Fun things to do in #Toronto September & October 2015

Bright and beautiful shines the light of summer in the T Dot and it is time to enjoy all the events and attractions that happen in late fall. Colourful leaves, candy apples and exciting rides also bring the fall fair season throughout Ontario.

Canadian National Exhibition CNE Fri to Mon, Aug 21-Sept 7.
Toronto Fan Expo Comicon Thurs to Sun, Sept 3-6.

Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) Sat to Mon, Sept 5-7.
Festival of Praise Parade Sat, Sept 12.

Toronto International Film Festival Thurs to Sun, Sept 10-20. Something about films and stars.
Toronto Oktoberfest Fri to Sat, Sept 18-19.
Toronto Beer Week Fri to Sat, Sept 18-26.
Canada's Walk of Fame Festival Thurs to Sun, Sept (dates to be determined).
Just for Laughs Festival JFL42 Thurs to Sat, Sept 24-Oct 3.
Windfest Sat, Sept (date to be determined).
I Love Culture Fri to Sun, Sept 25-27.
Woofstock Sat to Sun, Sept 26-27 in Woodbine Park. North America's largest festival for dogs.

Nuit Blanche Sat, Oct 3 (6:51 pm to sunrise). The all night art thing with plenty of videos and light shows.
Haunted Walk of Old Toronto Oct - Nov.

Toronto Everything to do with Sex Show Fri to Sun, Oct 23-25.

Zombie Walk CANCELLED Sat, Oct 24. Take your brains and run for your life. UPDATE:
"Deadlings, It is with great sadness that we must announce that the 2015 Toronto Zombie Walk is cancelled. We want to thank you all for making this event the special event that it has grown to be. And we are sorry to say that we have failed to secure any of our grants or sponsorships for this year, so we must bow out."
Toronto International Snowmobile, ATV and Powersports Show Fri to Sun, Oct 23-25.
Art Toronto Fri to Mon, Oct 23-26.
Night of Dread Sat, Oct TBD.
Zoomer Show Sat to Sun, Oct 24-25. 

Escape or Die!

Dean Gunnarson cheated death once again as he broke free of his straitjacket, heavily laden with chains and locks, while hanging upside down from the flaming jaws of death.

As the large crowd in Yonge-Dundas Square surrounded the World famous escapologist he strapped on his jacket and with the help of an assistant the chains were tightly wrapped around the jacket and secured with locks. Then he was placed under the metal jaws that were like a giant, robot crocodile mouth, pried open and set like a mouse trap and lit on fire.

Film crews were recording the death defying adventure for a new series on OLN. "Dean Gunnarson is hailed as the world’s most daring escape artist, entertaining audiences around the world with remarkable death-defying stunts. Escape or Die! is a thrilling half-hour series that takes viewers into Dean’s crazy, unique life as he and his team prepare for nail-biting escapes that threaten his life. Each episode will focus on a REAL new stunt that he will perform in exotic and unusual locations around the globe. Attempting escapes more daring than his idol Houdini, viewers will watch and ask themselves: Has Dean gone too far this time? Can he pull off the escape?"

See more of the excitement after the jump.

Spring makes me think of festivals

Cold winter given over to cleaning rains that wash away the winter and bring thoughts of refreshing outdoor patios and festive neighbourhood events. Sun and warm weather will see people flocking out of winter hibernation and to some of the best festivals in Toronto which include the Toronto Pride Week, Honda Indy Toronto, Taste of Little Italy, CHIN Picnic, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, Luminato, Nuit Blanche, Taste of the Danforth, Chinatown Festival and Buskerfest.

The CHIN Bikini Contest

The Outdoor Art Exhibition in Nathan Phillips Square

Kensington Market's Winter Solstice

Caribbean Carnival costumes

Rounding the Princes' Gates during the Honda Indy

Toronto Pillow Fight 2015 - battle of the square

The army of sleeping beauties woke up, grabbed their soft, fluffy pillows and set upon themselves in a melee of epic proportions. The battle was fought around the world on International Pillow Fight Day Saturday, April 4, 2015 and in our fair city the field of honour was Nathan Phillips Square in the shadows of City Hall.

Organized by Newmindspace the Toronto event promises that "Pillows fly and teddies soar as you converge for a giant urban pillow fight! Swing and whack as you evade pillow-wielding assailants. Bring a soft pillow and wait for the signal. Pillow fight!"

Rules: Please follow these guidelines to ensure a safe and fun pillow fight for everybody!
+ Soft, feather-free pillows only!
+ Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
+ Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.
+ Remove glasses beforehand!
+ Deposit pillows in donation boxes or take them with you.
+ Pajamas welcome.

Starting at 3 pm the combatants must have had a lot of free Red Rain energy drinks because they kept going and going for over an hour. In single combat, occasionally in pairs and rarely in small groups, the people kept the momentum of the fight going as hundreds of photographers circled the group as pillows flailed and sometimes were flung high in the air.

Posted by Joe Hamilton and James Hamilton. See more of the pillow fight after the break.

Toronto Graffiti Alley in the Spring

Warmish weather beckons and Queen Street West answered the call, time for a look at the alleys running adjacent to the bad boy of streets. Urban redevelopment has added some new buildings and taken away some of the graffiti walls and new graffiti has covered over older stuff - ahhh, the downtown circle of life.

Some of the murals are spectacular and you can see why Rick Mercr keeps coming back for his rants. In fact a number of times that I have returned to the famous back alleys there have been people filming rants of their own.

See more of the alley art after the jump.

Kitten with cone on head

This cute little kitten has a cone of shame to keep his teeth away from recent surgery stitches. It doesn't slow him down very much. The plastic protector reminds me of a Renaissance fashion when people wore those gigantic medieval collars

Time for some more cats and a few birds and bunnies after the jump.

Ryerson University students Freeze the Peas

Worried about the temperature of peas, Toronto students focused their social activism on the status of the lowly pod-less green peas and called for a blanket policy of freezing said peas. Shouting for colder storage methods while brandishing simple signs of protest, the marching students made a circle in the middle of the Yonge and Dundas Street pedestrian scramble intersection and pushed a cart laden with cans of vegetables across the roadway. Ryerson Engineering students seemed to be taking a leading role in organizing the demonstration.

The Ryerson's independent student newspaper, the Eyeopener, told us that the protest was "According to a flyer, the “Freeze the Peas” “movement,” a parody of the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU)’s “Freeze the Fees” campaign, aims to “pass a motion that makes peas more accessible to Ryerson students.” It also asks students to make a donation to the Good Food Centre, Ryerson’s student-run food bank, in order to “put the peas back into the hands of the students.”"

It was all fun until someone started eating the peas - oh, the horror. See more of the peaceful rally after the jump.

Hula Hoop world record attempt in Toronto

Cityline's host Tracey Moore, above, joined hundreds of hip shaking athletes who attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the largest hula hoop workout today in Yonge-Dundas Square. The event was undertaken with Danone Activa in partnership with Rogers Cityline and Chatelaine to highlight the 30-day challenge.

Beginning at 11 am on Friday, March 27, 2015, the participants signed up, grabbed a green and yellow hoop and tried to keep the rings rocking around their hips during a demonstration and pro performance that preceded the noon hour workout record attempt.

Drumming up interest across the road at the Toronto Eaton Centre

See more spinning circles after the jump.

2015 Verizon IndyCar Season starts this weekend

The downtown streets of St. Pete, Florida will be filled with the sound of music powerful cars in the first race of the year at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  Previous series champion driver Will Power won the 2014 race on the 1.8 mile, temporary 14-turn street course. This is the street course which provided the first non-oval track in IndyCar history and which eventually led to the race in Toronto. 

The Honda Indy Toronto race will be here June 12-14, 2015, about a month earlier than usual due to the all invasive 2015 Pan Am and Para Pan Am games and one of 16 IndyCar races scheduled for this year. 

Charlie Johnstone of Honda Indy Toronto explains. "There was much speculation this past Fall about moving the event to another venue and another date. The truth is, there were in fact many long discussions in this regard. We kept an open mind and thoroughly evaluated all viable options. At the end of the day, the criteria really focused on the delivery of the best possible experience for our race fans, teams and drivers, festival goers, hospitality clients and sponsors. Consistently, the feedback from these key constituents was that to maintain the integrity of the event we must continue the heritage of racing inthe streets of Toronto. Accordingly, our only real viable option was to stay at Exhibition Place and move the date to June for 2015. Once again, we will present an outstanding line up of racing, including Verizon IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, USF2000, and Pro Mazda. Returning due to popular demand will be exotic car racing in the form of the Porsche GT3 Cup and Robby Gordon's SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks. We're even trying to get more racing on the track - if we can squeeze in more time – so stay tuned!"

Changes to series sponsorship this year include the loss of the Toronto Sun as the official newspaper of the race, probably having something to do with sale of the chain to Post Media, as the Toronto Star takes over that spot. I wonder if they will have Toronto Star Grid Girls?

PeTA against Shear Cruelty in Toronto

Freezing rain didn't deter the PeTA burlesque dancer from getting the message out; be “Go Wool Free, Be a Sweater Sweetie”. The display was setup at the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets, just outside the Toronto Eaton Centre, and during the cold lunch hour on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 the music started and off came the clothes as curious locals and tourists passed by, absorbing the non-verbal protest.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hopes to end cruelty against all animals. This protest was to highlight the exploitation of sheep for their wool and to rally against using the “coats stolen off their backs” and instead use wool-free, ethically produced materials.

Is it summer in Toronto yet?

Just a couple of days into Spring and bam, the cold weather is back and now I want it to transition right into the warm days of summer. Skip Spring, we really don't need it anyway. We need fashion models, bikini contests and grid girls.

Caribbean Carnival

CHIN bikini contest

See more gorgeous scenery after the jump.