By Nathaniel G. Moore Grunt of the Minotaur is described by its author Robin Richardson as having “all the naked women, natural disasters, talking hogs, cannibals, and crooked cowboys you need to make your holidays bright … with just a touch of baffling.” ’Tis the season of chocolate, stuffing, and gravy stains, of holiday work-party […]

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By Karen Bliss Working out of the studio in her Liberty-area home, Illyria Pestich of Illyria Design creates dresses that are classic enough to be worn year after year. “It’s strictly a dress collection,” Pestich tells the Gleaner. “It’s always very classy, but sexy with a bit of edge. It’s definitely different than your regular […]

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By Karen Bliss The Bloody Five frontman Kevin “KD” DeFreitas, a former Annex resident who is now a high school teacher living in suburban Toronto, is lining up a giveaway for his band’s show at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor St. W.) on Nov. 26. KD is happy to be playing in his former ’hood. “I […]

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Help us spread the word on a couple of things we do every December here at the Gleaner: a holiday-themed  cover and an Annex-centric wishlist. Every December edition, the Gleaner features community and holiday-themed artwork on our  covers for both our Annex and Liberty editions. We are currently looking for submissions reflecting this theme. In […]

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By Michael Radoslav Nathaniel G. Moore vividly remembers attending a “Macho Man” Randy Savage wrestling match 20 years ago with his father. Following the death of Savage earlier this year, Moore decided to honour the man he calls an “aging hero” that always seemed to be there by his side while he grew up. When […]

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By Karen Bliss Liberty-resident Liisa Ladouceur doesn’t sleep in a coffin or only come out at night, but there are a few tip-offs that she is a goth. Her hair is jet black and straight and she fancies corsets and fishnet stockings, but there’s much more to goth culture than aesthetic. Ladouceur, a well-respected music […]

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By Perry King A group of Annex-area educators and parents are eagerly awaiting the TDSB’s response to a proposal they put forward two weeks ago. The working group—based at Annex Montessori school at Trinity St. Paul’s Church (427 Bloor St. W.)—formally told the board of their intent to bring a new alternative school to Ward […]

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By Jonathan Lee Annex painter and art instructor Deb Wiles had been looking at photos of a lake out in rural Nova Scotia, taken by her friend Tim Young, when she drew in her breath in response to the beauty in front of her. From that moment, the Trident International Artists’ Retreat in Nova Scotia […]

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By Perry King                 When first notified she was receiving an award for her work with kids, Alexandra Orlando immediately thought back to her work with the Pan Am Games bid. “We did a community outreach summer, and I lead the youth portion of that,” said Orlando, the […]

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By Emina Gamulin More than a few eyebrows must have been raised in August when Trinity-Spadina residents received a surprise copy of the Women’s Post food and wine issue in their mailboxes. An image of MPP candidate Sarah Thomson, the same image she uses in her election materials, is found on the cover of the […]

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Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Mike Radoslav, and Lindsay Tsuji Click on the links below for more information about Trinity-Spadina and our Q & A with the MPP candidates in the upcoming provincial election on Oct 6. The Riding Trin-Spa Statistics The Candidates Question 1: Helping families Question 2: Fossil fuel-based transportation Question 3: Alternative medicine […]

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By Michael Radoslav Packing in a crowd of hundreds to standing room capacity, with virtually no advertising or promotion, Andrew Ennals and Amanda Factor must feel like the man who single-handedly built the rocket and flew to the moon. What was his name, Apollo Creed? Ennals and Factor are the creators of the insanely popular […]

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