Gourmet grilled cheese shop makes headway

By Ryan Saundercook & Richard Frankel

Stepping through the doors of Say Cheese (337 Bloor St. W.), a new gourmet grilled cheese restaurant in the heart of the Annex, feels like walking into the future.

The decor is clean and bright. The floors, tables, and chairs are spaceship white, and large, globe-shaped lamps hang from the red painted ceiling. On the walls there are lights in rectangular boxes that cycle through a variety of colours. But what hits you first as you cross the threshold is the smell of various cheeses and toppings that will leave your stomach grumbling.

“My favourite sandwich would be the pulled pork and pasta,” said Nigel Koo, co-owner of the restaurant. “It’s basically pulled pork, extra-old cheddar, BBQ sauce, and mac ‘n’ cheese all grilled into a sandwich. We marinate it overnight. We sear it the next day, slow cook it for about 18 hours. We use a pork stock and fresh tomatoes and spices. We make the BBQ sauce in-house. Everything is made in-house here.”

Koo, 29, along with business partner Christopher Blondell, 27, quietly moved into the space in February and have slowly been adding signage and spreading the restaurant brand in the area while tinkering with a variety of recipes.

“This is the first business we’ve done together,” said Koo. “He has his strengths and I have mine and together it works. He’s a very good operations guy, a great chef.”

Both partners said they support independent businesses and are picky when it comes to quality. Koo said he spends at least an hour every morning buying fresh ingredients from Kensington Market, and laughs when he says he’s been known to hoard the bacon.

“If you put really high quality food together people do notice rather than going to a chain restaurant,” he said. “I think there’s enough people that would want to try an independent restaurant that’s doing something different.”

Koo is a graduate from the University of Toronto in economics and said he was inspired to start this business from his experiences of living life on the cheap as a student.

“Basically I lived off grilled cheese for four or five years, and what better food to expand on than a grilled cheese? It’s a classic comfort food,” he said.

Koo said he wanted a modern aesthetic to the restaurant that would give it a different feel compared to others in the area, most of which feature a more traditional look.

The biggest hurdle in the new operation has been marketing, said Koo.

“We’re not looking to be the next Subway. We just want to have a nice shop and provide good value, good food, and be an independent business. Getting your name out is hard, because you’re competing with all the big names, but slowly people have been telling their friends. University professors and students seem to like us.”

Lawsuit over diesel trains launched

By Richard Frankel

The Clean Train Coalition (CTC) has filed a lawsuit against Metrolinx, a GTA transit authority, over their decision to use diesel instead of electric trains for the Air Rail Link (ARL) between Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

“Clean Train Coalition has been forced to ask the courts to review how Metrolinx was fettered in its decision making by a short-term sporting event deadline [the Pan American Games in 2015] that does not relate to its mandate for planning and implementation of sustainable healthy transportation in the long-term interests of Ontarians,” said Rick Ciccarelli, the co-chair of the CTC.

Dozens of concerned citizens, along with local politicians, joined members of the CTC at Davenport Perth Neighborhood Centre (1900 Davenport Rd.) to discuss the potential electrification of the ARL at a meeting on July 18.

“My interest is that the trains [will be] running right through the middle of the neighbourhood,” said Rick Ciccarelli. “There are daycares and schools right there. We’re concerned and we want to see trains in the neighbourhood, but it needs to be electric transit.”

According to information from the CTC website, the McGuinty government plans to run 140 diesel trains daily along the Georgetown South rail corridor—encompassing 12 Toronto neighbourhoods.

According to a CTC news release, a recent World Health Organization announcement reclassified diesel exhaust as a carcinogen. The release said it is even more urgent that Metrolinx’s plans get changed and the ARL be built as electric from the start of service.

Mark Ostler, spokesperson for Metrolinx, said the transit authority is committed to building the link in an environmentally responsible way.

Electrification of the ARL requires an environmental assessment, which is already underway and will be completed in 2014.

“The vehicles we’re purchasing for the ARL are fully convertible to electric, and the track upgrades currently underway are built to allow for electrification,” he said.

Ostler said the service will launch with state-of-the-art Tier-4 diesel multiple units, the strictest non-road engine emissions standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Tier-4 technology reduces airborne particulate emissions by 90 per cent and nitrogen oxides by 75 per cent. By using Tier 4 vehicles, there will be less total emissions on the area surrounding the Georgetown South corridor than today by removing the exhaust from 1.2 million auto trips from the road system that are destined to and from the airport.”

More than 300,000 people live along the rail path. There are 76 schools, 96 daycare centres, and four long-term care facilities within a kilometre of the tracks.

At the meeting, CTC members agreed to incorporate the coalition as a non-profit organization. This would allow them to be recognized as an official body with a board of directors. A vote to elect up to 15 board members is scheduled to happen in the next few months. Ciccarelli said incorporation was necessary for fundraising so the CTC could compete with the ad campaigns by Metrolinx.

The CTC also encouraged its members and interested neighbourhood citizens to regularly contact the Premier’s office to have their voices heard, and tell their neighbors what is going on.

“The person who can change it to electric is the Premier,” said Ciccarelli. “I think the coalition should focus its energy on that.”

Greg Gormick, research director for the CTC, said the coalition has been told the only way to meet the deadline for the Pan Am Games is to use diesel. He said this is the Premier’s “legacy project.”

According to Ciccarelli, Metrolinx is very wary about changing technology and so they used the deadline for the games as justification for sticking with diesel.

Gormick criticized the Premier’s office, saying it has tuned out the CTC for political reasons and has been very vague about a plan of action.

MPP Jonah Schein (Davenport), who is also the current NDP transportation critic, told those at the meeting about the private members’ bill he introduced this past April, which supports electrification. Schein said the bill will be debated at Queen’s Park in September.

“This is an equity issue,” he said. “This would not happen in Rosedale … we have an opportunity here to build good transit. We have to get this changed at Queen’s Park.”

Hit SummerWorks play explores hard choices in marriage

By Melania Daniel

Its stage name is A Song for Tomorrow, but this Annex-based play, which enjoyed a successful debut at SummerWorks this year, could have easily been called The Story of the Wongs.

For one, a trio of unrelated Wongs dominated the program credits on opening night. But while playwright Christina Wong, stage manager Beth Wong, and director, co-producer, and sound and projection technician Gein Wong deserved every accolade, it was the unmentioned Wongs who carried the story.

Theatre-goers were given a hint in the playwright’s notes that there was some personal element to the play—that it was influenced by her parents’ marriage—but few would have guessed how closely May and Ping, the male and female characters in the two-person play, were patterned on actual events in the life of the Wongs of the Annex.

“I found out, through my parents arguments, that my mum wanted to leave my dad in the early stages of their marriage,” said Christina Wong. “Some of the dialogue is real.”

That may not have been apparent to the near-capacity audience that filled the 65-seat Backspace performance venue of Theatre Passe Muraille (16 Ryerson Ave.). It’s a nod to the playwright’s mastery of her craft that the play is not in the nakedly autobiographical or embarrassingly confessional genre.

Even less obvious was that an unassuming, frail Chinese woman who was seated front row on opening night, sometimes quietly sobbing as the drama unfolded on stage, was the muse for May, the character of the wife on stage. Anna Wong, 65, the playwright’s mother, had no idea that she was the star of her daughter’s show until four days before the play opened.

“I just told my mum it was loosely based on her,” said Christina Wong. “It’s close to home. That’s why I was reluctant to tell my mom the play was about her. It’s a very delicate project.”

Delicate is an understatement for the subdued tone of this powerful portrayal of a marriage as it unravels against the backdrop of the stresses and tensions of new immigrant life in a “semi-detached house on 539 Markham Street—the same street as Honest Ed (sic) is on,” Ping tells May in a scene when he is teaching her English.

The love story of May and Ping has many memorably sweet moments towards the end, but it is also a thesis in how hard-heartedness happens in long-term marriages.

The story begins at the end, with a frail Ping sitting in a rocking chair with his cane and in pajamas, saying goodbye to the departing figure of May, as she leaves with her packed suitcase. That ending, Christina Wong says, is a powerful message to her mother, who in real life, did not part ways with her husband of almost 40 years, until his death two years ago.

“I’m telling her it would have been okay to leave my dad,” said Christina. “I would have understood her decision. But she’s that selfless person. She stayed because she was thinking of me and my sister.”

Many experiences caused Christina to express such sympathy for the choice her mother might have made.

“One night, at the dinner table, dad just said, ‘You know you have a half-brother?’ And he just dropped it,” said Christina, who has never met her other sibling. “That was all. We were not allowed to ask questions. You find out little bits of your family history along the way.”

The little bits she overheard or was told helped her script her mom’s onstage double, and puts May’s seeming callousness toward her husband at the start of the play in greater perspective. It was a big gamble that ran the risk of alienating audiences from May, who is adamant in her refusal to help her husband off the floor when his arthritic knees give way and his cane is knocked out of his reach.

Waiting to see if she will give in to his pleading and help him up for this umpteenth time is one of the more dramatic moments, and the strong choice she makes in the end is perhaps one of the most redeeming statements about the nature of love and human relationships. As the play progresses backwards, the universal appeal of A Song For Tomorrow plays out in growing sympathy for both May and Ping.

“Moving backwards helps you understand, not just that a person is like that, but a person is like that because of the many little incidents along the way that have shaped them,” said Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, whose company New Harlem productions produced the play.

Like Christina Wong, whose mum is from Hong Kong and father from China, St. Bernard is also of immigrant stock. She came to Canada when she was four with her parents, who were escaping the upheaval of the 1979 Grenada Revolution and its aftermath.

“There are many things my dad would say, ‘I’ll do later’ and my mum would have a disproportionate reaction,” said St. Bernard. “This play helps me understand it’s the reaction of 100 times, not the first time.”

Both St. Bernard and co-producer Gein Wong would like to see the stage run of the play continue past SummerWorks. Gein Wong feels just as strongly as St. Bernard that the play’s themes of love, marriage, parenting, and the hopes and toil of new Canadians will have widespread and lasting appeal. Gein, who is Canadian-born to parents from Hong Kong also, sees his family story in the script.

“My dad never said a lot to me growing up, and the play reminds me of that,” he said. “It may be personal for Christina, but it has a lot of elements immigrants can identify with.”

The executive director of Creative Trust is keeping the arts alive in Toronto, one dance troupe at a time

By Haley Steinberg

Jini Stolk, a longtime Annex resident, was recently awarded the Toronto Arts Foundation’s William Kilbourn Award for the Celebration of Toronto’s Cultural Life. The work she has done to promote and sustain the arts city-wide is extensive and diverse.

When asked about her recent award, Stolk modestly replied, “Of course, it’s always wonderful to know that your work has been noticed and is being acknowledged by your peers.” In an industry where so many personal relationships are built, she said the experience of being recognized for her projects was “truly delightful.”

Stolk has managed numerous studios and arts groups, from the Toronto Dance Theatre to Open Studios. Currently, she serves as the co-founder and executive director of Creative Trust.

Creative Trust is an organization dedicated to building financial and foundational stability for mid-sized and small performing arts companies. The goal is to arm these companies with the skills necessary to succeed and thrive as collaborative arts initiatives.

The concept for Creative Trust, which is housed in the Annex’s Centre for Social Innovation (720 Bathurst St.), came about through Stolk’s own experiences with struggling performing arts companies.

“It really became clear to me, and to a number of my colleagues, that the mid-sized companies needed a bit of outside help to really flourish,” she said. “Some of us had deficits, and the thought of having help with retiring the deficits was absolutely joyful.”

Stolk also noticed that these companies did not have the capacities to develop and manage other aspects of the business single-handedly.

The organization now plays a major role in actively sustaining these companies by providing “financial health and organizational strength.”

“The work we did certainly involved raising money so that we could give grants to companies for deficit reduction,” Stolk said of Creative Trust’s broader efforts.

“Also, we focused a lot on group learning … bringing people together in sessions on fundraising, marketing and audience development.”

By hosting workshops, Stolk and her counterparts are able to pass on strategies and skills which allow these smaller companies to thrive independently.

According to Stolk, venue and audience development are extremely important when it comes to promoting the local arts. “Audience development encompasses better marketing, it encompasses the whole topic of engaging audiences … it encompasses diversifying audiences.” If the performing arts are to thrive in the city, “the real Toronto” must be accurately represented in the audiences.

Although this is a large task, Stolk believes that with the proper technology and arts awareness education, it can be accomplished.

A current project of Creative Trust is the rehabilitation of performing arts venues. “We are working very intensively with most of the companies that are located in the Annex,” said Stolk. This project has required meeting with these companies to find funding and to raise awareness of the need for renovation. Without an adequate venue, it is very difficult for performing arts companies to function efficiently.

Toronto’s Green Theatres project helped spur the rehabilitation program. It focuses on “making the performing arts spaces more energy efficient and environmentally friendly,” and will have a large impact on the Annex neighborhood, as it is home to several large venues. At the forefront of the initiative is the Ed Mirvish Theatre (244 Victoria St.). The marquee, which previously featured incandescent bulbs, is now lit using LED bulbs. There is a projected 90 per cent reduction in energy use.

Stolk has learned some valuable lessons through her work with Creative Trust. “Collaboration works. People should not think of themselves as being in competition, but rather think of all the arts working together to create stronger interest in the arts.”

This innovative approach may be just what is needed to further stimulate Toronto’s performing arts scene, and to ensure the survival of the companies behind it.

Stolk is committed to promoting the importance of arts in the community. “It has the power to change your life, it has the power to change the way you think about yourself.” She sees the performing arts as “an outlet for creativity,” not only beneficial for the artists themselves, but for audience members as well.

By Rosario Marchese, Member of Provincial Parliament for Trinity-Spadina

Part of my job as a Member of Provincial Parliament involves participating on the committees that evaluate the effectiveness of existing laws. Earlier this year, my colleagues and I held committee hearings on the Aggregate Resources Act, the legislation that governs the operation of pits and quarries in Ontario.

Although it may not seem like it at first, the extraction of aggregates is of great importance to places like downtown Toronto. These materials—such as gravel, sand, and crushed rock—are essential components in the construction and maintenance of our infrastructure.

However, these quarries are also a serious threat to our environment and water supply. They are eating up Ontario’s prime agricultural land. And they are being built close to residential and environmentally sensitive areas with little public consultation or municipal approval.

The Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) was created 22 years ago. Despite being amended in 2009, it still does not provide the protection Ontarians need. In fact, the Environmental Commissioner has asked for a review of the ARA 17 times over the past 12 years.

The committee that is reviewing the ARA has travelled to several towns and cities in Ontario, where we heard the concerns of many residents and communities. Several items stuck with me throughout these consultations.

First, Ontario consumes 164 million tonnes of aggregates each year, and this number is expected to increase by 13 per cent over the next 20 years.

Second, we can do much better when it comes to the recycling of aggregate material. Only seven per cent of aggregate material is currently recycled. (In comparison, the United Kingdom manages to recycle 21 per cent.) The remainder—pieces of broken concrete and asphalt—is wasted.

Third, it would be an extremely short-sighted decision to choose quarries over prime agricultural land. Aggregates are a finite resource, and can only be collected once. Farm crops, however, can be grown and harvested annually. One farmer who spoke to the committee pointed out that he can grow lettuce on his land for $18,000 per tonne year after year, while aggregates sell for a mere eight dollars per tonne, and can only be dug up once.

I support measures that would develop a more sustainable aggregates industry in Ontario.  We need incentives to recycle a greater percentage of asphalt and aggregates from Toronto and other municipalities. The provincial government could help cities increase the amount of recycled aggregates that can be used in construction projects. Information could be provided to let consumers actively choose recycled aggregate material.

We should also discuss our local priorities. At the moment, Ontario insists that aggregates be obtained close to market, but also supports produce grown close to home. Although both are desirable goals, the limited amount of space around most of our cities means a choice needs to be made. This is a conflict that is currently playing out at the Melancthon Quarry, and in the communities nearby.

Which would you rather have? Locally grown produce or locally dug gravel? For me, the choice is obvious.

Station P, near Bloor and Spadina, will move to the Bloor and Ossington area this fall

Photo: Victoria Prouse/Gleaner News

By Victoria Prouse

Annex residents will soon have to travel much farther to reach a full-service post office. Canada Post recently announced that in October, Station P will be relocated from its current site at 704 Spadina Ave., just south of Bloor Street, all the way to 875 Bloor St. W., just east of Ossington Avenue. The new post office will be nearly two kilometres west of the Spadina location.

This move has surprised Station P customers, and those interviewed expressed frustration at the relocation.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m always around this area,” said one customer.

A recent graduate of the University of Toronto, Sima Atri, echoed the sentiment. “I’m really upset about the move. It will be so inconvenient for all the students who live in the area.”

Reasons for the move have been poorly publicized. A Station P employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the University of Toronto had refused to renew Canada Post’s long-term lease agreement at the property.

“The post office lease expires August 2013 and we are not aware of any other lease discussions,” said Michael Kennedy, issues and media relations officer at the University of Toronto. The property was purchased by the University’s Asset Management Fund in December 2010.

Eugene Knapik, manager in the Canada Post Media Relations division, also said that it was Canada Post’s decision not to renew their long-term lease at this site, stating the present location no longer suited the needs of Canada Post.

704 Spadina Ave. also houses TopCuts and A&C Games. Vicki Nguyen, staff member at TopCuts, said the business is facing uncertainty regarding their future at this site. “We don’t know because we are a big company. I don’t know when the lease finishes.”

Gar Wan Toy, owner of A&C Games, is facing similar uncertainty. “We might be staying, we might be going. We’ll probably find out by next year. We’ll be here for at least another year.”

Vera DeWaard, managing editor of [Descant ITAL], a literary journal with nearby offices, is a frequent user of Station P, and summarizes the move as “inconvenient.”
“From what I understand,” said DeWaard, “[Canada Post] wasn’t able to renew the lease. It’s unavoidable, it’s not going to change, despite how much inconvenience it causes.

“We are always dealing with mail, always shipping out copies of our magazine … There are other locations in the downtown area that are of similar distance, but none of them are closer, or more convenient, than this one is.”

DeWaard currently picks up the magazine’s mail on her way to work. Moving the full-service post office will mean an inconvenient stopover on her way to the office. “We’re trying to decide whether we’re going to continue using Station P or move to another location,” she said.

While the move presents obvious usability issues to residents and businesses in close proximity to Spadina Avenue, DeWaard emphasizes an additional financial problem is incurred with the relocation. “The move may require us to change our P.O. Box address, which is going to be difficult because we have a lot of stationery with our address on it.

“A lot of things are still up in the air… We’re sort of just hanging on, looking at our options. It’s going to be troublesome, in any case,” said DeWaard.

The future of the site remains unknown at this point. According to Kennedy, “U of T does not currently have any plans for the site or for additional [nearby] purchases.”

NHL stars come out to support the Team Up Foundation
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By Andrew Schopp

As an NHL all-star, Doug Gilmour could score goals. But there were no home-runs from the Hall of Famer at the inaugural “Dougieball” softball match at Christie Pits Park on July 19.

“Some of these guys with the power, they’ll be going for it today. Not me: I’ll hurt myself,” said Gilmour prior to digging in at the plate.

Two teams fielded by former and current NHL all-stars, “Team Gilmour” and “Team Lindros,” went head-to-head in a slow-pitch softball match to raise funds for the Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment Team Up Foundation (TUF). The charitable organization is dedicated to refurbishing athletic facilities and contributing to youth sports programs.

TUF recently made a sizable donation to Toronto Community Housing to improve the outdoor hockey rink in Regent Park and set the course for the construction of more extensive athletic facilities in the community.

“Whether it’s a soccer field, baseball diamond, or hockey arena, keeping the kids in the community playing sports, that’s what it’s all about,” said Gilmour.

“It’s about keeping the kids motivated and off the streets.”

NHL superstars past and present were on hand to treat the crowd to softball action, including Phoenix Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette and former Maple Leafs tough guy Shayne Corson.

“I’m always big to jump on board charities. I got a chance to meet with Doug and when he asked me to come down it was a no-brainer. I cleared my schedule to come down and help him out,” said Bissonnette.

The NHL athletes participating in the game were happy to use their star power to draw a large crowd and help give the gift of sports to less fortunate communities.

“As a hockey player, and being an athlete, it was hard even for me growing up wondering why people look up to players the way we did,” said Corson.

“We’re just playing the game we love to play, but if we can use that to get people out here and help raise money for a great cause, then that’s what we should do. Kids are our future and are the most important part of the world. We want to give them every opportunity to be successful, be happy and enjoy life like we did.”

Dougieball t-shirts, hats, and other merchandise were sold to fans, with all proceeds going to Team Up Foundation.

The free event allowed fans a chance to meet and greet their hockey heroes and score some autographs.

One local resident, Francesca Garcea, 22, was enthralled to spend her birthday at the event and to meet her all-time favourite Maple Leaf, “Killer Doug.”

“I thought, what better way to spend my birthday than to watch some of my hockey heroes play some baseball,” said Garcea.

“I definitely think it’s a great cause, especially getting the community involved. It’s definitely a great event to throw and there are a lot of kids here with camps and stuff, so it’s definitely an opportunity for them to meet their hockey heroes.”

Bissonnette kicked off the game with a lead-off inside the park homerun for Team Gilmour. Gilmour’s squad carried the momentum throughout the game.

New York Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto, using a hockey glove rather than a baseball mitt, ended the game with a spectacular final out catch, clinching Team Gilmour the 15-13 victory.

All photos by Andrew Schopp/Gleaner News

The attack is the fourth sexual assault in the area this summer.

By Andrew Schopp

A 27-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the Kensington Market area early in the morning on Sunday, August 19.

A white male in his 30s was seen fleeing the scene in a taxi.

This incident is the fourth separate sexual assault in the Kensington Market area this summer.

Police do not believe that Sunday morning’s incident is linked to the previous attacks.

“This latest incident is a white guy and the previous press release was talking about a black guy. They are not the same guy,”  said Const. Victor Kwong.

The suspect is described as 5’7″ to 5’8″ with a slim-to-athletic build and as having fine, light-brown short hair and bad teeth.

He was last seen wearing a pink or salmon-coloured T-shirt with writing on it.

When asked what initiatives police have undertaken in light of this spate of attacks, Const. Kwong cited “increased police presence in the [Kensington] area,” as well as Project Summer Safety (PSS).

The aim of PSS is to enhance police presence in areas identified as “high risk,” which includes Kensington Market, as well as Parkdale, the Entertainment District, and Alexandra Park.

On Thursday, August 30 at 6:30 p.m., Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), in cooperation with the Kensington Market BIA, St. Stephen’s Community House, and the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC), will host a community safety workshop on preventing sexual violence and assault. The workshop will take place at St. Stephen’s Community House (91 Bellevue Ave.).

According to Rebecca Hewitt, constituency assistant for Councillor Vaughan, they are working on securing a plainclothes female police officer to attend the workshop, although this has not yet been confirmed. Language services for the Chinese community will be available.

In order to ensure seating at the workshop, please RSVP to councillor_vaughan@toronto.ca.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474.

Despite the rain, roughly twenty artists came out to beautify the alley behind Ossington Avenue between Queen and Humbert streets. From Thursday Aug. 9 to Sunday Aug. 12, volunteers painted murals in the laneway, giving it a much-needed makeover.

The art-in-the-alley project is one of many  initiatives organized by the Well and Good creative collective. Their ongoing Brighten the Corners mural projects transform public spaces across Toronto. For this laneway, they partnered with the Academy of Lions, the City of Toronto and Toronto Police Services.

The full story will be out in the September issue of the Annex Gleaner.

All photos by Andrew Schopp/Gleaner News.

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School kids helps raise money for youth mentoring project.

Art drawn by local kids for a good cause. Credit: Richard Frankel/Gleaner News

By Richard Frankel

Local school students and youth from a local mentoring project recently participated in an art show for charity at the Seasons Family Centre (655 Davenport Rd.).

The art pieces, contributed by students of the Howlett Academy (15 Madison Ave.) and a number of other schools, including Donview Middle School, raised $250 for the Academy of Lions Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to teaching youth about healthy living.

“We work with youth in the community. Roots Canada approached us with a mentorship-based, entrepreneurial project focusing on athletics, health and fitness. Back in 2011, we partnered, and now we’re in our final week of the pilot project,” said Ashley Holland, a representative from Roots Canada.

The Seasons Family Centre has been part of the project since February, and Nikki Goldman-Stroh, the Centre’s director, along with the centre’s other staff, work with youth on a regular basis.

“I’ve done this four years in a row,” said Goldman-Stroh. “I used to do it at the Great Hall and every year we do a different charity. So Seasons is a brand new business, [and] we chose to do it here instead of at the Great Hall.”

Goldman-Stroh, who opened the centre in September 2011, was one of 50 people chosen from the wellness industry in Toronto to be a part of the project by Roots Village.

Seasons offers classes for all ages, from infant to adult, and puts on workshops, hosts birthday parties, runs March Break and summer camps in expressive art, baking and cooking, and delivers programs that include yoga and dance classes. “A part of what we pride ourselves with is that we have smaller class sizes so that’s really appealing to a lot of parents,” she said.

Goldman-Stroh had dreamed of opening a centre like this one. “I finished art therapy six years ago and felt I was at a stage in my career where I was ready to take the plunge.”

RioCan likely to appeal at Ontario Municipal Board

By Richard Frankel

Business Improvement Area (BIA) and residents’ association representatives, along with some vocal residents, exclaimed their relief with vigorous applause at City Hall on May 30.

A motion to refuse was read aloud by committee of adjustment staff to turn down a large retail development calling the application “excessive.”

As part of their application, RioCan, a retail real estate developer, intended to demolish three buildings to construct a new 139,000 square foot, three-storey commercial building with a three-level, below ground parking garage. Potential tenants for the site remain unknown.

“There are mixed-use areas, main streets throughout the city that have lots of three-storey buildings on them,” said Mark Noskiewicz, a representative for the developer to the committee. “The official plan says that mixed use areas are to absorb much of the anticipated increase in employment, retail, and residential. This isn’t the first three- or four- or five-storey building on Bathurst Street. There’s an existing four and five-storey building at the corner of Bathurst and College.”

RioCan purchased the properties between 410 and 444 Bathurst Street in spring 2011 for $8 million Canadian, but their plans have been met with vocal opposition from neighbourhood BIAs, residents associations, and outspoken local residents – some who are for and against the company’s project plans.

Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 19, Trinity-Spadina) said residents are worried about the potential impact of traffic on Bathurst around the Toronto Western Hospital, particularly on the 511 Bathurst streetcar and increased traffic on nearby streets if the RioCan development is built.

“Residents and businesses are also worried about the impact on our main streets,” he said. “We know that larger format retail can impact smaller scale stores that bring diversity to our streets.”

Andrew Overholt, a local resident living on Markham Street said he supports development in the area, but not development that “harms the character of the neighbourhood.”

Overholt said height variances that block sunlight and the difficulty of navigating large delivery trucks is also a concern. “My garage is directly where these trucks will unload,” he said. “How am I supposed to access my garage when a large truck is basically touching it as it negotiates its way to the incredibly tight loading dock space?”

Ian McArthur, a Markham Street resident told the committee he is for the proposed redevelopment citing an increase in property values and greater employment.

“There will be more HST collected and I believe a development like this can enhance the property values,” he said. “You have buildings now there and they’re not derelict but they’re very tired and I think a [re-development] would be a great addition to the neighbourhood.”

Shamez Amlani, local resident a representative from the Kensington Market BIA, said his BIA feels the development will have a “huge negative effect on business in Kensington Market as well as Little Italy, Dundas, all the way down to Queen Street.”

Amlani told the committee that RioCan are asking for a variance to build two, 50,000 square foot spaces that may be occupied by a single large two-level general merchandiser or other large tenant.

He also said, in regards to zoning requirements, the applicant must ensure that the function and amenity of the area for business and residents, and the economic health of nearby shopping districts are not adversely affected.

“When we look at the scale of what’s going on here, the so called minor variance takes it into something that could be much bigger,” he said. “Something that could fit a Walmart and we know what that brings. Walmart currently has 41.7 per cent of its sales as food sales. This allows them to have more floor space than all the greengrocers, fishmongers, and butchers in Kensington market put together. It’s massive.”

Noskiewicz said he understands the neighbourhood’s concerns and that these concerns have been extensively reviewed by the planning department.

“Kensington Market is an important and unique neighbourhood in this city,” he said. “It is not an island. It is surrounded by mixed use areas. The BIA doesn’t have a marketing plan today, and with the greatest respect it should have one and hopefully will continue to prosper as it has for many, many years.”

RioCan is expected to file an appeal of the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board later this year.

Inventive project showcases excerpts from fictitious works in the real locations where they occur.

Project Bookmark Canada’s fourth bookmark, displaying the poem ‘Essentialist’ by Ken Babstock on St. George Street. Credit: Kristin Eliason/Gleaner News

By Kristin Eliason

There are two bookmarks in the Annex, but they are not of the paper variety.

One, on St. George Street, can be found just north of Bloor Street on the west side. The other can be found at the northwest corner of College and Manning Streets.

These bookmarks are green and white, ceramic, poster-sized plaques; and rather than mark a page, they mark the exact geographical location where an imaginary literary scene takes place.

The charity that installs these plaques, Project Bookmark Canada, began as a non-profit organization in 2007 before becoming a nationally-registered charity in 2008. It displays excerpts from fictitious works in the real locations where they occur.

The idea behind the project is that while “you can’t quite put yourself in the character’s shoes,” says Miranda Hill, founder and executive director of the project, “you put yourself in their footprints.”

Hill, a writer herself, won the Journey Prize in 2011. She will be publishing her first book of fiction, Sleeping Funny, this fall. Still, she also identifies herself equally as an avid reader, and it was this affinity for the written word that led her to the idea for Project Bookmark Canada.

While living in Toronto, she says she would stumble across scenes from books she just happened to be reading at the time.

Rather than having to bring the book in order to enjoy the experience of being in the presence of literary imagination, she thought to herself, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could encounter the scene right there in the place?”

In 2009, Project Bookmark Canada provided the public with its first opportunity to do just that. The first bookmark, a scene from In The Skin Of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje, was installed at the Bloor Viaduct on April 23. In 2010, five more were installed in Owen Sound, Kingston, Toronto and Ottawa. In 2011, four were added in Mississauga, Midland, Hamilton and Port Colborne. Now, it is the charity’s goal to build a nationwide network.

Its next bookmark will be its first out-of-province. It will honor Al Pitman, a local poet, when his poem The Sea Breeze Lounge is installed in Woody Point, Newfoundland on Aug. 23.

But, in order for Project Bookmark Canada to continue to flourish and grow, it relies on donations, grants and participation from the public.

There are many different ways to get involved. Annual memberships are available at varying costs, donations are welcome, and groups can get together to adopt a bookmark for their community, essentially funding it themselves.

And for those book lovers not able to invest money, they can still invest their time. Hill encourages readers to contact her via the website to suggest specific passages from books, in order to build their database.

“I get suggestions,” she says, “I’d love to get more.

“I think of Project Bookmark Canada as a project owned by Canadians for Canadians, the more people feel that they’re participating … the more potential it has for it to endure not just for the next 5 years, but for the next 50.”

Hill believes that Project Bookmark Canada is building a Canadian cultural icon. And if its growth over the past three years is any indication of how it will do in the future, it is well on its way to achieving its goal.

For more information on Project Bookmark Canada, please visit their website at www.projectbookmarkcanada.ca