TIPF 2017 this week

Good for Her brings the Toronto International Porn Festival to town from April 20-23. The four day festival celebrates adult films that "empower, celebrate and offer a platform to discover progressive and positive porn". Samples of over 50 films with the best of the last 10 years and the best of 2016 to be shown at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema Thursday and Friday. VR will be featured on Saturday and the festival will culminate with a sexy gala on Sunday at the Great Hall.

Film judging is based on 4 categories: quality, inclusiveness, the "it" factor and hotness. They look for viewing options for diverse audiences that reflect society on the screen.

“Porn is everywhere and yet so private in how we view it. It also generally portrays a very narrow picture of who is sexy and what sex looks like. We started this festival because it publicly affirms a much broader experience of sex and offers a much more inclusive and diverse representation of bodies, pleasures, sexualities and desires.” Says festival producer, Carlyle Jansen. “People also feel conflicted about watching porn, worried that their consumption contributes to an industry that oppresses women. The Festival offers multiple formal and informal opportunities to hear from performers themselves about what their work means to them and how consumers can support positive and empowering sex work environments.”
Virtual Reality (VR) Porn will be explored and there will be seminars and free panels with special guests on Saturday.

The Upcoming Toronto International Porn Festival events are:

The Best of the Last Decade: Toronto International Porn Festival Review.
Thursday April 20 9:30pm at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema 506 Bloor St W. Toronto

Public.Provocative.Porn.
Friday April 21 7pm at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema 506 Bloor St W. Toronto

The Kinkier Side of Lust
Friday April 21 9:30pm at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema 506 Bloor St W. Toronto

Digital Play X - VR porn gallery, erotic shorts and talks
Saturday April 22 noon to 8pm at the Super Wonder Gallery 584 College St Toronto

Toronto International Porn Festival Awards Gala
Sunday April 23 7pm at the Great Hall 1087 Queen St W, Toronto

"Porn performers, directors, producers and fans dress in their sexiest best and mingle together as they savor short clips of the year’s most impressive award-winning films. Stimulating live entertainment is interspersed between the awards and the night is capped off with a celebratory dance party"

Niagara Falls Blossoms

High Park must wait a little longer for tree flowers but for the Niagara Falls area blossoms are already filling the fruit trees in the parks and orchards. Easter long weekend brought lots of the tourists into the area and the drive along wine and fruit farms is a perfect spring time pursuit.

Plus the big wheel is gone

Toronto Cherry Blossom Watch 2017

Update May 10: Blossoms are on at Osgoode Hall and Old City Hall.

Osgoode Hall blossoms

Update April 29: Peak blossom time in High Park, Exhibition Place, Centre Island and Trinity Bellwoods Park is on now!

Update: April 22, the blossoms are still a little shy. Some of the flowers have bloomed but the majority still wait to open up. Cars pour into the park and hundreds of people wander around the cherry trees enjoying the early stages of spring. Another couple of days is needed for peak bloom which is still pegged for April 23 to 26.

Peak bloom is currently at the University of Toronto library and the trees at Queen's Park. Trees on University Avenue and the trees in Exhibition Place and Osgoode Hall need a few more days.

And here are more of the High Park blossoms

Now? Not yet. Now? Not yet. This is what happens when the kids want to see cherry blossoms, which probably won't happen unless the blossoms were made out of candy floss. April showers bring May showers and we are definitely in the moist season. Centre point of the watch is the jewel in the crown - High Park but there are plenty of trees around the City including Exhibition Place, Old City Hall, Queen's Park, Osgoode Hall, the University of Toronto and the Toronto Islands and they should come alive with flowers in late April or early May. They kind of lean to early to mid-May but this year's mild March weather leaves the experts predicting April 23-26 as Peak Bloom. Blossoms are already out in the Niagara Falls area.

Queen's Park

University of Toronto 

Old City Hall trees are still waiting to blossom

Exhibition Place

Toronto Island Blossoms on Centre Island, just north west of the pedestrian bridge

See pictures of previous year's blossoms after the jump.

Toronto IndyCar and NASCAR fans start to warm up

As we settle into Sprint it is a good time to check on the status of a few race series that take place in Toronto in 2017. We don't have to go far to see good news about a Canadian driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series James Hinchcliffe, of the #5 Schmidt Perterson Motorsports car, won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach! It's also the 5th career win in IndyCar. Now he has his sights on overtaking Paul Tracy's long list of wins.

This puts James in second place in the standing, just behind Sebastian Bourdais, after the second race in the 17 race season. The Honda Indy Toronto is just a couple months away in the heat of Toronto's summer - July 14 to 16 at Exhibition Place. In 2014 Sebastian won one of the two Toronto double header races while James took third place last year. We will catch up with the schedule and map for the Toronto series as we get closer to the date.

NASCAR Pingy's Series in Toronto

The NASCAR Pinty's Series stockcar races will start during the Castrol presents the Victoria Day Speedfest at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, May 19 to 21. They will also return to the Honda Indy Toronto in 2017, headlining Saturday's slate of races.

A fantastic spring weekend in Toronto

Our family got together for a quick day as tourists in the big city and the sunny weather made for a very pleasant trip. We started with the St Lawrence Market which was packed with visitors enjoying the shopping hotspot. The historic supermarket is full of mouth watering steaks, seafood, cheeses almost everything else you want to eat. Giant lobster tails were selling for almost $90 a piece. Then we enjoyed an early dinner at C'est What?, a basement bar and restaurant in the Market area on Front Street. The meal was great and they had a impressive selection of alcohol and beers, plus it was fun to keep saying the name - say what!

Then we went to Berczy Park to get a photo beside the giant mural, check out the doggy fountain still under construction.

At the mural on the Flatiron Building

Backseat selfie in the uber

I grabbed my first uber for a trip to Kensington Market which was also packed with visitors enjoying the shopping hotspot. Uber was easy to use and if you get someone to recommend you to join the driving service they will get a $10 credit and you can get your first ride under $20 free. I talked about tipping with the driver and they say that it is not expected in the cost of the ride.

A 12 week old puppy in Kensington Market

The Community is still protected by a varied neighbourhood watch

Enjoy the many graffiti murals in Kensington

Several cups including the Oh Sweet Jesus ice cream

After enjoying the graffiti and the various selection of stores up and down the famous neighbourhood before we walked through the Spadina Chinatown to join the lineup at Sweet Jesus, the ice cream store located on John Street. Ice cream tasted great, prices were reasonable but I don't think I would wait in the lineup again.

Up-and-coming April in Toronto

We have one more weekend of winter weather, then spring temperatures are headed for Toronto, so keep out of the patios for now and check out these events happening soon.

This Friday, April 7: The Raptors are playing Miami Hit at 7:30pm at the Air Canada Centre. Green Living Show starts Friday and continues through to Sunday at Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building.

Saturday, April 8: Maple Leafs at ACC against the Pittsburgh Penguins 7pm. Toronto FC battle Atlanta United FC at BMO Field at 7:30pm. Toronto Roller Derby (TORD) Boot Quarterfinals at the Bunker with Bandits vs Gores at 5pm and Dolls vs Chicks at 7pm. VIMY 100 remembrance celebrations at Old Fort York 10am-5pm.

Sunday, April 9: Maple Leafs continue at the ACC with a game against Columbus Blue Jackets at 6pm. VIMY 100 remembrance celebrations at Old Fort York 10am-5pm.

Later in April: 

Canadian Music Week (18-23). 

The Toronto International Porn Festival April 20-23. What? How did I not hear of this before? It began in 2006 as the Feminist Porn Awards and in 2016 changed their name. The Festival Gala is April 23 from 7-10pm.

The Future of Innovation, Technology and Creativity (FITC) Toronto 2017 April 23-25 at the Hilton Toronto which "is a professional celebration of the best the world has to offer in design, digital development, media and innovation in creative technologies – three days and nights of presentations, parties, installations and performances that unite and transform the industry."

International Pillow Fight Day 2017

A Toronto Rock 'em Sock 'em battle royale took place in Nathan Phillips Square today, our part of the global event that takes place on April 1st in cities around the world. The whole affair is a lot of fun and really releases some pent up emotions, so you can enjoy the rest of the year.

The international play day was the result of a loose federation of event organizers working with the Urban Playground Movement "All over the world, groups like us organize free, fun, all ages, non-commercial public events. From a massive Mobile Clubbing event in a London train station to a giant pillow fight near the Eiffel Tower in Paris to a subway party beneath the streets of Toronto, it is clear that the urban playground is growing around the world, leaving more public and more social cities in its wake. This is the urban playground movement, a playful part of the larger public space movement."

It was a perfect day in early spring with sun shining down on the large horde of pillow wielding participants and the large crowd of photographers circling the action. Starting at 3pm the pillows flew through the air, smashing into bodies left, right and centre. The fight itself is very taxing, it robs you of strength and after awhile people left the battle and new ones joined. It goes on for hours until all that is left is pillow stuffing debris and loose pillows everywhere.

See more pillow fighting smack downs after the jump.

Leonard Cohen Tribute at the 2017 JUNO Awards

Award winning musical artist Feist will perform at the JUNOs to honour the late, great Canadian musician, Companion of the Order of Canada and member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame - Leonard Cohen. The JUNOs are in Ottawa this year on Sunday, April 2nd and are presented by CTV and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).

"More than 2,000 recordings of Leonard Cohen’s songs have been made by artists that range from Elton John, U2, Jeff Buckley, to Aretha Franklin. And from Bob Dylan to Justin Timberlake, more than 200 artists have sung or recorded the now iconic “Hallelujah” since Cohen’s original recording in 1984, including breathtaking performances by k.d. lang at THE 2005 JUNO AWARDS in Winnipeg, and the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Games."

The 46th annual awards show will be co-hosted by rocker Bryan Adams and comedian Russell Peters. Photo above, provided.

"This year’s lineup of presenters and performers were also announced today and include: electronic duo Bob Moses; music pioneer and 2017 Allan Waters Humanitarian Award recipient Buffy Sainte-Marie; singer-songwriter and JUNO Award nominee Chantal Kreviazuk; singer, songwriter and producer Coleman Hell; singer-songwriter Delaney Jane; rapper Jazz Cartier; platinum-selling country artist Jess Moskaluke; Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy; comedian and Much Digital Studios Creator Jus Reign; Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay; ETALK reporter Liz Trinnear; the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Honourable Mélanie Joly; Nathan Dales and Michelle Mylett from CraveTV’s LETTERKENNY, rockers Sam Roberts Band; Arkells, A Tribe Called Red, Alessia Cara, Billy Talent, Dallas Smith, July Talk, Ruth B, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Mendes, and The Strumbellas and Toronto rap artist Tasha the Amazon."

JUNOTV.ca will also feature live backstage access through the new Samsung Red Carpet Live Stream in 360 with 3 cameras along the carpet. The online show will include backstage views, interviews, celebrity events and of course the red carpet arrivals. With the assistance of the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) JUNO TV will also show the Gala Dinner and Awards presentations, hosted by Sam Sutherland and Lana Gay, which livestreams 6pm ET on Saturday, April 1. You can also find additional JUNO exclusive content on facebook.

JUNO TV schedule for the preshow and the award show:

3:30pm ET - Sam Sutherland and Lana Gay host JUNO TV LIVE on the Red Carpet
6:30pm ET - JUNO TV Backstage Lounge at The JUNOS co-hosted by Sam Sutherland and Lana Gay where winners, performers, presenters and more stop by for a chat!
6:30pm ET - Be a fly on the wall to see what goes on behind the scenes with the JUNO TV Portrait Studio Cam and the JUNO TV Side Stage Cam
* Curated on-demand content and real-time community engagement throughout JUNO Week

Toronto Motorcycle SPRINGSHOW 2017

The calendar now says Spring so bring on the two wheel excitement of the March 25-26 SPRINGSHOW in Hall 1 and 2 at the International Centre. Celebrity broadcaster Jeff Woods will be meeting fans and autographing copies of his book 'Records and Rockstars' during Saturday's show. And Canadian Ice Road Rider Oliver 'Brokentooth' Solaro will be at the show all weekend.

Jeff Woods with Agent Royale's Maurizio Ancinelli, photo supplied

Oliver 'Brokentooth' Solaro, photo supplied

"Oliver has been described as the "kilted madman of the ice" because he continues to ride in conditions that only he can imagine. The frozen road adventurer survives and thrives on two where most would perish. Mr. Solaro is mid-way into his latest challenge; following the route of French explorer Samuel de Champlain over water and land. Aboard his custom "cataraft" Mr. Solaro and his specially designed CCM GP 450 will complete the remaining 1600 kms starting in late spring."

The Motorcycle SPRINGSHOW has over 250 exhibitors, new and used motorcycles, learn to ride training courses and my favourite - Canada's largest custom bike showcase with $20,000 in cash prizes. Race fans can also meet MX, road racers and Flat Track emerging stars.

Vintage bikes will be featured on the red carpet with the earliest being the 1909 Silent Grey and continuing through to Bar Hodgson's 1953 'Sandbagger and motorcycles from the Vincent Owner's Group.

You can pose with the K-2SO Droid from Star Wars Rogue One

Gator

See more bikes after the jump.