Victoria Day fireworks at Ashbridge's Bay Park

Want a big finish to Victoria Day Weekend?
Enjoy the annual fireworks display at Ashbridge's Bay Park on Monday May 20th at 10 p.m.

The streetcar stops and the sidewalks will get quite crowded as you get closer to Woodbine Beach (which sits at the foot of Coxwell Avenue, just east of Ashbridge's Bay and offers the best viewpoint) but once you get to the large and wide beach, there's plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the experience. 

Bring extra sweaters (it's always a bit more chilly by the water) and a thick blanket to sit on. Try to grab a few sparkles for the kids at a convenience store, take some drinks and snacks with you (and maybe some beach toys for the younger siblings to kill the time until the show starts).

Then, feeling the anticipation build up is a big part of the fun. The show starts at 10 p.m. and lasts approximately 15 intense minutes. 

It is lovely the way the fireworks light up the sand and how everyone is so ready to be pleased by the display. No one is ever disappointed by the Ashbridge's Bay fireworks.

To get there
To get to Woodbine Beach, we always try to park along a side street in Leslieville and then take the eastbound streetcar on Queen Street East. Of course, the return is a bit chaotic and more easily handled using the public transit, but everyone is in such good spirit that we normally think it's a small price to pay for a great Victoria Day tradition.

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Woodbine Beach during Victoria Day Weekend (May 18, 2012)

Win-Win evening at the YPT on May 28!

Would you want to get the chance to win a FREE performance for the school of your choice?

I did not realize this when writing my last post on tips to have the best family evening around Young People's Theatre but those who reserve their seat (by clicking on this link) to the FREE showcase offered by Prologue on May 28 at 7 p.m. at the YPT will have a chance to win a FREE performance for the school of their choice!

Wouldn't this be awesome?

High Park in full bloom

This week's family outing of the week on torontofunplaces.com:

High Park with its Cherry Tree Lane in full bloom, combined with a stop at the superb wooden castle inside the park. Spring at its best!

Update, as of May 5: A friend tried to visit High Park this weekend and the traffic was so heavy, they could not access it. She said that next time when visiting on the weekend during the full bloom period, she would take the subway. (It would take you 15 minutes to walk from High Park Subways Station to Grenadier Restaurant, not far from the Cherry Tree Lane.)

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(March 7) About perseverance

It's all about perseverance

I'll get to the bottom of this!

A friend just posted this on Facebook.
It even looks like me!

Related blogs about:

The making of a Toronto walking guide

A different kind of snowman

What's in your coffee?

Last winter, I had a latte at The Good Neighbour Espresso Bar in The Junction (238 Annette).

The barista made a snowman in my coffee.
If the current staff still know how to do this, I'm sure they could make it on top of a foamy hot chocolate. That would help to chase the February blues, wouldn't it?

Check my snow fun board on Pinterest, with many activities not requiring actual snow!

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Walking Dead promo at Union Station

High five to a good Twitter campaign 

By chance, I came across two giant hands (2-meter high zombie hands) in the middle of an empty Union Station on February 5. It was the first day of a countdown promo created by Leo Burnett agency for AMC's Walking Dead, resuming on Sunday February 10th.

As I was taking pictures, a security guard offered to take my photo by the hands. "You could tweet it and have a chance to win a finger!" he explains to me. 

On the floor by the right hand lie five ugly zombie fingers. I'm thinking: "Yeah.... no. One of these things entering my house? Over my dead body!" But I can understand the appeal. My husband and daughter are big fans of the series. (He even gave me Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for Christmas, you get the gist...)

So people were encouraged to tweet their photo with the ashtag #TWDFEB10 to enter the raffle. Every day, one more finger fell of the left hand.

When I returned on February 9th, there was indeed only one finger attached to the hand. (The artist who created this prop would come at 9 p.m. every night and carefully cut a finger so it would look "realistic".) Some people showed up dressed in "zombie attire". There was always someone having his or her picture done.

By the evening of February 9th, when I googled their ashtag, it was featured in over 4,000 links. On Twitter, I could see that between 150 to 340 tweets were sent every day.

Since @TheWalkingFans (Walking Dead fan's account on Twitter) and @WalkingDead_AMC (the Twitter account for the series) were both participants in the Twitter conversations, it gave exposure to the fan's  Facebook page and the series' website (both linked on their Twitter profile page).

I'd say it was a pretty successful campaign!
I wonder who got the hands?

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Behind the scene, at my local cafe

Pour la version française de ce blogue, lisez:

Pas toute seule!

"Don't wait for an opportunity to be all that you want to be. When an opportunity to be more than you are now is presented and you're impelled toward it, take it."          – Wallace D. Wattles

This quote from a Victorian motivator seems to me like the best action plan for anyone who wants to accomplish anything (including writing a guide). 

We've been so brainwashed into believing that one's got to always "think big" that we're often blind to all of the small opportunities right under our nose. Ultimately, it's the combination of all the small actions we take daily which results in the successful outcome of a project. 

And I found a great example of this attitude into action in Te Aro, my local café in Leslieville.

Next time you visit and notice a pretty blonde with soft eyes, a radiant smile and an Australian accent behind the counter, say hello to Natasha Bouchard.

New in town
Born in the Ville de La Tuque, to a Québécois father and an Australian mother (who couldn't take the cold winters anymore and moved the family to Australia), Natasha returned to Canada in 2010, her first stop being Montréal (where she learned French!). She then chose to move to Toronto in 2012.

When she heard me place an order (I'm a francophone from Montréal), she switched to a relatively fluid French with a lovely accent. We kept at it every time I'd show up at the café and that's how I learned that she's a singer/songwriter. I checked her out on MySpace and was charmed by her sweet voice and the discreet but solid mastery of her guitar.

Working in the zone (of influence)
At the door of Te Aro, we can see a poster announcing Natasha Bouchard's coming show (her first in Toronto) on Friday February 1st at the restaurant/lounge House of Moments.

Working behind a counter in a cool coffee shop has its advantages! Her poster is well in sight (as are her promo postcards at the cashier, which she hands to the customers parading all day long in front of the counter) and the café allows her to sell her tickets on the premises. But it doesn't stop there.

"I've had amazing support from the community!", marvels Natasha as she sits in front of me for the interview after a long shift. Right on cue, a customer entering the café cracks a joke at her as he passes behind her.

In just a few months, the friendly singer has quietly woven cordial relations with a network of customers (you find lots of skilled people in Leslieville cafés). She's genuinely interested in people. And they gladly return the favour. That's why I'm writing this blog right now. And I'm not the only one  caring to give her a hand. See for yourself.

Everywhere she asked, local businesses put her poster up. A customer offered to take photos during her show, to build her portfolio and have more stock for her website (which another customer is currently building). Another one will be filming during the performance so she has decent clips to post on YouTube, the bass player in her new band is also a customer. Even the local naturopath brought her drops to boost her immune system so she's in top shape on the D day!

And to think that when she arrived here eight months ago, she knew one person.

Modest, she is...
Digging on the Internet, I found out that she's had great local success in Australia with a band she formed with her brother. I also learned that Canadian Tom Cochrane and his wife liked her songs so much that they invited her for a full week to record demos of her songs in their cottage-studio.

Natasha almost failed to tell me that she was recently awarded a recording grant and will soon collaborate with internationally acclaimed Producer Pierre Marchand (dealing with the likes of Sarah McLachlan and Rufus Wainwright).

Toute seule, she isn't!
On her poster, we can read "Toute seule" (meaning "all by myself"). I asked about it, she laughed and explained that there was nothing she could do about this as the text is embedded in the photo which was originally created for the cover of her solo CD.

On Friday, February 1st, she'll be far from alone as she will first play with a cellist, followed by songs with her band comprising keyboards, bass and drums. Her colleague barista Chris Chekan will open the show at 8 p.m.

You can get your $12 discounted ticket directly at Te Aro or pay $15 at the door on the evening of the show (cash only). 

House of Moments (386 Carlaw Ave., north of Queen East) is a cool restaurant/lounge with sculpted buddhahs and ancient chiselled doors. Food and drinks will be during the event.

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Intrigued by the book writing adventure? 

Read my posts on the making of Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends 2.

Skating trail, anyone? Etobicoke's got one!

Last year, I took some good photos of Colonel Sam Skating Trail. This is my favourite rink in all Toronto. 

It took me 350 steps to walk around its 8-figure shape trail by an historic building with a tall chimney. It includes an indoor changing room and has a Zamboni to smooth the ice. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Humber College uses the Victorian buildings which hosted a psychiatric hospital in a previous life. You can get a hot chocolate at the Tim Hortons on the campus nearby. (Take the path east of the rink and walk northbound.)

There's also Tatsu's Bread, the artisanal bakery just off the campus at 3180 Lake Shore, serving great treats and light meals.

Also read:
Skating in Nathan Phillips Rink

I spy a pirate...

It will seem weird that I mention Jilly's strip club (at the corner of Broadview and Queen East) in this blog but bear with me. 

If you look up past the tasteless photos at street level, you'll see some of the nicest and funniest architectural details adorning any building in Toronto.

I spy a pirate, an elephant, a boar...

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Tell-all sign

These are the feet of...

... a summer camper!

When my friend's son took off his shoes to hop on the paddle boat (which we had rented at Chinguacousy Park last weekend), it was quite a sight! I realized that these were the feet of a camper. With a kind of tan we did not see often at the cottage of my childhood where most kids spent the day barefoot.

It's a sign: Toronto signs with attitude

I saw these two signs on the same glorious weekend. Two different attitudes...

Which one are you? Ed's or Firkin?

Whimsical urban sight: Prince Edward Viaduct

I've spied these little ants on Prince Edward Viaduct along Bloor Street, west of Broadview, Toronto.
Let me know if you've noticed them somewhere else.

When I see that kind of stencil work, it feels like an artist is winking at me (I take it personally, of course).

41 pianos in town, I found one!

As we walked downtown (Queen & Yonge), we were thrilled to come across one the pianos part of the 41 pianos event (Pan Am promo, part of streetpianos.com events, to last until the end of July). This one is the Jamaica piano.

We've driven by another one. In both occasions, there were fantastic piano players in action.
What a fantastic event.

It's a sign! (Danforth Avenue, Toronto)

Be quiet! Baby is sleeping...
I used to write at the Red Rocket Coffee on Queen East (which closed this year but reopened on 1364 Danforth Avenue) and always enjoyed reading their little notes around the counter. Last week at their new location, I saw that they still have a taste for funny signs. When a dad with a stroller stopped to sit on a bench by their sign, facing the café, I just couldn't resist snapping this photo.