What’s that up in the tree? It’s furry and white. Is it a squirrel? An opossum? No, it’s not. It’s one of Toronto’s nocturnal tormentors and summer wise guys. Continue reading
Category Archives: City
Ignite the Longest Darkest Night: 2019 Solstice Festival
Kensington Market Winter Solstice Parade is a unique hand-made, non-profit, commercial-free event that takes place on Saturday December 21, 2019. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season.
Continue reading
I know why the chicken crossed the road …
Along with a long list of accomplishments as a Toronto City Councillor, Joe Mihevc also introduced the backyard chicken bylaw where residents could keep up to four chickens in their yard. Here’s how it’s working at his home, especially breakfast-wise. Continue reading
Salsa on St. Clair: the city and citizens can do great things together
“Let’s shut down the street,” was John Montesano’s rallying cry, 15 years ago, about St. Clair West – and a great Toronto street festival was born. Continue reading
On Being a Raptors Fan
A city often divided between the urban centre and the GTA feels cohesive. People in the gym. And outside the gym. The diversity of Toronto reflected in the arena, in the bars, in Jurassic Park. The Raptors bringing Toronto together. Continue reading
How the Mighty Have Fallen: the demise of our tree
It seemed in the end as if the tree itself declined our efforts to save it. During the windstorm on June 13, 2018 the one remaining large top limb of the old Norway maple in front of our house fell. Continue reading
Saved!!!
Windstorm-damaged tree gets a reprieve! We are still happily shaded with a view of tree branches from our bed. Continue reading
Negative Windfall
Sometimes, watching the wind whip the limbs around our century-old Norway maple, the thought did occur to me that someday this tree is going to kill me as I lay in bed. That didn’t happen, but the latest windstorm did take down half of the tree. Continue reading
A Horlicks Saga
In search of the iconic malt drink that shaped my childhood taste buds in Wisconsin, I was surprised where my quest led me in Toronto’s multicultural abundance. Continue reading
The Joy of Hags Singing!
Kensington Market’s annual Winter Solstice Festival features a Befana chorus. La Befana, as described by Mary Li is hopelessly in love with the sun and sings time-honoured love songs to it, with the confidence of a lover that knows the sun loves her, and only her. Continue reading
Build It and They Will Come
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
Staying Alive: Toronto’s Columbus Centre members fight to save it from its own board of directors
Toronto’s Columbus Centre, considered to be the heart and soul of the Italian community in the city, is besieged by its own board. Forced by the city to hold a public meeting, Villa Charities Inc., finally revealed its highly unpopular plans for the centre.
Tantalizing Possibilities: Expo for Design Innovation & Technology
EDIT is a design and technology exposition with big aspirations to change the world. Installed recently for a week in a huge derelict soap factory the intention was to inspire, connect, demonstrate, and share solutions to global problems. Continue reading
Toronto’s Urban Forest
Our ravines and parks provide wonderful recreation places for city-dwellers while at the same time cleaning our atmosphere and combatting global warming. A historical, geographical and a literary appreciation. Continue reading
Picnic revolution comes to the beach
What to do when you’re enjoying a perfect beach day but hunger pangs threaten to end the idyll? There’s an app for that! Continue reading
York University: from brutalism to beauty
From its origins as a suburban, brutalist response to the need for more universities in Toronto and Canada, York University has transformed into a vibrant, lively campus of beautiful new buildings and world class academic programs. Continue reading
Lake swimmers update
Record rainfalls and high water levels have transformed our shoreline. We went beach prospecting to see conditions for ourselves. Will Toronto still be a lake swimmers’ city? Continue reading
“Jazz at Massey Hall” Day
On May 15, 1953, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Charles Mingus and Bud Powell played together at Massey Hall in Toronto in a recorded concert that became “Jazz at Massey Hall: The Quintet”. To Ambrose Roche and jazz lovers everywhere, the sounds were revolutionary. Continue reading
Common Ground: revitalizing Oakwood Collegiate’s landscape
A historic Toronto high school is being revitalized with the help of a local community group. Here is the plan for a new recreational and green space for students and neighbours. You’re invited to help and celebrate! Continue reading
A Horoscope for Toronto
What is Toronto’s future? Should it build a subway out to Scarborough? Should it raise taxes or cut services? Since we can’t trust our politicians to be guided by the facts, is there another solution? Can the sun, moon and stars offer some insight into what we should do? Continue reading
Ryerson University’s Newest Building: putting students at the centre
Ryerson University’s new Student Learning Centre is architecturally innovative in a sea of bland new construction. More importantly, it’s an effective instructional space, especially for students learning how to solve big-city problems. Continue reading
Distilled Light
Once again in Toronto someone is out to prove that you don’t have to be athletic to enjoy going outside in winter. That’s right, no skiing, skating or sledding involved. Continue reading
Sold! Two historic Toronto schools gone and more on the block
Since Ontario school boards are no longer allowed to raise tax dollars, the Toronto Board has begun selling off older schools, often historic buildings, for cash to make repairs on other aging schools. Many of the sold properties are demolished, usually not in the best interests of their communities. Continue reading
Music On Every Scale
Toronto offers a rich array of live classical music on every scale of performance. In addition to large concert halls, there are small venues where you can hear solo and ensemble performances by musicians at every level of professional accomplishment playing stimulating new, unconventional, or seldom heard compositions. Continue reading
Transit Geek in the City
Councillor Joe Mihevc’s dedication to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is unwavering. Like a proud father, the self-described transit geek dotes over this growing colossal public service, which in 2021 will celebrate its 100th anniversary. His own father was a TTC mechanic. Continue reading
Trinity-Bellwoods: reshaping an urban landscape
Trinity-Bellwoods Park is a hub of urban activity in downtown Toronto. It was not always so. It used to be a 50-acre field with a small river famous for its salmon fishing. Our resident historian Robert Fisher traces the history of the park from its bucolic days to its bohemian times to its current artists’ oasis. Continue reading
Gardiner of Earthly Delights
Returning home to Toronto recently, Ambrose Roche found comfort, excitement and inspiration in the fascinating and varied gardens of the Gardiner Museum. Continue reading
India’s Great Diversity Lives in Toronto
India is a kaleidoscope of a country with 14 official languages and four major religions. Luckily, this dizzying diversity has been transplanted to thriving neighbourhoods in Toronto. Continue reading
Luminato: Adventure at the Hearn
Our thrilling trek though the derelict industrial site of the Hearn Generating Station, now the locus for the Luminato Festival. Continue reading
Taking the Plunge
We know that Lake Ontario is slow to warm in the spring, but the heat and pea soup humidity around here drove us to the beach. The dip was exhilarating! Continue reading
LIVING TORONTO 