Day or night, the Ossington corridor between Queen and Dundas is usually pretty busy. Between those lining up at Bang Bang or the Bellwoods Brewery patio and shoppers eager to check out the new Peace Collective store (if only for its milkshakes), but as the area continues to gentrify, more big businesses are starting to move in.

It all, of course, started with Starbucks back in 2012. Tiger of Sweden and Shinola came later. And just last week, Lululemon announced it'd be opening its first Toronto menswear store at 96 Ossington Ave., in the space the Harley Davidson Cafe popped up in.

Since the street's evolving yet again, we decided to speak with local businesses owners about what they think of the latest changes.

"It's great," says Ian C. Gillies from the framing store Telegramme. "A lot of people remember when there were practically tumbleweeds blowing up and down the street and how dark it was, especially at night. And that doesn't even seem like that long ago."

He moved to Ossington when the moratorium on new restaurant and bars was still in place in place in 2010. And over the past few years, he's noticed foot traffic increase.

Crywolf, which has been on Ossington for about three years, sells unique pins, patches, apparel and accessories. "There is the worry of big chains coming in, I guess in terms of rent increasing and possibly pushing us smaller companies out," says co-owner Stephanie Drabik. "I know that's kind of what happened on Queen West."

But Ossington's far from becoming the outdoor mall that is Queen West. Bigger chains can help draw more people to the street, but it's all about balance, notes Nicky Potter, who runs the Ossington BIA (Business Improvement Area).

That's a sentiment Kate Ferguson, who owns Unleashed in the City, shares. But she's also seen how the street's increased popularity can affect small business, especially since rent is going up.

"If it means everyone's rent goes up then little independent places, like myself, may not be able to stay on the street, which is really heartbreaking because I've put my heart and soul into helping develop the street through the BIA and through our community events," she says.

It would be shame, she notes, if the little guys are forced to leave.

Photo by Jesse Milns.

September brings different temperatures, changing fall colours, and of course, a cornucopia of exciting new restaurants to try in Toronto. We got new spots to pick up our favourite standards, like brunch and fried chicken, as well as novel new additions to the food scene like Zimbabwean meat pies.

Here are my picks for the top restaurant openings in Toronto this September.

PG Cluck's
This new fried chicken squeezes into a tiny little nook right next to the Royal Cinema. Line-ups for this place are already stretching past the doors of the theatre, and for good reason: though the shop may be small, the flavour is big, with all deboned leg meat in a variety of sandwiches as well as scrumptious honey crullers and even kombucha slushies.

Baddies
This brunch spot has been revitalizing the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne right next to the subway entrance ever since it opening, infusing the spot with hip Aussie coffee shop flair in an area that is tending ever more away from convenience stores and dive bars and towards vegan donuts. Full-service brunches like chia pudding or brekkie rolls are available every day - except Sunday.

Mnandi Pies
Not so much a restaurant as a food stall in a shipping container, this is a new place that's just opened up in the Market 707 strip. Chunks of stewed meat in combos like beef and kale or chicken and mushroom encased in flaky pastry are a sure-fire way to get yourself out of a beef patty rut.

Canis
New to Queen West is Canis, a fine dining establishment named for the canis lupus, or grey wolf. The beastly name is at odds with the delicate fare you'll find here, such as whole duck, poached sablefish, and house-cured trout.

Masseria
It's not like King and Portland was in desperate need of more elevated lunch spots, but this place earns its keep with a chef who worked with Mark McEwan and "black pizza:" not the opposite of white pizza in some way, but rather made with dough infused with charcoal, which doesn't affect the taste but does mean you can now eat a pizza as black as your goth heart.

Pray Tell
Pray Tell is a new snack bar at College and Ossington you might have noticed from its quirky signage, a combined P and upside-down T, despite the construction fencing that ran up and down College all summer. They're fighting against it and drawing people in though, with pretty cocktails and cheap snacks like dumplings, cold rolls, and pizza pockets.

Souk Tabule
Part of the Tabule family of restaurants that serves high-end Middle Eastern, this new Souk location in the Canary District may be a little off the beaten track but is definitely worth a visit for their exotic full souk fava bean dip platter, to pick up a couple exotic ingredients from their market ("souk" in Arabic), or grab a turmeric latte. They also promise harissa caesars soon.

Kitson and Co
One of the latest openings this month, Kitson and Co serves a variety of wonders sandwiched between bread. From BLTs to muffuletta to roti, sandwich lovers can satisfy all their cravings at this new spot in Parkdale. They're only open 'til 8 now, but are planning on slinging sammies 'til 3 or 4 a.m. in the coming months.

Belsize
The Belsize is a new comfy neighbourhood pub that should be thought of as more than that. Owned by John Oakes, proprietor of craft beer bar Harbord House, a variety of exclusive drafts and casks can be found here, complemented by classic pub dishes made right like pork terrine, deep-fried pickles, sausage, and calamari.

Planta
Sausage, BLTs, meat pies, fried chicken...though some of the above new restaurants have a few veggie options on the menu, none are 100% plant-based like Yorkville's new Planta. Chef David Lee of Nota Bene runs the kitchen, and has designed a menu of carrot dogs, coconut ceviche, and watermelon poke.

Did I miss an exciting new restaurant opening? Let us know in the comments.

Photo of Souk Tabule by Hector Vasquez.

One of the most recognizable bits of TTC infrastructure is finally being torn down after sitting vacant for over a decade. The sprawling former bus terminal at Eglinton Station will be razed to make way for a new station entrance and eventually further development.

The outdoor bus bays that made up the former terminal are a relic from the 1950s when Eglinton was the terminal station on the Yonge Line. The size of the station, which seems odd these days, was a product of a lack of density in the area at the time as well as the importance of Eglinton as a hub that connected the suburbs to the newly built subway.

When the station and bus terminal were first laid out, few would have imagined that Yonge and Eglinton would become one of the most dense intersections in the city at the heart of a burgeoning vertical neighbourhood. The abandoned site had long been an anachronistic throwback to a sleepier version of Toronto.

For my part, I will always remember running through the long westerly concourse, past the intoxicating smell of Cinnabon, and up the stairs of one of the bays because a flashing light indicated the bus had arrived. Thanks to its sheer size and all the Vitrolite tiles, the concourse always conferred an importance and elegance to Eglinton that most stations lacked.

That said, it's high time to replace the old terminal with new development. The tunnel boring machines from the Eglinton Crosstown will eventually be extracted here, and then work can commence on a new LRT station that will connect with the subway.

Beyond the new Crosstown Station, the future of the site is less clear. Local councillor Josh Matlow is pushing for a new park on the lands, and there's been talk of a commercial tower development. These aren't mutually exclusive outcomes, as the most likely outcome is a development with a significant green space component.

In any case, this particular relic of the TTC's past will be razed by the end of the year.

Photos by Randy McDonald, Scott Snider, and the Toronto Archives.

September started with the Snowbirds and ended with a visit from the Goodyear Blimp in Toronto, and in between our local photographers also captured the frenzy surrounding TIFF, fading summer sunsets, and the earliest signs of fall. In other words, the month was a feast for camera lenses.

These are my picks for the top photos from the blogTO Flickr pool last month.

Nuit Blanche returns to Toronto for 2016 tonight a little leaner sponsorship-wise, but still primed to be a full-out takeover of the city's downtown core. As was the case last year, there's rain in the forecast, but it's supposed to be light and misty rather than a downpour. Fingers crossed.

The proceedings run from 6:58 p.m. until sunrise. Regardless of the weather, you can expect the bulk of the action to take place between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. Heading out after that will ensure that you don't have to wait in lines, but will also increase the possibility of some exhibits shutting down and plenty of interaction with drunk folks (fun!).

Over the past few days, we've posted a variety of guides to the all-night art celebration to help you check out the most intriguing art and to stay well fuelled in your adventures. Have fun and stay dry!

What to see

• The top 20 exhibitions to check out at Nuit Blanche 2016
• The top 5 renegade exhibits to check out at Nuit Blanche 2016
• Nuit Blanche exhibitions on extended display for 2016
• Official Nuit Blanche Exhibition Map

What to eat and drink

• Late night eats for Nuit Blanche 2016
• 15 bars serving booze until 4am during Nuit Blanche 2016
• The best 24 hour restaurants in Toronto

Getting around

The subway will be running all night long for those who are taking advantage of 4 a.m. last call all of the free art. Lines 1 and 2 will stay open in their entirety while the Sheppard and Scarborough lines will run on their usual Saturday schedule.

There will also be additional GO Transit service for Nuit Blanche this year along many major train and bus routes out of Union Station. Check GO's website for schedules, as there will be a limited number of trains providing service late at night.

Road closures will be in effect throughout downtown tonight, which will help you to navigate the exhibits but which should also be avoided when heading to and from Nuit Blanche.

Photo challenge

We're thrilled to be partnering with the City of Toronto on the official Nuit Blanche photo challenge. Tag your best pics from the night with #blogTOnbTO on Instagram anytime between 7 p.m. on October 1 to 7 p.m. on October 10. Not on Instagram? Just email the photos to us at challenge@blogto.com.

Rules and Regs: By submitting photos to this contest you agree to allow blogTO, the City of Toronto and its partners to feature your photos in any future Nuit Blanche related promotion.

Photo by Matt Forsythe.

Toronto beer drinkers were outraged when they learned this past year that the scourge of condo development that plagues our city hit us where it really hurt: by evicting the legendary Bar Volo. The Volo brothers are out to prove they're not going to stay down, though, by offering more and better beers than ever before.

Read my profile of Birreria Volo in the bars section.

There are plenty of free events in Toronto this week, many of which have an artistic focus. There's a show, a screening, a marketplace, and oh yeah, a shoe party in the Distillery District - something for every taste and empty wallet.

Here are my picks for free events in Toronto this week.

Selfmaker Cafe Toronto Meet-Up (October 3, Apt. 200)
Described as an "opportunity to meet and talk with other like-minded creatives in the (enter industry here)," this is a free meet up for creative types. You'll most likely meet some ultra cool people at least.

Street Vogs Toronto (October 4, John Fluevog)
This one's for the shoe lovers. Fluevog celebrates the continued success of its Distillery store with a silent auction, art show, drinks, snacks and general happiness about being out east.

Film Screening: Fractured Land (October 6, Ryerson Image Centre)
View this documentary, which follows Caleb Behn, a young Dene lawyer from northeastern B.C., who may become one of his generation's greatest leaders. His people, at the epicentre of some of the largest natural gas fracking operations on earth, are deeply divided.You can learn more about it here.

You May Be A Winner (October 7, Red Head Gallery)
Artist Gillian Iles' new show is one worth catching. The installation "follows a group of young protagonists' confrontation with an awareness of their own potential and how it is shaped by social ideals, social orders and idealized lifestyles." There's lots of colours, digital influence and ideas to think about with these large scale paintings and sculptures.

The Bazaar of the Bizarre (October 9, Pia Bouman)
Step into a strange other world in Parkdale from 11 a.m. to 8p.m on Sunday. This is an alternative marketplace for all things different, interesting, weird, strange, one of a kind, macabre and whimsical. Admission is free, but it'll cost you for a shrunken head. Just kidding there are no shrunken heads. Or are there...?

Did I miss a free event this week you're totally excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Photo of the John Fluevog store by Woodrow Walden.

September marked the transition from summer to fall, and also the final days for these notable Toronto businesses. We said goodbye to one of the city's best beer bars this month, for instance, and are now waiting for it to reopen in its new location. But that's not where the closures end.

Here are the notable Toronto businesses that closed in September.

Via Vai
According to a termination notice, the landlord killed the lease for this stunning Italian restaurant and pizza spot on Bay Street as of Sept. 1. There's no word yet on what will replace it.

Smoke's Burritorie
The third concept restaurant from the Smoke's family moved into the old Burrito Boyz space. But this burrito spot lasted for about a year - the Adelaide eatery is now all papered up.

All The Best Fine Foods
This gourmet grocery store in Rosedale bid the neighbourhood adieu after 32 years. But you can still find its products at the Summerhill Market.

Black Irish Whiskey Bar
After more than two years on Queen Street East, this local watering hole shut down. The neighbourhood will definitely miss its oysters, pints and patio.

Not My Dog
This bar and live music venue shut down mid-month. One Twitter user said Parkdale will never be the same now that it's gone.

Brickyard Grounds
On September 30, this Bricktown champion unannounced its closure on Facebook. What's going to move into this corner spot next? We'll have to wait and see.

Bar Volo
While this spot officially shut down on Oct. 1, it threw a series of closing parties during the last week of September so devoted beer drinkers from all over the city could pay their respects. That's why we're counting it here. It will eventually resurface, but even its temporary absence will be rough for beer drinkers.

Urban House Cafe
This cheap and cheerful spot on Dundonald had its closing party at the end of September. Like Bar Volo, it's shutting down to make way for a condo, of course.

Did you spot a Toronto business that closed in September? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Hector Vasquez.

Have you ever been at dance party and a Rihanna song came on? But when it was over, you just wanted to hear one more song by her? A two or three song mini-marathon would light up your night, right?

This is happening, but on an even bigger scale with awesome visual effects in Toronto right now.

"It's a never-ending onslaught," says Corey Bagdan, a.k.a. DJ Doctor Baggie, of his legendary dance parties. He's the man behind the Purple Electricity Prince parties, the Can't Stop Esther Madonna marathons, Jackson Family Values and Gaga 4 Gaga dance-offs.

Bagdan's being DJing theme parties centred around iconic pop stars for over 10 years and he's the only one doing it right. There's a reason Prince, Madonna, Michael and Janet and more recently Lady Gaga have made the cut.

"People ask why don't you do a Roxette or Whitney Houston party? I just don't see them as being interesting for an entire night. The artist has to be interesting for four and a half hours or there's no point in doing it," explains Bagdan.

He mixes songs alongside music video for the entire night. What partygoers don't see is behind it all is Doctor Baggie spinning on two CDJ's and four DVD players, while simultaneously mixing with a VJ mixer.

"I once did the Madonna party at The Drake over Pride," he says proudly. "They had extended license and asked me to start the party early. I started at 9 p.m. and went until 4:30 a.m. Eight-and-a-half hours of Madonna later, I didn't have one single repeat or slow song. And I didn't leave the stage once even to go to the washroom!"

Bagdan is a machine. As a self-confessed music addict, he says these parties wouldn't happen throughout the year if it wasn't for his creative work or his promotional gusto.

"A lot of people call me the promo king or the promo slut," he says. "People come up to me and say, 'oh my god I was in Mississauga and I saw your Purple Electricity poster! What the f*ck!'"

His posters are all over the GTA. He's found what he calls the city's "sweet spots," or areas where the posters stay up for six months at a time.

"People need something ephemeral out there on the streets to connect the dots," he says. "You see the poster, you see the ad on Facebook, you get an invitation... If you get one touch point for marketing, I don't think people jump on it as much than with multiple moments of contact."

These are what define Bagdan and his parties. Over four hours of Prince? It's possible and it's amazing. But Bagdan's aware that as the icons age, and so does his audience. Although that's not stopping him from being your new favourite music teacher.

"Younger people will come up to me and tell me they're kicking themselves for only having come recently to their first party," he says. "For the new crowd coming to these dance parties, I think it makes them culturally literate. To see how current artists are influenced by them. It's a study in pop culture."

All photos of Purple Electricity by Chris Burke.

Nuit Blanche has come and gone in what feels like a blink of an eye. As always the all night art crawl brought out some hilarious observations and discussions. We reached out to our Twitter followers to share the outrageous chatter they overheard at this year's event, and the results are gut wrenching.

Here are some of the wackiest things overheard at Nuit Blanche 2016.

Photo by CJ Burnell in the blogTO Flickr pool.

The Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square looked particularly stunning last night when it was surrounded by Nuit Blanche installations, including Director X's giant white ball (or Death of the Sun).

But as crowds of people descended upon city hall, some Nuit Blanchers were clearly inspired by all the creative vibes and left their mark on our city's iconic nameplate. And their artistic streak wasn't exactly welcome.

That's right, as the Toronto Star reports today, the Toronto sign was vandalized during yesterday's festivities. Luckily, however, it doesn't look like there's going to be any permanent damage. The sign should be Insta-ready after it gets a good cleaning over the next couple of days.

There's a particularly good shot of the vandalism on Reddit that shows just how vapid the messages written on the sign were. The Nuit Blanche crowds seemed mostly well behaved last night, but when something like this happens, it puts a damper on the whole event.

Photos by @farfardian and @itsomedudeguy.

Among the more obvious if rarely discussed ways in which Toronto has changed over the last century is the steady reduction in independently owned hotels. While the motel has disappeared from the urban landscape, the hotel has undergone a steady shift towards corporate ownership, a trend which has resulted in an architectural homogeneity that's robbed the city of some character.

There are exceptions to be sure. Even as icons like the Royal York and King Edward Hotels are part of corporate conglomerates, they remain rich elements of the city's architectural legacy and continue to be major tourist draws. They represent a bit of old Toronto that we all tend to appreciate, even if we don't regularly use them.

If you rewind to the turn of the 20th century, Toronto is a city full of midsize hotels, many of which are owned by local entrepreneurs. Quite a few of these buildings remain, though only a handful like the Gladstone still operate as hotels. Many of them were ornate structures with architectural styles that conferred the importance of the establishment.

The Scholes Hotel near Yonge and Queen is a good example of such a place. It was eventually replaced by the Colonial Tavern, which itself was demolished in the late 1970s, but when it occupied the site at 201 Yonge St. it was every bit as stunning as the two banks that flanked it. How incredible is that sign?

But there were so many more. The magnificent Second Empire Hanlan's Hotel was a major attraction on the Toronto Islands. It burned down in a fire in 1909 and was never replaced. Others like the Walker House at Front and York streets were demolished to pave the way for redevelopment as the the city's Financial District grew in the 1970s and '80s.

Even during this period, however, there were luxury hotels that differ from what we have today. When the Sutton Place Hotel opened in 1967, it announced a new brand of luxury for the city. The same could be said of the Inn on the Park. These were hotels with pomp, but they ultimately didn't last very long.

It would be a lengthy task to document all the old hotels that lined the streets of Toronto. People who grew up in the 1960s and '70s would recall such buildings as a far greater presence on the streetscape, even as many of them had fallen into decline during the later half of the 20th century.

Toronto still has luxurious hotels, but they tend to be bigger and centralized in ownership. The very concept of the boutique hotel arose as a way to distinguish smaller, architecturally unique establishments from their corporate counterparts. There was a time, however, when what we consider a boutique hotel today was the norm in Toronto.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Queen's Hotel (which occupied the current site of the Royal York)

Royal York Hotel

Meyhers Hotel in Sunnyside

Ocean House Hotel (still standing at Queen/King and Roncesvalles)

The Dominion Hotel (Queen and Sumach)

Edison Hotel (Yonge and Gould)

National Hotel (King and Sherbourne)

Barclay Hotel (Wellington and Simcoe)

Walker House Hotel (Front and York)

Westbury Hotel (Yonge and Carlton)

Photos from the Toronto Archives.

Today in Toronto Adele starts her sold out, four-night ACC takeover. Key words here are sold out. But fear not, there are other things happening on this autumn Monday, like a Sigur Ros concert at Massey Hall and a very cool virtual reality conference and show inside the MaRS building, for instance.

For more events, click on over to our events section.

• Sigur Ros (Massey Hall)
• New Realities: WWTO's Annual Augmented & Virtual Reality (MaRS)
• Warpaint (Danforth Music Hall)
• Selfmaker Cafe Toronto Meet-Up (Apt. 200)
• Reverse Late Nite: One Year Anniversary (Comedy Bar)
• Symphony X and Gone in April (Mod Club)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section.

Photo of by Genevieve Lui via the blogTO Flickr pool.

Have you noticed that some of the supposedly "whole foods" popping up everywhere around us aren't as whole as they seem to advertise? Here's one place in Toronto where you can get foods that are generally foraged from the Canadian landscape around us, like Salt Spring Island mussels and eggplant garnished with foraged hibiscus.

Read my profile of Montgomery's in the restaurants section.

While Toronto seems to always have a penchant for overwriting the old with the new, there are still some things about the city that haven't changed in a long time. One of those things is this reputable steakhouse and their 1800-bottle wine cellar. Feel like Elizabeth Taylor for a moment and take a peek.

Read my profile of Baberian's in the restaurants section.

Traffic cops are back at some of Toronto's busiest intersections today in an effort to speed up the daily commute. This is the second phase of Mayor John Tory's traffic congestion management plan and will run for a month before the city decides whether or not to push to make the program permanent.

Unlike the usual scenario in which you see a traffic cop at an intersection, these personnel are not tasked with overriding traffic signals, but their presence is meant to eliminate illegal turns, late pedestrian crossing, and to ensure general safety during the busiest commute times.

To make the program permanent, Tory wants to use civilians with with traffic management training rather than fully trained police officers. The mayor occasionally uses the term "traffic warden" to describe them, and he'd like to make them a fixture on Toronto streets, but he needs the province's permission first.

Right now, provincial law dictates that only police officers are authorized to direct traffic. To use the cheaper option of a traffic warden, new legislation will have to be passed, which Tory will push for at the conclusion of this second pilot project.

Photo by Bill W in the blogTO Flickr pool.

October is here, which means it's time to start celebrating Halloween. And what better way to mark the spookiest month of the year than by taking a trip to a haunted house, castle or theme park? There are plenty of places to right here in Toronto, as well as a few just a short drive away.

Here are my picks for haunted Halloween attractions to check out in and around Toronto.

Legends of Horror
Take a trip to Casa Loma this Halloween. It's a castle that looks haunted, even though it's probably not. But for October, Liberty Entertainment Group transformed it into Legends of Horror, a nightmare of an attraction filled with some of your favourite monsters and creepy creatures.

Halloween Haunt
If Canada's Wonderland's nine haunted mazes don't freak you out, a ride on the Leviathan probably will. This massive amusement park gets the haunted treatment each and every October when roving monsters wander through the grounds, just waiting to scare you.

Fear Farm
Drive out to Kitchener-Waterloo to visit this farm, which features a creepy hike through the woods, a haunted hayride and of course, a haunted house. It also has a slew of sweet treats, like a candy barn, bakery and grill on site as well as a pumpkin patch that's open late.

Screemers
This event at Exhibition Place, might be a little cheesy, but it's been a Toronto tradition for the past 24 years. It features seven haunted attractions, a magic show and carnival rides. You'll feel like you're back at the Ex, only with zombies.

Toronto's Horror Hallways
The 401 Mini Indy in Etobicoke debuted this new haunted attraction this year. It features a pitch-black maze for you to walk through and it's supposed to be a pretty creepy. It's not recommended for those under the age of 10.

What'd we miss? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by via Legends of Horror's Facebook page.

The end is nigh for the TTC fare collector. With the eventual full rollout of PRESTO anticipated by the end of next year, ticket booths will be abandoned in favour of roaming customer service agents, who will be able to guide riders in a way that was nearly impossible from behind the glass wall.

A recent TTC report indicates that fare collectors could be phased out as early as next July, but delays with PRESTO likely mean that they will remain in place until at least the end of 2017. It will cost the Commission over $50 million to make changes to its stations to accommodate the shift.

The vast majority of this cost is related to upgrades in station communication technology, including passenger intercoms and significant upgrades to security camera coverage. Customer service agents will also be outfitted with tablets loaded up with TTC and area maps, translation services, and station inspection information.

It's a big change, and given that it depends on the successful implementation of PRESTO, it might take beyond 2017 to see happen, but it is coming. Slowly but surely, the TTC is entering the 21st century of transit service.

Photo by Melinda Sutton on Flickr.

Toronto's favourite Japanese cheesecake shop, you know the one people just can't stop lining up for, is opening a fourth location in Toronto this week.

In addition to the original Bay and Dundas spot, the Angle Cafe down the street (which may be Canada's only Japanese maid-style cafe), and the offshoot Matcha Cafe, the tiny dessert empire will expand to Markham.

Uncle Tetsu's new location will unleash more fluffy cakes to the GTA at 158 Main Street in Unionville this Saturday, October 8. Technically the shop is already open for business for keeners, but the official opening day will include special guests and a ceremony.

Uncle Tetsu and the president of the company (his wife) will be in attendance to welcome cheesecake lovers and give folks a taste of their new Madeline ice cream line. There's more information about the launch on their Facebook page.

Photo by Jesse Milns.

The Bird's Nest is back at City Hall as the Toronto Blue Jays embark on another post season bid for 2016. Mayor John Tory announced today that the city would once again broadcast Jays playoff games on a huge screen at Nathan Phillips Square, starting with Tuesday's wildcard showdown with the Baltimore Orioles.

Let's hope it's here to stay. The Jays must win their wildcard game for the right to go on and face the Texas Rangers on Thursday night in the best of five American League Division Series. With pressure like that, you can bet that the city will be electric in their support on Tuesday.

Last year, the open air broadcasts started with a modest following at Nathan Phillips Square before catching on in a major way as the playoff run extended. Don't expect that slow start this year, as fans know that the this one-and-done scenario is about as thrilling as baseball games can get.

Game time is 8:00 p.m. tonight. Go Jays!

Photo by Matt Forsythe.