Archive for the ‘events’ Category

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

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!

Waterlicht is a large-scale light installation by Daan Roosegaarde, a Dutch artist.   It showed at the Bentway, in front of Fort York, for three nights this past weekend.

below: Light, like water flowing under the Gardiner.

blue lights under the Gardiner at the Bentway, in front of Fort York, a light show called Waterlicht by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde

below: The fluid patterns of light and smoke created waves and angles of blue.

blue lights under the Gardiner at the Bentway, in front of Fort York, a light show called Waterlicht by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde

below: One of many selfies

selfies in front of blue lights under the Gardiner at the Bentway, in front of Fort York, a light show called Waterlicht by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde

below: From above

blue lights under the Gardiner at the Bentway, in front of Fort York, a light show called Waterlicht by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde

 

This year’s Nuit Blanche was on September 28th and 29th.  The night’s activities were spread over a large number of locations around the city.  That was a few days ago so yes, I am a bit behind.  I was laid low for a couple of days with this cold that’s been going around… or I took a few days to recover from being up until 3:30 a.m.!

 

below:  Part of ‘Continuum: Pushing Towards the Light’ by Brandy Leary and the Anandam Dancetheatre.  They made they way across the glass enclosed bridge over Queen Street between the Eaton Centre and The Bay store.

4 people in costume, performance art, on glass covered bridge

below: From behind the burlap (or tarp?) Nathan Phillips Square, from an installation ‘Radical Histories 2012-2018’ by Ibrahaim Mahama.

looking at the back of the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips, looking through burlap and tarps that have been stitched together

below: More from the same installation, this time from the “right” side.  It was great for making shadow figures.  Thanks to Jude for starting off the evening with me… and getting creative (silly?) too.

making shadows against the fabric draped around City Hall and Nathan Phillips square

below: We found a photo shoot on Bay Street.

two young women posing on the street

below: On Bloor Street, nothing to do with Nuit Blanche but it looked cool.   Reflections and lights.

reflections in a window that has been lit with a red light, a mannequin is reflected from the store across the street

below: Eaton Centre, a quieter moment that night.

a young boy leans against his father as he reads a book, MIghty Robot, at the Eaton Centre

below: Checking the map.   Yonge Dundas Square – the installation there was very unimpressive so I took people pics instead.

a couple looks at the Nuit Blanche map

below: At Church of the Redeemer (Avenue Road and Bloor), Korean Dancers.  “Star Moon Water Stone” by Ensemble Jeng Yi

two Korean women in traditional costume, gold dresses, and decorated hair

below: Drummers, same venue as above.

drummers, performing, Church of the Redeemer, Nuit Blanche

below: ‘This Storm is You’ at the Ontario Science Centre, an installation by Zahra Saleki.   Photography on the walls and stories on the floor.

art installation for Nuit Blanche at the Ontario Science Centre, by Zahra Saleki called 'This Storm is You'.

below: Walk among the stories.  “Every story deserves to be lit.  Grab a sharpie and write yours.”

lit sign, large capital letters in pale blue, Every Story deserves to be lit. Grab a sharpie and write yours.

below: Smile!.. and a testament to the start of love.   Two of many lit stories.

white lanterns, rectangular, with tea lights in the bottom, scattered around the floor, people walking around them.

below: Saleki’s photos displayed here are abstract dance photographs in black and white.  Negative images and slowing the camera to produce the blur of motion.

black and white photo of a man leaning forward, finger pointed to ground, slow shutter speed, blurred motion,

four photographs on a black wall, by zahra Saleki, figures in motion

below: This is what you saw when you first got off the subway (is the SRT a subway?) at Scarborough Town Centre.  It’s part of the ‘The Things They Carried’ Babel series.  The motifs are similar to those on the installation at Yonge -Dundas Square, that oops, I don’t have a picture of.

installation of blue lights shining on fabric banners

below: At Scarborough Civic Centre, ‘Everything I Wanted to Tell You’ by Hiba Abdallah.  A series of words in lights projected onto several buildings.  The words changed every few seconds to tell a story or two.

two large signs at Scarborough Nuit Blanche, from the installation called Everything I wanted to tell you. Back lights say We worked so hard to make this place home

below: More of the words.  “People hold on so tightly to a specific narrative of this place”.

words projected onto the side of a building at Scarborough Civic Centre, part of Nuit Blanche installation, Everything I wanted to tell you by Hiba Abdallah

below: More projections at Scarborough Civic Centre.  Sorry, not sure which installation this is.

large projections on the concrete wall of Scarborough Civic Center

below: Scarborough Town Centre (mall) had a mountain of inflatable globes you could walk under, or just look at.  ‘Walk Among Worlds’ by Maximo Gonzalez

piles of inflatable globes are arranged at Scarborough Town Centre, people are walking around them and through a tunnel made of them

below: Weaving stories, ‘Interlacing’ by Community Arts Guild, at Scarborough Town Centre.

three people are taking their turn weaving coloured strips of fabric into a community weaving project

below: Watching a performance at the Scarborough Civic Centre.

people line the edge of a balcony to watch a performance below

below: Running through the lights.

woman runs past a white screen that is being lit with coloured lights, making her shadow coloured

below: Reflections, Aga Khan Museum

in front of the Aga Khan museum, a large white lit ball is reflected in the pool of water

below: more Aga Khan

Aga Khan at Nuit Blanche

below: Showing ‘Insomnia’, a video filmed in Tehran showing simply the view out his bedroom window, by Simin Keramati, Aga Khan Museum

a room in the Aga Khan that is showing a video made in Tehran, two people are sitting on stools as they watch it, orange carpet on the floor, old decorated bookcases against the walls.

side of the Aga Khan museum lit in bluish purple light

below: Trash at Yonge Dundas Square.  Nothing to do with Nuit Blanche, just an ordinary day’s worth of garbage.  It just happened to catch my eye as I was walking down the stairs to the subway.

clear plastic bags full of trash are pilled up against a clear wall at Yonge Dundas square

Ending with rubbish would be a weird way to end a post, so here’s another mannequin.  I saw lots of them that night too, unfazed by the activity around them, unmoved by the night’s events.

below: I’m out here every night.  Nice of you to finally notice….

bald white mannequin with dark sunglasses and very dark red lipstick, looking at the camera, wearing an orange and brown top with a collar, reflected red, ywllow, and green lights behind her.

 

two young women holding signs that say, Love Open Streets, prove it. #openstreetsto

Open Streets – the second, and final, Open Streets for 2018 was held last Sunday.   Large sections of Bloor and Yonge Streets downtown were closed to traffic leaving lots of room for cyclists, pedestrians and a number of activities.

below: Axe Capoeira

a man is flipping upside down in front of an audience on the sidewalk

below: Mayada’s Belly Dance at Yonge & Bloor

the intersection of Yonge and Bloor at Open Streets, belly dancers performing for an audience, Nordstroms Rack store in the background

below: And other dancing in the street too – or rather, a very active fitness session!

four young people dancing in the street, two male and two female.

below: It looks like animals can dance too… this dog seems to be having a great time!

people in life size animal costumes including heads, dance along in a fitness session on Yonge street during Open Streets

below: Little drummer boy on a fancy Home Depot drum set!

a young boy uses wooden drum sticks to bang on upturned orange plastic buckets from Home Depot, outside, activity at Open Streets

looking east on Bloor past the Royal Ontario Museum, no traffic, for Open Streets, some cyclists, tall buildings in the background

below: Decorating bikes and scooters

close up of hands decorating a scooter with flowers and foam shapes

below: Sharing a hammock in the middle of Yonge Street.

a young couple share a hammock strung between two trees on a diving strip own the middle of Yonge Street, their bikes are parked beside the hammock

a woman with flowers in hair in profile

below: Trumpet lessons

a man teaches a boy to blow a trombone, outdoors, activity on the sidewalk during Open Streets

a couple cycles together up Yonge street, on rented Bixi bikes, holding hands

below: Yoga in the park

doing yoga on grass laid down on the street, Bloor Street, temporary park for Open Streets

below: And for those who were looking for something less active…

a man has fallen asleep on the grass beside the OPen Streets Park sign,

below:  Yonge Street was also on the route of the 2018 Toronto AIDS walk

a policeman on a bike leads an AIDS walk up Yonge Street, people holding a banner follow him and then many people wearing red T-shirts

people wearing red T-shirts and carrying signs, walking in a walk to raise funds and awareness for AIDS, on Yonge Street.

below: A Lamborghini.  0 to 60 in how many seconds?

turquoise Lamburghini bike locked along with other bikes

two women sitting on the steps of a building having a discussion, a yellow bike is in the foreground

two women walk with their young children, strollers, down Yonge Street during OPen Streets, downtown Toronto in the background

below: IATSE Local 58 led the parade this year. They have been locked out of the CNE who brought in workers from Quebec and Alberta to help set up the Ex this year. Usually the parade ends at the CNE grounds at the Dufferin Gate and participants get free admission to the Ex. This year, the parade ended at Lamport Stadium instead.

labour Day parade on Queen St West, IATSE local 58, banner, with the words Behind the scenes since 1898, some people walking including a young woman carrying a bag of buttons that she's handing out.

below: Mayoral candidate, Jennifer Keesmaat, walked in the parade with the IATSE locals.  At Bathurst St., the groups at the front slowed down to let the others catch up.  At that point, Keesmaat was interviewed by CP24.

labour Day parade on Queen St West, mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat being interviewed by a woman reporter from CP24 news, in the midst of the parade

labour Day parade on Queen St West, a woman with a sign that says Ford needs a sex education, walking in front of large oversized effigy of Doug Ford

labour Day parade on Queen St West, ACTRA member male, carrying sign that says Artists are Voters,

labour Day parade on Queen St West, ACTRA member, female, with sign that says Come on Women, please start supporting other women

labour Day parade on Queen St West, small dog on a leach with an actra T-shirt on

labour Day parade on Queen St West, man in tartan kilt playing drums, union members carrying flags including Canadian flag

labour Day parade on Queen St West,

labour Day parade on Queen St West, a young woman holds an orange NDP sign for the local Parkdale MPP Bhutial Krapoche, as members of the Sprinkler Fitters of Ontario Union come around the corner from Queen West to Dufferin

labour Day parade on Queen St West, a man walks with large white wings, about 8 feet across (2.5 metres), he's wearing a black T-shirt with white words that say No Justice No Peace

amalgamated transit workers union march in labour Day parade on Queen St West,

labour Day parade on Queen St West, Canadian Media guild members walk with their banner, wearing red t-shirts

members of United Steelworkers walk in Labour Day parade including a woman in red cowboy hat and red frilly skirt

labour Day parade on Queen St West, young people in pink t-shirts carry blue flags for a union,

labour Day parade on Queen St West, two women carry brown cardboard signs, one says How do I snitch on my politician? and the other talks about policies affecting education ofchildren

labour Day parade on Queen St West, Toronto Civic Employees Union

a young person walks in the labour Day parade on Queen St West, carrying a sign that says society prefers somnambulism to awareness, know your rights

millwrights local 2309 walk with their banner in a labour day parade

millwrights union members carrying flags

OPSEU banners and people in Labour Day parade, inclusing two with large oversized, tall, effigies of Doug Ford and John Tory

labour Day parade on Queen St West,

Power Workers union protest signs, held by one man

labour Day parade on Queen St West, woman in pink t-shirt riding a bike in front of walkers in the parade

labour Day parade on Queen St West, an older black man carries a sign that says Hands Off our paid sick days

labour Day parade on Queen St West, a black man waves a union flag, wearing a black t shirt with the words No Justice No Peace. Some other people are riding on a flat bed truck behind him, with posters that say Pay Equality for all

a man roller blades past the parade, water bottle in one hand, grocery bags in the other, he is topless, labour Day parade on Queen St West,

a group of people waiting for a green light, two are in costumes for Fan Expo

Fan Expo came to Toronto for a few days this weekend.   If the person beside you on the subway was dressed up in some sort of costume, perhaps they were heading to Fan Expo.  Prizes were award to the best costumes and from what I saw when I hung out around the convention centre, the competition was quite steep.

Here are some examples of the people that I saw.

man in red leather mask, holes for eyes but nothing else,

below: Looloo from ‘The Fifth Element’

a woman with a bright orange wig

below: The Littlest Mermaid, Ariel

a woman dressed up as Ariel, the Disney mermaid, long red hair and a purple flower in her head

below: Robin, Boy Wonder

a woman dressed as Robin, Boy Wonder, reddish orange wig, and large glasses

a woman in costume, black top, har, and face paint,

a woman in costume, long curly black hair, fangs, black lips, claws and fur on hands,

 

a woman in pale pink wig and totally covered face with pink paint

below: The Queen of Hearts

woman dress as the Queen of Hearts, head only, curly red hair, white face paint, tiny red heart on lips

a person in an elaborate costume looking like a metal robot figure

below: You’re never too young to dress up!

a mother with a child on her shoulders, walking to Fan Expo, child has spiky hair and an orange costume

below: The Joker and mini Joker with a Harley Quinn or two.

man dressed up as Joker pushes a stroller with a young boy also dressed as the Joker with green hair and purple suit

below: A Sailor Moon gets a touch up

woman with green hair is applying blue lipstick

below: Batman comes in many shapes and sizes!

child in long red wig and batman mask, also purple batman costume with a yellow bat symbol, Batman is in the right of the pic

woman in black leather and tophat

woman in turquoise face paint, dark blue veil and a white frilly collar and white hair

a woman in pale blue shirt, pale purple witch shaped hat, carrying a purple umbrella

woman in yellow wig, and matching yellow dress, carrying a yellow basket

a woman wearing a tall crown made of sticks, three strands of yellow beads and a cross around her neck, lots of make up to make her face look mottled and bumpy

man in black and red bandana, black vest open to reveal bare chest, tattoo above his heart, black glove, carrying a can of red bull

two women in costume, the one in front is smiling, the other is not, hair in braids, small crown on head,

man with shite face and yellowish green eyes

people walking to Fan Expo. Man in a red T-shirt with drunk 1 on it, similar to a Dr. Suess thing 1 t shirt

below: Anime inspired costumes.

four asian women in navy and white frilly anime french maid costumes, with hair tied up with bows,

asian woman in navy and white frilly anime french maid costumes, with hair tied up with bows, pompom bracelet on

asian woman in navy and white frilly anime french maid costumes, with hair tied up with tartan bows,

asian woman in navy and white frilly anime french maid costumes, with hair tied up with pink and green bows, blue nail polish

asian woman in navy and white frilly anime french maid costumes, with hair tied up with pink and purple bows,

below: Anonymous mask

person wearing anonymous mask from v for vengence movie

woman with orange hair

a woman lies on her arms on a table, sitting at the table, as she works outside at Fan Expo

woman in a bright pink dress, holding a bouquet of flowers poses beside a brain artwork at Nathan Phillips Square while a man in a blue suit takes her picture

The brains are back!  Close to 50 brains decorated by different artists can be seen in about a dozen locations around this city throughout the summer.

This year they are 2-dimensional, not three.  They are much flatter.  Above, making an interesting companion to the fabulous pink dress is “Enigmatic Glitter” by Donald and Elaine Rafelman Creative Arts Studio at Baycrest.  When we picture art together it lights a spark and evokes a glitter of hope.

 

below: At Nathan Phillips Square, from left to right:  “Pop Art” by Mary Ann Grainger,  “No Brainer #Repainthistory” by Andrea Bolley,  “Neon Future” by Steve Aoki, “Get Me Out! by Hate Copy (aka Maria Qamar), “Mental Vacation ” by Birdo, and “My Mind is Swimming” by Gina Godfrey.

two young woman are standing beside a row of artwork, brain shaped, each in a plexiglass container, standing in the water of the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square, 7 brain sculptures, all decorated by different artists, part of the brain project in support of Baycrest

 

below:  “Power in Growth” by Amy Jeffreys in the Distillery District.  Persevere and grow.  Every human is capable of harnessing strength from their weaknesses.  In this piece, the tangled roots represent the inner struggles and complexity of one’s thoughts.

off-white artwork in the shape of a brain, covered with cords and leaves, or maybe leaves and stems

below: “Memory” by Colin Nun at Nathan Phillips Square.  “This type-based piece represents disconnect, dead ends, and memories lost to brain disease.  It is inspired by the loss of the artist’s grandfather to Alzheimer’s disease and was created as a tribute to his memory.  Take a close look to find a hidden word in the piece.  What do you see?”

2 dimensional brain, artwork, designed with orange and white lines, beside water at Nathan Phillips Square, 3D toronto sign behind it

below: “The Mind’s Eye” by Dave Bagley at Yonge and St. Clair.  Concentric rings of birds, fish, and diamonds radiate from the center.

a brain from the brain project at yonge and St. Clair, in a plexiglass display case, minds eye by David Bagley

below: Close up of the above, clearly showing the two seahorses in the center as well as the repeating yellow fish and blue birds.   According to the artist, “I believe all of humankind share an organic Wi-fi that connects everyone, all we need to do is turn on the switch… is yours on?”

close up of painting on brain shaped sculpture, called Mids Eye by David Bagley, circular pattern of fish and seahorses

below: “Puzzled” by Harm Huibers on Grist Mill Lane in the Distillery District.  The design of the brain is complex and intricate; when it’s complete, it’s a beautiful puzzle.  Diseases like Alzheimers take pieces out of the puzzle.

a plain brown puzzle in the shape of a brain, eight of the pieces are either missing or only partially in place

The project is sponsored by Yogen Fruz and Pinkberry and is in support of the Baycrest Foundation.  Baycrest, a leader in research into brain health and aging, is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.

You can find pictures of all of the 2018 brains online at the brainproject.ca as well as descriptions of the brains and the artists behind their creation.

People watching at Kensington Pedestrian Sunday

a woman in white sleeveless top and with very red dyed very curly hair, carrying a bottle of ginger beer,

a young black man in black wide brimmed hat sings in front of a microphone, part of a band performing ouside in front of a mural on a wall

below: The Spontaneous Poet, poet 4 hire

woman with green felt hat with floppy brim, smoking a cigarette, sitting at a small table and typing on an old Smith Corona typewriter.  She has a sign on the table that says, poet for hite, the spontaneous poet.

older man with white beard and mustache, wearing sunglasses and teal baseball cap, leans on a garbage can while smoking a cigarette

a young black woman with long dreadlocks has a large snake on her forearm, she's smiling. A man with grey grey beard and moustache watches her.

man standing in an alley with street art on one wall, holding a guitar, he has just finished playing and singing, a man is behind him on a bike

balding black man with the Queen of hearts playing card stuck on his head makes a muscle man stance with fists clenched, he's performing magic tricks while people watch him

below: #whatsvictorupto painting the word ‘together’ on the sidewalk.

victor painting on the sidewalk in Kensington.  He's wearing a shiny sparkly mask over the top of his head. people are walking past #whatsvictorupto

an older man in tweed jacket and cap with long white beard and mustache, black rim glasses, white plastic bag over one arm, walks down the street

young black man dancing on the street, part of a group, Pedestrian Sunday afternoon at Kensington, people in the background watching

young Asian womanin a straw coloured wide brimmed hat, smiling as she dances, she is holding the brim of her hat with both hands so it doesn't fall off

a male mime, black hamburg hat, lime green shirt, black suspenders and red carnation on the suspenders, beckoning to the crowd, outside, street festival, pedestrian sunday at kensington

a black man dances on the street, slow dance, with an older blond woman,

two women dancing, one with long hair on the top but shaved on the sides, wearing an intricate black necklace, double, one woman in focus in the front, the other slightly out of focus, purple and black sleeveless tops, close up of head and shoulders and one hand with grey fingernails

woman in short velvet close fitting top, large necklace, and holding a white parasol walks down a street in a crowd of people

young girl in Minnie Mouse tshirt and frilly pink skirt, pacifier in mouth, sits on the street beside a bike while she watched a performer, summer afternoon,

black woman with very short hair, round sunglasses and white top, wearing many strands of beads, sitting on a bench on her phone

a man wearing a purple vest and white hat, stands on stilts with long trousers covering, juggling 4 different coloured bats (or pins?) shaped a bit like bowling pins, two in his hands and two in the air.  outside on the street

 

below: What is happening? By the looks of it, Doug Ford and John Tory have taken up cricket. Nice uniforms but something’s not cricket…

a woman with light brown hair holds a sign at a protest, seen from the back. The sign says what is happening? Picture of John Tory and Doug Ford as cricket players.

below: What is happening is a protest. A decent sized crowd gathered at Nathan Phillips Square late this afternoon because why?  Because another Ford, another protest. Been there, done that, and is he really going to do what? Sigh.

crowd gathered at Nathan Phillips square for a protest, TV cameras, microphones, speakers, protesters, signs, placards,

below: Making a point.  Doug Ford recently dictated that the sex ed curriculum brought in by the last government will no longer be taught because not enough parents had been consulted about its contents.  Today he announced that the number of Toronto city council seats will be reduced from 47 to 25 after he consulted with zero zilch nada of Toronto’s 2.7 million people.  Hypocrisy.  It also gives credence to the theory that this is all sour grapes – he lost the last mayoral election to John Tory and his ego is damaged.

a man in a green t shirt holds up a protest sign that says Dick-tator Ford

below: “To succeed we must secede #provinceofontario”  An interesting concept?

Crowd of people at protest rally at city hall in Toronto. One man holds a sign that says to succeed we need to secede

protesters at an anti Doug Ford and anti PC Ontario provincial government for their announcement to cut the number of city council seats

two middle aged red headed women holding a sign at a protest at city hall

a young woman holds up a sign that says Dud Ford. Words followed by a sad face. Seen from the back. Lots more people in the crowd at the rally

below: Ford did campaign on cheap beer, a dollar a can if I remember correctly.  There was no beer at Nathan Phillips square this afternoon.   No consultations AND no beer.

a woman holds a white hand written sign at a protest, the sign says You campaigned on cheap beer, not on cutting my representation in government with no public consultation where is my beer?

Young women in a crowd, holding a sign that says Ford - F for Fuck O for Off R for rude and D for Doug

below: A lone dissenter (or at least the only visible one). “Thank you Doug Ford.  You saved me a part of my battle, for the Mayor’s office.  Harris suggested this at amalgamation you put it in to action. Jim McMillan.”

people sitting by the Archer, a Henry Moore sculpture, at Nathan Phillips Square. An older man is talking to another man. He is holding a hand written sign that says Thanks to Doug Ford

Once the speeches were over, some of the protesters went inside City Hall to the council chambers where a city council meeting was in progress.  We’ll see what happens in the coming days and weeks.

below: Like most days, there were lots of tourists in the square too.  But that’s a whole other story!

a father and son by the light purple O in the 3D Toronto sign. In the background is a group of people at a protest