Posts Tagged ‘crowds’

Chinatown Festival

Posted: August 25, 2015 in events
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A summer in Toronto is a summer of small festivals all over the city.  This past weekend, a part of Spadina was closed to traffic to make way for the Chinatown Festival.

looking north from Dundas, up Spadina. Part of the street is closed to traffic to make room for the Chinatown festival. Many people are waiting at the red light.

There were dragons,

Two women under a white Chinese dragon costume and they are walking beside a black dragon, They are following a girl who is holding a white flag with red Chinese characters on it

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food,

Fried squid on sticks being barbecued at a street festival

deep fried twisted potatos for sale at an outdoor festival

demonstrations and shows,

Four kids, two girls and two boys, practice kicking as part of a muay thai demonstration on an outdoor stage at a festival

Muay thai demonstration

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Two girls wearing shiny red dresses and gold and silver boots perform a dance on an outdoor stage. The audiencee is in the background

dancers from M. Dance school

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magician Stephen Cheung shows a deck of cards at an outdoor show

Stephen Cheung, magician

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A chinese woman sings on an outdoor stage at the Chinatown festival on Spadina Ave

Angel Cheng, singer

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as well as vendors and booths

members of the Toronto Chinese Baptist church making music, singers, accordian, and guitar player

music by members of the Toronto Chinese Baptist Church

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A girl tends a table full of cold drinks that are for sale, on the sidewalk

A young Asian boy sits on his father's shoulders

Streetfest on the Beach, 2015

Posted: July 25, 2015 in events, people
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The annual Streetfest on the Beach,
on Queen St. East between Woodbine and Beech,
23rd, 24th, and 25th July

A young Asian boy is on his mother's shoulders. He is looking back. He is wearing a greyhat with a red band, as well as a tie.

A crowd is on Queen St in Toronto as they have come to listen to live music as part of streetfest at the beach, intersection with Glen Manor Road

looking east, Friday evening

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Three brass players performing outside. Two men on saxophones and a woman playing a trumpet

A couple sitting a bench laughing. They were taking a selfie when they noticed 4 photographers taking their picture. She is embarrassed and is covering her face, he is laughing.

young black man, drummer, laughing as he plays the drums

Isaiah Gibbons, drummer, Saishubi

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a group of older people dancing to the music on the street at a street music festival

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three musicians performing outside. Two women singers and one male singer

the Arsenals

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young man in dreadlocks and a yellow Tshirt waiting to perform at a music festival

A black woman with shoulder length curly hair and a bright pink top is singing into a microphone. A woman in green is watching her

Mae, singer in Grace, Toronto’s all female funk & soul band

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A woman's back is to the camera as she watches live music outside. Her black hair is tied in a short ponytail, she is wearing a white hat and a white sundress. She has a large tattoo on one shoulder blade.

two young boys sitting on the sidewalk watching a drummer play in a band in a street music festival performance

A young boy looks longinly at his sister who is drinking coconut water from a coconut with a straw. He is trying to reach his own straw

man playing the guitar outdoors at a street music festival

Paul James band

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A man is squatting on the sidewalk with two girls on his knee. Both girls have balloons. They are part of a crowd watching a band perform in a street music festival

saxophone player playing in front of many microphones at an outdoor music festival

saxophone, Blue Room

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lead singer for Blue Room, grey hair and beard, Hawaiian shirt, black hat, singing at streetfest at the beach

Brian Neller, lead singer, Blue Room

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A man has his arm around a woman's back and her hand is on his shoulder as they watch a musical performance outside along with a number of other people

Dr. Draw playing his violin in front of a crowd, outdoor street music festival

Dr. Draw

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Dr. Draw and his backup guitar player, streetfest at the beach,

keyboard player in Conor Gains band playing at Streetfest at the Beach, Queen St. in Toronto in July, summer evening

Conor Gains Band

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A man is buying food from a food truck

 

celebrating Canada Day

Posted: July 2, 2015 in events
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Canada Day 2015

There were celebrations at a number of locations around the city
including Queens Park and Yonge-Dundas Square.

A young man stands in Dundas Square in an area that has been barricaded off and also in which a large maple leaf outline in red tape has been laid down. He is wearing a red Canada T shirt and holding a small Canadian flag.

The red outline of a maple leaf was then used to make a “living flag” of people wearing red T-shirts and white T-shirts. The crowd waited patiently behind the barricades while the organizers got their act together. Not everyone stayed on the sidelines!

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Five people pose for a photo. They are wearing red T shirts and they are standing withing the stem of the maple leaf outline that is taped to the ground. They are the first ones into the living flag that is trying to be made at Dundas Square as part of a Canada Day celebration

The first part of the “living flag” takes their place in the stem of the maple leaf.

 

A man holds a young girl on his shoulders while the watch a performance of New Choir, a choir that sings old rock songs, as part of a Canada Day celebration at Dundas Square. The girl is wearing a red hat with white maple leafs on it. There are Canadian flags hanging from the ceiling of the stage.

Listening to New Choir perform at Yonge Dundas Square

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two women are all dressed in white and sitting in poses to look like statues. A boy is approaching them to figure them out

The back of a young girl wearing a red baseball cap and sitting on someone's shoulder as she watches an acrobat show on a stage

One of the better seats in the house! Watching the acrobatics at Queens Park.

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A woman all dressed in white is sitting still as if she's a statue. A man, also wearing a hat, stands behind her mimicking her pose

A man is hamming it up for the camera. He is wearing a silver and red oversized tophat and a red and white costume. He is holding the corner of a large Canadian flag

A young girl looks a bit skeptical as she poses with four women dressed in frilly white dresses who are hamming it up for the camera. Exaggerated facial expressions

A group of characters in red and white Canada Day costumes stop to pose with some boys. One of the characters has a stuffed beaver that is trying to take a sip of the boy's snowcone.

It’s thirsty work being a beaver!

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Two kids sit on the sidewalk beside two men who are talking. Yonge Street is in the background, with traffic, including an open topped double decker bus.

a red headed young man is standing on the base of a statue to get a better look at a show, the crowd is in the background. He is all dressed in red and his Tshirt has the words I am Canadian on it

A young toddler wearing a white flower head band and a red T-shirt, and holding a Canadian flag is being held by her father

An older man in a red T shirt and a funny red and white hat is holding 2 small Canadian flags

Mayor John Tory has a small Canadian flag in his hand as he talks to people at Dundas Square on Canada day. He's in a white T-shirt.

As I stood as part of the white of the Canadian flag, along came John Tory, also on the white team. Just out of the picture (and also in white) was Miss Teenage Toronto. (What? We have a what? I had no idea there was a Miss Teen Toronto).  Next time I’ll try harder to get a picture of her but this time I was preoccupied with being part of a flag.

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Here’s to the next 148 years!

A person in red and white Canada Day costume is on stilts with three others standing beside, in front of the parliament buildings at Queens Park

Pride Parade 2015

Posted: June 30, 2015 in events
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Toronto Pride Parade,
Bloor St. and Yonge St., June 2015

fun & games,
smiles & laughter,
community involvement
pride parade pics in no particular order

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - Toronto mayor John Tory walks in the parade while holding a large yellow and orange super soaker

Toronto mayor John Tory walks in the parade armed with a super soaker.

 

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - Cyndi Lauper is wearing a white frilly dress and hat as she rides on top of a float for the musical KInky Boots. In the background a photographer leans out the window of a building to get a better view of the parade.

Actress Cyndi Lauper rides on the ‘Kinky Boots’ float.

 

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a man in a spiderman costume stands on a garbage bin so he is above the crowd on a sidewalk watching the parade

Spiderman makes an appearance too.

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people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a man is holding a purple sign that says "Proud of Our children"

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a couple of members of the triggerfish waterpolo team stand behind a banner with their team name on it. They are wearing bathing suits only

Elizabeth May, wearing a green garland wrapped around her neck and helping to hold a green banner walks in a parade along with some other people

Elizabeth May, leader of the federal Green Party.

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people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a few people have found a higher vantage point from which to watch the parade. One man is wearing white frilly underpants and white angel wings. On his stomach is written God 'heart' you

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a group of asexual people walk past holding sings, "trans asexuals exist" and "it's not that you're not sexy, it's just that I don't care"

A group from the University of Toronto marches in a pride parade. They have a large blue banner with pink lettering that says Out in Law.

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a group of parade marchers pauses so that one man can show the camera that he's got a bare ass

Two men stand on an exterior ledge of a building, one storey up from ground level. Two rainbow flags too.

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - one of the parade marchers, while holding a French flag, stops to lift his leg over the barricades

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a group of four men in colourful and outrageous drag stop to pose for a photo

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - the #HIVanonymous characters in complete white costume stop to pose for a picture in front of group that is preaching anti-gays messages

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - the #HIVanonymous characters in complete white costume stop to pose for a picture in front of group that is preaching anti-gay messages

Anonymous characters because #HIVanonymous

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A group representing lawyers walks in the pride parade including a boy in a yellow rain coat. One of the men is carrying a sign that says We're lawyers, we'll get you off.

A group of men dressed up as different fruits, banana, kiwi, blueberry, apple and orange

Fruit having a wonderful time in support of Communityone Foundation

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people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a man in drag - long pink dress, pink socks and pink shoes laughs while posing for a picture with a large black person in skimpy costume who is also laughing
Toronto fire truck in pride parade, rainbow flags decorate the fire truck

A flower head band has fallen to the ground and is beside two people's feet, both of whom are wearing sandals.

part of a group photo taken after the pride parade. Group is Conseil scolaire viamonde, le success s'exprime en francais, an association of French schools in Ontario

A woman in a blue jacket poses beside two scantily clad women with light lime green hair

#lovewins Two young women in sunglasses walking in the pride parade join hands and make a heart shape with their fingers

A group of people holding a large rainbow coloured banner that says #oneteam. Some of them are taking selfies

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - three people pose for a photo. One in a multicoloured wig, one with a green hat and one with flowers in her hair

A crowd of marchers cheer - people at a pride parade on a rainy day -

people at a pride parade in the rain

people at a pride parade in the rain - three guys posing for a photo, one is in a banana costume

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - from the back, a threesome poses for a photo, the woman on the left is staring at the assless chaps of the man beside her

people at a pride parade in the rain - boy in ornage raincoat and sunglasses standing in front of many balloons

people at a pride parade in the rain - three Asain guys, two under an umbrella, and a third wearing a salmon coloured rain poncho and holding up a sign that says "brown queer proud'

people at a pride parade in the rain - a man in an orange Tshirt holding a sign that says "I'm proud to have a gay agenda, NDP"

people at a pride parade in the rain - a topless man in a pink hat who is helping to hold a sign that says "Get Real" Others around him are also wearing pink hats

A young woman making a face at the camera as she holds a sign that says "get real" - people at a pride parade in the rain

people at a pride parade in the rain - two guys in drag with high heeled boots and wigs, with lots of feathers on their heads, are posing in front of a crowd who are behind metal barricades.

people at a pride parade in the rain - a man dancing and holding a mic, with a funny look on his face, on a float from the Peel Regional Police, called the Heat, there are lots of balloons beside and above him.

“The Heat”, Peel Regional Police

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people at a pride parade in the rain - some women holding signs promoting the Human RIghts Commission. they are holding rainbow flags as well

group of people holding up a blue banner that says Facebooks LGBT employee group

people at a pride parade in the rain - close up of a man in a red and black leather mask that covers his whole head, behind him and slightly blurry are two soldiers, navy guy in white on one side and army guy in greenish uniform on the other side

people at a pride parade in the rain - a person dressed in a long frilly pink and white dress pushing a walker on which there is large stuffed monkey

people at a pride parade in the rain - three young women holding squeeze bottles of paint, they are covered with paint that they have squeezed onto themselves

people at a pride parade in the rain - a young woman smiling from behind a lot of balloons that she is holding.

Three young men making peace signs as they pose for a camera

people at a pride parade in the rain - an older man in a superman costume walks along a sidewalk past other people who are walking on the road in preparations for the parade. Most of them are holding umbrellas

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a policeman helps with crowd control along the barricades of the parade route
pride parade goes on behind blue metal fence, in the rain, near the end of the parade

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - the back of a woman with short black hair. She has a tattoo across the back of her neck that says Elizabth as well as a temporary colourful tattoo that includes the words #for a colourful city

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a group watches the parade from the balcony of a bar

Man wearing black rabbit ears, dressed in black leather, and holding a large carrot at a pride parade

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - man is red mask and red wig as well as white gloves has his hand over his mouth as he begins to throw a kiss towards the camera

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - a nude man poses in the middle of the road while he takes a selfie. Onlookers watch.

You don’t need clothes to take a selfie!

people at a pride parade on a rainy day - an older man in a flowery wig and flowery top along with a bulky necklace stands in front of a crowd, close up shot of head and shoulders

Sunday sun and water

Posted: May 18, 2015 in waterfront
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Sunday of the long May weekend,
along the waterfront,
sun, water, and people

A man is sitting by the lake, his back to one of the posts supporting the chain links that separate the walkway from the water.

Two people are lying on the deck of a large boat that is moored at the waterfront, in the background is the Rees wave deck, a wavy sidewalk, on which a lot of people are walking

View of HTO beach with its yellow umbrellas with the Toronto skyline in the background.

people lying in the sand or sitting on chairs, reading, talking, and enjoying the sunny afternoon under large yellow beach umbrellas.

sitting under yellow beach umbrellas beside Lake Ontario

A couple is lying on their backs on a concrete bench beside lake Ontario. Their legs are bent and feet are on the bench, feet towards the lake, head towards the camera. You can see the backs of their heads.

part of the Toronto waterfront, looking towards the city with high rise condos and the CN Tower. some boats are moored , a man is standing beside the water reading a book.

The tall shil 'Caledonia' is moored in the foreground. Behind and to the left are red fire boats, to the right is a walkway beside the lake on which people are walking and cycling.

A child looks askance at thing made of green balloons.

A man on stilts and wearing a black tux and tophat along with a red cumberbund and rose in his lapel is entertaining a group of people

People on the waterfront boardwalk taking pictures of two swans and two ducks that are in the lake

pillow fight!

Posted: April 5, 2015 in events, people
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Pillow Fight
Nathan Phillips Square, Saturday of Easter weekend
Lots of pillows to dodge.
Lots of exuberant fun.
Pillow fights, now a spectator sport!

 

two young men hitting each other with pillows in a pillow fight.

One young men is sitting on the shoulders of another. He is swinging a pillow around in a pillow fight. Many others, who are not on shoulders, are trying to hit him with pillows

A boy is swinging a brown pillow at a woman in a pillow fight.

Two Asian women wearing pyjamas are hitting each other with pillows. Lots of hair flying around.

A young man in a batman shirt is being hit over the head with a red pillow in a large pillow fight.

people at a pillow fight

A group of young men having a pillow fight outdoors,

A young woman is sitting on the shoulders of a young man. She is laughing. She has a pillow in her hand. The crowd is behind her. A large man's face is on the very left of the photo.

A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. A woman wearing a t-shirt that says "Lets pretend this never happened" is ducking pillows and laughing.

A young woman is holding a pillow with a pillowcase that has pink, green and yellow geometric shapes on it. She is getting ready to hit someone with it in a pillow fight. She is laughing

A young man on the shoulders of another at a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips Square.

A groupd of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A happy couple taking a break from a pillow fight. He is laughing, she is saying ouch and putting her hand over her ear.

a couple taking photos from the upper level of Nathan Phillips square. Down in the square below them is a large pillow fight, and a lot of spectators and photographers

four young men laughing as they partake in a pillow fight.

Three young men are in the foreground, all are at a pillow fight. One man, wearing glasses, has his pillow held tightly over his head, one is looking away from the camera and the third looks like his head hurts as he puts his hand on his forehead.

CTV reporter ducking pillows as she gives commentary. Camera of cameraman is just in view on the right. Crowd at the pillow fight is behind her.

A boy in a blue jacket is in the foreground, he's hitting a woman in a black jacket. A group of young people in a crowd who are having a pillow fight at Nathan Phillips square. Old city hall is in the background.

A young woman has her eyes closed and is smiling as the people around her are hitting each other with pillows.

A young red headed man is on the shoulders of another person in a pillow fight.

Lots of pillows being held up in the air.

crowds of people at Nathan Phillips square on a spring Saturday afternoon

Two young women and a young men at a pillow fight

A smiling man, crouched shoulders, clutching a pillow, walks past a crowd in a pillow fight.

A group of young people taking a selfie photo at a pillow fight.

Man with a spiderman pillow and woman with a pink pillow at a pillow fight

A group of young men enjoying a pillow fight as they swing their pillows at other people

Bald man wearing a ferrari jacket is smiling at the camera as he walks through a crowd having a pillow fight

pillow fight

Two young men having a pillow fight while a crowd stands around them in a circle and watches.

Young man in a black leather jacket has his eyes closed as he hits someone with a pillow in pillow fight.

Young men swinging pillows at each other and trying to hit each other, all in good fun.

A young woman wearing a maroon McMaster shirt is holding a very large stuffed yellow cartoon character bird (tweety bird?)who is wearing a blue denim hat. Posed for the camera. Smiling.

A little boy in a blue jacket with a determined and fierce look on his face in hitting someone in a pillow fight.

A man being hit in the face with a pillow

Three people in costumes are posing for a group selfie as a photographer walks past.

A young woman with black curly hair and glasses is smiling as she takes part in a big pillow fight.

Young people having a pillow fight and laughing.

Man with a beard and a moustache, wearing a white fuzzy jacket with a pale purple artifical flower pinned to it. He's smiling and holding a pillow over his head.

A young man's glasses are falling off because he's just been hit with a pillow.

Two women in a pillow fight, lots of long hair blowing and being thrown around.

Man wearing a yellow top with hood that says on the front "Random yellow fruit". He's yelling and is holding a pillow over his head.

Young woman with long light brown hair is smirking at the camera and showing off her pillow - it is a body pillow with a picture of a male movie star on it and he's dressed in purple tux and black bow tie.

A young man is swinging a pillow while someone on the left is taking his photo.

Young woman with a pillow in a mickey mouse pillow case

Boy wearing a fuzzy brown hat and a camo print fleece bathrobe over a grey T-shirt

A young man being overwhelmed a bit by a large number of pillows being aimed his way.

 

Icefest

Posted: February 23, 2015 in events, locations
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Bloor Yorkville Icefest, Frozen in Time
Cumberland Ave., February 21 & 22

 Ice sculpture beside a sidewalk. The top part has the words Bloor Yorkville icefest and the bottom part has the words Frozen in time, icefest 15. The middle section looks like a large face made of Egyptian motifs.

The 10th annual Icefest featured the carving of blocks of ice into Ancient Egypt themed sculptures.

Four ice sculptures with Ancient Egyptian themes - King Tut, and a pyramid amongst them. Also a wall of hieroglypics with two guards beside it.

Both Saturday and Sunday were snowy days but the weather didn’t deter the crowds, or their picture taking.  I’m sure that there are thousands of photographs of the sculptures!
Here are a few of mine.

A man in a white parka is standing beside a sculpture with his elbow resting on it. A woman in white coat and hat is taking his picture.

A woman is facing a sculpture of a dinosaur. Both of them have their mouths wide open.

A boy is standing beside a sculpture

A mother with two little kids is posing with an ice sculpture.

A little girl in a pink snow suit it peaking throw a whole in an ice sculpture

A father is taking a photograph of his son beside an ice sculpture

A group of four people are standing around an ice sculpture. They all have puzzled looks on their faces as though they can't figure out what the sculpture is supposed to be.

An ice sculpture of a bear with it's front paws raised, looms over the interesection of Yonge and Bloor.

This bear loomed over the NE corner of Yonge and Bloor.

Most of the sculptures along Cumberland Ave (west of Bellair) are still there and will remain as long as the temperatures remain low and no one vandalizes them.

buskerfest 2014

Posted: August 26, 2014 in events, people
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Buskerfest 2014

Yonge Street was closed from College to Queen for the event.

Yonge St. at Dundas, barrier across Yonge St. as it is pedestrians only. Lots of signs, lots of people,

Yonge Street on the Saturday afternoon of Buskerfest, looking north from Dundas Street

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A man dressed in green is on stilts as he walks up Yonge St.

Hovering above the crowd.

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There were street performers……

 

A group of four people are on stilts but dressed in very long pants. Two are playing a drum and two are playing shaking instruments. They are walking down Yonge St. People are on the sidewalks watching them. Street performance as part of buskerfest.

towering over the audience as they walk down Yonge Street

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A performer is on a very tall unicycle. He is juggling lit torches as he slowly goes around in a tight circle.

DyneMike, playing with fire on high

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A street performer is using a diabolo to entertain a crowd of people who are sitting and standing on the sidewalk around him.

This guy, part of Touch2Catch, was amazing to watch. Great diabolo action!

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A performer has been launched into the air. He is holding a large ring that is on fire. He is turning himself through the ring while in the air.

more Touch2Catch – jumping through a ring of fire

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One of the street performers from the group Touch2Catch is doing a side flip over a man who is on all fours on the street.

side flip over Dimitri

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A picture of buskerfest is displayed on an electronic billboard.

Samsung was putting tweets and instagram postings with their buskerfest hashtag on the electronic billboard above Yonge & Dundas. At one point I looked up and saw this one. A great photo! She captured an unobscured view of the exact moment the performer from Touch2Catch did a side flip over five people.

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A woman has taken the silver guitar from Silver Elvis and is pretending to play it while hamming it up for the small group of people that are watching.

sharing the limelight with Silver Elvis …. or taking over? All in good fun!

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A woman is having her picture taken with a performer who is dressed in a white dress made of balloons. She has balloon wings and white feathers in her hair.

Photo op with an angel in white balloons.  Balloon dresses are available from The Twisted Ones

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A street performer is twisting the upper part of his body in order to fit it through a tennis racquet.

What one does in the name of entertainment – putting one’s shoulders through a tennis racquet…. don’t try it at home kids.

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….. music

Musicians onstage, a group of adults standing in front of the stage. The adults all have drinks in their hands and they are all toasting. One of the musicians has a stuffed fish in his hand.

A toast to the cod, screeching in at Dundas Square.  The Screeched Inn performed on the stage at Yonge-Dundas Square, their “kitchen party”.

All money raised by performers on the stage at Yonge-Dundas Square went to Epilepsy Toronto.
In addition, Samsung donated $1 to Epilepsy Toronto for every tweet of buskerfest that included the hashtag #samsungsbbf

 

….. sidewalk artists

 

A woman is using chalk to make a large picture of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the sidewalk

ninja turtles taking shape on the sidewalk (artist: the Chalk Chick)

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A chalk drawing of Ariel, the little mermaid in the Disney movie on a sidewalk. A man's legs are also in the photo.

Ariel, Disney’s little mermaid is on the sidewalk. Another drawing by the Chalk Chick.

 

 

… and curious kids, entertained kids

Some children are watching buskers perform by peeking through a gap in the red and white plastic banners that are the backdrop to the show.

vantage point

 

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A dog, a Great Dane, is standing in front of two women dressed as clowns on pink and white ponies. The dog has barked at them and they are reacting by making faces and moving back

Some dogs don’t like clowns either. Great Danes have quite the bark!

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A large electronic billboard high above Yonge St. A picture of one of my buskerfest tweets is being displayed.

a narcissistic moment

With thanks to the Second Cup on Mt. Pleasant where I hung out while putting this blog entry together.

into the night at the CNE

Posted: August 21, 2014 in events, people
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another August, another trip to the Ex!

 

Evening shot as the sky is getting darker. Tiny Tom donut stand all lit up, with a line up of people waiting to buy donuts.

Tiny Tom Donuts, an iconic part of the CNE for as long as I can remember.

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Two acrobatic women hanging from a large triple hook shaped bar suspended from the ceiling. Bathed in blue light.

One of this year’s shows is ‘Mirage’, an acrobatic show at the Ricoh Coliseum.

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Two people on a rope in yellow and purple lights. Part of the audience can be seen in the photo.

another part of the ‘Mirage’ show

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A boy wearing a fedora is standing beside one of the midway games. He is holding a coke bottle with the name Jeff on it. Behind him is a large picture of 3 stars.

A star on the midway. The coke bottle says Jeff.

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Two young men are hammering away at Whac-a-mole while a woman who is running the game is talking to the people who are watching

playing Whac-a-Mole!

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A number of people are competing to win a stuffed monkey. They are shooting water into a target.

shooting for monkeys, Curious George as the prize

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A groups of young people are playing a midway game where you toss balls. What they are throwing them at is not in the photo!

Having fun tossing baseballs!

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CNE midway game with the prize being a stuffed minion from the movie 'Despicable Me'. A woman is paying to play.

getting ready to play for minions

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A young man is sitting by a giant roulette wheel, a midway game at the Ex

waiting for the wheel to stop

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Lights on one of the midway rides, Starship.

Starship lights and motion on the midway

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A display of candy apples for sale. Some are coated with smarties candies, some with multi coloured sprinkles and some with crushed nuts.

yum, candy apples… caramel, smarties, sprinkles and crushed nuts!

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Sand sculpture of a woman sitting on the ground, looking wistfully through a round window. In the background are some woman standing behind a wood barricade who are looking at the sand sculpture

women watching, sand sculpture

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Details of a sand sculpture (hands) with another sculpture behind (of a woman)

women from another angle

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A father and his daughters are on a midway ride, spinning in red "seats" as they go around in circles.

spinning quickly on the midway – or at least a bit too quickly for the camera!

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pride parade

Posted: June 30, 2014 in events, people
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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.

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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…. )

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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

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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

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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!

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viewable & captured from all angles

viewable, & captured, from all angles

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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

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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!

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

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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!

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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.

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

ninjas, mostly unmasked

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a boy is sitting on his father's shoulders

a better view!

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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.

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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?

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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 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!

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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!

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

stopping the parade to let the College/Carlton streetcar through

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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*****

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