Events

Winterlicious

Posted 10/Jan/2007 01:00:00 by Sheryl

Ah, January. The traditional time of year for Torontonians to take one look at their post-holiday credit card bills and the piles of snow outside, and then hibernate until the first warm day in April. Some local businesses with small numbers of employees, such as galleries, wisely shut their doors for the month and head south. Restaurants, however, are often hard hit during this slow month, and many have jumped at the chance to join a city-promoted restaurant week to encourage people to head out and have a good meal...

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Cavalcade of Lights: Downtown Yonge Street

Posted 26/Dec/2006 17:20:00 by Sheryl

Yonge Street is by far my favourite display of the Cavalcade of Lights, and was also the toughest to shoot. The display in Dundas Square features gorgeous overhead light bursts that change colour, and lines of lights along the north canopy also flash in sequence.

The tree-like structure made up of a variety of globe-like shapes is the most striking as it modulates from white to light blue and then a very dark blue and back to white again.

Yonge Street Lights Over the street, light swags of shades of blue and purple run from Dundas down to Queen Street West where the Hudson's Bay Company, although not part of the official event, become a important part of the display as enormous light grids on the corners of the building flash video images of snow flakes, holiday messages and the Bay logo down onto the street.

If you're a holiday curmudgeon still looking for your Christmas spirit, may I suggest a walk along Yonge Street with a cup of hot chocolate and some carefully chosen holiday tunes on the ol' MP3 player? Despite the nearby Eaton Centre and the incentive to get all crazy consumer, it just might be where the Christmas spirit finally catches up with you.

Cavalacade of Lights: Greektown

Posted 15/Dec/2006 02:45:00 by Sheryl

Toronto's Greek community always does things in a big way and the Greek Town Cavalcade of Lights display is no different. While some neighbourhoods are content to simply affix some festive lights to their lampposts, the Danforth gets some special treatment at a community meeting place.

While the lights that hang over the main thoroughfare along Danforth Avenue feature blue and white lights made to look like olive branches, it's the fountain in Alexander the Great parkette at the corner of Logan and Danforth that is the hilight of the display. Covered in energy-efficient blue LED lights, the fountain, which by day is a great location to sip a coffee or people watch, looks as if it is flowing, and the surrounding trees are decorated with blue and white lights in a longer shape that look like leaves.

This is truly one of the most striking displays of the whole festival and definitely worth a visit if you're in Greek Town enjoying a nice dinner.

Toronto Cavalcade of Lights: Nathan Phillips Square

Posted 04/Dec/2006 13:20:00 by Sheryl

It's Christmastime in Toronto and the city is lit up like, well, a Christmas tree.

For forty years, lights have been strung and a giant tree erected in Nathan Phillips Square, in front of Toronto City Hall.

Over the years the event has grown - now more than 50,000 people attend the tree lighting and fireworks ceremony, and a variety of neighbourhoods throughout the city take part as well.

With the city of Toronto setting an example in energy conservation, Nathan Phillips Square is decorated entirely in blue and white LED lights. Which is a good move, considering there are over 100,000 lights in the display.

The opening ceremonies featured a light projection show called "Immersion" where images were projected onto Old City Hall, and every Saturday night until New Year's Eve will also feature fireworks and concerts.

Throughout December I'll be featuring different neighbourhoods throughout the city and their respective displays for the Cavalcade of Lights.

Christmas Around the World

Posted 01/Dec/2006 11:20:00 by Sheryl

The first time, we found it by accident. Torontonians, like most urban people, I suspect, don't actually spend a lot of time at their local city hall. It's a place you go for specific things such as licenses, or perhaps to pay your property tax bill, but the residents of the city just don't hang out there.

We popped in because we knew there was a bank machine in the main rotunda, and we were low on cash. Who knew that there would be a whole multicultural festival going on inside?

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Toronto Food and Wine Expo Recap

Posted 29/Nov/2006 01:30:00 by Sheryl

The term "gourmet" can be a noun, referring to either a person who enjoys good food and drink, or an adjective meaning fancy, exotic or specialized meals. So when I recently attended Toronto's Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, I sort of expected there to be a bit more stuff that might fall into the fancy and exotic category.

First off, it should be noted that I know very little about wine, and the focus of the show really was on the beverages. Taking up about two-thirds of the exhibitors' area, wines from around the world were very much the stars of the event. There was food there, but not very much of it qualified as what I'd consider "gourmet". Or maybe it's just the fact that no matter how delicious and beautiful a dish is, once you put in on a steam tray or a chaffing dish, it loses some of its allure...

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