Here Comes Santa Claus!

Posted: November 19, 2018 in events, people
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Santa Claus Parade 2018

a girl with a red hat with red reindeer ears stands on the street on a parade route, a group of policemen is in the background.

The 114th annual Santa Claus parade filled the streets with lots of fun and excitement.

two young boys on the sidewalk enthusiastic cheering for the parade

Floats, clowns, and hundreds of characters in costumes.

a clown in red polka dot clothes and bright red wig, smiles as she stands beside a float at Santa Claus parade with a large Carlton Bear, the Toronto Maple Leafs mascot

And people, lots of people!

a clown with bright orange hair and a multi coloured outfit, in front of a crowd outside

a man poses in an instagram frame that is being held by two clowns with bright orange hair

a father holds a toddler son in his arms, outside, beside the street, with crowds watching parade, winter, warm coats and hats

a clown in polka dot outfit and red wig bends down to high five with kids on the sidewalk who are watching the parade

a clown with a bright red nose walks in a parade, in front of people dressed as snowmen with red scarves and black belts, clown has a chequered outfit on, in primary colours plus green

three people involved with the Santa Claus parade pose for a picture. A woman in a red cardinal costume, a girl with a light blue wig holding an oversized gingerbread cookie with white icing, and another girl in a shiny blue and orange outfit

a man in a fuzzy grey animal costume waves to the crowd on the sidewalk at the Santa Claus parade

two girls sitting together on a float at the Santa Claus parade, shiny green and purple costumes

a group of people on the sidewalk watching a parade, kids in front on chairs and under blankets, parents behind standing.

young woman with rainbow wig, and bright coloured clothes, clown in a parade

3 girls dressed as clowns with rainbow wigs, and big red noses.

girl with hat with shiny red reindeer ears, also sunglasses

a girl in red and white striped hat and outfit, and red mitts, sits on a float in the Santa Claus parade and waves to the crowd

a man dressed as a tin soldier walks in a parade, waving to the crowd wearing white gloves & red uniform

three kids sitting on the kerb reach out a hand to shake the hands of a clown wearing white gloves

two women are dressed as flowers in terra cotta flower pots, walking down the street in a parade, followed by some people dressed in black and yellow bumble bee costumes

a woman leans back in a golf cart, marshall & crowd control, before the start of a parade,

a kid's head is in the middle of a red petal flower

two girls waving to the crowd as they walk in a parade, white gloves, turquoise outfits, shiny star shaped crowns on their heads

a child in red glasses is inside a bacon costume.

man in straw cowboy hat, red and white bandana, yellow shirt and cow print vest, smiles and holds hand up at shoulder level

a young girl in a red and white outfit holds a pole that is part of a large Chines dragon, she is watching the others with poles

clowns in purple and green outfits and many colours in their wigs, walking in Santa Claus parade

a male clown in pink wig and pink and yellow ruffle collar, large floppy blue hat and lots of make-up on his face

two girls on a float at the Santa Claus parade, dressed in shiny blue clothes with fuzzy white furry trim, smiling and looking at the camera

two camera men with large video cameras filming the Santa Claus parade

older man with grey hair, beard & moustache, and slightly balding, talks to another clown in a bright yellow wig

man's face, wearing sunglasses in the middle of an orange and yellow flower, part of Santa Claus parade

woman with long black hair, smiling, in a parade, wearing a red and white costume with ivy on the hat and a cape

a woman with long black hair stands waiting for her turn in the parade, wearing a shiny blue and gold costume and holding an oversized replica of a gingerbread cookie shaped like a Christmas tree with green frosting and red frosting

man dressed as Santa Claus in a parade

And of course, Santa Claus at the end of the parade sitting in his sleigh with toys and Christmas surprises.  The star of the parade, the person everyone came to see.

Santa Claus stands in his sleigh that is being pulled by reindeer on the top of a float in the Santa Claus parade.

battle worn

Posted: November 11, 2018 in history, memorials
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Battle of Limeridge Monument

This monument, by Robert Reid, was unveiled on 1st July 1870.  It is located on the University of Toronto side of Queens Park Circle.

war memorial on a slight hill, grassy, in autum with yellow and orange leaves around, a white statue on top, with more statues (two) below.

Words on the plaque at the bottom of the memorial: “Canada erected this monument as a memorial to her brave sons the volunteers who fell at Limeridge or died from wounds received in action or from disease contracted in serve whilst defending her frontier in June 1866.”

The Battle of Limeridge (also known as the Battle of Ridgeway) was the first fight during what is known as the Fenian Raids.  It was fought near the village of Ridgeway which is across the Niagara River from Buffalo NY, close to Fort Erie.   It was the first time that a battle was fought by Canadian troops and led by a Canadian.  They lost the battle.   There were a few more skirmishes but the Fenians fled back across the Niagara River when British troops and Canadian reinforcements arrived a short time later.

The funds for the monument came from donations from the citizens of Toronto.  The Canadian government refused to recognize the Limeridge veterans until 1899.   The loss had been blamed on the frontline troops that panicked and broke even though they were out numbered, undersupplied and undertrained.  The officers in charge had been absolved.

close up of statues on monument

The Fenians were Irish-Americans, many of them veterans of the US Civil War which had just ended.  Their goal was to take Canada hostage to provoke a crisis in England that would lead to an independent Irish Republic.  At the time, Canada was still a British colony.

close up of statues on monument - soldier with missing arm, from the 1800s,

On June 2nd 1890, the Veterans of ’66 Association held a protest by this monument and they placed flowers around it.  The protest became an annual event.  June 2nd became known as “Decoration Day” as memorial to Canadians who died in the Battle of Limeridge as well as the Northwest Rebellion (1885), the South African War (Boer War) (1899-1902) as well as the Great War (WW1).  It wasn’t until 1931 that November 11th became Remembrance Day.

The passing of the Remembrance Day Act in 1931 removed the losses from the Fenian Raids and the Northwest Rebellion.  It is specifically for Canadian casualties overseas.

———–

Killed in action at Limeridge, June 2nd 1866
Queens Own Rifles
Ensign Malcom McEachren, No.5 Command
Lance Corporal Mark Defries, No.3 Command
Private Christopher Alderson No.7 Command
Private William Smith No.2 Command
Private Malcolm MacKenzie No.9 Command

meandering near Bloor and Dundas

Posted: November 9, 2018 in general Toronto, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, nature, old buildings
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Presenting an eclectic compilation of images so

Have a seat!

below:  But maybe not here, even if they are two comfy sofas!  Comfy but wet.

two burgundy sofas on the sidewalk

Meandering on a day early in November

while the trees were still showing their last hurrah of colour.

colourful leaves, red and yellow leaves on trees in a residential neighbourhood, Neepawa Street

This mural is on Roncesvalles is partially obscured but is still a welcome splash of colour and vibrance.

a man walks by a mural on a fence, a peacock feather and a pink flower

   I love the raccoons!  Pink raccoons

test graffiti on a garage in an alley, also with a pink raccoon painted above the garage door

and blue raccoons on street art that I haven’t seen before.

street art on a garage door in an alley, large heart shaped face with big eyes and red lips, also raccoons,

Crooked lines,

garage doors and fences in an alley, autumn, trees with gold and yellow leaves, as well as leaves on the ground

tight spaces,

small walkway between two light purple buildings that leads to the entrance to another residence

and old glass.  All kinds of alterations.

sign on an old house, now a commercial property, that says Alteration Fast & Best All Kinds Of

old red brick building on Dundas West, sign that says Downtown Rental

 Peeling paint on diamonds  (once red?)

paint peeling on wood, three layers of wood with upper two layers cut in diamond shapes

and water drops on leaves (definitely red).

red leaves of a plant, wet from the rain, in front of a bright turquoise wall

One very pink car.  Whiskey for Whiskers.

pink car in parking lot

Uber 5000’s yellow birdies and friends are still on the side of Tommy’s Gift & Variety.

Uber5000 mural on the side of Tommys

And next door you Coffee and breakfast at Tina’s while your tax returns are prepared.

restaurant and store, rainy day, wet sidewalk and street in front of it, Tina Coffee and Breakfast restaurant, and Tommys Gift & Variety, pink door between the two, two storeys, lots of windows in the storey above Tina's.

 Semi neighbours

two attached houses in the Junction, one painted red brick with dark blue roof and the other light brown with dark red roof and bright red trim, small white picket fence in front of the red house, metal fence in front of the brown house (beige actually)

at the edges of gentrification.

building on the corner of Perth Ave and Bloor West, pale purple paint, a bright yellow happy face graffiti, a sign advertising Drake Commissary

Lights over the train tracks

looking across the train tracks to an old building with street art on the lower level, lights on metal posts over the tracks, tight mesh fence beside the railway as well

and graffiti beside.

graffiti on the concrete bridge supports, Dundas St West over the railway tracks, taken from the West Toronto Railpath

A fine and dandy tractor

a red toy tractor, old fashioned, in the window of fine and dandy on Dundas Street, white back drop behind the tractor, the building is dark grey

and a great idea

words painted on a garage door that say gratitude goes viral

She’s gone green but she’s got the blues.

a paper paste up of woman's face in green and blue (green skin and blue hair) on a very black wall and door

and Ontario’s now orange.

row of stores on Dundas Street, one on the end has a map of Canada painted on the exterior wall, with orange background.

A family outing

an adult bike locked to a ring, two kids bikes and a toddlers push car locked to a second ring, on a sidewalk on Dundas West, cars and buildings in the background.

below: The building with the giraffe pattern on top, at Bloor and Dundas West, is still there.

giraffe building at Bloor and Dundas West, with traffic and pedestrians in front
giraffe pattern brown and gold wall on top and brown below, movie posters and a bike

below: The murals painted by Wallnoize are still there. They were painted in the spring of 2015 and I posted a lot of photos of them shortly after that.

people walking on a sidewalk that passes by a long mural painted by wallnoize, many small murals joined together, apartment buildings with large trees with yellow autumn leaves in the background, Bloor West,

below: The murals run under the Bloor Street underpass (railway tracks overhead), on both sides of the street.

a woman walks along a wet sidewalk under a train bridge, railling on one side, street art on the wall on the other side.

below: The new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is now open on Sterling Road. The renovations to the old Tower Automotive building aren’t totally complete; most of the area is a construction site. But the museum opened earlier this year. Access from the West Toronto Railpath is available.

chainlink fence along a path leading from West Toronto Railpath to Sterling Road, with new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in the background, what used to be the Tower Automotive Building

But hey! Why stop here?…. more about the new MOCA follows ……

first visit to the new MOCA

Posted: November 9, 2018 in galleries
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Late in 2015, or thereabouts, MOCCA (Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art), as it was then known, moved out of its old location on Queen Street West.   It has taken a few years, but the new expanded MOCA has recently opened.  Its new home is the former Tower Automotive Building on Sterling Road.

below: As seen in 2013 before renovations started.

Photo taken 2013, The ten storey Tower Automotive bulding. In the foreground is the land left vacant after the demolition of the sheet casting machining buildings in 2010.

below: Today. Not much has changed on the exterior. There was graffiti and street art around the lower parts of the building that has all been removed….

chainlink fence along a path leading from West Toronto Railpath to Sterling Road, with new MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in the background, what used to be the Tower Automotive Building

below: Except for part of this mural by Jarus.  This photo was taken in November 2014 and is the back corner of the building.  Enough of the mural remains that it is recognizable.

graffiti on the back of the Tower Automotive building, a tall brick building - the backside of a naked woman who is lying on the ground. Much larger than lifesize, painted by Jarus.

The main exhibit at the moment is a group exhibition called ‘BELIEVE’

part of a life sized sculpture, or installation, of a figure dressed in a beaded hood and mask

below: Sitting Bull and the whale, part of ‘Columbus Suite’ by Carl Beam (1943 – 2005).  This work was produced in 1990 and was previously shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario.   Beam was

artwork by Carl Beam, called Columbus Suite, one picture from a series showing Indian chief on top and a black and white vintage photo on the bottom

The whole series consists of twelve etchings starting with ‘New World’ (a turtle, representing North America) on the far left.   Ten of the remaining etchings features a portrait of a well known person who was persecuted, assassinated, or similar including Jesus Christ, Louis Riel, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy and Sitting Bull at the far right.  The remaining image is composed of four pictures of the artist at various stages of his life; it’s title is: “Self-Portrait as John Wayne, Probably”.

all works in the Columbus Suite by Carl Beam

below: Against the far wall is a work by American artist Barbara Kruger.  Like a lot of her art, it consists of large letters/words.  In this case, doubt +belief =sanity.  In this rendition of the artwork, other small words appear as well between the main words (red background) and in both cases they say ‘forever feeling’.

Also in the photo, there is an installation on the floor.  The artist is Dineo Seshee Bopape from South Africa and she has called this work “And – in The Light of This. _________”

inside MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) which is an old industrial building, with original concrete columns, art installation on the floor and another on the far wall. On the wall are large words doubt, belief, and sanity.

below:  Another installation at the MOCA now is ‘Laws of Motion in a Cartoon Landscape’ which is a video by Andy Holden (until 18th Nov).  The video is an hour long and the trailer can be seen on youtube.  There, the description of the video is: ” The world is now a cartoon and an exploration of cartoon physics might help us understand the world we now inhabit. “

people in silhouette sitting on a bench watching a video at MOCA

‘BELIEVE’  features the works of Can Altay, Matilda Aslizadeh, Carl Beam, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Awol Erizku, Meschac Gaba, Kendell Geers, Barbara Kruger, Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Jeneen Frei Njootli, Rajni Perera, Jeremy Shaw, Nep Sidhu, Maya Stovall,  and Tim Whiten.   It closes on 6 January 2019.

Halloween on Church, 2018

Posted: November 2, 2018 in events, people
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It was the last night of October, the rain had stopped earlier in the evening, and Church Street was closed between Gloucester and Wood streets.  It was ‘Halloween on Church’, an annual street party filled with costumes on display wanting to be seen and other people wanting to see and take pictures.   These photos represent only a small selection of what there was to be seen that night (obviously!).

below: A one night stand to remember

a person at a Halloween costume dressed as a one night stand, table up to neck, a clock, and a picture on a frame on the table, or rather, the night stand

below: Glowing red and green

two women pose with three people wearing oversized skulls on their heads, with lights inside that make the eyes appear bright, two red eyed skulls and one with green eyes

below: Japanese ghouls, dressed to kill?

two women in elaborate embroidered red silk kimonos, one with a parasol too, one with a make up gash on her cheek

below: White man on keyboard.

man in black tux with white cloth overhis face plays a keyboard that he has around his neck

man dressed in a dress that is made of yellow police caution tape, also wearing a police cap. Posing with a woman who is also wearing a poilce hat

below: A group of people went as the 3D Toronto sign.

a group of people pose for a photo. Each is holding a 3D letter and together they spell Toronto, a miniature copy of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square.

below: More playing with lights, this time as stick people.

two people in jogging suits with hoods, with lights down the front so it looks like stick people

Church Street, Halloween party, a couple in costumes suitable for day of the dead celebrations, juxtapositioned with a man holding a baby

a man in an elaborate gold embellished old fashioned scuba diving mask with glittery gold coloured rays emanating from it

two people standing under a clear umbrella with little lights dangling from it, one person has a black mask on and a costume like the invincible movie character

couple posing for pictures at the corner of Church and Wood, both are dressed in Halloween costumes, night time,

below: Looking at instagram in a new light, from a different point of view.

a photographer has made it look like he's a live instagram photo

below: With a doll and a lit candle

a man in a black and white striped shirt is holding a doll and a lit candle

below: With a doll and a dog.

A woman in long braids holds a green fabric doll and a small dog in her arms. Her face is covered with makeup that makes her look like a skull with large black eyes, a black nose and a mouth with notches (stitches?)

below: This one is for Jude, something about wanting to take this one home with her…..

a topless man leans against a concrete pole to pose for a photo. He has a large tattoo that covers most of his right arm. He is wearing a rubber mask with rabbit ears and a bandana over his face as well as large goggles.

below: With pale pink hair, a shimmering dress, and a big smile

a person with a pale pink wig and shimmering fabric dress

three people in big long haired wigs, one red head and two blondes

below: Crossing light sabres with Darth Vader.

a woman crosses light sabres with darth vader, hallowwen party on Church St. in Toronto

below: Kermit only has eyes for Miss Piggy….. or else!

two people in costume, one as a life sized Kermit the Frog and the other as Miss Piggy, both from The Muppets

Halloween doors

Posted: November 1, 2018 in doors, events
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Enter if you dare!

small fence with skull, lock and chain, and yellow caution tape in the front of house just before Halloweeen

To houses guarded by skulls

a skull sits on the porch at the top of the stairs.

and ghosts.  Where skeletons rise out of the ground

ghost made of fabric tacked to a tree in front of a house with porch and front yard all decorated for Halloween

skeleton and tombstone in the front yard of a house, porch has pumpkins on it

Where spider webs cling to everything – is that spider nearby too?

railing on front porch with orange webbing and large fuzzy black spiders, also orange skulls in the bushes beside the porch

front porch and front yard of a house decorated with halloween, web, spiders, aliens, red lights, blue lights,

glow in the dark spider (very large) and webbing all over front porch of a house, pink and blue lights

three small houses, each with front porches lit up and yards decorated for Halloween, Halloween night and trick or treaters are out with their parents

Halloween night, early evening, not quite dark, a street scene where one house has a lot of inflatable characters on the lawn as decorations

Halloween night, trick or treaters at the door of a house with lots of tombstones and skulls, also the porch is lit by an eerie green light.

ghost made of white fabric waving in the breeze in front of a house, night time, window lights on

Happy Halloween everyone!

two carved pumpkins on front door steps, one carved with a witch and the other with a cat, also a sign that says Happy Halloween

This is a “Thursday door” post.  If you are interested in doors and want to see other people’s blog posts about doors, start with Norm 2.0’s blog post.  At the the bottom of that post you will find a link to many more!

between Euclid and Palmerston

Posted: October 31, 2018 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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Lightup the Laneway Project

below: The largest mural was a collaboration between three artists.  In the middle, Bacon works with blue.

Nick Sweetman painting a mural in a laneway, alley mural

below: Christina Mazzulla working on her ghost fish.

spray painting a mural of a fish swimming in the water

below: And the last artist working on this mural is Nick Sweetman whose narwhal is on the west end.

Nick Sweetman works on a mural of a narwhal

below: Toucan by @ghazaraza (aka Ghazaleh)

mural of a toucan on a garage door

below: Working on her mural, Anya Mielniczek

Anya painting a mural of a woman with wavy white and black hair, yellow face, yellow eyes, she's standing on a ladder

old building in an alley with murals being painted on two sides

below: Completed mural with stencils of elephants around the bottom as well as a note about the precarious state of elephants in Botswana

completed mural by anya mielniczek, woman with yellow skina dn eyes and black and white wavy hair,

below: Spraying on the orange hair in a mural by mck_studio (aka Meaghan Kehoe)

green and ornage mural on a garage door of a large face with frizzy hair, hand is holding a spray paint can and praying towards hair, orange paint orange hair.

below: Autumn painting leaves, a mural by Erin McCluskey

orange woman lying on the ground, holding a paint brush, mural on a garage door
a woman painting a mural on a garage door in an alley

below: Natashia Faustino and her pink cat (tiger?) on “Into the Wild”

painting a mural

below: Melo was the artist who created these organic looking blobs and swirls

mural on a garage door of white, orange, and purple blobs and squiggles

below: Raoul working on his mural

using a long handled brush to paint a mural of a woman's face on a garage door

finished mural of a woman's face, with her eyes closed

below: Making straight edges on his mural, Andre Kan.

spray painting a mural

below:  Flowers surrounding a peaceful woman in blue, a mural by Gosia Komorski

blue lady in profile, head only, with long hair ties up on head in a large braid, surrounded by stylized flowers in a mural in pinks and blues

close up of stylized flowers in a mural in pinks and blues

below: White squirrels on yellows and oranges by Karen Roberts

artist sitting on the ground while painting a mural on a garage door in a lane

below: Al Runt puts some finishing touches on his mural

Runt, street artist, painting a mural

below: The finished mural

mural by Al Runt, coloured creatures. a patchwork dog plays a piano that has walking legs

below: Near/Far by Henry Tyminski

mural that says Near Far

below: More words, this time “It’s a beautiful day in the neighbourhood.”  A quote from the TV show, ‘Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood’ along with a picture of Daniel Striped Tiger, a hand puppet from the same show.

white garage door with blue words that say It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood, also a picture of a hand puppet,

 

below: Shafia Shaik working on her mural.  The word GLOW has been cut off.  The finished work was signed as  EWOK project standing for Equity for Women of (K)olour.

spray painting the eye on a mural

rise and shine mural by C. Scaife, looks like neon signs that would be in a restaurant, eggs cooking, hot coffee, bacon and the words rise and shine in cursive writing

below: A mural by muisca.  The finished mural has green leaves and vines on both sides of the face.

mural by muisca on garage door, bright colours, aztec face and head dress

below: Bright lines by Bomi (aka Rodrigo)

painting a mural

Andre Castro painting a mural of multicoloured whale on a garage door in a lane

below: Finished whale by Andre Castro

finished mural of a multicoloured whale on black background

a pink kids' bike parked beside a garage door with a mural, no seat on the bike

below: A second whale, this one is the creation of CTR (aka Christian)

large mural of a many coloured whale swimming on a white garage door in an alley

parrot head on a garage door, mural, done in triangles and other straight edged shapes

below: Cruz1 mural in the foreground

garage doors being painted with street art murals, laneway

mural by cruz 1, green angry face

close up of ugly red face in mural by cruz 1, big blue eye and green mouth with large crooked teeth

below: Slightly abstracted flowers by Chris Perez

Chris Perez mural of red and blue flowers, slightly abstract, on a garage door

below: A wonderful, larger than life loon swims towards the sunset, by Cameron Chalmers.

mural on a garage door of a loon swimming into the sunset

blog: Wild and crazy colours and shapes in a mural by Diana and Ted

a wild mural with bright colours, shapes from nature, watery, and a black background by Ted and Diana

below: Lines and angles all over the place, by Kenny Alexander

lines all over the place, abstract picture, mural

below: Lemon Drop man is waving at you.  Mural by Jieun June Kim

lemon drop character on a pink and purple house with green trees, a mural by Jieun June Kim

below: Choose Kindness and a heart with four eyes!  A mural by monica on the moon (aka Monica Wickeler)

pink heart that is sort of anatomically correct, with words choose kindness around it, mural

below: A mural by Soul partially completed

partially completed mural by artist soul,

below: And, last but not least, two murals by Nixo

mural by nixo on garage door, straight horizontal lines

graphic looking design painted on a garage door in black and yellow with grey lines, by nixo

This project was supported by StreetARToronto

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