Mr. Toronto

We Torontonians are currently in the middle of our first “Summer Festival” of the season — Luminato (billed as the “Toronto Festival of Arts + Creativity”). Running til June 20, it’s a pretty eclectic mix of free and ticketed events incorporating dance, music, film and art. I went to see Rufus Wainwright last night, performing a very weird solo piano piece dressed in a long black gown with a feather collar…gives you some idea.

But there are LOTS of other (more accessible?) festivals coming up over the next couple months — here are some highlights:

• Pride Toronto – our epic Gay weekend and parade (June 24-July 4)
• Fringe Theatre Festival – 150 different shows! (June 30-July 11)
• Summerlicious – 150 of Toronto’s top restaurants offer special – and cheap! – menus (July 9-25)
• Festival of India – some of this food is actually free! (July 17-18)
• Caribana – our wild and crazy Caribbean extravaganza (July 28-August 1)
• Taste of the Danforth – if your taste buds are more Greek-centric (August 6-8)
• Festival of Beer – if you need something to wash all that food down with; great music, too – at Exhibition Place (August 5-7)
• Summerworks – more than 40 plays, concerts and workshops (August 5-15)
• And, of course, the good ol’ CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) closes down the summer festivities (August 20- September 6)

So pack your sunscreen and party hats and come on down – we’re waiting for you!

Mr. Toronto

Ah, my favourite time of the year in Toronto…the weather is still beautiful (actually, I should say finally beautiful – what a lousy summer!!), the hordes of tourists have moved out, and the stars have moved in!  Must be the Toronto International Film Festival!

If you’ve never visited TIFF before, you have to check it out.  Besides great movies day and night – many of which you can now actually see since tickets have become more accessible – it really is almost impossible to hang out – at the right places, anyway – and not bump into a movie star somewhere.

So what are those right places, you might ask?  Well, despite many of the movies/galas being shown further downtown, Yorkville is still the centre of activity.  Hotelwise, stand outside of the Four Seasons Hotel and you’re guaranteed a sighting.  The Park Hyatt is right up there, too, with a close 3^rd being the Intercontinental – all spitting distance from each other. And the Hazelton is a very ritzy boutique hotel – with it’s own private screening room – where you can also see beautiful people hanging out in its beautiful bar/restaurant, One….as for other restaurants, Sassafraz still draws them in, as does Bistro 990, which claims to be the “Official Restaurant” of TIFF…Sotto Sotto is an Italian fave of the stars…but you can pick any of the local restaurants, grab a table, and hope for the best (George Clooney ate at a non-descript Yorkville sushi joint last night…)

And then there’s the shopping.  The stars are always visiting their favourite stores in Yorkville, and on Bloor Street. The Roots flagship store is a sure bet, as is Holt Renfrew.

But the great thing about TIFF is you never know where you’ll bump into someone.  I almost ran Dennis Miller over as he was jaywalking on University Avenue a couple years ago, and rode up in an elevator with Sean Penn at the Delta Chelsea last year! (where I also spotted Geoffrey Rush having a drink in the bar).

So put on a comfy pair of shoes, grab your binoculars and autograph book, and come on down!

See you at the movies!

Mr. Toronto

Groovin’ on a sunny afternoon here in Toronto. And the festivals continue….

Just coming off of Indy weekend, where I actually got to ride around in the pre-race parade with other sponsors, VIPs and drivers, and wave like the Queen to the stands surrounding the track. Also got to meet Gene Simmons, who was the parade Grand Marshall. Was never a huge Kiss fan, but you gotta admire the guy for what he has accomplished musically and as a marketing genius….

And now we’re heading into the Just for Laughs festival…had to turn down tickets to see Sarah Silverman, one of my faves, but there is plenty of other stuff on tap – including John Cleese and a huge free outdoor gig by Russell Peters, a native son who has just been listed as one of the top 10 wealthiest stand-up comics (guess he’s having the last laugh…)

Yesterday also marked the kick-off of ten days of Caribana festivities, always a wild and crazy time in the City…good time to be opening a new reggae musical, which Mirvish Productions is doing next week – The Harder They Come. Not sure how this 70’s cult movie is gonna translate to a play, but will let you know! (or better yet, come find out for yourself!)

Last blog I mentioned our city’s great outdoor patios…this time I want to mention that there are some dynamite gelato places (seems like everyone wants gelato nowadays – ice cream ain’t good enough any more…) in some very cool areas of the City. Check out one of the two “Little Italys” we have here – at College St. or St. Clair Ave.; La Paloma on St. Clair is one of the oldest and well know gelaterias in Toronto…or head over to Hollywood Gelato, located on a cool strip packed with great restaurants and bars, on Bayview Ave. just south of Eglinton.

And come catch a Jays game before we all lose hope for yet another season! I’ll be there Sunday against the Red Sox…

Mr. Toronto

…. Summer activities, that is.  Sorry it’s taken me longer than usual for this entry, but the lure of recreational activities when the weather is nice is just too strong (to be sitting in front of a computer…)

Since we last “spoke”, I have officially kicked off summer concert season with an awesome Dave Matthews Band show at the Molson Amphitheatre at Ontario Place.  To be honest, the Amphi is not my favourite venue to see a show – too big, and the security is over the top (and totally unnecessary).  But when it all comes together – great weather and great tunes – as it did for DMB, it can be fantastic.

Speaking of fantastic, event season also kicked off with Luminato in June, a 10 day Festival of the arts – ALL kinds of arts – that focused this year on the guitar.  Fantastic free shows at Metro Square and Yonge-Dundas Square, including Randy Bachman (from the Guess Who- Canadian gods…), Daniel Lanois (another famous local boy, more famous for producing U2 albums than his own music), Taj Mahal and Derek Trucks (without doubt, one of the finest living slide guitarists on the planet).  From here on in, the festivals come fast and furious…(gay) Pride next week, Jazz Festival the week after….

Also getting into some serious bike riding now, and Toronto is a great place to do it.  Loads of trails, parks, ravines, that will take you just about anywhere.  You can pick up a great map at City Hall.  I rode my bike over to Toronto’s newest “hot” district for brunch the other day- Liberty Village in the south/west end of the City.  Used to be an industrial district, now a happening place for film and agency types, and more fantastic places to eat than you know what to do with – and each one with a fab patio to catch those glorious sunny days…

Hope to catch you out there!

Mr. Toronto

Let’s talk comedy for a minute. Makes sense, since Canada – and Toronto- is the epicentre of humour. Really. John Candy, Martin Short, SCTV…all home-grown. And Second City is still keeping the SCTV spirit alive with nightly sketch comedy shows (just started their newest one called “0% Down, 100% Screwed”…). Just for Laughs festival, hugely popular in Montreal, just branched out into Toronto last year for the first time, and has another A-list roster coming to Toronto for this summer’s festival in June. And my main man, Jerry Seinfeld, is coming to T.O. for 2 shows in a couple weeks at Massey Hall – can’t wait!!!

Speaking of Massey Hall (my favourite place for ANY kind of show), if you want to grab a dynamite bite beforehand, a new little Italian joint has just opened up down the street (106 Victoria St., to be exact…) .Osteria Ciceri E Tria. Doesn’t get more authentic than this outside of Italy…owned and operated by the same folks who run Terroni on Adelaide Street- still one of the best and most happening Italian restaurants in the city (the wood burning is to die for….)

That’s it for now – TTYL

Mr. Toronto