Girls of Summer

Hot, hot sun, outdoor patios and Lakefront tanning are some of the fine activities of summer. In #Toronto here are some lovely ladies to remind you of the heat of the summer.

Weekend fun in #Toronto

Summer, despite the weather, is here and in the Big Smoke there is always plenty of fun things to do and see starting this weekend - check out the Redpath Waterfront Festival and the Tall Ships, the Junction Summer Solstice Festival, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, the Pride Festival, Ashbridges  Bay Volleyball and the Steam on Queen Steampunk Street Fair.

I will miss this weekend as I am travelling north of Barrie for a family fun, happy, happy fun time!

Whole lot of POSTS going on around here

The POST all the Bills and POST no Bills are out in full force, with a little heart love from Gregory Alan Elliott, above. The regular Bills (Cosby, Gates, Murray and Clinton) have a new addition - Bill Dauterive from the animated television series King of the Hill.

See more POSTS after the jump.

Steve Hofstetter coming to #Toronto

Comedian @SteveHofstetter will be working the Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday, July 4, 2013 during an 8 and 10 pm comedy showcase, and Ann and I are looking forward to the show. Steve has appeared on the Late, Late Show, E! True Hollywood Story and has over 10 million YouTube views with such videos as the deleted scenes from the Edward Snowden NSA security confession parody video.

Check for Tickets here: http://www.stevehofstetter.com/calendartemplate.cfm?Venue=1758 and download his free comedy album "Dark Side of the Room".

Top Canadian Travel Destinations

Expedia.ca says that #Toronto is the third most popular city for Canadians to visit, for those that plan to travel during the Canada Day long weekend. It makes it really easy to get into town with the downtown island airport - I will be flying out of this airport this month. 

I would love to go to all of these places!

1. Las Vegas
2. Orlando
3. Toronto
4. New York
5. Vancouver
6. Los Angeles
7. Paris
8. San Francisco
9. London
10. Calgary

"According to a recent survey by Expedia.ca:
· 54% of Canadians said they will ‘always’ or at least ‘sometimes’ try to strategically book around long weekends so they can enjoy more time off without using allotted vacation days from their employers.
· 64% said that long weekends offer a good opportunity to take a short holiday.
· 66% said they take advantage of at least one long weekend over the summer to go on holiday."

#Toronto Redpath Waterfront Festival and the Tall Ships 2013

Canons and flags are back as the @TOwaterfest sails into @Harbourfront with the Water's Edge Festival, the 1812 Wharf, the Tall Ships Challenge and Sunday's Parade of Sail finale. The family friendly festival has both on-land and water programs to promote the waterfront as a prime destination. So head down to Lake Ontario for the food, music, dance and other activities and enjoy all things nautical.

The international fleet of sailing ships are celebrating the Tall Ships 1812 Tour and the Tall Ships Great Lakes Challenge. "Toronto will be the only port to host the full fleet of ships as they travel throughout Ontario during this pan provincial event to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Toronto is also proud to be the launch port of the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE®Great Lakes 2013 – a Tall Ships America® initiative."

If you want to go on the ships you will need to purchase tickets. The fleet will consist of the Sorlandet, Pathfinder, Playfair, Fair Jeanne, Peacemaker, Liana's Ransom, Unicorn, Lynx, Pride of Baltimore II, Niagara and St Lawrence.

Dancing in the Park

The AfroLatino dance troupe performed in Trinity Square Park and they brought out a little jungle cat. Then there was a lady with a lit candelabra on her head. What a sweet, sweet day of fun.

See more dancing after the jump.

Yoga in the Labyrinth

Lunchtime yoga held within the #Toronto Public Labyrinth in Trinity Square. The circle is an ancient symbol of pilgrimage and a perfect place for some calming poses. At one time the circle with one path to the centre was built with hedges and later converted to paving stone, now that would have been hard to do some downward facing dog.

Unveiling the Ai Weiwei Zodiac Heads

#Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and councilors joined the Art Gallery of Ontario to unveil the @aiwwAGO art installation in the reflecting pond at City Hall.

“The City of Toronto and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) will unveil a monumental public art work by acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The monumental art work called Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads will inhabit Nathan Phillip Square's reflecting pool until September 22.”

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale) was joined by Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs, the AGO, at Tuesday, June 18, 2013 event. This installation precedes the Ai WeiWei: According to What? Opening at AGO, Canada’s only stop on the artist’s North American tour.

You can see photos of the work crews setting up the sculptures on my blog post here.

Rip away your stress

Free stress relief poster down at #Toronto Union Station. You tear off a strip of paper that has a drawing of a body with a sash that says "Mayor". Probably from the makers of fruit juice.

@HondaIndy #Toronto 2013 race trophies

IndyCar driver @Justin_Wilson helped to present the 2inTO trophies for the upcoming July 12-14 race weekend in Exhibition Place. Justin races the #19 Dale Coyne Racing car and currently sits in 8th place overall in the 2013 series, with a career record of 7 race wins, including taking the checkered flag in Toronto in 2005. 

The British driver joined Honda Indy Toronto President Charlie Johnstone and Jackie Chiesa, President of William Ashley as the event trophies were introduced to media on Tuesday, June 17. The custom made Waterford Crystal race trophies were hand-cut in Ireland and three complete sets were made for the both the full July 13 and the July 14 races as well as the Indy Lights race. 

It’s not hard to find the flagship William Ashley store at 55 Bloor Street West – just look for the Honda IndyCar perched on four Oberon bone crystal teacups, sitting on top of a dining table full of china and stemware, in front of the store along Bloor Street. The car will remain outside on display for two weeks. The actual tea cups are only $39 and nothing special was done with the cup to support the race car – just proving that you don’t have to keep the gold rimmed cup only for special occasions.

I talked with Justin about the upcoming double header and he noted that having two races in one weekend was demanding, but the key was to stay hydrated. While finishing 3rd in the first race in the Detroit Double Header, Justin was involved in a crash early in the second race at the Belle Isle course so he missed part of the hard work required for a full double header weekend. I asked him if he was ready to win both of the races in Toronto, but he didn’t really want to commit to winning both. When Canadian IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani was recently in Toronto he mentioned that he wanted to get a hyperbaric chamber to help with getting physically ready for both races. Justin said that he hasn't tried Alex’s chamber and is not sure if he actually did get one.

Justin racing in the Honda Indy Toronto race