Luminato 2014 continues in its graceful reputation as the adventurous older brother of Toronto's many cultural festivals. While this year's installment doesn't have quite the same big-name international draws as it has in the past, the festival still wields impressive creative power. And, hey, who can argue against a huge cardboard beach set up at David Pecaut Square? You know that will drum up some serious curiosity, particularly insofar as there's food and drink (yes, it's license) on offer as well.
Luminato has always been a bit quirkier than Toronto's other art festivals, and this iconoclastic strain is on display once again this year. Under the watchful eye of artistic director Jorn Weisbrodt, this year's Luminato will offer up a wide range of thought-provoking events over the coming weeks, especially for those bored with the city's usual SFW art exhibitions.
Here are my top 12 picks for this year's festival.
Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle
In association with TIFF, Luminato 2014 artist of note Matthew Barney will show all five parts of his autobiographical, manic diatribe, the Cremaster Cycle. Clocking in at seven hours long, and taking seven years to complete, the ambitious film series examines themes of contemporary physicality and gender issues in today's age of technological pervasiveness. It could be misconstrued as a lewd and freakish series, but is mostly seen as a pinnacle of contemporary international avant-garde cinema. In fact, why not let the artist himself describe the work to you when he introduces it at TIFF on June 7? He's very handsome. June 7, 4pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. West), $12.50.
TV on the Radio
While this Brooklyn band hasn't put out a record since 2011's Nine Types of Light, their brand of energetic, experimental rock is well-revered in indie circles and is a must-see for musicians (it's technically impressive stuff!), newbies (it's beautiful stuff!), and frankly, all fans of guitar-driven music (it's beautiful stuff!). Plus, seeing them surrounded by all of those skyscrapers promises to be a uniquely "Toronto" experience. June 13, 9pm. Festival Hub at David Pecault Square (55 John St.), $35.
Sleeping In The Devil's Bed: The Music of Daniel Lanois
Luminato is well-known for its annual celebration of a member of the Canadian music canon, and this year's festival honours the unparalleled work of musician/producer Daniel Lanois. Having made (or reinvented) the careers of countless famed musicians, from Neil Young to Emmylou Harris to U2, Lanois will be celebrated with appearances by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew, Martha Wainwright, The Handsome Family, Harris herself, and more. June 10, 7:30pm, Massey Hall (178 Victoria St.), $45-$150
Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno: Live On Stage
If you haven't seen the videos created by the model/actress for The Sundance Channel, presenting the plethora of weird and funny ways that the world's creatures copulate, get thee to YouTube now. Then, go watch Rosselini perform the shorts live, where the long-time animal enthusiast will don many, many costumes to help you learn more about the sex rituals of everything from ducks to dolphins. Very important. Very educational. Dare I say: sexy? June 6-8, Winter Garden Theatre (189 Yonge St.), $45-$85.
Pina Bausch's The Complaint of an Empress
While the late dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch recently found mainstream recognition outside of dance circles when her documentary, Pina, premiered in 2011, little is known about the other facets of her creative career. This year, Luminato + TIFF bring us her rare 1990 film, the only one she ever wrote and directed, which takes its viewers on a bizarre dance foray through the four seasons. June 10, 1pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St. West), $12.50.
Terence Koh's tomorrow's snow and a way to the light
Reflecting the artist's recent interest in absolving himself of his previous persona, asianpunkboy, so that he can focus on "living immaterially," Terrence Koh returns for the first time as a solo artist to his native country since his school years at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, with two works at Kleinberg's McMichael Collection. The first, inspired by Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, is an ephemeral performance that involves coating the grounds in tapioca "snow" while two children make snow angels - a conversion of summer to winter. The other, in the gallery's Artists Cemetery, is a tribute to Emily Carr. How the heck do you get to Kleinberg? Don't worry: there's a shuttle bus that will cart you from 200 Wellington St. all the way up to the gallery every evening. June 6-13, 9:30pm, McMichael Canadian Art Collection (10365 Islington Ave., Kleinberg), $10 (for shuttle bus).
Buffy Sainte-Marie & Tanya Tagaq
Presented as a free (yes, free) double bill entitled "Northern Lights & Music," this musical showcase presents two of Canada's brightest Aboriginal talents performing their well-known brands of sonic endowment. Sainte-Marie is one of the country's great folk artists and social activists, with a brilliant investment in First Nations and Inuit issues. Tagaq is a prominent, young Inuk throat singer, who is known for having developed her own brand of non-traditional solo singing, adapting the classical form for contemporary consumption, which was famously featured on Bjork's 2004 album Medulla. June 10, 8pm, Festival Hub at David Pecault Square (55 John St.), free.
Jason Collett's Basement Revue
A returning festival treat, Jason Collett's nightly curated musical show is the official festival after-party and is known for attracting unexpected and exciting guests and performances (from Marina Abramovic to Rufus Wainwright). No one knows who or what's planned for the night until they walk onstage. June 6-15, 11pm, Edward Day Gallery (952 Queen St. East, #200), $20.
All The Sex I've Ever Had
Youth is wasted on the young, especially when it comes to dialogues about sex. Toronto-based research-art atelier Mammalian Diving Reflex present All The Sex I've Ever Had, a performance/discussion with a group of older members of society, where they will provocatively regale their audience with stories about their sexual adventures and misadventures. Having been performed internationally, Toronto will be the seventh stop for the show, bringing in a roster of international players, speaking German, English, Czech, and Mandarin (with English subtitles). June 12-15, Isabel Bader Theatre (93 Charles St. West), $35.
TimesTalks Luminato: David Byrne
Just go to this talk, 'cause it's frickin' DAVID BYRNE (current cultural Renaissance man, of Talking Heads fame). He'll be talking to a pop music critic from the New York Times, as part of a series of talks presented by the newspaper. June 15, 6pm, MaRS Discovery District (101 College St.), $25.
The Copycat Academy
The Copycat Academy is a new educational effort by the festival. Created by Berlin's Hannah Hurtzig, the academy features well-known local and international "faculty members" looking to take part in a dialogue on this year's theme: hijacking as an art concept, with a specific emphasis on the work of General Idea. While the lab is most meaningful to the 20 international participants who were chosen to attend and work alongside their facilitator liaisons, the lunch-time and evening lectures from curator Philip Monk, South African conceptual artist Kendell Geers, Swedish dancer/performance artist Marten Spagenberg, and others, are open to the public. June 10-14, free.
TSO's Music Mob
The second iteration of the now-annual event will, again, allow one and all - amateurs and veterans alike - to play alongside the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with conduction from TSO director Peter Oundjian. This year's music is Maurice Ravel's exuberant Bolero, so bring your favourite instrument and come toot along. Spectators are welcome (but you may want to bring some ear plugs). June 8, 2pm. Air Canada Centre (40 Bay St.), free.
Writing by Jess Carroll
The top folk, blues, and roots shows in Toronto this summer arrive at the best time of the year to catch live music in the city - indoors and outdoors. For those who like their music with a country feel, there are plenty of great concerts coming up in the usual haunts. 
Toronto Food Events rounds up the most delicious events, festivals, pop-ups, winemaker dinners, supper clubs and other food related happenings in Toronto this week and next. You can find us here every Friday morning.
Le Gourmand owner Milton Nunes recently took over the space formerly occupied by KiWe at King and Portland, filling it with a high-tech espresso machine, cases full of baked goods, and a kitchen that will soon be cranking out light breakfast dishes. There are a few welcome similarities to Le Gourmand - notably, its stellar cookies - but the new cafe is a spot all its own.
The Dance Cave will now play host to live music, and it's about time. The space that sits above 
When it was 
Long before the Guvernment opened it's doors in 1996, the building had already played a huge role in the 
The combination of wildly popular all ages nights on Sundays and live-to-air radio broadcasts on CFNY turned on a whole generation of kids to early rave and industrial dance music, and helped make Chris Sheppard into local superstar DJ. RPM was also where DJ Matt C got his start playing big rooms, who would later co-own Industry Nightclub.
By the time Charles Khabouth bought it in 1995, most of the original team had splintered off, and the club was no longer the hotspot it had once been. Rather than attempting to revive the raw rock'n'roll dance club appeal of RPM, Khabouth went for high production values and glitz.
Already a major player in Toronto nightlife going back to the mid-80s, Khabouth had previously owned popular spots like 
While the maze of mini-clubs is definitely a selling point for many, it's the main room itself that makes the Guv what it is. The ultra high end sound system designed by Steve Dash is the focus of the room, and is the 
Pretty much every EDM superstar in the world has played there, from Deadmau5 (who played early shows in the Orange Room) to Tiesto, but a big part of the club's identity has long been the sets of Saturday night resident DJ Mark Oliver, who'd previously played for Khabouth at Stilife. His weekly marathon performances are pretty much the only other aspect that has escaped the cycles of remodelling. While he at one point DJed funk and soul in the back room of the Cameron House, at the Guvernment he honed an approach to big room sounds that has kept the crowds coming back.
In August 2000, 
Khabouth's empire of restaurants, bars, clubs and hotels continues to grow, and his INK Entertainment company is also behind the giant Veld Music festival at Downsview Park. The final year of partying at the Guvernment promises to see most of the world's most famous DJs passing through, and its impending closure will leave a major hole in both the dance music scene and the live music venue pool. 30 years of dancing will finally come to an end January 31, 2015.
Everyone knows about Lower Bay, the lost subway platform down a set of closed-off stairs from Bay station, but that isn't the extent of Toronto's lost railway infrastructure. Over the last century or so, numerous passenger stations have been closed and, for the most part, erased from the landscape.
Once located just south of King, Queen, and Roncesvalles, just east of where the pedestrian bridge crosses the rail corridor and the Gardiner, Sunnyside station was the stepping off point for hundreds of thousands of families excited to spend a day at Toronto's best-loved beach resort. The station buildings were located at street level and a set of stairs provided access to the platforms. The station was open from 1912 to 1972, when it was demolished. The amusement park was mostly torn down in 1955.
The original Parkdale station, located at Jameson and Springhurst, was an early precursor to Sunnyside station. The other Parkdale rail stop, however, was located just southwest of Queen and Gladstone, where the rail tracks pass over the street. The Gladstone Hotel was ideally positioned to service passengers stepping off steaming CPR or GTR trains. Parkdale, later North Parkdale, ceased accepting passengers and disappeared some time after 1983. (The roof of the station is visible in the photo to the right of the rail bridge, opposite the Gladstone Hotel.)
Don station, which used to be near where Queen Street crossed the river, is still standing, albeit at Todmorden, some distance from actual working rail tracks. The station used to be on the west side of the Don, where Queen Street was carried over the water via a simple metal bridge. The station was at its peak in the 1920s, when practically all rail intercity services between Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal stopped there. The station gradually declined in importance and was closed in 1967. It was moved to Todmorden in 1969 and is now at Roundhouse Park.
If West Toronto CP station still existed, it would be located just north of Dundas West and Dupont. Clues to its former presence are still to be found: a barricaded and garbage-strewn staircase cut into the retaining wall of the railway overpass on Dupont was once a southern entrance to the station. The building clung on until 1982, when it was knocked down. In 2015, the Union-Pearson Express trains will zip past where the station used to be.
On De Grassi Street, just north of Queen, there's a small park that marks the former location of Riverdale's lost railway station. The platform, ticket office, and waiting room, all located in a simple brick building with a large circular turret, was once perched on the steep side of the railway embankment, just where De Grassi straightens and heads north. A steady decline in passenger numbers during the Depression led to the closure of Riverdale station in 1932. 
The Power Plant held its annual PowerBall art gala Thursday night, bringing together analog and digital technology under the theme "Old / New World." That went for the dress code, too - many partygoers seized the opportunity to break out their best vintage-inspired looks, while others stuck to their own modern style.
If you lived in Toronto during the 1970s and '80s, you'd probably be familiar with the names 
Demolition for Union Station
Train shed at Old Union Station being demolished
Demoltion at Queen & Yonge
Demolition at Gilead Place in old Corktown
Demolition at Yonge & Bloor
The notorious Teperman sign
The last remains of a now long lost building downtown
Demolition at Frederick St.
Demolition at Bay and Albert streets
Demolition for the Eaton Centre
Same deal here
And another one
The Old Eaton's store bites the dust
Different angle, looking towards Yonge St.
The smouldering ruins of the old Eaton's store
Getting ready to kill the Board of Trade building
Demolition off the Bayview Extension
The Registry Building gives way for city hall
Demolition at King & Dufferin
Colonial Tavern Demolition
The remains of Sam the Record Man
And this is what you get when you demolish everything. Parking lots!
The best cinnamon buns in Toronto all have at least one thing in common - each pay tribute to the spice created from the bark of the Cinnamomum genus of trees. In bygone years, cinnamon was so prized it was used as holy anointing oil and a gift to the gods. Even Sappho wrote a poem referring to cassia, one of the types of cinnamon. How Northern Europe, particularly Sweden, became the birthplace of the cinnamon bun is beyond me, but we have them to thank for the heavenly combination of yeast-leavened dough rolled with cinnamon, butter and sugar. 
Weekend events in Toronto is our guide to events happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what's happening in Toronto this June 6-8, 2014.
The life of an independent musician is not an easy one. There are long hours, late nights, heavy gear that forever needs schlepping, expensive equipment and practice spaces, and the shoddy-to-middling treatment from the world at large. For this, on an average night, you can expect to be compensated with about $10 worth of Labatt 50. Of course, it's always easier - and far more fun - when you've got good people to eat Burger King in a van at 3am with, but finding those kindred souls can be a tricky business, even if all you're after is a Sunday afternoon jam session.
A white development proposal sign has been stuck to the outside of the former Canada Post facility at 1029 Queen Street East for close to nine months now, with no sign of construction activity. But that could be about to change now that city council is poised to clear one of the remaining hurdles for a six-storey rental complex at the corner of Winnifred Ave.
The development joins a series of other residential buildings currently in the planning or construction phase on Queen. At the corner of Pape, the troubled Film Studio Lofts has 
When King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, stepped off the royal yacht at the Port of Quebec in May 1939, it was the first time a reigning British monarch had visited Canada. Public excitement was high, but trouble was brewing in the background.
The royals arrived two days late owing to dense fog on the Atlantic. After time in Quebec and Ottawa, where the Queen laid the cornerstone for the Supreme Court Building and the King dedicated the National War Memorial, the group traveled to Toronto by train for the 8th running of the Queen's Plate at the original Woodbine Racetrack on May 22.
George and Elizabeth's time in Ontario's capital was extremely limited. After a single day, the couple split in the royal automobile for Niagara, where they were due to dedicate the new Niagara Falls to St. Catharines Highway.
And so, finally, to The Monument. The royals were long back in England and the second war firmly underway before the completed QEW linked Toronto with the U.S. border 1940. The $23,828 sculpted column was commissioned to mark the westbound entrance to the road, where drivers crossed the CNR rail tracks.
Unfortunately, The Monument didn't have a happy future on the QEW. Motorists complained shadows cast by the low hedges looked like pedestrians darting into traffic, resulting in countless panicked stabs at the brake pedal. At least one person died after colliding with the column and two people were seriously injured fleeing provincial police when their car struck the unyielding decoration in 1965.
A new addition to the growing mix of restaurants on Market St, this take-away counter offers an alternative to the indulgent grab-and-go options of St. Lawrence Market. The menu, focused on protein-rich superfoods, run the gamut from juices and smoothies to yogurt bowls and wholesome boxed breakfasts and lunches.
The top concerts in Toronto for summer 2014 remind me of a dream I had one night during the long, cold winter. In it, a bunch of awesome bands came and played shows all summer, and it never snowed in Toronto again. 
This bistro at Yonge and Gloucester has been alive and kicking for 15 years. And while there have been a few ups and downs during that period, the place seems to have settled nicely into its current niche, serving up comforting fare in a pub-meets-Art Deco atmosphere. It's a nice, bright spot for lunch on Yonge St.
Let's say you're at work, in your office-appropriate but not particularly impressive 9-to-5 threads, when all of a sudden, you remember: Your friend's birthday party is tonight. Horror sets in as the fabric of your $19.95 polo shirt begins to chafe. You realize there's no time to run home, or even run to the store - and, most disastrous of all, your friend's hot cousin might be there tonight. What to do?
