Posts Tagged ‘people’

Turbanup 2019

Posted: June 10, 2019 in events, people
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Turbanup with its bright and colourful fabric was back at Yonge Dundas Square again this year.

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, a famil group with some with turbans and one person having a black turban wrapped on their head, to the side a young girl doesn't look very happy about this

an older man with a beard and an orange turban, is tying a yellow turban onto the head of another man who has a large tattoo on his neck

a woman holds a yellow sign that says Ask me why sikhs wear turbans

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, woman taking a selfie as her head is wrapped in a blue turban

 

orange turbans

piles of colourful fabric on a table At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square,

a woman watches another woman getting a turban

a policeman getting a black turban at Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square,

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, a man in beard and red turban wraps the head of young person in a blue turban, in the chair behind is a female police officer having her head wrapped in a purple turban

young person in blue turban

a woman in a bright yellow T-shirt, sitting on a chair, taking aselfie of her with her new red turban

an older woman having a magenta turban wrapped around her head

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, people having turbans tied on their heads with purple fabric

 

a woman having a black piece of fabric twisted in front of her head in prep for having a turban made for her

two young boys in turbans, one in blue and the other in white. The younger boy, in white, has a red mask face painted around his eyes

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, 4 young men standing behind a barricade, all with turbans, one with a hoodie over his turban

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square,

an older woman in a light blue turban smokes a cigarette

An older woman in a beige sari sits on a chair outside, three women stand behind her, beside a table with piles of fabric in oranges and reds

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, a man in a purple and white turban wraps another person's head in the same colour of turban

3 D Turbanup sign at Yonge Dundas Square, in front of it a young woman in a black turban is helping a balding man with a yellowish green turban

a young person in a black T-shirt is directing a woman sitting to get the best pose for a photo, woman is having a pink turban wrapped around her head by another woman at Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas square

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, young person looking bored, standing behind table with orange sign above head that says free ice cream cones

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, an older woman with a white cloth over head head and a kirpan sword at her side

a sikh man in bears and orange turban carries a tray of cups of mango and rose milkshake

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, an older woman is sitting in a chair, talking (gesturing) with her hands while a Sikh man with a long beard and orange turban wraps her head in a pale orange turban

a woman with a light orange cloth draped over her head and around her shoulders and body takes a selfie

the back of a woman with white bra straps showing and a large tattoo on ther shoulder. A man pulls a length of pink fabric as he wraps her head in a pink turban

At Turbanup event at Yonge Dundas Square, a sikh man with a pale orange turban wraps a pink turban around the head of a woman who is seated, and frowning

a mother in son in bright turbans, mother in pink and son in orange, sit by a table piled with orange and pink fabric

a young boy in a red turban gives a thumbs up sign

water logged

Posted: June 6, 2019 in locations, people, waterfront
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Each spring the water level in Lake Ontario rises as the snow to the north of the city melts.  That’s a given.  The question has become just how much water there will be.  This year the water level is very high again, perhaps as high as it has ever been.

below: Sea gulls enjoying the pond that has formed at Woodbine Beach

Leuty lifesaving station in background, lifeguard station on beach, with water and sea gulls in front of it

below: Some of the many different coloured Muskoka chairs that now dot the beach.  How many hundreds? thousands? of similar pictures are online now?  They do add an interesting and cheerful burst of colour.

4 muskoka chairs lined up on the beach, pink, blue, yellow, and red, lots of water, a person is sitting in one of them but photo is of back of chairs.

a line of muskoka chairs along the edge of the boardwalk, beach, Lake Ontario

a woman is sitting in a blue Muskoka Chair reading, with her legs sticking out the side of the chair, view from behind, water in front of her as well as a line of rocks with seagulls on them, Lake Ontario

below: A quiet reading spot of a different kind…. as the swans swim by.

a person sits by rocks and a tree on the beach by Lake Ontario, reading a book, swans swimming past

rocks and sand at Woodbine Beach, with water behind the lifeguard stations because of flooding of Lake Ontario

below: Sandbags and rocks protect part of the boardwalk from Lake Ontario water.

sandbags, some empty, line the shore up against rocks and a boardwalk with a railing, flooded,

two women push strollers along the boardwalk by Kew Beach, CN tower and Toronto skyline in the distance, other people on the boardwalk and beach too

a woman in a bright red coat is about to throw a large stick into Lake Ontario for her dog to chase, empty lifeguard station beside her

below: Putting up the volleyball nets where it’s dry, Woodbine Beach.

a man is putting up volleyball nets on the poles that aren't in the water at a flooded Woodbine Beach

volleyball court poles standing in the water, flooded Lake Ontario at Woodbine Beach

a flooded Woodbine Beach because of high levels of water in Lake ontario, poles in the water for volleyball courts, nets, but too much water

rocks and pebbles along the shore of Lake Ontario, a small island of rocks with a small tree growing on it

fence surrounding dog park, tall grasses, shrubs and trees in dog park, CN Tower and Toronto skyline in the distance, Woodbine Beach

below: The fence around the dog park is in the water

a tree in the water, part of a fence also in the water, Lake Ontario

water behind the lifeguard station, Woodbine Beach, someone has put a cross made of two branches lashed together

a flooded Woodbine Beach

below: Making friends

a woman holds her black dog while a girl in pink jacket reaches out to touch it.

below: As I was returning to my car, I spotted a slightly fancier car than mine…

pale blue and black mclaren car parked in a parking lot, woman with dog in the background

Weems, all about town

Posted: May 30, 2019 in events, galleries
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Each year the CONTACT Photography Festival spotlights a few artists.  This year, Carrie Mae Weems is one of them.  As I’ve walked around Toronto the past month I have tried to check out all the place where Weems’s work is on display.

below: On Spadina, just north of King is a large portrait of Mary J. Bilge (singer and actor) in red with the title “Anointed”.  In the photo, Bilge is being crowned by Weems.

a large red photo of a woman being crowned, sitting in profile, the word anointed is written in large letters on the picture. Mounted on the side of a red brick building

below: A small pink photo of a girl in the parking lot that is adjacent to the building where the above photo is mounted.  The marks on the girl’s face are problems with the display case, not with the photo.

a pink and black photo of a girl's head, on a small display in a parking lot, with a Huawei ad behind it. Ad features that head of a model

***

below: At the Contact Gallery, 80 Spadina Avenue, part of ‘Blending the Blues’ which is collection of images from a few different projects that Weems has done over her thirty year career.  The picture shown here is “Untitled” 2017.

detailed picture of a woman sitting at a table with lots of things around her, on the table, behind her, and in front of the table, by Carrie mae Weems, the photo is only in blues and black

below: From ‘Blue Notes” 2014-2015 which involves blue toned images of people with coloured rectangles obscuring part of their faces.   The picture on the right is a copy of the Booking Sheet for Sandra Bland who was charged with assaulting a public servant (i.e. police officer) in July 2015.  She was died in police custody a three days later.

park of an exhibit in a gallery showing the picture of a black boy with a large red rectangle acros his face, beside it is an enlargement of the arrest record of a black man in Ferguson Missouri

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“Scenes and Take”, 2016, is composed of two large photos (“Director’s Cut” and “The Bad and the Beautiful” below) on the outside walls of the TIFF Bell Lightbox at the corner of King West and Widmer Streets.  Each photograph is accompanied by text which reads as a summary for movie.  For instance, the text for “The Bad and the Beautiful” starts as “The Plot: Bright and beautiful, a young would-be starlet in Hollywood seeking fame and fortune.  Along the way, she encounters erroneous assumptions, bad luck, and dangerous men.”

large photo on a wall outside, of a woman in a long black dress, back to camera, one hand on door sill as she stands in open doorway, by Carrie Mae Weems

The photos are of Weems as a muse, or the embodiment of the black female gaze.  She places herself on the set of ‘Scandal’, a series created by Shonda Rhimes and starring Kerry Washington.

two large photos mounted on two walls that meet at the corner of King West and Widmer, two people walking them including a woman in a head scarf

‘Slow Fade to Black’, 2010,  is a series of large posters on King Street West near Metro Hall – black performers slowly fading from fame and memory.   They address the representation of Black women in popular culture

series of large panel photos by Carrie Mae Weems, Slow Fade to Black, each photo is a person or a face that is blurry, done with one colour on black

‘Slow Fade to Black’ was also the name of a book subtitled, the Negro in American Film 1900-1942 written by Thomas Cripps and published in 1977.

two men walk past two large photos on King Street, Slow Fade to Black photo by Carrie Mae Weems, one is blue and black and the other is burgundy and black

Performers, all black women, portrayed in this series: Katherine Dunham, Koko Taylor, Eartha Kitt, Abbey Lincoln, Dinah Washington (twice), Ella Fitzgerald, Shirley Bassey, Josephine Baker (twice), Mahalia Jackson, Leontyne Price, and Nina Simone.

people sitting in a streetcar with their back to the window, can see large photo on exhibit on opposite sidewalk through the windows of the streetcar

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And last, at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery (the Art Museum at the University of Toronto), is ‘Heave’.  From the gallery’s website, “multi-part installation Heave combines photography, video, news media sampling, as well as ephemera to probe the devastating effects of violence in our life and time. The complex installation explores the spectacle of violence in our contemporary lives relocating this present within sustained histories of conflict and uprising.”

a collection of pictures on the wall and Life magazines on a table, part of Heave, an exhibit by Carrie Mae Weems at University of Toronto art museum and gallery

living room furniture arrangement as part of a gallery exhibit, heave, by carrie Mae Weems

4 people watching a video on a large screen, one person is standing while 3 people are sitting on a bench with their backs to the camera

There’s always something

Posted: May 29, 2019 in general Toronto, old buildings, people
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Something new or something different.
And for sure, something’s changed.

below: Too cool for school. Dundas Square.

a young boy in sunglasses stands on one foot in front of a water fountain at Dundas square

sitting by the water at Dundas square, a mother and two kids, an older man in a hat is nearby

a man stands in dundas square, with a rolling suitcase in one hand

two men sit beside a store window with female mannequins in summer clothes, another man is walking past

below: The north east corner of Victoria and Lombard (looking north on Victoria).

downtown buildings

below: This building is on the north west corner of Victoria and Richmond.  It is the Confederation Life building, constructed in 1892.   According to Wikipedia, afire gutted the top floor of the building and destroyed the roof in June 1981 but the rest of the structure remained intact.

the top corner of an old red brick building with a green roof, with a new glass building behind it

below: A 1912 picture of the Confederation Life Building.  Photo source

vintage photo from 1912 postcard of the confederation life building at the corner of Victoria and Richmond streets. built 1892, large red brick building with ornate roofline

three buildings joined together, one red brick, one beige stucco and one a purplish brown. A small tree grows in front of them. Four windows.

below: Fran’s restaurant at the corner of Victoria and Shuter – a Toronto institution.

scaffolding around the building with an orange Frans sign on it - Frans restaurant at Shuter and Victoria streets

below: And just a bit farther north on Victoria is the Senator which is even older than Fran’s.  That’s a lot of food!

large mural on the side of the Senator restaurant, a man in glasses holds a steaming cup of coffee with plates of food in front of him, by his shoulder, bacon and eggs with toast as well as a plate with a sandwich and a side of salad. A third plate has a piece of chocolate cake

below: Signs on Victoria Street including a marvelous old Green P Parking sign.

signs, senator restaurant, public parking, and an old green _ parking sign

below: Protest poster with a message for Prime Minister Trudeau.  Will you compensate us for the mercury crisis?

large black and white poster on an empty building with plywood covering doors and windows.

below: Breaking my habit of not photographing people sleeping on the streets – it was the large green frog pillow that made me chuckle and reach for my camera.

a person is sleeping on their back on the sidewalk. Their head is on a large green frog pillow

below: And speaking of frogs, a group of them have appeared at College Park.   A group of frogs is called an army… but if these are actually toads then a group of toads is a knot.   Hmm…. frogs prefer water while toads live on land.  There are also differences in their eggs, tongues and teeth but the most noticeable difference is in their eyes.  Frogs have round eyes that bulge out.  Toads eyes are more oval and don’t bulge.  Conclusion – these are frogs searching for water.

two bronze sculptures of frogs in a park

Bronze sculpture of a large frog with a water pond (no water in it) behind it

below: Looking north on Yonge street towards Alexander.  The very tall building is at Yonge & Bloor.

looking north on yonge street towards alexander and bloor. tall buildings, old buildings, cranes, traffic

below: More Yonge Street.  Another juxtaposition of old and new; the opportunities for this kind of image are becoming commonplace.  Also,  I could probably take pictures on Yonge every day and still miss some of the changes.

a variety of ages of buildings on Yonge street from those built in the 1800s to modern glass buildings.

below: Plaid, paw prints, and pink

people at an intersection, a woman in a red and black plaid jacket and pink shoes

below: One is happier than the others.

a man and a young girl look out the window of a TTC streetcar with a poster on the side advertising Aladdin movie

below: Dundas Street, just west of University Ave., looking towards Simcoe and St. Patrick streets.

a cyclist with an otange shirt sits on his bike while looking at his phone. He's stopped behind an orange and black striped construction cone on the side of a street

below: North side of Dundas street, just west of Bay.

downton buildings with a construction zone

below: Who doesn’t like bacon?  I prefer mine a bit crispier.

a woman is dressed in a bacon costume and standing on the sidewalk on Dundas Street giving out flyers

a couple crosses a street by a streetcar, an Asian man and a woman in a teal head scarf

“Days go running and hiding
The weeks are going slippy and sliding
Years leave quicker every time they come”
from “When We Were Young” by Passenger

 

waiting on the cherry blossoms….

Posted: May 9, 2019 in locations, nature
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I’m not sure what the allure of the cherry (aka sakura) blossoms is.  Has it become a symbol of spring and who doesn’t like the long awaited end of winter?  Is there something special about the cherry flower?  Or is it more ‘exotic’ than the magnolia that flowers about the same time, or a bit earlier?  Why not celebrate the lilac trees?  Or other trees that blossom in the spring?

below: A couple of cherry blossoms along with some buds and partially opened flowers.

sakura cherry blossoms on a cherry tree along with some pinkish coloured buds, white petals and yellow centers.

Although there are a number of places around the city to see sakura trees (14 I think), High Park seems to be the most popular place.  True, they have the oldest trees and the most trees planted in one area.   It has become the site of an annual pilgrimage by thousands of people to see the blossoms.   Even though the ‘sakura watch’ website said that ‘peak’ blossom hadn’t yet arrived, I decided to check out High Park yesterday.

below: Lots of signs to direct pedestrian traffic to the cherry trees.  The roads were closed to most cars.

pink sign on the grass by the entrance to High Park that says Please keep of the bloomin' trees.

large trees in the park, people walking on the path on the other side of the trees, green grass, shadows, some blossoms on a couple of the trees

below: There were a couple of school groups there for the morning. Although there weren’t too many blossoms to see, it was a beautiful spring morning and many of the kids were making the most of it.

three girls have a crab walk race down a small hill

a black person walks a dog on a leash up a hill on a paved path through HIgh Park, other people are behind. Some pink and white flowers are starting to grow on the trees

below: An Instagram moment I suspect.

an Asian woman with a bright pink handbag holds a branch of a cherry tree in front of her face while another woman takes her picture with a phone.

people enjoying a day in the park, some taking pictures of cherry blossoms

below: An engagement photo shoot

an engagement photo shoot at high park, man on his knee presenting a woman in a bluish green dress a box that presumably has a ring in it. Another man is holding a stand with a large light on it.

Yesterday there were many more buds and partially opened flowers than there were blossoms.  By the weekend, there will probably be a profusion of white petals… as well as a swarming of people.  I had to search for flowers to take pictures of but at least it was a relatively quiet and peaceful morning.

sakura cherry blossoms

Mayday

Posted: May 1, 2019 in events, people
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the back of a man whose baseball cap says Toronto on the back and his black jacket says Ontario on the back

May Day, the 1st of May.  In some countries it is International Workers’ Day, or Labour Day, and is often a holiday (similar to the first Monday in September that is celebrated as Labour Day in Canada and the USA).   This May 1st there was a protest in front of Queen’s Park to protest some of the recent policies announced by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his provincial Conservative party.

 

below: UnaFORDable DOUG and CONservative CONS

people carrying protest signs at a rally

below: Cheering for a clownish Doug Ford as premier, the first clown we’ve had.

a man in an orange wig and clown costume holds a sign on pink bristol board that says Hooray! Our first clown premier

below: Let them drink beer.  Doug Ford as Marie Antoinette (how did he fit into the dress?!)

a woman holds up a sign at a protest that says let them drink beer. with a picture of Doug Ford as Marie Antoinette

below: …. and at Rock bottom prices folks!

at a Queens Park demonstration on May day, a woman holds a red and white for sale sign with the word Ontario written in the blank, for sale Ontario

below: Oink oink, Ford with a pink snout

three people at a protest in Toronto, woman on right is yelling, man on left has a camera on a tripod and man in middle is holding a sign with a picture of Doug Ford's face with a pig snout that says Our futures are not yours to fuck with, greedypig, #greedypig

below: Signs.  “You know it’s time for change when children act like leaders and leaders act like children.”

a few people with home made placards at an anti-Ford May day protest

below: A poop emoji makes an entrance

a person holds up a sign that is a drawing of Doug Ford's head with a poop emoji on top of his head

below: That’s a good reason to revolt!

a woman in a blue coat and black beret holds a sign that says We're having a revolt because the PC's are so revolting

below: Rapping to the crowd

a young black man is performing a rap song in front of a crowd at a protest

below: Bees and trees not sleaze….and some important facts about mental health and youths in the province.

protest signs at a rally including one that says Bees and trees not sleaze

below: You have been warned!  Beware! Killing two birds with one stone,  Entrepreneurs at TugaDoug.com advertize their product while protesting.  Follow the link to order yours for $19.95

Warning! Beware of Doug says a sign, with picture of Doug Ford on it. Another sign says My pug would make a better premier

below:  Standing near the front of the crowd were these three people with their three different issues –   For Ontario’s Rich Developers,  concern for trees (cancellation of the tree planting initiative), and the threats to health care.

three people at a protest, a woman in an orange coat holding a sign that says I speak for the trees, a man in a yellow jacket with a sign that says Don't take away our health care. and a younger woman with two signs, one is a play on the word Ford so it says For Ontarios Rich Developers where the first letters of those 4 words are emphasized F O R D

below: “Give me the birds and the bees please.”

a woman holds a protest sign that says Give me the birds and the bees please

below: Books not beer

a woman holds a sign that says books not beer

below: “Let’s show our government that we refuse to regress.”

a group of artists with bright yellow and light green signs walks as a group towards a protest in front of Queens Park, the woman at the front also has a sign on a stick that says We refuse to regress

below: Get organized instead of panicking!

in the middle of a protest crowd, a woman holds up a sign that says Don't panic, organize

Maybe I’ll see you at the next protest?

Artscape Youngplace – student photography

Posted: April 30, 2019 in galleries
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I happened to visit Artscape Youngplace this afternoon just after their latest hallway gallery exhibits were hung.   Showing on both the second and third floors are images produced by the graduating class from Etobicoke School of the Arts contemporary photography course.  I tried to find information about the exhibit online but nothing about it was mentioned on the Artscape Youngplace website or on the Etobicoke School of the Arts website.  If you know of something that has appeared online since this afternoon (29th April) or something that I missed, please let me know.

This is a selection of the pictures on display.  Not all of the labels were up yet and some I didn’t get a clear picture of so my apologies to the photographers whose images that I haven’t credited here.  Also, there was no criteria for selecting these images over the many others also being exhibited.

below: The finishing touches

part of the third floor hallway gallery space at Artscape Youngplace with large colour photos tacked to the wall, a man on a ladder adjusts the lighting

below: By Owen Herlin.  “The Last Week of Summer” on top and “Making Memories” on the bottom.

two photographers by student photographers, horizontal, one on top of the other. The top image is of a skateboarder doing a jump, in three sections, same man but in different stages of the jump

MIDDLE: Why’d you bring me here and then leave. Friends that aren’t mine. Contacts I don’t have.  It’s all good but my time is too valuable right now and a lot of these interactions aren’t ( a lot not all). // writing with words in my head, overlaying over crowded memories that aren’t mine.  “I want more out of life than this”!
LEFT: “Summer. It’s the start of this again, songs that will remind me of these moments above all others again. :

 

below: In the middle, a photograph by Tomoka Taki.  It is flanked by two images by Julia Kerrigan called “Unnatural 1” and “Unnatural 2”.   The opening sentence in the description of Taki’s work is: “I attempt to bridge a gap in communication between myself and older generations within my family.”

three photographs hanging on a wall. On either side is a picture of a woman in a pose, on green grass outside by Julia Kerrigan. In the middle is a black statue, Asian lion, in front of a light pastel coloured circular pattern

below: By Meredith Tudor-Doonan

six images. On the bottom is one large black and white photo of a woman (no head shown) in a long white dress that looks like she's washed up on the beach, lying on her back, arms out streteched. upper level has 5 photos, on the sides are large brown and white images of men's head and shoulders, with eyes looking downward. In the middle of the top part are three snapshots of a person coming out of the lake after swimming

two photographers by student photographers, horizontal, one on top of the other. The top image is of a skateboarder doing a jump, in three sections, same man but in different stages of the jump

below: by Kaya Joubert Johnson

large white wall hanging with long black fringe on top and bottom. words on the wall hanging say Do Not Touch the art, a work by Kaya Joubert

a triptych, three photos, of a woman in an orange long sleeved top, long brown hair, black pants, in three different poses,

below: by Ethan Wilder, “Why complicate the physical world when I can do so in an imaginary one?”

black and white photos by Ethan Wilder

closest to the viewer is a portrait of a young woman sitting on a chair, leaning forward, very orange patterned wallpaper wall behind her

Good Friday procession

Posted: April 20, 2019 in events, people
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‘The Passion of Christ’ procession starting from St. Francis Assisi Roman Catholic Church at Mansfield Avenue and Grace Street in Little Italy.  This tells the story of the events leading up to the Crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday.

people in front of a grey church, stone and brick, St. Francis Assisi, early spring, getting ready for a good friday passion of christ procession

a man with a crown of thorns and blood on his face and carrying a large cross walks in a parade, with a man behind him dressed as a roman soldier

a woman in long bronw robes and plaid loose fitting head scarf, carrying long palm fronds in a parade

small group of men in a parade, wearing long robes and carrying bread in the shape of a large wreath, a banner is behind them that describes the betrayal of Jesus by Judas

a man dressed as a priest in long black and white robes walks in a passion of christ procession in front of a large banner that has a bible verse from Luke 23

a bearded priest carrying a baby doll wrapped in white swaddling clothes in a passion procession

a small group of people pushing a cart with a statue of Jesus on the cross, but only the feet of Jesus and the heads of the people are in view

close up of a statue of Jesus just showing his hands and arms tied with rope

people from the Mammola Social Club, wearing yellow sashes, push a cart on wheels with a statue of Jesus in a passion of Christ procession on the streets

men in parade

a woman bundled up in grey tam and scarf over the bottom of her face and carrying a blue umbrella, walking with some men in a passion of christ good friday procession

a group of people push a large flat wooden cart on wheels on a parade, cart has statues of it, characters from the story of the passion of christ, the events leading up to the crucifixion

two women in a parade. The one in front is wearing an elaborate green outfit (only top part can be seen)

two women singing, reading from pages in a yellow folder as they walk on the street

a statue of mary looking a statue of Christ on the cross in a parade

passion of christ procession with lots of people walking down a small hill on Montrose Ave, banners, statue of Christ on the cross, Canadian flags too

banner and flag carriers for Banda L N S de fatima, a Portuguese band from toronto, as they march in a parade

a young man plays a tuba in a marching band he is wearing bright blue sun glasses

men in blue uniforms and blue hands marching in a band, tuba player in the foreground,

 

Using their outside voices

Posted: April 7, 2019 in events, people
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Yesterday there was a large protest in front of Queens Park. Thousands of people from around the province gathered to demonstrate against Doug Ford and his Conservative party proposed cuts to education funding. It was so crowded that you couldn’t move through the center of the park in front of the parliament buildings. So many people were arriving by TTC that there were line-ups just to get out of Queens Park station. Buses, some say 170 arrived from out of town, were parked on both sides of Queens Park Circle. In the beginning, the road was open but police soon closed it along with some of the other streets in the area. Here are some of the people and the signs they carried:

below: Time to use our outside voices. There were lots of families with kids there.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, child on adult shoulders.Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Ford Faild. Ours to recover. There were a number of signs that played on the licence plate motif as one of the things that Ford wants to change is the motto on the plates.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding,

below: Queens Park from the east.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park, seen from the east side, with the statue of Queen Victoria in the middle

below: The protest was organized by 4 unions. Many people carried pre-printed signs but there was an abundance of hand made signs in the crowd as well.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: From Kitchener, a “Cuts Hurt Kids” sign.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, child on adult shoulders.

below: Another licence plate: “Importanter than education”.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, sign is made to look like an Ontario licence plate, Ontario making cuts

below: Drug Ford is a villain in big letters

two hand made signs on brown cardboard, one says we are the future and the other says Doug Ford in the villain. Both drawn and made by kids and being held by kids. Queens Park education budget protest

below: Oosteroff’s mom would be very busy.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Queens Park Circle, south end. Buses letting passengers/protesters off.

below: Job losses aren’t saved by retirements, they’re stolen from the young work force.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Think before it’s illegal. Tax cuts for the rich or cuts to education?

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Those who can teach, those who can’t become premier of Ontario.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Art matters.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, says art matters. Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, I've seen better cabinets at IKEA

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Communication means talking and listening.

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald stands beside a sign that depicts the Conservative caucus as Doug Ford’s puppets. Ford pulls the strings and they all dance along.

below: Kids are cool, cuts are cruel. We are the future, the future needs funds.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: #cutshurtkids in colour

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, child on adult shoulders. signs says #cutshurtkids painted by hand

below: A great visual for DoFo flushing our education.

person holding a toilet seat protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, words written on seat say DoFo flushing education

below: A math question? How many one dollar beers is education worth?

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, back to camera, with a group of men, sign says how many dollar beers is education worth

below: Ford Wars, may the budget be with you

person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding, signs says Ford Wars

below: Fordnation has no imagination – unlike this sign.

child on adult shoulders. person holding a placard protesting Doug Fords proposed cuts to education funding,

below: Give me back my education Doug! and another Yours to Recover.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Climbing trees for a better view

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Another attempt at a crowd shot.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

below: Size does matter and a lovely spelling mess.

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

Crowds at a protest at Queens Park,

a day of action and morning light

Posted: March 29, 2019 in events, locations, old buildings, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The other day I heard rumours of a subway protest – i.e. a protest over the potential uploading of the responsibility for the TTC from the city to the province.   On the 27th of March there was a “day of action” at 40 subway stations during the morning rush, starting at 7:30 a.m.

below: Walking toward Eglinton subway station with the sun shining from behind me. Golden glass.

condo development, crane, single houses in the foreground, near Yonge & Eglinton

I couldn’t find anyone at Eglinton station (was I too early?) but there were 4 people handing out leaflets inside Bloor station.  I also saw this guy with an OPSEU flag by Wellesley station.

a man holds an OPSEU (a union) flag outside Wellesleysubway station as he stands with a woman while someone is taking their picture.

So much for the idea of a blog post about this day of action.  But it was a beautiful morning so I enjoyed the walk down Yonge street.  I don’t often walk here that early and I was surprised how quiet it was.  The light was also interesting.

Yonge Street

below: A mix of old and new architecture, looking south towards the old St. Charles tavern clock tower that is being incorporated into a new development.

looking south on Yonge street on a sunny morning, sun is shining on the St. Charles tavern clock tower, tall buildings behind it

below: Near Yonge & Bloor.  Preservation of an old building… and very big crane.

old brick three storey building stands alone by a construction site as new development goes on around it. large crane in the background

two fire trucks parked on a street of high rise and midsized apartment buildings

below: Looking north from Dundas under a watchful eye.

people cross Yonge street on the north side of Dundas, a big picture of an eye is on a billboard looking down over the street

looking up at relief sculpture and column on an old building that says erected 1905, a new condo tower is behind it

reflections in the large window of a building, people, bikes, and old city hall

below: Looking north from Queen Street.  The Eaton Centre is on the left in the foreground.  Play the game of ‘name that building’ or ‘I remember when’.

looking up (north) on Yonge street,

a blurry streetcar as it stops at a stop where two people are waiting

people crossing the street in front of a streetcar that is waiting for a red light. At thewest side of intersection of Queen and University

people waiting for a streetcar on Queen at Bay, standing outside a TD bank that has a video screen with a very large woman on it.

below: This was the largest group of “protesters” that I saw.  It was more of an information session than a protest, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

people handing out leaflets and brochures at Osgoode station, on the sidewalk outside the station exit. University Ave

below: People headed to work as I started home.

inside Osgoode subway station, at platform level, one subway is just closing its doors getting ready to leave, people are headed up the stairs.

 

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