Posts Tagged ‘music’

Santa Claus Parade photos

up close photo of Santa Claus's face with white beard and white mustache, some holly on his hat, glasses,

Santa Claus Parade, people on a float

two members of a band, one woman is helping the other with a button on her uniform, both are wearing Santa hats, start of Santa Claus parade

below: What could be more appropriate than a few clowns with shovels to follow the police horses?

clowns in primary colours, big squares on fabric in clothing, with shovels in hand cleaning the street after the police horses go by

large gingerbread man sculpture on parade float

man dressed as a toy soldier in red jacket, white leather straps, black hat and black pants, in Santa Claus parade, greets people in the crowd as he walks

two pictures of men dressed as Woody, the cowboy from Toy Story, with small yellow lassos. Santa Claus Parade

young woman walking in Santa Claus parade with large gold star shaped head-dress on, gold costume, other people dressed as plants in flower pots are nearby

woman in gold costume as Queen of hearts in parade, heart shaped red marks on cheeks, heart on belt and on gold crown,

Toronto mayor John Tory wearing a Christmas sweater and red and white Canada mitts, waves at the start of the Santa Claus parade

three boys behind yellow metal barricade at start of Santa Claus parade,

three women dressed as fat snowmen with black hats, black buttons, red scarves, and red belt buckles, waving to the crowd as they walk in the parade

two clowns in Santa Claus parade with red nose and curly green hair, shiny clothing, one is waving at the camera with a white gloved hand

four kids sitting on a parade float dressed as white fuzzy bears with yellow scarves and red mitts

Santa Claus parade, gingerbread character clown holding a large cookie, white gloves, red fuzzy wig

two pictures of kids riding on floats in Santa Claus parade

Santa Claus Parade musician, band member wearing red and white Santa Claus hat

large toys, shapes of toys, on a float in the Santa Claus parade

young woman in black jacket, red gloves, and large reindeer antlers, waving as she walks in Santa Claus parade

a young man from Malvern High School band is warming up before the Santa Claus parade

Chinese snake dancers in Santa Claus parade

Santa Claus parade, clown waving, white gloves, red fuzzy wig

Santa Claus Parade musician, wearing red and white Santa Claus hat

woman holding the end of a banner for St. Marys Band

Santa Claus Parade, people on a float

clown in Santa Claus parade with red nose and curly pink hair, yellow and pink striped collar

two clowns in Santa Claus parade with red nose and curly green hair, shiny clothing

two women walking in Santa Claus Parade, picture on left is older woman with a fancy Happy Holidays hat, picture on right is woman in white fuzzy sheep costume holding a large yellow and white daisy

below: Crazy wabbits didn’t still in one place long enough to let me focus on them

a man dressed as a blue and white rabbit hamming it up for the camera. He's carrying a large stuffed carrot shaped object

clowns in blue wigs and chequered clothing greet spectators at parade as they walk past

two girls dressed as Santa's elves sit on a parade float in front of a large white sign with red letters that says dear santa

below: Mrs. Claus

float in Santa Claus parade with Mrs. Claus waving

below: And at the very end, the main attraction, jolly old Santa Claus himself

Santa Claus in his sleigh, Santa Claus parade

Santa Claus in his sleigh, Santa Claus parade

Also referred to as the “Blues Mural”.

At Bloor and Brunswick, by the entrance to Leah Cohen Lane there is a new mural that pays homage to Brunswick House whose walls it is painted on.    The three storey brick building dates from 1907 but there was  a “Brunswick House” pub/hotel on this site from 1876 to 2016.  It is now a drug store.

whole mural part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, with bikes in front of it, by Leah Cohen Lane

The mural was painted by @drippin_soul aka Kalkidan Assefa and @komiolaf aka Komi Olaf

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, female singer holding a yellow microphone

At one point in history, one of Toronto’s most popular venues for jazz and blues was Albert Hall which was upstairs at the Brunswick House.

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, drummer with drum set and big puffy black hair

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin,

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, hand of keyboard player with yellow ring with a heart on it

I didn’t know it at the time I took the photos, but apparently the piano keys are fitted with NFC chips.  If you visit the mural,  you can use your Android phone to interact with the mural to learn more about the blues, the building, and the people who played there.

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, accordion player wearing a hat

part of a mural, the band of story tellers, a group of musicians all with blue skin, bass player wearing a hat

With support from the City of Toronto and the Bloor Annex BIA

Toronto city street signs on a pole, LIttle Italy College Street and Beatrice Street as well as a yellow do not block intersection sign

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Keep your eye on the target!

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

below: Dory blows bubbles

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

below: Singing Italian songs

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

below: … and maybe not so Italian….

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

a man cooking lamb shish kebob outside at a street festival

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

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

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

below: Octopus

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

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

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

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

a couple kissing

Ice Breakers returned to the Toronto waterfront once again last month.   In mid-January five interactive art installations were built along Queens Quay West between the Harbourfront Centre in the east and the Music Garden in the west.

 

below:  Appropriate for a space called the Music Garden, is a large structure supporting many wind chimes.   This is “Ensemble” by Joao Araujo Sousa and Joana Correia Silva of Portugal.

the back side of two red muskoka chairs in a snow covered park with a large art installation of wind chimes in the background

a man is touching and pushing a series of wind chimes that are part of an art installation at Toronto Music Garden as he walks by it. Snow covered ground, red muskoka chairs, park, large tree,

There are two installations in H2O Park.

below: On the west side of the park is “Winter Fanfare” by Thena Tak of Vancouver.  It is made from painted layers of wood.   After I had walked past this installation I happened to look back to see a group of boys using these wood forms as protection as they had a snow ball fight.

6 or 7 large wooden forms in convex and concave shapes in a snow covered park with highrises in the background. An art installation that is part of Ice Breakers 2018 on Toronto waterfront.

below: Also in H2O park is “Through the Eyes of the Bear”.  This giant bear, or rather parts of a bear, is the creation of Tanya Goertzen of Calgary.

a large red head, and four red paws of a bear arranged to look like its on its back and that the bear is partially covered by the snow covered ground.

below: The large head of the bear is open at the back.   With a little crouching you can go inside and look out through the bear’s eyes.  It’s got a great view of the CN Tower!

the CN tower with bright blue sky, as seen through the hole in a sculpture, the eye of a large red bear.

below: Close to the Simcoe Wave Deck (at the bottom of Simcoe Street) is a structure called “Black Bamboo” that you can walk through.   It was designed by Bennet Marburger and Ji Zhang of China.

a tunnel like structure made of black bamboo poles loosely intertwined and joined together on the sidewalk beside Queens Quay, snow on the ground, condos in the background.

below: Last is “Root Cabin”, a small hut constructed from large tree roots.  The day that I walked past these Ice Breakers was early on when they weren’t quite complete.  The roots were being arranged, like a puzzle being put together.   The pink frame was being used as a guide and the plan was to remove it once the roots were in place.   This installation was designed by Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson from Winnipeg.

pink wood forms a frame in the shaipe of a small cabin with a pointed roof, it is being covered with large tree roots.

For more information, Ice Breakers

These installations remain until the 25th of February.

‘Room for Mystics’
An exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario by Sandra Meigs and Christopher Butterfield.

artwork by sandra Meigs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, paintings back to back, standing on the floor, bright colours, banners hanging on the walls of concentric yellow circles on white

Scattered around the room are bright coloured, simple paintings that are displayed back to back.  Banners with concentric yellow circles hang on the walls.  The solid colour boxes beside the paintings hide speakers.

artwork by sandra Meigs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, paintings back to back, standing on the floor, bright colours, banners hanging on the walls of concentric yellow circles on white

A large red mobile hangs from the ceiling, happiness with closed eyes.  Happiness and joy are two of the emotions that this room evokes.  Walking through the room is definitely a positive experience!  You can’t help but smile.

artwork by sandra Meigs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, paintings back to back, standing on the floor, bright colours, banners hanging on the walls of concentric yellow circles on white plus a large mobile of a red smile and two ele lashes from closed eyes

The paintings and mobile are the work of Sandra Meigs, a Canadian artist based in British Columbia.   Accompanying the exhibit is a ‘sound installation’ composed by Christopher Butterfield.

artwork by sandra Meigs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, paintings back to back, standing on the floor, bright colours, banners hanging on the walls of concentric yellow circles on white

artwork by sandra Meigs at the Art Gallery of Ontario, paintings back to back, standing on the floor, bright colours, banners hanging on the walls of concentric yellow circles on white

The exhibit continues until 14 January 2018

Last November I blogged about a large 22 storey mural on Yonge Street just below College (music makers on Yonge ).  This mural was by Adrian Hayles and it includes many Canadian music icons.   Recently, Hayles has created a matching mural of the same size on the other side (south side) of the building at 423 Yonge Street with portraits of more Canadian musicians.

tall mural, 22 storeys tall, on the side of a TCHC apartment building in Toronto, by Adrian Hayles, portraits of Canadian musicians such as the band Rush, Carole Pope and others

Rush, Goddo, the Band, David Clayton Thomas, Lonnie Johnson, Selome Bey, Carole Pope, Cathy Young, Jay Douglas, Kim Mitchell, Mandala, and John and Lee and the Checkmates are all shown in the mural.  It is best seen if you are walking north on Yonge Street although some trees partially block the view.

Canadian musicians on a wall, mural by Adrian Hayles,

part of a music mural, a trumpet player, male, with graying hair,

part of face and hands on a mural with a nesting pigeon beside it. It looks like the hand is reaching for the pigeon.

music mural,

bottom part of mural, guitar player and band dressed in white suits with black stripes, black pointy toe shoes, wall is behind two orange and black cones.

The mural was commissioned by the Downtown Yonge BIA,

Once again, the last Sunday of the month was Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market.  There was a large turnout this past weekend!  Lots of people, music, food, sunshine, and good times.

below: Dancing in the steet

a small group of men are playing instruments and singing Spanish songs, a crowd of people have gathered to watch, outdoors, on a street, some of the people have started dancing on the street

Two men stand beside their bikes talking, a woman in a straw hat an dsunglasses sits behind a table with a yellow table cloth with items for sale on the table

a large number of people in an alley. A banner over the alley says Kensington Flea Market and Beer Garden

below: A song, a mandolin, and a Polish Boy Scout belt buckle?

two musicians, one is playing a mandolin and singing the other is just singing, they are both sharing the same microphone

below: She is showing lots of courage!

a mannequin sits on an upper balcony but only her legs and feet show in the picture, hanging from the balcony are some pieces of paper with the word courage written on them

a young man drills out the center of a pineapple while two women blend the chunks into juice. The juice is then poured back into the hollowed out pineapples and sold as a drink

a head mannequin in a store window, with an orange piece of fabric wrapped aroungd her head. Other fabric in the window. also two people reflected in the glass

two men with baseball caps are sitting on yellow Muskoka chairs on a sunny afternoon. One is facing the camer - he is holding a piece of paper in one hand, he is yawning.

below: A quiet corner for a good book

double entrance to semi-divided house, both doors are open, there are bookcases beside the doors. In one of the doorways, a boy in a green t-shirt sits and reads

looking into the window of a bakery/restaurant. Three people are sitting at a table that looks out the window. One is one his phone and the other two are looking out the window. The sign on window, in red lettering is Ricas tortas,

items for sale on a table outside, three shoes (no pairs), one gold, one red velvet and one patterned, on a purple table cloth. Also for sale, two round orange lamp shades

below: Numbers on the alley by #whatsvictorupto

an alley in Kensington with a painting by #whatsvictorupto on the ground - numbers

below: Drinks – the changing nature of Kensington market is reflected in the food and drink that is available.  There is now a large South American influence in the area so products like Inca Cola and Chicha can be bought.

sample of drinks for sale at a food stall at a street festival, nestea, coke, water, some soft drinks as well as south american products like chicha (purple) and

below: A poser bunny still lurks in an alley.  Everything around him as changed be he remains.

an old poser bunny on a wall in an alley

below: Sign on phone – Stop busting our phone!  Outside the Moonbean Coffee Shop

a small phone booth outside a coffee shop with a patio. Some people are sitting on the patio, Moonbean coffee. On the phone is a round white hand written sign that says Please stop busting our phone

a man looks at sunglasses at a table outside where they are for sale. The sign says Pedstrian Day Sale, sunglasses ten dollars, straw hats ten dollars

an old green and white pickup truck parked in a driveway in Kensington Market, beside a store with a very faded sign that barely says King of Kensington

below: Who you callin’ a pretty boy?

an ugly white dog, on a leash, is looking at the camera, outside, on the street, with the legs and feet of some people

items in the window of a store, as well as on a table set up outside the store

below: The Joker and a friend.

in an alley, two graffiti pieces. One is a pasteup, realistic and detailed drawing of Heath Ledger as the Joker and the other is a quick black line drawing of a man's face

shoes of a man who is moving as he sings, street and sidewalk in the photo

Beaches Streetfest 2017
Pictures from last evening’s fun.

below: Spock was there too.

a man dressed as Dr. Spock from Star Trek hugs a musician at an outdoor music festival

below: Old Man Flanagan’s Ghost plays their Irish and Scottish music outside The Stone Lion.

the band, old man flanagan's ghost plays on a street corner, a bass player, a guitar player, and two fiddlers,

two musicians with lights on them, from the back, with the crowd standing on the street in front of them, one woman dancing

a singer with his arm up in the air, a woman across from him also pointing upwards

below: A saxophone player from The Achromatics shows off her style.

a woman in a red skirt plays the saxophone on the street, a part of the Achromatics, a music group, a man on keyboards stands in the background

below: Johnny Max Band

singer Johnny Max sings at a street festival, blue fedora, purple check shirt, a man in the background with a 416 Toronto T-shirt on

below: Dancing to the music.

a couple dances on the street, attending a music street festival, some people look on.

below:  Someone wants to play along.

a little girl runs towards a temporary stage set up on the sidewalk, she is pointing to it. The musicians have moved forward and are playing closer to the crowd

below: Jenie Thai

a woman in sunglasses and teal dress plays the keyboards. A man with a small beard is playing the guitar beside her, a red wall with text street art is behind them.

below: Shooting bubbles. These bubble makers were being sold at the festival so there were lots of bubbles all over the place.

kids playing with plastic bubble shooters in a crowd on the street.

below: Guitarist Neil Chapman from the Zedheads in a rare moment when he lifted his while playing the guitar.

guitarist, neil chapman, playing outside.

below: Another Zedhead member

bearded man with sunglasses and black basebell cap sits at a drum set. Hhis baseball cap says Zedhead on it.

below: A window seat behind the stage

a woman is seated in a restaurant by the window that is open, she is looking out and watching a group of musicians perform, there is a man on a drum set as well as another man.

a young boy in a large yellow T-shirt is watching musicians outdoors.

below: Queen Street as the sun went down.

evening, darkening sky, many people on the street at a street festival, most people are facing away from the camera except one woman in front who is looking straight ahead. Musicians playing on the right, standing in front of stores

below: Excitement!

three young girls watch an evening outdoor music performance by a band of 6 musicians on a street corner

below: Under the red lights.

a youngblack man in sunglasses and black hat sits at a keyboard with mircophone in front of him, evening, some red lights are shining on him. outside.

back of a girls head, long hair tied in a ponytail, outside, in the evening, as she watches a music performance with a small crowd of people

people, part of a larger crowd watching a street performance, one woman has a bright orange mohawk hairdo.

The festival continues all weekend (July 28, 29 and 30)

#beachesjazz | #beachesstreetfest

legs and feet of girls in frilly green tutus as they dance in a parade

St. Patricks Day Parade, 19 March 2017

bagpipe player wearing a green hat for St. Patricks day

Watching floats, bands, banners, flags, leprechauns, bagpipes, drums, dancers, hurlers, soccer players, dragons, shamrocks, leprechauns, crazy hats, green hats, green everything, but most of all, people.

woman holding a metal flag pole, she's wearing big shamrock shaped glasses

feet and legs of two girls dancing on a float in a parade

a woman in a green cowboy hat with a green fringe, a green shamrock sticker on her cheek and wearing a green, orange and white scarf

a retired fireman with a green tam, moustanche and a big green bowtie

st. patricks day parade, man wearing a costume that makes it look like a large leprechaun is grabbing him around the knees

a man holds one end of a white banner that says County Kildare, St. Patricks Day parade

boys running a parade. one is wearing an orange body suit that also covers his face, also green tshirt and white shorts and green bowler.

a flute player in a blue uniform plays and walks in a parade. Other musicians in the background

two women with little green hats perched on their heads watch the St. Patricks Day parade

Ramses shriners band marches and plays in the St. Patrick Day parade. Red trousers, black jackets, large green shamrocks decorating their drums

a man playing the bagpipes in a St. Patricks day parade. he's wearing an oversized green and white striped hat with a band of shamrocks on it. Also wearing a big green bowtie

a middle aged woman in a fireman's jacket sits on a float in a parade (firetruck?) whe is holding a small teddy bear with a green sweater and a young girl is with her

a man is walking a dog in a parade. the dog is wearing a grewen hat for St. Patricks day

a group of adults and youth from Scouts Canada walk in the St. Patricks day parade, carrying lots of Canadian flags

a girl wearing green sunglasses and a scout uniform

a man stands on a sidewalk along with other people. he is dressed a costume that is a green beer bottle, his head is the neck of the bottle

adults and kids sitting on the sidewalk watch drummers go past in a parade. girl with big green bowtie and boy with long green tie and green bowler hat

three boys among a crowd of onlookers at a parade. The boy in the middle is wearing green and dancing as he watches

five kids sitting on a float in the St. Patricks day parade

liuna union members walk in the St Patricks day parade in Toronto

a young girl with a liuna union jacket on walks in a parade. she is wearing beer bottle shaped glasses

St. Patrick in the parade, talking to spectators on the sidewalk

a woman with a big smile and wearing purple gloves is holding up a white banner in a parade

a father and daughter have seats on the sidewalk as they watch a parade go by

two old yellow police cars in the St. Patricks day parade

chinese dragon, with two people inside it working it, walking down the street in a parade with spectators standing on the sidewalk

people standing and sitting on a small outdoor patio, on the sidewalk, watching the St. Patricks day parade go past. The bar is the Smiling Cow.

an older man in green Irish tophat and green coat and green bowtie

a man is dressed in an elvis costume, he's silver Elvis - skin all with silver makeup, holding a guitar

two boys wearing hats and oversized green ties watch a band march past in the St. Patricks day parade, bag piper in the very foreground.

a man and his two kids watch a parade. They are wearing big green and white hats

a woman cheers as she watches a parade from the sidewalk. Her partner is standing beside her

from the back, not much of his face is visible, a man wearing a green wig and a green tam with a pom pom on top

Kathleen Wynne, premier of Ontario, talks to a policeman and another man outside, before the start of a parade

 

Yesterday the Portuguese community in Toronto held their 29th annual Portugal Day parade.   It was a lively, happy occasion.  Hundreds of people lined Dundas Street West between Lansdowne and Trinity Bellwoods Park to watch the parade.  They showed their Portuguese colours with flags, banners, hats, soccer shirts, and lots of red clothes!  Young soccer players demonstrated their skills.  People of all ages wore traditional dress from different parts of Portugal as they walked and danced along the parade route.  There was music too – bagpipes, marching bands, and music to dance to.

A man pushes a cart from which he is selling popcorn, candy apples and cotton candy to people watching a parade. A black truck is behind him with a boy in the passenger side who is hold a banner out the window that says Portugal on it.

Two boys holding a red banner for a marching band in a parade. Lots of flag holders behind them, a Canadian flag, an Ontario flag, a Toronto flag and a Portuguese flag.

A young girl swirls her long skirt as she dances in a parade. Portugal Day parade on Dundas West, Little Portugal, in Toronto

A boy is wearing a Rinaldo soccer shirt, and sitting beside a Portuguese flag. His father is with him

men, members of a Labour Union, walk in a parade. They are wearing orange shirts with short blue sleeves that say Portugal Day on them.

Women dancers in traditional Portuguese dress, dancing in a parade. One of them pauses to look at the man selling cotton candy and popcorn froma cart.

On a street, Dundas West in Toronto, there is a parade, people on the sidewalk watching, and dancers performing in the parade. Portugal Day parade.

People in a parade, three people holding two flags, Portugal and Benfica. A man behind them is holding his arms up in the air.

Two girls in traditional Portuguese dresses are dancing in a parade, onlookers sitting on the sidewalk behind them.

A young woman is wearing a large tall hat in squares of the colours of the Portuguese flag. Beside her is a person draped in the Portuguese flag. They are watching a parade

Four kids sitting crossed legged at the side of a street watching a parade. They are holding Portuguese flags. The older boy has a red whistle in his mouth.

Two Toronto policemen in yellow safety vests watch a parade, women dancing past them.

members of the Cobourg Legion pipe and drum band, four bagpipers in their blue and red kilts marching in a parade

A float in a parade featuring the Portuguese Radio and TV stations, Camoes,

Close up shot of the hands of three men dancing in a parade. The faces of only 2 of them are visible. They are wearing white shirts, black vests, and black hats. Portugal Day parade

Spectators in a parade hold small Portuguese flags as they watch traditional dancers perform.

A woman holds a colourful banner in a parade

A woman from the crowd watching a parade, goes over to a float that has a live sheep and goat on it, she is hesitating to pat the sheep.

people watching kids kicking around a soccer ball as part of a parade. The kids are all in red uniforms.

A woman is giving out small portuguese flags to people watching a parade. She is wearing a t-shirt in support of local politician Anna Bailao,

Spectators at a parade, sitting on chairs, one of which has a Canadian flag on the back. Passing by is a marching band in dark pants and white shirts. Portugal Day parade on Dundas West.