Webster Falls in winter

It felt more like spring as temperatures of plus 3C under partly cloudy skies brought many people out on the Family Day long weekend to Spencer Gorge Conservation Area. Two Niagara Escarpment waterfalls are within easy walking distance in Hamilton - Tew Falls and Webster Falls. Be careful on the paths
because they don't clear them in winter time. Temporarily suffering with bum knees I couldn't go down to the park at the top of the falls but I could check out the view from across the falls. There was a couple of brave souls that made their way down the frozen valley to the base of the falls.

"From the escarpment brow, noted for its panoramas, to the forested depths of the gorge below, the Spencer Gorge Conservation Area exhibits the physical features which have made the Niagara Escarpment one of Ontario's most spectacular geological formations. This significant natural area contains two beautiful waterfalls: Webster and Tew Falls. Webster is a magnificent tiered waterfall and Tew, which towers at 41 metres, is only a few metres shorter than Niagara Falls. Both offer spectacular vistas of the gorge."

Parking in the winter is $10 per car and from May until October 31 the cost increases with an additional fee of $5 per person.

Motorcycle Show Toronto 2018

It is hard to walk a straight line in Enercare Centre as you eye is drawn from one shiny bike to another, trying on motorcycles for fit and feel and yeah, they feel good. The Motorcycle Show Toronto is the biggest manufacturers show in Ontario and it's time to check out the new models along with accessories and riding gear. Running from Friday to Sunday, February 16-18.

"Whether you’re a hardcore rider, a newbie to the sport, thinking of getting your license or just a fan of the motorcycle lifestyle, we’ve got you covered! And with activities and entertainment for the whole family, we guarantee riders and future riders, of all ages, will have a blast! So grab your best pals and come get your fix of 2, 3 and 4-wheel action and interaction at The Motorcycle Show!"

The Yamaha Riding Academy and the Latimer/Constantini Stunt-riding and the OPP Golden Helmets demonstrations are setup in the back while out in the big hall are the motorcycles, riding clubs and vendors. The largest display areas were for Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda along with Suzuki, BMW, Indian Motorcycle, Piaggio and Ducati. Friday was She Rides Night celebrating women riders.

Air Canada had an interesting booth where they were promoting sending your bike away on a jet plane, presumably to the same place you intend to vacation.

There is plenty of parking outside ($15) or you could park underneath the Enercare Centre for a few dollars more ($18).

Celebrate Toronto 2018

This March will see the big smoke turn 184 years old and to celebrate they will hold a birthday party down at City Hall March 3-6, 2018. The weekend festivities will run from noon to 8pm and on Monday March 5 and Tuesday March 6 from 5pm to 10:30pm. The Celebrate Toronto party will include a market, local vendors, food trucks and much more.

"Join our night skate party featuring DJ Caff, spinning a mash of funk, Motown, and Toronto based hits. Food trucks and shopping vendors will be open until 10:30pm! Skates can be rented on site. Feet too tired from dancing/skating? Join us in TD Bank's Warming Lounge to sip on some complimentary hot chocolate!"

Dwayne Gretzky and the 2018 Toronto's Festival of #BeerLove

Winter is made for chilling the kegs of draught beer that will be served during summer's glorious celebration of the golden brew. The musical group Dwayne Gretzky will be headlining the Saturday night concert series during the upcoming July 26-29, 2018 brewhaha held at Bandshell Park in Exhibition Place.

"The legendary Saturday of Toronto's Festival of Beer is a day that everyone needs to experience," said Les Murray, President of Toronto's Festival of Beer, "Dwayne Gretzky will bring the hit songs and the energy and we'll bring a massive selection of brews and tasty culinary treats for fans to enjoy." Dwayne Gretzky is a collection of Toronto musicians that delve into nostalgia, uniting fans of all ages to sing along to the greatest hits of the last 50 years and by performing with energy and fidelity."

2018 is special because they added another day to the annual 19+ sampling event presented by the Beer Store. TFOB2018 now starts on Thursday which is good because they sell out tickets in advance of the event. 2018 Early-Bird tickets are already gone.

Formula 1 drops Grid Girls

FIA Formula One World Championship series has decided to remove the ladies who hold the signs for driver teams during the pre-race ceremonies and change to Grid Kids for 2018. This will also apply to other races during the Grands Prix weekends. Formula 1 is an open wheel, single-seat racing series that takes place mostly outside of North America and will start its current season on March 25, 2018 in Australia.

The Tilted Kilt ladies weren't Grid Girls but you could find them on Thunder Alley

Pre-race celebrations and also trophy presentations often featured ladies that added to the 'glamour and spectacle' of the race events and for many people were highlights of the off track entertainment. In Toronto we often had the Toronto Sun Grid Girls and the Budweiser Pit Crew contestants.

“Over the last year we have looked at a number of areas which we felt needed updating so as to be more in tune with our vision for this great sport," said Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1. While the practice of employing grid girls has been a staple of Formula 1 Grands Prix for decades, we feel this custom does not resonate with our brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms. We don’t believe the practice is appropriate or relevant to Formula 1 and its fans, old and new, across the world.”

Certainly the use of Grid Girls is something that people may have strong opinions both for and against, I know that I would miss them if they were dropped from participating in the racing scene. They really are promotional models helping to advertise the race and its associated events.

Budweiser Pit Crew photos by Joe Hamilton

Toronto Charity Runs 2018

Walk or Run for charity in the Six. You can check some of my favourite events to photograph with Walk a Mile In Her Shoes and Colour Me Rad events.

Hair of the Dog Fun Run - promoting canoe and kayak sports (January - New Years Day)
MEC Toronto First Run 5/10K The Winter Run - (January)

St Patricks Day 5K Run - (March)

Beaches Spring Sprint - (April)
MEC Toronto Race Two 5/10/15k Waterfront Flyer - (April)
Bum Run - (April)
CF Run Walk - SickKids and POGO (April)

Goodlife Toronto Marathon - Princess Margaret Hospital (May)
Sporting Life 10k - Run for kids with cancer (May)
Toronto Women's Half Marathon - (May)
Walk of Life Walk/Run/Cycle - Cardiac Health (May)
Colour Me Rad - (May)

Becel Heart and Stroke Ride for Heart - (June), get your bicycles ready
Ride to Conquer Cancer - (June)
Gutsy Walk formerly Heel 'n' Wheel-a-thon - Crohn's and Colitis (June)
Scotiabank Rat Race - for United Way (June)
Walk Now for Autism - (June)
Mud Run - Canada's dirtiest trail run (June)
City Chase - (#1 June)
Toronto Yonge Street Waterfront 10k - (June)
Pride and Remembrance Run - LGBTQ charities (June)

Spartan Race Toronto - Obstacle course racing (July), actually in Clarington
Toronto Triathlon - With a Festival (July)
The Beaches Jazz Tune-Up Run/Walk - (July)

City Chase - (#2 August)
Mud Hero - get down, get dirty 6km adventure featuring outrageous obstacles - (August)
Toronto Women's 10k  and 5k - (August)
Tough Mudder - (August)

Tweed Ride - (fall) Hopefully they return to the streets of Toronto as well!

Terry Fox Run - Cancer (September)
Telus Walk to Cure Diabetes - Juvenile Diabetes (September)
Rexall One Walk to Conquer Cancer (September)
Longboat Toronto Island Run - Toronto's oldest (September)
Famous Canadian Beer Run and Festival - (September)
Yorkville Run - Various Charities (September)
Toronto 5k - SickKids (September)
Oasis Zoo Run - Come run with the animals (September)

CIBC Run for the Cure - Breast Cancer (October)
Toronto Women's 8k and 5k - Women set the pace (October)
Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon - various charities (October)

Toronto Santa Speedo Run (December) Santa better come back in 2017 and 2018 should be good to go
The Santa Shuffle - Salvation Army (December)

And one of my favorites the Burlington Santa 5K Run (December)

There is also Polo for Heart - Heart and Stroke (June) and many golf tournaments around the city for charity so there are plenty of ways to get active or help others financially.  Run Guides provides an excellent listing of Toronto area runs.

Toronto Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018 Schedule

Yorkville once again becomes fashion central during the semi-annual Toronto Fashion Week event. The 2018's fall/winter season will be shown at Yorkville Village Monday to Wednesday, February 5-7 showcase of fashion, art, music and culture. The full schedule has over 20 shows and events highlighting the best fashion and design in Canada shown on the runway or in the studio, tickets are available for purchase on their website. There is also a consumer market place open to the public in Yorkville Village where you can meet designers and shop the collections from the presenting Canadian brands.

"Each day kicks off with a live taping of the Fashion Talks™ podcast, produced in partnership with CAFA™. Join host Donna Bishop in the studio on the upper level of Yorkville Village as she chats with special guests Gersha Phillips, (Costume Designer,Star Trek: Discovery) about fashion and designing for the future, Shinan Govani(Columnist and Author) and Bojana Sentaler (Designer and Creative Director for SENTALER) about fashion and the Royals, and Luis Sequeira (Academy Award Nominated Costume Designer) and Ann Steel (Assistant Costume Designer) about fashion, costume and Guillermo del Toro’s multi-Oscar-nominated film, The Shape of Water."

Healsevent closes out Toronto Fashion Week with a fashion show featuring patients, doctors and television personalities as models. You can see Pooja Handa from CP24 Breakfast and Cynthia Mulligan of CityNews on the runway. The fourth annual Healsevent is in support of SickKids Hospital.

Here is the schedule for February's TFW and in between shows you can grab some Grey Goose Designer Cocktails and other adult beverages at the SIPBAR.

Monday, February 5

"Day one featured innovative fashion presentations by top designers including Mayer Man, Eleventy, Triarchy, UNTTLD, NARCES and Christopher Bates."
2:00 PM | Fashion Talks | Studio
Fashion and Designing for the Future with Gersha Phillips, Costume Designer Star Trek: Discovery
Instagram: @fashiontalkspodcast

4:00 PM | Mayer Man | Studio
Twitter: @therossmayer Instagram: @therossmayer

5:00 PM | Eleventy | Runway
Instagram: @eleventy_milano

5:30 PM | Eleventy Post-Show Cocktail Event (Invite Only) | Eleventy
Instagram: @eleventy_milano

6:00 PM | Triarchy | Runway
Twitter: @TriarchyDenim Instagram: @triarchy

7:00 PM | UNTTLD | Runway
Instagram: @unttld_official

7:30 PM | UNTTLD x TNT Spring/Summer ‘18 Collection Shopping Event | TNT
Twitter: @tntfashion, @reiastudio Instagram: @unttld_official, @reiastudio, @tntfashion

Narces at Toronto Fashion Week.

Photo credit: George Pimentel

"NARCES put on a show-stopper with elegant pieces that drew inspiration from the 70s and early 80s era."

8:00 PM | NARCES | Runway
Twitter: @_narces Instagram: @_narces

9:00 PM | Christopher Bates | Runway

Twitter: @CBatesMenswear Instagram: @christopher.bates.official

Tuesday, February 6

"Day two featured innovative fashion presentations by top Canadian designers Nonie, Tara Rivas, Hilary MacMillan, WRKDEPT, WIL Studios and HENDRIXROE."

2:00 PM | Fashion Talks | Studio
Fashion and the Royals with Columnist and Author, Shinan Govani and Bojana Sentaler, Designer and Creative Director
Instagram: @fashiontalkspodcast

4:00 PM | Nonie | Studio
Twitter: @houseofnonie Instagram: @houseofnonie

Designer Tara Rivas (centre) with her ‘Red Hot’ collection.

Photo credit: George Pimentel

"Inspired by true love, Tara Rivas incorporated bold red and black colours to illustrate the power and passion of love. Departing from the traditional women’s workwear, her collection combined feminine cocktail attire punctuated with striking red power suits."
5:00 PM | Tara Rivas | Studio
Twitter: @tmrcollection Instagram: @tararivas

6:00 PM | Hilary MacMillan | Runway
Twitter: @hilarymacmillan Instagram: @hilarymacmillan

7:00 PM | WRKDEPT | Studio
Twitter: @wrkdept Instagram: @wrkdept

9:00 PM | WIL Studios | Studio
Instagram: wil.studios

9:30 PM | HENDRIXROE | Runway
Twitter: @hendrixroestyle Instagram: @hendrixroe

Wednesday, February 7

"Day three featured innovative fashion presentations by top Canadian designers Mani Jassal, Pedram Karimi, Andrew Coimbra x UNCUFFED, HAYLEY ELSAESSER, S.P. Badu and fundraiser Fashion Heals."

1:00 PM | Fashion Talks | Studio
Fashion, Costume and The Shape of Water with Academy Award Nominated Costume Designer Luis Sequeira and Assistant Costume Designer Ann Steel
Instagram: @fashiontalkspodcast

Mani Jassal (centre) and her Fall/Winter 2018 collection.

Photo credit: George Pimentel

"In the RE\SET™ studio, Canadian evening and bridal wear designer, Mani Jassal unveiled a flower-filled ‘Garden of Desire’ collection. Eclectic, audacious and ethereal, her collection used traditional Indian fabrics with intricate beading and metal details in disruptively sexy silhouettes."
3:00 PM | Mani Jassal | Studio
Instagram: @manikjassal

4:00 PM | Pedram Karimi | Runway
Twitter: @pedramkarimi Instagram: @pedramkarimi_

5:00 PM | Andrew Coimbra x UNCUFFED | Studio
Twitter: @andrewcoimbra / @uncuffedleather
Instagram: @andrewcoimbra / @uncuffedleather

6:00 PM | HAYLEY ELSAESSER | Runway
Twitter: @HayleyElsaesser Instagram: @HayleyElsaesser‎

S.P. Badu at Toronto Fashion Week.

Photo credit: George Pimentel

"S.P. Badu incorporated athleisure separates with urban flair for a cohesive unisex collection with an aggressive approach to minimalism that challenges gender and garment construction."
6:30 PM | S.P. Badu | Studio
Twitter: @___SPB Instagram: @spbadu

7:00 PM | Fashion Heals (Fundraiser By Invitation Only) | Runway
An inspiring runway event in support of SickKids Hospital that puts patients, medical staff, caregivers and notable personalities on the runway.
Instagram: @fashionheals4sickkids

The Toronto Motorcycle Show 2018 is coming

The long, cold winter is not half over yet so it is a good time to think about motorcycles so get ready for the new edition of the Toronto Motorcycle Show. See the new models, stunt shows and much more during the February 16-18 show at the Enercare Centre in Exhibition Place.

"This celebration of the motorcycle lifestyle will be the first opportunity for Ontario’s riding enthusiasts to see the new 2018 motorcycle, ATV, side-by-side and scooter models that will be on sale at dealerships when the spring riding season rolls around. Aprilia, BMW Motorrad, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Honda, Indian, Kawasaki, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Piaggio, Polaris, Suzuki, Triumph, Vespa and Yamaha will all be participating at the province’s only stop on the six-city national show tour."

Over 500 bikes will be on display along with apparel, accessories and the show opens with She Rides Night of Friday, February 16. Ladies can enter to win a 2018 Kawasaki Versys-X 300 ABS with a draw made that night. Stunt shows and the Yamaha Riding Academy for Kids along with Vintage Motorcycles and the Bike Life Lounge are just some of the features that will get you out in the cold.

The Toronto Motorcycle Show hours are Friday noon to 9pm (parking free after 5pm), Saturday 10am to 8pm and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

Acton Winter Carnival 2018

Now with less snow! The balmy weather has impacted the small town Winter Carnival and several of the activities have been made unpossible, that's right, unpossible. No curling, no hockey games and no skating in the park, but everything else is a go. Sadly I missed the pancake breakfast.

Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette meets one of the dogs pulling the wagons

Sitting in the west side of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on top of the Niagara Escarpment and full of about 10,000 people, this town wanted a break in the winter doldrums and planned an annual outdoor day full of family activities. Starting at 11am on Sunday, January 28, 2018, ending at 2pm and held beside Fairy Lake in Prospect Park.

This older Newfoundland dog just supervises the rides now

Fires and bannock samples were still welcome

For children there was doggy wagon rides, jousting competitions, face painting, coloured ice block building and much more.

See more of the Sunday Funday festival after the jump.

NHL Alumni Winter Warm Up at City Hall

Pro hockey players like Bryan Muir (pictured at top), Nik Atropov and Dan Daoust join other alumni for a shinny hockey game in Nathan Phillips Square on January 26, 2018. The players will take to the ice from noon till 2pm in support of the 2018 Pro-Am and awareness of Alzheimer Awareness Month.

They have just about finished putting up the boards around the rink and the weather couldn’t be better to join the players and cheer on your favourites. The public is invited and it is free to watch.

Mayor John Tory addresses the players

From the Baycrest Pro-Am website. “The Winter Warm-Up will feature some of your favourite NHL Alumni, celebrity guests, lots of contests and prizes, and giveaways from our shinny supporters Tesla, Tim Horton’s and Kind Bar. Want to go above and beyond? The Winter Warm-Up is the perfect opportunity to promote the 2018 Pro-Am to your network of colleagues, friends and family! Invite them to come out and watch the game, participate in the fun and prizes, and get a taste of the Pro-Am action while learning about the impact they can have by supporting the cause. We can’t wait to see you all there! Come watch and cheer on your Pro-Am peers and NHL heroes, and kickoff your fundraising efforts to help us launch our 2018 Pro-Am season!”

Stanley Cup winner Bryan Muir practices for the media ahead of the event

#17 John Tory

Breakfast Television Live with Mini-Wheats

@BTtoronto is filming their show in Yonge-Dundas Square as visitors play games and enjoy samples of Kellogg’s frosted breakfast cereal. Co-Hosts Kevin Frankish and Dina Pugliese are bundled up against the cold with temperatures of -10 C in the city so the cereal served with hot milk hits the spot. You could also pick up free boxes of cereal and winter touques.

Dina

The show is on City TV and has partnered with Mini-Wheats for the Wednesday, January 24. Filming took place in the morning between 7am and 9am.

CN Tower from a Union Station Platform

Sometimes you have to travel to the far end of the Union Station platforms to catch a GO Train to where you want to go, winding your way through the every changing crap show that is the station construction.

I was out at this platform, number 27, incorrectly it turns out and almost ended up east of Toronto instead of west. Luckily Ann noticed the error minutes before we set off on the Lakeshore East train and we got to the Lakeshore West train just in time. But before we left I got a nice view of the CN Tower along the condos and office buildings south of the rail line.