All across Toronto there are residential streets lined with uniform, unremarkable homes. So when someone breaks the mould with a strange front yard or weird architecture, it tends to stand out. Some express their individuality with front yard ornaments, others through bold design.

Here my picks for the weirdest homes in Toronto.

The half house
During construction of the Village by the Grange, many of the homes that once lined the west side of St. Patrick St. were bought and demolished by developer Windlass. The owner of #54 1/2, however, was a staunch holdout. While the other properties in the six-house terrace were demolished, the middle one stayed standing, its pitched roof sliced perfectly in half.

The elephant house
Sally the white elephant has been in James Lawson's Yarmouth St. front yard for years. Originally part of an OCAD thesis, Lawson rescued the giant pachyderm from destruction and installed it on his property in 2003. Visitors sometimes leave offerings for the model: beads, cash, sometimes a confessional note. In 2013, Lawson gave weather-worn Sally a much needed facelift.

The doll house
Everyone in Leslieville knows about the doll house on Bertmount Ave. The unsettling front yard is crammed with figurines, dolls, and stuffed animals, all of which face the street and give passers by the distinct feeling of being watched. Judging by the various Google Street View snapshots, the collection of toys is constantly evolving, growing, and changing.

The wood cake house
Corks, small pieces of wood, and sliced pieces of pool cue ("wood cakes") adorn the Clinton St. home of Albino Carreira. From a distance, the effect is to make the texture the brick semi detached property look like it's made of gingerbread. So far, it seems, the wood cakes only cover the front of the house.

The terracotta house
Built in 1905 by J. Turner Sr., probably in an effort to promote his construction business, this Jerome St. property is covered in oversized clay tiles, many of them intended for use on much larger buildings. Once fashionable, terracotta tile fell out of style in the 1890s, and, according to the Toronto Region Architectural Conservancy, Turner took advantage of the sudden abundance of stock when building his house.

The cube house
Built in 1996 on an awkward patch of land between Eastern, Sumach, and the Adelaide DVP ramp, the cube house was inspired by the works of Dutch architect Piet Blom. Current tenant Martin Trainor has recently been renovating the Corktown landmark. In 2011, Trainor told the Globe and Mail he hoped to make cubes a tourist destination.

The Greek house
Toronto has lots of neo-classical buildings, but none as eccentric as the Parashos household on Shaw. The two-storey home is covered in Greek-inspired columns, pilasters, and other antique-looking stone sculptures. The family name is displayed proudly over the side alley in a faux Roman font and the whole thing is topped with what looks like a light-up star.

The Western house
On Regal Rd. near Dufferin and Davenport there's a bizarre home with a statue of a First Nations man on horseback in the front yard hovering over two upside down cowboy boots stuck in the ground. The little patch of land that faces the street has been turned into a rocky, desert landscape in the style of a Western scene painted by artist Frederic Remington.

The assemblage house
What's that in the front yard of 550 Manning? Well, according to Metro, it's a mix of wood and other materials glued together with orange insulation foam. The assemblage is the work of resident Guiseppe Rauti, who started putting material on his front lawn 18 years ago. He told reporter Lia Grainger that kids and other visitors like to stop and take photos.

The tiny house
If there's a smaller house in Toronto, the owners of 128 Day Ave. don't know about it. At just 29 square metres, the property was squeezed into gap intended for a laneway access road in 1912. It only has three rooms: a living area, kitchen, and back bedroom with a wall bed. The tiny house is the only one on this list known to have inspired a song.

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

What did I miss? Add your suggestions in the comments.

Image: Chris Bateman, Derek Flack/blogTO, dtstuff9, Tanja-Tiziana, scienceduck, Michael Greco/blogTO Flickr pool.

Indoor playgrounds in Toronto are scattered throughout the city, so there's likely a sterilized and enclosed option near you. These range from all-purpose facilities to themed adventure parks. Don't forget to bring your socks, they're pretty much mandatory and even if they weren't, would you really want you or your kids to go bare foot?

These are my picks for the top indoor playgrounds in Toronto.

See also:The best playgrounds in Toronto.

Playground Paradise
This city run indoor playground is attached to Flemingdon Park Community Centre, and for a paltry $2.50 for two hours your kid will love the elaborate climbing structure, giant slides, ball pit, and dramatic arts area. Geared towards toddlers up to 12 year olds.

Balls of Fun
Kids love balls. That's a fact. So why not toss them into a room entirely covered in balls of all shapes and sizes? There's no set timetable to sweat over, just show up (open Tuesday to Sunday) and play. Prices hover at around $10 for admission.

Kidnasium
While they don't boast an open schedule, the gymnastics classes here keep kids in the Mount Pleasant and Eglinton area bending their way through various obstacles. Programs start at $250 a season, while drop in play is every Friday morning from 10-11am.

Sprouts/>
East side parents love Sprout. It's clean, the gym/playground is always open, and parents score a free coffee just to ease them through it. There are variety of membership options, which start at $62.50 for six visits.

Oaks 'n Acorns
Oaks 'n Acorns combines education and physical fitness with a slew of programming at their Danforth and recently opened Junction locations. Membership has its perks here: non-members pay $6 to pay, members half price. If you go often, you'll save big.

Enchanted Castle
With locations in East York and around the GTA, Enchanted Castle is the best place for parents to sit this play out. CCTV's keep you in the loop, as your kid runs through the castle-themed play structures, suspension bridges and slides.

PlayTown
This impressive space in Missisauga is built to resemble an actual small town, so don't go all Godzilla and ruin the fun. Ranging from $6 for the under two crowd, up to $11 for 12 year olds.

Air Riderz
Another 'sauga-based big box venture with 26,000 sparwling square feet of jumping fun. Prices start out at $13 an hour (two hours for ages 3-5), and go up to $20 for two hours. Giant slide prices are (boo) separate.

Kids Fun Town
Kids in the Danforth and Woodbine area keep coming back to this laid back indoor play place, geared mostly towards kids six and under. Play favourites give kids just the right amount of thrills, while severely limiting any type of spills. Starts at $7 a go.

Extreme Fun
Extreme Fun has over 5,000 square feet of games and things to climb, but you're better off teaching junior the fine art of foosball or to hit up the air hockey tables and show them what it really means to say elbows off the table. Classes will set you back $7.

What did I miss? Add your suggestions in the comments.

Words by Libby Roach. Photo from Playtown's Facebook page

This new Japanese restaurant serves up some of the most beautifully plated dishes one could imagine. It's also relatively reasonably priced for the quality of product on offer.

Read my profile of Yutaka in the restaurants section.

Nearly 12 years ago, a huge swathe of eastern North American went dark during a record-breaking blackout. Instead of descending into madness, Torontonians filled our streets with a sense of community as many joined together to enjoy a night under the stars (you could finally see them from the city).

To commemorate that August 14, 2003 night, Toronto's Lemon Bucket Orkestra is hosting a Blackout Party tomorrow at David Pecaut Square.

With musical performances by local groups including Samba Elegua, Maracatu Mar Aberto and Freeman Dre & the Kitchen Party, the festivities will begin at 9:30 p.m. Lemon Bucket Orkestra is set to play at 10:00. Afterwards, the merrymakers will parade to secret location to continue the celebrations.

While we've faced our fair share of chaotic events (take the 2013 ice storm, for instance) in the past number of years, nothing brought Toronto together like the 2003 blackout.

What do you remember from the 2003 blackout? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Hamish Grant in the blogTO Flickr pool.

If you're craving steak, you can soon feast at another chain of steak restaurants because The ONE Group, a hospitality company based in the United States, is opening its signature steakhouse in Toronto.

STK is slated to arrive at 155 Yorkville Avenue in 2016. This is STK's first foray into Canada and it'll come in the form of a massive restaurant totaling 8,880 square feet.

This upscale eatery isn't like your neighbourhood Keg. Its website currently notes a dress code for its other locations.

"To make the best impression possible," it reads, "we recommend guests dress in upscale yet comfortable attire. For the ladies, throw on a LBD and a pair of your favorite heels. For the gents, grab your blazer, throw it over a collared shirt and add the final touch with dress shoes."

Perhaps it's fitting that STK chose Yorkville as its home.

Are you excited for the arrival of STK steakhouse? Let us know in the comments.

Construction on the nearly 30 storey hotel at Exhibition Place is well underway. With more than 400 suites, a 71,000 square-foot sports club and a massive rooftop pool, Hotel X Toronto is slated to open in spring 2016.

The Library Hotel Collection is behind the project, and the company currently has numerous, highly-rated, luxurious properties in New York City as well as in Prague and Budapest.

Thanks to discovery of contaminated soil, building was delayed in 2013. It was just one setback in a long line of delays because as the Globe and Mail reported back in 2009, plans for a Exhibition Place hotel cropped up as early as 1999. Now, it's finally coming to fruition.

What do you think of the Hotel X Toronto? Let us know in the comments.

Be careful where you park your car this fall because the Toronto Police Service is planning another enforcement blitz, which is slated to start in September.

After a City Hall press conference this morning, Mayor John Tory told the media that "the blitz is on," according to a CTV New Report.

In January, Mayor Tory helped orchestrate another blitz to help combat gridlock by ticketing or towing cars parked illegally during rush hour. By early February, police had handed out more than 7,500 tickets and had towed more 1,200 vehicles, according to a CBC report.

Drivers will also see prices rise at Green P parking lots in September. CTV News notes that after the Toronto Parking Authority voted to up its monthly and half-hourly rates, 40-50 lots could see price increases.

What do you think of the latest parking blitz? Let us know in the comments.

Yes, the Toronto sign has moved. But before you freak out and start mourning the loss of our city's multi-coloured marquee, the sign has moved just a few metres away and now resides at the east side of Nathan Phillips Square next to Bay.

According to a CTV News report, the city moved the sign for the Parapan Pan Am Games closing ceremonies, which are happening in the Square at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.

Along with musical entertainment, the Games will conclude with a fireworks show. But don't look southward towards the CN Tower because these fireworks will erupt from atop City Hall.

While the Pan Am Games wrap up this weekend, the sign will be relocated again for another year, meaning you still have plenty of time to photograph it in its rather iconic location.

What do you think of the Toronto sign's new location? Let us know in the comments.

Have you got Blue Jays fever yet? You wouldn't be alone if you answered affirmatively. In the midst of a 10-game winning streak and now in first place in the AL East, even odds-makers are getting excited by the hottest team in baseball.

Bodog Canada currently has the Jays at four-to-one odds to win the World Series, which puts them ahead of the Kansas City Royals (five-to-one), and the both Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals at eight-to-one.

That's one hell of a turn around. Before GM Alex Anthopoulos revamped his team at the trade deadline, the Jays were considered a long shot for the championship (25-to-one). The playoffs didn't even seem likely. Let's see how excited everyone gets if the team can keep this streak alive.

Photo by Yitian Frederick Tao in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Weekend events in Toronto will have you acting like a kid in a candy shop when Sweetery Toronto hosts its inaugural event. Head to Front and Portland to get your sugar fix at the two day festival. If you'd rather skip the potential cavity, there's plenty of other things to do this weekend as well. Get out and enjoy the rest of summer.

For more events this weekend click on over to our Events section.

FESTIVALS

SummerWorks (August 6-16)
SummerWorks is wrapping up on Sunday, so now's the time to see a show. On tap this weekend: An Evening in July, Lac/Athabasca, The Tall Building, Tough Guy Mountain: a play and more. Tickets are already on sale, and you can view the full festival schedule here.

Habari Africa (August 14-16)
This event brings African culture to the Harboourfront Centre for a weekend long fest. You'll see live music performances from Rocky Dawuni, Awa Sangho, and more. Plus, theres plenty of food, dancing and entertainment to keep you busy Friday through Sunday.

Wheels on the Danforth (August 15)
The Danforth is being shut down for the ultimate automobile show. Look forward to scoping out classic cars and motorcycles, shopping, and listening to live music. End your day by joining in on the electronic street dance party.

Festival of South Asia (August 15-16)
The Festival of South Asia is focused on food, and it closes down Gerrard Street in Little India from Coxwell to Greenwood. Aside from the food, it's a great chance to take in some Bollywood music and dancing.

York-Eglinton International Street Fest (August 15-16)
On the weekend of August 15th, Eglinton Avenue West from Marlee to Dufferin will be closed for the York-Eglinton International Street Fest. The celebration is expected to draw in 25,000, so prepare yourself for crowds. It will feature a petting zoo, live entertainment, food vendors and countless other attractions.

Open Streets TO (August 18)
Open Streets TO is taking over a chunk of downtown Toronto for a street fest promoting physical activity and city exploration. So grab your bike, your yoga mat, or just walk yourself over and enjoy the outdoors. Don't expect to find any vendors, the focus is on getting active, not trying outrageous foods.

Zine Dream (August 16)
This Saturday zine enthusiasts will be flocking to The Great Hall for the 8th installment of Zine Dream. You'll find 90 exhibitors showing off their self-published works on everything from music to comics.

MUSIC

TIME Festival (August 15)
TIME takes a slight turn away from the dance-y line up of last year, putting South African hip-hop duo Die Antwoord at the top of the bill, along with crazy crooner Mac Demarco, Ariel Pink, BADBADNOTGOOD, Yung Lean, Ryan Hemsworth, DIIV, and more, all at a very affordable price. As a bonus, there's no way it can rain as much as it did last year.

FOOD

Waterfront Night Market (August 14-16)
Happening in the parking lot of the T & T Cherry Street supermarket, this night market will feature over 100 food and retail vendors. Expect delicious stinky tofu, steamed buns and grilled seafoods on skewers.

Sweetery Toronto (August 15-16)
Toronto's inaugural food festival devoted to all things sweet will debut August 15 to 16 at Front and Portland. Admission is free for the two day event featuring piñatas, jelly bean counts, loot bags, and, food stands helmed by local bakeries, patisseries, doughnut shops and ice cream parlours.

Fusion of Taste (August 16)
Head to Albion and Islington Square for a fest featuring food, retail vendors and over 100 live performances. At the event you'll find everything from Taiko drumming to eating competitions.

Ackee Fest (August 16)
Got a hankering for some authentic Jamaican cuisine? You're in luck. Ackee Fest is serving up Caribbean, African, vegetarian, vegan and Halal dishes for one day only at the Jamaican Canadian Association. You'll also find live music and entertainment, as well as a market place on the scene.

SPORTS

Rogers Cup 2015 (August 8-16)
Toronto's summer streak of high-profile sporting events is continuing with the Rogers Cup. Tennis a-listers like Serena Williams, Eugenie Bouchard, and Maria Sharapova will wrap up their battle for the Rogers Cup this weekend.

Parapan Am Games #SoldOutSaturday (August 15)
It's finally time to kiss the Pan Am and Parapan Am games goodbye on Saturday. Organizers are dubbing the day #SoldOutSaturday, and are attempting to close out the final events with full audiences. Get your tickets while you still can.

Parapan Am Games Closing Ceremonies (August 15)
Join the farewell bash at Nathan Phillips Square after the games wrap up on Saturday evening. In true Pan Am fashion, the event will include a ton of live entertainment and fireworks galore.

MOVIES

TIFF in Your Park: Hotel Transylvania (August 14)
Let your inner kid loose (or take your kid to a movie) this Friday. TIFF in Your Park is playing the animated flick Hotel Transylvania at Flemingdon Park. As per usual, the event won't cost you a dime.

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.

Photo by Greg's Southern Ontario in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Last Thursday night, Robert Cishecki visited St. James Park for an outdoor concert. But his evening ended early thanks to the arrival of a literal rat pack.

"I have never in my life seen so many rats," say Cishecki. He's lived in the area for 18 year and regularly walks through the park by King and Church. He noticed the rat population growing over the past three months. "They're so prevalent", he says of the situation now. "They're absolutely everywhere. You can stand and within 30 seconds you'll see three, four rats."

Area park manager Mark Emslie is aware of the problem and he's trying to quash it. "We have reports of rats every year at St. James, typically in the summer time," he says. Though usually, the rodents aren't much of an issue. "This year for some reason, there's an infestation," he continues.

Emslie started hearing about the rats earlier this summer. "We have a pest control person that has been dealing with the issue at St. James since about July 3," he says. Lately however, he's been getting daily emails and phone calls from individuals complaining about the pesky, long-tailed rodents.

In response, the pest control person has increased his visits to the park. He caught a total of 16 rats between Tuesday and Wednesday alone.

Emslie can't pinpoint why there are so many rats this year. Although he guesses it's because of discarded food or increased construction in the area.

Back in November, many noticed a large number of rats scurrying about after the Union Station renovations left a large number of these rodents homeless. Yet, as the Toronto Star previously reported, rats rarely harm humans in the city. And Torontonians have likely been living alongside them since the 1700s. Although, it's unlikely many of us will start getting friendly with our furry neighbours.

Have you seen a larger number of rats than usual this summer? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Jason Cook in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The Perseid meteor shower peaked last night, and stargazers in the Toronto area captured some stunning images of the celestial show. More impressive still, higher latitude watchers were treated to a double whammy in the form of a dual display of the aurora and the meteor shower.

You didn't have to be too far north to get in on the fun. In fact, many city-bound residents reported seeing shooting stars last night and the night before. The northern lights were another matter altogether as magnetic activity was actually quite low, but if you made a point of gazing at the night sky from anywhere but the most light polluted places, falling stars were ripe for the picking.

The first two photos were taken in the Gravenhurst area, while the third one was snapped in Newmarket. If you happened to miss out, there's no need to fret. Tonight will also see plenty of Perseid activity, which will continue until about August 24th (though at a diminished rate).

Photos by Ying Jiang and Vincent Ng.

Photo by Tim Folkins 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

• The T&T Waterfront Night Market kicks off tonight, Friday, August 14 at 6pm in the parking lot of the Cherry Street supermarket. The Asian market runs all weekend and promises a multitude of vendors hawking steamed buns and seafood skewers. Here's what it looked like last year.
• The first ever Sweetery festival showcasing confectionery arts takes place this weekend at Front and Portland from noon to 10pm. Organized by George Brown College's Chef School in partnership with SickKids, proceeds from all activities will go towards a good cause. The festival is free to attend, so go early and spend the day satisfying your sweet tooth, smash some piñatas, and count a few thousand jellybeans.
• The Festival of South Asia takes place this weekend, August 15 and 16 from noon to 11pm on Gerrard between Greenwood and Coxwell. Look forward to a street festival showcasing local restaurants, and live entertainment including a South Asian fashion show.
• Twilight Tuesdays continue to pop-up weekly this month in the courtyard behind the Drake One Fifty (150 York St). Expect to see Momofuku, Thoroughbred, Pizzeria Libretto and Smoke Signals there too.

UPCOMING

• Pintxos Toronto presented by Estrella Damm is on next week, and there's still time to get tickets ($10). The festival of Spanish cuisine will take place on August 23 from noon until 6pm at Royal Bank Plaza (200 Bay St.) and will spotlight local vendors including Salt Wine Bar
, Cava, and Mamakas (to name a few) plus special guests, NYC's Donostia, and Simply Fosh from Mallorca, Spain.
• U-Feast presents Made In Brasil at Mata Petisco Bar (1690 Queen St. West) on Tuesday, September 22. The five-course fiesta kicks of at 7pm. Tickets are $70 inclusive of wine and gratuities.

Photo from last year's Waterfront Night Market

Generally speaking, beer is a beverage best enjoyed fresh. So I was dismayed recently when I happened upon Cream Ale from famed Copenhagen brewery Mikkeller at my local LCBO, happily bought it, Instagrammed my score, and was then roundly lambasted by other beer nerds for having purchased beer that was part of the LCBO's summer release. Last summer, that is.

Why was it, I wondered, that the LCBO, one of only two places in the province that is legally allowed to sell a variety of beer onsite, is so frequently the topic of conversation among craft beer fans for having imported beer on its shelves that is so far removed from the date it was actually bottled? How could I be buying beer released nine months ago?

The issue, as you might guess, isn't a simple one.

I spoke with Christine Bujold, Media Relations Coordinator for the LCBO about the process for bringing imported beer into Ontario.

"Products sold through LCBO stores are tasted, tested and certified by the LCBO's Quality Assurance (QA) department," she told me via email. "The QA department conducts more than 500,000 laboratory tests and tastes more than 7,500 products each year."

That takes some time and can often delay the time between when beer is bottled and when it actually hits the shelves.

"With regards to beer," she says, "The LCBO makes every effort to ensure beer is stored, in our warehouses and retail stores, in a manner that ensures it retains its quality and freshness. This includes minimizing situations where beer may be impacted by exposure to natural elements such as direct sunlight."

Stephen Beaumont, author of The Pocket Beer Guide and The World Atlas of Beer, says that the LCBO may not be perfect, but they're making huge strides.

"All too often we hear stories about beers languishing in the warehouse instead of disappearing from store shelves and others spending too much time in North Bay stores rather than being snapped up in Toronto, Ottawa or Hamilton," he says.

"But I am convinced that this situation will get better with time and experience. [...] The LCBO is a bit of a colossus and as such takes time, sometimes considerable amounts of time, to fully effect program changes."

He also emphasized that this problem isn't unique to Ontario. "I've patronized any number of beer specialty stores in the U.S. and abroad for well over two decades and have seen out-of-date beers in the vast majority of them."

Bujold confirms that LCBO warehouse staff monitor "best before" dates and retail staff are trained to remove from shelves any inventory past its date.

Indeed, the Mikkeller Cream Ale that I purchased did in fact have a "best before date" of 2016. This is obviously some insane optimism from the brewers, but difficult to fault the LCBO for, given that they can only go off the manufacturer's best before.

Bujold also informed me that, "if a customer feels that he or she has purchased an unsatisfactory product from the LCBO, they may return the product to any LCBO store for a full refund." And so I actually returned my less-than-fresh beer and got my money back.

So the next time you purchase "stale" beer from the LCBO, consider that there's actually a lot going on to make sure the imports we get in Ontario are fresh, and, more importantly, you can always take it back.

Ben Johnson also writes about beer over on Ben's Beer Blog. Follow him on twitter @Ben_T_Johnson. If you'd like to read Christine Bujold's complete statement on beer freshness at the LCBO, you can do so here.

The CNE is set to return to Toronto for another year. Expect to fid all sorts of tacky midway goodness when it gets started on August 21st, from classic fair rides to foods that may or may not instantly turn you diabetic (I'm looking at you, cocoa fried chicken), this is a Toronto summer tradition that should never be missed.

Here, in no particular order, are my picks for the the top things to do at the 2015 CNE.

Get your drink on at the Craft Beer Fest
Missed the Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival? No problem. The Ex is bringing in all your favourite beverages from 11 top craft brewers. Expect to sip on everything from Beaus All Natural to Sawdust City. Word to the wise: after downing a pint or two, avoid the midway rides.

Take advantage of the rides
The Ex may not tempt death the same way Canada's Wonderland does with its sky high rides, but there's no shortage of fair favourites to keep you busy. Whether you're a thrill seeker who likes to test gravity with upside down midway rides or just want to kick back on the gondolas, there's something for everyone.

Check out some live music
In true festival fashion, the CNE is hosting an impressive roster of live music. There's three stages as well as various spots around the grounds where musicians will take to the stage. Cody Simpson, Tokyo Police Club, MKTO, and tons more are slated to perform.

Sample some new outrageous festival fare
Last year's menu will be difficult to beat, as the CNE spent the better part of August serving up everything from cocoa infused fried chicken to s'more bao. Though we have yet to see what's in store for this year, we can only expect things to get weirder and more wonderful.

Feast on food truck eats
The Food Truck Frenzy is bringing more than 20 food trucks to the CNE from August 28th to 30th. You'll find all your favourite local gourmet favourites, like Fidel Gastro, Food Dudes, and Hogtown Smoke, and more.

Try your luck at the CNE Casino
Our fair city doesn't have much by way of gambling, so it's always a treat when The Ex rolls into town and brings its coveted casino. Expect to find the building filled more than a few optimistic betters playing everything from multi-action blackjack to roulette. Hold on to your wallet and may the odds be ever in your favour.

Hit up the Beach Bar for a drink
Get a little R&R at the beach without even leaving the Exhibition Ground. Once you've had your fill of fair foods and midway rides, head to the tiki bar and indulge in a Muskoka beer or glass of sangria. There will be plenty of deck chairs, so you can sit back and enjoy the sun.

Get messy at Rib Fest
Toronto is no stranger to a good Ribfest, and the CNE offers one of the best (and longest) in the city. Expect to find grill masters serving up barbecue classics to hungry fair-goers from August 21st to September 7th. You may want to bring an extra change of clothes if you don't want to walk around the grounds smothered in sauce.

Watch the annual Air Show
However noisy, the Air Show is one of the CNE's most beloved attractions. Featuring a host of planes (vintage and otherwise) including the Breitling Jet Team from France, this event will impress any aviation enthusiast. Even if you aren't crazy about planes, you have to admit they look pretty damn cool.

Embrace your inner Brad Paisley at the Country Saloon
The Northern Comfort Saloon is back for another year, giving cowboy hat enthusiasts some new stomping grounds for 18 days. Everyone from James Barker to Kelly Prescott will be taking the stage to perform. There's also a mechanical bull and plenty of line dancing to take part in.

Check it out at night
During the day the CNE can be hot and sweaty. That is precisely why you need to go when the sun is setting. The concerts get better, the views from the ferris wheel become more picturesque, and, if you're particularly lucky, the lines will be shorter.

What did I miss? Add more suggestions to the comments. Photo by Greg's Southern Ontario in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Owner and designer Elle Marks has a poster on the wall of her midtown boutique that reads: "sustainable is the new black." At ELle & Co., Marks creates refined work-wear for women. And it's all made in Ontario thanks to Marks' commitment to ethical fashion.

Read my review of ELle & Co. in the fashion stores section.

The best chicken wings in Toronto can be found at sports bars, pubs, snack bars and smokehouses. The flavours and styles are as diverse as the city itself, broadening the criteria for best chicken wings beyond the breaded and fried varieties famous in Buffalo, and inclusive of tender pit-smoked versions, and sweet and spicy Asian variations.

Here are the best chicken wings in Toronto.

See Also:The Best Fried Chicken in Toronto

A new splash pad may seem like an unlikely spot for a public art installation that serves as a legacy for the Pan Am Games. After the sun goes down and the children clear out, however, one new addition to a Toronto park does just that.

The Pan Am splash pad, located in Centennial Park at Exhibition Place, is more than just a play area. Terraplan Landscape Architects designed the kid-friendly parkette around a cylindrical sculpture, which they emblazoned with the names of 51 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games sports.

At night, a light shines through the structure to create a serene, and rather magical-looking, reminder of the 2015 Games. It's small reminder, but sometimes the little things go a long way.

What do you think of this legacy art installation? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Alisa Kutkin

If you've every been turned off by the pungent, vinegary flavours of fermented tea, it's time to give kombucha another chance. Visit this new brew shop in Kensington Market and discover the magic of fresh, sparkling kombucha on tap.

Read my profile of Witches Brew in the cafes section.