Mr CHIN Bikini 2014

#Toronto felt the heat when the men brought their muscles and soccer inspired swimsuits to Exhibition Place for the annual CHIN International multicultural picnic.

Posted by James Hamilton and Joe Hamilton. See more of the competitors after the jump.

Caribbean Carnival Dancers at CHIN Picnic

A holiday weekend fun at the annual #Toronto multicultural picnic and entertainment extravaganza included dancers wearing traditional carnival costumes. The beautiful ladies and their fine outfits performed during the Mr and Miss CHIN bikini contest held at the bandshell stage within Exhibition Place.

On Canada Day July 1, 2014 you can see more of the islands during the 3-7 pm Caribbean Festival at the International Stage in the Better Living Building. The festival will be hosted by Denise Jones from CHIN Radio Saturday Night Swing.

Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. See more colour and beauty after the jump.

Pride #Toronto Streetfair 2014

Church-Wellesley Village is jammed during the June 27-29 weekend World Pride celebrations and visitors and participants came out in the thousands to browse the neighbourhood. The hot, sunny day was perfect for drinking and wearing some amazing outfits and lack of outfits. Besides the main streetfair there were also parties going on at Yonge-Dundas Square and at Ryerson University.

At Ryerson

See more of the festivities after the jump.

#Toronto CHIN Bikini contest 2014

The latest edition of the CHIN picnic featured a combined Mr and Miss CHIN Bikini contest held on Saturday, June 28. As we are in the middle of a FIFA World Cup the theme of the event was soccer, with bikinis and bathing suits showing the familiar hexagons of a soccer ball. An energetic first half saw the contestants in a sports routine before coming out in the crowd favourite swimsuits.

The opening number saw the women in red and black and the guys in blue in white under the familiar sight of the bandshell Stage in Exhibition Place. Quite a few people brought large signs to support their choice in the contest. 2013 winners Sabrina DiBella and Ricky Liorti passed on their titles to the new contestants during the highly competitive event.

All the winners go to the edge of the stage. Mr CHIN Bikini winners received medals and the ladies received ribbons and flowers while Miss Chin Bikini 2014 Jennifer Thiessen wore here new crown.

Pretty ladies pose with the Scotiabank Hockey Club mascot. The annual Scotiabank CHIN International Picnic, produced by CHIN radio, is 48 years old and "is what Toronto is all about" as it helps to break down barriers of prejudice in a diverse cultural setting. Fireworks were put on lakeside on Saturday night at 10 pm. The picnic continues until Tuesday, July 1, 2014 (closed Monday, June 30) and includes the Chevrolet Midway, boxing, wrestling, beer garden and the International Stage in the Better Living Building.

Some amazing outfits were showcased on stage to help promote the Caribbean Festival which is happening on Canada Day at the International Stage.

Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. See more swimsuits and the contest after the jump.

#Toronto Scotiabank @CHINPicnic_ tomorrow

Update: See the 2014 Bikini contest photos on my post here.

Miss & Mr CHIN Bikini contests will be held together tomorrow - Saturday, June 28 starting at 1pm, at the Exhibition Place bandshell stage. The winner of the Miss CHIN contest will be crowned at 2:30pm.

Don't forget about the Grand Festival of Fireworks which will be featured free on Saturday night at approximately 10pm. The show will be put on by Pyro masterminds GFA in a display in front of the CHIN picnic grounds along the lakefront.

Weekend @PrideToronto Marches 2014

#Toronto marches on with the Dyke March on Saturday, June 28 and the WorldPride Parade on Sunday, June 29. The Streetfair and Arts & Culture Festival continues from June 27-29 featuring drag artists and burlesque on stage in the Church-Wellesley Village.

The Toronto Eaton Centre Play the Parks with Pride - Work's a Drag performance in Trinty Park

Saturday's Dyke March begins in Allan Gardens at 1pm:
"Welcome to Pride Toronto's annual Dyke March. The Dyke March is a grassroots event where women and trans people in LGBTTIQQ2SA communities take over the streets of Toronto. The Dyke March is not a parade - it is a political demonstration of critical mass; a moment seized to revel in the strength, diversity and passion of LGBTTIQQ2SA women and trans folk. We encourage groups to work within the theme for Pride Week 2014 in order to express their values. Raise your voice! Join us as we celebrate our diversity, our passion and our pride. The Dyke March is organized by the Dyke March Committee, based on the Guiding Principles created from the 2006/2007 Community Consultations. The Dyke March Committee, the Dyke March, and all other events organized by the Dyke March Committee are trans inclusive.

The massive Sunday Parade starts at 1pm from Church Street:
"This year, Toronto celebrates 34 years of Pride and the excitement of hosting WorldPride 2014. From the corner of Church St and Bloor St all the way down Yonge St to Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2SA communities will dance to celebrate our victories, march to honour our losses, and RISE UP to keep moving forward.

Hmmm, Beer infographic

Website: financesonline.com -- Prepared by Alex -- Follow our Youtube

City of #Toronto and Canada Day 2014

Press release for things to do on the upcoming holiday. "The City of Toronto encourages residents and visitors to enjoy Canada Day and celebrate Canada's 147th birthday in Toronto on Tuesday, July 1. A City-organized event will be held at North York Civic Centre's Mel Lastman Square and community events will be held across Toronto.

Canada Day celebration at Mel Lastman Square
The City will celebrate Canada Day at Mel Lastman Square on Tuesday, July 1 from 5 to 10:30 p.m. Free face-painting will be available by Picasso Painters from 5 to 8 p.m. Zero Gravity Circus presents its Circus Wonderland featuring aerial acrobats at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Juno-award-winning singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge performs at 8 p.m., followed by Canadian alternative country band NQ Arbuckle at 9 p.m.The Canada Day celebration at Mel Lastman Square concludes with fireworks by Circus Orange at 10:15 p.m.

East
Scarborough’s 47th annual Canada Day celebration in Thomson Park will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event will include a free pancake breakfast, buskers, bouncy inflatables, entertainment and a craft show/sale. Seniors can participate in a slo-pitch ball game. More information is available by calling 416-338-1968.

The annual Canada Day parade will begin at 4 p.m. west of the Scarborough Civic Centre on Brimley Road, ending at Lawrence Avenue East and Brimley Road at about 5:30 p.m. More information is available by calling 416-396-4069.

A free fireworks display at Milliken Park will begin at dusk. More information is available by calling 416-396-7757.

North
The Old Style Community Picnic will be held at the Broadlands Community Centre and Park, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Activities include face painting, games, clown entertainment and folk singing. More information is available by calling 416-395-7966.

South and Central
The annual Canada Day fireworks display at Ashbridges Bay will begin at 10 p.m. on July 1. Residents who are planning to attend are encouraged to leave personal vehicles at home and use public transit.

East York’s 57th annual Canada Day parade with marching bands at Dieppe Park will start at 10 a.m. and move east to Stan Wadlow Park, where the motorcade is scheduled to finish at noon.

The celebrations at Stan Wadlow Park will take place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and include live entertainment and a display of antique cars. The Kiwanis Pool will be open from noon to 7 p.m. The fireworks display will start at 10:15 p.m. and the park will close at 11 p.m.

West
The 15th annual Toronto Ribfest will be held at Centennial Park from June 27 to July 1, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with 16 professional ribbers, live music and midway rides. On Canada Day there will be a fireworks display at 10 p.m. More information is available athttp://www.torontoribfest.com.

The annual Canada Day event at Amesbury Park will start at 11 a.m. Activities include a barbecue, live entertainment, marketplace, strongman competition and activities for children, plus fireworks at 10 p.m. More information is available athttp://www.amesburycanadaday.ca.

Reminder: Members of the public are not allowed to light fireworks or consume alcohol in City of Toronto parks. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/parks.

Swimming, parks and community centres
City of Toronto parks, outdoor swimming pools, wading pools and splash pads will all be open on Canada Day. Indoor pools and community centres will be closed on Canada Day. More information and swimming pool schedules are available athttp://www.toronto.ca/swim. Water quality reports for local beaches are available at http://www.toronto.ca/health/swimsafe/index.htm.

Golf
All five City golf courses will be open and offer holiday rates on July 1. More information about hours and location is available athttp://www.toronto.ca/golf.

Historic Sites
Several of the City's 11 historic sites will be open and offer Canada Day programming as follows:

Colborne Lodge:
Colborne will have an information and activity table from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during the Canada Day celebration in High Park hosted by Peggy Nash, MP for Parkdale-High Park. Additionally, Colborne Lodge will be open to visitors for tours from noon to 5 p.m. Regular admission applies.

Fort York:
Fort York is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fort's Summer Guard will kick off the season by performing musket and artillery drills, including fife and drum music. Concerts will be presented by world music ensemble Lalun, Taylor Ho Bynum and Tomas Fujiwara, and Tethera. Admission is free. Families can also enjoy face painting, rocket-making workshops, and hula-hooping. The Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies presents the Tour for Humanity educational experience. The Canadian Armed Forces Afghanistan Memorial Vigil will be on site inside the Blue Barracks. Fort York Canada Day temporary tattoos and Canadian flags will be available.

Mackenzie House:
Mackenzie House is open from noon to 5 p.m. In the printshop participants will learn about the role of the media in Confederation and print a Canada Day souvenir using a 19th century printing press. Regular admission applies.

Montgomery's Inn:
The inn will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors can take part in guided tours and visit the inn for tea and Inn-made strawberry ice cream, and strawberry rhubarb compote on shortcake with whipped cream and a fresh berry in the tea room. Admission, $10 plus tax, includes a tour.

Scarborough Museum:
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can play croquet, take part in a pie-eating contest, sample treats from historic recipes, pick up a Canadian flag and enjoy a piece of Happy Birthday Canada cake.

Spadina Museum Historic House and Gardens:
The museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature a themed tour, Meet the Austins: A Toronto Family Between the Wars, at various times. Visitors will see the history of Toronto through the eyes of the Austin family, whose members made what is now Spadina Museum their home. Regular admission applies.

Todmorden Mills:
Todmorden Mills will be involved in the Canada Day celebrations at Stan Wadlow Park. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The public will learn about Todmorden's connections to the history of East York, see a collection of 19th-century toys and create a take-home craft.

More information about these and other events at City of Toronto Historic Sites is available at http://www.toronto.ca/museum-events."

And "weekend and Canada Day events with road closures in Toronto after the jump.

Let me take a #SkittlesSelfie

Canada Day in #Toronto will be extra special with the Guinness World Record self-portrait attempt at Harbroufront Centre. The record will involve taking pictures with Degrassi star Melinda Shankar in one hour between 6-7pm at 235 Queens Quay West.

Cool, cool, cool. Some free Skittles and chances to win other prizes - as well as a selfie with a celebrity.

Lumberjacks and Firefighters coming to @HondaIndy

Verizon IndyCar drivers Sebastian Bourdais and James Hinchliffe grabbed some STIHL chainsaws to promote the upcoming Festivals to be held at the 2014 Honda Indy Toronto. The quick media tour came to Exhibition Place on Tuesday, June 24 to highlight the off-track activities that will occur during the 2inTO doubleheader race weekend July 18-20. Posted by Joe Hamilton.

Sebastian and James join the firefighters for a photo op. 

James drops the hammer. Pounding a large weight with a mighty sledgehammer

Carrying a rescue dummy

“The festival aspect of Honda Indy Toronto continues to grow,” said Charlie Johnstone, president of the event, at a special track-side media preview today. “Not only do we have a double-barrelled weekend with two full-points Verizon IndyCar Series races and the usual super-charged menu of support races, but we have also made some very special additions to our entertainment package. We think our fans will be really happy with what we‘ve come up with.”

Lumberjacks say 'Kiss My Axe'

Honda Junior Red Rider program representatives showed up with a couple of tiny motorcycles. "Also part of the entertainment mix is the return of Honda Canada, with its Junior Red Rider program and the Honda World exhibit, featuring games, activities and racing-inspired displays for race fans of all ages. Designed for kids aged 6-12, the Junior Red Rider program teaches the fundamentals of motorcycle and off-road riding using appropriately-sized motorcycles and full safety gear, in a fun, controlled and safe environment."

Motorcycle riders Lucas, Cooper and Charlie with Sebastian and James

Posted by Joe Hamilton.

Jazzy Jazz Fest

And the band and DJ played on, sometimes silently during the @TorontoJazzFest 2014. That's right, a silent headphone disco took place last weekend.

Big tents are already in place in Nathan Phillips Square and the beer garden is stocked until June 28. So join music lovers for more than 350 concerts spread over ten days in more than 50 venues around the city.

GLAAD, FIFA and World Pride

#StopTheSlurs is a rallying cry that GLAAD hopes to spread around the world as anti-LGBT slurs are chanted in World Cup Soccer games in Brazil. FIFA has opened an investigation into the use of the slurs while GLAAD also has requested safe space for LGBT athletes and fans in and around the World Cup.

"FIFA has opened an investigation action against Mexico for chanting anti-LGBT slurs in the stadium of the World Cup. Both Brazil and Mexico fans were reported to be chanting anti-LGBT slurs in their game against one another. Additionally, Russia and Croatia are reported to have unfurled racist and anti-Semite banners. The actions taken by FIFA send the right message that anti-LGBT language is going to be taken seriously. GLAAD will continue to proactively address the use of anti-LGBT slurs in FIFA stadiums, and will continue to ask FIFA to discourage fans from such slurs."

Back home the Toronto Eaton Centre has set up FIFA viewing lounges where you can catch all the soccer action on video walls until July 13. The Trinity lounge also has a video game area and free Wi-Fi.

In support of World Pride 2014 the Toronto Eaton Centre will be featuring Play the Parks from June 24-27. Celebrating diversity with a number of free lunchtime performances in Trinity Square Park.

Meanwhile the gigantic festival centered around the Church St village began during the June 20 weekend and will culminate in a number of parades starting Friday, June 27. The City of Toronto proclaimed Pride Week and the launch of World Pride 2014 on June 20. See the news release after the jump.

Mini Coopers at Motorexpo

Cars of the rich and famous are joined by a pair of Mini Coopers at Brookfield Place in the financial district of Toronto. The 4th annual showing of incredible vehicles is free to visit during the June 23-27, 2014 event.

I think the Minis snuck in and this is part of an Ocean's 14 heist! I hope they race threw the sewers of Toronto until they come screaming out of a giant pipe somewhere in the inner harbour.

Coffee Art

I recently read a Reddit post where they noticed that coffee houses tended to have incredible works of art used in their in-house advertising - and the reason was that the coffee shops employed a lot of people with liberal arts degrees.

When I passed a Davids Tea sidewalk sign I looked at the intricate chalk board drawing and had to agree with the just realized meme. Here are some related Reddit posts.

Something tells me that art majors work at this coffee shop, too.

IAMA Art major, ask me anything about coffee.

No dog meat festival here

The Wichita Eagle newspaper blew the lid off a story regarding a purported American dog meat festival in NE Kansas. "Last week, the National Report, a spoof website, published a story claiming the Osage County town had been hosting a dog meat festival since 1992. “2013 finds the town embracing their unique culinary custom and proudly exclaiming to the rest of the country ‘we eat dog and that’s okay!’ ” the fake story reads in part. The report includes a photo of people at a festival. “That’s not our downtown,” Watson said. “I’d like to have those streets in Overbrook but that’s not our downtown at all.”"

I found out through a posting in a Hong Kong forum which identified the story and noted that the photo was one taken from my blog (at top) and photoshopped (above) - they added Overbrook, KS Canine Cuisine 2013 to the booth's canopy. The street festival shown in my photo was from the Leathertown Festival in my small town of Acton, Ontario.

From the National Report satire/entertainmet article, "For three generations the modest hamlet of Overbrook, KS has been cooking up a dish that by most American’s standards is shockingly taboo. Canines have been on the community’s menu since the early 1970s when refugees from the Vietnam war were relocated to the quiet, close-knit township. Grateful for their new-found liberty, the Vietnamese were eager to share many of their ancient customs with their Kansasian neighbors."

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/22/3072552/ne-kansas-town-on-made-up-online.html#storylink=cpy