Some might say that the Rogers Centre SkyDome was born under a bad sign: After the 1982 Grey Cup relayed broadcast to an audience of over 7 million Canadian viewers (at the time, a whopping record) embarrassing images of sullen Argos fans at Exhibition Stadium soaked to the bone, frozen masses huddled under concession stands, overflowing toilets and torrential disaster movie style rain, it became apparent that if Toronto desired to be a world class city, it urgently required an enclosed sport`s Stadium. The Argos might have won that night, but Toronto`s image had lost.

Enter Ontario Premier Bill Davis, who had been in attendance at the great Grey Cup wash out, and who was drowned out the following day during the Argos victory parade by universal cries of "We want a Dome!" Never one to let a good crisis go to waste, Davis expedited plans for an enclosed stadium to be built in Toronto; a bump in the polls soon followed.

After several years of geographic uncertainty it was finally decided to build a retracting Dome stadium at the base of the CN Tower, at the time a near barren waste-land, but conveniently within close walking distance to the Union Station hub. Construction began in October 1986 with EllisDon winning the lucrative lead contractor bid, and spearheaded by Chuck Magwood, President of the crown corporation formed to run the Dome."Before debt service, the project will throw off something like $30 million in the first full calendar year," he once said, famously.

Two and a bit years and $570 million dollars later, the newly christened SkyDome, designated such after a frenzied months long National contest, was ready to open to the public. Sadly the EllisDon completion came a scant few months later than originally planned, resulting in the gigantic missed opportunity of kicking-off SkyDome activity with the Toronto Blue Jays 1989 home opener (it was held at the old and busted Ex Stadium, for shame). To make up for this, Chuck Magwood and StadCo planned a gala, star-studded party-of-the-century to mark the epic launch of Toronto's, nay, Canada's dome - "The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration"

Broadcast nationwide on the CBC, hyped for weeks in advance, and hosted by, ahem, Canadians Alan Thicke and Andrea Martin, "The Opening of SkyDome" was clearly one of those events which probably seemed like a great idea at the time, and may well have looked good on paper, but did not translate into compelling television - unless you consider rubber necking an inglorious train wreck compelling. In fact, it is a top tier contender for the most bizarre, frustratingly inept CBC broadcasts of all time, thanks to a potent cocktail of its own misguided hubris and poorly judged antics, and a deft bitch-slap from Mother Nature.

After the rousing WTF intro which clearly caught the elated audience off-guard (beautifully setting the stage for the melt down to follow), the rat-a-tat thud of Quebec impersonator André-Philippe Gagnon`s poor and incomprehensible jokes, and a gaunt, sleepwalking performance from soft rock gods Glass Tiger, Premier David Peterson rocked the mic with a laser pen to officially open the Dome. The legend Oscar Peterson (no relation) then took to his keys to soundtrack this poignant moment which should have carried the emotional weight of the structure itself, but instead marked segued into a gargantuan farce.

CBC host Brian Williams breathless reports that due to a lightning storm in the area, the Dome roof cannot be fully open, thus somewhat deflating the mood of the event, and actually it`s raison d'être. One can only imagine the flop sweat and foul language flying around behind the scenes, as the decision to close or keep open the roof would not have been a light one. Never mind that Chuck Magwood, seated and all smiles ham for the cameras, was busy demanding the roof be opened come hell or highwater. Highwater it was.

Poor Alan Thicke does his best to introduce the salute to those who built the Dome, but by this point the oncoming soak must have been giving broadcasters a migraine induced déjà vu of Grey Cup 1982. Not even the much vaunted touchdown of SkyDome`s kid friendly mascot Domer could raise a smile. The parade for Toronto's bright and shiny new toy was well and truly being rained on.

As if the patience of attendees had not been tested enough, the following song and dance number absolutely defied convention. Dedicated to the people of Toronto, and ostensibly based upon our rich multicultural fabric, "We Are Toronto, That`s Why We Celebrate!" is just about the most cringe-worthy item to limp out of the sometimes taste challenged 1980s, and that`s saying something. You can just about hear the feint sound of a million people changing the channel to watch something, anything else.

Smearing rock salt into an already festering wound, the onslaught of torturous light entertainment continued unabated. Maestro and until-then flawless Toronto jingle chef Tommy Ambrose appeared to sing his specially composed for the occasion ditty, "Open up the Dome!" to which the few people remaining in the stands reportedly yelled back "Close the roof!"

At this point in the "celebration", it is hard to decide which is the most tragic sight: The aging local heroes and middling talent being driven around and announced over the loud speaker in embarrassing rhyming lyrics (look, Al Waxman!), the few die-hard souls who had probably paid out the nose for tickets and were staying put in their seats, or the faces of those young entertainers who had practiced day and night for moths preparing for this, the biggest show of their life, only to be dumped on by the unimpressed gods from above. Karma, or divine intervention?

While scandal and cronyism ran rampant in the years before, and those which followed, and as more and more juicy stories leaked out about StadCo's business dealings, and the enormous financial sucking wound SkyDome created, never mind the renaming of the building, people mostly forgot about "The Opening of SkyDome: A Celebration". Maybe people just blocked it out of their memories, like they would any other traumatic event.

Retrontario plumbs the seedy depths of Toronto flea markets, flooded basements, thrift shops and garage sales, mining old VHS and Betamax tapes that less than often contain incredible moments of history that were accidentally recorded but somehow survived the ravages of time. You can find more amazing discoveries at www.retrontario.com.

Lead image: Domer the (retried) SkyDome mascot

With the arrival of spring (dare I say summer?) weather in Toronto, the vendors at Scadding Court are back in business. There's plenty of new faces and cheap eats to try, so here's a rundown of what's on offer this season at everyone's favourite modular market.

Read our guide to the food vendors at Market 707 in the restaurants section.

The best cheap sushi in Toronto needn't necessarily be an all you can eat place. While there are admittedly many AYCE joints that provide good bang for your buck (think of how low the price per piece is if you just order ONE MORE California Roll set!), there are quite a number of reliable sushi restaurants that offer a la carte dining at prices that won't break your budget.

Here are the best cheap sushi restaurants in Toronto.

See also:

The best splurge sushi restaurants in Toronto
The best AYCE sushi in Toronto
The best take-out sushi restaurants in Toronto
The best Japanese restaurants in Toronto
10 great Toronto sushi restaurants north of the 401

Writing by Darren "DKLo" Susilo. He hangs out on the twitter and his own mansion. Lead photo by Tom Cochrane

Details of the huge, six-tower cluster proposed for 1 Yonge Street are starting become a little clearer. If things progress as planned, the 26,996 square metre area south of Gardiner on Yonge, currently home to the Toronto Star Building and a surface parking lot, could sprout six towers between 40 and 88 floors.

New renderings of the planned development by Hariri Pontarini Architects show in greater detail the massive redevelopment project that could engulf (but retain) the International Style Toronto Star headquarters with two hotels, new office space, a theatre, and a significant amount of new residential property.

If approved, the site, split in two by a planned extension of Harbour Street, will be built to 22 times current density. On the northern portion of land, a cluster of four residential towers are shown rising from a flowing, wave-like podium.

The second cluster to the south is largely dedicated to office space and the space occupied by the existing newspaper operation. "Tower 5," marked as commercial, will be built just north of the Star HQ while a 70-storey combined hotel and condominium, "Tower 6," is planned at the corner of Freeland and Queens Quay.

Architects have also included a 1,030 sq. m. theatre, a 2,115 sq. m. combined restaurant and hotel coffee shop, a gym, and daycare centre within the podium of the southern patch of land. Much of what's currently on the site - a distribution centre, a squat office block, and large open-air parking lot - will be cleared for these amenities.

This latest batch of images shows a distinct progression from those released back in January. Since then, the project has grown an extra tower and designers have added extra floors and exterior modeling to the buildings closest to the waterfront.

The dazzling appearance of several of the buildings will likely make this development stand out more than most. The main building, "Tower 1," located on the corner of Yonge and Lake Shore, has dramatic vertical lines that sweep from the podium to the mechanical roof. Two matching buildings, towers "2" and "4," which are also part of the northern cluster, appear to twist in the middle in a kind of dog-legged kink.

The developers still have to clear several hurdles before these plans can be realized. The proposal has to go before Waterfront Toronto's Design Review Panel and the city will also pore over the details of the zoning amendment application.

What do you think of 1 Yonge? Are these the sort of towers Toronto needs on its waterfront? Are you happy the Toronto Star Building is sticking around?

VITAL STATISTICS:

Total development footprint: 26,996 square metres
Total residential space: 392,831 sq. m.
Total commercial space: 258,766 sq. m.
Proposed density: 22.01x
Indoor amenity space: 8,274 sq. m.
Outdoor amenity space: 8,274 sq. m.
Height of Tower 1 (Yonge and Lake Shore): 293 metres (top of mechanical roof)
Height of Tower 2 (Yonge and Harbour): 262.4 m
Height of Tower 3 (Freeland and Lake Shore): 247.65 m
Height of Tower 4 (Freeland and Harbour): 267.2 m
Height of Tower 5 (Yonge and Harbour): 185.2 m
Height of Tower 6 (Freeland and Queens Quay): 229.6 m

MORE IMAGES:

Yonge and Lake Shore podium at night, looking southeast.Top view of the towers.Freeland and Queens Quay podium in fall, looking northwest.Full view of the 1 Yonge Street proposal from above the Gardiner, looking southeast. Two of the towers are obscured.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Hariri Pontarini Architects.

The question of where to get a tan in Toronto is sure to bring about comments on the dangers of overexposure to the sun, but that won't stop hordes of people from flocking to beaches and parks this summer to catch a hefty dose of vitamin D. And, hey, like so many things, as long as you don't overdo it, lying around in the sun can be one of the most enjoyable warm weather activities imaginable. That is, of course, if you pick a good spot to do your lying around. While Toronto's many beaches are the most obvious candidates for tanning, there's plenty of other less sandy places to soak up the sun.

Here are my five picks to get a (natural) tan in Toronto.

Gus Ryder Swimming Pool
Located a stone's throw away from Sunnyside Beach, this is one of the city's biggest and busiest public pools. While the deck area could be more spacious, it doesn't get much better as far as swimsuit-clad people watching goes. Did I mention it's right by the lake? You get all of the view without the E. coli. And if it happens to be too busy, you can always hit the beach. Day saved.

Trinity Bellwoods Park
By far the most popular suggestion courtesy of our Twitter followers, Bellwoods is a hub of activity in the summer. Sure, there are more serene parks in Toronto (High Park comes to mind, if not during Cherry Blossom season), but if you're looking to see and been seen, a weekend afternoon here is the bee's knees. To bring: a blanket, a book and beer.

The rooftop at the Thompson Hotel
So you can't just sauntered up to the top of the Thompson whenever you want, it's certainly worth a visit if you can get up there. Technically reserved for condo residents and hotel guests, there's plenty of events that make the area accessible for us nobodies. Failing that, you could sweet talk your way up there or slip the staff a twenty. One look at the infinity pool and you'll probably think it's worth it.

Hanlan's Point
Any of Toronto's beaches would make for a great place to tan, but Hanlan's is a cut above the rest for those of us who detest tan lines. As Toronto's only clothing optional beach, Hanlan's won't appeal to everybody, but for the less prudish it's the best beach in the city. Also of note, the beach faces west, so it's a great spot in the late afternoon (even if that's not the most ideal time to bronze yourself).

Sugar Beach
While you can't do intervals between the water and the sand (like, seriously, don't swim here), there probably isn't a nicer sandy beach in Toronto. Plus, there's something marvellous about the incongruous juxtaposition between an industrial looking sugar refinery and an almost white-toned beach dotted with pink umbrellas. If there's a drawback it's that the place gets very, very busy on weekends. Arrive early, apply sunscreen, leave late.

Got a favourite place to catch the sun? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Still the Oldie in the blogTO Flickr pool

If the Liberty Village BIA gets its way, Toronto's food trucks will never operate within the boundaries of the neighbourhood. The Gourmet Gringos truck was asked last week to vacate its spot on the Cinema Nightclub property.

The story largely revolves around a convoluted he-said she-said situation. Lynn Clay, the executive director of the Liberty Village BIA, says it was the nightclub who asked Gourmet Gringos to leave the property. But Krystian Catala, the owner of the truck, says he had a friendly relationship with the property, and they were actually under firm pressure from the BIA to ask him to move.

"They're saying food trucks take people away from local businesses, but there are studies saying they make people come out to the neighbourhood and make streets safer," Catala says.

He's right, Clay does feel that food trucks detract customers from restaurants in the area, and she says many restaurant owners have told her they feel the same way.

"It does absolutely have an impact on business. [The Liberty Village BIA] is not against food trucks, but we can't endorse them within our boundaries."

The BIA only controls operations on public property, not private property. So there's a chance the trucks could still operate in the neighbourhood, if someone offers up the space.

But Clay feels that because the BIA levy its members pay goes toward beautifying the area and making it more desirable, food trucks shouldn't be able to move in and capitalize on the work that was done without having contributed to it in the first place.

Catala, on the other hand, sees it as a non-issue. He doesn't see food trucks and restaurants as competitors, but rather as separate entities that can peacefully co-exist.

"It's not like there's this mad competition. People who want to go to a restaurant go to a restaurant; they're not going to go to a food truck."

He sees food truck set-ups as a good way to foster community and bring more people outside to get to know one another and actually chat each other up, rather than lunching alone at their desks. He says that because food trucks bring more people to an area, they're actually doing their part to contribute to the community. (They buy produce and other ingredients from local businesses whenever they can, too).

Catala, who has a five-day old baby, says he's willing to go beyond that level of contribution and work out a fee to be paid to the BIA in order to operate in the neighbourhood. He's put a major investment into his business, and he's willing to compromise in order to operate it the way he sees fit.

"These are restaurants on wheels. They're $100,000 investments. People have second mortgages on these things, it's our livelihood.

But Clay seems pretty set on her decision not to endorse food truck operations in the area. She says there are bylaws in place defining who can be a member of the BIA, and there's no classification for food trucks. She says she understands that they need to operate—after all, they're businesses, too—just not on her turf.

The owner of Fat Bastard Burrito Co., Sal Zahid, is at least one person who agrees with Clay. "From a negative point of view, it does affect revenue. Every dollar counts," he says.

"But they're out there to support their families, just like we're out there to support our families."

Although Zahid would rather not have food trucks stationed near his restaurant and drawing away potential customers, his tone sounds really similar to Catala's. It's clear Catala sees food trucks as a different kind of operation drawing a different kind of customer.

I think Lynn Clay and Krystian Catala should sit down over a beer and some fish tacos and hash this out. It seems like there must be a way to please everybody and let food trucks reign free.

Where do you stand on this issue? Would you like to see food trucks in Liberty Village?

Weekend events in Toronto is our guide to events happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what's happening in Toronto this May 10-12, 2013.

MARKET

Junction Flea
The Junction Flea is coming home. Abandoning it's winter spot at The Great Hall, Junction Flea returns to its origins at Indian Road and Dundas West, setting up shop in the outdoor parking lot where it was born. Vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry to housewares to vintage clothing will be on site all day long with live music by Kieran Adams and Joseph Shabason of DIANA playing at Opticianado down the road.
Indian Road and Dundas Street West, May 12, 2013, 9 AM $2

Spring It On 707 Neighbourhood Block Party
Spring It On is more than just a street food party--it's a neighbourhood experience. This neighbourhood block party will serve as the season opener of the Scadding Court 707 market, where small businesses are housed in large shipping containers. Food vendors and several food trucks like Ceviche 707, TNT Roti and House of Jaffle will be set up as local folk musicians perform for the crowds. This event kicks off the Flavours of the City event series, which only takes place on the 2nd Friday of every month throughout the summer. Come down the block and meet the neighbours this Friday evening.
Market 707 (707 Dundas Street West), May 10, 2013, 5PM Free

Toronto Flower Market
The Toronto Flower Market is the city's first outdoor flower and plant market selling local product from Ontario greenhouses. Opening Saturday morning, the TFM offers discounted potted plants and freshly cut flowers grown by local horticulturists and gardeners. Taking place once a month at 99 Sudbury, this market offers some of the best flower selections in the province with an array of colours and types of flowers to choose from. Supporting the pickOntario campaign by Flowers Canada Inc., the Toronto Flower Market is a must-see for those who support the local movement. (And think of all the Instagram photo ops!)
99 Sudbury (99 Sudbury Street), May 11, 2013, 10AM Free

COMMUNITY

Bells on Bloor 2013
An en masse bike ride will take place this Saturday afternoon to advocate for bicycle and pedestrian safety. Bells on Bloor 2013 will be a group bike ride, beginning at High Park's Bloor Gate off Parkside Drive and ending at Queen's Park. Honouring moms and kids for Mother's Day, riders will celebrate motherhood by decorating their bicycles with flowers and Sweet Pete's Bike Shop will be donating bells to riders without to ensure safety. Join the movement! Cyclists will meet at 12PM sharp.
High Park Bloor Gate (Parkside Drive), May 11, 2013, 12PM Free

MUSIC

SONGS: A Dance Party featuring Foals
Didn't get tickets to the Foals concert at Kool Haus this Saturday night? Two parts of the English indie rock band behind the 2013 album Holy Fire will play a guest DJ set at The Great Hall following their show with Surfer Blood and Blondfire. Presented by Young Lions Music Club, Edwin Congreave and Jack Bevan will play a set of their favourite tunes after their show at the Kool Haus, following a DJ set by Summer Fling DJs. Tickets are cheap, the music will be good and Mill Street is providing beers. Sounds like the perfect summer evening to us.
The Great Hall (1087 Queen Street West), May 11, 2013, 10PM $5

PP41: Doldrums | Doom Squad | Cellphone | Omhouse
Doldrums has been recording mixtapes and EPs for several years but at this Saturday night's show, there is something to celebrate--the Montreal DJ and electronic musician has released his first full-length album Lesser Evil. Playing tonight with live drummers and his own falsetto, the singer/producer/DJ will rework songs off the album, tweaking them for a live audience. Joining Doldrums onstage will be opening acts Doom Squad, Cellphone and Omhouse with DJ Ell V and Josh McIntyre also providing tunes. Tickets will be available at the door.
The Horseshoe Tavern (370 Queen Street West), May 11, 2013, 9PM $10 advance, $12 door

For more music listings, check out This Week in Music and May Concerts.

ART

CONTACT Photography Festival
CONTACT is the world's largest photography festival, and an annual event in Toronto. The theme of this year's festival is Field of Vision, and it includes public installations on city streets and subway stations, as well as museums and galleries. You've got plenty of time to check it out, as the show runs until May 31.
Citywide May 1-31

COMICS

Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) 2013 Nerds and geeks alike can rejoice as TCAF hits town once again. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the festival, and will provide the chance for fans to meet some of the biggest names in the comic world, such as Art Spiegelman, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, and Faith Erin Hicks.
TCAF is free, and runs from May 11 from 9 AM to 5 PM, and May 12 from 11 AM to 5 PM.

COMEDY

Scott Thompson Live
Kids in the Hall actor and comedian Scott Thompson performs his latest original show at The Flying Beaver Pubaret. Meet John Coon is Thompson's one-man show which will show off the comedian doing what he does best--character acting. Performing this one night only, Thompson will be up to his old tricks so die-hard fans will not be disappointed with the classic Canadian comedy show at the Pubaret this Saturday night. Tickets will be sold at the door.
The Flying Beaver Pubaret (488 Parliament Street), May 11, 2013, 9PM $20 advance, $25 door

For more comedy listings, check out This Week in Comedy.

NATURE

This weekend is your last chance to catch the High Park Cherry blossoms.

FILM

Blackbird
When a bullied teen makes a threat online, he finds himself buried in controversy in his small community. Jason Buxton's feature debut Blackbird has garnered critical acclaim and awards at major international film festivals, effectively launching the careers of young actors Connor Jessup, Alexia Fast and Alex Ozerov. The Canadian indie that takes an in-depth look at online bullying opens at Yonge-Dundas Square theatre for a one-week engagement on Friday. Join members of the cast and crew for special Q&A screenings on Friday and Saturday at the 7:45PM screenings.
Yonge-Dundas Square (10 Dundas Street East), May 10-16, 2013, various times

For more film listings, check out This Week in Film.

FOOD

2nd Annual Toronto Wing Festival
Though blogTO has narrowed down some of the best wings in Toronto, the 2nd Annual Toronto Wing Festival is searching for the singular best wing. Fearless Fred of Edge Radio hosts a festival in which several wing-makers compete for the title of wing king. All-you-can-eat wings, dozens of beer brewers and live musicians will fill 99 Sudbury this Friday night as Fred determines who makes the best wings in the city with the help of television host Bob Blumer. Eat wings and be merry as all proceeds from this event go directly to charitable organizations.
99 Sudbury (99 Sudbury Street), May 10, 2013, 6PM $30

For more food listings, check out Toronto Food Events.

FASHION

Philip Sparks Open Factory
Vintage-inspired Toronto clothing company Philip Sparks is opening their factory doors to give interested parties a behind-the-scenes look at how their dapper look is produced. Settled in a former bread factory in the Junction, the Philip Sparks warehouse will be in full production mode, creating summer and fall pieces as guests are invited to mill about and watch. The Saturday afternoon event runs until 5PM and is an exclusive sneak peek at upcoming seasonal wear.
Philip Sparks Factory (130 Cawthra Avenue, Unit 107), May 11, 2013, 1PM Free

For more fashion listings, check out This Week in Fashion.

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo by Tom Ryaboi

Photo by ~EvidencE~ in the blogTO Flickr pool

There's nothing that makes my heart happier than seeing young comics doing well and producing their own shows. Follow me as I walk you through the splendour that May has brought with her in This Week In Comedy...

TUES MAY 14 / HARDCORE GIRLS / BLACK SWAN / 9PM / 154 DANFORTH AVE / $5

Amber Harper-Young is putting that on a show that aims to provide a comfortable environment for new female comics to test their might. It's not an easy thing for a girl to get up there given the male-dominated open mics in Toronto. I can imagine that it's like trying to break into a boys club of sorts. Amber's booked seasoned veterans like Sandra Battaglini, Zabrina Chevannes, and Lianne Mauladin, which will show the newcomers what's possible if they stick with it. Plus, all proceeds from the event will be going to Because I Am A Girl. Everything about this makes my heart happy.

WED MAY 15 / THE COMEDY DROP / 751 LOUNGE / 751 QUEEN W / 10PM / FREE

Marito Antonio Lopez, along with Danny Mendlow and Jesse Owens, have decided to produce their own comedy show, The Comedy Drop. They've opted to start off quietly, booking Jean Paul, Monty Scott, Alex Pavone, Keith Pedro, Steph Tolev...WTF?! Good Lord. AND they got the bar to do drink specials? Damn, son. Here we have yet another group of comedic entrepeneurs giving the big guys a run for their money, and my heart's the happier for it.

WED MAY 15 / MIKE MACDONALD FUNDRAISER / REVIVAL BAR / 783 COLLEGE / $20 / 830PM

Mike Macdonald is a Canadian stand-up legend, having performed on David Letterman and Arsenio Hall.  Recently, he's been diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and comedians have responded by rallying to his aid. Case in point, Teresa Cerar has put together an awesome show, which features Ben Miner, Kate Davis, Martha Chaves, Mike Wilmot, Simon Rakoff, Time Steeves, and Ron James. Of course, all proceeds go to Mike. If you're unable to attend, but still want to help, click here. My heart smiles.

FRI MAY 17 / MAY FLOWERS DEVOUR AN HOUR / FLYING BEAVER PUBARET / 488 PARLIAMENT / 7PM / $10 ADV $15 DOOR

Jeff E, Gareth Lloyd, and Megan Myke are celebrating their one year anniversary in comedy by, well, devouring an hour. Pay special attention to Jeff E. He's quite possibly the most likeable male comic in Toronto right now. Like, he's just, likeable, you know? I dunno. That might not seem like a big deal, but in a world where you only have five minutes to make a name for yourself, having the audience want to laugh because they're on your side is a crucial ingredient to a killer act. Young comics producing their own show? This makes my heart happy.

About the Author: This is Michael Jagdeo, and I refuse to write about myself in the third-person. My blog, Diary of a Stand-up Comedian, walks you through the up's and down's (they're mostly down's, really) in my quest to become a killer comic in Toronto.

Toronto's beer drinkers are spoiled for choice when it comes to locally-produced beverages. Each year it seems a new microbrewery begins bottling its concoctions. Now, where there was once just mass-produced light lagers, IPAs, pilsners, stouts, pale ales, and wheat beers are now sating thousands of thirsty locals.

Though the craft beer boom is a relatively recent phenomenon, Toronto's once-pristine creeks and streams have been used to brew ale almost as long as there's been European settlement here. In fact, it's been more than 213 years since the first amber, fermented beverage passed lips in Toronto.

The first person credited with crafting a batch of beer for the purposes of selling it to taverns, rather than just personal consumption, was John Henderson, a brewer who arrived from Kingston as an adult in 1800.

A "British born subject," he built and named a brewery after himself on the northeast corner of Duchess and Caroline streets, now Richmond and Sherbourne, on the banks of Taddle Creek, a now lost waterway responsible for the odd kink in Queens Park Crescent West. Henderson used his connections in his old city to arrange shipments of wheat and grain from Kingston and towns on the Bay of Quinte.

At the time, York was dependent on importing butter, meat (pork, hams, beef, and mutton), and flour from the established settlements of Niagara, Kingston, and Genesee County, New York. Fretting the town was propped up by imports and government cash, John Stewart, a rector from Kingston, wrote that "there are more people now in York by one third than the place can support" in a letter to the Bishop of Quebec in 1801.Henderson's first brews were most likely similar to modern Weissbiers. Barley wasn't among the products he ordered shipped to his property during the first few years, and the resulting drink was probably naturally cloudy as a result.

He supplied Abner Miles, the owner of York's first tavern, and possibly William Cooper's Toronto Coffee House - an establishment closer to a pub than a cafe - though the owner there listed "London porter" among his offerings and didn't mention Henderson's beer by name.

A few years later, newspaper reports reveal Henderson had acquired a source of barley and presumably altered his recipe accordingly. He expanded the brewing operation to include a tannery and slaughterhouse with a contract to supply the soldiers at Fort York with beef. In August 1806 he advertised that poultry, "fresh pork, and mutton will always be ready on a day's notice" from his sprawling plot of land.When he wasn't making beer or preparing meat, Henderson held several positions of authority in the city. In 1802 he was elected in charge of the town's animal pound and in 1805 was promoted to the position of assessor under town clerk Ely Playter. He must have had a head for numbers as he was also the town's tax collector for a time too.

By 1808, Henderson had decided to sell his brewery, possibly as part of an unsuccessful bid to be elected to the House of Assembly. He listed its output at 30 barrels of beer a week, which works out to about 345 pints, in the Upper Canada Gazette. The site included a "plant for malting, brew house, working tubs, coolers, two kilns for drying malt, a granary, pumps, a patent brewing malt mill, two good wells of water, and stable."

The operation was adopted after three years on the market, in 1811, by Dr. Thomas Stoyles, an American who acquired his medical training before coming to York in around 1799. Henderson purged the brewery of remaining stock before he quit, encouraging locals to fill their kegs with his "strong and clear" brew for $6 a barrel from "sun-rise to sun-set," (but not on the Sabbath, of course.)

Now freed from his brewing business, Henderson was able to marry his sweetheart Elizabeth Hunter in April 1811. The marriage didn't last long - the founder of Toronto's first brewery died after a long illness on the 13 October. Elizabeth would go on to marry William Shaw, another prominent early citizen, the next year.Living north of the border, the new brewer Stoyles appears to have never used his medical training and entirely devoted himself to the sale or production of alcohol. Before buying the Henderson brewery, Stoyles had taken over Abner Miles' tavern - an important early institution - and renamed it for himself.

According to John Ross Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto, Stoyles abandoned that property during the War of 1812 and it was taken over by "an American" who upset customers when he refused to join the local militia fighting against US invaders. For his disloyalty, the building was stoned by disgruntled locals.

Stoyles took on partners Mallory and Doel in 1818 and continued to expand the grounds and increase its beer production. The brewery later included a 50-foot row of brick arches dug into the banks of Taddle Creek and along the south end of the property that were covered with earth and used for storage and fermenting.

During his time as a brewer, Stoyles was, as a prominent citizen who also held public office, assigned to investigate the circumstances of the famous duel between Samuel Jarvis, for whom Jarvis Street is named, and John Ridout, the son of Upper Canada's Surveyor General, alongside coroner "Thomsas" (likely a misspelling of Thomas) Hamilton.

Jarvis killed Ridout on the 12th July, 1817, in Elmsley Field at today's Yonge and College during an organized gun battle arranged to settle a long-running dispute. In classic fashion, the pair stood back to back and walked in opposite directions. Ridout struck first, too early, and Jarvis was allowed to kill him as a penalty by the two referees, Jas. E. Small and Henry J. Boulton.

The lead bullet, fired from Jarvis' 10-shilling pistol, hit Ridout in lower part of the neck, tearing out his jugular and windpipe and felling him to the ground where he "there instantly died," according to the report Stoyles cosigned. The Hamilton and Stoyles concluded Jarvis was "moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil" and he was later acquitted of murder.

Back at the brewery things seemed to be going well. Reports noted that the business was paying "50-100%" more for hops and barley from local growers in an attempt to prevent the harvest being sold to the United States. By 1920 there were "five breweries established or erecting in or near this town" and Stoyles' brew was competing with imported ales that were assed a sixpence per gallon duty.Just two years later, however, the Stoyles-Mallory-Doel partnership was dissolved and the brewing operation closed soon after. There isn't a clear reason for this, though it's possible the religious convictions of Dr. Stoyles may have been at play. In 1930, he cofounded The York Temperance Society, a group that passionately advocated for teetotalism.

During the same post-brewing period, Stoyles also chaired a meeting to discuss securing independent representation for the town of York from the rest of the province. The meeting ended in disorder when someone threw an apple at Dr. Stoyles.

Stoyles died on February 27, 1832, aged 71 as one of the oldest citizens of York. With no heirs, his remaining King Street property and estate was left to the Methodist Church. The old brewery at Sherbourne and Richmond became a blacksmiths, as shown in the lead image and later drawing.

The beer, however, kept flowing in Toronto.

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Toronto Public Library; Landmarks of Toronto, John Ross Robertson; City of Toronto Archives; 1818 Phillpotts Plan of York.

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

Of a Monstrous Child: A Gaga Musical / Buddies in Bad Times / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $37
Buddies in Bad Times presents a musical for all you Little Monsters out there. That's right, the pop culture provocateur Lady Gaga is profiled in Of a Monstrous Child, which promises to feature "a collection of the art world's greatest icons." Kimberly Persona stars as the lady in question alongside Bruce Dow, Gavin Crawford, Tyson James, Chy Ryan Spain, and Kyle Travis Young.

Dialogues Des Carmelites / COC - Four Seasons Centre / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $45-$100+
The procession of condemned nuns marching towards death in Act 3 of Francis Poulenc's Dialogues Des Carmelites is one of the more striking scenes I've seen in an opera. Celebrated director Robert Carsen returns to the COC, after successes with Orfeo ed Euridice and Iphigenia in Tauris, to direct a cast of 150 performers through this haunting tale set during the tumult of the French Revolution.

BEA / Factory Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $20-$25
Mick Gordon's BEA is a portrait of a young woman on a journey to find herself and break free of the debilitating disease that threatens to hold her back. The play considers the impact of her condition on those closest to her, as well as the outcome of the young girl's actions. It's presented by the Actors Repertory Company and features Deborah Drakeford, Brendan McMurtry-Howlett & Bahareh Yaraghi.

Charge Of The Expormidable Moose / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $20-$28
One Little Goat introduces Toronto audiences to the English Language premiere of Claude Gauvreau's Charge Of The Expormidable Moose at the Tarragon Extra Space. The play follows a poet who is both ridiculed and envied by his peers. An often championed playwright in Quebec, Gauvreau's texts have never been presented outside the province until now, thanks to translation by Ray Ellenwood and direction from Adam Seelig.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change / TO Centre for the Arts / 8:00pm/2:00pm /$25-$45
Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts' I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change became an Off-Broadway hit in 1996, going on to become the second-longest running musical in the "Off" category. It features a scenes with couples in various stages of their relationships (first date, marriage, kids) and is anchored around love and how it operates. Angelwalk's production features Christopher Alan Gray, Dean Hollin, Leslie Kay, and Alison O'Neill.

Photo from the Charge of the Expormidable Moose

Photo by Hamid A. in the blogTO Flickr pool

The Danforth Music Hall was nowhere near full on Friday night when Toronto's own pop 'n roll band Dragonette hit the stage. Luckily, those few who chose to brave the rain and miss the last period of Game 5 were ready to party. Although Dragonette's final Bodyparts tour is co-headlined by The Presets, I came to see the former, so if you're looking for a review of The Presets, you've come to the wrong place.

Lead singer Martina Sorbara mentioned that the prospect of "playing shows in Toronto is always a bit scary 'til I get on stage and then I'm happy." I'll admit I was a little disappointed during the first few tracks. Poor acoustics were to blame: the sound equipment, and the venue itself, were working against Sorbara and her beautiful voice was overpowered by instrumentals.

The acoustics didn't, however, dampen the spirit of the dancers — and in particular one dude who, whipping his jacket around, inadvertently smacked a security guard in the eye. Luckily, the pseudo authority figure was forgiving and he received an apologetic kiss on the cheek from Sasha Fierce himself.

I expected the whole dance floor to be moving just as frantically, but the crowd seemed just as tame as Sorbara and I were and stuck to swaying back and forth, adding in the occasional hand clap.

Everything changed when the band played their latest hit "Run Run Run" and Sorbara's voice became clear and confident. The crowd's energy began to pick up and more arms were spotted flailing in the air. Without hesitation, as soon as "Run Run Run" wrapped up, the band's smash hit "Hello" burst through the speakers and the crowd went wild.

By this time, Sorbara's bubbly enthusiasm replaced any fear she may have felt earlier in the show. She displayed easygoing dance moves and fantastic vocals while the band played perfect dance pop beats and melodies.

The show was well rounded and the band kept fans satisfied with classic hits like "I Get Around" and "Easy" and new tracks like "Let It Go" and "My Work Is Done." Sorbara calls Bodyparts a fun, sunny little record, saying she wanted to "put some more sunshine and daytime into electro-dance music" and stray from the darkness and night-time and lasers found in Top 40s dance music. Dragonette managed to come out of the darkness that was the first half of Friday night's show and with their catchy dance tunes, prompted the crowd to have fun.

Photos by Brian Morton

Public school will be just wrapping up for the summer, so what better reason than to take a little Field Trip courtesy of Arts & Crafts! Field Trip is their upcoming music/food extravaganza that will feature top bands from their roster (Feist, Broken Social Scene, Zeus, Stars, and then some) along side a fresh crop of tasty and insanely creative artisan foods, curated with assistance from the Toronto Underground Market (TUM).

A couple of weekends ago I was invited to an afternoon of boardroom pitches from local vendors, judged by members of Arts & Crafts like partner, Jeffrey Remedios and Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning.

"I've been to many music festivals backstage so I'm being catered to in a different way but if you take a look at Harbourfront in the summer you have all the international foods, and I like that stuff so why not bring that concept but with a local farming focus?" Canning told me.

"There's so much waste at rock festivals, so if we can curate something that supports a local farming movement, and when there's a local slaughterhouse literally behind the field then why not, rather than having people wolfing down hot dogs and pizza from Pizza Pizza. They do fine on their own."

Along with 30 or so TUM vendors, you will also see food truck vendors like Caplansky's, Buster's Sea Cove, Stuft, and Blue Donkey (more info on these can be found via our new food truck app and the Toronto Food Trucks website). Aside from tasty bites, Amsterdam Brewery has even concocted a very special Field Trip brew.

Here's a taste and feel of what's to come.

I know it's a sin to start with dessert but these just have to be mentioned first. The Backyard Kitchen will be serving deep fried beer batter banana fritters, delicately crispy on the outside, but melt in your mouth creamy in the inside with a sweet vanilla undertone. By far the best fritter of any type my taste buds have commingled. Definitely a must try. They're also offering a sweet and juicy pulled pork sandwich containing different textures of meat, dosed with hoisin sauce. For vegetarians, they've got a tangy and garlicky beet sandwich guaranteed to keep you safe from creeps and vampires with just one bite.

Timeless Food presented a steak Bordelaise which consists of a delicate beef Carpaccio, shoestring frites, croquette made from white bean puree, roasted shallots and "more bone marrow fat than is good for the average human." It was a delicious contrast of flavours and elements. Crunchy, soft, chewy, sweet and salty. Easily the best fries you'll ever scarf down at a music festival.

Meat Pie Mates. A classic staple in Australian footy and rugger matches, Erynn Mayes has made it her mission to bring the meals-to-go meat pies to America. The chunky, crusty pucks come filled with traditional beef, butter chicken, and a veg option of zucchini and Boursin cheese filling. "An instant second wind," approved Canning.

Grub by Derek Wu has made a number of TUM appearances. Their deep fried taro chips that tasted exactly like hand cut chips wont be served nor will their Me So Horny epically cheesy, garlic-stuffed, baked oysters, but you will be able to suck on their delightful aloe and blueberry ice pops. And scarf down their tempura corn bites and pineapple bao buns.

The Animal Liberation Kitchen, a vegan operation that clearly aims to emancipate our furry friends, created a Chirashi vegan sushi bowl with delicately vinagered rice, edamame, avocado and carrots on a lettuce leaf bowl. Simple yet surprisingly delicious. Also available will be a slurpable Greek cold gazpacho, peppered with chunks of disintegrating feta cheese and olives, in a tomato slurry. It's tasty, refreshing and will cool down your body temp so you can get back to the party.

Bricks and Mortar will be offering a tantalizing array of holdable dishes like flank steak and bacon sandwiches, the bacon on bacon slider, sriracha popcorn and duck quesadillas.

Babi & Co. is another must try for those who haven't made it over to Indonesia, the Asian archipelago, peanut-sauce obsessed country. They'll be offering their signature Babi on a Bun of sweet braised pork belly on a brioche-like bun, Mie Kuah Kacang, which are thick chewy yellow noodles in a rich peanut sauce with veggies and tofu.

Taking the cake, quite literally, for most creative yet practical kiddy snack was Paleo Bread's gluten-free (wheat, rice, corn and rice free too since we're at it) banana bread. Moist and heavy, there's some good fuel to keep you swaying to the music.

Sweet Sammies Ice Cream Sandwich Co. will be so popular, you might want to skip out on dinner and grab one of these before they're gone. Small batch gourmet ice cream sandwiches like the Crownie (vanilla bean ice cream between Belgian chocolate brownies) or the Triple C (Belgian chocolate ice cream between chocolate chip cookies) sweetened with ingredients like maple syrup.

Photos by Alejandro Santiago and Brad Freeman

Photo by Michael Leckman in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Toronto events on May 13th, 2013

MUSIC | Youth Lagoon, Majical Cloudz at The Great Hall
Youth Lagoon hits The Great Hall tonight. Singer/songwriter Trevor Powers performs under the moniker Youth Lagoon, and has been gaining popularity with critics and fans alike since his 2011 debut album The Year of Hibernation. His sound is energetic and poppy, yet atmospheric and sonically rich with sounds that are different and somewhat enigmatic. Youth Lagoon just released a new album entitled, Wondrous Bughouse, produced by Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Deerhunter), so new material is likely to be featured tonight. Majical Cloudz is also on tonight's bill. Should be good!
The Great Hall Toronto (1087 Queen Street West) 8PM $16.50

BOOKS & LIT | Cathi Bond's "Night Town" book launch
Tonight, Toronto author Cathi Bond launches her novel, Night Town at the Imperial Pub. Bond is an active Toronto writer and broadcaster who has written for The Globe and Mail, contributed to the CBC's Definitely Not the Opera, and Spark, as well as hosting the Canadian literature-oriented Prosecast podcast. Night Town is a novel that takes place in Toronto in the '70s, and revolves specifically around the Yonge Street strip - that notorious stretch in the centre of the city that has always been home to dangerous characters, and a hotbed for "alternative culture".
Imperial Pub (54 Dundas Street West) 6PM

FUNDRAISER | Random Acts for Theatre Direct
Theatre Direct has been around since the mid 1970s, providing arts education to young people, and engaging them directly with their theatre programming. Tonight a fundraising event takes place for the benefit of this organization: Random Acts, an evening of music and performances devoted to Theatre Direct. An interesting and eclectic cast of performers is slated for this event, including Sophia Perlman, Xin Wang, Karin Randoja, percussionist Debashis Sinha, Mike Freedman, and dancers Meagan O'Shea and Nova Bhattacharya. There will also be magic by Eric Woolfe, and sounds by DJ MegaWATT. Help support an important part of TO's arts community by attending tonight.
Theatre Direct, Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie Street Studio 174) 7PM $20

THEATRE | The 2013 Harold Awards
The 2013 Harold Awards happen tonight at the Monarch Tavern. Celebrating Toronto's eclectic and prolific theatre community, the Harold Awards have been a TO tradition since 1995, and exist as an alternative to the Dora Awards. The vibe at this event is one that is 'subversive', but with plenty of humour. After all, this award was named after a well-known heckler, Harold Kandel, so this tradition has had a "tongue-in-cheek" dimension from its inception. Tonight Richard Lee and Lindy Zucker host, and you are asked to kindly bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to The Good Shepherd Centre.
Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton Street) 7:30PM $10

Also Of Note

• AMY CARSON HUNTER // Call Me The Wind CD Release
• HUGE Costume and Clothing Sale
• Lady Lamb The Beekeeper

For more Toronto event suggestions, check out these posts:

• This week in music
• This week in fashion
• This week in film
• Toronto food events
• This week in theatre
• This week in comedy
• Toronto Concerts, May 2013

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events calendar or contact us directly.

Photo by Denise McMullin.

Another week, another poll suggesting Olivia Chow could take the Toronto mayor's seat in 2014. The latest study by Forum Research found Chow had 57% of the vote, down slightly from earlier in the year. The only way a campaign involving the NDP MP could fail, according to the stats, is if the opposition vote was split three ways. Chow still hasn't ruled out a run for mayor. Do you think she will decide soon?

Well, they did it. The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the Boston Bruins tonight in Game 7 thanks to their 2-1 series-tying win last night. Goalie James Reimer would have had a shutout if it wasn't for a late consolation goal for the visitors. Can the Buds come all the way back and take the series?

Everyone knows Toronto's transit woes go way, way back. The first proposal for an underground streetcar network was pitched in 1910 then scaled back to a route under Yonge street before being rejected by voters. Oliver Moore at the Globe and Mail has takes a look back at the city's century of hurt.

Just when you thought twerking was all the rage, planking proves it's not finished. Here's a picture of a construction worker on an unidentified Toronto tower taking the trend to new extremes, balancing himself on top of a construction elevator shaft with Billy Bishop airport and the Gardiner Expressway in the background. Yikes.

The Leslie Street stop on the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT is back on the map after Metrolinx reversed an earlier decision to nix the station. Under the old plan, the tunnel would have continued to Don Mills Road, bypassing Leslie. The station sequence is now back in the form that was originally approved by the province.

Best stock up on liquor before the long weekend. A looming LCBO worker's strike could mean more than 7,000 union staff walk off the job before Friday. The company has advised people to stock up just in case.

FROM THE WEEKEND:

• This Week in Comedy
• This Week in Theatre
• Meet the men behind the first breweries in Toronto
• Dragonette brings Bodyparts to the Danforth Music Hall
• 10 must-try street foods at Arts & Crafts' Field Trip

IN BRIEF:

• Toronto Sun founding editor Peter Worthington dead at 86 [Toronto Sun]
• Man, 60, struck and killed by streetcar in east end Toronto [National Post]
• Homicide victim Holly Jones remembered 10 years later [Toronto Star]
• Blue Jays bats pound Red Sox for series win [CBC]

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Wolf GW/blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Music rounds up the latest news, releases and concerts coming to Toronto.

IN THE NEWS

M.O.P. kick off Canadian tour in Toronto

It's almost criminal that Lil' Fame and Billy Danze, known as M.O.P. (Mash Out Posse), haven't received more attention. The duo has been around for 20 years and has maintained a strong underground following, and yet their only true sniff of mainstream success came in 2000 with their single "Ante Up." It's a shame, because M.O.P. is one of the stronger duos in hip-hop. This month, they're embarking on a Canadian tour, and they'll be kicking it off right here in Toronto at the Mod Club. They'll be joined by Bronze Nazareth, 2012 Canadian Beatbox Champion Scott Jackson, and Tragic of Philly Moves.

THIS WEEK'S HOT TICKETS

TUESDAY MAY 14 / THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT / DANFORTH MUSIC HALL / 147 DANFORTH / $34 / ALL AGES

I was convinced that the Airborne Toxic Event were going to be the next big thing when I first heard their self-titled 2008 debut album. The strength of their first single, "Sometime Around Midnight," and the unique sound that the band brought to the table seemed to be a sure thing. And while they haven't exactly reached great heights of fame, they've continued to churn out solid records and have amassed a very loyal following.

TUESDAY MAY 14 / RALEIGH / HORSESHOE TAVERN / 370 QUEEN W / FREE / 19+

Raleigh, a trio out of Calgary, recently came onto my radar, and I'm very quickly falling in love with their sound. While much of their material has a straight-up pop sound, it's also deeply rooted in folk, and their songs run the gamut from simple to complex. Since there's no charge to get into the Horseshoe, you really ought to head down there and have a listen.

THURSDAY MAY 16 / VAMPIRE WEEKEND / SONY CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS / 1 FRONT ST E / $45.23 - $58.48 / ALL AGES

The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts is a bit of an odd venue for a band like Vampire Weekend, but then again, what do I know? The New York quartet's third album, Modern Vampires of the City, is set to be released on Tuesday, and the lead single, "Diane Young," is getting a fair bit of play on Toronto radio right now, so you can probably expect to hear a fair bit of newer material.

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED CONCERTS

• COOLIO / THE ROCKPILE / JULY 24 / 7:30PM
• SMITH WESTERNS / LEE'S PALACE / JULY 29 / 8PM
• DEERHUNTER / THE PHOENIX / SEPTEMBER 12 / 8PM
• TORO Y MOI / THE PHOENIX / OCTOBER 27 / 8PM

WHAT WE GOT UP TO LAST WEEK

• Dragonette brings Bodyparts to the Danforth Music Hall

Photo of Vampire Weekend courtesy of NRK P3 on Flickr.

Last weekend's Jane's Walk featured many worthy destinations, but I was compelled to join the walk in Mount Dennis, focused on the Eglinton LRT line that will have its west end terminus there, once the two massive tunnel boring machines being built there finally emerge at the eastern end of this massive - and long overdue - project. It's also the neighbourhood where I grew up, my family's home since before World War One, and an area whose decline had almost become terminal.

Unless you grew up there, most people don't know where Mount Dennis is, and once upon a time I would have explained by saying "near Weston Road and Eglinton - by the Kodak plant." Kodak closed its Toronto plant in 2005, after over 80 years of operation on the site, but telling people where Mount Dennis is will get easier when Metrolinx finishes the first phase of its crosstown Eglinton LRT in 2020 (we hope.) In the meantime there's a lot of work to be done, a lot of people who want to see things done right, and an awfully big hole in the ground just across Black Creek from where Kodak used to stand.

Black Creek was the focus of the first stop on the walk, which began in the parking lot next to Chris Tonks Arena, next to where the Humber River tributary meanders freely before it gets channeled into the concrete sleeve of a flood control ditch that contains it right up till it empties into the Humber.

On the other side of the creek was the other construction site transforming the area - a new community centre scheduled to open in less than two years. The area has been desperate for a community centre at least since I wrote about Mount Dennis almost fifteen years ago for Toronto Life, and it promises to be stunning, at least in the renderings on the website of the centre's architects, Perkins and Will. The long-deferred commencement of construction brought out both Ward 11 councillor Frances Nunziata and York South-Weston MPP Laura Albanese for the walk, both of whom were eager to answer questions and bask in the glow of so much new infrastructure springing to life in an area that has been underserved for so long.

Closer to the banks of Black Creek, Mike Mattos from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority explained plans for the rehabilitation of the creek, described quaintly in the promo page for the Jane's Walk as "the Humber River's most degraded tributary." He pointed out the nine levels of erosion protection visible from the east side of the creek, built to keep debris and sediment from the community centre construction from choking the waterway.

Mattos also said that the TRCA plans to re-naturalize Black Creek all the way to the Humber, which will mean freeing it from the concrete flood control channel that, at least when I photographed it four years ago, was already being reclaimed by nature:

When I was young, Black Creek was still a stark ribbon of concrete running through Mount Dennis, where you'd head to late at night to sit on the sun-warmed concrete slope and stare at the summer sky. I was shocked to see how poorly maintained the channel had become in the last three decades, but in hindsight it's startling how readily we once accepted the expedience of encasing streams, creeks and rivers in concrete, as part of the brute rationale of postwar urban planning and environmental policy.

From Black Creek we moved on to the main event - the launch site of the Eglinton Crosstown tunnel boring machines, a huge hole excavated into the middle of Eglinton Avenue, where we could see one machine nearly finished and another in parts all over the adjacent construction yard. A young engineer from the project explained to us how the machines would start their work at the beginning of the summer, starting their eastward journey to Eglinton West station, where they'd be extracted from another hole next to the Allen, then re-inserted underground on the other side of the new station platform, to continue their journey to the Don.

(It's an impressive project - as grand an infrastructure project as we're likely to see in Toronto for at least a generation, in all likelihood, but what he neglected to mention was that the division of Caterpillar that made the tunnel boring machines was scheduled to close next year, with a loss of 330 jobs.)

The next stop was Building 9, the old Kodak employees building that's all that remains of the vast American film company's Canadian plant. Sitting at the end of Photography Drive, it's become an unofficial symbol of the neighbourhood - a last remnant of the company that made Mount Dennis and a sad example of the neglect with which it's treated.

A Metrolinx representative gave a presentation on the transit complex that's going to be built on the old Kodak lands - a combination of maintenance yards and garages for the new fleet of LRT trains and a transit hub joining Mount Dennis station with a new GO station. While struggling to keep the wind from blowing away his poster-sized renderings of the future development, he pointed out that Building 9 is to be retained as part of the complex, with its first floor serving as a concourse.

What no one could say was what would happen to the three floors on top of that, currently open to the elements as a result of years of "demolition by neglect" overseen by the site's former owners, Metrus Properties. I asked councillor Nunziata what the city would like to see, but all she could say that there were discussions and meetings still on the schedule to determine the best way to repurpose Building 9 for "community uses."

Next up was a representative of that community, who gave us a presentation of what they'd like to see happen to Building 9. Working with Ryerson architecture students, they've produced drawings of a wholly renewed structure, with additional floors added to Building 9, with green space, open atriums and access to adjacent parkland. This is, of course, a mere wish list, and there's no reason at this point to imagine that anyone with the power to say yes - which means Metrolinx and city hall - is behind the Mount Dennis Network's hopes for Building 9.

The second last stop on the walk was on the other side of the railway lines, in front of the Scotiabank that, like its neighbouring daycare centre, is scheduled to be demolished to make way for the GO/TTC complex. Another neighbourhood activist talked about their fond wish to see the building preserved, and I can't see why it can't happen. Lacking a town hall - Unlike Weston to the north, Mount Dennis was never its own municipality - the neighbourhood was always lacking grand civic buildings, which means that the Bank of Nova Scotia building, situated in the most picturesque corner of the intersection that's the heart of Mount Dennis, has always been the closest thing.

It's a simple but rather lovely example of the solid postwar modernism, rendered in stone more than glass, that you'll still find on University Avenue, and in skyscrapers like the old Imperial Oil building and Scotiabank's old headquarters on the northeast corner of King and Bay. My mother had a bank account there when I was a boy - a legacy of her time working at Kodak - and I still remember its high ceilings and huge windows impressing me far more than the humble little bank branches tucked into strip malls.

The building had a grandeur I could only compare with a train station, and if Metrolinx could be encouraged to incorporate it into its new transit hub, that grandeur could be put to appropriate use. The good news is that, later in the next week, it was announced that city council would be asking Metrolinx for community consultations on redeveloping the Scotiabank building. The bad news is that this is Toronto, and the community in Mount Dennis might find themselves being told to consider themselves lucky that all of this development has finally arrived on their doorstep, and that in the interest of budgets, schedules and expediency, the Bank of Nova Scotia building might be worth sacrificing. I hope I'm wrong.

The final stop on the Mount Dennis Jane's Walk was the lovely new library just recently reopened just south of the Scotiabank building. I'll be writing more about this later, but I couldn't help but remember all the hours I'd spent in the library's predecessor, demolished in the early '80s, and how strange it felt to take a tour of the neighbourhood where I grew up. It was like being a tourist in your own hometown, and while I'm grateful that Mount Dennis is finally seeing the sort of investment that it could have used years ago, I worry that an abiding Toronto tendency to revisit and downscale plans, and pull up short on delivering the full potential of those plans, could leave Mount Dennis disappointed. Again.

Lights is a beautiful angel sent here from godknowswhere (Timmins) with a voice that's able to resonate with parts of us we thought long lost to cynicism, disappointment and failure. I suspected this was the case before I had the blessing of seeing her live. Now, having seen her perform at the opulent Wintergarden Theatre, this suspicion has been confirmed a thousand fold.

I could go on at length about how great she is, stacking wobbly hyperbole like a game of super-flattering Jenga. But I know better. Either you are already a fan or you think I'm an idiot. I ain't no preacher; I'm not going to change your mind

For the rest of this "review" I will address my fellow fan, who will soon also think I'm an idiot. Feel free to read if you didn't attend the show.

Hi guys. Let's go back to that night at the Wintergarden. Let's recall how this magical night.

Lights would play a song, either on guitar or piano, accompanied by a cellist named Kevin. She would nail it, and, we, the crowd, would go nuts. Then she would stop playing and then someone from our ranks would start SCREAMING at her.

The first few times I took it as the extreme behavior of a few fringe members of a very excited crowd. Those who were so caught up in the intimacy and quality of the performance of one of their favorite artists couldn't contain themselves. They were isolated expressions of pure appreciative mania. It's something I would find personally distasteful to succumb too but I certainly can't mock it — I understand that people are more emotional than I am.

No harm.

But then the screaming started to grow an ego. Shouts of singular praise became tinged with assertions of personality. Everytime she would attempt to introduce a song some yokel would launch another volley, projecting himself over all the others. Screams of "I love you!" became "Would you consider polygamy?"

Another person declared that a friend had named her cat after her song "River." Some yahoo in the balcony started screaming Game of Thrones references. Under normal circumstances this would be innocuous enough — you know, the normal semi-creep things fans say to their idols. But this screaming was interrupting the performance they had paid to see. At the same time they were managing to idolize and handicap the performer.

Of course she handled it as graciously as possible, but you could detect a bit of annoyance. It was like being positively heckled. All the disruption, but no justification to scold.

I simply don't understand the instinct to communicate with someone performing via loud obnoxious screaming. Do they see it as the first step in creating a personal relationship with their favourite artist? Is it for the sake of reporting back to friends? Or are they people simply asserting their existence?

Or they were drunk.

Whatever the reason, I would urge one thing of to these turkeys: shut your fucking traps.

Nevertheless, great show! 5/5!

Photos by Hannah Jor