August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on CHATTER: Tarragon offers a pay-what-you-can plan (July 2021)
Budget-conscious theatre buffs rejoice: The Tarragon Theatre is offering a pay-what-you-can 2021-22 subscription season. Artistic Director Richard Rose wants to make the shared experience of theatre broadly accessible after a pandemic year that has kept audiences and actors apart.
“The theatre fills our lives with meaning and emotion,” said Rose in a press release. “Catharsis is so necessary to what makes humans human. This congregating in a dark room to feel the unpredictable, the inexplicable, but the necessary.”
The PWYC season will be accessible in more ways than one. From September to June, subscribers can enjoy, “Tarragon Acoustic Reboot,” a selection of Tarragon’s greatest hits from the past 50 years, recast as audio plays. Subscribers will receive a password for unlimited online access to them all. Bonus behind-the-curtain content, such as in-depth interviews with playwrights, directors and designers from the original stage productions, are included.
Live, in-person theatre will run from January to June with six shows, including four world premieres. Topics range from intergenerational conflict (Three Women of Swatow, by Chloé Hung), to Black Lives Matter (Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers, by Makambe K. Simamba), to Indigenous tradition in a modern world (The Herd, by Kenneth T. Williams), inviting all audiences to experience diverse stories told onstage.
Bill Glasco, Tarragon’s co-founder, introduced pay-what-you-can Sunday matinées in the early ‘70s. For those with an artistic bent, the Sunday theatre matinée became a ritual, and inspired many theatre careers (including this writer’s). A PWYC season could inspire a whole new generation of theatre artists.
Subscribers must decide what they’ll pay for the season, and they have until September 17th to make their first payment, with the second half of the total amount due when the live season dates are announced. Visit tarragontheatre.com for details.
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on NEWS: Limited-edition brew named through a community contest (July 2021)
“Pitstop,” developed by the Henderson Brewing Company, will soon be Christie Pits Park’s official beer
Spencer Murray of Henderson Brewing Company pulls a pint at their Sterling Road taproom. The award-winning craft brewery partnered with the Friends of Christie Pits Park to launch “Pitstop,” a new beer in honour of the popular park. COURTESY HENDERSON BREWING COMPANY
By Joshua Chong
Christie Pits Park will soon be getting an official beer in its honour. The Henderson Brewing Company, in partnership with Friends of Christie Pits Park (FCPP), is developing a limited-edition brew that will be available mid-August.
The idea to have a beer celebrating Christie Pits Park came from Monica Gupta, co-chair of FCPP.
“During the spring of 2021 I was sitting on our front porch drinking my favourite beer by Henderson’s called, The Best,” wrote Gupta in an email to the Gleaner.
“I felt somewhat hopeful that the city would be opening up out of lockdown soon and thought to myself ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have an official beer of Christie Pits Park?’ So I sent a quick email to [everyone] at Henderson’s Brewery stating exactly that.”
In May, FCPP and Henderson’s ran a contest to name the beer. They received over 68 name submissions, including several related to baseball, picnicking, and the 1933 Christie Pits riot.
Ultimately, the judges chose “Pitstop,” a name that was suggested by Rob Maxwell (a city councillor who represented the Christie Pits neighbourhood between 1988-1997), and Phinjo Gombu.
“A Pitstop is a break or a timeout—a time to catch your breath and relax. Christie Pits offers us a place to do that,” wrote Maxwell in an email to the Gleaner.
For Gupta, the name perfectly encapsulates the character of the park.
“The park is a place to play with your kids, toss a frisbee and listen to music and enjoy a beer,” she wrote. “Many people use the park as a pitstop throughout their day.”
For winning the contest, Both Maxwell and Gombu will receive one of Henderson’s signature converted milk crates of 28 beers.
FCPP and Henderson’s are also running a label design contest for the beer.
The winning design has yet to be chosen.
According to Steve Himel, general manager of Henderson’s, Pitstop will be a light beer with cherries and peaches.
“First off, we wanted a good light refreshing daytime beer that was consistent with the idea of a pitstop—something that someone could take a moment to enjoy and get all the benefits of a beer without it being too heavy,” he wrote in an email to the Gleaner.
“The second reason is that we wanted something with ‘pits’ in it to riff on the name, thus the cherry and peach.”
Pitstop will be part of Henderson’s Ides Series of beers, each of which will be released in the middle of each month and tell the stories of people, places, and events in the community.
Past beers have paid homage to Honest Ed’s, Laura Secord, and the Corktown neighbourhood.
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Ford’s school plan is a fail (July 2021)
Ontario parents have been eagerly awaiting the “robust” plan for a safe re-entry back to classrooms Premier Doug Ford promised in June. The past year has been brutal for both the education and mental health of Ontario students, as they have spent more time out of classroom than young people in any other part of the country. However, the 26 page document outlining how the government intends to keep students safe does them no favours: it’s late (coming out less than a month before the start of school) and is little more than a carbon copy of last year’s failed plan.
Yet again, we will see no reduction in class sizes and school buses will again be full. This year, students will be allowed to play contact sports, participate in music classes, gather in the cafeterias, libraries, and common areas outside of their cohorts. There will be no vaccine requirement for staff or students. It’s not even clear if the schools are allowed to ask who is fully vaccinated – for COVID 19 – schools can demand proof of measles or whooping cough vaccinations.
The back-to-school plan appears to pin its hopes on vaccines to keep community transmission down, yet, does not require them for congregating teachers, staff or students. There is still no vaccine available for children under age 12 and the Delta variant of COVID-19 is more contagious than past variants. so why is Ford’s plan to relax restrictions? While in many cases it appears that kids are better at fighting COVID-19 than adults, some children who contract it require hospitalization, treatment in the ICU, and to be placed on a ventilator. According to the Mayo Clinic, kids with underlying conditions are at a higher risk of serious illness with COVID-19.
In Scotland, students and staff alike are offered rapid tests twice a week and carbon monoxide monitors regularly assess airflow in shared spaces. In Ontario, the plan is to provide cash to school boards and simply hope that the right equipment is purchased, installed, and maintained. Knowing the Ford government, would it be too cynical to think that the plan is to throw money at school boards three weeks before schools open, and then blame them when schools shut down due to high infection rates?
The University of Toronto’s approach with its residence buildings is pro-active and just might work. The school is testing waste water from each building to detect copies of the virus. If found, the students and staff in the originating building will be tested by a rapid screening team to try to prevent an outbreak. Further, the University is requiring staff in close proximity to students to get vaccinated, if not they will need to endure daily rapid-testing.
Queen’s Park has also failed to release any metric as to what threshold of infection within a school would warrant a closure. If there is an outbreak, will they contact trace back to the parents? Will the whole family have to isolate? Hard to imagine that this would happen, considering there are no paid sick days, meaning that parents may choose to go to work despite being ill.
The Ford back-to-school plan sounds a lot more like a fourth-wave plan.
Just to re-cap: the plan that kept kids out of school last year is on repeat this year, with a few questionable new permissions added in alongside money for new ventilation systems in schools. The tools that could be used to keep kids safe in the classroom continue to be ignored: vaccine requirements for those 12 and older, rapid-testing of the asymptomatic, school windows that actually open, ventilation monitoring, reduced class sizes, and clear protocols for what happens when positive cases are detected.
Once again, our esteemed premier cooks up a plan that is incoherent and cowardly and now we are likely doomed to repeat our recent history, having apparently learned nothing.
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Excessive force will not solve a housing crisis (July 2021)
The violent eviction of homeless from parks is shameful
By Mike Layton
The violence and tactics on display by the City of Toronto in Trinity Bellwoods Park, Alexandra Park and Lamport Park this month is a deeply troubling use of resources and force. The number of armed police present to forcefully remove handfuls of residents experiencing homelessness is disgraceful.
It is an obvious attempt to make poverty and homelessness invisible.
Considering the number of truly pressing issues plaguing the city, it speaks loudly to our real priorities that this is where resources are deployed.
It didn’t have to be this way and we cannot police our way out of poverty.
Housing everyone using a human rights approach should be the only way forward.
In council I proposed another path, and supported other motions which would have worked to restore trust and dialogue with the goal of connecting people to housing and shelter.
This approach has been championed by Leilani Farha, an Ottawa-based lawyer who served as Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination at the United Nations for 6 years.
Housing must be recognized as a human right, not a commodity or an extractive industry as it has been historically.
We must restore the understanding of housing as home, challenging the ways financial actors have undermined the right to housing and land use processes.
Using a human rights framework, we can provoke action to end homelessness, lack of affordability, and encampment evictions in Toronto.
In my discussions with encampment residents, I have come to understand better that these individuals are afraid for their health and safety and worried about their future.
There are many that will not go to shelters and without understanding that point better, we will only be criminalizing their behaviour instead of trying to resolve the deeper issues that are keeping them outside.
Sadly, city council and Mayor Tory voted against my proposal to co-create a path to housing collaboratively with those in encampments from a human rights approach and the other motions aimed to move the city past this antagonistic relationship, and instead supported a “zero-encampments” policy. Here we are.
I have worked with my colleagues to amplify the voices of the disadvantaged and have called on the mayor to work to cease the encampment clearings immediately and pursue the options presented by myself and other housing advocates immediately.
I know that this does not correct the wrongs that have already occurred, but it will be a start toward trying to rebuild a broken relationship.
As for those who orchestrated the police violence against encampment residents, I will continue to hold them responsible at council.
Things needs to change.
I will continue to work from within and against the system, striving to defund the police regardless of the inertia from city council.
What happened, and has been happening, is wrong and needs to stop.
Mike Layton is the city councillor for Ward 11, University—Rosedale.
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Leaders must take real action on climate (July 2021)
We must all join the chorus for change before it’s too late
By Jessica Bell
Since I was in elementary school, I have been listening to scientists and activists sound the alarm about the threat of climate change. Now my children are in elementary school, and the threat is horrifyingly real. Canada is battling deadly heat waves, volatile weather, intense humidity, epic storms that threaten to overwhelm our city infrastructure, and catastrophic forest fires that are making our air so unhealthy to breathe. Yet we still have leaders who are failing to take the bold steps necessary to lead humanity out of this environmental crisis.
Doug Ford is the worst political culprit. The annual budget is the most important legislation the government passes each year, but in this last budget, the PC government didn’t use the term climate change once. That says everything about the Ford government’s priorities. The premier has spent millions of taxpayer money cancelling viable renewable energy projects and scrapping Ontario’s modest cap and trade program, and even took the federal government to the Supreme Court to fight the federal carbon tax, just so the conservatives could score political points with their base. Ford even threatened to fine gas stations if they didn’t put government-mandated anti-climate change stickers on their pumps.
As a community organizer and lawmaker, my goal is to work with people to push for and implement big and just solutions to the climate crisis. What is so special about our riding is that so many of us deeply care about the most pressing issue of our time. Despite the enormity of the issue and the resistance we face from fossil-fuel corporations and the politicians that back them, so many of us are strategically advocating for a positive and green future.
The Ontario NDP has developed a Green New Deal policy platform to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Our plan includes putting an effective price on carbon, phasing out the use of gas-powered plants to generate electricity, ending the production of gas-fueled vehicles in Ontario, dramatically improving active transit and public transit options, reforming land use planning to ensure sustainable land use patterns, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and funding a just transition for communities and workers impacted by climate change. That is what we, as an NDP government, will do.
We will have the chance to evict Ford from the premier’s seat in June 2022, but until then there are many practical steps we can take together, right now, to push for real climate solutions.
The Ontario Clean Energy Alliance is calling for the Ontario government to cancel its latest plan to extend the life of gas-powered plants in Mississauga, Windsor and Sarnia, and increase electricity production from gas by 300% in nine years.
Ontario’s electricity grid can and should be fossil fuel-free.
Fridays for the Future Canada is organizing a global climate strike for September 24.
Peaceful direct action plays a crucial role in every social movement for change. It is inspiring and important.
The City of Toronto has approved an ambitious climate action strategy to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions called TransformTO.
The goals and strategy are good, but what is lacking are implementation and funding.
That is why it is critical for us to participate in the City of Toronto’s budgeting process – which starts in November – to ensure these climate solutions are funded and prioritized.
Climate change is an emotionally challenging issue to work on as the stakes are so high and the required changes are so great. That’s why I believe it’s best to join a group and work with others, as our neighbours can provide support and ideas.
Our office works on these issues regularly, and we can also connect you with advocacy groups in our area that are taking action.
The issue of climate change requires all of us to care, and act.
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on ARTS: Culture and community outdoors and free (July 2021)
When a museum is more than a building
The sculpture, “Cracked Wheat,” by Shary Boyle, is included as part of the Gardiner Museum’s audio walking tour of the Linda Frum & Howard Sokolowski Plaza. BRIAN BURCHELL/GLEANER NEWS
By Meribeth Deen
The Bloor St. Culture Corridor can be found within the bounds of five subway stops. It is a collaboration of arts and culture organizations offering: museum experiences, films, concerts, art exhibitions, theatre performances, family events, classes and culture talks, and opportunities to experience some of Toronto’s cultural diversity, including French, Jewish, Italian, Estonian, Japanese and Aboriginal arts and culture.
The Gardiner Museum is one of those collaborators. It’s long-form name is the Gardiner Museum for Ceramic Art, which offers a pretty solid description of the kind of work they show, but as they say, they see museums as more than buildings, but also as communities, that’s why they’re offering free exhibitions, public art projects, family clay activities, outdoor dining, wellness workshops, performances, and more all summer. Better yet, they’re all outside.
One thing you can enjoy at any time is a free audio walking tour of the Linda Frum and Howard Sokolowski Plaza. Take a little extra time to look at a Shari Boyle’s sculpture, Cracked Wheat, a 7 foot high vase standing on two bronze legs, and consider Canadian identity. Learn about the plaza’s vertical garden, and the giant head you’ve probably wondered about if you’ve ever walked passed.
Get your hands gloriously dirty with drop-in clay making workshops for both children and adults every Wednesday to Friday between 1-3:30pm. Make clay birds and contribute to David Constantino Salazar’s project Forever (Bird-Botanicals). In this exhibit, Salazar uses the symbol of the bird to explore themes of hope, freedom, and growth while reflecting on personal tragedy and collective trauma. Kids can also enjoy colouring activities earlier in the day (Wednesday to Friday) inspired by the Gardiner Museum’s collaboration with No. 9 Contemporary Art + Environment. Sundays are family days for outdoor art making at the plaza.
The Gardiner Museum and others continue to offer great online workshops and exhibitions. Be sure to check out their webpages, follow them on social media or just go straight to the hub of all things arts and culture at www.bloorstculturecorridor.com.
Comments Off on ARTS: Culture and community outdoors and free (July 2021)Tags:Annex · Arts · Life
August 16th, 2021 · Comments Off on LIFE: A baseball ironman of a different sort (July 2021)
Making the rounds with Alan Ross, the Toronto Maple Leafs ticket vendor extraordinaire
“Al the Ticket Man,” (Alan Ross, left) sells raffle tickets at a Toronto Maple Leafs Intercounty Baseball League game at Christie Pits. The team is the only one in the IBL that doesn’t charge admission. R.S. KONJEK/GLEANER NEWS
By R.S. Konjek
It’s a Sunday afternoon in July at Christie Pits Park. Standing near the baseball diamond, Alan Ross leans back and casts his gaze around the field.
“I want you to make a note that I’m doing this under protest,” he says with tongue in cheek, in response to a request for an interview. “I’m not an interesting person.”
Baseball fans at the Pits would beg to differ. To many, “Al the Ticket Man,” is a living legend.
Ross, 69, can be found at every Toronto Maple Leafs home game selling raffle tickets to fans.
The draw happens midway through the seventh inning and prizes are modest – usually a regular rotation of t-shirts, oil changes and restaurant gift certificates.
The proceeds help keep the club operational, as the Leafs do not charge admission to games.
From pre-game warmups to the top of the seventh inning, Ross walks around the entire ballpark with his roll of raffle tickets.
He moves at a gentle pace, circling the diamond and hiking up and down the hillsides.
Along his meandering path, he exchanges a few ducats for a bit of hope, and stops to chat with familiar faces in the crowd.
You could say he has racked up more walks at Christie Pits than any ballplayer.
He’s a lifelong Torontonian and baseball fan, even though he admits he was never a great player.
“I couldn’t run, couldn’t throw, and couldn’t play the outfield, but other than that I was okay,” says Ross.
One day in the early seventies, he was invited by his friend Sheldon Plener to watch a game at the Pits. Back then, the Leafs were the only baseball team in town.
“I followed him to a game and fell in love with it.”
His enthusiasm for baseball, people and sales made him a perfect fit, and in 1973 Ross became a club employee, selling raffle tickets.
When the Toronto Blue Jays began operations in 1977, Ross moved up to “the big leagues” and got a job in the Jays’ ticket sales department. He spent the next 22 years there, and was with the organization when they won the World Series in 1992 and 1993. As an employee, he received the same elaborate championship rings as players do. He gifted one to a nephew and sold the spare.
When his career with the Blue Jays wrapped up, Ross immediately returned to his ticket selling gig at Christie Pits.
“I came back like Minnie Minoso,” he says, referencing the Cuban ballplayer who, in 1980, made a brief return to major league baseball at age 54.
Ross says he hasn’t missed a game since 2006. The community atmosphere at Leafs games is a strong pull. Most raffle tickets are bought by the same people, week after week.
The allure of Leafs baseball is so strong that Ross makes road trips to follow the team. “I much prefer driving to Kitchener or Guelph than taking the subway to a Jays game,” he says.
Like most fans, Ross was thrilled to hear that his beloved Leafs would return to action this summer and he resumed his duties selling raffle tickets.
However, time and a year-long absence from the park have taken their toll. “This is my final year, the hills are getting too steep,” he says, immediately adding: “I say it every year.”
Ross will celebrate his seventieth birthday later this summer. He knows, like every ballplayer, he will have to hang up his cleats someday, but perhaps not just yet. “I’m like a camel, give me a little water and I’m fine.”
This summer, the Leafs have neither flown nor stumbled out of the gate. At the end of July, they were playing .500 ball. Win or lose, Ross will be there. Buy a ticket and join him for the ride.
The Maple Leafs’ complete 2021 season schedule can be found at www.mapleleafsbaseball.com.
July 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on ON THE COVER: Vaccine Pow Wow at Varsity Stadium (June 2021)
Dancer Miryan Rutledge performs at a Vaccine Pow Wow on Jun. 19 at Varsity Stadium. The event was hosted by Aduzhe Mino Nesewinong, a First Nations COVID-19 response program. “We’ve been experiencing a little hesitancy among our community members,” said Steve Teekens, Executive Director of Na-Me-Res. “In February, all our clinics were full, but in June we had a dip, so we’re raising awareness.” Indigenous peoples can contact appointments@healthybreathing.com or call 416-654-4184 to book a vaccine. Walk-ins are welcome. NICOLE STOFFMAN/GLEANER NEWS
Comments Off on ON THE COVER: Vaccine Pow Wow at Varsity Stadium (June 2021)Tags:Annex · News
July 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on NEWS: High times on Bloor Street West (June 2021)
Five pot shops operating or set to open on Bloor within 450 metres
424 Bloor St. W. opening soon.
Fire & Flower at 480 Bloor St. W.
461 Bloor St. W. also coming soon.
Tokyo Smoke at 570 Bloor St. W.
496 Bloor St. W. under renovation.
By Joshua Chong
The Annex is seeing a rapid increase in the number of legal marijuana dispensaries. There are five stores either operating or set to open on a stretch of Bloor Street West between Markham and Major streets. All are within 450 metres of each other.
Tokyo Smokes and Fire & Flower are already open, while Value Buds, Cannaverse, and Green Merchant are awaiting authorization from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
This surge in cannabis stores across the city in recent months is due in part to the acceleration of the processing of applications by the AGCO. In February, the commission increased the number of authorizations each week from 20 to 30.
“Increasing the number of Retail Store Authorizations (RSA) is part of that strategy to ensure that stores across Ontario can open and operate with honesty, integrity and in the public interest,” wrote an AGCO spokesperson in a statement to the Gleaner.
They also noted that this expedition in approvals is in line with the Government of Ontario’s approach of creating an “open market” for cannabis retail, and is meant to combat the illegal market.
This increase in pot shop authorizations, paired with regulations on where these businesses can open, has led to dense clusters of dispensaries across the city—like what residents are seeing in the Annex.
Under the Education Act, cannabis retail stores are prohibited from opening within 150 metres of a school. Many pot shops are clustered in the downtown core, along busy throughways such as Bloor, Queen, and Yonge streets.
In Kensington Market, there will soon be eight dispensaries within 350 metres of each other. Last November, the local BIA, along with Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 11, University-Rosedale) and MPP Jessica Bell (University-Rosedale), sent a letter to the AGCO asking for local residents and businesses to have more say in the licensing process.
They also requested that the public consultation process be extended to 30 days. Currently, community members have 15 days to submit comments or complaints on a proposed location. According to a spokesperson, the AGCO receives approximately 12 public submissions per store application. Most express concern about the dispensary’s proximity to a residential area, park, or community centre.
In June 2020, city council adopted a motion tabled by Councillor Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth) requesting that the AGCO enact additional regulations surrounding cannabis store locations, including rules that prevent the clustering of pot shops.
Layton, who voted in favour of the motion, wrote in a January 2021 Twitter thread that he supports local cannabis stores, but that there needs to be tighter regulations in place to ensure that pot dispensaries do not push out other local businesses.
“Make no mistake, cannabis is big business and investors can afford rents that are higher than bakeries and coffee shops can afford,” he wrote. “Ford’s complete deregulation has resulted in landlord speculation which hurts the sustainability of our mainstreets.”
“That isn’t to say we shouldn’t have local cannabis shops. But their [sic] is a saturation point when a diverse offering of businesses would be more sustainable and desirable.”
The Gleaner has contacted Layton and the Mirvish Village BIA for additional comment. They did not respond by press time.
Jeff Pang, CEO of Green Merchant, wrote in an email to the Gleaner that the number of pot shops in the Annex is alarming. “We would be lying if we said we weren’t worried about the intense competition,” he wrote. “For us, we’re betting that providing value through our exceptional service and unique offerings that no other dispensary is offering will allow us to remain successful even in a crowded market.”
Green Merchant is one of several dispensaries awaiting approval to open a store in the neighbourhood. The shop will be located at 461 Bloor St. W., the former home of Frames N’ Graphics Inc.
“Each of our stores is uniquely built for the community,” he wrote. “We are the friendly neighbourhood dispensary that welcomes you to hang out and treats you with new experiences you can’t get anywhere else. We believe the Annex will appreciate our effort to create something special.”
When Green Merchant opened their first store, they were met with some resistance from local residents. But Pang noted that they have worked hard to become contributing members of the communities they are in by supporting other small businesses.
“Those that don’t know us yet have been a bit resistant to what they see as yet another dispensary in town,” he wrote. “We hope for the opportunities to have open conversation with those that are worried.”
July 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on NEWS: Mural reveals eco-anxiety (June 2021)
Musician Scott Helman’s song Evergreen is basis for images
The Scott Helman Mural by Kaya Buium explores climate anxiety from a youthful, Gen Z perspective. NICOLE STOFFMAN/GLEANER NEWS
By Nicole Stoffman
At first glance, the brightly coloured mural in Karma Lane behind Palmerston Avenue appears to be a children’s project. But a closer look reveals it to be a Gen Z manifesto to eco-anxiety: a skull’s empty eyes gaze in terror as the earth is engulfed in flames, a larger-than-life thermometer glows red, and a plastic cup bobs in the ocean waves. “I’m so scared,” are the only words.
Yet this new addition to Annex laneway art is not all doom and gloom, as a happy flower springs forth from inside a trendy, lug-soled work boot. The colour palette evokes orange and pistachio sherbet on a summer day.
“It still offers a message that through change, there’s hope,” said Karma Manager, Talia McGuire. “I really see this as giving young people a platform to be able to voice those concerns and fears.”
The Scott Helman Evergreen mural was created by artist Kayla Buium over five chilly hours in November, 2019. The occasion was the release of Helman’s single “Evergreen,” about climate change. The song expresses the singer’s anxiety about “rising seas and a world on fire,” but concludes with the hopeful thought, “maybe I can make it if we plant seeds in dirt.”
Helman is a Toronto-born singer-songwriter who grew up in North York and attended Earl Haig. He is represented by Warner Music Canada, and his albums have earned three platinum and two gold certifications. He has been nominated for seven Juno awards.
The 25-year-old had invited fans to share their feelings about the climate crisis to use in the “Evergreen” video and was astonished when he received hundreds of responses.
He decided to use his celebrity to amplify these voices with a mural, and has published their testimonials as “The Evergreen Manuscript,” which he is sharing with elected leaders across the globe. He invited fans to attend the live-streamed mural painting, and to sign their names on it.
Is the Evergreen mural effective activism, experiential marketing, or a bit of both?
“It was a genuine, heartfelt action on his part,” said McGuire. “We had lots of conversations inside the store about certain things you can do to help reduce waste.” Helman was impressed by Karma Co-op, which is owned by its 600 members. He has called the only food co-op in Toronto a, “dope, anarchist grocery.”
First identified in 2017, eco-anxiety is defined by the Canadian Mental Health Association as “a deep fear of environmental doom and human catastrophe,” for which doom-scrolling youth are the most at risk. The kinds of actions offered on that day by the Evergreen mural project are recommended by the CMHA as a healthy response: joining others in hopeful activism, and sharing your feelings. Other CMHA recommendations include learning social media literacy and striving for a small environmental footprint, something Helman encourages his fans to do.
The mural painting was supported by the Sierra Club Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, Environmental Defense, We Movement, and The Laneway Project. The Laneway Project is a non-profit social enterprise on a mission to bring Toronto’s 2,400 laneways to life. They connected Helman’s production company with Karma Co-op, whose laneway the Project had helped animate in celebration of Karma’s 45th anniversary in 2017. The Evergreen Mural is the Laneway Project’s third laneway improvement in the Annex, the other’s being Croft Street and Willowvale Lane.
As the Annex becomes more densely populated, its laneways could offer a network of walkable streets. The Laneway Project has installed road murals, street art, and improved lighting, greening, and traffic calming to turn laneways across the city into high quality mixed-use space.
“Laneways are officially mixed-mode spaces,” explained Laneway Project Executive Director Michelle Senayah. “Everyone assumes they are car-only spaces but they’re actually not.” When a laneway hosts block parties or pop-up festivals, it is closed to traffic, but a drive-aisle is always kept free for emergency access.
“Especially in the Annex where there are so many different family structures, living in many different sizes of units, I think there is real potential to add depth to the local public realm by activating this other layer to provide human-scaled outdoor space,” said Senayah.
She adds that laneway housing, especially as it becomes more standardized and therefore affordable, will go a long way to making Annex laneways feel more welcoming.
The Gleaner was shocked and saddened to hear of Michelle Senayah’s sudden passing from a pre-existing health condition on June 29th. Our condolences to her family and colleagues at The Laneway Project.
July 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on NEWS: PARA AGM talks revitalization (June 2021)
Sustainable and green neighbourhood also on the agenda
Football fans brought College and Clinton streets to life following Team Italia’s victory over Spain. ARLYN MCADOREY/GLEANER NEWS
By Madeline Smart
After months of lockdowns, revitalization was at the top of the agenda for the Palmerston Area Residents Association’s (PARA) annual general meeting on June 2.
A sustainable and green neighbourhood was second on the agenda for the Association whose boundaries are Bloor, Bathurst, College and Grace.
At the well-attended virtual meeting, attendees heard presentations from Gord Pridham of the Little Italy Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Jimmy Lu of PARA’s Green Committee. Both spoke of their plans to breathe life back in the neighbourhood.
“We want College to be as vibrant as it once was but we need the community’s help,” explained Pridham to the meeting attendees, highlighting the lack of foot traffic in the area especially around College and Clinton streets since the pandemic.
Pridham explained how many small businesses in the area were pushed out during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the real estate market and the raising of rental prices, while others were left struggling financially due to extended lockdowns.
As a result, the main focus of the Little Italy BIA became supporting the small businesses that remained and working on reinvigorating the neighbourhood.
Some of these initiatives took shape as commissioned murals by local artists, others involved re-allocating money usually spent on outdoor food festivals towards helping restaurants be a part of CaféTO.
Pridham says they have more things planned for this summer, pop-up shops from local retailers, for example, to make the area a popular destination again. Now with restrictions being lifted Pridham says he is confident that it will have a successful rebound.
The pandemic did not get in the way of green initiatives.
“It kind of amazed me that so many great programs already existed, and the fact that tons of stuff started during COVID,” said Lu about the sustainability programs that have been cropping up all over the city over the course of the pandemic.
PARA launched their Green Committee and Green Plan in February 2020, which has since been approved by the Toronto and East York Community Council as an official planning document. Some of the goals they hope to achieve are working with the city to improve the tree canopy, maintaining the gardens at Healey Willan Park and restarting the PollinatorTO project with Harbord Collegiate.
Lu, who works on climate change policy and sustainability is on the Green Committee and has also been named Ward 11’s Climate Action Champion. As part of the city’s TransformTO climate action strategy, a leader from each ward was selected to lead their area in community-focused climate action.
Lu presented his initiative, Ecobuds, at the AGM. The goal of Ecobuds will be to work to connect residents that are already knowledgeable about sustainability with those who wish to learn more in a mentorship type program matching people based on shared interests.
Ecobuds will hopefully be up and running later this summer and Lu hopes to partner with local sustainable businesses to provide incentives for participants.
In the meantime, Lu encourages anyone who is interested in sustainability to just simply start getting involved.
“So much stuff has happened and come to fruition in recent times and I think it’s a great time for people to take advantage of all these new and the expanded initiatives,” he says.
