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Archive for the ‘events’ Category

yogathon

Posted: August 17, 2014 in events
Tags: #riseforthecause, bare feet, child pose, cobra, community, downward dog, exercise, fun, good cause, help, laughter, love, mats, peace, people, postitions, postures, raise money, smiles, stretch, Toronto, upward dog, yoga, yogathon, yogis

Yogathon, Dundas Square, 16 August

Group of people at 2014 yogathon, Dundas Square

The first yogathon was held in Toronto a few years ago.
Today’s was the 3rd annual yogathon and it has spread to 46 cities in 12 countries.

During one of the short breaks between sun salutations.

The goal? 108 Sun Salutations. Variations were introduced to keep it interesting.

Try yoga while holding hands!

Money raised goes to Care for Children who work with youth in rural India.

A woman talks the group at the yogathon through their yoga postures, positions and sun salutations.

Instructors took turns leading the group through their salutations.

Happiness, Hope, Peace, Trust, Love and Balance.

Family time too….

Two women are sitting on the ground and talking to each other. Their backs are to the camera. On the back of their Tshirts are the words 'no one ever drowned in their own sweat'.

No one ever drowned in their own sweat – great T-shirts!

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I was curious as to the meaning of JAIGURUDEV as written in chalk in the above picture. So I looked it up and this is one explanation that I found. It may not be the only interpretation but I liked it……

“You know there is a Big Mind and a small mind. Sometimes the Big Mind wins over the small mind and sometimes it is the other way around.

When the small mind wins over, it is misery and when the Big Mind wins, it is joy.

Small mind promises joy and leaves your hand empty. Big Mind may bring resistance in the beginning but fills you with joy.

The word Guru means great. Jaya means victory. Deva means one who is fun-loving, playful, light. One who is playful is often not dignified and when one is dignified, he is often not playful.

Jai Guru Dev is victory to the Big Mind in you that is both dignified and playful. That is what Jai Guru Dev means: “Victory to the Greatness in you.”

You do not say victory or hail to the Master as he has won over already. You say victory to your own Self, your own Mind, which is being veiled by the small mind.”

from: Guru Vaani at guruvaani.wordpress.com

Canada Day!

Posted: July 1, 2014 in events
Tags: Canada Day, celebration, fireworks, Harbourfront, Lake Ontario, lights, Toronto

Happy Canada Day everyone!

large display of fireworks over Lake Ontario

fireworks at Harbourfront, Canada Day Eve, June 30

*****

pride parade

Posted: June 30, 2014 in events, people
Tags: asses, bananas, bare asses, bare bums, Bloor St., bums, chaps, colours, cops, crowds, fun, gay, girls, guys, laughs, men, parade, people, police, pride, rainbow, raunchy, silly, smiles, topless, Toronto, wigs, women, Yonge St.

Shooting the pride parade was a lot different from shooting the dyke march! The pride parade is much bigger and by necessity much more tightly controlled. I was able to walk alongside the women in the dyke march but the streets were barricaded and non-participants kept off the route for the pride parade.

crowds are behind barricades along the streets, policemen on motorcycles are waiting at the end of the street. parade hasn't started yet

looking west on Bloor towards Yonge.

I walked the first part of the route, along Bloor Street, just before the parade started. Lots of crowds were behind the metal bars; a few police were watching/ignoring me. When I turned the corner at Yonge St., I realized just how controlled the crowds were! I chose not to continue walking south on Yonge. A policeman opened the barricade enough to let me out. After that I walked amongst the crowds….. and saw nothing of the parade! Too many people! But they were interesting people and I enjoyed walking amongst them. …. until Dundas when there were so many people and no one could move. That’s was my cue to exit stage right.

So here’s a salute to all those who joined the fun. A little raunchy and a little over the top at times but all good.

Two women in banana costumes posing for the camera.

Kudos to these two ladies who showed up in banana costumes! I asked them if they were part of a group, but no, they’re just fruity they said. I hope they joined the parade had fun (and didn’t get too hot!… unless they peeled…. )

Two women, or men dressed as women, one in black and one in white. The one in white has a large black & white clockface behind her

timeless

A group of people are standing behind metal barricades waiting for the parade to start, some are waving and some are smiling. A group of three girls are wearing pink boas.

pink, with smiles, waiting for the parade to begin

A group of policemen and policewomen pose for a group shot before the pride parade

Before the parade started – They were actually posing for someone else… but I suggested that they look a little livelier, wave their hands or something…. thanks for obliging!

viewable, & captured, from all angles

One guy in red underpants (with Christmas bells attached to the front) is pointing to the bare bottoms of his two male friends. He is making an exaggerated facial expression of surprise and shock.

boys just wanna have fun

Two older men dressed in white are under a rainbow striped umbrella. One has a white boa, the other has a red boa.

keeping the sun away. These umbrellas were great – very photogenic!

A woman with very large and almost bare breasts. Her face is decorated

Two men are standing beind, and leaning on, the barricade. They are wearing multicoloured beads, incuding some very big beads that look more like balls for a Christmas tree

big grins! The one in blue was more game than his partner…. you could almost say that one in grey is grimacing more than grinning. Thanks guys!

A group of men are standing behind barricades.

He had such a wonderful smile and he seemed so happy that I couldn’t resist taking his picture.

four girls, each with a different coloured mask, like the ninja turtles TV characters wear.

ninjas, mostly unmasked

a boy is sitting on his father's shoulders

a better view!

many people lining the route of the pride parade on Yonge St.

The crowds at Yonge and Wellesley just as the parade reached that part of the route.

A row of people wearing hats in the foreground, looking across an empty street to a very large crowd behind barricades

How does one even start to calculate how many people were there?

A quick shot – he saw my camera, turned and quickly posed, and I got the shot. It wasn’t until I downloaded the photos that I saw the marvellous juxtaposition!

a group of four girls wearing rainbow curly wigs, frilly short skirts and rainbow striped socks are walking up the street between two rows of parade watchers

almost their own little parade!

streetcars at the intersection of Yonge & College, all corners are packed with people

stopping the parade to let the College/Carlton streetcar through

Two people are standing on the window sill of a large window. The woman is wearing a striped dress. She is texting. The guy beside her is topless, wearing grey shorts

She doesn’t seem to be having fun – standing in the window of Starbucks at College & Yonge.

Wall to wall people at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas. All you can see in the photo are people's heads.

I walked the parade route at about the same speed that the parade went. An hour and a half later, I reached Yonge & Dundas where the crowds were so thick no one could move.

Two boys are standing on a window ledge so they are above a crowd of people. The small boy doesn't look too happy.

At the corner of Yonge & Dundas – by the time I made it to this intersection, I was beginning to agree with the boy in green!

Two topless women are painted in big rainbow colours. Two clothed women are posing for a photo with them.

posing with the body painters – Body Art by Tania was the booth on Church St., near the start of the parade.

actoronto – AIDS Committee Toronto

*****

dyke march, more

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
Tags: #dmto, #wemarch, banners, bicycles, bikes, costumes, dyke march, June, LGBT, parade, pink, pride, protest, sign, Toronto, voices, women, Yonge St.

….continued from the previous post

Here is the second sample of the photos that I took at the dyke march yesterday.

*****

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dyke march

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
Tags: #dmto, #wemarch, bikes, cameras, costumes, crowds, dyke, dyke march, flags, gay, international ms. leather, leather, motorcycles, parade, photography, pink, posters, pride, queer, rainbow, signs, smiles, Toronto, umbrellas, watching, Yonge St.

The march finally got underway…..

Here is the first sample of the photos that I took as it passed by.

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******

dyke march – the befores

Posted: June 29, 2014 in events, people
Tags: #dmto, #wemarch, bikes, crochet, downtown, dyke march, dykes, flags, gay, LGBT, parade, people, pink, pride, queer, rainbow, Toronto, umbrella

Getting ready, or waiting, for the Dyke March. Saturday 28th June, from Allan Gardens west to Yonge St then north to Charles St. It was a very warm and sunny day.

two lone photographers stand in a street that has no traffic. Crowds are on the sidewalks on either side. They are sitting, waiting for a parade to come past

Carlton street awaits the start of the march.

Reflection in the round side view mirror of an old school bus that has been painted pink by CUPE.

reflecting on the CUPE bus, painted in pink and flying a pink flag.

A man is wearing a rainbow flag like a cape, and he has one wrapped around his head like a headband. He is selling large and small sized rainbow flags. He is topless otherwise

I bought a flag.
Him: Oh, this is going to be put online?
Me: If it works.

Two guys are sitting on the sidewalk. One has dyed his hair yellow and he's carrying a rainbow flag. The other is resting his chin on his hands, and his elbows on his knees. He has his rainbow flag draped over his head and he looks very bored.

It was a hot day and the parade was late getting started…….

A multicoloured bracelet on a wrist. The bracelet says, Oy Vey I'm Gay.

I spoke briefly to a woman who was wearing this bracelet. One of the women she was with was wearing a sticker that said, “Eat Me, I’m Kosher” but I didn’t take a picture of it.

detail of a crocheted banner that was made for the duke march

something about gender, details of a crocheted banner that was made to be carried in the march

A good looking, very fit, man wearing just a pair of pink shorts and a pair of sandals is walking down the street.

pretty in pink

A lacy umbrella decorated with crocheted 3D breasts in different colours, probably life sized.

custom crocheted umbrella to keep the sun off…. sitting on the grass before the parade

A black helmet has two lines of pink fringe glued on the top it that make it look like a Mohawk hair cut. The helmet is sitting on the seat of a black motorcycle.

waiting to ride

Pedestrian Sunday

Posted: May 26, 2014 in events, people
Tags: bikes, chalk, chalk chick, colours, eating, enjoy, eye, food, graffiti, Kensington, patio, pedestrians, people, photos, pictures, sidewalk, sights, stores, street art, summer, Sunday, sunny, Toronto, umbrellas, walking

The first Pedestrian Sunday of 2014, Kensington Market, 25th May.

What follows is a collection of sights from that afternoon.

A group of young people are walking down the street, away from the camera. Some are walking their bikes and some of the men are topless.

It was a warm day, the warmest day of the year so far. Time to shed the remains of winter and enjoy the sun and the city.

art and music…..

A young woman is sitting on the sidewalk. She is creating a picture of one of the characters from the TV show Futurama.

‘chalk chick’ – see more of her work at chalkchick.com

A man sitting on a stool on the sidewalk, playing a musical instrument

I am not sure what his name is or what kind of instrument he plays. If anyone knows, please give me a shout!

Two men on the sidewalk outside Sancis store. One man is standing and the other is sitting.

guitar players

food and drink…..

Three women are lined up waiting to be served at a street vendor who is selling food.

one of the many street vendors selling food and drink – BBQ chicken, burgers, fries, sandwiches and coconut sorbet included

The front of Wandas Pie in the Sky restaurant. People are sitting at tables and chairs set up outside the restaurant.

enjoying Wanda’s patio

A number of people are having lunch on a patio.

lunch on the patio!

A group of young people are sitting onthe curb eating food out of stryofoam containers

street food

people watching ……

Some people sitting on steps, three women standing in front of a large graffiti face that is wearing large star shaped sun glasses.

In front of big red starry sunglasses.

giant scrabble!

A couple with a small dog on a leash are standing by one of the barricades used to keep cars off the street

People with animals ….

A woman has a large fake red nose and large white frames sunglasses. She is carrying a green umbrella with a froggie face on it

keeping cool under the froggie

A woman is sitting at a table, under a patio umbrella. Behind her is a large graffiti piece of a young woman's face

two women, one larger than life

A woman is looking at her phone as she waits behind a table where she is selling denim shorts (on the sidewalk). In the background a man is buying something at another vendor's table.

‘This Way’ to browsing, buying and selling.

A pile of large wood blocks are in the middle of the street and a family is building small towers with them - a small girl and boy and their parents.

playing with blocks

Two women, each with an umbrella open above their heads are standing in the street.

Some people bared their skin to bask in the sun while others wanted more protection

under the blade

….. and the sights of Kensington

Detail of messages attached to a telephone pole. They are written on strips of yellow and blue heavy paper. In the background is a painting of a large eye, part of the sign above the door of Orbital Arts on Augusta Ave.

A watchful eye from Orbital Arts looks over Augusta Ave.

At an intersection, lots of people are walking on the street. Across the intersection is a three story burgundy colored brick building with a shop, and awning, on the ground floor. There are murals of faces on the upper level of the outside wall along with the words 'Welcome to Kensington, Romeos'

crowded streets mid-afternoon outside Romeo’s

a man stands in the doorway of a shop that has towels in the window and a lot of things for sale on a table outside the shop

Captain America and the Hulk lurk outside a store.

street scene of the intersection of Kensington and Dundas West. There are people walking on the sidewalk past a boarded up shop.

the corner of Kensington and Dundas West

A man is sitting on a fence reading a book. There are books on the ground in front of him that are for sale. There are also some shirts on hangers that are for sale.

a quiet corner to read on

little people stuck to the wall, sticker street art on Kensington

ford love-in at City Hall

Posted: November 13, 2013 in events
Tags: anti-Ford, bobble heads, cameras, city hall, crowd, mayor, nathan phillips square, people, photographers, photos, politics, protest, resign, Rob Ford, RoFo, signs, step down, Toronto, wall

Anti Rob Ford protest

A cold but clear November afternoon at Nathan Phillips Square.

people, signs, cameras, writing, chanting, speeches, media.

Protesters at a rally, from behind. Two people are holding signs. One sign says Step Down and the the other sign says Or Fall Over

Step down or fall over.

A man is writing with chalk on a grey concrete wall.

The city’s budget has gone up! Every year Rob has been in office.

Nathan Phillips Square from the upper walkway, looking down at the crowd that has gathered for the protest

Nathan Phillips Square about 1:00 p.m.

A couple is holding an orange sign that says Councillors fix this mess now. P.S. I vote.

There was a good mix of people there, young and old.

View of the crowd from part way up the steps just before they moved towards the front door of City Hall.

A woman is holding a sign that says Sh*!show RoFo has got to GO. In the background there is a man who has a sign with a picture of the man from the Monopoly game showing that his pockets are empty.

Many creative signs. RoFo, the man from Monopoly, gravy train…..

It’s not about the drugs, it’s about the lies.

Two people are writing words in chalk on a concrete wall. A woman is standing on a garbage bin so that she can reach higher up on the wall.

Writing on the wall, about 12:40. I am not sure when the writing started, but when I first got to Nathan Phillips Square there wasn’t too much on the wall yet.

A man is walking past holding up a sign that says Gravy Train? What about Leadership? In the background people are writing on the wall.

Of chalk and signs

A man is writing words on the concrete wall beside the ramp at Nathan Phillips Square.

A little bit later, a few more words on the wall as well as on the ground. Sashay away! Fraud Nation. No to Drugs. Harper + Ford = Corruption. Help yourself & help Toronto, Step Down.

A man is writing in orange and blue chalk. Old City Hall is in the background.

You smoked your own pipe. More writing on the upper wall.

A woman is writing Get Help in purple and yellow chalk, on the ground

I assume that it became “Get Help”

A man is writing on the concrete ground as part of the crowd watches him.

Etobicoke, Ford Co. most wanted.

another view of the crowd

Two woman are holding bright orange signs.

…finally!

A man and a woman are holding a very large sign with a picture of Rob Ford's face on it.

Resting on the Archer

Two people are writing on the wall, a woman has stopped to watch them and a man is taking their picture.

Protesters, spectators and photographers. There were a lot of photographers! A lot of media, print, radio and television, were there too. Newstalk 1010 (where the Ford brothers had their radio show) had at least one person walking around with a microphone.

A man holds a megaphone in one hand and a sign that says Say No To Corruption in the other hand.

Leading the chants

A picture of the cafe that is beside Nathan Phillips Square. There are people sitting inside who are looking at the protest. The protest can also be seen reflected in the glass.

Looking at the ones inside while the ones outside are reflected back

A man with a sign with lots of words on it is talking to a woman wearing a grey scarf.

wanted, A new Mayor! asap

A woman is writing Pathetic Leave Toronto in coloured chalk on the concrete ground in the middle of the square.

Writing in the square.

A man in a bright orange hat and holding a protest sign, is taking a photo with his phone.

I got him and he got me (I probably got the better photo!)

#savetoronto #topoli #robford

With thanks to the Starbucks at Queen and Victoria where I was able to park myself and my laptop while I put this blog together. Wifi and an electrical outlet for the price of a tall coffee, can’t beat it.

zombie for a day

Posted: October 27, 2013 in events
Tags: blood, bloody faces, chains, gore, men, people, Pokemon, rat, Rob Ford, scary, stitches, teeth, wild, women, zombie walk, zombies

Toronto Zombie Walk, Nathan Phillips Square,

26 October, 2013

The rain stopped just before the Zombie walk started but there was a very chilly wind blowing. The weather didn’t stop the zombies! It didn’t stop the fun either.

close up of a girl's face. She has a fake mouth tied together with red embroidery thread

I met a zombie, and it was fun.

a mother and daughter dressed up as zombies. Frizzy hair, grey skin and lots of fake blood dripping from their mouths.

keeping it in the family – like mother, like daughter

A woman with make up on her face to make her look like a zombie.

zombie repose, by the archer

A man with white makeup on his face, a chain around his neck and a plastic rat on his shoulder.

A rat’s best friend.

two girls with big bows around their necks, fake teeth and lots of blood

cute but bloodied

Two men. The one on the right is wearing a hoodie that says smoke meth and hail satan.

They humoured me.

A zombie holding a large yellow Pokemon zombie. He is screaming at a photographer

even Pokemon was not spared.

two woman dressed up like zombies. The woman in the foreground has blood dripping off her chin and down her neck. The woman in the background has a large ugly facial wound

dripping blood, and the eyes…….great zombie eyes!

a man made up to look like he has a pencil shoved into his eye

an eye for an eye, oh wait, a pencil for an eye

a girl with red frizzy hair who has white makeup on her face and a bloody mouth

bulletproof

A man with very long hair, a moustache and a beard with blood running down his face. A fake leg is attached to his shoulder. and he has chains around his neck

screaming, blood curdling screams……

Three people - two grey zombies and a young Asian woman who is pretending to be scared of the zombies

one of the many great interactions between the zombies and their audience

Two girls wearing woolly hats and very ugly fake teeth. THey have lots of blood on their chinslots of b

so much for the orthodontics

three zombies dressed in white coveralls, sitting by The Archer sculpture in Nathan Phillips Square

even zombies need a break

Mayor Rob Ford poses for a photo op with a zombie

Rob Ford meets zombie

piles

Posted: October 13, 2013 in events
Tags: ai weiwei, art, bell trinity square, bicycles, chairs, city hall, metropolitan united church, nathan phillips square, nuit blanche, Pascale Marthine Tayou, plastic bags, squirrel, Tadashi Kawamata, Toronto

Piles of chairs, piles of bicycles and piles of plastic bags. That is the best way to summarize three of the Nuit Blanche installations that remained on display for a week or so after the 5th of October.

…

First, the pile of chairs

Garden Tower, by Tadashi Kawamata of Hokkaido Japan

in front of Metropolitan United Church

“As if each person who sat on these chairs left a piece of himself, the work evokes the beautiful and utopian spects of the myth of the Babel Tower, a humanity speaking with one voice and engaged, with solidarity, in the building of a better future.” (from the sign accompanying the installation)

a large pile of chairs sits in front of a church

Garden Tower chairs in front of Metropolitan United Church on Queen Street East.

A hollow pile of chairs about thirty feet high. The photo is taken from inside the pile. The sky can be seen in the photo.

Looking upward from inside the pile of chairs. There was a pathway that ran through the base of the tower.

A squirrel sits on the bottom of a red and white striped chair that is upside down.

new found habitat for one of Toronto’s four legged residents

…

Then the pile of bicycles:

Forever Bicycles by Ai Weiwei at Nathan Phillips Square

Part of the curved walls of city hall are in the background and part of a number of bicycles is in the foreground.

bicycles in front of city hall

A woman wearing a green sweater and a bicycle helmet is standing in the middle of a pile of more than 3000 bicycles. She also has her own bike with her.

one bike amongst many

Nathan Phillips Square on a grey and foggy morning. There are a few people in the square who are looking at the large art installation that involves a structure made from more than 3000 bicycles

Nathan Phillips Square on the wet and foggy morning after Nuit Blanche.

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Last, the pile of plastic bags:

Plastic Bags by Pascale Marthine Tayou of Cameroon

interior, Bell Trinity Square

The interior of a large office building. A group of men are standing and talking under a large collection of red, white, green and yellow plastic bags.

The plastic bags hang from the ceiling like a big blob. Like confetti, or bits of coloured paper, ready to be dropped on the people below.

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Archive for the ‘events’ Category

yogathon

Canada Day!

pride parade

dyke march, more

dyke march

dyke march – the befores

Pedestrian Sunday

ford love-in at City Hall

zombie for a day

piles