The top themed dance parties in Toronto will let you travel back in time, take you back to the future, bring out your sexy side, or even transport you to a tropical paradise. Themed parties take dance-floor escapism to another level - guests can dress up, get into a character, and really let it all out on the dance floor.

Here are my picks for the top 10 concept dance parties in Toronto.

CrushTO
Run by the sexy folks at I'd Tap That, #CrushTO is one of the city's best queer and sex-positive dance parties. Each event takes on an elaborate theme and regulars love to indulge with kitschy costumes. Past event themes have included Under the Sea, Foxy Fiction, and XXXBOX. Events are all-inclusive: hetero, homo, queer, trans, kinky, kitschy, picky, and poly - so come as you are, or how you'd like to be.

Chronologic
The Goin' Steady DJs pull some audio time-lapse magic at their monthly party, Chronologic. Cornerstone hits and unexpected gems from the 1890's onward turn the party into a dance-floor delorean - start in the past and get back to the future.

Synthesexer
In just over a year and a half, Synthesexer has established itself as one of the funnest dance parties in the city. Anchored by DJ Little Kicks and regularly featuring ARP 2600 (from Silent Shout) and Digits (from Digits, and also Silent Shout), Synthesexer drops track after track of sexy, synth-driven electro. Every second Friday at The Piston.

Beam Me Up
I go where disco. And disco goes down every second Saturday at The Piston with Beam Me Up. The resident DJs, A Digital Needle and Cyclist also host a monthly radio program on TRP, and work to bring international disco headliners to Toronto with special events throughout the year.

Turning Point
Turning Point attracts a dedicated crowd of serious dancers with a hypnotic blend of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms with rare-groove soul, calypso, rocksteady, and ska. Resident DJ A Man Called Warwick regularly brings out special guests spinning exclusively on vinyl. Lose yourself in a world of tropical rhythms, clave-hand-claps, and hanging lanterns every month at The Garrison.

Dirty Cupcake
Dirty Cupcake throws parties where guests can don their best leather, rubber, PVC and fetish gear then get down to industrial, goth, and dark retro. A previous event was an End-of-the-World Viking Cosplay Rave called Ragnarök.

No No Pony
Sexy rap and smooth RnB culminates in Ginuwine's "Pony" being played on the hour, every hour. It's what new year's eve should be - counting backwards to an awesome slow-jam instead of Auld Lange Syne. No No Pony is every month at The Shop at Parts & Labour.

Friday Night Live at the ROM
#FNLROM is a seasonal series of themed parties happening every spring and fall at the ROM. Each event features DJs, live performers, specialty food vendors, and an educational aspect related to an exhibit or theme. Past events have included Dinos, Dodos & Disco: Extinction; Africa Alive, and Indigenous NOW. The 2015 series is set to start in May.

Retro Parties
Toronto isn't short on retro fever. Regretro throws shameless retro diva jams monthly at the Henhouse. Girl and Boy: 90's Dance Party pops up monthly at Clinton's Tavern. Get Lo from the Bangs & Blush crew plays hits from the aught-diggities every Thursday at Clinton's.

50's + 60's
If you like your retro a little more age-ed check out these sock-hops, try these on: Shake A Tail has been causing a shimmy-shimmy-shake for 10 years, now every Saturday at Sneaky Dee's. Shindig goes all-vinyl on the last Friday of the month at The Piston. Shake Rattle & Roll appears every Saturday at Clinton's courtesy of Bangs & Blush.

BONUS

Acid Bath
Ghoulish ACID BATH is a transient tribute to '80s and '90s acid house. DETH Records label head SINS runs the party with new DJ guests each time, and they've crept from dingy Chinatown basements to Bambi's. Dancers' dress runs from gothic street style to '90s raver. DETH also have a bi-monthly show on TRP, if you want to get a taste of the music.

What did I miss? Leave your favourite themed dance party in the comments.

See also

The top 10 dance party promoters in Toronto

Photo of Bangs & Blush via Facebook

Toronto tunnel (but really cave) builder Elton McDonald wants to capitalize on his two minutes of fame with a new crowdfunding campaign to get his construction company off the ground. The goal is rather modest: $10,000 to cover the startup costs and to launch a youth program involving landscaping around Toronto.

It's quite hard not to like this kid. Along with his doe-eyed reaction to the media bonanza that his tunnel kicked off, he seems genuinely passionate about construction and his community. Normally my cynical alarm bells would go off with a campaign like this, but here it just make sense. He'd be foolish not to leverage the name-recognition he temporarily enjoys.

Even his belief that he's now widely known at "The Digger" is smile-worthy. Besides, the cause seems like a good one. "Through this program I plan to teach youth the skills that I have learned doing this sort of work," he explains on the Go Fund Me page. "The money raised will be going towards providing the youth with breakfast in the mornings, costs for equipment and tools, transportation, workshops, as well as fun outings."

This just opened home decor, lighting and furniture shop stocks an eclectic mixture of new, vintage and upcycled pieces courtesy of a man who used to work for big box retailers and had his own home staging business.

Read my profile of Home James in the design section.

The arrival of Saks Fifth Avenue in Toronto is nigh, with the Queen St. flagship of Hudson's Bay (which will soon share a building with the upscale department store) already boarded up and bisected as renovations get underway. Details are beginning to trickle out about the new space, with one particular piece of news of note to the local office crowd: A three-floor food hall.

Retail Insider reports that the plans include a 5,500-square-foot restaurant, which will be the entryway for what one staffer referred to as a 'three-level food experience.' The food area, operated by upscale Toronto grocer Pusateri's, will occupy the northwest corner of Yonge and Richmond. (Not sure what this means for Oliver & Bonacini, who currently operate a downstairs cafeteria space.

Other details are also emerging: Saks will feature a range of higher-end brands, including cosmetics, and the two stores may divvy up lines they carry based on pricing. The Room and the Bay's shoe floor (famously the largest in Canada) will also be moved, and some of the lower floors of the adjacent Simpson Tower, previously offices, will now be converted into retail space. Check out the post at Retail Insider for more.

Photo by brian cameron via the blogTO Flickr pool.

Popular West Queen West brunch spot Swan is no more. A landlord's notice posted on the front door informs those passing by that the restaurant was behind on rent and has now been locked out of the premises. No note from ownership has been posted to social media to announce the closure, and up until a few days ago it seemed like it was business as usual.

It's a bit surprising to see the place go, even as criticisms regarding the consistency of the food have circulated for years. Open since 1997, Swan was something of a pioneer on West Queen West, predating the arrival of the nearby Candy Factory Lofts and places like the Drake and Gladstone to the west. It was more than a brunch spot, of course, but that's been its calling card for as long as I can remember.

One thing is for sure, a prime restaurant space has just opened up on a popular stretch of Queen St., and I wouldn't expect it to remain vacant for too long.

Weekend events in Toronto will march to the pace of your rising heart rate as your dreams of geo-tribal print bralets and baggy camouflage shorts (please no) inch closer. Whether you're exploring vegan goodies, dancing to a five hour DJ set, pre-drinking for St Paddy's, or protesting anti-terrorism bills, enjoy your reunion with your leather jacket.

Here are my picks for the top events happening in Toronto March 13-15, 2015.

7th Annual Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off (March 15, Daniel's Spectrum)
Over 40 of Toronto's best vegan bakers are busy preparing for the annual east side showdown, including last year's winner Through Being Cool. Admission buys you at least two sampling plates. Check out our slideshow of goodies from last year here.

ST PATRICK'S DAY

St. Patrick's Day at Amsterdam Brewhouse
On Saturday hit Amsterdam Brewhouse from 11am-2am for live music, DJs, pancake breakfasts and, naturally, lots of beer. For the ballers, there's the option to reserve $550.00 VIP seating, which includes bypassing the line, take-home growlers, and a "bag of swag." Watch out for more St. Patrick's Day events in our guide. BJ

ART

Art Spiegelman Retrospective (until March 15, AGO)
Pulitzer winner and one of the Time's 100 Most Influential People, the Maus cartoonist's work is a thrill to see in person. The brilliant AGO exhibit is on until March 15, and includes original drawings and rarely seen works from Spiegelman's career. The show ends this Sunday. Read our review here.

Photopia (March 13-21, Gallery 44)
One of the most exciting photo shows in Toronto is back: at Gallery 44's yearly fundraiser is back see works by photographers including Tobi Asmoucha, Marc Audette, Sally Ayre, Marco Buonocore, Jamie Campbell, Alice Dixon, Pete Doherty, Brendan George Ko, Jennifer Long, and more. The opening is Friday, March 13.

Sunday Scene: Felix Kalmenson (March 15, Power Plant)
The Power Plant Gallery's Sunday Scene series brings dynamic artists to the Harbourfront. This edition features Toronto's Felix Kalmenson, currently showing A Year in Revenue at Pari Nadimi Gallery. Kalmenson "explores the mediation of histories and ongoing narratives by state, institutional and corporate bodies."

PARTY & DANCE

Len Faki (March 14, Ryze)
Berlin's notoriously debauched techno palace Berghain is considered by many to be the top underground club in the world right now, so there's lots of anticipation for the Toronto appearance of one of their longtime resident DJs Len Faki. With releases on labels like Ostgut Ton, Figure, and Podium, Faki is almost as well respected for his productions as for his epic DJ sets. 10 pm, $25. BB

Andrés (Wrongbar, March 14)
Dez Andrés is known to some for his work as the former DJ for underground hip-hop legends Slum Village, but to others for the gritty Detroit house he's released on Moodymann's Mahogani label. As you might guess from the background, his DJ sets bounce around freely between those approaches, as well as dipping deeply into his collection of rare soul and disco classics. 10 pm, $25. BB

FILM

To Be Takei (March 14, Carlton Cinema)
Exciting stuff for Star Trek fans: Carlton Cinema is screening 2014 documentary To Be Takei for free on Saturday night. The eccentric actor played USS Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu, but the story doesn't end there.

I for Iran (TIFF, until April 3)
At TIFF, the I for Iran series, curated by Iranian filmmakers, is screening a can't-miss retrospective until until April 3rd. Films this weekend include The Runner, Water, Wind, Dust, A Simple Event, and Downpour. Check out the programming here.

Purple Rain (March 14, Bloor Cinema)
Dress as yourself, still crushed that Prince didn't show. Doors open at 8:30pm, with the screening at 9:30pm.

LIVE MUSIC

Long Winter 13 (March 13, The Great Hall)
13, 13... good thing there's no 13 o'clock (quiet, military time) or we'd all burst into fiery figures, all named Damien, writhing in a line of blood, a long line, but at least it's not that cold outside any more. Elsa, Hank, Dreamsploitation, Not Of, Panic, Dirty Frigs, Fake Palms, and more will perform at the last LW of the season.

The Lanka Suite (March 14, Music Gallery)
The Music Gallery is hailing this as the climax of what's been an eclectic and, honestly, commendable season of live music. Tova Kardonne's The Lanka Suite will wind through polyrhythmic takes on on Balkan, jazz, and more. The Thing Is, GREX & Jane Bunnett, and Khora open.

SHOPPING & LIFESTYLE

Canada Blooms (March 13-22, Direct Energy Centre)
Allow me to be a little meta: I just typed "Canada Bloods" up there. Dark world. The Canada Blooms Flower & Garden Festival will return at Exhibition, just as you start to think about your garden (or that little box by the window that used to contain life). You have two weeks to get your horticulture on.

Parkdale Flea (March 15, Goodfellas)
As the weather warms up this round of Parkdale's dainty ol' flea market extra-encourages you to bring you dog - partially because those neighbourhood dog sweaters will be on site.

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE

Abyss (Tarragon Mainspace, February 3 - March 15)
This thriller tracks the disappearance of Karla Richter, a 24 year old who vanishes on her way to the grocery store. Set in the European underworld, the play is at once a mystery and an exploration of the psyche of those who live amidst war. This, the English premiere of Maria Milisavljevic's Abyss, is directed by Richard Rose. KB

ACTIVISM

Toronto Day of Action Against Bill C-51 (March 14, Nathan Phillips Square)
If you're unhappy about Bill C-51, you're not alone. The anti-terrorism bill has been widely criticized for violating Canada's Charter Rights and targeting opposing voices in the national landscape. The protest at City Hall starts is at noon.

For more events this weekend click on over to our Events section. Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit it for free using this form.

Contributions by Liora Ipsum, Keith Bennie, Ben Boles, Derek Flack, Ben Johnson

Photo by Jimmy Lu

Toronto designer Philiip Sparks' consolidation efforts continue. A few months after discontinuing his women's line in favour of focusing on menswear and custom suits, Sparks is set to shut down his storefront on Foxley, just off of Ossington, this coming Saturday, Toronto Life reports.

But lovers of Sparks' gently-retro, tweedy tailoring shouldn't despair - he'll still be selling the line out of his studio in the Junction, where all of his tailoring and stitching currently takes place. It's a smart move from a cost-savings perspective, and undeniably a boon to his suiting services - why not do it all under the same roof? But with the studio located amid warehouses in a rather remote stretch of the neighbourhood, walk-up traffic might go pretty much out the window (making Sparks' pieces even more of a prize for those in the know).

In the meantime, it looks like everything at the Ossington shop, including tailored menswear separates, accessories, and leather goods, will be on sale for up to 80% off this week. Check out some of the available pieces here.

It's that time of year again when thousands of bands flock towards Austin, Texas for SXSW, a music festival/conference that some think has grown too big for its own good. What started as a jumping off point for emerging acts has evolved into a brand fueled beast attracting the biggest names around the globe. Then there's Toronto's convoluted Austin alliance initiative, which we'll leave alone here in favour of the music.

Here are my picks for the top 10 acts representing Toronto's music scene at SXSW 2015.

Alvvays
Seemingly emerging out of nowhere, with some east coast flavor care of Molly Rankin, Alvvays are quickly blowing up. On March 18th and 19th they're taking the stage at three events in Austin, two thrown by Pitchfork and another by Polyvinyl. After their SXSW shows, they'll continue on with a string of nearly sold out US dates.

Deebs
Deebs has been buzzing on the low end for some time now - affiliations with Pelican Fly and Ryan Hemsworth's Secret Songs has led to some interesting press. His first official SXSW performance is scheduled for March 19th at The Madison. If you can't make it down south in time, he'll also be performing at The Drake Underground on March 12th.

July Talk
July Talk vocalists Peter Dreimanis and Leah Fay have captivated audiences with the duality of their tones. Recently bringing their fresh perspectives across the pond, July Talk will take a quick break from their European tour to play the Sledge Hammer on March 18th.

Lindi Ortega
Known for her contemporary twist on traditional country, the multi-talented singer/songwriter will be showcasing at SXSW at Continental Club on March 21st. Fresh off a 2014 JUNO nomination and CCMA win, Lindi Ortega is an artist who could be buzzing this year at SXSW.

Lydia Ainsworth
Spanning between Toronto and Montreal, Lydia Ainsworth's experimental electronic sound has found a perfect home at Arbutus Records. Her groundbreaking live performances have sent her across Europe and earned her a 2015 JUNO nomination for Best Electronic Recording. She'll be playing the Pitchfork showcase, among others.

Muneshine
Fresh of his official Grimes flip, Canadian hip-hop artist Muneshine is riding the momentum off of his latest LP In Transit. Often given the nod for his classic hip hop sound and forward thinking production, Muneshine has a whole slew of dates at this year's SXSW.

Rainer + Grimm
Exploding onto the scene with their remix of Sam Smith's "Stay With Me," this duo has become a regular fixture in Toronto's dance music scene. Catch them in Austin on March 19th at The Madison.

Rochelle Jordan
Eastside Toronto singer/songwriter, Rochelle Jordan is helping define the future sound of r&b/pop. Writing Childish Gambino's hit "Because the Internet," touring with Jesse Ware, and charting number one on Billboard's Next Big Sound 2014 are just some of her recent accomplishments. She plays Cedar Street Courtyard on March 21st.

Saukrates
Legendary rap pioneer Saukrates appears in our top Toronto rappers and top rap album lists. His relevance is carrying on with a new record that's earned a 2015 Best Rap Recording JUNO nomination. This will be his first time showcasing at SXSW with four shows between March 17th - 21st.

Tory Lanez
Recently off his North American Tour in support of his latest record 'Lost Cause Tour', Tory Lanez will be hitting the SXSW Monster Energy Outbreak House stage on March 20th. #swavenation.

Photo of Rochelle Jordan by Clarissa Villondo via Facebook

Photo by Daniel Braga in the blogTO Flickr pool

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.

THIS WEEK

• This Saturday, March 14 is International Pi Day (as in the mathematical constant, 3.1415...) and for the occasion Pie Squared (366 Bloor St. East) is celebrating with $3.14 pies all day, plus an hour of free pies at 3:14pm.
• The sold out 7th Annual Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-off takes place on Sunday, March 15 from 2pm to 4:30pm at at Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas St. East) in Regent Park.

UPCOMING

• Tickets are still available for Curryfest, from the same folks behind Yum Cha. Each session is only open to 250 guests and will showcase curry dishes from eight vendors. Tickets are $10 and the event takes place at 2nd Floor Events (461 King St. West). Expect each dish to hover around $5 mark.
• Fonda Lola (942 Queen St. West) celebrates the first of spring with a Mexican Spring Break party on Friday, March 20 from 5pm. The plan is to fill the bistro with sand and serve up $5 margaritas.
• Toronto Dumpling and Sake Fest takes place at Propeller Coffee (50 Wade Ave.) on Thursday, April 9 from 6:30pm to 9pm. Tickets are $55 and include food from nine chefs competing for the golden chopsticks.

Photo of Pi Squared by Jesse Milns.

Men's grooming products made in Toronto have been specially formulated to work with gents' skin, facial hair, and hairstyles - with an eye for quality and skin-friendliness your bar soap and $2 shaving cream can't match. Pick one of these up, and you can support local businesses, ditch harmful chemicals, and embrace the healing power of botanical ingredients - while making sure nobody ever trashes your 'stache again.

Here are my picks for the top 10 companies making men's beauty and grooming products in Toronto.

Urban Beard
Handmade in small batches, this organic, vegan-friendly line earns raves from low-maintenance guys who don't want their products too fussy or over-scented. Faves include their herbal-scented beard oil ($25) and minty-fresh, lotionlike beard butter ($30), which penetrates to the skin underneath.

Crown Shaving Co.
A common sight in barber shops around Toronto, Crown keeps the focus steadily on shaving gear, including a softening pre-shave serum ($30) and an aftershave tonic that will bring you right back to the barber's chair with its tobacco, leather, bay rum and talc fragrance. As a bonus: Their products are free of alcohol, artificial colours and fragrances, parabens and sulfates.

Rebels Refinery
The Dragon's Den alumnae bring a rock 'n' roll edge to men's skincare. Their moisturizer ($17) is frills-free and unscented, their black bar soap ($29 for 3) is packed with moisturizing coconut and palm oil, and their lip balm ($8) comes packaged in a plastic skull (amazing).

Beards & Beavers
I'm not sure if this brand-new outfit is trying to pull a double entendre on us, but products should definitely be taken seriously. In the interest of giving bearded buyers some selection, they've concocted vanilla, smoke, bay rum and lavender scents of their jojoba-based beard oil ($30-$45). Bonus: They also do free deliveries within the GTA.

F. Miller
This unisex line has a sleek, minimal appeal, with a six-product roster based solely on oils. In addition to moisturizing formulations for face, body and hair, there's also a conditioning beard oil ($34) meant to target both the hair and skin underneath, and a calming shave oil ($34) that ensures a nice, smooth shave.

Stick A Comb In It
This Toronto outfit makes the perfect companion piece to your facial hair potions: the hand-hewn wooden combs won't snag or add static, and they'll take on a nice patina thanks to your own individual beard products. Small combs (take your pick from a number of woods) start at $20.

Province Apothecary
All of this local line's products are proudly unisex, from skincare to "sex oil", but they do cater to the gents with a beard oil ($36) that includes rosemary and black spruce to stimulate hair growth and frankincense and lavender to soothe skin, as well as an aftershave oil (also $36) with cypress and myrrh.

The Northern Beard Company
Don't want to drop more than $20 on a beard product? Northern Beard Company hears you, and they've got beard oils ($20) and moustache waxes ($15) available in four scents - citrus, woodsy boreal blend, minty "alert" and unscented - for you to pick from.

Weston & Lawrence
This newcomer's line of "refined skincare" products features sustainably-harvested botanical ingredients. Their product roster is small, featuring a citrus-sandalwood beard oil ($30), a lavender shave oil ($30), and a citrusy natural bar soap ($15).

North Standard Trading Post
Are you an all-in-one kind of bloke? Lucky for you, this Parkdale clothing and lifestyle retailer only makes one personal care product - but it's a doozy. Their lavender-scented pomade ($18) provides medium hold and a little extra shine - and it also doubles as a hand salve or beard balm.

Did I miss any? Leave your picks for men's beauty and grooming product companies in the comments.

Photo via Beards and Beavers.

The countdown is on - in nine short weeks, the only-in-your-Pinterest-dreams Hayloft Dancehall will come to life again in Prince Edward County. The Dakota Tavern has taken over Cherry Valley's rustic not-a-disco, and the hall will re-open to local and international country, roots, blues, and rock bands from May until September, Thursday through Sunday. It's a plaid wearin' beard strokin' road trip dream, and yes, the nearly 50-year-old barn is available for private events.

The Dakota (and the Whippoorwill)'s Shawn Creamer and Shannon Kohlmeier will also be expanding the 200 person capacity hall's beverage menu to include local fodder, to make your concert experience / axe throwing wedding complete.

Elliott Brood, The Beauties, and Instant Rivalry kick off the opening party May 15 (it's an early show, because like, the country) and The Strumbellas play May 22. Prepare yourself: Cherry Valley is about a two and a half hour drive (or two and a half to five albums) east of Toronto.

Will you knock vintage boots at the Hayloft Dancehall? Let us know in the comments.

The mythical Yonge Street sin strip of the 1970s and 80s was an electric, dangerous place. Tucked away at number 373 amongst the glut of groovy head shops and skeezy massage parlours that stretched from King to Bloor was perhaps Toronto's most infamous grindhouse movie theatre - "The Rio" - a place to drink, swing, smoke, stay warm and expand your filmic horizons.

Think sticky aberrant floors, a hot-boxed, tobacco smoke hazed auditorium populated by a rum mix of skid row derelicts, sex-trade workers, Ryerson students, pervy businessmen, stoned teenagers and dyed-in-the-wool Cinephiles.

Seated in stained and weathered seats, this riveted audience ogled beat-up 35mm prints of 2nd run films from a variety of genres: Blaxploitation, Horror, Spaghetti Western, Kung-Fu, Fantasy, Action, Euro and San Fernando Valley porn. It was an exciting, risky proposition. Catching that rare Charles Bronson revenge flick that never seemed to turn up on the late show meant maybe putting your own personal safety at risk. Charlie would have been proud.

Most memorably, the exterior of the Rio was plastered in lurid movie posters. Not the kind of generic, airbrushed, photo-shopped Pablum that passes for movie posters nowadays, but actual artwork with balls, hand crafted by real artists.

Featuring huge, over-the-top and eye gorging imagery, these posters took huckster liberties with the subject matter of the films being advertised. It was bold, stirring stuff meant to seduce folks off the street and into this den of sordid iniquity just to see what all the fuss was about.

For a paltry $4 you could enter the realm of the Rio, which programmed four films daily from many disparate genres, and stay for as long or short a time as you liked as the auditorium opened up at 9 AM and ran until midnight. Empty bottles of bum wine, harsh tokes and handjobs were the order of the day, making it pretty much the epitome of Yonge Street's well deserved seedy reputation.

Sadly the Rio closed in 1991, finally succumbing to the gentrification of Yonge Street that had begun after the so-called "Shoeshine Boy Murder" in 1977 when 12 year-old Emanuel Jacques was brutally assaulted and slain and the city's innocence was forever lost.

The moral panic which enveloped Toronto in its wake saw the strip scrubbed of its most noxious tenants, including other grindhouse theatres such as the Biltmore and the Coronet. The Rio had managed to hang on, but the onslaught of home video and cable TV in the 1980's finally took their toll. Fittingly, the final line-up of 4 films (Aliens, The Naked Witch, Snake Eater II and Point Break) perfectly embodied the eclecticism celebrated at the Rio for all those years.

Mark Ulster, grandson of the original owners of the theatre, recalls getting a fortuitous phone call from his grandmother as it was closing down. She asked if he was interested in the large collection of movie posters and film ephemera which had accumulated over the years, as someone else had offered $1000 for the lot. Mark and his wife Linus decided to check it out for themselves.

Realizing quickly there were literally thousands of posters, lobby cards and other assorted treasure, they decided on the spot to rent a truck the following day and take everything. They enlisted some friends, hustled the Rio's dusty paper library to a storage unit, than spent many years cataloging the collection using decidedly pre-internet tools such as the Leonard Maltin and Halliwell Film Guides for reference.

Upon discovering rarities such as original James Bond and Russ Meyer 1-sheets in mint condition, Mark recognized the haul was not only nostalgic but valuable. Thankfully he resisted the impulse to start selling off individual pieces preferring to retain them together as one collection, keeping the spirit of the Rio alive at least in the form of its edgy street marketing.

Over the years the collection moved around until finally ending up in Mark's house. In 2010, after a discussion with maverick Toronto documentarian Ron Mann (who provided some incredible footage for The Rio movie, culled from his short film about the strip), a few pieces ended up on display at Sonic Boom to help promote the release of the film Machete Maidens Unleashed.

The response was so tremendously positive, Mark and Linus decided to start sharing high resolution scans of these artful artifacts on social media, where they now thrive on a well curated Facebook page and Twitter feed which offer up a tantalizing throwback to the glory days of the Rio - every single day.

Filmmaker and music video director Joe DiBenedetto worked with Mark on an unrelated project and was blown away by Mark's story, as well the seamy tales of the Rio and Yonge Street. The two set about creating an amazing glimpse into the world of the Rio in the video posted above, and while Joe may be too young to remember the grotty days of the sin strip his passion for the lost art of movie posters certainly shines through in this remarkable piece on vintage Toronto lore.

Looking at the posters Mark uploads is a wonderful, contradictory, bizarre experience: they portray a forbidden world that can never be replicated on Youtube, Blu-ray or Netflix. Ironically, the level of sex and violence in those films couldn't hold a candle to the visual mayhem and carnage we now view daily. However no one in their right mind would publicly exhibit such shocking and vivid artwork in 2015.

The sin strip was the closest thing our city had to the notorious 42nd Street in New York, which itself has also been exorcized in the last 30 years. Those who visited Yonge Street during that era, and who passed the hallowed rows of explicit movie posters and pulsating bulbs will probably never forget it. Nor indeed will anyone brave enough to have actually ventured into the theatre itself. Long live the Rio!

You can view the amazing Rio Movie Poster collection on Facebook and Twitter.

Very special thanks to Mark Ulster & Joe DiBenedetto

All images courtesy of Mark Ulster

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.

Celebration time. Beer and wine will become a fixture at major Ontario supermarkets under a new plan devised by the Liberals. According to a report from the Star, hundreds of grocery stores would be granted licences to sell beer and wine, though the latter might not be quite as widespread due to a cap on the number of licences available to issue.

Hard liquor would still be restricted to the LCBO, but the Beer Store might be in store for a major hit in the form of franchise fees in addition to the added competition of more widespread availability of beer in this province. The fees would be designed to create a level playing field given the retailer's dominant position in the market.

The Star report notes that high level executives from grocery chains have consulted with the government's committee, including Loblaw Executive Chairman Galen Weston Jr. In other words, this all sounds very advanced. New regulations for the sale of alcohol in Ontario are expected to be the centrepiece of the Liberal's spring budget.

No word about the sale of beer and wine in corner stores, but this would certainly represent progress in this slow-to-change province.

It's curtains for one of Toronto's longest running produce stands. The Riverdale Farmers' Market will not be back this spring despite a 14 year run. A number of problems have been cited as the culprit, including increase competition, poor weather, and mismanagement from the city.

When it opened in 2001, Riverdale was the city's first organic farmers' market, and at its height it proved a significant draw for local residents and those after a more authentic food-buying experience. Led by Elizabeth Harris, the Star reports that 30 vendors participated in its heyday.

That number dropped when Harris fell ill and management of the market was eventually tasked to the city-run Riverdale Farm. For her part, Carol Guy, supervisor of the farm, claims that terrible weather and the rise of other farmers' markets across the city were what ultimately led to the demise of Riverdale.

Does this mean Toronto has hit the saturation point for farmers' markets. If more closures ensue, that would seem to be case.

Photo by Kyle Burton

Is healthy fast food an oxymoron? It's all about organic, all-natural, non-GMO, preservative-free, locally sourced ingredients at this new American fast food joint across from St. Lawrence Market. With smoothies, seasonal salads, kale and quinoa bowls and fresh house-made burgers on the menu, this family oriented eatery is all about making you feel good about what you eat.

Read my profile of b.good in the restaurants section.

Etobicoke is Toronto's next cultural hot spot, at least according to a city-led program that aims to shine a light on areas outside of the downtown core that typically don't boast reputations for their arts and music scenes. Now it in its second year, the initiative turns its focus from South Scarborough to the area bounded by Dixon Rd., Park Lawn Ave. and Browns Line.

The list of projects affiliated with the program has yet to be revealed, but a series of events will take place in Etobicoke between May and October as a way to highlight and build the existing cultural community. It's a good idea, to be sure, though one suspects that its success will ultimately be built on the back of the excitement the programming on tap.

Toward that end, the earliest indications are that it will be an uphill battle. A seniors dance performance isn't the way that I'd sell a neighbourhood as a hotbed of cultural activity. It sounds like Placebo Space will get in on the fun, however, so perhaps there's hope after all.

What do you think? Is Etobicoke ready to shine as a cultural hot spot?

Photo of Placebo Space

Located in Corktown on Richmond Street East, the black facade and bright yellow entrance door of the new DECIEM HQ stands out in stark contrast to its surroundings.

It's hard to call this space just an office given the sheer number of operations that run within it on a regular basis. Previously located in Leslieville, the DECIEM team moved into their new facilities four months ago and have since been running the logistics, administration, design, testing, and manufacturing of 8 beauty brands with over 300 different beauty products from this location.

DECIEM which stems from the Latin word for the number ten, is a boutique beauty company that creates, manufactures, and currently ships eight different beauty brands.

Their best-selling product is Hand Chemistry - an anti-aging hand cream, which retails at $20 at Shoppers Drug Mart. Other brands they manufacture include Fountain, Inhibitif, Hair Is Fabric, and Ab Crew. DECIEM sold its first product in April 2013, recently shipped its one millionth product, and has $33M in retail sales across 17 markets.

The full-time team of 40 did all the interior design and planning of their own space, which they created by joining two old buildings together. Brandon Truaxe, the CEO and Founder of DECIEM, is an inspiring ball of energy as he takes me around the space.

To the right of the entrance is the design, sales, marketing, and logistics team work space. Just behind them is the lab where the company's in-house chemists work on new formulations and products. Given the collaborative culture at DECIEM, it's not uncommon to find Brandon, or Nicola, the deputy CEO in the lab testing and discussing a new product with one of their chemists.

The beauty world is fairly predictable: there are ten major labels like L'Oreal and Estée Lauder, that manufacture most of the products you see when you walk down the beauty aisle in a typical department store.

Startups in the beauty industry tend to take their ideas to a lab to manufacture, so even the brands that are not under the big ten are stock formulations from the same labs with minor differences.

DECIEM's approach to beauty products is drastically different. It's rare for a beauty startup to house their own lab and manufacturing facilities in-house as well as all the packaging and shipping. The advantage to having eight brands under their roof is that each brand gets its own timeshare of all the different processes within the facility.

The manufacturing, filling, packaging, and supply room is located in the west wing of the building, with soaring 25-foot ceilings to allow for the mechanics of the machinery that operates within it.

On the north west side of the building is the supply and storage area, which houses all the raw materials that go into the products. Further west is the main manufacturing area with mixers of all shapes and sizes that can work with 50 to 1,000 litres of product.

Having sophisticated machinery on premises allows DECIEM to be agile and cost-efficient in their approach to bringing new products to market.

New products are dreamt up by chemists in the in-house laboratory and sent to several third-party labs to test for sensitivity, heat etc.

The final formula is sent over to manufacturing where product creation specialists pick out the supplies needed, pour them into the giant mixers, and send it off to filling. It's like a large-scale cooking operation, but for beauty products!

The filling stations feel like they belong in a How It's Made video. There are three different stations on the premises that are used based on the amount of product being created. The fully automated station averages filling, sealing, and packaging 70 tubes a minute and can do up to 10,000 products in an hour.

Logistics of such a large scale operation are hard - and harder still given the fairly central location of the company's headquarters. DECIEM has three loading docks in their facility and continue to maintain both of their old offices as warehouses to keep up with demand.

In the lower level of the building is the company's own water filtration system, where 20ppm city water goes through 17 stages of UV filtering, de-salting, and reverse osmosis to distill it down to 3ppm. This water is then pumped back up to the batching room to be used in the products.

The upper level of the two buildings houses the finance and administration teams as well as Brandon's office, which is more of a shrine for the DECIEM product lines than a place where he actually works.

Future office development plans include converting one of the board rooms into a Moroccan tea room, putting a giant blackboard on the middle wall, and setting up some patio furniture come summer time.

To find out more about DECIEM, watch this video about their abnormal journey into the traditional beauty industry and how they're shaking things up.

Photos by Jimmy Lu

Earlier today, The Toronto Star published an article in which Martin Regg Cohn claimed an unnamed source informed him that large grocery stores will begin selling wine and beer in a plan that might be part of the upcoming spring budget.

Torontonians thirsty for changes to our province's long-outdated beer retailing system were quick to rejoice at what seemed like positive news. But is it really something worth getting excited about?

The idea to allow beer in some of the province's larger grocery stores means putting the control of Ontario's beer sales in the hands of yet another third party and, as a result, local brewers' reactions to the news were mixed.

Jason Fisher, owner of the Indie Alehouse, told me he has concerns about the plan. "My main question," he told me, "is why can't local Ontario brewers have their own chain of retail stores? Molson and Labatt are allowed to own stores that sell beer, and now Loblaws can sell beer? Why can't smaller breweries just open their own stores?"

"[Grocery stores] will likely just be another middle man for consumers and manufactures and it will mean less profit for the people making beer and ultimately higher prices for consumers."

John Hay, the president of The Ontario Craft Brewers, issued an official response today that reiterated his members' commitment to working with the province, but laid plain the need to have brewers at the heart of any changes. "We do not want to be trapped in the distribution system of any large players," he said in a statement emailed to media.

You can forgive local brewers for being less than enthusiastic about these potential changes in a retail environment that's seen many changes promised then taken away over the years.

"It's fun to sit back and read the Star's piece and hope that even more changes are happening in this exciting industry," says Troy Burtch, who handles Sales and Community Management for Great Lakes Brewery. "But I guess we'll have to wait and see what really takes place."

If such a change were to happen, there's likely good cause for skepticism about any real change to the current retail market. Given that grocery stores charge stocking fees, Torontonians would likely see the same local breweries that are currently enjoying success at The Beer Store on the shelves of the grocery store since they'd be the ones with the distribution and volume necessary to meet the demand of supplying large retailers.

Michael Gurr, who handles Operations at Kensington Brewing Company , says his company is also cautiously optimistic about the news. "Questions remain about access to this system for small breweries," he tells me via email. "Large grocery store chains are notoriously difficult on their suppliers, setting unfavorable payment terms and demanding high listing fees to squeeze every dime of value out of their partners. The reality is that, as a small brewery it would be difficult for us to compete in this environment."

Similarly, anyone familar with the province's current beer scene might easliy see how this change could be manipulated in favour of the big brewers who currently own the Beer Store. That is, big brewers who currently peddle their influence at Queen's Park, in bars, and elsewhere might easily use their deep pockets to influence privately-owned grocery stores into granting them the sort of near-exclusivity they currently enjoy at restaurants, bars, and sports venues in the province.

The true cynics among us might already foresee the forthcoming "Loblaws-Labatt's Partnership" or Metro-Molson Alliance" press releases.

Ultimately, the news seems positive for makers and drinkers of Ontario's beer--as Gurr puts it, "If I have one more opportunity to sell beer today than I did yesterday, that's a good thing." But it seems far from the sort of sweeping change makers of local beer have been clamouring for and, if history has taught us anything, it's probably in our best interests not to get too excited just yet.

Ben Johnson also writes about beer over on Ben's Beer Blog. Follow him on twitter at @Ben_T_Johnson.

Photo of Left Field Brewery by Matt Forsythe

The best vegetarian restaurants in Toronto continue to get better and better. Offerings now go beyond mock meat, rice and quinoa bowls have evolved and become more widespread and now almost everything gets paired with a smoothie or cold pressed juice.

Here are the best vegetarian restaurants in Toronto.

See also:

10 under the radar vegetarian restaurants in Toronto
The top 10 vegan non-vegan restaurants in Toronto
The Best Veggie Burger in Toronto
The Best Salad in Toronto
The Best Juice Bars in Toronto