The Edgy Activist for down-free

A protest against plucking had Shalayna, Vegan Animal Activist, body-painted outside the Toronto Eaton Centre holding a "not down with cruelty" protest sign. The peaceful demonstration brings attention to the fight against animal cruelty to the heart of the city and she asks 'Please don't buy down!"

Many of the feathers used in clothing and comforters come from birds that are restrained and plucked live. PeTA asks that people save the birds from extreme cruelty by using down-like fibres.

The Edgy Activist was helped by several activists that held project signs and were splashed with fake blood.

Les Rues des Refuses: Renegade Parade 2015

Part rave, part parade, full of smoke and with music pounding from the lead vehicle, the Nuit Blanche Renegade Parade was an enchanted night with the March of the Magical Creatures. Presented by The Rothko Institute and Kigurumi.com the party started 7pm at 104 Ossington Avenue with the float leaving around 8pm. The march was one of the highlights from the unofficial Nuit Blanche art events from Les Rues des Refuses.

Roaming Toronto's streets with a multi-platform float that held DJs and their massive mobile sound system and a coven of ravers, the vehicle generated smoke that blew away quickly in the strong winds.

"Join us for a magical procession as the Renegade Parade takes to the streets, spreading dragon fire and destruction across the city! Witches and Wizards do battle with magical creatures as DJs and fire spinners spread music and mayhem through downtown Toronto! The Canadian Ministry of Magic is issuing an emergency decree requiring all witches and wizards of sufficiently competent ability to assist in the tracking and capture of a flock of escaped magical creatures.  The Renegade Parade is a unique roaming art party."

See more scenes from the night after the jump.

Toronto Nuit Blanche 2015

Tonight is the night where you can travel the city and wonder is it art or just recycling? Starting at sunset on October 3rd and continuing throughout the dark hours until the sun starts to rise. The free all-night contemporary art event known as the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is joined once again by the renegade art of Les Rues des Refuses with it's amazing Renegade Parade.

There Is No Away at City Hall

The installation There Is No Away by the City of Toronto Solid Waste Management Services Division featured large blocks of seperated recycled materials, like beer and pop cans, aluminum trays, plastic bottles and plastic bags, stacked up to three high. Not only was the art installation visual, it provided a odiferous reminder of its place in the stream of garbage produced by man. People were laughing because they were told not to touch the art!

My flashy LED bicycle at Bloor St W and Dufferin St park featuring the Bloordale Index. The light show on two wheels was a hit with the crowds. Many people yelled their appreciation of the bike and my coat or came up to me personally to thank me for the effort. A lot of people thought I was an official part of Nuit Blanche, but I said I was just riding in support of my brother who is suffering from terminal cancer and has taken a turn for the worse and could not make it out for Nuit '15. I had to agree that my bike was one of the better pieces of art that I found on the long night.

Excitement builds as the darkness envelopes the city and the streets fill with pedestrians searching out their preferred art installations during the sleepless night. The hard part is figuring out what you want to see and if you want to wait in lineups. Celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2015, the event which began in 2006, has shown over 1,200 art installations by 4,500 artists - viewed by over 400,000 in 2006 to over one million people in recent events. This year there were more than 110 contemporary art exhibitions - most of them humdrum.

"A few highlights of the night included more than 4,000 portraits as part of the social phenomenon Inside Out (JR); 30,000 black moths creating the astonishing Black Cloud (Carlos Amorales); the thought-provoking Sphinx (Luis Jacob) featuring a larger-than-life sculpture of a male youth standing 11 feet tall, 50,000 LEGO® pieces to create the life-like barn owl Silent Knight (Ekow Nimako) and a customized coke-fired cupola generating temperatures upwards of 1800°C for Beaufort 4: Lava Field No. 2 (Robert Wysocki)."

Sponsorship update: Just last year (September 22, 2014) Scotiabank was reinforcing their desire to continue to be the title sponsor to the all night art event: "The popularity and international interest for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche increases each year," said Mike Williams, General Manager, Economic Development and Culture. "The support of our sponsors is essential for the event's ongoing success and progression. Their commitment to the arts and enthusiasm for this all night celebration of contemporary art represents public and private sector partnerships at their finest." Following the 2015 event Scotiabank has announced their plans to pull out of their Nuit Blanche sponsorship role completely saying their sponsorship priorities have changed.

Because no one asked here are some of my suggestions for improving Nuit Blanche.

1. Open up municipal sites, including schools for free or paid parking for the event. I went to three small municipal lots that were jammed before finding a tiny spot. Parking in the night for most residential streets requires permits. Total time wasted one hour.
2. Improve visitors planning process by having a picture along with the project listing, much like Doors Open, then people can pick out the exhibitions they want to see. They also got rid of the booklet that was given out on the night of Nuit. Now it is just a map and a little blurb that does not describe what the art is - just a title and a location.
3. Stop holding tiny exhibitions in tiny spaces. People shouldn't have to be squeezed together like sardines. They say one million people go to this event, put the exhibitions outdoors or in places that are capable of handling the crowds.

See some of the Les Rues des Refuses and Nuit Blanche projects after the jump.

@WorldPressPhoto 15

Powerful photos that tell some amazing stories are displayed in Brookfield Place as part of the annual World Press Photo contest. The free traveling exhibition features prize-winning entries and is currently in the Allen Lambert Galleria from September 30 to October 20, 2015.  These photos are from the collection and the photographers certainly know how to capture the story and make people want to find out what is behind the picture. You can find the 2015 stories and the photographers at WPP's website.

"For 60 years already, World Press Photo has encouraged the highest standards in photojournalism. The resulting archive is not only a record of more than half a century of human history, but a showcase of successive styles in visual storytelling."

Sometimes the subject of the photos is a little too powerful and visitors are cautioned that some of the contents maybe disturbing to viewers. Plane crashes, battle casualties, refugees and the recent ebola epidemic bring frightening reality to visitors. Meanwhile other photos show regular life with portraits and sports photos that capture the beauty of nature and mankind, even when man is destroying the environment.

Getting around Nuit Blanche

From can't see to can see, the all night contemporary art festival starts this Saturday and the installations are spread throughout the city. Getting around late at night can be a hassle so the City of Toronto has prepared this information to help visitors navigate the night.

Just like Redball and the Supermoon

Fresh Joe's battle with cancer means that he won't be able to make it this year, so I plan to bike for him and have planned a special bicycle art display for the night's. I plan to be the best piece of art for Nuit Blanche 2015.

Pedestrian bridge lighting at Nuit Blanche

It officially starts 6:55 pm Saturday, October 3 and runs until sunrise on Sunday, October 4. See the press release after the jump with event map information, public transportation tips and road closure information links.

Some promotional models for the end of summer in Toronto

And some assorted bikini contestants. 

Fall is apple picking season

And thousands of city dwellers head out of the city in v formations, migrating to outlet malls and fields full of fruit trees. For most of Toronto that means a trip to Chudleighs, which is great if you like traffic, seas of humanity, expensive entry fees and apple pies, or you could go to one of the less well known orchards like those found in Brampton along Heritage Road.

The best time to go is on a weekday, but if you want to do a family outing you are usually stuck to going on a weekend. On weekends in Milton the traffic going north on Highway 25, coming off Highway 401 is stop and go as you head towards Chudleighs. Police at the entrance help guide people in and out of the popular orchard and while parking is free, the entrance is $12 each. We decide to go instead to Carl Laidlaw on Heritage Road where the entrance is only $4, their was no lineup getting in and the police didn't have to control traffic.

Fall is also bee and wasp season and the farm leaves some sweet things, like candy apples out in the open to draw the wasps away from people and other sweet treats

A lot of the farm orchards have many varieties of fruits, flowers and squash type things like pumpkins which are especially popular in fall as Halloween approaches. Laidlaw's has an extensive line of apples and pears and lots of sunflowers growing tall in the fields. Succulent apples with names like ambrosia, flemish beauty, empire, russet and tolman sweet make the mouth water and have bakers getting the pie pans ready to go into the oven.

At Carl Laidlaw Orchards you can "sample the varieties that are perfect for picking at our tasting wagon, pick fresh apples and pears, enjoy a wagon ride into the orchards, jump in a hay barn, make an apple pie with us, delight in the grainary, try the barn beam walk, stroll the farm, play with toy tractors , shop in our quaint barn market, peruse the pumpkin patch, roast a hot dog and indulge in a buttered cob of fresh corn (barbeque is available on weekends only)."

Zombies promote Halloween Haunt

Canada's Wonderland brings the scare to the entertainment park in October. Boo, I mean brains, wooh, wooh, brains - cause Zombies (over 700 undead). Fridays to Sundays from 7pm to midnight (except October 4) the event is so frightening that it is not recommended for children under 13.

Zombies join a new bride and groom at City Hall, then they ate them

"Canada's Wonderland is transformed for 13 terrifying nights in October to Halloween Haunt. This year will be bigger, better, and more terrifying than ever with a brand new maze, Spirit Manor, and the return of a fan favourite, ZOMBIES 4D Interactive Dark Ride. Brave your way through 10 horrifying mazes, 2 scare zones, and 4 live shows, in addition to the 700 monsters prowling the Park."

Sukkahville 2015

Who you calling sukkah? Designs by eight finalists, plus a few extras, sit in Nathan Phillips Square confusing visitors, are they art or is it a homeless camp? The international design festival competition features re-imagined concepts for temporary structures used during the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Over 80 designs were submitted by architects, builders and others in related disciplines with some of the plans constructed for display and to determine the winners of Sukkahville.

"While building a Sukkah is a particular Jewish ritual observance, it represents many conceptual themes surrounding the essential nature of dwelling that is universal. Proposing an innovative Sukkah design that balances the dichotomies of new/old, open/closed, temporary/permanent is the challenge inherent in this competition. The winning designs are announced on September 25, 2015, and the festivities continue throughout the weekend including live music, food trucks, a historical tour of The Ward with Editor, John Lorinc, and a featured Sukkah created by Visual Artist, Dan Bergeron at Fauxreel Studios."

You can go into the buildings from September 25-27. See more of the structures after the jump.

Woofstock this weekend

Woof, woof, bark, drool. Four legged friends of man have their own festival in the Beaches area of Toronto this weekend. Woofstock is on from September 26-27, 2015 in Woodbine Park, 10am to 6pm.

It's not just smelling butts and peeing on trees, there are plenty of activities and contests for doggies. The weekend schedule is after the jump.

Octoberfestivus for the restofus

Eat, drink and be merry. Octoberfest, Canada's greatest Bavarian Festival, will fill a few tankards from October 9 to 17, 2015 in Kitchener-Waterloo. Here are ten things they say you should do for the fest.

"1. Join President Alfred Lowrick as he taps the keg at the festival’s Official Opening Ceremonies!
2. Visit one of our 19 exciting festhallen to experience some Gemuetlichkeit!
3. Enjoy floats, performers and bands in Canada’s largest Thanksgiving Day Parade!
4. Check out at least one of our 40 Family & Cultural Events - there’s something for everyone in the family!
5. Stop by Willkommen Platz for tasty treats and live entertainment!
6. Look for our festival ambassadors at events. Onkel Hans, Ziggy unt Zaggy Steiner and Miss Oktoberfestwould love to meet you!
7. Participate in one of our great sporting events - the Oktoberfest Golf Experience, the 5K Fun Run or the Tour de Hans 100K or 50K Cycle Race!
8. Visit the Official Retail Store for an authentic German stein, traditional Bavarian clothing, souvenirs, tickets and much more!
9. Explore the sights of Waterloo Region. Don’t miss the amazing Farmers’ Markets!
10. Mark your calendar for Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest 2016!"

Without traveling too far, there are a few home town Octoberfests still remaining - such as one at the Amsterdam Brewhaus, and if you can't find anything else, put on the beer server costume and fill up a big mug with some cold beverages.

Harlem puts up Nelson Mandela

The Richmond Street East restaurant has replaced the Michael Jackson graffiti mural with a bold portrait of the former South African President. His fight against apartheid made him famous around the world and he passed away in 2013.

The mural is on the garage door leading to the patio

Berczy Park gets a makeover

Construction fence lines the edges of the triangular park that sits behind the triangular building in Toronto. Berczy Park is currently undergoing renovations that will see a fancy new fountain, an enlarged courtyard with some groovy patterns and more dirt for trees.

The plain old fountain, above, will soon be replaced and from the architects view it looks like it will be replaced with bronze doggies on a multi-level fountain

The Gooderham Flat Iron Building

The fountain is dry - keep out

The park is fenced off better than a celebrity party at tiff

The estimated budget for the park reconstruction is $3.7 million bucks and work was held off until after the PanAm Games. Streetscape improvements adjacent to the park will run up the tab to about $8 mill.