Discover a wealth of Culture Corridor programming on-line

By Meribeth Deen

Remember festivals? Remember movie theatres, parties, the crush of humanity drawn to the streets because there were places to go, things to see, and people to meet? Sometimes eight months feels like forever, even though we got a dose of sunshine, could set foot into museums, and got re-acquainted with dining out. 

It’s October, people, and not only are we facing ineffective patio heaters but also spiking levels of daily infection and a provincial death toll that might make you want to stay in and open up your old friend, the computer. 

If there’s anything that this pandemic has taught us it’s how to use Zoom, and that artists will keep making art anyway. 

So instead of hopping on a subway to be there in person, let’s have a look at Bloor St. Culture Corridor’s virtual offerings.

First stop, Hot Docs. As a Hot Docs member endless adventure is at your fingertips at any moment. Want to travel the world in search of the juiciest fruit? Watch The Fruit Hunters, by Yung Chang (Up the Yangtzee.) Want to meet the Jane Goodall of Giraffes? Her name is Anne Innis Dagg, and you can learn all about her and her journey as a woman in science in The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, by Alison Reid. Want to hang out  with Noam Chomsky between debates, or chill with the Beatles in India? You can do all that, and much, much, more. A $59 “bronze” membership will get you free access to all special films and online events each month, plus a discounted rate for Curious Minds courses.

Next stop, the ROM. The museum will absolutely save the day if you’ve got a kid home from school with a cough or a sniffle. Every Tuesday at 2 p.m., ROM Kids Coordinator and Camp Director Kiron Mukherjee will go live on Instagram Live to combine his passion for children’s education with storytelling to bring to life science, history and art for you and your loved ones in the comfort of your own home. Kiron will share activities, easy at-home crafts, behind the scenes anecdotes and fun facts—all connected to the ROM collections. You can also simply browse the ROM’s collection with a continuously growing database of art and artifacts.

On October 15, uncover the little known history of Kensington Market with Vivian Felsen, brought to you by Miles Nadal JCC, The Toronto Workmen’s Circle and The Committee for Yiddish. A Toronto writer and translator, Felsen will tell the story of how she came to discover the mostly forgotten yet truly remarkable literary activity of this largely working-class, Yiddish-speaking community, and the uniqueness of its language and its writers between the years 1910 and 1950.

Between October 15 and December 3, you can sing and connect with others from the comfort of your home, with Alex Fiddes’ virtual specialty choir. As described on the Miles Nadal JCC website: Each session will include an optional live virtual social component, a live choir rehearsal session, and a taped choir session released as a YouTube video. 

The live choir session will include real time discussion of the music, followed by a warm up. For the taped portion, the vocal parts have been sung and recorded by the music director and layered together, which means as you sing, you will hear all the vocal parts in the mix, similar to the real thing. You will have access to the chart, vocal tracks, and instrumental tracks, as well as the taped session so you can practice and sing as much as you like. There is no pressure to perform. You are encouraged to sing for the love of singing.

Finally, step into someone else’s shoes. The Bata Shoe Museum will be presenting Dr. Kimberly Alexander, a professor of history from the University of New Hampshire, discussing the long-term impact of 18th Century issues alongside Creative Director and Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack who created the exhibition on Patriotism and the Politicization of Shoes, 1760-1780s.

So yes, the pandemic is still terrible and Halloween might be a bit of a bust this year but, Toronto’s creators are still there for you. Be there for them in return, by tuning in the way we must in 2020.