Fashion Week in #Toronto

Models strutted on the catwalk, patrons sat on benches and the floor DJ was reported as a fake! Come back for more 2012 coverage as photos are added. The Canadian Spring 2013 Catwalk FSHN WK show is at David Pecaut Square from October 22-26. Here are some photos of the TRIARCHY collection.

See more of the show after the jump.

Ryerson University supports United Way

Students played games and were served up some tasty, hot chilli at @RyersonU during the Chillin’ on Gould St community support for United Way event. The fun featured contests, giant boxing gloves, basketball dunk games and fighting hot dogs.

More games after the jump.

Happy Balls

A bunch of Lotto Max lottery balls were bouncing around the Yonge and Dundas intersection in #Toronto. Who needs a casino when you can gamble on balls? They were very friendly and welcomed me into the group for a prize winning photo.

I didn't get any winning luck when I rubbed the balls. See more of the lottery balls after the jump.

He's coming to town

Red posters cover the windows of the Hudson Bay Company on Queen Street East across from the #Toronto Eaton Centre. The holiday tradition of Christmas window displays continues at the store and the detailed sets are being readied for the November 1, 2012 unveiling. Ho, Ho, Holy crap - it's almost winter!

I cannot face the coming snow (yes, the winter season is supposed to return to the normal setting: Harsh) even as the leaves turn colour and fall to the ground all around the city. Some winter events to look forward to include the Cavalcade of Lights November 17 and Winterlicious in January and February.

Cavalcade of Lights 2012 prep at City Hall ongoing. The tree that fell during the Sandy storm is put back up

Art at Steam Whistle Brewery

The historic #Toronto CPR Roundhouse has been home to @SteamWhistle Brewing since 1999 and their tasty pilsner beers began flowing in early 2000. Having sampled their fine brews and taken their brewery tours I have always been impressed with the front half of the operation. The shiny chrome beer taps, green bottles and giant growlers bring in the customers but many stay to take in the local art that is prominently featured on the walls throughout the year.

"Steam Whistle Brewing hosts monthly art exhibitions in their Gallery to showcase local creative talent. We have hosted over 100 month long shows, including established artists and those who are showing for the first time. We do not charge rent for the gallery space, nor is a commission earned on any works that are sold. At the close of each show, one piece from the show (of the artist's choice) is donated to the Steam Whistle permanent collection bringing further profile to artists through the thousands of visitors to the brewery annually." The Brewery has a 2013 call to artists and the submission deadline is November 1, 2012.

The last time I dropped by the Rock 'n' Roll Art Show had the photo/abstract art combo featuring Bruce Cole photos  within artwork by Brooke Opatowski and Jonathan Hiltz. Bruce's photos of famous rock and roll stars provide a neat foundation for the artworks which show a slice of musical history. Bob Dylan is in blue at top and Gordon Lightfoot is in the psychedelic kaleidoscope of colour.

PS it's an easy walk from Union Station so if you have time before your train or bus shows up take time for a visit. See more of the Brewery after the jump.

Shrink wrap your boat #Toronto

Cranes have been busy down at the lakefront picking boats out of the water as the summer boating season ends. Many of the boats get wrapped in white or blue shrink-wrap so their freshness is locked in. Winterizing  and boat storage is big business but it is also a sad end to a full harbour of tour boats and pleasure craft cruising the waters of Lake Ontario. It is time to look back on some of the fun on water as the heat and sun were something we had plenty of this year. This party boat was rockin' and I think there was some knockin' going on.

The Toronto Port Authority reminds Captains to avoid close quarters situations "Large commercial vessels and smaller pleasure craft share the use of Toronto Harbour. For the captain of a large commercial vessel negotiating through the East Gap and into the Inner Harbour when busy with small boats, it is as severe a test for all boat operators. Such situations need not wrack the nerves of either skipper, but there is a real potential for danger when small boats and large ships meet in confined areas. Only when each understands these dangers and acts predictably for the other, can safe passage be assured."

Even tiny little canoes and kayaks crossed the busy harbour

For many the ferries to the Islands is the only time they get to enjoy a boat ride

Rowing sweeps or sculling boats in the protected inner harbour

Learning to sail

In the middle of winter you can get your watersports fix by going to the Toronto International Boat Show (Canada's largest) at the Direct Energy Centre from January 12 to 20, 2013. Ricoh Centre will become the World's largest indoor lake with over one million gallons of lake water.

#Toronto Distillery District Segway

The historic @DistilleryTO cobblestone neighbourhood is perfect for @segwayontario tours and on a beautiful fall day we mounted up and enjoyed the two wheeled adventure. The segway tours are open year round and the company brings the offroad models from Horseshoe Valley Resort into the city during the off season and they use them if the winter weather calls for a heavy duty unit.

We showed up early on Sunday October 21, 2012, filled out our paperwork and were quickly trained on the segways - including a quick obstacle course, and then we were off for the Segway Distillery Spin. You can take the longer tour or even go on a Ghost Tour of the District.

Pedestrian traffic was light so it made the driving easy and as we made our way along the red brick roadways we would stop and the guides would present tidbits of history regarding the early years of the house that spirits built - such as the contribution of child labour in the production of booze. I did notice that the speed of these segways is less than that of the Horseshoe Valley Resort segways.

Segway Ontario also rents bicycles for short and long terms and the walking Haunted Tour of Old Toronto is run out of their storefront at 20 Gristmill Lane. If you have never been to the Distillery District - you have to go, if you haven't ridden a segway then now is the time. Founded in 1832 the area is now full of shops, cafes, condos, restaurants and galleries and many times their is something interesting going on. We have even seen the Oprah Winfrey Network and a President's Choice commercial being filmed and it is always fun to look at the funky art installations and sculptures (like IT, above) that draw so much attention from new visitors.

See Joe's video of the segway tour and more of the Distillery District after the jump.

Silver Snail Comic Store

The new #Toronto home of Silver Snail is on the second floor of 329 Yonge Street - right beside the new Five Guys Burger and Fries joint. The recently moved from Queen Street West location using an old fashioned bucket line - with a comic twist.

The new comic and action figure store even features a cafe and the store was doing quite a business when  I dropped by this weekend. Wonder Woman herself was out giving away Silver Snail cookies.

See more of the store after the jump.

#Toronto Zombie Walk 2012

The undead assembled at City Hall for the 10th annual @TOZombieWalk. Blood flowed and brains were eaten as no one alive was spared the horror of downtown traffic, especially cars following the zombies on Queen, University, Dundas or Yonge Street. The Saturday October 20, 2012 event rocked! I joined Toronto Zombie Walk organizer Thea Munster (left) and head zombie wrangler Adrienne Everitt (right) in the photo at top.

The Zombie Wranglers gather before the relentless march of the undead

This is the first year that the Zombies have been in the heart of the City as they were shifted from Trinity Park. The first zombies started showing up around 11am and after thousands gathered in Nathan Pillips Square the walk began on Queen Street West around 3pm.

See more gore after the jump.

3D Joy in #Toronto

The joy of 3D is shown in the face of this cute movie watching panda. The advertisement is for some furniture place called CB2, but I don't know if I can trust a panda wearing the old fashioned green-red stereo 3D glasses. This is like the 21st Century - you need those 150 dollar active 3D glasses where it looks like you stepped right out of a seniors residence in Florida. With the LG Dual Play gaming televisions you need all-right and all-left glasses. For people who like to keep the passive 3D glasses you get in the movie theatres you can get the LG Cinema 3D TVs.

So far I have found that there is one or two scenes in movies that really have an impressive 3D viewing experience - the rest of the movie usually doesn't even seem like it is in 3D. One day my friend, they say that the televisions themselves can be viewed in 3D without the use of glasses.

For great dimensions you can look at the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models - in stereo 3D. Maybe that's what the panda is looking at.

Go #Toronto Go!

@ArgosCheer dressed in blue make everything better. The ladies are available to help promote community events - just apply and see if you make the cut. The team mascot Jason is also available for appearances. I can tell you that they don't seem to care about cheering on guys when they do the dishes or clean up around the house so it should be for a good cause if you want them to show up.

The football cheerleaders look for events that interact with kids within community and charitable efforts. You can also arrange for corporate paid appearances. Just don't try to book them for November 25, 2012 as they will be busy with the 100th Grey Cup game which takes place at Rogers Centre.

The Grey Cup Telus Street Festival happens before the game starting at 11am and will feature the 'largest tailgate party' and free and ticketed events will take place on Front Street - Simcoe to John Streets. See more cheerleaders and links to the November 25 Grey Cup festivities after the jump.

A Firkin British Pub Invasion

Rule Britannia #Toronto with @FirkinPubs! This summer we fell in love with the Royals; Prince William, his new wife Kate Middleton and the ginger hot Prince Harry - now it's time to feel the love of the Firkin Pub as the chain renovates their look and their menu to take over the Commonwealth of Food and Drink. The Quail & Firkin at 1055 Yonge Street is the first of the renovated Firkins to be unveiled to the public.

With 11 Firkin locations in Toronto the full-service restaurants cook up traditional English Style food and drink with settings that are as unique as the neighbourhoods they are in. My favourite location is the Flatiron & Firkin in Toronto's iconic Gooderham Building at 49 Wellington Street East.

They are a "welcoming place to hunker down with a few friends, coworkers or anyone else you’re able to put up with. You can enjoy a wide assortment of domestic and imported pints as well as some tasty pub-style food. We invite you to stop in and see what a Firkin Pub is all about. Because Everyone’s a little different – one’s just right for you." I think it is a perfect time to find out what Bangers, Beans & Mash are.

These are Firkin photos by the way, blimey.

Sarah McLachlan joins Annie Lennox at Hope Rising

The Sold Out Steven Lewis Foundation 2nd Annual Hope Rising 2012 benefit concert features headliner Annie Lennox and now Sarah McLachlan will also perform. The event draws attention to the importance of African women in the fight against the AIDS pandemic and will be held at Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday November 7 at 8:30pm. The concert will be broadcast by CBC Radio One on Friday November 30 which is World Aids Day. Update: See photos of the concert on my post here.

The award winning singer, songwriter, Order of Canada recipient and founder of Lilith Fair all-female music festival, Sarah has also been a long advocate for women's rights, ending poverty and many other causes. “Music is a powerful vehicle for bringing people together around critical issues,” said McLachlan. “It’s an honour to join Annie Lennox and Angélique Kidjo on stage to pay homage to the brave African women who work daily to subdue the AIDS pandemic.”

Jian Ghomeshi will host the concert as they hope to exceed the $500,000 raised last year.

Air Canada enRoute Film Festival 2012 finalists

We Refuse to Be Cold, Noeud papillon, We Blinded the Sun and Let's Make Lemonade are the finalists in the 6th Annual Air enRoute Film Festival. The film festival features works from new and student filmmakers and the winner of the Best Short Film Award will take home $5,000 provided by Cineplex Entertainment as well as a trip to the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France.

In addition to the Best Film there will also be awards in Achievement in Documentary, Achievement in Direction and Achievement in Cinematography. You can view the top six films for free on November 7, 2012 at the Varsity Theatre in Toronto. The films will also be available for view on Air Canada Planes until December 2012.

"Winners were selected by a jury of industry experts including Jay Baruchel, actor (How to Train Your Dragon), Niv Fichman, producer (Passchendaele), Mary Harron, director (American Psycho), Alison Pill, actor (The Newsroom), Gordon Pinsent, actor (Away From Her), Callum Keith Rennie, actor (The Killing), Saul Rubinek, actor (Barney’s Version), Jacob Tierney, director (The Trotsky), and Karine Vanasse, actor (Polytechnique). Jury members expected to attend the awards celebration include actorsKarine Vanasse and Saul Rubinek, director Jacob Tierney and producer Niv Fichman."

Here are links to the finalists.
Alexander Carson for We Refuse to Be Cold
Fernand-Philippe Morin-Vargas for Noeud papillon
Danielle Sahota and Davina Rimmer for We Blinded the Sun
Justin Friesen for Let’s Make Lemonade

A new People's Choice Award will be chosen by viewers by voting at the film festival's website from November 1 to November 7. The People's Choice will get an Air Canada flight for two within North America.

Celebration of Hockey in #Toronto

Hockey trophies from seasons gone by were on display at Yonge-Dundas Square on Wednesday October 17, 2012. It was definitely not NHL Hockey Night in Canada and for some reason I have not seen any games on tv recently but this event was a promotion of Canadian Citizenship Week Celebrations with Canada's favourite, but currently locked out winter sport.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada joined with Canadian Tire to promote Citizenship Week festivities and hockey with a re-affirmation ceremony by Winnipeg Jets alumni Thomas Steen who read the Oath of Citizenship. An inflatable ball hockey rink was one of many activities that you could take part in before checking out the Hockey Hall of Fame trophies and other memorabilia. Free Beaver Tails and Poutine were available for those who could brave the lineups.

Billy Bridges with a Canadian Tire rep and Sami Jo Small

Canadian athletes Kevin Weekes, Michael Gartner and Curtis Joseph from the NHL and Olympian Sami Jo Small and Paralympian Billy Bridges took part in the event.

"On hand to help Canadians celebrate citizenship and speak at the event will be Maureen Lalla-Khan, Director of Operations Greater Toronto Area East of CIC and John Jobin, Vice President, Merchandising, Playing and Fixing at Canadian Tire."

See more hockey stuff after the jump.