Hot time, summer in Toronto

Looking cool and feeling pretty, the city comes alive in the sun with a cool breeze from the lake and a cold beverages on a patio. It's time for a jumble of images from the big smoke. The top photo is from the Toronto Roller Derby flat track league, its been a couple years since I saw a game but they were great fun to watch.

The Canadian Football "This is our league" CFL games are tons of fun. Toronto is one stop from the crapper in the East Division. The Argonauts come home this weekend for a mid-season game, wish them luck against Saskatchewan.

Some cool art which abounds in Toronto. Art Toronto is coming up in October 2015 and if you have some deep pockets you can pick up some primo pieces, but first check out the Outdoor Art Festival at Nathan Phillips Square in September.

I heard Harbourfront is a traffic mess, all confusing up in your head, but the Toronto destination should always be tops on everyone's list of things to do. From the lineups at the Ferry docks to the Islands (take a water taxi for a few bucks more) to the many events at Harbourfront Centre, this place is hot.

The view from the Island Airport

The Bluffs, the Scarborough Bluffs. A 15km section of vertical cliffs formed over 12,000 years ago from sediment deposits which has been cut by wind and water erosion. The results of the erosion ended up creating the Toronto Islands. Check out Scarborough Bluffs Park. If this was Caledon they would fence off the bluffs and keep people out to prevent further erosion - wankers.

With weird entrance markers, I mean a cat on top of the world, the Kensington Market neighbourhood is tucked away from the everyday world of the city with art, restaurants and abundant fruit markets. Their Solstice celebrations are to die for, or maybe sacrifice is the proper word, and the pedestrian Sundays bring a safer vibe to the area.

The Don River winds through the east side of the city, less meandering than many, many years ago, but still all floody in your face, following the Don Valley Parkway and offering some paths that lead to adventures like abandoned bridges, some scary tobogganing, the fantastic abandoned Brickworks prior to being upgraded, before eventually arriving at Lake Ontario.

The Eaton Centre has always been a big supporter of Nuit Blanche, the all night art event which comes to town October 3rd, 2015. Vertical Constructions hang in the central corridor of the mall in the photo above. Fresh Joe and I plan to take on this year's event with illuminated bicycles - that's right, we will be mobile art this year!

I hear the Gardiner is falling apart and could be removed entirely, or in portions, was heard - like every year since they put the thing up. Builders complain that it interferes with their line of condos, making it hard to see the concrete and glass structures.

Graffiti murals. Who doesn't like graffiti, except maybe the people that own the buildings being tagged.

Horse cops, who you going to call, neigh.

Acton Leathertown Festival 2015

The downtown drag of the best little town in the GTA is full of fun as the annual Acton Leathertown Festival returns Sunday, August 9, 2015. Acton, situated in lovely Halton Hills, is always worth the drive and a stroll down the main street. The day is beautiful and the festival runs until 5pm tonite.

Some of the best Ontario bands are on hand to play some tunes - including Helen, Eric and Frank singing for Ditto's Boutique and ReNew, a new consignment store in Acton, the Jack de Keyser Band and Chase n Diesel,

McDonalds is giving away free premium roast coffee!

Vendors, agencies and local businesses line the streets, in between the stages, kids fun areas and the antique cars so come on by.

Miss Acton Fall Fair 2014-2015

Batman and Robin award winning dogs

Awww, Toronto Zombie Walk 2015 Cancelled

Sad news for the undead, due to funding problems the walk has been cancelled. A wake has been planned to bring an end to the Toronto Zombie Walk on August 29, 2015.

"Deadlings, It is with great sadness that we must announce that the 2015 Toronto Zombie Walk is cancelled. We want to thank you all for making this event the special event that it has grown to be. And we are sorry to say that we have failed to secure any of our grants or sponsorships for this year, so we must bow out."

Here is a copy of the upcoming walk of memorium  "Dear Zombies,

You are respectfully invited to attend the funeral of The Toronto Zombie Walk at Trinity Bellwoods Park on the 29th day of August. Services start at 2pm.

Let us ask that this be a celebration of the afterlife and that The Toronto Zombie Walk will rest in pieces, as we remember the times that rampant hordes of flesheaters devoured the living of Toronto while the rivers of blood ran plentiful through the city streets. The carnage reaped upon the city shall never be forgotten and that is why we encourage you to bring photos, stories, and other ghoulish memories for our coffin. The burial of the coffin will be at an undisclosed location for a future unveiling.

Let us not see this as a somber occasion, but as a step in the process of resurrection, so let us celebrate and bring the FUN to our funeral. Please join us after our SCARYmony for a procession to the wake at the CNE. There zombies will be treated with thousands of carnival goers to feast upon. Let us not mourn, but enjoy the screams from the Scar-us wheel, Grave-a-tron and the bumper coffins. Enjoy the delicacies of Funnel brain, deep fried limbs, and rotten candy. We looks forward to celebrating with you.

The first 100 funeral attendees to leave a memory in our coffin will receive a free ticket for the exhibition that day. You must be dressed in undead attire to receive this deal!

Keep your eyeballs peeled as more details on exact park location are to be announced.

In loving Memory,
The Toronto Zombie Walk"

Oh, its been Sieged again - The Battle of Old Fort Erie

'Murica successfully captured and held Fort Erie during the War of 1812, twice, before blowing up the fort and returning home for the opening of Old Disneyland. The attack on the fort resulted in Canada's bloodiest battlefield and the 200th anniversary happened just last year.

Inside the fort

Weekend battles began at 11am Saturday in the south field where American forces, heavily outnumbering the British defenders, cause the surrender of Major Buck and his troopers. Another battle started at 2pm representing the heavy fighting at Chippawa and Lundy's Lane. Watching the fighting is free, even parking, but entrance to the fort costs about $13, plus tax - which is a great deal.

Our country's oldest British fort, originally built in 1764, later destroyed in 1814 and rebuilt in the 1930s, is a War of 1812 National Historic Site. Renamed Old Fort Erie the war re-enactments of the battle only began 30 years ago because it took awhile for the gun powder to dry out.

Muskets and cannon bring the boom to the party where red coats are the fashion of the day and the battle re-enactment ends with blowing up the fort - every year! The large south field offers Drummonds Night Assault which starts at 8pm and features the unexpected explosion of a gun powder magazine right under the American battery which the British had just taken over - everyone that survived beat a hasty retreat.

It wasn't until November 5, 1814 that the Americans burned and blew up the fort and returned back to the United States. Soon after peace broke out between the countries and much later (1937-1939) the fort was rebuilt and opened to the public. The new tourist centre has shops, a cafe, theatre and museum with displays and hands-on exhibits. The site is adjacent to the Lake Erie entrance of the Niagara River - right across from the American city of Buffalo. I also just found out that the QEW highway starts at the American crossing in Fort Erie.

Fort Erie Siege schedule

Saturday, August 8
10 a.m. Fort opens to the public
11 a.m. Skirmish: "Buck's Surrender"
12 p.m. Uniforms of the War of 1812
1 p.m. British Artillery Display
2 p.m. Tactical Battle! "Chippawa and Lundy's Lane"
3 p.m. Mini Militia on the Terre-Plein
4 p.m. U.S. Artillery Display
5 p.m. Fort closed to the public
8 p.m. Battle! "Drummond's Night Assault on the Fort"
9 p.m. Lantern tours through the fort under attack

Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. The rest of the weekend schedule along with the story of the actual siege from Canadian Military Heritage after the jump.

Toronto Buskerfest 2015 coming in August

"Where fearless meets funny!" Street performers will hit the pavement on Yonge Street during the annual Toronto International Buskerfest presented by Scotiabank festival from August 27 to 30.

"The last of the major festivals in the Toronto summer entertainment season, the festival is spontaneous, colourful and bursting with the unexpected. There is something for everyone; silent comedy and slapstick, daredevils and magicians, high skill circus acts and a wide variety of music, clowns, contortionists, acrobats, aerialists, puppets, fire and a few things we have no words to describe. Over 170 of the best street performers in more than 70 acts from Canada and around the world – including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Peru, Poland, Thailand, The Netherlands, Slovakia and the U.S. – will excite and amaze Torontonians and tourists alike. And new this year is the Family Fun Zone, with great activities for the kids and performances by some of the festival’s silliest buskers!"

The fun happens downtown Toronto on the following dates.

Thur., August 27th 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Fri., August 28th 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Sat., August 29th 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Sun., August 30th 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

Muskoka and Haliburton Ontario

Back to cottage country around Dorset, Bracebridge and Kawagama Lake for the amazing 2015 Band Cottage long weekend. Making the journey north of Toronto on Saturday morning we enjoy the beautiful day and only medium traffic on the infamous Highways 400 and 11.

There was a small army of Bands and their relatives, making the cottage the best place north of the GTA for the whole weekend. Master Cheese and the gang put on a comedy show, followed by the Kawagama Lake holiday fireworks show. The big thing for the youths this year was kneeboarding behind a speeding powerboat.

The rain brought us into the cottage for a rousing game of dice, otherwise the nights were full of campfires and fun. Leaving on Monday we decided to take a tour of Bracebridge waterfalls and get off the beaten path as the highways were stop and go on the way home.

Thunder Over Michigan August 29-30 2015

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels aerobatic team flies their famous blue F/A-18 Hornet jets to the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti for the upcoming edition of the airshow and ground battle re-enactments. With one of the best airshow names in the business, the Thunder Over Michigan show brings back the Angels for the first time since 2011.

"The Blue Angels have flown over 10 different aircraft in the team’s 65 year history. Originally, the team flew four aircraft in the signature “Diamond” formation and expanded to six aircraft to showcase both the diamond and solos high performance capability as well as the precision formation flying taught to all Naval Aviators. Today, the squadron flies the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet and the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules known as Fat Albert. When the squadron receives a F/A-18 Hornet from the fleet, which are at the end of their carrier arrestment functionality, we make a variety of modifications, including removing the nose cannon to install a smoke-fluid system, inverting a fuel pump, installing a stop watch and adjustable constant-tension stick spring, as well as the world-wide recognizable paint scheme."

Another headliner will be the United States Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon demonstration Team. The multi-role fighter has both an air-to-air and air-to-surface attack proficiency that has been extensively utilized in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The event is a great place to see aviation and military history in one place

Carnival Grand Parade returns

Filling Lake Shore and Exhibition Place with the beats and costumes of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, the finale to the weeks long cultural celebration of the Islands comes back to town Saturday, August 1, 2015.

This is the 48th annual Scotiabank Carnival and it only gets bigger and better.

"The Grand Parade continues to attract local, regional, national, and international attention by visitors and media as it is the highlight of the three-week Festival. This event continues to draw millions from all over the world to see the live performing street art year after year and on live streaming. After months of preparation, masqueraders in colourful and striking costumes wind their way from the assembly area at Exhibition Place along Lake Shore Boulevard. Admission applies to Exhibition Place where patrons have the opportunity to enjoy the parade of the Mas Bands. Masquerade bands end up in Exhibition Place where masqueraders can party until 8:00 pm. Guest bands, cultural bands and steel bands also participate in the parade. Guest bands start from the staging area within Exhibition Place and wind their way along Lakeshore Boulevard to disperse west of the Boulevard Club. Steel bands stage on Lakeshore Boulevard south of the All Stream Centre and also proceed along Lakeshore Boulevard to the Boulevard Club."