Mr. Toronto

Gee, when I come up with such a snappy title for the week’s blog, I feel like I almost deserve a break…. but no, not fair to both my readers to disappoint them, so let me tell you once again about a couple of cool adventures from the life of Mr. Toronto this past week!

I actually went snow shoeing last Sunday (is that Canadian, or WHAT?).  And didn’t have to drive hours to get into the countryside to do it!  Found out about this company – Toronto Adventures – that specializes in providing adventures right here in our city. Their “urban adventures” include snowshoeing in the winter, and  kayaking, canoeing and camping in the warmer weather.  Our group consisted of about a dozen people, and we trecked along the Humber River, starting off by the Old Mill Inn and Restaurant.  Motivated me to buy my own shoes – cheap, portable, great exercise, and easy to do anywhere – I have subsequently been told that other great TO snowshoeing spots include High Park and Earl Bales Park….

As for the “new shows”?  Went to the Princess of Wales Theatre for the announcement of the upcoming Mirvish season.  And what a fantastic season it will be!  Truly one of the strongest I remember in a long time (and coming right off of Billy Elliott, playing now – not too shabby!). Starting with the British hit The Railway Children in May of this year (complete with an actual train as part of the cast) and ending with the Broadway revival of HAIR in April of 2012 (I remember when that innocent nude scene setthe world on fire), the season also includes Noel Coward’s Private Lives (with Kim Cattrall, who made a guest appearance at the announcement); Chess – The Musical (courtesy of the Abba boys who brought you Mamma Mia!); Mary Poppins (yay! How can I NOT go see that?); The Blue Dragon (by Robert Lepage, a Canadian icon); and WarHorse, a play that has taken the UK by storm (and is currently starring my cousin’s boyfriend, not that you should care…).  If the announcement event at the POW was any indication of the “wow” factor of the season, we’re all in for a treat!  I was spellbound during 90 minutes of singing, dancing, videos and puppetry….for more info and tickets, go to www.mirvish.com

So put on your snowshoes and trek on over!

Mr. Toronto

Do you know (say that fast – Juno – get it?  Clever? Oh, never mind…) that Canada’s annual music awards (our version of the Grammy’s) are coming back to Toronto this year, for the first time in 10 years?  (Unlike the Grammy’s, this award ceremony is in a different Canadian city every year).  And if that’s not special enough, they will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary here!

Earlier this week, I attended the big media event at the Royal York Hotel, where they announced the nominees…these things are never too exciting – loads of categories no one really cares about (unless you’ve been nominated, of course), loads of people no one has ever heard of (and then of course, the ones you HAVE heard of, but don’t care about – Justin Bieber, anybody?….) So let me just share with you some highlights of the event itself.

First of all, it’s important to note that “the event” is really a whole whackload of activities, some of which having started already!  For example, The Bata Shoe Museum has already opened an exhibit of Juno Award winner’s shoes…. and next week, the AGO opens up a collection of artwork chosen by Award winners…. then, as we get closer to the main event (which is on Sunday, March 27, by the way), there’s a flurry of activity, from block parties to concert series, to photography exhibits and film screenings…. for a complete list, visit www.junoawards.ca

As for the main event itself – it’s taking place at the Air Canada Centre, and will be as much concert as award ceremony…scheduled performers (announced to date) include Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Hedley and Johnny Reid.  And if those names don’t mean that much to you, they are upping the ante by having superstar rapper Drake as the Host, and by giving special awards to Shania Twain and Neil Young…OMG!!  Tickets for this public event are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

See ya there!

Mr. Toronto

I sometimes worry that I won’t have enough (interesting things!) to blog about on a weekly basis…after all, how many things can I do in a typical week that lovers of Toronto would be interested in?  A heckuva lot, it turns out!!

The week started out with a visit to the Bell Lightbox, spanking new home of the Toronto International Film Festival.  But that’s what it’s used for just a few weeks out of the year (in September) – this fantastic/gorgeous new building has enough to keep people flocking there year round…and not just movie buffs, either.  They are currently showing an amazing exhibit from the warped mind of Director Tim Burton (came here from MoMA in NYC), which is as much an art exhibit as anything else. There are 2 fantastic restaurants- one a VERY reasonable casual dining spot on the main floor (Canteen) that serves yummy pizzas, pastas, salads and sandwiches; the other, (Luna), a classy joint with a great view on the second floor. And, if you ARE a movie buff, 5 state-of-the-art and intimate theatres are showing very interesting (i.e. not your typical Hollywood Blockbuster) movies all day, every day…

My next fun stop this week was at the beautiful new-and-improved SONY Centre (formerly the Hummingbird and originally the O’Keefe).  It’s being used for all kinds of cool performances, from theatre to dance to music, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see it used for the show I went to see – Robert Plant.  Though I was never a big Led Zeppelin fan, his new Band of Joy is sublime, and right up my alley (great new album, too!).  The venue is comfy, and has great acoustics and sightlines from everywhere…and they even let you bring your drinks to your seat! (critical for a Robert Plant show…)

Next, I had a meeting with Luminato, the newest cultural festival in Toronto that is already celebrating its 5th year (how time flies!).  It doesn’t occur til June, but they’ve already announced much of their lineup for the 10-day event.  More on that later in the year (but if you’re really anxious, go to www.luminato.com)

Finally, a big theatre announcement – was too busy to make the media announcement, but it was all over the papers the next day.  Mirvish productions is bringing in a hugely successful (in London) family show this spring (starts May 3) called the Railway Children.  The coolest thing about the show is that an actual train is part of the production, so a special theatre is being built for it down by some railroad tracks by the Steamwhistle Brewery.  Which is another cool topic/attraction I could talk about, but that’s enough for now!

Mr. Toronto