The Midtown in Focus plan, unanimously passed by Toronto City Council in 2018, has been languishing, ignored, on Minister Steve Clark’s desk for six months. The Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood is bursting at the seams and if the plan is not approved by June 6 the community will be beyond a breaking point. Continue reading
When we first met Emma Nishimura she was a young upcoming artist whose work we described as “wonderfully detailed and meticulously executed.” She told us that she planned “an artistic future full of art-making, exhibiting and teaching.” We are delighted to report that this future has come to pass. Continue reading
The renovated building on St. Clair West is bringing new life to a tired corner. A co-working space, a café and the offices of an award-winning architecture firm will create a fresh community hub. Continue reading
Yolande Auger danced with the National Ballet of Canada when it rose to international acclaim in the 70s and 80s. Although she retired from the profession years ago, she’s still dancing. Continue reading
Galvanized by the image of a lifeless toddler washed ashore on a Turkish beach, a group organized themselves and sponsored a refugee family of seven. Their story is all about successful community building. Continue reading
After Marcie Ponte immigrated to Canada with her family in the early 60s her young life was marred by tragedy and unforeseen challenges. Undaunted, she went on to create a good life for herself while making a remarkable contribution to the lives of immigrant women. Continue reading
When Eric Plato was growing up in Niagara Falls, Ontario in the 1970s he had no idea that he was the great-grandson of a man who had escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad in the 19th century and settled in Canada. Continue reading
Acclaimed photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo has produced a phenomenal body of work documenting people, cultures and ways of life in different parts of the world. His photo essays include compelling images from New York City, the Caribbean, Mexico, Havana, a number of places in Italy, and of course Toronto. Continue reading
Bria Weaver is nothing if not passionate about her Roncesvalles food tour venture: Food Nook Tours. We caught up with her a few weeks ago for a private food tasting tour of five purveyors in her west end Toronto neighbourhood. Continue reading
Why would anyone leave a dilapidated little hut attached to a beautifully renovated modern house in mid-town Toronto? We speculate. Continue reading
Who is not reading Elena Ferrante’s quartet of Neapolitan novels? It seems that anyone interested in literary fiction is enraptured by this series of books set mostly in Naples that tells the life story of two ‘frenemies’. Continue reading
Barbara Bailey is a Toronto graphic designer who loves Bollywood dancing and singing in a choir. The latter diversion happens to involve Choir! Choir! Choir!, the local phenomenon lauded nationally and internationally for its exuberant approach to crooning with a crowd, in harmony. Continue reading
A “soaring triumph” they said. A must read. A critical and popular success, winning every literary award in sight. Then what was the matter with our book group? Continue reading
Yeah that’s right, I went to see a movie with that title! What’s more, unbeknownst to me, it was the third in a trilogy of which I had obviously missed the first two. Continue reading
We’ve been hearing a lot about the Oxford comma recently. How can that be when we’re consumed with effective hashtags and struggling to contain our communication efforts to 140 characters? Continue reading
When we moved to Toronto in the mid-1960s, the transformation of the city from an Anglo enclave to a more cosmopolitan, diverse terrain was just beginning but I had to learn English. Continue reading
In Toronto, taking the ferry over to Centre Island can be something of a cliché since it’s been a thing for city-folks for so many years. It’s often one of the first outings that recently arrived immigrants do when they get to the city – that and Niagara Falls. Continue reading
The idea of depicting the 60s through the lens of the advertising industry was pretty brilliant. Not that the show was meant to be a historical assessment by any means. Let’s face it, most of us watched to see what would happen to the characters. Continue reading
What happens when you’re reading two books at once? Or reading one and listening to the other? Depending on whether the two are the same genre I can either keep them completely separate or start to confuse them. Continue reading
Doors Open 2015 is coming very soon. There are so many venues to choose from so we thought we’d help you out with some recommendations. Let us know what you think. Continue reading
Suzanne Long’s dream is to own a folding bike. In the meantime, she gets around the city with the TTC, car2go, walking, her regular bike and new apps that let you plan the best way to get places. Continue reading
These new businesses are led by young entrepreneurs – in their 20s or 30s – who are passionate about their work and innovative about how they run and promote their companies. Continue reading
All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, is at the top of many ‘best of the year’ books and was a recent pick of our book group. The general consensus was pretty much total adoration for many reasons. Continue reading
Everyone seems shocked that five million of us have downloaded and listened to what is essentially an old-fashioned weekly radio series. “How can that be?” they marvel. “In this day of 140-character missives and nano-second attention spans?” Continue reading
A recent Chinese calligraphy exhibit at the Met in New York demonstrates the physical and spiritual connection of this ancient art. Continue reading
The new movie about French and Indian food and of course, love, is like a soufflé – fluffy. Continue reading
When Toronto-based artist Emma Nishimura was 14 years old she visited an artist’s studio in Nova Scotia. Emma recalls, “From that moment on I dreamt about what my studio would look like and became fascinated with the idea of being an artist.” Continue reading
What’s a walk in the park without dogs, kids, fitness fanatics and a creek to refresh everyone? Well maybe just the dogs do the refreshing. It’s all at Sherwood Park in north Toronto. Continue reading
When an aging Toronto school needed to be rebuilt, the school board came up with an innovative idea. Here’s how a neighbourhood got a new green school, a public athletic field and some great outdoor artwork to be enjoyed by all. Continue reading
How do not-for-profits handle power in their workplaces? Here’s the view of a long-time staffer who had bosses and has been a boss. Continue reading
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