Summer in the city – although the summer feels like it’s only just begun!
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Uncle Smoke gives away free love! Pulled pork with beans, corn bread and veg will cost you $10 though! Pedestrian Sunday, Kensington Market.
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Getting ready, or waiting, for the Dyke March. Saturday 28th June, from Allan Gardens west to Yonge St then north to Charles St. It was a very warm and sunny day.
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I spoke briefly to a woman who was wearing this bracelet. One of the women she was with was wearing a sticker that said, “Eat Me, I’m Kosher” but I didn’t take a picture of it.
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From a vantage point over Nathan Phillips Square, we looked down on the people as they passed by. It was late in the afternoon so the shadows were long. Although we were looking for interesting characters, we were also creating compositions with people, concrete lines, and shadows as elements.
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Not all involved shadows. Sometimes, just people in the shadow.
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The first Pedestrian Sunday of 2014, Kensington Market, 25th May.
What follows is a collection of sights from that afternoon.

It was a warm day, the warmest day of the year so far. Time to shed the remains of winter and enjoy the sun and the city.
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art and music…..
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I am not sure what his name is or what kind of instrument he plays. If anyone knows, please give me a shout!
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food and drink…..

one of the many street vendors selling food and drink – BBQ chicken, burgers, fries, sandwiches and coconut sorbet included
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people watching ……
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….. and the sights of Kensington
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Anti Rob Ford protest
A cold but clear November afternoon at Nathan Phillips Square.
people, signs, cameras, writing, chanting, speeches, media.
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View of the crowd from part way up the steps just before they moved towards the front door of City Hall.
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Writing on the wall, about 12:40. I am not sure when the writing started, but when I first got to Nathan Phillips Square there wasn’t too much on the wall yet.
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A little bit later, a few more words on the wall as well as on the ground. Sashay away! Fraud Nation. No to Drugs. Harper + Ford = Corruption. Help yourself & help Toronto, Step Down.
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Protesters, spectators and photographers. There were a lot of photographers! A lot of media, print, radio and television, were there too. Newstalk 1010 (where the Ford brothers had their radio show) had at least one person walking around with a microphone.
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#savetoronto #topoli #robford
With thanks to the Starbucks at Queen and Victoria where I was able to park myself and my laptop while I put this blog together. Wifi and an electrical outlet for the price of a tall coffee, can’t beat it.
Toronto Zombie Walk, Nathan Phillips Square,
26 October, 2013
The rain stopped just before the Zombie walk started but there was a very chilly wind blowing. The weather didn’t stop the zombies! It didn’t stop the fun either.
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paper people of Graffiti Alley

Three Bills
This is now a recurring theme in stencil/paper graffiti. Originally, the Bills were used in response to ‘post no bills’ signs on fences surrounding construction sites.
The Bills here, from left to right, are Bill Gates, Bill Murray and Bill Clinton
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In the fall of 2011, many of these Rob Ford stencils appeared in Graffiti Alley, amongst other places. They were the work of Toronto street artist, Deadboy. This might be the only one that remains in this alley.
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I have not included all the stencils in Graffiti Alley as some have appeared in prior posts. See https://mcfcrandall.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/walking-graffiti-alley-again/
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With thanks to:
Georgette for her help with the three Bills
and Sally who recognized Leonard Cohen.
Saturday, 5th October
downtown Toronto
This is only a small selection of the art installations and exhibitions that were on display that night.

Bones, leg bones? Part of the ‘Indicator’ installation at Gareth Bate Art Projects, 401 Richmond St.
“Birds, bats, bees. Indicator species tell us when ecosystems are in peril. Bones, sugar, dripping honey – a meditation on catastrophe and connection.” The bones hung from the ceiling and the honey dripped down the walls.
Artists: Karen Abel, Jessica Marion Barr, Gareth Bate

A timeline of the life of Conrad Black in black & white woodcut prints as shown at a gallery at 401 Richmond Street. Artist, George Walker

Black & white art made using electric currents & little wires that spun in circles.
401 Richmond Street

‘The rose is without why’ by Boris Achour.
This is a short poem written by Johannes Scheffler aka Angelus Silesius, in the 17th century. The words are written with fluorescent lights and is more than 300 feet long. It was bright enough to light up the square.

Nathan Phillips Square
On the left – ‘Forever Bicycles’ sculpture by Ai Weiwei lit in pink and purple. There are 3144 bicycles.
On the right – ‘Crash Cars’ by Alain Declercq consists of two driverless cars.

posing
These metallic figures were not part of Nuit Blanche. They are part of a sculpture close to the Court House on University Ave., just north of Queen St. West.
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