil Simon’s ‘Lost in Yonkers’, Jane Mallet Theatre, 27 Front Street East, <www.hgjewishtheatre.com>
- Until June 21 – You Can’t Take It With You, Soulpepper Theatre Company, Young Centre, Distillery District, 55 Mill Street, Building 49, <www.soulpepper.ca>, 416-866-8666
- Until June 30 – War Horse, Canadian cast, Princess of Wales Theatre, 260 King Street West, 416-872-1212, <www.mirvish.com>
MUSEUMS, GALLERIES, ART
- May 24-26 – Suzy Lake, Georgia Scherman Projects, 133 Tecumseh Street, 416-554-4112
- May 24-31 – Contact Photography Festival, galleries and museums all over the city
- May 24 – August 26 – Picasso, 147 works from the Musee National Picasso, Paris; Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, <www.ago.net>
- May 24-31 – Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s Amazon small-town experiment, Dan Dubowitz, Bau-Ix Photo Gallery, 324 Dundas Street West
- May 24 – June 11 – Looking Forward/Looking Back, National Portrait Collection, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, 34 Isabella Street, 416-777-2755
- May 24 – August 19 – Berenice Abbott: Photographs, organized by the Ryerson Image Centre and Jeu De Paume, Paris; Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West
- Until May 31 – A World of Music: 90 Seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, City of Toronto Archives, 255 Spadina Road, 416-397-0778
- June 2, 3 – 14th Annual Riverdale Art Walk, 11am-6pm, self-guided art celebration, <www.artistsnetwork.ca>
- June 8-25 – The Encampment, turning Fort York into a sculpture on a grand scale, <www.luminato.com>
- Until June 22 – Tamasaburo Bando Poster Exhibition, The Japan Foundation, 131 Bloor Street West, 2nd floor of the Colonnade, <www.jftor.org>
- Until June 22 – Friday Nights Live at the Royal Ontario Museum, drink, dance and explore, Bloor Street West at Avenue Road, <www.rom.on.ca>
- Until June 30 – The Roaring Twenties, Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor Street West
- Until September 3 – ‘25 years of the Power Plant’, 231 Queens Quay West, 416-973-4949
- Ongoing – Multi-million dollar Thomson Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West
- Ongoing – Ukrainian poet Taras H. Shevchenko Museum, 1614 Bloor Street West, 416-534-8662
- Until August 10 – Photos: Peter MacCallum, Eric Arthur Gallery, 230 College Street, University of Toronto
- Until September 3 – Fashionality: Dress and Identity in Contemporary Canadian Art, McMichael Collection, 10365 Islington Avenue, Kleinburg, Ontario
FILM AND OTHER STUFF
- May 24-27 – LGBT Film Festival, various venues, 22nd annual, <www.insideout.ca>
- May 26, 27 – Doors Open Toronto, 150 architectural venues not usually open to the public, free, <www.toronto.ca/doorsopen>
- May 28 – Bike Month Pancake Breakfast, ride to City Hall from various points, 7am, free, <www.toronto.ca/cycling>
- June 2 – Bells on the Danforth, mass bike ride along Danforth and Bloor to Queen’s Park to press for more bike lanes, free, East Lynn Park for start, 1:30pm
- June 7-21 – Toronto Japanese Film Festival, the best of contemporary Japanese cinema, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 6 Garamond Court, <www.torontojff.com> or 416-441-2345
- June 19 – August 28 – City Cinema: Cult Classics, Yonge-Dundas Square, every Tuesday evening at sunset
- June 29 – August 31 – Indie Fridays, the hottest indie artists from a mix of genres and generations, Yonge-Dundas Square, every Friday, 8-10pm
- Ongoing, To The Arctic, Rocky Mountain Express, Under The Sea, Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Road, <www.ontariosciencecentre.ca>
- Ongoing – Farmer’s Market, Saturdays year ’round, 9 am-1 pm, Evergreen Brickworks, 550 Bayview Avenue (Don Valley), <www.ebw.evergreen.ca>
- Ongoing – Edgewalk, CN Tower, walk around the edge of our tallest free-standing structure, <www.edgewalkcntower.ca>
- Ongoing – Graham Spry Theatre, CBC Broadcast Centre, free screenings daily, 250 Front Street West
- Ongoing – Sunday Antique Market, free, Jarvis Street south of King
FOR ADDITIONAL LISTINGS – check NOW, GRID, Xtra, and the daily newspapers
“Vacationing in Washington DC. I’ll be back on May 29.”
<The Spirit of Haida Gwaii by Haida artist Bill Reid, Canadian Embassy, Washington DC>
A 70-year-old family business closes on May 31/2012 . . .
Libby and Sam Geller opened Ontario Specialty Company at 133 Church Street in 1939. It’s about to disappear for good. The death of Sam and Libby, coupled with neighbourhood gentrification and internet shopping have inevitably hurt small mom and pop businesses such as this one. It’s been a neighbourhood mainstay, and will be surely missed by browsers and shoppers.
Libby’s daughter Linda Geller-Schwartz, a retired sociology professor who lives in Florida, says “My dad built the business, but Libby made it fun. She was a real spark. The life of the store.” <PHOTOS – John Darby>
Ontario Specialty played a small part in the 1997 Matt Damon film ‘Good Will Hunting’.
<PHOTO BELOW – Matt Damon in a sailor hat inside 133 Church Street>
First Berenice Abbott retrospective – Art Gallery of Ontario, until August 19/2012
<Pike and Henry Street, New York City, March 6, 1936, Berenice Abbott>
The Ryerson Image Centre (Toronto) and the Jeu de Paume (Paris) have co-organized the exhibition Berenice Abbott: Photographs, the first retrospective of the American photographer, Berenice Abbott, presented in France and Canada.
May 23-Aug 19, 2012
Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Exhibition opens Wednesday, May 23, 2012 with FREE admission 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 106 Trinity Street, 1849
Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 106 Trinity Street, was established by brewer ENOCH TURNER, to educate poor children in Corktown. It was the city’s oldest free school from 1849-59, and later became a Sunday School, a Boer War recruitment centre, a soup kitchen in the 1930′s, and a youth clubhouse in the fifties. It nearly became a vacant lot, but was saved by the citizenry and Eric Arthur (author and architect, “Toronto, No Mean City”). The schoolhouse was restored and is now a museum.
Eastbound King streetcar #504 to Trinity Street
The WEST DONLANDS – Toronto’s brand new 21st century neighbourhood
Even for TORONTO – a city overflowing with construction projects – this is a big one. From the banks of the Don River in the west, to Parliament Street in the east, an urban, connected, transit-oriented, diverse neighbourhood is taking shape. It will connect the Don River Valley and the eastern waterfront to Corktown and other communities to the north.
The Canary District, named after a former iconic greasy spoon, is the centrepoint of the development. The Canary and a few other Victorian-era buildings have been saved, and architects are planning to treat them with respect. This will not be a suburb. No big boxes, no parking lots, no speedways. The curves and underpasses of the Don Valley Parkway will become integral parts of the neighbourhood as gateways and parkettes.
From the Canary District, the project knits itself around the already established Distillery District, a Victorian industrial complex of 47 stone and brick buildings – now a major tourist attraction. Overseen by Waterfront Toronto, a tripartite agency which gives off excellent vibes, this entire project can only be top quality revitalization. TORONTO scores!
Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, 34 Isabella Street
TORONTO is home to one of the largest gay and lesbian archives in the world. The Canadian Gay and Lesbian Archives, a volunteer organization, was established in 1973. Its Georgian-style home at 34 Isabella Street contains a research reading room, large gallery and a reference library. The collection includes paintings, photographs, posters, video and audio recordings, matchbooks, t-shirts, sports paraphenalia and advertising.
HOURS - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 7:30-10 pm
‘Looking Forward/Looking Back: 25 Lives 14 years later’ – until June 11/2012
Subway stop - BLOOR, and walk south to Isabella Street
-
Recent
- TORONTO – the lights are always on . . .
- Visitors coming to town? Send them over here.
- Doing TORONTO – May, June/2012 (print the list)
- “Vacationing in Washington DC. I’ll be back on May 29.”
- “Bette Davis Eyes”, tennis court, Trinity-Bellwoods Park
- A 70-year-old family business closes on May 31/2012 . . .
- First Berenice Abbott retrospective – Art Gallery of Ontario, until August 19/2012
- Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, 106 Trinity Street, 1849
- The WEST DONLANDS – Toronto’s brand new 21st century neighbourhood
- Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, 34 Isabella Street
- Heritage buildings cling to the sides of Adelaide Street’s ‘urban spillway’ . . .
- Delft University’s ‘superbus’ is a beaut. Scarborough, take note!
-
Links
- Revue Cinema
- Royal Ontario Museum
- Art Gallery of Ontario
- MOCCA, Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art
- Bike Portland
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- CBC Radio and Television Museum
- Harbourfront Centre, Toronto
- Toronto International Film Festival
- Toronto Bicycling Network
- Toronto Advertising Hall of Shame
- Friends of the Spit
- Ontario Science Centre
- Camera Lucida Vintage Photography
- Blursurfing – rooftopper Tom Ryaboi
- Retro Ontario, city & province's televisual past
- Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West
- I'm Just Walkin' (every street in New York City)
-
Archives
- May 2012 (46)
- April 2012 (43)
- March 2012 (46)
- February 2012 (30)
- January 2012 (28)
- December 2011 (12)
- November 2011 (38)
- October 2011 (35)
- September 2011 (14)
- August 2011 (15)
- July 2011 (22)
- June 2011 (16)
-
Categories
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
