MUSIC | livemusicTO Holiday Kick-Off Party featuring: NEVERENDING WHITE LIGHTS
The enigmatic Neverending White Lights hit the El Mocambo tonight. This stylistically diverse studio project/live band hybrid, headed by songwriter/producer Daniel Victor, has produced an interesting body of work since its first release in 2005. The project is notable for the substantial number of guest vocalists who have contributed to the recordings, including Raine Maida, Dallas Green, Steve Bays (Hot Hot Heat), and many others. Tonight their performance highlights livemusicTO's Holiday Kick-Off Party, and special guests will include Bed Of Stars, Lyon, and Mr. & Mrs. Fox.
El Mocambo (464 Spadina Avenue) 8PM $12

BOOKS & LIT | The Lost Boys
A triple book launch event goes down tonight at Type Books on Queen West, dubbed The Lost Boys. Freehand Books and Arsenal Pulp Press are collaborating with the Humber School of Writers to bring you three Canadian authors: Barry Grills, who will be sharing his memoir Every Wolf's Howl, along with Ian Colford, who will read from his novel, The Crimes of Hector Tomás, and John Vigna who will give you a sample of his "linked" short story collection, Bull Head. Antanas Sileika will host this event.
Type Books (883 Queen Street West) 6:30PM

FILM | Free Screening of Semisweet: Life in Chocolate
As part of DOC Toronto's Community Connections program, a free screening of Semisweet: Life in Chocolate goes down tonight at the Revue Cinema. This Michael Allcock-directed film traces chocolate's amazing and lengthy history, as well as how it fits within our commercial culture, and the ways in which the lives of four different people (each located in different parts of the world) have been transformed by this substance. A panel discussion, including the film's director and producer, will take place after the show.
Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Avenue) 6PM

LECTURE | The Revenge of Rave
As part of the Make Some Noise lecture series at the Bloor Gladstone Library, NOW Magazine's music editor, Benjamin Boles will deliver a presentation on electronic music and its influence on both popular music and popular culture. Boles, an active and educated part of the Toronto music scene as both a musician and DJ, is no stranger to both music and audio technology. Come out and support this interesting and very creative series of lectures on music and culture.
Bloor/Gladstone Public Library (1101 Bloor Street West) 7PM

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR

Rue Morgue & Unstable Ground present LITTLE TERRORS - short film event (Vol. 13)
BookThug Book Launch for Mark Goldstein and Beatriz Hausner
Taste of Handel
Eco Beauty Market

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

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by Hung Q. Mai in the blogTO Flickr pool

Court proceedings in the $6-million defamation lawsuit against Rob Ford came to a close yesterday with the lawyer representing George Foulidis, the owner of the Boardwalk Restaurant and Tuggs Inc., telling the court that the mayor didn't have the right to "fabricat(e) criminal allegations." Foulidis is taking action against Ford over allegedly defamatory comments he made during the 2010 mayoral election. The judge will now take roughly two months to rule on the case.

In other Ford news, here's a hilarious animated GIF of the mayor attempting to throw a football on a temporary artificial field in Nathan Phillips Square. I guess those who can't, coach. Video of Ford arriving at court this week is also begging for the same treatment.

Looks like the mayor has burned an important bridge this week. The Toronto Sun, traditionally a loyal ally, says Ford turned on "the little paper that grew him into a big deal." Could this mean less support for Ford in future?

The Salvation Army is reeling this morning after the discovery of a gigantic theft of toys, food and other donations over a two-year period from its Railside Drive warehouse in Toronto. The charity has fired the executive director of the warehouse over the roughly $2 million in missing merchandise.

Another concerned company is trying to kill Toronto's bag ban. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association - who I bet are a real barrel of laughs - say the ban was unlawful and passed in bad faith. At last week's public works meeting, councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong urged groups to sue the city to overturn the decision. The Ontario Convenience Stores Association is also taking legal action against the city over the ban. Should elected officials be inviting legal challenges?

Most Torontonians are ready - or think they're ready - for a natural disaster like a hurricane, flood, or fire, according to a poll published in the Toronto Star. The research found people with lower incomes believed they were less prepared. We're also ready for big snow this winter too, apparently.

Timelapse videos are totally de rigueur right now, but that doesn't mean they are any less fun to watch. Here's a new video from The Varsity at U of T showing the campus at night.

Varsity Feature: Night Time Lapse from The Varsity on Vimeo.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Teen attacked repeatedly on separate subway rides [CP24]
• When disaster strikes, highrise neighbourhoods are a challenge for first responders [The Star]
• Stamps' horse may miss Grey Cup [CBC]

Photo: "Untitled" by asianz in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The Easy & the Fifth "complex" is almost like a gated community on Richmond St. It's currently comprised of 3 distinct properties within one converted warehouse: the cozy, Hamptonian Fifth Social Club (already in its 14th year) on the main floor, the distinguished woodsman vibe of Cabin Five next door, and the elegant steakhouse Fifth Grill five floors above (on the heated rooftop and accessible via private elevator, no less). In short, one address has pretty much everything you need for a Saturday evening.

What about the rest of the week? You might have spotted signs alluding to an expansion on the way, and fans of The Fifth's ambiance will be happy to hear that, as of Spring 2013, they'll be taking over the basement of their building--a space that formerly held Fluid, but has been vacant for some time--and turning it into two new areas: the Fifth Pub House and the Fifth Cafe.

The former is being envisioned as having a casual, living-room-style dining atmosphere (read: no sweat pants), which will impart a (presumably far) more relaxed version of the Fifth Grill's menu and translate it for lunch, dinner and late-night, with stop-ins for drinks and weekday baseball game-watchers more than welcome. There'll be no reservations or dress code, and there are already plans for weekend brunches.

The latter is a fully-licensed cafe--exciting for a stretch of Richmond surprisingly devoid of alternatives to Timmy's or Starbucks. Tentative hours are being estimated as 7am-7pm, with coffee, baked goods, free wifi, and midday tipples on offer. This, too, will borrow from The Fifth's kitchen, meaning that everything will be baked in-house, and while they haven't yet settled on a coffee purveyor, they are looking at making their own blends.

Now, the only question is: how long until there's a Fifth hotel?

Neil Young and Crazy Horse have been collaborating since 1969 and their shows together have always been the stuff of bone-rattling, eardrum-bursting legend. Distinct from Neil Young's legacy as an acoustic troubadour, when he plays with Crazy Horse, Young transforms into a snarling guitar hero, stomping around the stage and playing an endless series of solos while the band vamps on a riff or two-chord change.

The minute the house lights came down at the ACC and I saw Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina had a pirate flag flying from his drum kit, I knew we were in for a real show. The stage was set with huge Fender speakers looming on either side of the drums and a gigantic microphone center stage. Stage-hands dressed in lab coats and orange construction vests scurried about, rolling props around and filming the band on big, anachronistic video cameras.

I was a little surprised by all of the stagecraft, actually. It all felt very big — grandiose and well-executed, for sure, but at odds with my expectations of Live-At-Massey-Hall-A-Man-Needs-A-Maid Neil Young.

But then, this wasn't troubadour Neil — this was rock star Neil.

The set was really well-chosen, going back and forth between old favorites and material from the band's new record, Psychedelic Pill. The new album is two discs but just eight tracks long, composed almost exclusively of long, wooly jams. Believe me, it's a monster. Probably the best of those tracks was '"Walk Like A Giant," a fuzzed-out mess that I found as much fun to watch as it seemed to be to play.

The new songs really played well against the hits, but their sheer length wore out a few of the fans, I think. I noticed a few people fading out during the second or third break where Crazy Horse just made noise and stomped around the stage, and I definitely heard a guy repeating the phrase "self-indulgent" over and over to his buddies on the way out.

I had expected to see a few fans get pissed off because he didn't play "Heart of Gold" or something equally beloved, but really, Neil Young just isn't the type to play a greatest-hits set — and with 37 studio albums, trying to do so would be an exercise in futility anyway. Frankly, for an artist with a body of work as wide as his, I don't think they could've done a better job.

The one song I can't make up my mind about served as the encore — "Helpless." Crazy Horse's upbeat take provided a really stark contrast to the version I'm used to; on the other hand, I think the classic version is a lot stronger, letting Young's songwriting stand for itself without the band getting in the way.

Los Lobos played just before Crazy Horse took the stage; their Tex-Mex blues definitely played right to the tastes of the older members of the crowd, who started boogie-ing (who thought I'd ever get to type that) as soon as the band started playing.

Toronto country group The Sadies opened the show with a crazy-short set that I unfortunately missed because it was so, well, crazy short. One of the best 'sideman' bands working in the country, they've played behind members of Blue Rodeo, as well as Andre Williams, and even Neil himself, and it's a real shame that myself, and probably most of the crowd, weren't there to catch them.

At this point Neil Young is less an artist than an institution. He's been active for so long, and has written so many classic records, that the fact that he can play a set and have it feel not just engaging, but genuinely surprising, really showcases that fact that he's among the greatest songwriters of our time.

Set List (via setlist.fm)

1. Love And Only Love
2. Powderfinger
3. Born In Ontario
4. Walk Like A Giant
5. The Needle And The Damage Done
6. Twisted Road
7. Singer Without A Song
8. Ramada Inn
9. Cinnamon Girl
10. Fuckin' Up
11. Mr. Soul
12. Hey Hey My My

Encore

13. Helpless

Writing by Adam Brady / photos by Bruce Emberley

This Week in Fashion rounds up the week's style news, store openings and closings, pop-up shops, sales and upcoming fashion and design events in Toronto. Find it here every Wednesday morning.

NEWS

The new 145,000 square-foot expansion over at Yorkdale (3401 Dufferin St) is finally up and running, and after an absolutely hectic opening day last Friday, the luxurious new stores are all settled in for the holidays. Brands totally new to Canada - including Ann Taylor, Ted Baker, and Kate Spade - can be found in the new wing, as well as not-so-new but also exquisitely designed stores like Club Monaco and Anthropologie. With that being said, you can count on Yorkdale being a whole 'nother level of crazy this December.

Relatively new online shop Moon Apparel is offering customers a chance to see and feel their simply-designed womenswear at a limited time pop-up at 110 Bloor St. Open just for the holidays (until January 13, to be exact), they've got a slew of fun things planned including personal shopping on Saturdays with Jordin and Tamara Mimran, gift-with-purchase events, one-on-one consultations, and more.

Express's Toronto flagship location is set to open today (November 21) at the Eaton Centre (220 Yonge St). The first floor store will be the second Express location in the city - the other being at Fairview Mall - and it'll carry an extensive collection of glitz and glam for women, as well as polished looks for men.

EVENTS/PARTIES

On Thursday (November 22), BYOB Cocktail Emporium (972 Queen St W) will be hosting a - you guessed it! - cocktail party to celebrate Fitzroy's one-year anniversary inside the store. In addition to mingling over holiday punch from 7 pm until 11 pm, Fitzroy's product will be 10% off - it's a no-brainer to check gifts off your list while actually having a stress-free time.

WORN Fashion Journal is hosting yet another issue launch party this Saturday (November 24) to celebrate their 15th edition - this time under a rather ridiculous-in-a-good-way handle: the Black Cat Ball. "Frolic with fellow felines" and "get your whiskers in a twist" to the tunes of Teddy the K at The Dovercourt House (805 Dovercourt Rd) from 9 pm until 2 am, all while (potentially) winning one of the dozens of raffle prizes throughout the night. Get your advance tickets for $10 through the WORN website, or pay $12 at the door.

SALES

Get your ethical shopping itch scratched at Fashion Takes Action's Designer Showroom Sale tomorrow (November 22). It'll be held in the Distillery District at 15 Case Goods Lane (studio 202), and it'll offer 40% off on soleRebels footwear - the world's only shoe brand certified by World Fair Trade Organization - and 30 % off on Funky Buddha clothing - a line using only bamboo, organic cotton, and hemp. Stop by between 5 pm and 8 pm; it's the moral thing to do.

Photo courtesy of Ted Baker

Charles Khabouth's latest nightclub has taken over the former Devil's Martini space and turned it into a playground for well-dressed fans of electronic music, complete with servers in leather corsets, go-go dancers, enough LED lights to assault your senses, and hard-hitting DJs that go 'til 4 a.m. on Friday nights.

Read my profile of Uniun Nightclub in the bars section.

The metal jaws of the excavator are tearing down the walls of the reception area of the Beach Motel while councillor Mark Grimes talks about the history of the Lakeshore motel strip, the last piece of which is coming down behind him. "It's a sad day, but it's an exciting day at the same time," Grimes tells me over the sound of crashing masonry, while TV news crews film the demolition and the media interview small groups of locals who've come to watch the Beach disappear. In the background men in hard hats wait around for the early morning show to end so they can get to work.

Beach Motel, April 2011:Beach Motel, November 2012:The last time I saw the Beach Motel was in July of last year. It was already closed, and the owners were selling off the contents from the glass-walled room out front where guests once checked in. All the good stuff was gone, and all that was left were some old CRT televisions and bits of furniture and artwork from well past the Lakeshore motel strip's far more collectible '50s heyday. A few months before that the owners had left old mattresses leaning against the walls of the motor court outside, signs pinned to the striped mattress fabric: "Free Mattress & Box springs (mostly double beds)." Underneath someone had helpfully written in marker, "some more stained than others."

Beach Motel, April 2011:Beach Motel, November 2012:Grimes, councillor for Etobicoke's Ward 6, sums up the history of the area in a nutshell - built beginning in the '20s and '30s, it had its zenith in the '50s before slipping into squalor and criminality in the '70s and '80s (photographer Patrick Cummins documented the area here and here in January of 1983, when its decline was terminal). Its fate was sealed thirty years ago when the province and Metro Toronto Council put a special interest on the property, with a view to having it redeveloped.

That development took a bit longer than anyone expected, and motels at the far end of the strip like the Beach, the Shore Breeze and Casa Mendoza's Mendoza Inn lived in a twilight state for decades while their neighbours to the east - the Cruise, the Hillcrest, the Rainbow, the Palace and others - closed and were plowed under to make room for the condo towers that have marched steadily west from the Palace Pier towers at the mouth of the Humber River.

Casa Mendoza, summer 2011:I hung around the motel strip in its final days working on a story, never published, for a now-defunct local news website. While I was there I met Teresa Bodzan, who with her business partner ran the Casa Mendoza and its attached motel for over twenty years as the Lakeshore strip shrank around her. She complained that she'd just had to pay thousands to repair a broken water main in her parking lot; money out of her pocket as the owners of the property had put her on a month to month lease, and took no responsibility for any costs of running the restaurant and motel.

The Dutch Sisters and Lake Shore Boulevard looking east, 1951:Teresa talked about the history of the place, beginning as a boatyard in the '20s that built Fairmile motor launches for the Royal Canadian Navy during World War 2. After the war the owners opened the Dutch Sisters Inn, a popular eatery on the then-thriving motel strip, which became Casa Mendoza in 1974. Reviews of the restaurant marvel at its almost comically overdone Latin American ambiance, which pulled at least as many tourists as locals.

Yelp! featured a reminiscence of Casa Mendoza written just after Teresa closed her doors for the final time at the end of last year. A former bartender now living in Calgary recalled the place at the end of the '80s, when it was run by "a big, scary Argentinian guy named Sandro" who was chummy with the owners of the House of Lancaster, a nearby strip bar.

"Often times at around 1am," he writes, "I would be asked to close the bar and get everyone out quickly because we were going to reopen to private invitees that included many of the House of Lancaster's exotic dancers. Conveniently, many patrons ended up in the seedy attached Motel." Not long afterwards the bailiffs arrived to take over the mismanaged Casa and its motel, and the owners turned it over to Teresa, its last proprietor.

As the excavator pulls down the Beach, Mark Grimes recalls the strip's low point, when the police would look for fugitives and suspects by cruising the Lakeshore strip and running license plates. He tells me that the area's renewal was probably guaranteed thanks to its prime location and lakefront views.

"I used to call it the million dollar view but it's the billion dollar view of the city of Toronto. I think behind here is the best view of the city of Toronto skyline, bar none."

Standing on the patio of the Casa Mendoza in July of last year looking at that million dollar view, Teresa Bodzan said that if she had the money she'd buy the property and keep the place open forever, but that she didn't think that was remotely possible. A petition was organized by locals regulars to keep the place open, but it didn't do much, and she said it was a struggle living with the insecurity.

There was a desperate atmosphere at the Casa Mendoza in its last days, and it underwent the mixed blessing of a Restaurant Makeover in 2006. To be sure, the dining room smelled of rancid fat and the motel had gotten some scathing online reviews, but it still packed a crowd on weekends and was full for its New Year's finale. Last week all that remained was the sign, now advertising the Monarch Group's Lago development, and a huge hole.

Casa Mendoza, July 2011:Casa Mendoza site, November 2012:Even before Casa Mendoza closed, Teresa knew that her motel was fated to become a road linking Lake Shore Boulevard with Marine Park Drive to the south, as part of the design guidelines sketched out in The Humber Bay Shores, a plan published in January 2008 by the city. The study stated the city's intention that developers eschew low, squat buildings in favor of podiums and tall, slim towers that would preserve the "view corridors" to the lake and, not incidentally, the billion dollar views that residents were paying for.

The long dismemberment of the Lakeshore strip probably had to do with the collapse of the markets at the turn of the '90s, and the time it took for developers to assemble the long, thin motel properties into viable plots. "That's happened over time," says Grimes. "It was kind of expedited over the last few years. But everybody knows where their buildings are going to go before they come in with their applications. People don't have their view and then another developer puts another one in front of it."

David Golino of Empire Communities is one of the developers building the new Lakeshore strip, and his Eau du Soleil towers, the tallest on the strip at 45 and 66 stories, will rise where the Beach Motel stood until last week. In addition to the towers, Empire will be following the lead of other developers by making public park land part of their project.

"Basically on behalf of the city of Toronto and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority, we've taken that on," Golino tells me, "because it's at the tail end of the strip and we're the anchor project. As with most city parks that have been developed in the last 20 years, they've been developed by developers, because the city doesn't have the money to develop them."

With the demolition of the Beach, the last evidence of the motel strip disappeared, so I ask Golino if Empire has any intention of preserving or referencing the area's past in its design. He says that they didn't (not even in their promotional literature) since other developers had evoked the old strip, and Empire didn't want to follow their lead. He said he'd welcome someone who leased ground floor retail and did something with the motel strip's history, but that they had no plans.

Mark Grimes tells me that he managed to save the sign from the Hillcrest Motel, which is in storage, but that there were no plans yet for what to do with it. "Anywhere you put it people might think it's a motel, so you have to figure that out - I think it'd be a great piece of public art. We could only save one - we couldn't save them all - and put it away. This is an important part of our history."

Finally, somewhere to drink espresso and play Battleship in Parkdale. Just what the area needed, right? This new board game cafe may not boast the same vast collection as another much beloved cafe a ways further east, but it does come cover-free and with an abundance of available tables (for now, at least). Get in before the Catan-fiends "settle" in for the long haul (or else, I'll continue to make terrible puns).

Read my profile of Go Lounge in the cafes section.

The best dim sum in downtown Toronto has a few noticeable differences from its uptown counterparts. For one--much to the joy of purists and fans of middle-aged Asian ladies' shrill voices everywhere--some of the downtown places do offer traditional cart service, where you can immediately point and pick at your dish without knowing what the heck you've just agreed to consume. Secondly, the downtown restaurants edge their suburban cousins in their unparallelled variety, spanning a wide range of environments not usually found north of the city. From old hole-in-the-wall establishments to upscale harbour viewing dining experiences, there's something catering to every kind of dim sum preference on this list.

Here are the best dim sum restaurants in downtown Toronto.

See also:

The best dim sum in Toronto
The best dumplings in Toronto
The best Chinese restaurants in Toronto

Now that streetcars, subways and buses are getting an overhaul, isn't it about time the TTC thought about updating some of the other things that help us all get around? Nick Caron thought so and just completed an unofficial redesign of the TTC's rapid transit map (view it larger here) along with some other tweaks like a new logo and names for RT lines.

Like many of us, Caron was deeply unsatisfied with the visual design of the current maps. He felt there was no consistency in appearance or level of information between the many maps the TTC uses in print and online. The map he's designed would be the first part of what he calls a "much simpler puzzle" and represents all the rail transit within the city including streetcars and GO transit.

He plans to create two other maps that would cover bus transit and the blue night service. He hopes the wide and ugly array currently in use can be discarded in favour of his much more efficient system that only presents information the traveller needs, when they need it.

What do you think? Would you like to see the TTC adopt this map?

It's time to get ready for the 2012 Grey Cup in Toronto. I goes without saying that with the Argos in the game this year there's even more excitement about this year's CFL finale. The trophy itself has already arrived and soon hords of fans from Calgary will descend on the city to cheer on the Stampeders this Sunday. Game time is 6pm.

And for those who don't plan to fill up the Rogers Centre or are looking for something else to do leading up to the game, there are free events such as the Nissan Family Zone at Yonge Dundas Square. If you're in the mood to celebrate this historic moment in Canadian football history, read on for a list of ways to do so. And for those looking for a place to down some beers and watch the action on the big screen, you could do worse than scanning our rundown of the best sports bars in Toronto.

MBNA Adrenaline Zone
The MBNA Adrenaline Zone runs until Saturday. The pièce de résistance is the Zip Line (photos and video here), which is apparently the tallest urban zip line on the continent, and measures 725 feet. Getting your adrenal glands going via this awesome ride will cost you $20 a pop, but it could be just the rush you've been looking for. The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces have a challenging obstacle course in place for you, and once you've worked up an appetite, the High Octane Food Zone is where you'll want to chow down. Free live music will also be a big part of this event.
Nathan Philips Square (100 Queen Street West), until November 24,10AM-6PM

Telus Street Festival
The Telus Street Festival kicks off on Friday at noon then carries on throughout the weekend. The zone for this giant tailgate party is a large one, taking place along Front St., from Simcoe to John and north to Wellington. You can think of this as essentially an "outdoor football party" that will include beer tents, a rib fest, and a combination of paid and ticketed events. A slice of Canuck rock 'n' roll history can be experienced, too, with performances by Our Lady Peace, the Mahones, Spirit of the West, Platinum Blonde, and others.
Front St. from Simcoe to John, and north to Wellington, November 23-November 25, beginning at 4PM on Friday, Free

Scotiabank Fan Zone
The Metro Toronto Convention Centre will become fan central as the Scotiabank Fan Zone takes over for five days of team parties, CFL cheerleaders, family-friendly activities, and an autograph area. It'll also be the headquarters of the ticketed Molson Canadian House Concert Series, which will feature acts such as Sam Roberts and Matthew Good on Friday, Big Sugar and Kim Mitchell on Saturday, and Kathleen Edwards on Sunday.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building (255 Front St. W.), November 22-November 25, 11AM-1AM

Grey Cup Party
There will be plenty of big screen TV glare in the various watering holes around the city on the night of the game itself, and the appropriately named GameDay is one such place where an official Grey Cup party will be going down. There'll be some extra games for fun and prizes, plus there are rumours of a possible cheerleader appearance. Chances are that your fave sports bar will be doing something on the night of the game, so the options really do abound.
GameDay on College (614 College Street), November 25, 5:30PM

THE GAME
Let us not forget that the game itself is the centre of the action, and if it is indeed feasible, there is nothing quite like being there, and part of the wave! The CFL's annual championship game is actually over one hundred years old, but there were a few years where no game was played (for reasons you can't really argue with, like WWI), so this 2012 game which finds the Toronto Argonauts playing the Calgary Stampeders is its 100th!
Rogers Centre (1 Blue Jays Way), November 25, 6PM, $158 and up

Photo by BruceK in the blogTO Flickr pool

Started out of an apartment kitchen back in 2008, Toronto-based beverage company Tonica has humble roots, to be sure — but you wouldn't know that based on the size of the operation today. Originally called the Fairy's Tonic, founder Zoey Shamai started brewing small batches of kombucha (a fermented tea drink with natural enzymes that aid digestion and cleanse the liver) after first trying it during a stint in New Mexico where it was popular amongst the yoga community with whom she was living at the time.

"Everyone was making it down there," she recalls. "But when I returned to Toronto, it wasn't really available. So I started making it myself." While those early batches don't compare to the decidedly more palatable versions her company now produces, they were enough to generate interest amongst her yoga students and eventually some local health food stores. At the time Shamai was brewing around four gallons of her tonic a week.

Fast forward to 2012, and Tonica is churning out 500 cases of kombucha a week for sale in some 300 stores across the country, including major retailers like Whole Foods, Pusateri's and McEwan. What started as a niche product with appeal to a New Age-type customer base (you know, the folks who still have Enya on their playlists) is now legitimately marketed as an alternative to popular soft drinks.

The company's growth can be tied to two developments: 1) the acquisition of west coast distribution back in 2009 and 2) a total rebrand in 2011 that aimed to target the product to a more diverse audience. Bye-bye fairies, hello Tonica — a word which sounds both old fashioned and futuristic all at once, which makes sense given the history of kombucha (it's reported to be thousands of years old) and its contemporary manifestation as a mainstream health beverage.

Now operating out of a pristine-looking facility near Queen and Dufferin, the next challenge the company faces will come in the form of an appearance on Dragon's Den, the popular CBC show in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to money-hungry investors with an eye for the next big thing.

Although Shamai couldn't disclose whether she was able to interest the so-called dragons in a deal prior to tonight's airing of the episode in which her company is featured, she had a few intriguing things to say about the process of pitching for the show. "It's really beneficial to do the preparation," she explains. "Regardless of the end result, just sitting down and combing through your numbers to put together a pitch is an eye-opening process, and one that I might not have done as carefully if I wasn't going on the show."

As for what it's like to interact with these would-be investors in a television studio rather than a boardroom, she admits that there's a certain theatricality that's promoted by the producers of the show, which is also evident in the way that each investor plays up his or her character-traits. "But if you have a legitimate business and you've done your homework," she notes, "they're less harsh than they might appear on the show itself."

Above all else, Shamai believes the show is valuable for the purposes of exposure. "For products that aren't mainstream, it's a great way to garner attention and connect with potential customers without having to set aside a major advertising budget." For a company looking to get its product on the shelves of the country's most popular grocery stores, a little time on the television screen might prove invaluable. And that's not to mention the money that's on the table from Kevin O'Leary & Co.

Find out how Tonica is received by the dragons tonight at 8:00 p.m. on the CBC

Earlier this afternoon the TTC made official what has long been expected - fares are going up. Tokens will now cost $2.65 and a monthly Metropass will now ring in at $128.50. Those paying out of pocket will be happy to now that cash fares will be held steady at an even $3. The price hikes, or course, are expected to help the TTC get control of its budget and bring in an additional $18 million in revenue in 2013 alone. The new fares take effect January 1st.

What do you think of the fare hike? Share your thoughts in the poll and comment thread below.

Photo by ssteve.o in the blogTO Flickr pool

Photo by woodrow walden in the blogTO Flickr pool

PARTY | Speakeasy Ball
Don't cry because Prohibition is back; drink because it's happening. Archival organization Dance Collection Danse invites Torontonians to The Speakeasy Ball, where dames will be dolled up in their 1920s headbands, while gentlemen whip out the flasks to drink and dance at Cinecycle. Attendees will spend the evening in a dimly-lit den, listening to music of the Depression era to celebrate the launch of the DCD's new website and podcast. Cut a rug, check out archival photos from the '20s and '30s, drink and be merry at the Speakeasy.
Cinecycle (129 Spadina Avenue) 8:30PM $25

THEATRE | Lord of the Flies
William Golding's classic novel that makes you hate society, government, and teenagers opens at Lower Ossington Theatre in a special preview showcase tonight. When a plane crashes on an uninhabited island, a group of schoolboys are left to fend for themselves without adults in Lord of the Flies. Survival instincts soon kick in and the struggle for power ensues out of good intentions. The 1954 Nobel Prize winning story remains on LOT stages until December 9th.
Lower Ossington Theatre (100A Ossington Avenue) 8PM $49

HOLIDAY | One of a Kind Christmas Show
The ever-popular One of a Kind Show gets festive for the holidays, returning this year with the annual Christmas Show. The One of a Kind brand, which has been active in Toronto since 1975, is the largest consumer craft show in North America with unique crafts and designs from hundreds of artisans, including popular Canadian names like Lux & Luster, All Things Jill and Jessica Rose Design.
Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place (100 Princes' Boulevard) 10AM $14 adult, $7 student/senior

FASHION | Miracle Thieves' Holiday Boutique
Miracle Thieves, the gorgeous little local creative space and indie consignment shop that sits at the corner of Dundas West and Crawford, opens its doors for a holiday boutique sale unlike any other tonight. Featuring the products of indie artisans like Vitaly Design, Leilanni Todd, and Becca Lemire, the boutique sale will offer holiday charm with handmade and homemade food products, accessories, jewelry, clothing, household goods and crafts. Stop by between 7PM and 11PM to get started on holiday shopping!
Miracle Thieves (249 Crawford Street) 7PM Free

FESTIVAL | 100th Grey Cup Festival--TELUS Players Party
The award winners of the 2012 CFL and CIS season celebrate their wins at the TELUS Players Party as part of the 100th Grey Cup Festival, a ten-day festival in celebration of a century of Canadian football. Live performances from Juno Award winner K'Naan, hip hop artist Kardinal Offishall, and pop/R&B singers Kreesha Turner and Mia Martina will take place throughout the evening at this 19+ ticketed event. Be sure to check blogTO event listings for other events happening at the Grey Cup Festival this week.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre (255 Front Street West) 8PM $55.50

OTHER EVENTS ON OUR RADAR:

• The Big Gay Moustache Party
• Talisman Talisman
• Hiawatha & Blank Capsule
• European Union Film Festival

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

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Photo by Metrix X in the blogTO Flickr pool

The delightful animated GIF circulating online of Rob Ford falling while trying to hike a football in Nathan Phillps Square has spawned two spin-offs. There's now a Mario and Star Wars version. Elsewhere, the stumble has caught the attention of Toronto-born Cory Doctorow, co-editor of BoingBoing. More things like this, Internet.

Councillor Doug Ford believes Toronto wouldn't vote Olivia Chow if she were to run for mayor against his brother, saying the Trinity-Spadina MPP is "no Jack Layton." Ford thinks Chow represents "tax and spend" government and would fail to unseat the mayor, despite his mounting history of controversy. Is he right?

The Salvation Army says it was inundated with calls and donations yesterday after it announced an alleged $2 million theft from its Toronto warehouse. No charges have been laid in the case but why not call up and make a donation anyway?

It's official: the new air-rail link between Union Station and Pearson airport will use diesel trains. A last-ditch attempt by a group of concerned residents had hoped to initiate a judicial review of the decision by Metrolinx to buy Japanese, oil-powered cars.

Police are expected to announce new charges related to the Danzig Street shooting later today. 18-year-old Shaquan Mesquito was charged roughly two weeks ago with two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and numerous assault and firearms-related crimes in the worst mass shooting in Toronto's history. It's not clear whether there have been any more arrests.

The skating rink in Barbara Ann Scott Park at Yonge and College is getting a $3 million renovation. The cost is expected to be higher than other park repairs because of its location on the roof of a parking garage. The rink, built in 1980s, needs a new pavilion and trees. The bill is covered by development fees from the Aura condo under construction next door.

You might remember we featured projected images of the Toronto skyline that took into account planned (red), in construction (blue), and in sales (yellow) a few months back. The creator of those images now has a video flyby of Toronto as it will likely look in a few years time. [via Reddit]

IN BRIEF:

• Santa Claus Fund: Elderly woman returns the favour decades later [The Star]
• TDSB won't sell schoolyards [CBC]
• New Jays' pitcher Mark Buehrle takes parting shot at Marlins [CBC]

Photo: "xxx" by rui felix from the blogTO Flickr pool.

This Week in Film rounds up noteworthy new releases in theatres, rep cinema and avant-garde screenings, festivals, and other special cinema-related events happening in Toronto.

NEW RELEASES

Life of Pi [opened Wednesday, November 21] (Varsity, Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)

If you're one of the few Canadians who has no idea about what Life of Pi is, it'll probably look, on its surface, a bit like a crossing between Cast Away and The Jungle Book. While you wouldn't be too far off with that assessment, Yann Martel's 2001 novel and Ang Lee's long-in-development film adaptation are a great deal more spiritual in nature than either of those two were. I was surprised that this didn't play at TIFF (probably has something to do with the New York Film Festival's premiere dibs on their Gala screenings); if it had, I'd have been even more surprised if it hadn't (deservedly) picked up the People's Choice Award (*cough* see below *cough*). And to think that M. Night Shyamalan once had his hands on this project.

Silver Linings Playbook [opened Wednesday, November 21] (Varsity, Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)

First, this is the best TIFF People's Choice Award winner in at least a decade (depending on where you come down on Amélie, maybe even two decades). That said, it's also director David O. Russell's least interesting and most problematic film, both terribly conventional and borderline offensive. Jennifer Lawrence plays a brilliant Juliette Lewis, but the implication that we can will our mental disorders away by falling in love is outrageous. But it's also a lot of fun and occasionally very sharp, as if the Russell we know and love is threatening to snap out of it at any moment.

Also opening this week:

• ecstasy [opens Friday, November 23] (Projection Booth East/Metro)
• Hitchcock (Varsity)
• Inch'Allah [opens Friday, November 23] (TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Mystic Laws (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)
• Red Dawn [opened Wednesday, November 21] (Scotiabank)
• Rise of the Guardians [opened Wednesday, November 21] (Cineplex Yonge & Dundas)

REP CINEMA

Where are the Films of Nicolás Pereda? (November 22-25; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

Here. For the next four days, the films of Nicolás Pereda are here in Toronto. Pereda is a Mexican filmmaker who's taken up a home Toronto, so this retrospective can be considered a kind of homecoming. He made his TIFF debut in 2010 with Summer of Goliath, and has also exhibited at Images Festival, but in large part the films of Nicolás Pereda are all too elusive to us, considering he lives here and all. But I guess we can also imagine that the question posed in this series' title isn't meant to be taken so literally. After all, it's a question that's also present in many of the films themselves, which are so precariously labyrinthine in their design that they feel as if they could unravel at any moment.

That shouldn't at all be taken as a criticism. In fact, it's difficult to criticize a barely 30 year-old director who's made more than eight feature films and gets compared to filmmakers like Pedro Costa and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The guy is still young, and he manages to hold his own despite wearing his influences on his sleeve. His latest hybrid film, Greatest Hits, which just made a splash at Locarno last summer, is true to its title: it not only appropriates characteristics from Pereda's cinema to-date, but might also be called his greatest achievement as well. Concerning a father figure's return to his close-knit, financially shaky family, Pereda combines deep-rooted concerns with masculinity and humanism with a playful structure of repetitions and recitations to create a truly unclassifiable cinema.

Screenings for Where are the Films of Nicolás Pereda?:

• Where Are Their Stories? (Thursday, November 22 at 6:30PM)
• Juntos (Thursday, November 22 at 8:45PM)
• Perpetuum Mobile (Friday, November 23 at 6:30PM)
• All Things Were Now Overtaken by Silence w/The Corridor (Saturday, November 24 at 3:15PM)
• Summer of Goliath w/Interview with the Earth (Saturday, November 24 at 7PM)
• Greatest Hits (Sunday, November 25 at 4PM)

More rep cinema screenings this month:

• Dogma (Friday, November 23 at 7PM; Innis Town Hall)
• The Ipcress File (Friday, November 23 at 9PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• The Death of Maria Malibran (Sunday, Sunday 25 at 7PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Wings (Tuesday, November 27 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)
• Vampyr (Tuesday, November 27 at 11PM; The Royal)
• Day of the Idiots (Thursday, November 29 at 6:30PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Lacan Palestine (Saturday, November 24 at 7PM; Beit Zatoun House, 612 Markham Street)

Pleasure Dome presents the Toronto premiere of Mike Hoolboom's Signes de Nuit Festival Grand Prize winner in a special co-presentation with the Toronto Palestine Film Festival. "Through an intricate analysis of the role of the father and the question of naming, Lacan Palestine offers an opulent collage that places the still-fledgling nation-state at the crossroads of psychoanalysis and permanent war." The screenings will be followed by a post-screening discussion with Richard Fung of Queers Against Israel Apartheid and Mike Hoolboom.

Chai Tea & A Movie: Policeman (Sunday, November 25 at 4PM; Cineplex Odeon Sheppard)

One of the best debut features from 2011 is finally getting its Canadian premiere courtesy of The Toronto Jewish Film Festival. They've got a new series going called Chai Tea & A Movie, and this is their second edition. The concept is pretty simple: show up at 4PM for chai tea and/or coffee, and then stick around for a film (usually starts about an hour later). The film itself is a moody police drama that details two sides of a climactic hold-up. Director Nadav Lapid takes us to bold places considering the genre, and the ending is a stomach-churning stunner. Tickets are $15 and be purchased in advance here.

The Free Screen - Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster: Potential Spaces (Wednesday, November 28 at 7PM; TIFF Bell Lightbox)

Here, free once again, is the latest edition of The Free Screen, presenting four films by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster. Foerster, a French artist, "has been querying our relationship to built environments since the early 1990s, studying parks, urban enclaves and modernist architecture to understand and critique their utopian promise, and articulating her discoveries by creating "chambres" -- rooms reminiscent of film sets that create juxtapositions between time periods and atmospheres -- which draw attention to the malfunctions of purpose-built environments."

FILM FESTIVALS

Canadian Labour International Film Festival (November 24-25 & December 1-2; Innis Town Hall)
Labour on film is as old as cinema itself. Arguably more influential than the Lumière brothers' Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat was their one-minute shot, Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory, which showed exactly that. That film, alas, isn't part of the (entirely free!) Canadian Labour International Film Festival, but every film that is owes some degree of debt (for lack of a better word) to that early cinema masterwork. For a glimpse at the full, two-weekend screening schedule and to read descriptions of all the films, you'll have to download the festival poster here.

Film still from Life of Pi

For a lot of folks, Sloan's 1994 album Twice Removed is a watershed moment in the Toronto-via-Halifax band's history. For a group who would become beloved for their jaunty, infectious take on Beatles-esque pop, their career had begun a few years prior with a debut LP, Smeared, that took the best elements of the sounds du jour - namely shoegaze and Sonic Youth-inspired noise-rock - filtered through the innate pop sensibilities of four distinct songwriters.

Seeing the potential of the band at the forefront of the Halifax scene, at the time deemed the "new Seattle" following that city's grunge boom of the early '90s, Geffen Records had signed the band on an international deal for the follow-up to Smeared, as well as giving their debut it's first American release.

Twice Removed was released in August 1994, less than six months after the death of Kurt Cobain. Unfortunately, in a period marked by an explosion of derivative proto-grunge Nirvana knockoffs tailor-made for radio play, the brilliantly direct songcraft of the mostly fuzz-free Twice Removed was perceived as a disappointment by the label, who famously dropped Sloan after all but sweeping the album under the rug of the international market.

Rather than opting to throw in the towel, the band reconvened with 1996's wildly acclaimed One Chord to Another, going on to great success over seven more LPs at the helm of their own label, murderecords.

Having delivered one of the best records of a long and storied career with last year's The Double Cross - the title a reference to the band's two decades in the business - Sloan have taken the last few months to pay respect to their sophomore classic with a crazily comprehensive box set, augmented by a series of shows featuring a performance of Twice Removed in full at a sold out show at the Phoenix tonight. Guitarist and songwriter Jay Ferguson took the time to answer some questions about the various anniversaries being commemorated by the band, the initial reception to what has become one of their most beloved albums, and what's on the horizon for Sloan.

After spending the last year promoting Sloan's 10th album and celebrating your 20th anniversary as a band, why pick now to look to the past for this series of shows?

Jay Ferguson (JF:) Some of us had been talking over the past couple years about reissuing older LPs (on vinyl or other formats) and perhaps touring one of these older LPs; playing it as a show from top to bottom. Those kinds of shows have obviously become a bit of a trend over the past few years. We thought it might be a fun idea and perhaps lure out some long lost fans who haven't kept up with us since the 1990s. After touring The Double Cross through 2011, we didn't really have a plan for this year, so it seemed like a good time to try to combine a reissue and tour for 2012.

Although it's not a particular anniversary for Twice Removed (happy 18th!), it seemed like the best place to start - it appears to be one of the records that many of our fans have a particular fondness for, and we also had a plenty of demos to choose from to really expand a reissue. As well, it was a fairly well documented time that enabled us to assemble a large, thorough book to accompany the vinyl box set.

Was there any talk of running through Smeared in its entirety prior to these performances of Twice Removed?

JF: Well, I guess it would have made sense to work chronologically, but I think we agreed that Twice Removed would be the best foot forward. We'll get to a Smeared box set, too. The version of Andrew [Scott, drummer] singing "Median Strip" has to see the light of day.

How has the reception to the tour been so far? What can be expected from the show aside from airing out the record?

JF: It's been super; good sing-a-longs. We play two sets - first up is Twice Removed in it's entirety, then a short break, after which we come back and play an all-sorts set of songs from the rest of our catalogue.

How has Twice Removed held up for the band? It's been said that there were a fair share of label issues with Geffen upon its original release, but did the band ever put any stock into these? Have your opinions of the record changed over time?

JF: I guess you might get a different answer from each of us. I've always liked the LP and while at the time the response from Geffen in the US was frustrating, it didn't mar the music for me. We've also been playing a handful of the songs ("Penpals," "Coax Me," "People Of the Sky") fairly regularly over the years, so it's not like we're unearthing something completely unfamiliar, but it's satisfying playing the LP as a united piece.

Is it true that the lyrics of "Penpals" are taken from fan letters to Kurt Cobain?

JF: Quite true. There is a recreation of the letter included with the new box set.

Twice Removed is a world away from the washed-out fuzz of Smeared and the earlier Peppermint EP, and is the first indication of the refined pop milieu Sloan has worked in since. What brought on such a sonic change from your first album? How do you see Twice Removed in relation to what followed?

JF: Personally, touring Smeared for the better part of two years was taking a toll on my eardrums. I was happy to play a little quieter at the time. I also felt that the musical climate was getting overstuffed with-half baked noisy guitar bands and wanted to take a turn away from that sound. Perhaps it was not the right thing to do commercially?

I think that was Geffen's frustration with Twice Removed, in that it didn't follow logically from the sonic template of Smeared. I/we were happy to pull from different references like Fleetwood Mac, or Plastic Ono Band, or the third Velvet Underground album, and to try to chart a different musical course that would set us apart (hopefully) from the glut of noisy indie groups that followed in the wake of (the great) My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana. It does seem that Twice Removed perhaps set the template for what followed, with every member singing and writing, and no particular set style or format of the songs contributed.

This time last year saw you give One Chord to Another a similar treatment at one of one of Fucked Up'sholiday benefit shows at the Great Hall. Are there any plans to revisit that or the other LPs for a proper tour?

JF: Since it appears this Twice Removed tour and box set have done well, I think we'll continue in the future with the box set reissue/tours for as long as fans will allow it. I think One Chord To Another would make a logical next choice.

Lastly, is there anything currently on the books in the way of new material? Has revisiting material from the band's formative years had an effect on the current songwriting process?

JF: We've yet to make a concrete plan for 2013, but hopefully we'll have a new Sloan LP out for next autumn, and then perhaps try another reissue/tour after that campaign is over. We also have a brand new 7" due out in a couple months that sounds absolutely nothing like Twice Removed.

First and third photo by Michael Halsband; second photo by Lisa Mark

Toronto loves its food-related pop-ups, but Fidel Gastro's is one of the mainstays of the scene. From a cubicle job to his very own food truck, chef Matt Basile has been making the city happy for a year now, one sandwich at a time. To that end, the much-loved "rebel without a kitchen" is holding a 1-year anniversary party on November 29 at the El Mocambo.

What can you expect from a man with as much pop-up experience as Basile? An evening of food, tequila, music, and goodwill towards moustaches, of course. Tickets are just $5, and all of the proceeds from ticket sales will be going to the Movember foundation. Also available for $5 will be a variety of food items from Neptuno Oysters, Kung Fu Taco, The Butcher's Son, and of course, Fidel Gastro's.

Says Basile, "Your support over the past year has made the past 12 months unforgettable. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all for all your awesomeness." Now bring on the food.

This new Richmond St. sushi spot is helmed by one of the owners of Guu, and features a selection of truly fresh sashimi, classic sushi offerings that are nevertheless somewhat rare in the city, as well as a bistro menu that offers Japanese fusion cuisine.

Read my profile of JaBistro in the restaurants section.