tiff - Festival Street

#Toronto comes alive when famous movie stars come into town for the @TIFF_NET film fest, especially with 286 premiers. The 2014 edition runs from September 4 to 14 and today (Sept 5) is also a special day because it is Bill Murray Day. Two people walk through the lightless, Light Tunnel towards the tiff sign, above.

"Special FREE screenings of Ghostbusters, Stripes and Groundhog Day and the world premiere of St. Vincent. TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival® has dedicated one day of its 2014 edition to a celebration of the charismatic, wise-cracking, comedic genius of living legend Bill Murray. September 5 is Bill Murray Day and includes free public screenings of three comedy classics — Stripes, Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters — leading up to the world premiere of the latest Murray-starrer, Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent. Though the Festival cannot Groundhog Day the Bill Murray Day, a contest will be held to reward Murray fans who attend all three free screenings. But, really, everyone is a winner on Bill Murray Day.
Free screenings of three of Murray’s classic comedies with frequent collaborators, director Ivan Reitman and the late, great Harold Ramis — who directed, co-wrote and co-starred with Murray — will be presented at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 5 beginning at 10am."

Backwards and forwards

King Street West is closed to traffic for four days during the start of tiff and it is full of activities as part of a street festival.

Apes enjoying the extremely hot weather - today has a hot weather alert

One of the tiff movie premiers is Good Kill starring Ethan Hawke of Gattaca and Lord of War, Zoe Kravitz and January Jones and written, produced and directed by Andrew Niccol. The film is distributed in Canada by Remstar Films and is produced by Academy Award winner Nicolas Chartier. "Good Kill tells the story of a fighter pilot turned drone pilot based in Las Vegas, who fights the Taliban by remote control for 12 hours a day, then returns to the suburbs to his wife and kids for the other 12. It’s the story of one soldier’s tale with epic implications." The premier is 9 pm on Tuesday, September 9 at Ryerson.

Robert Downey Jr. started the festival with the premier of The Judge on Thursday, September 4. He even brought his wife Susan Downey to the red carpet. Robert tweeted (@RoberDowneyJr) "Good Morning Toronto - Day One."

#PepsiPopUp in #Toronto

Its a big, blue bottle of Pepsi laying in a parking lot at John and Richmond Streets. You can enjoy a free carbonated beverage and listen to some free performances from September 3 to 7, 2014.

"Get excited Toronto! Pepsi is popping up in a BIG way at John & Richmond, Sept. 3-7. Join us for ice cold Pepsi, FREE nightly concerts and one unforgettable experience!Want to see Nick Cannon and watch 4 Count & Kreesha Turner live on stage? Come to #PepsiPopUp SATURDAY for a FREE performance. Doors open at 7PM."

Rain comes to the Toronto Islands

Dark clouds moved over the city this past Saturday and eventually the rain came down in buckets and lightning flashed in the skies and thunder cracked your ears seconds later. Then the skies cleared and sun came out to play.

I hid under the viewing stand on Centre Island. Instead of dragon boats I watched a few drops hit the water's surface, then the downpour started increasing. There were a few people boating on the island channel get a little wet.

A small motorboat comes from the marina and docks at the stand so they can take shelter

See more rain, and the sun, after the jump.

Canadian International Airshow 2014

High flying aerial acts like the CF-18 hornet flew over Lake Ontario as part of the closing of the Canadian National Exhibition during the Labour Day long weekend. The final Toronto CIAS performance is September 1, 2014 from 1-4 pm.

Matt Younkin and the Beech Special

The early morning thunder storm made way for partly cloudy skies and plenty of humidity.

Mike Wiskus and his Pitts Special

See more planes after the jump.

Fan Expo returns

Cosplay and celebrities bring out fans by the thousands in #Toronto from August 28 to 31, 2014. The cavernous halls of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre become tightly packed with visitors making the days feel like a continuous rush hour on the city's highways.

Cosplayers at Yonge and Dundas heading to FanExpo on Friday, Aug 29, 2014.

@Cirque #Kurios in #Toronto

Exterminate, exterminate! Sorry, wrong robot. A full sized Kurios robot is locked in a crate at the Eaton Centre. The quirky robot, assembled from scraps, is one of many that help put on the Cirque Du Soleil show in the Portlands from August 28 to October 26, 2014.

A cabinet of curiosities

"What if you could alter reality at will? Delve into a world of curiosity where seeing is disbelieving: the world of KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities from Cirque du Soleil. The show immerses you in a mysterious and fascinating realm that disorients your senses and challenges your perceptions, leaving you to wonder: "Is it real, or just a figment of my imagination?"

Butterflies over the shallow area

A calm swimming pool sits empty in #Toronto as a mural on the adjacent wall reflects butterflies in the still water. The site is at Alexandra Park at Bathurst and Dundas and I always associate the park with zombies.

Kitty Sin City - a stomach to draw on

An area points to a sign that says WIDE OPEN

Some graffiti and yellow hearts from around the city after the jump.

Love Locks #DistilleryLove

'My heart is, and always will be, yours' is the motto behind the gathering of locks in the Historic Distillery District. Couples in love can leave a padlock on the metal heart and LOVE sign at the corner of Pure Spirits Mews and Tank House Lane.

The first time I heard about love-locks was in 2010 when some bridges in Paris were in danger of collapse because so many locks had been left on the structures. In fact one section of a bridge parapet, weighed down by the locks, did fall down.

Dating back a hundred years, the installations have been found all over the world and signify an unbreakable love. You are supposed to initial the lock, lock it on the structure, throw away the key and then share the hashtag #DistilleryLove. Locks can be purchased in several stores in the Distillery District.

If you have no one else you can put the monster spider's initials on the lock

Community Protection courtesy of Captain Jean-Luc Picard

This #Toronto Community is PROTECTED by neighbourhood watch! Amazingly the protectors are the crew of the Starship Enterprise - from Star Trek the Next Generation. Someone has posted photos in the middle where houses with eyes would normally be staring out. On the Google you can see photos with Batman and Robin, Spiderman, Wonderwoman and one of my favourites - Chief Wiggum from the Simpsons.

I hope their phasors are set to stun

Superheroes in #Toronto

Bright white uniforms signified the arrival of a super gang of Medikidz characters - look out trouble because these guys are your worst nightmare.

Fall and Fall Fairs 2014 return to Ontari-ari-ari-o

It's not like it is cooling off drastically because it has been so cool lately, but with the return of the CNE you know summer is over and the trees are starting to show telltale signs of changing colours. Fall fairs in central ontario will take over from the EX - so check out one you would like to go to on this fall fair website.

The colours of fall in Ontario, check out this website for the colour progresssion - the Algonquin area is alread past peak!

Truck and tractor pulls are a highlight for many

Miss Acton 2013 contest 

The Acton Agricultural Society's Fall Fair comes to the GTA small town from September 19-21.

The midway is a place to pick up a pet gold fish

Antique steam tractor

Sumac trees seem to turn a deep orange and red before other trees

#Outlander of the clan six pack

A woman is swept back in time to the mid 1700s, torn between two men - including a Scottish warrior, in this new television series beginning on August 24, 2014. Three men, shirtless, wearing part of the kilt kit help to promote the Show Case series starting Sunday at 10 pm.

An older Scottish lady tells the lads what they are missing in the way of the national dress, though most of the people posing with the friendly group do not seem to mind what they are missing.

Night comes to @BuskerFestTO

Street performances continue from early in the day to late at night and as the sun sets, visitors continue to pour into the valley of Yonge Street, deep in shadows between the commercial buildings lining the boulevards in downtown Toronto. As light from the store signs and streetlights take over from the sun the acts that use fire become beacons of excitement along the roadway - like NoMad Cirquel, above. It was a shame that they cancelled the combined multi-performer fire shows.

Crowds line up in layers several people thick until those in the back can only hope to see the artists work their magic on the black asphalt. People that can't see the act try to squeeze pass the massive throng of people enthralled by the show, hoping to stake out a good spot on the next performance somewhere down the road.

Local acts like Kate Mior (above) and Silver Elvis (below) join international artists from around the world.

Kromatik face painting returns with some bold designs

See more of the nights fun after the jump.