By Michael Radoslav
Councillor Adam Vaughan leads a Jane’s Walk through CityPlace. Courtesy Gary Pieters.
While condo projects have dotted the Toronto skyline for years, at CityPlace some see more than just construction underway—they see the potential for a great community.
By Karen Bliss
On BS Fridays, local musicians and artists shoot the breeze. Perry King/Gleaner News
A meeting at a local Starbucks with “Steal My Sunshine” hit maker Marc Costanzo from the pop group Len gave Barbara Sedun, EMI Music Publishing Canada’s senior vice-president, the idea to host a free weekly networking event in the Liberty area.
Tags: Liberty · Arts · General
By Rebecca Payne
The stretch of Queen Street between Dufferin and Roncesvalles will be under the city’s microscope as a restaurant concentration study begins, a move that may prove to be divisive for the neighbourhood, if a recent community meeting is any indication of things to come.
By Lindsay Tsuji
Former mayoral candidate to run for provincial seat. Perry King/Gleaner News
By Katie O’Connor
Peter Bruer has been the manager of the conflict resolution service since 1977. Katie O'Connor/Gleaner News
In a city of small spaces like Toronto, loud and obtrusive neighbours can become more than just a mere annoyance. Conflicts rise as the weather heats up, which is why making nice with them has never been more important.
Tags: Liberty · News · People · General
To further help with your decision to vote today, the Gleaner has compiled an interactive map with information about the ridings that we cover: Trinity-Spadina, Parkdale-High Park, Davenport, and St. Paul’s.
To see complete coverage of the candidates for Trinity-Spadina and Parkdale-High Park, click here and here.
Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Perry King, Beth Macdonell, Rebecca Payne and Lindsay Tsuji
The Candidates
Question One: mental health
Question Two: family reunification
Question Three: the Canadian Forces
Question Four: electric trains
Question Five: prisons or poverty?
By Beth Macdonell
“I heard someone call this the Seinfeld election. The election about nothing,” says James Norrie, a social media researcher and associate dean at Ryerson University. “It seems pretty apathetic out there.”
Still, Norrie believes in the power of social media. “If social media can provoke social unrest to the point that a government can fall,” he says, “it can mobilize voters.”
Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Perry King, and Beth Macdonell
The Riding
Trinity-Spadina neighbourhoods include Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Kensington Market, the Annex, Seaton Village, Harbord Village, University of Toronto, Koreatown, Queen West, King West, the West Waterfront and the Toronto Islands. The riding is one of the most rapidly changing areas in the city due to the increase in condo developments. More than 41 per cent of residents listed a language other than English or French as their mother tongue.
Tags: Liberty · News · People · General
The Maple Leaf industrial yard at Dundas and Manning has been operating in the neighbourhood since 1932. As soon as this fall, ground could be broken on a new mixed-use development, closing the lumber and supplies store. Perry King/Gleaner News
By Perry King
Tags: Liberty · News · People · General
Skadarlija owner Sam Sri says he feels like the fall-guy for the neighbourhood. Photo Rebecca Payne/Gleaner News
The closure of Captain Jack’s and denial of a rooming house application for the Parkdale “problem spot” does not mean that some area business owners are satisfied.
By Karen Bliss
After moving around the country for the past nine years, the Junos will be back in Toronto on March 27th for their 40th anniversary show. As part of the week-long celebration, JunoFest will take over downtown this weekend with 120 acts—more than 50 of them Juno nominees—playing 20 venues.
“I believe we broke a record for JunoFest for booking Juno-nominated bands,” says Jeff “JC” Cohen, co-owner of Toronto’s Collective Concerts, who was hired by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS) to book the music festival. “We really focused on making it very heavy on nominees. We even got Christian and Aboriginal nominees.”
“[CARAS] told us to pick our favourite bands. We got some of them, not all of them, but we tried. They told us to book as many nominees as possible and they also told us to keep it as Toronto as you possibly can. It’s supposed to be showing off Toronto [talent], but I included Montreal because they haven’t had a Junos yet.”
Unlike Canadian Music Week or North By Northeast, JunoFest books less acts that play longer sets. “The headline act is doing 90-minutes, as opposed to the usual 40,” explains Cohen. “It’s booked less like a festival and more like a club crawl with regular nights at the venues.”
Cohen added that for the first time advance tickets are available for some of the larger shows. We’ve compiled a couple of shows to look out for in our coverage area. On the 25th, Flash Lightnin’, a Southern rock trio from Toronto, playing the Bovine Sex Club. A line up of singer songwriters will also be playing that night. Canadian music veteran Emm Gryner, Songwriter of the Year nominee Royal Wood, and acoustic pop duo Dala will be performing at The Great Hall. Also worth a listen that night are Young Empires at the Drake, Grapes of Wrath at the El Mocambo, Brett Caswell & The Marquee Rose at The Garrison, and D-Sisive, Said The Whale, and Justin Rutledge at the Horseshoe.
The festival continues on March 26, including music from Moncton singer-songwriter Julie Doiron at The Garrison, folk artist Basia Bulat at the Great Hall, indie group Dearly Beloved at the Rivoli, and country rock trio Elliott Brood at The Horseshoe.
“Being a part of Juno weekend is pretty amazing in itself,” says country artist and Juno nominee Dean Brody who plays the El Mo on the 26th, “but looking ahead to my Junofest show on Saturday night is a real bright spot because it’s post Gala Awards and the pressure of the impending award will be off and we will be ready to go. Fresh back from Australia, myself and my band will use that rockin’ 75-minute set to keep the party going. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Check the website for up-to-date venues and times. For $30, wristbands (available at ticketmaster.ca or 1-855-985-5000) grant access to all the JunoFest shows. Many are restricted to ages 19 and over. Advance tickets are available through Ticketmaster or in person at the Horseshoe, Soundscapes, and Rotate This.
Karen Bliss is an Annex-based music journalist and the co-author of Music from Far and Wide: Celebrating 40 Years of the JUNO Awards.