Toronto | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

7 kids, 7 sticks and a spinning plate

Posted: August 14, 2013 in events
Tags: crowd, Dundas Square, entertainment, John Park, kids, metal plate, spinning, spinning plate, sticks, Toronto

Dundas Square, 9 Aug

A recipe for entertainment. Good for all ages, especially good for the kids.

Without talking,

Find seven kids,
Line them up from tallest to shortest,
Give each one a wooden stick.
Spin a metal plate,
Put it on top of the first child’s stick.
Have them pass the plate to the next child’s stick.
Attempt to get the plate passed all the way down the line.

Two girls. One girl is passing a spinning metal plate to the other while a group of people look on.

The number of different colours, shapes and sizes of the faces in this photo captured my attention… and they’re all looking at the plate.

Take a bow when the job is done! If you want more information, the link is: http://www.johnparkcomedy.com/

And the band played on

Posted: August 10, 2013 in events
Tags: band, camera, Dundas Square, iphone, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, music, photographer, Toronto, Yonge Dundas Square

The original plan was to visit Dundas Square for their 10th birthday party. Love it or hate it, Dundas Square is now ten years old. Maybe one day I’ll call it by it’s proper name, Yonge Dundas Square. I was going to do a blog post on the events of the evening.

The official party was to start at 7:00. One of the opening acts was the Lemon Bucket Orkestra; their website describes them as a balkan klezmer gypsy party punk superband. During the last song that they played, they moved through the square towards the stage.

And this is where I changed course. Most people made room for the musicians, moved out of their way. But not one “photographer”. He stood his ground; he got up close and personal photos on his phone. My focus shifted from the music to the man in the middle.

Was he intrusive? Should he have moved?

If you want to know more about the Lemon Bucket Orkestra: http://www.lemonbucket.com/

man with an iphone standing in front of the Lemon Bucket Orkestra as they walk through Dundas Square.

first photo

man taking pictures of a group of musicians, a drummer, a clarinet player, some violins and a flugelhorn

second photo

third photo

man is standing in the middle of a group of musicians, the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, as it walks through Dundas Square.

last photo

Nathan Phillips Square on a sunny long week-end

Posted: August 7, 2013 in events, locations
Tags: archer, August, dancing, irie, irie festival, live music, music, Nathan Phillips, people, performance, reggae, Samba Squad, summer, sunshine, Toronto, tourists

This year the long August week-end (Aug 3, 4 and 5) was warm and sunny. Like most summer week-ends in Toronto, there was lots going on. On both Sunday and Monday afternoon I dropped by the IRIE festival at Nathan Phillips Square.

people watching a performance at Nathan Phillips Square on a sunny afternoon

There was a small but appreciative crowd at Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday afternoon for the IRIE festival.

Samba Squad, a group of musicians, performs on stage.

Samba Squad performing on Sunday afternoon.

4 men dancing on a stage. they are wearing green pants and white sleeveless T-shirts.

They were called the TD dancers and they were one of the opening acts on Monday afternoon.

A man and a woman dancing. The woman has long hair that is bouncing around as she moves.

Their performance was twelve minutes of non-stop, high energy movement.

Seeking shade and a place to rest.

Two Asian male photographers and their cameras with very long lenses taking pictures of a performance on the stage at Nathan Phillips Square.

There were not a lot of cameras clicking away during the performances that I saw. One exception were the four men with their long lenses that stopped by for a few minutes, took some photos, and left. I thought of African safaris as I watched them.

A girls wearing a light blue jacket is standing beside the pool at Nathan Phillips Square while her mother takes her picture. The mother is wearing light blue pants and is holding a light blue umbrella.

Photo op in light blue.

Nathan Phillips Square from the south, showing one of the arches over the fountain. Some vendors are there as well as some tourists and other people enjoying the sunny afternoon.

There were also a few vendors selling food & drink, clothing, and jewelry. Mostly it was a pleasant way to spend some time on a sunny summer afternoon.

Arts & Crafts at the Distillery District

Posted: August 6, 2013 in events
Tags: arts, bookmarks, crafts, Distillery District, events, fabric, felt, magic, magic show, Max, Oula, Oula design, Sylwanka, Toronto, vendors

It was a beautiful sunny holiday Monday. I spent a short time at the distillery district with a friend. A cold drink, seventy different arts & crafts vendors from Ontario and Quebec, and a magic show, added up to a pleasant couple of hours.

pieces of felt in blue, red, grey and yellow hanging in a vendor's stall at an arts and crafts fair

A number of vendors were selling clothing, wall hangings, and other items, made from interesting fabrics.

A man is selling T-shirts with scenes of Toronto on them. He is talking to a woman who is looking at the t-shirts.

T-shirts with Toronto scenes…. the skyline, a wall from Ossington subway station, a bench at Runnymede, a street car, and other Toronto scenes. For more designs see Oula Design at http://www.ouladesign.com

Bookmarks made from metal and colourful stones.

a light blue onesie with a diagram of a pair of lungs silkscreened on it.

Clothing with silkscreened or embroidered body parts on them made by Sylwanka Clothing. A onesie with lungs, and behind it panties with something else.

little pillows for sale that have the words "Do Not Disturb" embroidered on them

Do Not Disturb the pillows

Max the magician uses his magic wand to tap on a lemon.

Max the magician and his grand finale involving 3 cups, 3 little baseballs, one large baseball, a melon, numerous oranges and a twenty dollar bill in a lemon. The girl in purple was so expressive throughout the show – she was quiet but her body language was marvellous.

I hear that they are about to be exes. Maybe it had something to do with his balls……

four children sitting on the ground and watching a magic show. Three are smiling, one is looking skeptical.

One is more skeptical than the others! (watching Max’s magic show)

3 legs - one with black pants, two with black & silver pants. A black and white purse too.

… and of course there was people watching!

Artfest shows are held a few times a year in both Toronto and Kingston. For more information on Artfest, check their website! http://artfestontario.com/artfest-shows/

First Toronto Japanese Summer Festival

Posted: July 28, 2013 in events
Tags: crowds, drawing, Dundas Square, festival, geisha, Japanese, kids, kimono, parasol, people, Pokemon, red parasol, summer, sunglasses, T-shirts, Toronto

Dundas Square, Sunday July 28

I happened upon this festival this afternoon. It was crowded but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Many people were out at Dundas Square this afternoon enjoying the perfect summer afternoon.

There were displays and activities. You could make buttons, practice calligraphy or try your hand origami.

two girls dressed in kimonos trying to grab a small inflated balloon that is floating in water.

Catch a bobbing balloon with a tiny hook!

Display of T-shirts for sale. They have Japanese writing on them. One is the character for energy and the other is the character for "be yourself'

T-shirts were some of the things that were available for sale.

A man wearing a Pokemon mask on the side of his head. Also in the photo is a small boy wearing a fedora but falling asleep on his father's shoulder

There were also masks for sale.

A woman wearing a kimono made of fabric that is covered with red maple leaves.

Many woman wearing kimonos in all colours and variety of fabrics. Some men were wearing the male equivalent (sorry, I have forgotten the name). There was a kimono fashion show as well.

Streetfest – Beaches Jazz Festival

Posted: July 26, 2013 in events
Tags: beach, Beach Boys food, beaches, churros, crowds, dancing, Dr. Draw, Erin McCallum, event, food, food trucks, gmmf, God Made Me Funky, Gorilla Cheese, happy, hats, jazz, Juice, kids, music, people, Phusion, Queen St. East, smiles, street, street festival, sunglasses, Toronto

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

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

crowds in the street at Beaches Jazzfest

Queen St. East, early in the evening

Music

jazz/blues

Erin McCallum and her backup band

God Made Me Funky

He, and his group, got the crowd moving!

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

Juice (name of the band)

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

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

There was music to dance to

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

Dancing to the music

and he danced his way down the street……

a couple dancing in the street with the crowd behind them

slow dancing

And music to join in with

little kid with toy guitar watching a band play

He almost stole the show.

boy with toy guitar walking in front of a live band

There were so many wonderful moments.

The were some odd musical moments as well

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

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

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

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

There was lots of food.

food trucks

Gorilla Cheese food truck

Beach Boys food truck

The donut truck was parked in Kew Gardens

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

The ice cream man.

Food for sale from local restaurants

serving Thai food outside the Cha Da thai restaurant

Serving up thai food outside the Cha Da Restaurant

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

Wonderfully creative carved melons on display.

and drink…..

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

water & pop selling entrepreneurs

And young entrepreneurs too!

There were people of all kinds

….characters

What would a street festival be without a Vulcan?

kids

…not quite sure about all this…..

happy kids

big sunglasses, a fedora, and a big smile!

It was a time for families

Family time

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

A great evening to be out.

and a time for friends

An evening out with friends too.

very flat indeed!

Looking west Queen Street East, late on Friday evening.

Getting late, Thursday evening.

Corkin Gallery

Posted: May 12, 2013 in galleries
Tags: art, Corkin, culture, Distillery District, gallery, painting, Toronto

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

http://www.corkingallery.com