NEW ANNEX-BASED CENTRE TO USE INNOVATIVE TREATMENTS

By Alexa Huffman

Kyla Fox opened the centre in February-courtesy Kyla Fox.

Kyla Fox is bursting with excitement at the thought of opening her very own building for the treatment of eating disorders.

Fox knows first hand how hard getting healthy can be. She struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger. She feels there are gaps in the medical community and challenges including long wait lists and limited services

“I feel like I’ve had this building in my heart, mind and soul for a long time because it’s the idea of what I would have wanted for myself,” said Fox.

The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre (174 Bedford Rd.) will be an innovative new facility that treats eating disorders by using clinical therapy and a holistic approach that includes treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga.

The spacious location on the third floor of an old house, opened on Feb. 6. It is 2,200 square feet and U-shaped. It is a bright open space with arched ceilings and skylights where people who are affected by eating disorders, either directly or indirectly, can go to utilize resources.

[pullquote]I feel like I’ve had this building in my heart, mind and soul for a long time because it’s the idea of what I would have wanted for myself—Kyla Fox, founder of The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre[/pullquote]

The location is ideal because it is the centre of the city.  Fox, also a family and couples therapist, says that having it located it in Toronto allows people to heal close to home.

“It really makes it easy for people to go to get everything in one place,” said Fox. “The hard part is struggling with the disorder.  We don’t want to make getting help complicated.”

There are many different types of therapy available including private therapy for individuals, families, and couples. In addition, there are drop-in groups.

“They are through the days and evenings. The clients will get to choose which groups they want and they can plan out their weeks,” said office manager Jamie Johnson. “We trust the clients know their bodies and will help us to guide them.”

Group therapy sessions include a binge eating group, a teen group and even a group for kid’s aged 10-13, not found anywhere else except at SickKids.

“The symptoms of an eating disorder may be similar but everyone heals differently. There should be more options and we are offering them,” said Fox.

The centre also boasts a kitchen where holistic nutritionists can help clients during drop in meal times. Fox, who often eats meals with her patients, feels renewing the relationship with food is an important part of healing.

Yoga Studio in The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre

“We are helping them see how food is safe, wonderful thing,” said Fox.

Fox has hired other experts in the field including therapists like Margaret Powell, who has worked with Fox at Sheena’s Centre, another place in Toronto that focuses on eating disorders, and Joanna Anderson who has worked at SickKids.

There is also a volunteer program that is an opportunity for people who are recovered to be part of the centre.

“Each person working here has extensive experience with eating disorders,” said Fox. “It’s a community to come and be safe. There are amazing, strong women all around.”

The process to get in is simple. An appointment is made through either a phone call or an email. Then there is a consultation with a therapist and volunteers to see what type of therapy they need.

There will also be free information nights for anyone in the community dealing with eating disorders, like teachers. The centre does operate for profit, although for the month of February all the drop-in groups are free.

“The people who live with eating disorders and the families and loved ones who are affected, need more support and attention.” said Debbie Berlin-Romalis, one of the centre’s therapists.

The goal is to have busy place that people want to come back to. In the future, Fox would like to see intensive program and perhaps a residential location.

“I feel I was put on this planet to change the way we view eating disorders and how we heal them,” said Fox. “My vision doesn’t stop here.”

For more information on centre’s programs, visit kylafoxtherapy.com.

By Nathaniel G Moore

The Combat Opera event is a vibrant tribute to video games, with familiar characters wrestling at the Toronto Underground Cinema. Courtesy Midnight Matinee.

I didn’t exactly know what WrestleCrisis was until someone tweeted to me about it because it had to do with wrestling. You see, people think I want to read about all things related to the squared circle. Perhaps it doesn’t help that I curate art shows and write about wrestling from time to time for national newspapers.

Regardless, I felt a kinship with local Ross Aitken, indie wrestler and local promoter who has been developing his unique brand of mayhem over the last two years. His most recent event, scheduled for this coming Sunday at 4 p.m., is his latest installment of WrestleCrisis at the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.).

At first, I thought the concept of the event was a tribute to wrestling video games—a festival of game playing throughout the ages, the evolution of wrestling video games, tournaments, that sort of thing.

Oh how I was wrong. This is real wrestling and real video game characters battling out in a real wrestling ring. It’s like a lazy Saturday morning cartoon and video game session on an acid trip.

Imagine your favourite video game characters entering the squared circle and wrestling each other in front of a live audience? The themed Combat Opera event is a vibrant tribute to video games, specifically of the 8-bit but not exclusively) generation.

Simply put, the event boasts pro wrestlers wrestling in character as classic game characters live. “For many it might be a shock to see the full sized wrestling ring in the theatre,” Aitkens explains. “We rented the from the wrestling school Squared Circle Training.” A facility in North York where Aitkens has been training for the last six years.

“I wrestle as Buck Gunderson,” Aitken says, “I’ve been doing that for two-and-a-half years, most weekends.” The indie wrestling circuit takes him all over Ontario, and he has even captured some regional championships.

Luigi is set to wrestle this Sunday. Courtesy Midnight Matinee.

The concept for WrestleCrisis grew from Anime North, a festival of Anime curiosity in which Aitkens first booked video game characters in a live wrestling match as a side show.

Last April in Toronto, fans were privy to a much anticipated showdown with Pac-Man and Mario. However, things didn’t turn out quite as one might think.

“The biggest surprises on the first show was when pac man turned on super Mario and revealed himself to be Luigi, which lead up to main event later that night,” Aitken explains.  The brother versus brother match (Mario vs. Luigi) ended in a disqualification when Wario ran in and interfered. Next Sunday’s show hopes to settle the score when Mario teams with a mystery opponent and faces Luigi and Wario.

The doors are at 4 p.m. and the action gets underway at 4:30 p.m. with music video game remixes—or “chip tunes”—will be presented. As for what patrons can expect for this, the first WrestleCrisis of 2012, Aitkens is cagey at first, but then reveals some old issues may get resolved.

I, for one, will be holding on the edge of my seat and cheering the baddies on all the way. Screw Mario and his mystery partner!

Tickets to WrestleCrisis are on sale for $10 in advance at Silver Snail (367 Queen St. W.) or $15 at the door. For more information, visit wrestlecrisis.com.

By Nathaniel G. Moore

’Tis the season of chocolate, stuffing, and gravy stains, of holiday work-party planning meetings, secret Santas, and loved one’s subtle gift hints. ’Tis the season of bus and train stations, mistletoe, gift receipts, egg nog, and humbug.

And now that the sludge of quotidian questions has hit the office break room like static, you know, “What are you doing for Christmas? Staying in town, going to visit family? You done all of your shopping? Why are you crying?” it’s time to face the retail music.

So just buy these books, will you?

Evan Munday, who spends his days marketing for Annex-area publisher Coach House Books just released his debut young adult novel The Kid Detective Agency, (ECW Press, $19.95) that explores the world of the undead, detective work, and high school anxiety.

When asked who he thinks who would like to receive this book as a gift, the author replied: “Any tween/early teen children who like Nancy Drew books but wish she were more goth and had more friends that were dead.”

As for Munday’s own desires for gifts this holiday season (listen up Coach House authors), “A T-Pain Microphone and a DVD of the Kolchak: The Night Stalker television series.”

Munday plans on spending his holidays “drinking himself sick on eggnog in the company of friends and family.”

Robin Richardson just returned from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She also just released her debut poetry book Grunt of the Minotaur ($15.95, Insomniac Press).

Richardson describes her debut poetry collection with an wide range of panache and nuance, “Grunt of the Minotaur has 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.”

Richardson plans on a relaxed atmosphere this holiday season with family and loved ones, “and playing kid’s arcade games and going through haunted houses in Niagara Falls. “Please don’t tell my family,” Richardson muses. (She also hopes someone will get her a copy of Songs of Unreason by Jim Harrison.

Sherwin Tjia had a busy fall as well, just releasing his new choose-your-own-adventure style graphic novel You Are A Cat ($19.95, Conundrum), which tells the story of urban realities through the perspective of a feline. So for whom in the world is this book the perfect gift?

“This book is for cat people! I do not think dog people will like it,” said Tjia. “Also, it is not for children. There are some mature themes. As a cat, the humans in the story expose you to some things that they do not share with the other humans in the story. Mature things. But you don’t care, because you’re a cat.”

Liz Worth, on the tail end of her promo work on her non-fiction oral history of punk and the release of her debut poetry collection, had a busy year herself. She explains the difference for the discerning shopper, “Treat Me Like Dirt: An Oral History of Punk in Toronto is an obvious for punk fans, but it’s also for people who like their stories to be wild and raw and real,” says Worth, hoping readers who love and appreciate the city will learn something new about its recent past.

“Amphetamine Heart is punk rock and heavy metal that you read instead of listen to. Technically it’s a poetry collection but I think it’s better described as a book that appeals to people who like to hear about heavy nights of drinking, strange dreams, and stranger secrets. This is a good book for people who want to like poetry but feel it’s inaccessible.”

Worth is hoping for bright red lipstick and Duff McKagan’s new memoir It’s So Easy under her tree this December.

So head to Book City (501 Bloor St. W.), but if they don’t happen to have any of these titles, why not head online to the publisher’s websites themselves (they might be able to offer competitive shipping rates and local discounts, and hey, you can start a book-buying revolution!) and pick up these must-have reads for that special someone on your ever-growing list as you mutter to yourself down the subway stairs: “What am I gonna get Jim, I mean Jack, I barely know him!” Now you know—and knowing is half the battle.

Area man Nathaniel G. Moore is the author of Wrong Bar and Let’s Pretend We Never Met, both perfect for any aspiring weirdo writer in your life. In early 2012 he will (along with Burner Magazine) be releasing The Chelsea Papers, an unofficial prequel to Wrong Bar.

By Karen Bliss

Illyria Design creations are elegant with a bit of an edge. Copyright Rhett Morita.

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 dress, very chic and streamlined for a sophisticated fashion-forward bold woman.”

“I never follow what’s trendy at the time,” she says. “I try to create design lines that accent and highlight the best parts on a female form on every single dress so it’s very flattering.”

While next spring and summer looks have already been put to bed and she is working on fall 2012, Pestich is currently selling her fall/winter designs, which are perfect for the holidays. Her colour choices were mainly black, navy, plum and grey.

Courtesy Rhett Morita.

“This season, I mixed a lot of different fabrics all in one dress,” Pestich says. “I’ve got a few pieces that have a skirt done in suiting, waistband does in jacquard and then the blouse of the dress is chiffon. There are several dresses done in suiting accented in some chiffon or a modern trellis lace. There are also some jersey dresses with three-quarter-length sleeves and over-sized pockets and a funky edgy cut that you can definitely take from day to night.”

Pestich, who was born in London, Ontario, where she attended a high school for fashion arts, knew exactly what she wanted to do upon graduation. She moved to Toronto to study fashion technique and design at Sheridan College in Oakville and premiered her first Illyria Design collection in 2001.  She has been building a loyal clientele ever since.

She frequently dresses top Toronto publicist Danielle Iverson and recently outfitted producer Julia Pacino (Al’s daughter) for the screening of Billy Bates at the Toronto International Film Festival. She also custom designs and is frequently asked to do entire wedding parties. “Having my personal clients has always been great for me,” she says. “I’m always happy to entertain new clients and have them come by.”

Pestich loves working from home—“especially in the winter,” she laughs—but is working towards a bigger dream. “Skies the limit,” she says, “ to get into bigger department stores and boutiques with multiple locations.  Just to expand and be a household name and wholesale everywhere and eventually start opening up boutiques.”

Courtesy Rhett Morita.

Her dresses can be purchased at select boutiques across Canada, including local shops Pho Pa (702 Queen St. W.) and Naked Red (171 East Liberty St., Unit 143), as well as directly from Pestich who lives opposite Trinity Bellwoods Park (phone: 416 -471-5936 or email illyria@illyriadesign.com). Prices range from $200 to $400 and are available in sizes 2 to 14. For more information, visit www.illyriadesign.com.

By Karen Bliss

The Bloody Five will be releasing an 11-song album in the new year. Courtesy Martin Wojtunik

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 used to be a student at U of T so I lived there when I was in teacher’s college, at 666 Spadina.”

The members of the alternative rock band—including KD, guitarist Tomi Fear, bassist Chris Hau, and drummer “Raw Beats” Sedran—have an 11-song album in the can, produced by Brighter Brightest singer Derek Hoffman, but won’t be releasing it until the new year.

Instead, KD says, “We are planning a surprise for fans who show up at Lee’s Palace that will be related to our upcoming single, video, and album releases.”

Chances are it will be a download card or CD with the single and maybe a few extra tracks.

The multi-generational band—Hau and Sedran were both students of KD’s and would perform at their Catholic school’s talent shows or in the liturgical band—has been together since 2009.

“We’ve got a heaviness to us; we’ve got a melodic flavour as well, kind of a trippy sound in some places,” said KD.

They released a five-song EP in June of 2010 that included songs “Never Again” (also available on the video game Rock Band in the “grunge” category), “And Me For The Forest,” “Bedroom Music,”  “Under This Mountain,” and “Just Joking.”

The Bloody Five’s cover of “(I Wanna Go To) New York City” by Canadian punk band the Demics (1977-1980), the forthcoming single on the still untitled album, is a departure from the band’s other material.

“The guy who owns Autoshare.com [Kevin McLaughlin] is our guitarist’s step-brother,” says KD. “He grew up in the ’70s and loved that song. When Tomi was a kid, for one of his birthday presents [he said], ‘When you try to get into this music business, I’m going to give you one music video.’ And that’s what this is. He wanted this song.”

The video, directed by Martin Wojtunik, was shot last summer in New York and has a rather amusing premise.

“We start off [with] us running around the Manhattan area taking things. ‘Oh, here’s sunglasses; here’s a wig; here’s a leather jacket,’” recounts KD. “We end up at Bowery and Bleeker which is the location where [legendary punk/new wave venue] CBGB used to be, and that’s where we posed as the Ramones.

“So we’re looking like ourselves and throwing on the costume as we run around and end up as poseurs,” he laughs.

The cover art for the single was designed by another former student of KD’s, Krista Arnold, now at OCAD University.

KD says the punk song fits The Bloody Five’s sound because “one thing that definitely is in common with the rest of the album is the rawness of the guitar sound. That’s something Tomi is trying to put across.

He’s more into that heavy side and I’m more into the Beatles. I like the harmonies.”

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 the past, covers have generally been traditional interpretations—snowy Annex streetscapes, snowmen and Santa Claus–but we are open to any and all images that say holiday and community. Photos, painting, collage, mixed-media, comics, drawings, installations, etc. are all welcome.  Bonus points for local artists or the art is neighbourhood-centric.

And wishes:

-We are seeking an infinite number of wishes. They can be whimsical or practical. They can be personal, political, or community related. Past wishes have included everything from “I wish there was a hot dog stand in the Annex,” to resurrecting a beloved tree that was cut down, to Rob Ford looking good in a Speedo.

-While we want world peace just as much as everyone else, please try and keep your wishes local.

– Wishes must be between one and 250 words. Visual interpretations of wishes are also welcome.

Please submit your wishlist by November 21 at the stroke of midnight to gleanereditor@gmail.com. Please include your name, and either your professional title or the street that you live on . We reserve the right to edit wishes for space, spelling and grammar. Artwork must be recieved no later than Nov. 21 for the Annex and  Nov. 30 for the Liberty.

We really hope you all can take part! Tell your neighbours and friends!

By Karen Bliss

Liisa Ladouceur is the author of the goth reference book Encyclopedia Gothica. Courtesy Liisa Ladouceur.

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 and ‘unpopular’ culture journalist, has penned Encyclopedia Gothica. Published by ECW Press and illustrated like an old tyme dictionary by Gary Pullin, the book is an A to Z of all things goth, from absinthe to zombies.

For the truly uninitiated, Ladouceur introduces the book with the chapter “What is ‘What Is goth?’”

“It’s the number one question that outsiders ask and people within goth ask themselves all the time — Is this goth? Is that goth? It’s kind of a joke,” she says. “That’s why I wrote the book, so that if you read it, you will have your own understanding.

[pullquote]“[Goth] is a very hard working word”—Liisa Ladouceur, writer, goth[/pullquote]

“The way that I would explain it is that it is a subculture and a lifestyle, just like being punk rock or a skateboard kid or a hip hop kid. It’s heavily revolved around music and then books and fashion and then art would come after that.

So what is goth?  “It’s music; it’s literature; it’s fashion; it’s history; it’s romance and death.”

Ladouceur, who doesn’t give her age, says she is a lifelong goth, but “not with a capital G,” or what she calls in the book “ubergoth: “Most definitely, excessively, exquisitely Goth. The epitome of Gothness.”

“I don’t put on my eyeliner and my cloak to go out and buy milk in the middle of the day,” she tells the Gleaner.“That’s not me, but I am a long time fan of goth music. Goth is the way I identify myself in the way that someone would say, ‘I’m a B-boy or I’m a punk-rocker.’”

Ladouceur isn’t old by any means, but she’s not a teenager anymore, which is when she first became infatuated with the subculture in Penetanguishene, Ontario.

“I was just an ordinary kid. I played Loverboy cassettes on my ghetto-blaster as I roller-skated to  school,” she says. “I liked whatever was popular and then I saw the video of ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ by The Cult on MuchMusic and it totally changed my life. So it was The Cult, Love & Rockets, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, all those bands that were on MuchMusic in the mid to late ’80s and I said, ‘Oh, I like this.’”

Music is a big part of the goth culture. Ladouceur includes a “Goth Band Tree” at the back of the book with sub-genres horror punk, punk, new romantics, industrial leading to psychobilly, post-punk, batcave, synth-pop and more. But [Encyclopedia Gothica ITAL] touches on far more than music.

“[Goth] is a very hard working word,” says Ladouceur. “It describes a type of architecture, a type of literature, a font, a type of film, a tribal hoard from Eastern Europe. It’s been used to describe many things over the years, but in terms of the goth subculture, it really is it’s own unique thing.

“Yes, there is an entry in the book on the Church of Satan but then there’s also an entry on Mary Shelley. It’s a mix.”

Flip open to any page of the encyclopedia and there are wonderous and sometimes humorous entries. The entry on Doom Cookie, reads in part: a derogatory term for a goth poseur, someone who tries hard to look and act goth but comes off like a walking cliché of overwrought poetry and misguided fashion choices with no understanding of the music or subculture … See also: Mall Goth.

Blue Nun, Ladouceur explains, is a German wine, popular with some goths because Wayne Hussey from The Mission used to drink it onstage all the time. And of course, Sunglasses: Don’t leave home without them.

Encyclopedia Gothica is out just in time for when the romantic goths, cyber goths, perky goths, death rockers, rivetheads, doom cookies and other goth and fake goth types intermingle with costume-wearing fairies, French maids, Spidermen and devils: Halloween.

“You can buy goth costumes now on Halloween, which actually quite hurts my feelings,” Ladouceur admits. “I imagine how Native people feel when they see an Indian costume. ‘Really? Is that a joke?’”
Just avoid going trick or treating at her house in a goth costume — or she might sic her zombies on you.

For more information about Ladouceur and the encyclopedia, visit www.liisaladouceur.com.

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 10 (Trinity-Spadina).

Although there are many Montessori-style programs in kindergarten programs across the TDSB, there is no specific school dedicated to a Montessori curriculum, or one that’s available for grades 1 and up. “These are for parents who want to support the public system or can’t afford the private system. There’s many different reasons why families don’t go on and continue into the elementary Montessori private school system,” said Aidan Roman-Crossland, co-chair of the working group.

Montessori schools, of which there are 7,000 worldwide, are particularly known for mixed-age classrooms, where students learn at their own pace (teachers attend to students individually rather than by class), and are traditionally located in in places of worship—although many of the schools are non-religious in nature.

[pullquote]

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Tentatively named Vista Alternative School, the school wants to provide a more self-directed, independent approach to teaching than currently offered by the TDSB, and orient more project-based activities for students. But, the school will have to comply with the TDSB’s policies and procedures for employment, and has to be cost-free for applicants.

“The teachers could have Montessori training, but prior to that they need to be teachers from the Toronto District School Board. Philosophically, we can work within certain parameters, but it does present a problem for people who may think that it’s simply going to be a Montessori school [that’s] inside the Toronto District School Board,” said Ward 10 trustee and board chair Chris Bolton.

Cristina Juarez Nilsson, outreach coordinator for the working group, says that the document will go through the TDSB’s local and central feasibility committees, who will make recommendations and referrals about how the school will be shaped. Once approved, the board and the school will look into surplus space that could house the school.

With a projected enrollment of 60 students ranging from Grades 1 to 3, and expectations of expansion once these students reach Grade 4 and up, Bolton notes the school needs to prepare long-term growth and sustainability. “We may have the space now but will we have the space in the future, and will we have the space to move from three classrooms to four or five or six in the future? Not necessarily,” said Bolton.

Given the precedent of numerous local alternative schools and a supportive local trustee, the proposal is expected to be approved.

Enrollments for Vista could begin as early as the 2012–2013 school year.

In our print version of this article, it was reported that Bolton had referred to the Waldorf Academy as a school that operates as an alternative school in the TDSB. In fact, the Waldorf Academy is a privately-operated institution.  

By Nathaniel G. Moore

Simulated party atmosphere at the Coach House Books event at the Dance Cave (529 Bloor St. W.), a change from the norm for the popular publishing house. Courtesy Evan Munday.

The fall is a maelstrom of literary frenzy: the International Festival of Authors, Giller and Governor General Award nominations, Word on the Street, and a flood of book launches. But where in this vast city do publishers tend to roll the dice with their new heady wares?

The Gladstone Hotel, Supermarket, Garrison, Parts & Labour and Dora Keogh are among favourites with publishers. This fall, however, the ever-radical Annex-area publisher Coach House Books, known for their well-attended and it-status seasonal launches, have switched things up from their usual location.

Instead of having their new books and authors showcased at Revival (783 College St.), they have moved their fall launch to the heart of the Annex and the most unlikely of venues: the Dance Cave (529 Bloor St. W.).

So what will happen on Wednesday, October 5 when worlds collide?

The literary community was aghast at first, because it’s such a dark and seemingly contrary space to your average, meek book launch crowd. When the news hit Facebook, the comments went flying: “So who is DJing the new-wave hits after the readings?” or “Book dance party? Hells yes!” and “Well spin my head sideways. Coach House launch at ol’ Dance Cave? I remember being in University, working at a bar near Brunswick and afterwards, writing poetry in an old notebook, heading over to the Cave for a drink and dance, blacking out to high heaven, met my wife Deborah there too,” wrote Ray MacClaghlan, a poet.

The announcement caused a minor ruckus within the book community as they teleported themselves to the dank dance floor. “I can’t wait to dance to “The Book of Love” by The Monotones, and other such literary hits at the Coach House fall book dance party,” said Laurie Fuhr, a poet and editor from Calgary.

“Not only will we have readings from all our fabulous fall authors, it will be in the Dance Cave, so you can relive the glory days of your youth—if you’re not currently still living them,” said Evan Munday, Coach House’s publicist. “Also, we’ll have a mini photo booth. It will be like the best wedding ever, but with fantastic readings instead of the usual boring speeches and vows.”

Munday says he is confident that the space is right for two reasons: size and emotional impact. “For a lot of people, this is the first club they went to and actually enjoyed. A lot of people have fond memories of The Dance Cave.”

With six books launching, the night should be a full dose of literary bravado and excitement, plus the temptation of stealing a few dances with the wallflower book community. According to Munday, some authors are making a trek to attend. “Leigh Kotsilids from Colorado, Hughes is coming in from Wales, and Sina and David are coming in from Montreal,” he said.

Former longtime Annex resident Jenny Sampirisi, (who also works as managing editor of Book Thug) will take the TTC from her new digs in Bloor West Village to read from her new book of poetry Croak.

“I am absolutely nervous. This is my second book, but it’s my first book of poetry. After so many years in the poetry scene watching some phenomenal books enter and exit the spotlight, I know how little time a book has to make an impression. I’m also honest with myself about the content of the book. I know not everyone will have encountered something like it before and so I feel the pressure of giving life to the pages through my readings and performances of the book. I’m working right now to create an onstage Frogirl persona.”

There will be a musical element to the night as well. Comedian, poet and musician Dave McGimpsey, and Rob Benvie from the band the Dears will launch Li’l Bastard and Maintenance, respectively.

“I can’t believe it’s been seven years. In my defense, I’ve been busy, even if the results only trickle out. I tend to keep multiple things on the go at the same time, which leaves some on the back burner in the meantime,” Benvie explains. “While working on this book I’ve also been working on a bunch of other things, which might be an inefficient process but it keeps the coals fuming, if you know what I mean. I also tend to aim ambitiously with writing projects and make more work for myself than I should.”

Nathaniel G. Moore is the author of Wrong Bar a finalist for the 2010 Relit award. canadiansadcore.tumblr.com

By Jonathan Lee

Courtesy Deb Wiles

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 was born.

Wiles will offer week-long training at the retreat for any novices who sign up, as well as space for established artists. It will also act as a summer camp for students at her Annex-based arts school, Marks of Perception (69 Olive Ave.).

While Wiles remains tight lipped about the exact whereabouts of the retreat, it is a small cabin surrounded by several bucolic acres of land. There is lots of forest space and it sits by a lake.

“We spend most of our lives playing roles, being for others, the retreat is a place to just be who you are, for yourself,” she said.

The Trident International Artists’ Retreat is still a budding idea. Construction began in early August. Electricity is up and so is the plumbing, but there are still gas tanks to be replaced, a deck to be designed and built, and a multitude of other tasks.  “I feel like I’m nurturing the growth of the project.” Wiles said.

Courtesy Deb Wiles.

There is still a lot of growing to do. Wiles is looking to  raise $20,000 to aid in the construction, so she’s been drumming up support and fundraising where she can.

One fundraising method is through something Wiles calls “clowning.” Those who request to be clowned can email Wiles a photo of themselves and, for a fee of $50, she will doll it up and send it back to you—clown style.

Wiles has clowned many people, including Gleaner alum Nadja Sayej, who now writes for the New York Times and “leads the new wave of art criticism” as the host and producer of the online show ArtStars*.

“It’s true, Deb clowned me,” wrote Sayej from Berlin. “Far more strange than a caricature artist, she took a photo of me, revved it up in her Willy Wonka technicolor palette and splashed her signature in the bottom corner. Funny, rude and explosive, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She goes where most of would never dare to go in terms of portraits—so many people are afraid to insult, to ridicule, to even have fun with a person’s features. Not Deb. She left me laughing. On the floor.”

To contact Wiles about the retreat or to get “clowned,” visit Wiles’ blog.

Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Perry King, and Rebecca Payne

Check out the links below about our Q & A with candidates for the Parkdale-High Park riding.

The riding

The candidates

Question One: The state of health care in PHP
Question Two: Poverty
Question Three: Clean trains
Question Four: Energy inflation
Question Five: the Ontario Arts Council

The riding:

Parkdale-High Park is composed of seven neighbourhoods: Swansea, High Park North, the south half of The Junction, Runnymede-Bloor West Village, Lambton-Baby Point, Roncesvalles, and Parkdale directly to the south.

The statistics:
Population = 102,142 *
Electoral = 71,954
Political History
2007 = New Democrat **
2003 = Liberal **
1999 = Liberal **
* Cited from StatsCan 2006 Census
** Cited from Elections Ontario

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The candidates:

Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale-High Park and the Deputy Speaker on the Ontario Legislative Assembly. DiNovo was first elected into the legislature in 2006 in a by-election and re-elected in 2007. An award winning author, DiNovo is an outspoken social justice activist and a former United Church Minister who was voted Best MPP by NOW magazine. In addition to being described by the Toronto Star as a “spark plug” at Queen’s Park and a leader who “personifies an emerging consensus,” Cheri DiNovo was named “Favourite Politician” by the Parkdale Liberty for her ongoing pledge to donate her monthly MPP salary raise to local organizations and charities.

Having devoted his career to technology innovation, Progressive Conservative candidate Joe Ganetakos and his wife Mary are now looking to give back to their community through public service. Used to working under tight deadlines while helping to design some of Ontario’s most advanced electronic games, he’s remained steady under pressure, never shirking away from challenges. Joe pledges to work passionately on any efforts he’s involved with on behalf of the residents of Parkdale-High Park. Joe believes that the taxpayers of Parkdale-High Park deserve a strong voice in government, and this has led him to commit to helping Tim Hudak giveback to Ontarians the strong economy that he believes they have always had with Progressive Conservative governments.

Liberal Party candidate Cortney Pasternak is a professional broadcast journalist. She also teaches journalism at the university and college level. She served as both the Global TV Queen’s Park Bureau Chief and CTV’s National Parliamentary Correspondent reporting from around the globe on a range of topics including politics, health care, education, human rights, environment, poverty, and crime. She currently runs a small, home-based business. Cortney is married with two young children and shares her home with three cats with great personalities.

Justin Trottier has dedicated his life to balancing his love of science and technology with his interest in public education, community service, and social advocacy. He studied engineering at the University of Toronto and worked in research and development in alternative energy systems. He then founded the national educational charity the Centre for Inquiry. Justin speaks regularly in the media in defence of fundamental freedoms, civil and human rights, and participates in public events bringing together groups from different backgrounds to discuss ethics and social policy. He also volunteers with youth-focused community groups, including Pathways to Education and tutoring at the Parkdale Library.

Also running in PHP are Redmond Weissenberger for the Freedom Party Of Ontario, Thomas Zaugg of the People’s Political Party of Ontario, Rod Rojas of the Ontario Libertarian Party, and four independent candidates: George Babula, Cecilia Luu, Bohdan Ewhen Radejewsky, and Istvan Tar. The Gleaner was unable to reach the remaining candidates in time for this Q & A.

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The Questions

1. What is the most important issue for our health care system? What will you do to improve the health of residents in Parkdale-High Park?
—Perry King, senior editor, Gleaner Community Press

DiNovo: Right now if you visited any of the retirement homes or long-term care facilities in our riding they would tell you the same thing—they don’t get enough from the provincial government to provide quality care. The provincial government actually pays more to feed prisoners right now than it does to pay for long-term care residents. We’ve had a government in Ontario that has chipped away medicare at the edges rather than expand it. We need dental health care, not just for a few, but for many who cannot afford it. Many Ontarians cannot afford dental care, and don’t get it. This is unconscionable.

Ganetakos: I was of another party stripe, and one of the [things] that attracted me to the PCs was the plan to invest heavily in health care. But the difference with what we want to do is  invest it directly into front line care. So if you are a doctor or nurse  we want to basically make sure that the money goes to those direct staff. If you are working with a patient, you are going to be getting our full support. In the pasts it has not gone that way. Our view is that the provincial bureaucracy has been not effective and has acted as a political shield. [We will] invest $6.1 billion into health care, but ensure that it gets front-line staff.

Pasternak: As someone who has used the health care system, who has three family members in and out of St. Joe’s over the last year, there are more problems than I’d like to think. I think that the investments that this government has made have been unbelievable. We’ve lowered wait times, we’ve improved access to family doctors. We have to start treating more people in the community, and the Liberal Party is making investments there. We’re talking about community health centres, places like Runnymede. Aside from covering, as a reporter, many issues around mental health, I’ve also advocated and had to take care of people with mental health issues. These are things that need to be addressed and not in the emergency rooms.

Trottier: Within all the broad priorities of the health care infrastructure, I think the one we’re addressing the least well is mental health. The Canada Health Act and other pieces of legislation haven’t done a very good job to integrate mental health into the rest of its purview. Medicare, when it was set up, was set up to deal mostly with accidents and to keep people having a family doctor. It wasn’t really structured to deal with chronic or acute conditions, and certainly not mental health. We’re very much a party that sees the importance of empowering local communities to make health care decisions, and one way to do that is to make sure that the physical proximity of health care hubs are as close as possible to the neighbourhoods that need them the most.

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DiNovo: You’re talking to the woman who brought in the $10 minimum wage bill. And thanks to that bill, in our riding, a million Ontarians got a twenty-eight per cent raise. So that’s significant, and that was within the first six months of my being elected, and that’s as a member of the Opposition in a ten-person caucus, in a 107-person government. I’m part of the provincial legislature and I sit in Opposition Government primarily because of poverty issues. One in six children in our riding, and in our city, and in our province, live in poverty. We would definitely reassess the ODSP rates and raise them. We’ve also promised that we would be building at least 10,000 new [units] in housing every year. Also, introduce legislation to allow municipalities to call for inclusionary zoning.

Ganetakos: One of the things we’re offering that I’m really happy about is support for those who are on OW and ODSP. There are those that are working part-time and are trying to improve their quality of life and they are trying to takes steps forward. But the Liberal government claws back moneys from their paycheque. It’s a disincentive to try. Our plan is to let those on OW and ODSP to keep more of their money. It may not be possible for some, and we understand that, but we want them to have more money that they work for so that they can have more dignity in their lives.

Pasternak: Daycare is a huge issue in this riding, and one that I will be championing to make sure we have lots more, we desperately need them in this riding. Full-day kindergarten is a real, measurable investment made by the McGuinty government that helps alleviate the poverty cycle in so many ways. The other thing that we’re doing is, people may not be able to feel it, but the fact is that we just went through one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, and we’ve come out stronger, we’ve created more jobs than the other provinces combined. The truth is, when the economy is lifted up, everyone gets lifted up.

Trottier: One Green policy area that I really think is important is the idea of taxing resource use and property use, and taxing less income and earned value. For us, we would seek to reduce income tax and one of our policies is to reduce it by a certain percentage dependent on the amount of income a person is bringing in, but in such a way that those with the smallest income, the poorest among us, would benefit the most in income reduction. We would offset [those decreased tax dollars] by increasing the tax on property and on resource use. This has the benefit of encouraging the use of currently vacant property, which is an issue right along Queen Street.

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DiNovo: Absolutely. I’ve been a huge proponent, a member of the Ontario CTC, and the only one at Queen’s Park by the way. The only hurdle standing in our way between electric, clean trains in our neighbourhood and the diesel that they’ve already inked the deal for, is Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government. Even Rob Ford has come out saying that electric trains are what we need. The Conservatives have said electric trains are what we need. Literally only the Liberals stand between us and electric clean trains.

Pasternak: I’m a mother of a 5-year-old with asthma. Up to two weeks ago, my son couldn’t go out on smoggy days. It’s been very difficult for us. To me, as a mother, I fully support the electrification, but the truth is two things. One, yes, I support electrification, but we do need to do more than just talk about [it]. The fact is that we need to make this area a hub, we need to make it one in order to revitalize the main streets, and we are moving towards that. Electrification is good on so many levels, it’s not just about the environment, it’s about being able to create more than one stop—because the trains can stop here.

Trottier: I was just reviewing the recent news on the airport link and electrification dilemma that we’re in. My understanding is that all the stakeholders involved approve the move to electrification. The question is how to do it in a timely manner. I think we should do that immediately, it would save us money in the long run. I don’t understand why it’s taking, apparently now, a few years to do an environmental assessment on the move to electrification, when it’s taken less time to assess the $1 billion original building plan. We should be able to move a lot faster than we are, it would save us money, save us emissions. I definitely support the Clean Train Coalition.

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4. How does your party plan to protect Ontarians from energy inflation related to home heating and electricity in the near and long-term and why?
—Chris Chopik

DiNovo: We have promised to take the HST off essentials like home heating and hydro. We think the way forward is not nuclear, because it’s expensive. We think the way forward is to really ratchet up our reusable and recyclable programs. We’ve also promised as government we would introduce an extra $5,000 for the retrofitting program per home owner. We’re going to close the coal-firing plants. McGuinty still hasn’t done it and promised to do it in 2007.

Ganetakos: Removing the Ontario portion of the HST on home energy bills and heating, we know will have a positive impact. We’re not anti anything. We’re pro green, pro solar, pro wind—we’re just anti lousy, lousy deals. That’s the honest truth. I come from the private sector and my experience is, if you only have one bidder on the contract, you are not going to get the best price. You’re not even going to get something competitive. This deal stinks and it’s also been very concealed. By getting out of that energy experiment, and just ensuring that we have highly efficient, very safe, very well-regulated nuclear energy, which is the bulk of power by a country mile.

Pasternak: We’re giving a 10 per cent rebate off all electricity bills and hydro bills over the next five years to help people adjust to the increasing costs of energy. The truth is hydro actually went up more under the last provincial government, the Harris Conservatives, than they have under us. We’ve got to recognize that we are some of the biggest consumers in the world for energy. To say that we should just have cheap energy—it’s well-known that we have some of the cheapest energy anywhere in the world. Let’s come back to Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, reductions on all hydro bills for families, for farmers, for seniors and small businesses. That’s about $150 per family, $1,700 for small businesses.

Trottier: I think it’s important to give an honest assessment of what’s actually happening. I don’t think any party can honestly commit to stopping energy inflation, the rise of energy prices. I don’t think that’s realistic. I think there are a lot of things that we can do to conserve better, I think every dollar we invest in conservation is worth much more than the amount of money we would have to spend on expensive nuclear reactors, to offset the increasing energy needs, or coal-fire power plants—that sort of thing. Our party is very much in terms of tax benefits and tax credits, which would promote home retrofitting. We have the Green Energy Building Plan, which would tax credits back to homeowners and business owners for energy audits that would seem to make these kind of retrofits—that we could produce. Thirty per cent is our general proposal.

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5. Please comment on the adequacy of the Ontario Arts Council at its present level of funding.
—David Perlman

DiNovo: The simple answer is one word—it’s inadequate. We need to make Ontario a hub for artists. I used to be the culture critic, and as such I brought in a Status of the Artist legislation, which was not passed. We have no Status of the Artist legislation in Ontario, not for children, not for adults. We need to have income tax averaging for them, because, as most artists know, sometimes you earn a lot of money in one year the other year you earn nothing, and yet you pay a whole lot of taxes one year. We should definitely fund the arts better, including tax credits. Instead of spending their valuable time writing proposals, they should be able to count on a certain amount of money coming from Queen’s Park and it certainly should be more than they get now.

Ganetakos: As a person who is not on the Ontario Arts Council, who is not witnessing its current funding, all I can tell you is that I’m an OCA grad, I’ve worked in the arts on the digital side of things for ten years and I’m raring to go to be champion for the arts. I believe you can make a solid return on investment for the arts, but unfortunately right now, door-to-door, that’s not what people are telling me. I’ll bet you I am more directly connected to the arts than many, many candidates, federally or provincially, and I would fight for it tooth and nail. But right now our priorities are what’s in the Change Book.

Pasternak: The Liberals are known to be very good to the arts community. I come from broadcasting, my husband used to produce documentaries, and they needed to access funding. I know that moving forward, the government is very big on digital media and investing a lot more into digital media. I come from a artists’ background. I think it’s not just about supporting artists, it’s an economy. It brings people here to work, and I’m a huge supporter.

Trottier: I understand competing priorities, and how everybody sort of wants to increase the chunk of the pie for their particular area. I can’t make lofty promises about increasing budgets for any one area. All I can say is that I understand the importance of all of the those different stakeholders, and the Green Party would do what it can to provide all sorts of financial benefits to local community hubs and leave it to those community centres and hubs to decide on allocations into the community like social service projects, artistic brands, that sort of thing.

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All answers have been edited for space. Candidates’ bios are their own.