Mike Simpson » Field Trips

Pedestrian Sundays Rock Toronto’s Kensington Market

Mike — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:55:29 +0000

< Photo of Maracatu Nunca Antes, Toronto-based Brazilian music group, by Yvonne Bambrick

Kensington Market is a colorful, lively place chock full of quaint shops and colorful characters. On the last Sunday of every month they hold an innovative, car-free, pedestrian-only street festival.

My pal Grey Coyote is the President of the Kensington Market Action Committee and a loyal supporter of community events like Pedestrian Sundays. I asked him to write about the event and tell us what we might expect for the last two events on September 26th and October 31st.

“With the summer quickly fading away, the hotter days of Pedestrian Sundays is now behind us, but there are still two left to go. On September 26th, the theme will be fall harvest time – and on October 31st, it will be a Halloween theme as we honour our ancestors. As with every street closure, there will be giant games in the middle of the street, buskers and musicians spread out the whole length of the Market, and as far as the eye can see – food – food – FOOD! So far, with absolutely no corporate funding whatsoever, we’ll pulled off most of our 7th season without a hitch. Belly-dancers warmed things up in anticipation of summer on the May 30th opener. The June 27th event was a fire theme, and I almost got heat stroke shaking my percussion along with the Samba Elegua! On July 25th, we had a water theme to try to cool things down, and on August 15th, we all tried to turn off as much power as possible to remember the great blackout of 2003. August 29th saw the Kensington Air show (our way of saying that we don’t need the war planes that come for the other air show at the lake). For each and every one, the streets were packed with a multicultural melange of people enjoying the streets without any vehicular intrusion – something that can be instituted in any community that wants to band together and have a street closure day. – For me, that’s the most important part of it all – knowing that this is our town and our streets and that bowing to the convenience of cars is not something that we have to do every day.”

Grey Coyote
greycoyote.net
paradisebound.ca

THANKS to my contributors: Grey Coyote and Yvonne Bambrick

More info: P.S. Kensington

Toronto Summer Festivals – A Glimpse of the World at Home

Mike — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:21:48 +0000

I am a huge proponent of the multiculture. It informs my design and my world outlook. I also teach English and through my teaching have met students from literally every corner of the globe. In my artistic life, as Mikooshka (my musical alter-ego), I craft music which crosses over from genres like reggae, rock and hip-hop to Latin, African, and Brazilian.

For many Torontonians, summer in the city means getting an opportunity to catch a little of the flavor that the world brings here via Toronto’s immigrant communities. The major festivals are a great place to start and I will outline some here and offer a few quieter “year-round” activities you might consider as well.

Caribana: Note: Parade is tomorrow – Aug 1st. Happening annually and drawing as many foreign visitors as Pride, this is perhaps the most significant cultural festival in the city. A long time ago I attended the parade and was blown away by the color and energy. Caribana has been unfairly associated with violence (which has usually only occurred in the wee hours on weekends), and overall the parade and larger events can be considered safe and welcoming (a positive joyful atmosphere pervades). At other times of the year you can try jerk chicken, oxtail, and rotis at any of the fine Caribbean restuarants that dot the city, and we have some amazing reggae and island musicians in this city.
Try: Ackee Tree restaurant at Queen and Spadina, and one of the many reggae gigs in town – perhaps a good one would be the classic Canadian reggae outfit The Satellites, playing at the Orbit Room on College (every Tuesday night for “Roots Rock Reggae”).

Turkish Festival – Aug 7-8, 2010: Last year I happened upon a neat Ukrainian festival in Bloor St. Village, and this year I’ve just seen a promo for the Toronto Turkish Festival. It looks just as exotic and authentic, with music, food, and traditional costume and dance on the program. You can check out the official website and for a low-key around the year food experience you could try Champion Turkish restaurant, located near Pape and Donlands subway stations. Try the Donar! (It’s also known in these parts by the Arabic name Shawarma).

Hot and Spicy Food Festival – Aug 13-15: This Harbourfront event at the lakeside outdoor venue in downtown Toronto is about more than food – it also encompasses documentary film and music. Beyond the many artists and chefs making an appearance there is a renowned Cuban-Canadian jazz musician named Hilario Duran. He performs a free gig on Friday August 13th.

Inuit Arts and Culture Festival – Summer 2010: Continuing, weekends only until September 6, 2010 at the Toronto Zoo. As Douglas Coupland so rightly pointed out in his movie “Souvenir of Canada,” we often don’t get a chance to engage with the First Nations people of Canada. It seems that we are in a disconnect with the one million people who make up the Canadian aboriginal community (in Souvenir of Canada Coupland jokes that we ironically only experience Native culture in ceremonial dance demonstrations when the Queen comes to visit). Now’s your chance to dip at least a toe into the world of the Inuit and check out the Inuit artists work at the zoo.

In each case the festival offers an opportunity for us to learn a little bit more about the fascinating diversity of Toronto. Admittedly unless we make a friend or have family members in these other ethnic communities, we may never get a full immersion, but I think any attempt at “getting out feet wet” is a good start. Get out there an enjoy a few cultural events this summer.

Mediatheque and NFB – Great Toronto Film and Documentary Resource!

Mike — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:36:26 +0000

Located at John and Richmond St. in downtown Toronto, the National Film Board’s Mediatheque centre is an inspiring place. You can check out all kinds of short films, animations and documentaries. Once I took a group of students there for a field trip. The presenter was amazing – it was one of my favorite all-time field trips. The staff are always friendly and helpful.

One of the main reasons to go to the NFB Mediatheque site is to check out the viewing stations. I have taken my students there just for that purpose on a number of occasions. Recently I watched an animated short, “The Necktie,” that’s also available online. In fact, the NFB are digitizing most of their catalogue and making it available via their website. Another favorite is called “Film Club,” by Cyrus Sundar Singh. It’s about a 20-year reunion of former childhood friends who were immigrants and in grade 8 banded together in an after-school film club. So far this title is NOT online – so get thee down to the Mediatheque and watch it!

Check out:

Mediatheque
http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/mediatheque/

The Necktie – animated short – 12 mins.
http://www.nfb.ca/film/necktie/

Flemingdon Park – Global Village – documentary – 47 mins
http://www.nfb.ca/film/flemingdon_park_the_global_village

“Across Cultures” – NFB clips from 60 different films!
http://www3.nfb.ca/acrosscultures/toutvoir.php?print

Mediatheque
150 John Street
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3C3
416-973-3012

High Park Leaves – New Art and Design Work

Mike — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:48:09 +0000

Irina at the edge of the woods in High Park, Toronto - New artwork using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator (Click for bigger image)

Bon Echo – Kawarthas Road Trip

Mike — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:47:09 +0000

Last weekend we had a pretty great road trip. We drove from Toronto to the Kawarthas and then on to Bon Echo Provincial Park. It was pretty awesome, despite the cold.

Our first stop was the family cottage at Head Lake – lots of fun putting in the dock in the cold, wind and rain! Actually it was okay – a nice opportunity to see my family. The rest of the time was spent enjoying a beer, eating barbecue, and in the early evening, roasting marshmallows by the fire.

On Sunday we drove east from the northern Kawartha Lakes to Bon Echo, one of Ontario’s most famous Provincial Parks. The park is home to a 100 metre+ cliff, and “pictographs,” ancient rock paintings made by aboriginal people. There were few visitors, and we almost had the place to ourselves. Parks staff were cleaning up leaves and tree branches, sweeping and painting, and getting ready for the busy season. Somehow we managed to miss catching the last ride across the “narrows” of Mazinaw Lake to reach the beginning of the cliff hike trail – but we intend to do it on another trip. The Victoria Day weekend was so cool that we weren’t too keen on a canoe rental ( a southerly wind would have been plenty chilly and made it difficult to access the pictographs at the cliff bottom). On the way back to the cottage we enjoyed some twisting, rolling highway driving through the scrubby southeastern tip of the Canadian Shield. About 15 minutes east of Peterborough we had a nice surprise by finding “Kawartha Country Wines,” where we stopped to sample some delicious fruit wines. On Monday morning our drive back to the city was surprisingly quick. We beat out all the cottage-country crowds by leaving mid-morning.

The photos at left, from the top: looking down the beach toward the gift shop and office area, the opposite view of the northern section of cliff (the lookout is a bit higher and further south, above the “narrows” between Upper and Lower Mazinaw Lake), sun splashes the cliff – if you open the larger version you can see a tiny white boat at the bottom, and a canoe floats along the cliff base past the pictographs. Incredible sights! Can’t wait to head back!

City in Bloom – High Park and Green Roofs Initiative

Mike — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:44:57 +0000

It’s around this time that I start to think about summer weather and getting out and about, taking some new crosstown walks, tuning up the bike, and generally exploring Toronto as it bursts into spring. The eastern forest of North America is one of the most verdant areas on earth – once it finishes the process of emerging from a cold dark winter and cycling through spring and into the full bloom of summer.I was reminded of this as I recognized a faint background image in a Pearson Education book and excitedly told my student that I knew exactly where this photo was taken – High Park, my stomping ground in the westend of T.O. Sure enough, as we looked at the photos of the main path through the orchard of cherry trees it became clear that it could indeed be the same place.

High Park is wonderful at this time of year. The mixed Carolinian forest with it’s stands of trees blending with Oak Savannah (a prairie grassland) is a sight to behold. Added to the abundant flora is the brief appearance of the magical cherry blossom. I explained to some Chinese students that the Korean and Japanese students like to gather with friends for little outdoor spring picnics under these beautiful blossoms. “Oh,” said one, as we looked at the photos, “sakura” – the Japanese word for these trees. A little international spirit and culture mixed with the vibrant parklife of Toronto – a magic combination that will arrive in the next week or so.

Most of these trees, a gift from Tokyo in 1959, can be found on the west side of the park. Maps of High Park can be found on the City of Toronto website.

On a related tangent, the City of Toronto announced the “Green Roofs” plan which is inspiring but also getting mixed reviews. Mandating the construction of green roofs for new buildings seems progressive and in-line with what Mayor Miller has been hyping as the future of a ‘new Toronto’ but the plan has its critics.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090415.GREEN15ART2239/TPStory/Environment

Two Torontos – Reflections From a Commuter

Mike — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:38:47 +0000

A pedestrian braves the cold grey expanse of Warden Ave

I was teaching a LINC class recently and the immigrant students were describing some things they liked/disliked about Toronto. I like to play devil’s advocate and present negatives, so I tossed out ‘smog’ and ‘traffic’, as the students easily identified the ‘Islands’ and ‘security’ as two of the multitude of positives. Then, the student teacher who was observing the class offered up a really nasty negative: “gun-killing.” It took me by surprise and I let out an awkward laugh. He explained that he lived in Keele/Eglinton and there has been some shooting recently. Without a doubt, gun-related murder is a sore spot for a city that is generally safe and secure: Mayor David Miller has been leading a campaign to band handguns, recently Dalton MGuinty weighed in on the topic… and a petition is online now.

Most of my days are spent in the blissful area known as High Park, a relative oasis compared to Toronto’s bleak “inner suburbs.” I have lived in areas like Jane and Finch, and I grew up in Ajax, so I know a thing or two about these wastelands. (Ajax, mind you, is chock full of parks and was a peaceful if mundane place to grow up). The most difficult thing and the point that hits home when you visit these areas, is how poor the transit infrastructure can be. Don’t get me wrong – the Warden bus I take is timely and the TTC are professional – but the commute for people who live way out past the fringe stations like Warden and Kennedy is amazingly long and dull. And don’t get me started on how insane it is to navigate these streets (hghways really) as a pedestrian.

What I try to instill for my students from these ‘burbs is that there are two Torontos. They need to take some time out to explore both of them. Eglinton and Warden is full of amazing Indian and Caribbean foods. YOU should check it out sometime – maybe on your way north for a camping trip to the Kawarthas! And to my students – take a train downtown to explore the colourful range of flora, fauna and people who inhabit my favourite neighbourhoods – places like High Park, Kensington, and the Annex / Little Italy.

So for everybody – explore the world outside your neighbourhood – and support the new transit initiatives which should transform some of our “inner city” corridors and hopefully make life easier for the people who live and work there.

For my students: your assignment is to comment on this blog entry. What is your opinion? Where do you live? How is transit for you?

EXTRA: Read the transcript and watch the TTC “Transit City” video

http://www3.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects_and_initiatives/Transit_city/index.jsp

Nuit Blanche – All-night art show

Mike — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:36:10 +0000

October 4th from “6:52 to sunrise” – Nuite Blanche is an all-night art show in the streets of downtown Toronto. There are all kinds of venues and installations. The cool thing is that the artists set up in the streets, and in parking lots, and parks, so there is a vibe that this is highly interactive and participatory. My friend Ulysses will be down in Parkdale near King and Dufferin (Liberty Village). His exhibit / installation is called XIBALBA. It looks pretty interesting and innovative.

For more information visit the nuit blanche web site. Don’t forget your camera! Some wierdness will be going on…

video interview – Mikooshka talks to artist Ulysses Castellanos

Mike — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:03:23 +0000

Ulysses talks about his art at Peak Gallery

Back in August I had the chance to visit with Toronto artist Ulysses Castellanos on the last day of his show at Peak Gallery. It was really cool – he showed me around the gallery and explained his art, and his process - all while my new Canon HD video camera was rolling. I’ve finally uploaded the first part of the interview to Youtube. Speaking of which, if you’ve never had the chance to see Ulysses perform his music (as part of bands such as Los Cholos, Project 9) or do a performance piece at an art show or as part of Toronto’s Nuite Blanche, then you’ve definitely been missing out. There’s a certain off-kilter logic at work in his seemingly rambling spoken word / performance shows which usually charms, confounds, and ultimately endears Ulysses to his audience. Some will walk out, but those who hang in there often find themselves transfixed, as the man works through his themes in a semi-sketched, ordered disorder. Stay with me! To witness this you only have to check out this amazing performance video, taken at the Drake Hotel, Toronto.

The video I’m embedding here is more straight-up, a nice walk-through with the artist as he elaborates on and explains some of the background, context, and ideas that link his artwork with diverse periods and movements.

Warning: the content contains some sexual themes and images

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0k8mk3RXQ8]

End of summer at Toronto Island

Mike — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:46:10 +0000

Hanlon's Point Beach, Toronto Island

Summer is officially over and Google marked the first day of fall with a nice little red and gold leaf logo at their pages.

On the weekend, we went to the island by bicycle – quite a hike from High Park and Bloor – and explored the islands from west to east. I finally got to the infamous nude beach! (Officially called a ‘clothing optional’ beach). It looked to be packed with throngs of people enjoying themselves in their b-day suits. We stuck to the regular beach at Hanlon’s Point, where kite boarders were launching into a strong wind and streaking across the horizon. We were envious of their grace and speed as they danced across the shimmering waves. The beaches were separated from the park area by dunes. It was a little reminiscent of places like Sandbanks in eastern Ontario.

We carried on through Centre Island and enjoyed the view from the pier. Then we travelled east to Ward’s Island and caught the ferry back to harbourfront. It was a fabulous day and perfect t-shirt weather. What an amazing way to cap off an eventful summer. The ferry ride to the islands transports you to another world, away from the stress and pace of the city. As we approach October we will have our share of ‘Indian Summer’ days and I suggest you pack a blanket, towel and picnic lunch and try to hit the islands before fall really sets in and Lake Ontario’s chilly blasts make the islands a no-man’s land.