Archive for the ‘events’ Category

the brains are back, 2019 edition

Posted: July 10, 2019 in events, locations
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This is the fourth year of the Brain Project.  Forty five sculptures in the shape of a brain have been decorated by different artists. They are on display at Nathan Phillips Square for the month of July.

brain shaped sculptures on display, with the 3 D Toronto sign and Toronto city hall in the background

below:  “Silver Bloom” by Carson Teal.  Complex, random, and fragmented.

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture by Carson Teal, with white chicken eggs, broken mirrors, three fingers, crystals, and other random objects

five brain shaped sculptures in plexiglass display boxes standing in the pool at Nathan Phillips Square

a girl and her mother, looking at brain shaped art sculptures on display at Nathan Phillips Square

below: Here, pac man from the 1980’s arcade & video game, gobbles up yellow dots that represent brain cells.   It is artist Orit Fuchs’s way of illustrating the destruction of brain cells in Alzheimers.

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture, red, made to look like a pac man arcade game, yellow pac man gobbling up yellow dots by Orit Fuchs

2 girls and a man looking at sculptures shaped like brains

brain sculptures on display at Nathan Phillips

below:  Brand Emsley’s “From Making to Thinking”, from the Brain Project website: “Toronto’s unprecedented building boom is reflective of the economic shift from the manufacturing economy to the knowledge economy. It is particularly acute in the area known as the railway lands and surrounding area.”

a brain shaped 2 dimensional sculpture, covered with realistic, detailed, drawing of Toronto railway lands with CN tower by Brad Emsley

below: On the left, “The Routine Ride” by Antonio Caballero and on the right, “Beautiful Mind” by Romero Britto

two brains on display, public art, sculptures, one by Antonio Acabbero and the other by Romero Britto

A description of all the brains, plus information about the artists, can be found on The Brain Project website.
#noblankbrains

Canada 152

Posted: July 2, 2019 in events, people, waterfront
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Happy Canada Day!

below: Canada Day merchandise for sale at Yonge Dundas Square

on a table outside, piles of Canada Day merchandise for sale, hats, cowboy hats, flags, etc

front of Queens Park buildings, parliament buildings, on the grass a couple stand by a tree, looking at group under a tent, Canada Day celebrations

below: Great sign!  We’re on a picnic because Doug Ford is out to lunch!

a group of people on the grass at Queens Park, with a sign that says we are having a picnic because Doug Ford is out to lunch

a young girl runs with a kite that her father has just let go of

below: A Canada flag in a heart, face paint to celebrate the day.

a woman in a purple and yellow clown hat apples a red maple leaf Canadian flag face paint on a girl's cheek

a mother and son pose in one of the o's in 3 D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips. Mother is dressed in red and white and is holding two small Canadian flags

one woman takes another woman's photo with an ipad in front of the Toronto 3 D sign

a balding black man sits on the edge of the pool at Nathan Philips square, taking a picture of his dog who is in the water. Dog has Canada flag bandana on

a red head girl in a large advert on a building beside a man in red adjust a microphone on the top of a red double decker tourist hop on hop off bus

below: Under a red umbrella.  There were quite a few performances at Yonge Dundas square, all of which were celebrations by different ethnic groups.

three women in red under a red umbrella watching a Canada day celebration

two womenin national costume, or traditional clothes of another country, walk through Dundas Square, an Asian man is looking at them with a strange look on his face

a group having their picture taken at Yonge Dundas Square, one Asian man and four women. Three women are in costume as they are about to perform on the stage in that square, Canada Day celebrations

two black women walk past a man sitting in a chair with a large red and white Canadian flag umbrella. he is giving away free quran books on the sidewalk by Yonge street, traffic passing by on the street behind them

a woman weth pinkish hair carried a half watermelon with a straw and a little green paper umbrella in it, she is the middle of three people standing in Yonge Dundas square

a young woman in a red and white Canada t shirt holds a small white dog with a red leash and red outfit

a small dog with a red scarf around its neck stands on a man's shoulders as he talks to another person

four people walk past a man sitting on a stool, all dressed in red and white with flags and Canadiana

a crowd of people at a TTC stop on Queens Quay

cyclists and pedestrians on Queens Quay

people in a yellow plastic paddle boat on a man made pond near the waterfront, a fountain is spraying them, they are paddling past a group of people on sitting on the edge of the pond

the CN Tower peaks out between two tall buildings, in front are Canadian flags and flags from all the provinces

Pride Parade 2019

Posted: June 29, 2019 in events, people
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I’m a few days late but here are some photos from this year’s Pride Parade, Sunday June 23rd.

young woman with prirode shirt, turquoise headband, and small rainbow flags has arms up as she cheers and yells
a boy in a black t shirt sits on his father's shoulders as they walk in a parade and hold out their arms to touch hands of spectators

large group of pro vegans walking in a parade

people sitting onscaffolding in the front of a three stprey building on Yonge street, watching the pride parade

people dancing in the street as they walk beside by the drivers door of a white truck as it pulls a float in the pride parade, going down Yonge street with many people on the sidewalk watching

three people on the top of a pride parade float, one has a hello kitt cutout covering the top of her back, another is wearing a black long hair wig and a sparkly blue dress. the last has rainbow leggings, a yellow top and a feathery head dress on

an older man in a yellow fedora sprays people with a very large green and yellow super soaker

a father holds his two young sons on top of metal barricade at pride parade, father taking pics with his phone, boys holding flags

the face of a little brown furry dog peaks over a man's shoulder, mouth open, tongue out and looking happy

people draped in white with large white fabric wings sitting on top of a float in the pride parade

people on a float in a parade, one has a Canada umbrella

a person in a long red wig and a short white dress is posing for a male photographer on a float in the pride parade, people walking behind the float

a man with a beard and moustache, and camera around his neck, walking in pride parade, reaches out his hand, hands of spectators reaching out to him

below: The crowds line both sides of Dundas at the end of the parade route as the beginning of the parade has just reached them.

many people line both sides of Dundas as the first group of walkers comes through at the pride parade, indigenous people, drummers, dancers,

below: Thousands of pieces of bright and sparkly mylar.

thousands of pieces of mylar in the air, just released over the heads of people watching the pride parade

below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked at the beginning of the parade, along with a lot of security.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks in the pride parade in Toronto with other people, waving to the crowds, police men and security detail also in the picture

people dressed in white with white umbrellas, on top of a float in the pride parade

a man dressed in an outfit of big chunky beads in bracelet and necklace and a wig of large coiled bits of plastic in bright colours, many colours,

people standing on the sidewalk watching the pride parade

two people with T shirts that say smile with pride

a man in black vinyl outfit, sleeveless, with a large box on his head that has been decorated like a garden, with ivy and flowers,

a man driving a red vehicle is spraying people out the window with a super soaker

a young man in a pink wig, a fancy necklace, and a crown, walks in a pride parade

a woman with bright butterfly wings onher arms leads a group of walkers in a pride parade

two young men in Pride Parade, one has a giant O made of blue balloons and the other is carrying a giant U made of green umbrellas

person with long yellow wig and sunglasses, walkin in parade in front of a group of naked men. Also a tall skinny man with a green hat and pink shorts

two men standing on a concrete barrier, watching parade, other people on the sidewalks

a group of people walking in the pride parade with rainbow flags and accessories

a couple in the pride parade, each wearing white t shirts that say celebrate all, and each with one arm in the air, woman has pink sunglasses and man has rainbow sunglasses and fedora

people using a large metal scaffolding structure on a construction project beside Yonge street to sit on to watch pride parade

a young black man with black baseball cap and green sunglasses has a big smile as he helps carry a banner in the pride parade

an older woman gives the camera a strange look

a man in a red shirt stands by the drivers door of a white truck as it pulls a float in the pride parade, going down Yonge street with many people on the sidewalk watching

a man with sunglasses, bare chest, wide brim straw hat, and a costume of gold fake feathers on his back

a woman in a low neck black top has Ace of and then a picture of heart on her chest, a pride flag is draped over her shoulders, walking with lots of long tubular shaped balloons

women behind metal barricades at pride parade, as a topless man walks past

a young asian man in white button down shirt, black pants, black bowtie, and red sunglasses, stands beside an air canada banner, getting ready for pride parade

a black man holds a sign that says Queers are still dying in African continent, he is holding a flag from Cameroon

a woman in a skimpy blue, pink, and white outfit poses for photographs in the middle of a street, pride parade, she has very long blonde hair.

man with beard with pale pink wig and gold crown, another person in a yellow outfit but bare chested

a person walking the pride parade carrying a sign that says I am marching for those who can't

a man with bare midriff, beard, mustache, and star shaped sunglasses poses in front of a bunch of balloons

Dyke March 2019

Posted: June 23, 2019 in events, people
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Dyke March 2019, sunshine and smiles, and a lot of positive energy.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

below: Pride over Mannum and a sign for Amma

dyke march 2019, three women holding three signs while marching in parade

below: I don’t exist for your pleasure and something about liking girls!

dyke march 2019, two women holding signs while marching in parade with other women

below: Let me be perfectly queer, respect existence or expect resistance

topless woman walking with other women in a dyke march, holding signs and chanting or protesting

man with whip, high black boots, and bare back, stands with back to camera and facing a group of women in the dyke march

a couple sits on a sidewalk watching the dyke march, he is wearing a blue and green hat and has tape X's on his nipples

a couple strolls down Yonge St in dyke march, one with cane and large yellow umbrella

dykes on bikes at start of parade, one is wearing a yellow t shirt that says We're all lesbians

a person riding a bike with a dog in the front basket

below: Society has Evolved in 2019, Love Wins, catch up!

women walkin in dyke march down Yonge Street, one woman holds a sign that says Society evolved, love wins, catch up!

two black women, arm in arm, from the back

black woman holding on to a banner in a parade with crowd behind her, someone holding a sign that says eat pussy not animals

spectators on the sidewalk on Yonge street as dyke march passes by

dyke march, walking down Yonge street with people sitting on the sidewalk watching the parade

person with rainbow flag draped on their back, white tape has been used to make the words gender is a construct on the flag

a person under a very large rainbow umbrella is beside two women who are walking while holding hands, last section of dyke march parade is behind them

a group of women in maroon coloured t shirts are walking together in dyke march, singing and cheering, with signs, flags and yellow balloon

a young man in a pink crown and banner that says future bride, walks with a group of other people in a dyke march on Yonge street

colourful flowers in curly black and brown hair on someone's head, from the back, close up shot

a black woman in dreadlocks, blue sunglasses and smoking a cigarette

a man plays a drum on the sidewalk, on parade route

a woman sits on a motorcycle waiting for the dyke march to begin

NDP group in dyke march, with orange banner and several women

a woman with orange hair, but one side of head shaved has arms in air as she walks in parade

long red hair held in a ponytail by elastics of rainbow colours, on back beside badge on Amazon motorcycle club jacket

a dog on a leash in a parade, dog has rainbow butterfly wings on its collar

two women, one with brown large rimmed hat blowing bubbles and the other with arm raised and canned horn noise maker in her hand

a person in short green hair holds a pink plastic dildo to his nose

below: Playing with dolls

a woman reacts to seeing two older woman with small inflatable dolls

women walking in dyke march,under red umbrella with a sign that says bisexual bitch, woman beside her has a small sign that says first pride was a riot, no police

people behind metal barricades watching dyke march

women walking in dyke march, one woman in a bright yellow dress carrying a sign that says teach love and acceptance, with a heart made of people

three women walking in dyke march in front of a group with a banner that says queers against borders

a couple walking together with black t shirts one just says dyke and the other says dykes stop Holland from flooding

below: Many flags!  Pink, yellow and blue horizontal stripes for pansexual and pink, purple, and blue for bisexual.

people carrying flags in dyke march

below: Another flag, this time it’s asexual.

women at pride parade, one with blue hair with an asexual flag around her back - purple, white, grey, and black stripes

below: A large transexual flag and a group from Womens College Hospital

women holding a large transexual flag to carry in a parade

a nude woman carries a large white crocheted umbrella

women in dyke march

dyke march, woman in pink rimmed glasses holds fingers in peace symbol

two police on bikes with yellow vests ride in parade behind two people with bare bottoms

below: Ford Cabinet for sale, real cheap!  Just a buck!

two people at dyke march with anti Doug Ford protest signs, garage sale signs, Ford cabinet for sale for 10 dollars

below: Proud to be queer and Jewish

two women in dyke march with signs that say proud to be queer and Jewish

below: Still a Pakistani, Still a Muslim, and Still a Dyke, along with a proud Polynesian dyke.

women in dyke march, including a polynesian and a muslim

below: Say Know to Sex Ed

people at dyke march with large sign that says Say know to sex ed

dyke amrch, red hair, flowers

two photographers at a parade, onei s sitting on top of a large generator (trailer)

Raptors take over the city

Posted: June 17, 2019 in events, people
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Today was the day of the parade to celebrate the Raptors NBA Championship win.  Today was the day that downtown was immobilized.  Like many of the thousands (millions) of people, I couldn’t get anywhere near the parade.   I also couldn’t get into Nathan Phillips Square,  the end point of the parade.  I am not sure I wanted to!  Too crowded.  Besides, walking around the periphery of Nathan Phillips Square still gave me a plethora of opportunities to take lots of pictures of people out celebrating.

a man in white t shirt and black shorts stands on top of a bus shelter, he has just removed the cork from a bottle of champagne, and the champagne has begun to flow from the bottle

Raptors fans, parade day, a group of kids with a hand made sign that says we the champs with pasted on pictures of raptors symbols

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, , a woman wearing a cardboard red and white crown that says King of the north on it, she's walking through a crowd

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto,three kids on top of a police car, watching the Raptors parade

below: Bay Street was one of the many streets that were closed.  Two large screens showed footage of the parade as it progressed.  In this photo, you can see a sea of red at the Prince’s gates, the entrance to the Exhibition grounds.

street closed, lots of people, large video screen

below: A larger picture of the screen.  This photo was taken at 10:49 a.m.   The parade was supposed to start at 10 a.m.  I am not sure what time it arrived at Nathan Phillips Square, I was already long gone by the time it did.

a large video screen shows progress of a parade, crowds watching it

Raptors championship parade day, , young men sitting on the fence in front of Osgoode Hall

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a woman poses in front of a truck decorated with Raptors players pictures.

Raptors fans, parade day, sitting on street and sidewalk, watching a video screen showing the parade as it makes its way towards Nathan Philips Square

a man in a we the north t shirt carries a we the north flag

a man in black fedora andred jacket with raptors symbols all over it, and a t shirt that says Mayor of Jurassic Park, leans against a tw truck, head down, not smiling

people sitting on top of structures and buildings in front of city hall, Raptors fans celebrating

Raptors fans, parade day, leaning against the side of truck decorated with larger than life size pictures of Raptors players

Raptors championship parade day, , fans have filled the back of a dump truck and some are sitting on top of the cab, viewing the parade, one has a Canadian flag with We the north written on it in black

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, people milloing around, one young woman sits in front frowning and not looking very happy

raptors fans with we the north banner and canadian flag sitting on top of entrance to parking lot

a man in purple and white Raptors colours holds a we the north black and white flag across the back of his shoulder as he talks to people

Raptors championship parade day, , a young boy sits up high on the Osgoode Hall fence, beside a light, his father is close by

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a girl with red and white streamers on her head, dressed all in red, and holding a Canadian flag

Raptors championship parade day, , young men sitting on the fence in front of Osgoode Hall

raptors fans sitting on top of a parking garage entrance, by their feet is a yellow sign that says maximum clearance

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, people sitting on a concrete barrier

Raptors fans celebrating team's NBA championship, parade day in Toronto, a girl stands behind and leans on a yellow metal barricade

Raptors championship parade day, , some of the fans are watching from iside a bus shelter

Raptors fans, parade day, a man with a bottle of white wine, and a large potted palm plant, standing in front of a truck, a large red RAptors fly is being held behind him

Raptors championship parade day, , a father carries his son, a boy with curlyhair and black glasses

man wearing a black t shirt with 6 ix on the back, walking past a man in red basbeall cap and sunglasses, with black beard

Raptors fans, parade day, a man wedged between stone wall and bus shelter, as he tries to get higher over the heads of the crowd, a womn passes by

Raptors championship parade day, , boy on father's shoulders, Bay street, crowds

below: Red for Manchester United as well!

Raptors championship parade day, , women and men in the corwd

Raptors fans, parade day, three boys sitting, looking tired and bored, in Raptors T shirts and baseball hats

Raptors fans, parade day, muslim women in head scarves and one woman in long flowery dress

Raptors fans, parade day, two men sitting beside truck decorated with large than life pictures of Raptors players

Raptors fans, parade day, men leaning against a raingin beside city hall, with a wine bottle behind them

Little Italy festivities

Posted: June 16, 2019 in events, people
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Toronto city street signs on a pole, LIttle Italy College Street and Beatrice Street as well as a yellow do not block intersection sign

Summer in the city means street festivals almost every weekend.
This weekend it was Taste of Little Italy on College Street.

below: Lots of food for sale!  Especially meat on a stick.

outdoor barbecuing shish kebobs, a boy is cooking and serving, people waiting to buy food

below: There were also games for prizes including the one below – knock over the cans off the table with a soccer ball.

behind a net, a line of people watches as a boy starts to kick a soccer ball towards three blue cans, game to try to knock the cans over

people walking down the street towards the camera, a man in a purple Raptors shirt with marching baseball cap, a woman in a light blue blouse with a drink in her hand, a woman in a pink pant suit

below: Keep your eye on the target!

a boy pretends to shoot a woman carrying a big pink purse with a big gun made out of balloons

below: Dory blows bubbles

a man seated by a table on the sidewalk, starts to shoot a man in a red jacket with a bubble blowing gun shaped like a blue fish

a man is starting to draw a caricature of a black man who is seated, laughing, on a chair. Another black man watches

on the street, a man is giving another man a haircut, two people are sitting on a bench in a bus shelter behind, watching

people in a line up to get food at an outdoor vendor, white tent covering,

people on the street at Taste of Little Italy, passing by a bar with a large patio

a woman with a yellow popsicle, a woman in a white skirt and top and a man in a beige suit jacket, all walking on the street

three muslim women in head scarves on the street, street festival

below: Singing Italian songs

an older man sings Italian songs, Italian flag behind him, people on the street have stopped to watch him

below: … and maybe not so Italian….

a man wearing a sombrero plays a tenor sax outside, street musician

a man cooking lamb shish kebob outside at a street festival

an older man walking on the street with a woman behind him in a large straw hat and dark sunglasses and carrying a large brown and orange purse as well as a grey plastic bag

three musicians playing on the street, open violin case on the ground to collect money, people walking by

a big yellow sphere open in the middle, a drink stand, serving lemonade to people at Taste of Little Italy street festival

below: Octopus

octopus cut into pieces and placed on skewers, waiting to be grilled outside

grilling food at an outdoor street festival, taste of little italy

two little girls in pink with pink hats holding onto shish kebobs

a woman holding a small dog with a black and white Raptors we the north scarf on

a couple kissing

bare as you dare

Posted: June 11, 2019 in events, people
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I was standing at the corner of Bay and Front, near Union Station, when the WNBR (World Naked Bike Ride) passed by.    This has been an annual event for more than 15 years now and the ride occurs in many countries around the world.  Full nudity is not mandatory, costumes and accessories are welcome, and half the fun is watching the reactions of the people on the sidewalks…. especially those who aren’t expecting to see a large group of naked people cycling past!

world naked bike ride - 3 people watching them, not sure of what to think of naked bike riders

world naked bike ride

below: I love the heart!

world naked bike ride - the behinds and backsides of a group of nude cyclists

world naked bike ride goes down Bay street, south of Front, a large group of naked people on bicycles

below: Mr. Conehead rides by

world naked bike ride - one naked man on a red bike, wearing black shoes, and wearing a conehead

below: As it turns out, this man with the suitcase is in a lot of the pictures that I took.

world naked bike ride, a man with a suitcase watches, one nude rider is carrying a Canadian flag

world naked bike ride, one cyclist is wearing Viking horns

world naked bike ride

world naked bike ride and people on the sidewalk watching them

world naked bike ride going down Bay street, crossing Front st and two large buses

If you want more information – or you want to get involved, they have a website and a facebook page.  It’s on the latter that you will find another motto, “less gas, more ass”

See you next year?

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