Nuit Blanche and Les Rues Des Refuses 2010

The magical all-night art thing called Nuit Blanche gets in gear and I have quite a few exhibitions already picked out. My brother and I will be attending on bicycles to help us get around the city. In addition to the famous and extremely popular (my god - the horror of the lineups where even one of the installations is a lineup) art event we will also be checking out it's edgier cousin Les Rues Des Refuses (LRDR) with it's off program events including the Renegade Parade leaving the ROM at 10:02pm.

We headed to Nathan Phillips Square to start the night with "Later that night at the drive in" which was a projection and sound installation. We took pictures before the official start which was slated for 6:57pm to see the preparations required for this massive project. Various triangular apparatus were showing videos on the ceilings, on vertical screens and on the walls of City Hall while a band played on a stage which had an overhanging mirror. The large mirror was very interesting and provided some great views.

Overall the event has to much darkness in their white night, that and not enough room to experience the installations. The crowds and mobs of people make the night an event of endurance. Too many of the installations were of videos; videos of water drops, videos of making plaster casts of hands, videos of people's faces, you name it and there was a video for it.

The feeling of "is it art" is not something I usually question during the night - I like to find joy in the work and as a photographer I hope to find something visually interesting. I found less of these installations this year and more installations of ordinary events like looking at a bonfire, sitting around a bonfire and playing video games just to name a few. Next year I imagine they will have see through port a potties and lineups of people will gather round and marvel at the excitement of waste production. However, with the amount of Torontonians getting out for the event and the immense amount of exhibitions, you can't really see it all and most people's experience will be different than that experienced by the next person.  The TTC was having a tough time as a few streetcars lost their power pole connections and stopped in their tracks which caused more traffic mayhem along Queen Street.

The people that you find along the night's journey often provide a lot of fun like Tron and fuzzy bike girl, below.

Some people say that the night is an excuse for an all night drug and alcohol party, which for many was an apt description, but for many people this is a chance to be an active part of the experience, which helps to make the city a better place. But you have to make it worthwhile for people to attend and ignore the lineups and the sometimes questionable art. I think I will have to see some great installations planned for 2011 to get back in the saddle again for next years' event.

What was interesting to watch was the young people joining in the night's mass of humanity with their own version of Nuit Blanche - Les Rues Des Refuses, or the street of rejects. They hope to promote art that does not have the funding or awareness of the Nuit Blanche experience but they are really looking for a good, public rave. They gathered at the ROM and at 10:02pm set off on their DJ driven sound show, stopping in the U of T grounds before heading back out onto the streets of Toronto. The funniest part of the night for me was when someone got in my face and got mad at me for being "corporate media". You can see more of the Renegade Parade and rave on my post here. See the 2011 rave photos here.

Here are some of the other stops along my long night of cruising the Nuit Blanche pieces.

Halloween Cat

I was taking pictures of some wild cats when one did the Halloween Cat pose, you know the one where they arch their back and open their mouth to hiss. Then the witch puts a spell on you when you were distracted or Michael Myers comes by for a little slashing. Here are the mother and one of her kittens having some quality time together.

That got me thinking about Halloween night which happens Sunday, October 31st, 2010 and the kids go house to house seeking goodies from everyone while adults dress up in funny or sexy costumes and hit the party circuit. Some people ask why do women wear sexy costumes during Halloween and I say why not? In Toronto you can get costumes from Malabar on McCaul Street.

Walk a Mile in her Shoes 2010

The 2010 Toronto Walk a mile in her shoes (http://www.walkamiletoronto.org/) event had Yonge-Dundas Square filling up with individual and team participants getting ready for the walk which left the square at 12:45pm. The best part was the local home town heroes, the police and firefighters, putting on their high heels and strutting their stuff for the media and the crowd.

The walkers included students, blue and white collar workers and plenty of business people in suits. See the 2011 walk pictures on my post here.

More pictures after the jump.

Museums in Toronto

Toronto is fortunate to have several world class museums where you can see artifacts and art from times gone by - and some current stuff as well. The Art Gallery of Ontario building is also interesting with it's curved windows along Dundas Street and it's silver staircase out back facing onto a large city park.

Certainly the changes to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and it's new crystal  facade has stirred up some controversy but inside you will find exciting worlds to visit and it doesn't need a boring building to scare people away (the dinosaurs inside might scare some of the youngsters though).

There is also the Gardiner Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), the Spadina Museum and other Municipal museums, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Canadian Air & Space Museum, the Bata Shoe Museum, and the Textile Museum of Canada. For those that like museums on the sassy and spicy side there is the Toronto Sex Museum, 

We also have major outdoor art festivals including Luminato and Nuit Blanche. Nuit Blanche, the all night art thing is this Saturday, October 2nd starting at 6:57pm. There are so many installations for Nuit Blanche so you need to review and pick out your primary and secondary locations that you want to visit. You need secondary locations because the crowds are immense and sometimes you don't want to wait forever. Remember that art is in the eye of the beholder because a lot of the time you will say "it's cool, but is it art?" and even if you don't think it is art it still is exciting to spend the night with the crowds of Toronto exploring cool things.

Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer

I have heard of the Ride to Conquer Cancer but today I found out about Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer benefiting The Princess Margaret and presented by Boston Pizza. To promote the event there was a road hockey game at Yonge-Dundas Square with members of the media battling celebrities which came down to a shoot out between the two teams. The media was in black and celebrities were in red jerseys and Carlton the Bear was a goalie, oh yeah, the celebs kicked ass.

Paul Henderson launched the event while attending celebrities included Curtis Joseph, Scotty Bowman, Kurt Browning, Jake Gold, Dennis Maruk, Billy Talent and many others.

The Road Hockey fundraiser is scheduled for next year on October 1, 2011 and will be an all day tournament.  "This Dawn-to-Dusk fundraising event will feature an unprecedented number of spirited road hockey games, as well as musical acts, celebrity appearances, interactive activities, food and beverages, and so much more! If you enjoy a challenge, being part of a team and donating your time and effort to an amazing cause, this is the event for you."

See more pictures after the jump.

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony

As someone who grew up watching Bugs Bunny and all those Saturday morning Looney Toons I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bugs Bunny at the Symphony will be coming to the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on April 9, 2011.

Their website says "Tickets as low as $38. Don't miss this showcase of classic Warner Bros Looney Tunes projected on the big screen, with their exhilarating original Carl Stalling scores played LIVE by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony.

This brand new edition features beloved classics like What's Opera, Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville, new additions such as Tweety's Circus and A Scent of the Matterhorn, plus special guests Tom and Jerry in The Hollywood Bowl, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo! Don't miss these, plus many more favourites in this 20th Anniversary concert of Warner Bros' cartoons on the big screen with live orchestra! See more information about the show by clicking here."

I remember that Bugs ended up bringing the symphony building down in one cartoon so hopefully the rebuild of the Centre will be beefed up to avoid this type of calamity when it has a grand reopening on October 1, 2010. I would also like to see if the singing frog and Leopold will be at this show.

More suds in Berczy Park fountain

Walking by the Berczy Park fountain I noticed some bubbles along the sidewalk and in the road. I followed the trail back to the fountain and, aha, found the source. Someone, or something, had placed soap in the water and like a big washing machine the churning water had soon created a cloud of bubbles.

This also happened in 2008 and 2009. I don't believe in coincidence so I think it is just someone, probably a broke University student, doing their laundry - once a year.

NCTS Champ 2010 #17 DJ Kennington

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCTS) 2010 Championship title was awarded to D.J. Kennington of the #17 Castrol Edge car. D.J. (second from the left) shares a laugh with some of the other NCTS drivers during recent qualifying laps for a race at Barrie Speedway, he later went on to win that race. The NASCAR website says that as the Champion he "earned a starting spot in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, the prestigious post season event that has earned the title as 'the Daytona 500 of short-track racing."

from left to right: J.R. Fitzpatrick, D.J. Kennington, Ron Beauchamp Jr., Scott Steckly and Mark Dilley

Here are some pictures of D.J. during a 2008 race in Cayuga when his sweet Castrol ride was a little green.

Fallorama

Saturday brought some rain and clouds but I thought I would check out the Fall colours anyways. I headed north and my first stop - the Cheltenham Badlands. The Badlands, with their rolling orange hills and white stripes, surrounded by a forest of colours is a perfect way to start the adventure.

With an early start and the possibility of rain we did not have to battle the crowds on the hills. As Fall continues it's steady progress Caledon and it's natural attractions will fill up with thousands of people.

We continued our journey north towards Collingwood, stopping along the way when we found some nice views of the red, orange and yellow leaves filling the deciduous trees.

In Collingwood, which is located on Georgian Bay, the adjacent Niagara Escarpment is made for hiking (and for marriage ceremonies). So we journey upwards and explore the Bruce Trail and the top of the Blue Mountain Resort and Ski Hill. Blue Mountain has a lot of bike trails and they have a ski lift running. For $7 you can ride the ski lift which has been converted to a pedestrian lift with special bike racks and so down the hill we went. You can ride down for free and then buy the ticket to get back to the top.

It is incredible what they have done to Blue Mountain. The resort is full of condos, stores, restaurants and bars. There is a pond where you can rent pedal boats and relax on Muskoka chairs. The place was humming with action and a wedding party played a giant chess set in a friendly battle of the sexes.

Filming at City Hall

Movie crews spent all day setting up at City Hall to shoot in Nathan Phillips Square on September 24. It is always surprising how much stuff is necessary to make movies. From snacks to makeup, film dollies and rails, lights and reflectors and all the people needed to staff and act - it's like a small army. I think the director was using a small lens to frame the upcoming scene while the camera gear was being readied for the new location.

The movie business is a lot like the army, hurry up and wait, and I think the boredom must get to the actors sometimes. Though the interest of the people who pass by is intense, people stop, look and continue on their way. Speaking of films my Youtube Channel is almost at 1 million views!

I think they must have pulled miles of cables under the raised floor of the square. This worker was dressed for getting in the crowded and messy underground space.

Skipping in TO

Swiss Natural had a double dutch skipping team out on Queen Street West - if you skipped they would donate $1 to Breakfast for Learning. It was fun to see people stop along their busy day and start jumping and some, like this lady, were very good and I think it brought back some happy memories of younger times.

CBC News

The CBC Live! in Yonge-Dundas Square continued with more celebrities as the newscasters had a meet and greet. Jacquie Perrin shares a laugh with Heather Hiscox, above, while Dianne Buckner talks to a fan below. News Anchor Dianne is also the host of the fabulous show Dragons' Den which is a tv program where people try to get the stars of the show to invest in their companies. The stars were going to show up later in the day, along with the casts of Being Erica, The Tudors, 22 Minutes and many others.

Speaking of news, CBC radio did a live broadcast from the square and they did interviews and even had entertainment. Singer Aline Morales of Brazil and her group performed several tunes for the square full of people - she has such a beautiful voice.

Steven and Chris

The CBC show Steven and Chris taped in Yonge-Dundas Square during the kick off to the Culture Days celebrations which run from September 24th  to the 26th. They definitely have a lot of fun taping the show and it was great to see Debbie Travis as their fist guest of the day. (Steven is on the left and Chris is on the right in the above photo).