Why I Love Christmas in Toronto

The Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery Historic District

The Distillery is a magical place all year round. If you go to the district on any given occasion it is like you’re stepping into a different world. I always think how can something so historic be stuck in the city that is so modern. So imagine what happens if you add a lot of Christmas decorations. Well then, this magical place year round becomes the ultimate winter wonderland.

This year the Toronto Christmas Market was held at the Distillery Historic District from November 30 to December 16 2012. If you went you got a firsthand look at the beautiful market and the district all decked out for the season. The market is meant to capture the feel of a European Christmas Market and has a lot of unique gifts ranging from locally made products to food, wax products, Dutch products and some very odd knick knacks. So keep this in mind for next year because the market may be the place to buy gifts for that person who is hard to buy for.

Not only do you get to enjoy the shopping and the decorations of the area, but there is also a stage with some of Canada’s greatest musicians. This year gracing the market is the amazing Measha Brueggergosman, Canadian rock-pop group Neverest, singer-songwriter Royal Wood, country girl Kira Isabella, The Philosopher Kings frontman Jarvis Church, Rockstar: INXS contestant Suzie McNeil, Sean Jones, and the bad boy of jazz-pop Matt Dusk. There was also sing-along with Santa’s elves, choirs from different neighbourhoods, storytelling, carollers and much more.   

Being in the Distillery Historic District one must think there would be alcohol involved in this event. Well there was! The Toronto Christmas Market had some beer gardens for you to enjoy a festive array of holiday drinks.

What a better way to get into the Christmas Spirit than visiting one of the most beautiful districts in Toronto all decked out in holiday attire and shopping for that someone on your list.

That is Why I Love Christmas in Toronto

Related Post

The Distillery Historic District

Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market

Images

Haunted Toronto

Distillery District

In order to understand the haunting at the Distillery District one must know it’s history which dates back to 1832. In 1832 James Worts (an experienced miller) and his brother-in-law William Gooderham (who invested into Wort’s milling) ended up becoming partners and began working to make their distilling company a success. Sadly their partnership came to abrupt end when Worts threw himself into the company well and drowned after his wife died during childbirth. Today, there have been reports that James haunts some of the buildings in the district. People have reported hearing banging noises (possibly a hammer), footsteps, have seen lights flicker and have been frightened by doors opening and closing on their own. Is the ghost of Mr. Worts trying to scare off the occupants of the district today, because they are not brewers or is he just checking up on the district he helped created.

Regardless of the motive, if you are in the Distillery District one day and you hear or witness something that cannot be explained. Well it might very well be the ghost of Mr. James Worts.

Why I Love Toronto Reason #345

Diner En Blanc

Ugh, one day I will get an invite to this event! One day! This year like last I didn’t get an invite for this event, but considering it rained almost all day yesterday I’m kind of hoping my first time for Diner En Blanc will be sunny and beautiful. But before I go any further with this post many of you are probably thinking what is Diner En Blanc? So I think its best I explain to you what it is first.

Diner En Blanc is like a Flash Mob or should I say Flash Picnic. Basically this is how it works - you sign up on the Diner En Blanc Website, get an invite, pay the registration fee and then two days prior you are told to go to a specific location to be picked up by a bus. When you get on the bus it is expected that you wear all white – think of it as P.Diddy’s famous White Party. Watching the Global News report, that I have embedded, organizers seem very strict telling the reporter that her black and white bracelet was barley acceptable. Also you are expect to bring you own tables, chairs, napkins, glasses and if you choose to your own food, but if you decided not to bring your own food you can pay for the food provided at the venue. However, as you are boarding the bus you still have no clue where the event will take place, it is only when you arrive do you know the secret location. Last night the secret location was at Fort York, which oddly enough is the post I planned for tomorrow.

Last year the secret location was the Distillery District and it was an absolute spectacle, to be having a flash picnic dinner in front of the most beautiful Victorian Buildings in the city is just amazing. Last year was the first run of the event and technically was more of a test run which saw 400 people get the coveted invites. This year 1,400 people were allowed to participate and because of that there was over 3,000 people on the waiting list including me. However, in all fairness the event is like trying to get a job – it’s all about who you know.

The event dates back 25 years to Paris where the first event was held and since then it has expanded to Australia, Cote d’ivoire, Italy, Singapore, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Rwanada, Spain and The USA. In Canada Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Niagara-on-the-lake and Vancouver host the events. The Flash picnics are held in some of the most beautiful landmarks around the world. Imagine having a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, the pyramid at the Louvre, Chateau de Versailles, Norte Dame or Champs-Elysees? I know it’s like heaven.

So next year I am really hoping that I can get a ticket to this event and not be one of the 3,000+ people on the waiting list. But over all I think this an amazing event that allows you to eat in front of or at some of the most amazing and most beautiful places in this city. I hope this event continues for years to come and I hope that I can one day wear all white and have dinner with the crew. And on a final note, I’d pack some Tide2Go depending on what you are eating.

That is Why I Love Toronto.

http://www.globaltoronto.com/video/torontos+diner+en+blanc/video.html?v=2265238225#stories

http://paris.untappedcities.com/2012/06/16/the-2012-paris-diner-en-blanc-part-deux-versailles/

http://toronto.dinerenblanc.info/

Why I Love Toronto Reason #330

Roncesvalles

Okay Toronto, so we’ve already done Cabbagetown, Forest Hill, Bridle Path, Liberty Village, Distillery District, Little Italy and Yorkville as some of my favorite neighbourhoods in the city. Today we are going to ad Roncesvalles to that list. Now like all of the neighbourhoods I have explored thus far Roncesvalles has a very interesting history to it and the origin of its name is pretty cool as well.

The Village which many note as being Little Poland was first settled by an Irish man named Colonel Walter O’Hara, a solider of the British Army, who came to the village in 1850. Now the name Roncesvalles comes from when O’Hara fought in the Battle of Pyrenees and was captured in an area known as Roncesvalles Gorge in Spain. Therefore, he named the area Roncesvalles.  Upon his arrival in the Roncesvalles area O’Hara began naming the streets after his family members and that is why you have streets such as O’Hara, Geoffrey, Constance, Marion (his wife) or my favorite Sorauren.  Also the street Fermanagh is named after the Irish province O’Hara was from.

Originally the area was a huge British settlement, but today has become Polish dominated due to a large wave of Easter Europeans coming to Canada after World War Two. The Polish however made this area their own by setting up churches, banks and businesses for their people. Like many areas in the city once a year the Roncesvalles Village Polish Festival is held, celebrating the history of the area and the Polish lifestyle.

Therefore, with a lot Polish businesses in the area the average Torontonian can experience some Polish and Eastern European foods. One website notes that when in Roncesvalles you should enjoy: perogie, borscht, sausage, sauerkraut, and paczki.

The area is a great neighbourhood for all ages since it is so close to High Park. Therefore, the elderly and new parents can enjoy walking through the area and bikers have the opportunity to get connected to a number of bike paths in the city whether it is the Lakeshore Path or West Toronto Railpath. For movie goers they can head to the Revue Cinema a staple for the area, which members of the community lobbied to save from closure. It is also home to the Roncesvalles Streetcar Yard right next St. Joseph’s Hospital. It also – and I might add oddly according to the Toronto Star – is where the Contemporary Canadian Sphinx, the hairless cat, originated from in the 1960’s after a hairless kitten was born and then began some gross inbreeding ritual which I don’t wish to discuss.

Anyways I have to also some history to the Roncesvalles Area. My grandparents who were eastern European settled in the Roncesvalles area when they came to Canada. My grandmother still has a picture of the family in front of their old house in the area. Another thing I love when I bike in this area is that the homes are so close together that I feel is just a way to make the community feel that much more tightknit.

Alas, from the battle in Spain, Polish food, my family history, and th fact it gave us one of the scariest cats in the world are all reasons

Why I Love Toronto.

http://www.torontoneighbourhoods.net/neighbourhoods/west-end/roncesvalles-village/homes

http://www.roncesvallesvillage.ca/index.php?l=neighbourhood 

Why I Love (Biking) In Toronto Reason #321

Lower Don Recreational Trail

One day I felt spontaneous. I had woken up at 6 and couldn’t get back to sleep for the life of me so I got my bike and decided to go for an early morning bike ride before the humidex brought the temperature to some ridiculously high degree. I arrived at HTO Park in 45 minutes which I couldn’t even believe, so that made it around 9. However, I wasn’t going to end my ride there so I pulled out my cycling map and decided I’d head to Riverdale Farm. However on my way I got lost and found this amazing path that has become one of my favorite.

Now I didn’t do the whole path because my bike broke but from what I did I loved. Therefore, I started at around the Distillery and ended at Don River Park. Anyways some of my key highlights from this path were as follows:

The Train Tracks - The first part of this trail you pass a Go Train Track yard and you know how much I love train yards! However as you progress you pass a lot of abandoned tracks that have been covered by vegetation. I love this because it shows you a part of Toronto’s industrial history when trains were the main way of keeping this country connected. As you continue down the trail you eventually ride at level with the Go Train tracks. Now I have never had a train pass me, but it would be really cool if one did. There is even this one portion of the trail where there is an old underpass to the side that once took you underneath the train tracks. Today it is blocked off and cover with graffiti  

The Bridges – such a mix of bridges from old to relatively new styles. There are a lot of old rusted looking industrial bridges which have been blocked/ fenced off from entry. You pass a number of CN bridges that I doubt are in use because they look really unstable. You go under these soaring bridges that carry cars overhead, and a few complex looking pedestrian bridges. You also go underneath the Bloor Viaduct which I love standing under and listening to the trains pass overhead.

You’re sandwiched in the middle – for a portion of the trail you are sandwiched. Going east you will see on your left hand side train tracks and Bayview Ave, while to your right there is a river and the Don Valley Parkway.

Shaded – as you go down this path you are canopied by a stretch of trees which provides us riders with shade from the sun as well as a beautiful scenic bike ride through the wilderness, with the occasional Hare running out in from of you. The down side to this is that when it rains it takes longer to evaporate and therefore you are left with these huge puddle for a majority of the station – so just don’t bike after a major rainfall

I love this bike path. I find it really calming. The difference between this bike path and the other two (Humber River Trail near Old Mill Station and Sunnyside/ Lakeshore Bike Path) is that this is such a mix of history and it shows Toronto as an aging city. It shows parts of Toronto past industrial life and Canada’s dependence of train as a form of transportation. I love the other two bike paths for completely different reasons. Humber River Trail is awesome, because its short and passes through a number of parks which vary from wooded areas to baseball fields to picnic areas. I love Sunnyside/ Lakeshore because you are right by the lake and you are biking on what used to be an old amusement park. Many have asked why I just don’t do a post on bike paths together and I don’t think I could. There is so much diversity in all the bike paths this city has to offer that it would take away from that path if you were to do it all in one.

That is Why I Love (Biking) In Toronto

 

Why I Love Toronto Reason #318

Black Creek Pioneer Village

This village is right on the boarder of Toronto near York University’s Keele Campus. The Village opened in 1960 and is a tribute to Toronto’s pioneer roots. Toronto together with the Region Conservation Authority built a 19th century village on an area that once was home to Stong Farm (which now I get why Stong College at York was probably called Stong). Many of the original buildings from the Stong Farm were kept such as the Piggery, the Stong Family’s First and second house as well as the Smoke House and butchery just to name a few. Many of these buildings are on their original locations while the rest of the village was built around them.  

Today if you go to Black Creek Pioneer village you will learn everything you need to know about the19th century. The employees who work at the village are always in costume and speak in the language of the time. They are highly educated in the lifestyle of these people know the answers to almost every, if not all of inquires you may have about the time period. The one thing that is amazing about Black Creek Pioneer Village is that everything there is simple. The village takes you back to a time before electricity and cars. I mean they don’t even have electricity – that we can see anyway, I’m sure due to safety standards they have to have electricity and if they do it is in the background so it doesn’t take away from the experience, but everything they do from making goods and food is done without the use of electricity. If you ask anybody who has visited they will probably say it’s like stepping into a different time period. Unlike the Distillery District of Liberty Village which also give you that feeling, Black Creek Pioneer Village gives you the feeling and experience for it does everything without electricity and it doesn’t have commercial stores in the old buildings like those districts.

The village has many demonstrations and its websites boasts to allowing its visitors to have an experiential experience. You can visit a shoemaker, cabinet maker or blacksmith to see how things were made. At Robins Mill you can see the mill wheel in action turning wheat into flour. Also they have a farm, because many people in the pioneer era would raise livestock for food – although these ones are just display animals not eating animals.

I think it would be interesting to note some of my favorite buildings that have always intrigued me. Some include the Tinsmith Shop and Black Creek Masonic Lodge – I am more interested in the masonic lodge portion of this building which is on the second floor because of all the posts I’ve done that mention freemasons. Henry Snider’s Cider Mill – because I LOVE APPLE CIDER and its made here. Fire House – I love old fire houses they have so much history to them and this one is equipped with an 1837 pumper. Apple Storage Cellar – how else will we store those apples for my apple cider? Fisherville Church – not only because it is an example of Greek Revival architecture, but you can get married here. Townline Cemetery – which is an actual cemetery not one that was just built for the village. Broom Makers Shop – because let’s be honest have you ever seen a shop dedicated to brooms or to broom makers?  There are many others, but those are some of my favourites.

So until someone makes a time machine or finds a portal into the past, Black Creek Pioneer Village will have to fill our back in time needs. But trust me once you are there you won’t need a time machine.

That is why I Love Toronto.  

http://www.blackcreek.ca/v2/join/

http://www.torontosnaps.com/Black-Creek-Pioneer-Village/Black-Creek-Pioneer-Village-6280.html#blacksmith-workshop-11879

Why I Love Toronto Reason #313

Mill St. Brewery on Tank House Lane in the Distillery District

Well you all know that I just love the Distillery District in general and I love bars so it was only logical that I would do a bar in a district that used to make booze.  The brewery opened in 2002 but the brew pub opened on October 2006. Both the brewery and pub were opened in what was the original brewery of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery Tank House.

Now when Dasha’s cousin from Europe came to visit last year I suggested that we take her to the Distillery District for I had never been before and I had heard it was a tourist destination. Anyways we decided to walk around and go for a drink and I suggested the Mill St. Brew Pub for it is the most well known pub in the area. The pub is really nice with a beautiful brick exterior which contrasts from the inside in which a majority of it is wood. The Mill St. sign has become a staple in the area and the inside apparently has 18 foot ceilings (I didn’t even think they were that high, but then I have bad time and height perception) as well as four skylights letting in natural light. The patio was very lack luster nothing special about it, however it is really small and intimate if you’re on a date fitting only, if I remember, 6 table maybe. The building Mill St. occupies is 6000 square feet and has an open concept brewery, sampling bar, event space and retail store.   

When I went there with Dasha and her Cousin we ordered the beer sampler tray. Now I couldn’t find the sampler menu on the website of what was actually on it but basically you get 4 small samples of Mill Street Beer. We ordered 3 sampler trays meaning we got 12 mini beers to try (some the same). The ones I remember having include Tankhouse Pale Ale, Original Organic Lager, Stock Ale, Balzac’s Coffee Porter (and an interesting fact about this is that it is made with coffee beans from the Balzac Coffee in the district – but alas beer and coffee should not go together), Mill St. Wit Beer, Mill St. Fruit Beer and Lemon Tea. Those were the ones I remember having on one of the three platters, however there could have been some of the other Mill beers including: Mill Street Organic Helles Bock, Cooblestone Stout, Mill Street Pilsner, Mill St. Extra Special Bitter or the Mill St. India Pale Ale.

I also like how they have a late menu because after drinking a plate of samplers it’s always nice to be able to eat something. Furthermore, if you go on their website to the “our beers” section some of their beers have suggested foods that would be a good pairing. For example the Balzac Coffee you may want to eat stews, roasted meats or oysters. So if you are ever planning a party and have one of these beers, but have no clue what to serve you now have an idea.  

All in all I love Mill St. beer, I love the atmosphere in which the pub is placed in as well as the feel of the building it occupies and it is definitely my go to watering hole when in the Distillery District.

That Is Why I Love Toronto.   

Why I Love Toronto Reason #282

Luminato

Toronto today is not only the start of the Euro Cup, but it also marks the start of Luminato! Luminato is a multi-disciplinary arts festival which includes theatre, dance, film, literature, visual arts and more. It has been held every June since 2007 and this year’s event runs from June 8th- 17th. The event was a vision by Tony Gaglian (Chairman and CEO of St. Joseph Communications and Board Member of the AGO) and David Pecaut (Senior Partner of Boston Consulting Group and Chair of Toronto City Summit). Both inspired by the city’s cultural infrastructure and the arts being a form that could engage city building among immigrants the two came together to start Luminato. This vision by these two men started in 2003 and 4 years later after gathering partners including the Ontario Government as well as sponsors such as L’Oreal the first annual Luminato began June 1st 2007. The event welcomes local, national and internationals artists to contribute to the festival and today it is featured in over 35 countries. This year proved to be the most difficult for the festival which suffered from intense budget cuts, but still I think it’s going to be a great year!

There is not much to talk about this festival I think you have to experience it yourself. There are a ton of free events, as well as events you have to have to pay for which range from $5 to well over $150 depending on what you want to see. It is a great festival that I love to participate in because I truly believe that the arts brings people together as well it really brings me back to my high school days. You also get to go into some city buildings to see these shows (Sony Centre/ Massey Hall for example) and other times you just stand outside underneath the stars or in the sun. Now many of you always ask me questions like what to do in this city. So for the remainder of this post I will present to you the top Luminato picks from myself and some of Toronto’s major blogs/ news outlets.

Why I Love Toronto Picks

There will be appearances from Michael Franti, K’NAAN and I think my top musical pick Phillip Glass. Being a music major I personally studied Glass for a project and have fallen in love with his works. Glass is presenting us with Einstein on the Beach a four hour opera.

Also I should add the Beethoven Marathon to my picks for he was another composer I studied during my high school years which seem so long ago.

 1000 Tastes of Toronto also sounds tasty and is where famous chefs come and where we can eat food in the Distillery District.  

Chris Cleave (Little Bee) and Vincent Lam who wrote Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, one of my favorite series of short stories about Doctors and part inspiration for the name of my first child Fitzgerald Scott – which also fuses F. Scott Fitzgerald name will both chat with NOW’S magazines Susan Cole about their new books Gold by Cleave and The Headmasters Wagner by Lam.

Luminato Staff

Irish Welsh, Re-ply, Symphonic Finale, Afrocubism, Phillip Glass, Playing Card 1: SPADES, The Beethoven Marathon

BlogTO

The Encampment (celebrating the bi-centennial of the War of 1812 in conjunction of Fort York), Phillip Glass, K’NAAN (will be kicking off the festival tonight at David Pecaut Square!),  Kathleen Edwards and Dan Mangan (folk singers) and The Alpha Project Banachek (British Magician)

Torontoist

The Encampment, The Alpha Project Banachek, Phillip Glass, Re-Ply  and Symphonic Finale: At The Hub

Toronto Life

K’Naan, Phillip Glass, The Beethoven Marathon, 1000 Tastes of Toronto, New Yorker, The Alpha Project, Nicole Krauss will read her latest short story (wife of Jonathan Safran Foer writer of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is an amazing read!) and Love over and over: The songs of Kate McGarrigle.

The Grid

1000 Tastes of Toronto (which they call a Don’t Miss) and from there math equations that they did I assume they consider K’NAAN, Beethoven Marathon, Phillip Glass, Rufus Wainwright and The Rufus Songbook, The Encampment, Laura’s Cow: The Legend of Laura Secord, Love Over and Over – The Songs of Kate McGarrigle and Lewis Lapham as their top picks, since they put so much effort into presenting them.

Dance, Theatre, Music, Literature come together for a festival that makes us all

Love Toronto.