Toronto Cherry Blossoms 2021

Queen's Park blossoms are in peak bloom right now (April 17)

Liberty Grande in Exhibition Place has blossoms which are starting to bloom (April 17)

Update April 23: The blossoms around Liberty Grand, the walkway along Bandshell Park and around the Princess Margaret Fountain are at peak bloom this week.

Liberty Grande (April 23)

Bandshell Park walkway (April 23)

Princess Margaret Fountain (April 23)

Niagara-on-the-Lake area blossoms May 8, 2021

We took a drive into the St Catherines / Niagara on the Lake area on Saturday, April 24 and the blossoms seem to be a week or two behind Toronto. Peak bloom is probably the first or second week of May, 2021. Update: May 8, 2021 the Niagara-on-the-Lake area is in peak bloom right now. You can check out the photos of the blossoms on my post here.

Update: April 27 the Sakura Cherry Trees are in Peak Bloom in Brampton's Joyce Archdekin Park.

 And back to the original post

Peak bloom is just weeks away in Toronto! I just walked by a tree that had no leaves but was already blossoming, I think it might have been a magnolia tree, they always seem to bloom early. With Spring comes rain and the return of beautiful cherry blossoms in and around Toronto. Until they bloom, here are some photos from previous flowering fruit trees.

UPDATE April 14, 2021: City confirms virtual High Park Cherry Blossom Festival. The Toronto News Release follows.

See more after the jump.

Island Lake Conservation Area in Orangeville

You can see the boardwalk and the lake as you drive north on Highway 10 in Orangeville and as we pass we often said we would have to go to the park. So finally we decided to make the trip just to go to the park which we found out is the Island Lake Conservation Area run by Credit Valley Conservation.

Map of Island Lake

There is limited parking in the conservation area and we weren't sure where they were ahead of time but we knew there was an entrance off of Highway 10 at 4th Avenue. Signs say don't park at the home hardware so we decided to go to the Winners mall, do a bit of shopping and then headed into the park and started walking the 8km Vicki Barron Lakeside Trail which circles the reservoir.

The trail passes through several types of forest

There was no entrance booth at the 4th Avenue pedestrian access however you can prepay online or go through the Hurontario Street road entrance where there is a fee collector gatehouse. Adults admission is $5.75 and in the park you can find limited parking, bathrooms, amphitheater and other activities like a boat rental and boat launch. Some of the features may not be available due to covid restrictions or time of year.

See more of the park after the jump.

World Naked Bike Ride Toronto 2021 coming in June

Covid rolls on and so will the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) as the two-wheeled protest against car culture returns to Toronto on June 12, 2021. One of Toronto's favourite events has a multitude of nude people on bicycles or rollerblade through the downtown core, past some of the city's iconic sightseeing attractions, all the while crowds of people are split between cheering on the riders or taking photos and videos of the unusual sight. Here are some pictures from previous Toronto WNBR rides. See photos from the 2021 ride on my post here.

Stopping at the reflecting pond in Nathan Phillips Square

The annual World Naked Bike Ride has been a global tradition since 2004 with a "bare as you dare" dress code that has taken place in a few cities across Canada - including Guelph, London and Winnipeg. The following cities were committed to the ride in 2020; Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. For 2021 both Toronto and Montreal are a confirmed go. Montreal has both a day and a night ride.

The crowd begins to gather at Coronation Park

Last year's WNBR Toronto 2020 was initially postponed as the impact of the Coronavirus continued to expand. However, just a few weeks from the original date the ride was scheduled to take place on June 20. The ride was a little smaller than previous years due to the whole coronavirus and the postponement, however with Toronto's 2021 commitment and the return to the traditional second Saturday in June should bring more people back to the ride.

Gene Dare, co-organizer of the Toronto ride, made some changes to the preparations to allow from more social distancing including asking the riders to wear masks. In addition to the protest against car culture and the resulting pollution and greenhouse gases the other reasons for the ride is to celebrate a cleaner and safer world in a body-positive manner.

Making their way down Bay Street into the financial district

Gene Dare in the red hat with the big Canadian flag

So on Saturday, June 12, 2021 riders, fans and photographers will gather at Coronation Park from 10am to prep for the race, put on some body paint, pose for photos and apply some liberal amounts of sunscreen on all the exposed skin. Then around 1pm the ride will take to the streets of Toronto shouting things like "less gas, more ass"! After seeing the WNBR roll past, some bystanders take off their clothes and join the ride for the first time.

Coronation Park is at 711 Lake Shore Boulevard West, just south of the Princes' Gates at Exhibition Place and the start point is the veteran's memorial in the centre of the park. Overall the ride takes about 2-3 hours and includes stops at Queen's Park, Allan Gardens and City Hall for photo opportunities. Other famous landmarks and areas that the ride passes by include Trinity Bellwood Park, Kensington Market, University of Toronto, Yorkville, Church St, Ryerson University, the Eaton Centre and Union Station. Bicyclists can join or leave the ride anytime they want, however many stop at the Jack Layton Memorial Ferry Docks. Some travel on the ferry to the clothing optional beach at Hanlan's Point and some return back to Coronation Park.

Watching kites flying high over a beach in Toronto

Warm weekend weather brings out the sun worshipers to the beautiful stretches of sandy beaches in Toronto. On the most recent weekend on Woodbine Beach the volleyball players were out in force, some even in bikinis, while a parade of kites high in the sky caught a lot of interest from those walking or relaxing on the beach.

Some of the same kiters participate in the annual Windfest celebrations where you can see some amazing kites in all sizes and shapes including whales, squids, fish, hello kitty and many more.

See more beach fun after the break.

Luminosity in the Beaches

It's like a mini-Nuit Blanche in the Beach as the Leslieville area comes alive at night with Luminosity 2021. Eight illuminating art exhibits are along 3km of Queen Street East from Neville Park Boulevard to Coxwell Avenue from March 13 till April 11, 2021. The installations will be on until midnight.

The easterly end is at the streetcar loop at Nursewood Road while the west end is at Kingston Road. The artists and the installations are; Kristyn Watterworth and Edward Platero - "88 Keys of Light", Jungle Ling - "Chee-Win", Collective Memory - "Headlights", Opus Art Projects - "Light Tree", Rhonda Weppler & Trevor Mahovsky - "Sugar Mountain", Chris Foster - "Beacon Silo", Bryan Faubert - "Out From Under the Shadows" and Thelia Sanders Shelton - "Share the Love"

See more of Luminosity 2021 after the jump.

Joe's Photos - blast from the past continue

Fresh Joe and I used to cover a lot of territory around Ontario and especially around the City of Toronto. Some of our favourite things to photograph were racing, airshows, the Toronto Roller Derby and atmosphere.

You can see the atmosphere after the jump.

Lets Go Blue Jays, Lets Go

Spring training 2021 is going good for our home town MLB team as the Blue Jays are currently tied for 3rd in the AL division. They will have to work hard this season as the reduced 2020 season had only 60 games while the 2021 season will have 162 games. Blue Jays logo at top.

A blast from the past in the Rogers Centre

The Grapefruit League started at the end of February where the Blue Jays played a game against the New York Yankees and will continue until March 29 against the Phillies. The regular season starts for the Jays (AL East) on April 1st, coincidently with the Yankees.

Blue Jays are currently based out of Dunedin, Florida and hope to return to Rogers Centre later in the year. Current Covid restrictions regarding major events are restricted until July 1st at the minimum although they could probably return to Toronto if they didn't allow fans into the centre - that is if the border is open to allow visiting teams to play in Canada.

I try to buy tickets to at least one game and always look for a promotion as I love the hoodies and baseball shirts so I am definitely hoping that they come back.

They will be streaming GL home games without audio (for games not broadcast by SNET).

The white dome of the Rogers Centre beside the CN Tower

International Women's Day 2021 in Toronto

There was plenty of purple and pink colours in the city today as people celebrated the annual day for women which happens on March 8. And a given is that women should be paid the same as men when they have the same job. So help raise awareness for women's equality and gender parity.

The arch of Princes' Gates is purple

On March 8, 2021 the CN Tower was illuminated in pink and in Exhibition Place both the Enercare Centre and the Princes' Gates were lit in purple in recognition of the important International Women's Day. From the Exhibition Place website "The towers of Enercare Centre will be lit purple today in recognition of International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. "

The pink CN Tower on International Women's Day

From the International Women's Day website "International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality."

The colour purple in International Women's Day stands for justice and dignity. Other Women's Day colours include green for hope and white for purity (which they admit is controversial).

There was also a great sunset on March 8th 

Eugenia Falls in winter

After visiting Dundas Peak recently we wanted to take another day trip to another waterfall - one that we have not visited yet, so we decided to head north to Eugenia Falls. The waterfall is in a conservation area that is closed for the season, however the Bruce trail passes through the area so if you can find legal parking nearby you can walk into the park and check out the falls.

The Bruce side trail runs along the edge of the escarpment, next to a stone fence

The view from the trail adjacent to the waterfall

Located near Flesherton, east of Highway 10 in the village of Eugenia and just under two hours north of Toronto city hall. Beaver River flows from Eugenia Lake and crashes down the Niagara Escarpment just west of Beaver Valley Road. The flow is severely reduced in winter and you can really see that the water level in the lake is also very low. Even in summer the flows are controlled to allow the nearby hydro generating facility to produce electricity using the 30m drop from the top of the escarpment through two large pipes.

Hogg's powerhouse ruins

The park's address is 150 Pellisier Street, Eugenia in the Grey Highlands. In the conservation area is the shell of an old abandoned Hogg's Powerhouse building and across the creek is the remains of an a tunnel entrance that was to divert the creek into a tunnel to produce electricity. When that plan changed they filled in the tunnel but left the entrance structure.

Map of Eugenia Falls Conservation Area. Parking is $6 in the park (when open)

The Eugenia Lake dam that controls flows into the Beaver River and over Eugenia Falls

Eugenia Lake was dammed up in 1915 for production of hydro electric power. The average depth is apparently less than 5 feet and the water level is reduced in winter to allow for capture of the spring runoff. Driving across Concession Road 8 which passes through the southern section of the lake you can see a lot of tree stumps and the course of the original Beaver River. There is a set of steel stairs that take you to the top of the dam and the dam control structure has a walkway bypass so you can explore on both sides of the creek. High water levels in the lake are from Victoria Day weekend in May to mid-September.