Streetfest, part of the Beaches International Jazz Festival, was held 25, 26 and 27 July this year.     About 2 km of Queen St. East is closed to traffic so pedestrians can enjoy the music provided by many bands representing a diverse array of music genres.   On both Thursday and Friday evening when I was there the weather was perfect and the atmosphere was fun.  I hope that I have been able to capture the spirit of the event!

Music, food, shopping, and most of all, people watching!

crowds in the street at Beaches Jazzfest

Queen St. East, early in the evening

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Music

jazz/blues

Erin McCallum and her backup band

Erin McCallum and her backup band

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God Made Me Funky

He, and his group, got the crowd moving!

He, and his group, got the crowd moving!

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Dr. Draw – It was very difficult to catch the intensity of this performance and I’m sure I haven’t done him justice.

violin player at the Beaches Jazzfestviolin player at Beaches Jazzfestviolin player at Beaches Jazzfestviolin player at Beaches Jazzfest

Juice (name of the band)

a crowd of people standing around in a semi-circle on Queen St. watching a band play music

The boys in the band are looking a bit pink but I like the perspective & angle of the crowd.

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There was music to dance to

two couples dancing in the street while a group of people watch

Dancing to the music

and he danced his way down the street……

a couple dancing in the street with the crowd behind them

slow dancing

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And music to join in with

little kid with toy guitar watching a band play

He almost stole the show.

boy with toy guitar walking in front of a live band

There were so many wonderful moments.

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The were some odd musical moments as well

girl covering her ears with her hands while standing in from of a guitar player.

My apologies to the band, Phusion, as it is almost unfair to include this photo. The girl’s mother set up the shot.

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girl with very short silver skirt and very high white shoes is playing a guitar in a band.  Many people are watching

There were a lot of photographers milling about during this set. Most of them were middle aged men.

There was lots of food.

food trucks

Gorilla Cheese food truck

Gorilla Cheese food truck

Beach Boys food truck

Beach Boys food truck

The donut truck was parked in Kew Gardens

The donut truck was parked in Kew Gardens

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man inside an ice cream truck, his back is turned to the camera and he is looking out the window

The ice cream man.

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Food for sale from local restaurants

serving Thai food outside the Cha Da thai restaurant

Serving up thai food outside the Cha Da Restaurant

canteloupes and watermelon that have been carved to look like flowers with many petals

Wonderfully creative carved melons on display.

and drink…..

two guys wearing bright yellow signs advertising the fact htat they are selling pop and water

water & pop selling entrepreneurs

And young entrepreneurs too!

And young entrepreneurs too!

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There were people of all kinds

….characters

What would a street festival be without a Vulcan?

What would a street festival be without a Vulcan?

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kids

...not quite sure about all this.....

…not quite sure about all this…..

happy kids

big sunglasses, a fedora, and a big smile!

big sunglasses, a fedora, and a big smile!

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It was a  time for families

Family time

Family time

mother, father and daughter.  Daughter is on father's shoulders

A great evening to be out.

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and a time for friends

An evening out with friends too.

An evening out with friends too.

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blonde

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very flat indeed!

very flat indeed!

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crowd scene

Looking west Queen Street East, late on Friday evening.

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late evening street scene

Getting late, Thursday evening.

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finally….. a website!

Posted: July 9, 2013 in Uncategorized

The website is now online:

http://www.asIwalkToronto.com

 

Hopefully it was worth the wait!

 

site update

Posted: May 13, 2013 in Uncategorized

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OLD BLOG POSTS

The older blog posts are slowly disappearing from this page.
If you are looking for something that used to be here, check the link “Old Blog Posts” at the top of this page.
You will find the older posts arranged in alphabetical order by title/subject.

Corkin Gallery sign on green door

Thank-you to the Corkin Gallery for letting a group of us take photos in their gallery. The Corkin Gallery is located in a renovated tank house in the Distillery District and some of the old architectural features of the original building remain.

http://www.corkingallery.com

Large red heart on the upper level of the gallery.

It looks like a stove top! Detail of a painting.

Modern art on old brick.

Detail of painting. Unfortunately I didn’t make note of the names of the artists or the titles of the paintings – lesson learned.

twitter link!

Posted: March 6, 2013 in Uncategorized

 

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Exploring the city, October 2012

tombstones in Mount Pleasant cemetery under tall trees with brilliant yellow leaves, as well as other autumn colours.

Mount Pleasant cemetery

 

rusty brown leaves on a young tree in the foreground, the bluish condo building on Queens Quay behind it, some reflections of autumn colours in the windows of the condo building.

Queens Quay West, late October

 

a black silhouette of a tree with no leaves, with a row of pink leaves on sumach trees in the background,

Ernest Thompson Seaton park

 

Mid sized maple tree with yellow and orange leaves

Alexander Muir Gardens, Yonge & Lawrence

 

stone fence with a row of vertical stones across the top. peaking over the top of the stone wall is a shrub with bright red and orange leaves, great autumn colours.

Stone wall beside St. Cuthberts chuch, Bayview Ave.

 

part of a tree branch with autumn leaves in front of a concrete University of Toronto building that has a horizontal line of windows that reflect other trees and leaves.

Northrop Frye Hall, Victoria University – University of Toronto

 

many trees in the foreground. a few have lost all their leaves while others still have yellow, orange, and rust coloured autumn leaves. Four large high rise apartment buildings are in the background.

Looking north towards Don Mills from the Millwood Bridge.

 But fall isn’t just about the leaves…..

bushel baskets full of apples for sale

Apples for sale!

Words to come later I think

I love the names!

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Cirque de Poulet

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Baldwin street, walking towards Spadina

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Taking photos of people I don’t know has never been my forte.  Kensington is one place in the city where it’s easy to practice!

two smoothies

Faces on posters and faces on the street

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Kensington has its regulars

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and Kensington has lots of visitors.

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store fronts

Posted: August 21, 2012 in general Toronto, stores
Tags: , ,

Store fronts, like doorways, are faces to the world.

on target with L and T

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The face we put out towards the world.  Again, another fascination of mine.

Neat and tidy, welcoming doors….

Blue house, cream door, white flowers

and some not so neat and tidy …..

Messier doors that need some TLC

Appliances by the door. This is actually a store on Queen St. West, not someone’s house

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door

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Chaotic doorways….

Doorways for numbers 69 and 71

Doorways for numbers 69 and 71

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Colourful doors are always fun.

Bright orange door on orange walls, on Peter Street

We like to decorate our entranceways too.

Poetry on the stairs. Bathurst Street

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