Posts Tagged ‘toronto’
The 40-foot tall tree in Trinity Square
I recently heard about the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District, which is taking place from December 3 – 12. The market is the City’s first ever European-style Christmas Market, lining the streets of the Distillery with wooden booths selling local crafts, baked goods, and Christmas ornaments. Christmas Markets originated in Germany in the early 1400’s, and are held in the weeks leading up to Christmas in various cities worldwide: and Toronto can now be added to that list.
Being a big fan of the Distillery District – and of really tasty hot chocolate* and good gingerbread – I braved Wednesday night’s frosty, windy weather to check it out. I arrived around 4 in the afternoon – and I wasn’t even sure the market existed at first, as there were not too many people in sight as I neared the area. As happy hour approached however, more people trickled in, choirs took to the stage singing carols, and teenagers dressed as elves jumped around cheering, clapping, and giving directions and information to those who required it.
The market is aiming to become Toronto’s newest holiday tradition – and this year, it received a $75,000 grant from the provincial government (through Celebrate Ontario) to help fund the event, and hopefully, make it a success.
The Christmas Market is family-friendly earlier in the day: kids will be delighted by the ferris wheel overlooking the Distillery, the bright lights, crafts, music, and Gingerbread play house. As night draws near, the breweries and restaurants open heated patios and beer gardens with roaring fires, serving beer and mulled wine as they entice the older, after-work crowd to come by. If it’s cold out, there’s also hot rum based drink options available. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention – the ferris wheel runs until the Market closes at 11, so all the kids-at-heart** visiting can ride it as well.
*shout-out to Soma, I had their Classic Dark (always great!) and the boy tried the Mayan (it’s good, but not really chocolate-y)
**old but needs an excuse for squealing like a schoolgirl and pointing at a ferris wheel
More photos on my flickr account:
What’s a girl stuck in Timmins due to a cancelled 7:30 flight to Toronto to do on a Thursday night?
What none of her family or friends CAN do (since they’re stuck without power in the midst of a severe thunderstom and tornado warning): track the tornado online.
The Star has a really comprehensive article about the damage and twisters – apparently, sadly, one person is dead (and unconfirmed reports are saying it’s a child) from the twister that ripped through a conservation area in Durham (the town, not the region).
What The Star is lacking however is media: pictures, videos, sound… so here’s some I’ve “collected” (aka stolen and linked to).
- A downed tree on Helendale, in Toronto.
- Not sure where these two are from – but they’re two more downed trees, and some traffic lights knocked over too! [One] [Two]
- A YouTube video of the twister in Vaughan
- CP24 has some good user submitted pictures, if you scroll past the article to the bottom.
And now, there’s a picture of a twister in North Bay – is the storm moving towards me? Probably not. Maybe though!
My favourite part of all this though? A comment posted on The Star’s news article:
“no need to panic, folks! CP24 has reported that the Kenny Chesney concert at the Molson Amphitheatre is going on despite the weather! I repeat, the Kenny Chesney show is a go!! yeeeeeeeehaaaaw! Bring the tarp from the pick up truck!”
… I wish I was there. haha!
Fingers crossed all this weather crap is cleared up by tomorrow so I can fly home for the weekend – if my flight gets cancelled again, I’ll cry.
Now, what’s a girl who was planning on going home tonight, and is now stuck in Timmins, do?
Get McDonalds of course.
McMmmm McYummy
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What do you get when you combine local self-publishing artists, a love for zines, and a cat? You get mishmish.ca, a brand new website that launched on Thursday night inside Jamie’s Area (which is a relatively new multi-purpose space located in Kensington Market). The site – named for Mish Mish the cat – is the brainchild of local artists Laura McCoy and Jesjit Gill, and sells zines, comics, posters, and art books. The launch party had a wide array of things to look at and listen to – there was a DJ, poetry readings, music performances, and of course, a number of cool zines and prints to admire.
Attendees were treated to the eye candy of various artwork, such as the poster by Andrew Zukerman (center)
McCoy and Gill tell me they snagged the idea for Mish Mish from two similar websites, which are run out of Switzerland and New York. McCoy hopes the website will encourage more people to self-publish, at the same time as providing an outlet for zines to be sold year-round. “There’s really no permanent place for this sort of thing”, she adds, “And there’s not really much space for zines on the internet”. The site currently is home to roughly ten artists, though McCoy says they’re planning on expanding. “We’re accepting submissions from anyone,” she told me, though submissions will be reviewed. “We just sell stuff we like by people we dig,” the website quips – so if the duo likes what they see, they’ll house it on Mish Mish. And I’ve got to admit – some of the stuff they’re offering is pretty cool.
I love the tees on the far end - it's too bad they didn't come in girly sizes.
One of my favourite items was a set of really sweet, screened baby blue tees. McCoy tells me they were printed by artist Peter Kalyniuk, who has been self publishing for a decade. His work is available on the website – though sadly, the t-shirts are not – and there are both other established names from the zine world and work from newer artists available for purchase. Currently the site has about ten different items offered, but I’m assured more features will be added soon – such as a virtual poster room for your viewing pleasure. “We’ll probably end up breaking the rules and selling music soon too,” McCoy tells me with a laugh.
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Prices run anywhere from $2 to $20, solely dependent on the printing process (for example, whether it’s photocopied or screened). “It’s really not about making a profit,” says McCoy, “it’s about getting our work out there”.
