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All stories relating to kids
The Weekender: Wishful Drinking, Festival of India and six other events on our to do list
Ted Dykstra in The Kreutzer Sonata, Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking and Taylor Swift
1. NIGHT IT UP! (FREE!)
Follow your nose: that, um, pungent smell that’s filling the air at this annual Asian cultural fest–meets–foodie adventure is actually a delicacy. The infamous stinky tofu draws crowds, but it’s not the only unique treat to try (and thank goodness for that). Inspired by traditional night markets across Asia, this all-night event also has game booths (look for the goldfish scooping), shopping and a martial arts–inspired breakdancing performance. July 15 and 16. Metro Square Plaza, 3636 Steeles Ave. E., Markham Markham Civic Centre, 101 Town Centre Blvd., nightitup.com.
2. WISHFUL DRINKING Read the rest of this entry »
To put it mildly, Carrie Fisher has had an interesting life. She’s had lots of ups—a decades-long career as a script doctor, iconic roles (Princess Leia) in blockbuster films (Star Wars, The Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally)—but just as many downs. The downs are the fodder for this one-woman show, which somehow manages to be hilarious despite recounting the star’s tumultuous relationship with Paul Simon, problems with addiction, visits to rehab and electroshock therapy. July 12 to August 21. $35–$99. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W., 416-872-1212, mirvish.com.
Toronto does a poor job of getting kids active, so (surprise, surprise) Toronto kids aren’t active
A rare find these days: an active kid (Image: Incase)
A new report from Get Active Toronto (guess what they’re all about) says that 93 per cent of local youth don’t get the minimum amount of exercise they need on a daily basis. The reasons behind the lack of young folks’ physical activity aren’t that difficult to understand [PDF], but what’s surprising is that they’re a problem in a city like Toronto. We take a look at three such surprises after the jump.
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Dave Foley allegedly owes $500,000 that he just doesn’t have
Dave Foley in summer 2010 (Image: Frederick M. Brown/Stringer/Getty Images)
Comic Dave Foley is back on the stand-up circuit in the United States, but he won’t be taking the act to his native Toronto anytime soon. Allegedly, Foley owes about $500,000 in child support to his ex-wife, Globe and Mail columnist Tabatha Southey, with whom he has two teenage sons. As Foley succinctly put it via Twitter in December, “Family court in Ontario ruled I have to pay 1st wife 3X my monthly income or go to jail because I used to be rich.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Today in Toronto: Disney on Ice and the Peking Acrobats
Disney on Ice Toy Story 3 Straight out of starring in the highest grossing film of 2010, Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear are sharpening their skates for a blowout performance on ice. Find out more »
The Peking Acrobats Among their many claims to fame: balancing six people on top of six chairs over 20 feet in the air. On their silver anniversary tour, the intrepid acrobats contort their way through a program of stunning feats. Find out more »
Not Asian enough: Jan Wong on the phenomenon of “Tiger Mom” parenting
The furor over Tiger Mom parenting ignores one awkward fact: academic success doesn’t guarantee a sparkling future. Confessions of a delinquent mother
(Image: Peter Arkle)
I freely admit that I’m a bad Chinese mom. I do not whack my sons with chopsticks; neither of them speaks Chinese; and a couple of years ago, I was thrilled when one of them doubled his math mark (at summer school—don’t ask). Which is why I’m bemused by all the angst, outrage and uproar over super-achieving Asian kids and their Genghis Moms.
Culture and competition make for a volatile mix, especially in Toronto, where we come from every part of the world, and especially during uncertain economic times, when people are worried about job security and who’s outperforming whom. It’s at moments like these that politicians and the media, consciously or unconsciously, tend to exploit the West’s simmering insecurities about The Other. They hint, for instance, that we are losing ground to China and even to our own Chinese-Canadian population.
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The list of schools getting full-day kindergarten is out, and 154 are in Toronto
(Image: Woodley Wonderworks)
The Ontario Ministry of Education just released the list of schools that are getting full-day kindergarten for the 2012–2013 year. There are about 900 Ontario institutions on the list, on top of the 800 that either have it now or are getting it this September. The program is one of Dalton McGuinty’s biggest educational projects, and will likely be a huge part of his election campaign come October.
Check out the list of affected Toronto schools below to see if full-day kindergarten is coming to a classroom near you. Read the rest of this entry »
The Weekender: Sandra Shamas, Brothel #9 and six other can’t-miss events
Dum Dum Girls, Brad Mehldau and Anne Sofie von Otter and Sandra Shamas
1. SANDRA SHAMAS’ WIT’S END III: LOVE LIFE
Comedy queen Sandra Shamas started making audiences laugh back in the ’80s—her show, My Boyfriend’s Back and There’s Gonna Be Laundry, was a huge hit at the Edmonton Fringe Festival in 1987, and led to no small amount of success on the comedy circuit. These days, after a nine-year absence from the stage, her shows reflect a performer more comfortable in her skin, perhaps the result of some country living (she moved to a farm and started growing carrots after the aforementioned boyfriend-turned-husband filed for divorce). Whatever the subject matter, Shamas is still making everyone laugh. To March 13. $25-$65. Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St., 416-872-5555, ticketmaster.ca.
2. BREAD DAY WITH ANDREA GIBSON (FREE!) Read the rest of this entry »
For many DIY foodies, bread is the final frontier. Sure, making a loaf is cheaper than tossing a bag of Dempster’s in your grocery cart, but for some (like, say, us) it can be a little intimidating. Enter the fine folks at The Cookbook Store, who are hosting a day-long ode to bread this weekend. Toronto “bread maven” Andrea Gibson, owner of Fred’s Bread, will be on hand to answer questions, and there will be various loaves of bread available for the tasting. February 26. The Cookbook Store, 850 Yonge St., cook-book.com.
The Long Weekender: Divisadero—A Performance, the National Home Show and six-other can’t miss events
Debbie Travis, the Margravial Opera House and Justin Rutledge and Maggie Huculak in Divisadero: A Performance
1. THE JUNO TOUR OF CANADIAN ART
This collaboration between the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences aims to pair great Canadian art with great Canadian music (it’s also part of the Juno Awards’ 40th anniversary celebrations). The big night isn’t until the end of March, but CanCon aficionados can check out an exhibit featuring Buck 65, Measha Brueggergosman and Gord Downie right now. They, and several of their award-winning peers, visited the gallery, and chose a piece of work to serve as the inspiration for their own artistic creations. To August 31. $19.50. Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W., 416-979-6648, ago.net.
2. BJOERLING’S LARYNX (FREE!) Read the rest of this entry »
Named after Swedish tenor Jussi Björling, this exhibit by American fine art photographer David Leventi gives viewers a sneak peek into some of Europe’s gorgeously opulent opera houses. This exhibit isn’t just architectural photography, though; it’s also a tribute to Leventi’s grandfather, a trained cantor who was interned at a POW camp in the Soviet Union, where he performed for his fellow prisoners. The exhibit was also inspired by Leventi’s parents, both architects. To March 8. Bau-Xi Photo, 324 Dundas St. W., 416-977-0400, bau-xiphoto.com.
The woman behind the mayor: who is Renata Ford?
For a political wife, Renata Ford is an enigma—neither humanizing homemaker nor independent careerist. So who is she?
(Image: André Carrilho)
Renata Ford is the invisible wife. Most Torontonians caught their first glimpse of her on election night: a smiling, slender blonde, wearing a jacket constructed of leathery gold leaves and standing one step back from her triumphant husband. Immediately afterward, she disappeared from public view. Today Renata remains an enigma, the first mayoral spouse about whom almost nothing is known, including her age, background and occupation.
In Canada, the media generally regard political spouses as off limits. They are, after all, unelected and unpaid. Nowadays, as women out-earn their husbands, head up political parties and dominate graduate-school enrolment, there is less of an obligation or even an expectation for a political wife to play a public spousal role. David Miller’s wife, Jill Arthur, declined, but at least we knew she was a lawyer at the Ontario Court of Appeal.
City hall to raise user fees: marriage, swimming and summer camp more pricey, but lawn bowling is now free
Lawn bowling is now free, but getting married is going to cost you (Image: Duchamp)
When he was running for mayor, and well before that, Rob Ford said repeatedly that city hall didn’t have a revenue problem, it had a spending problem. Ford’s point was that the city needed to trim its budget—to which the city’s voters enthusiastically said yes—but the problem, now that he’s in office, is squaring the mayor’s tax cuts with his promise that services wouldn’t face any “major” cuts.
The result was predicted and predictable: a chaotic budget process as the city and other agencies struggle on one side to make enough penny-ante cuts, and on the other to make enough fee increases to balance out Ford’s early gifts to motorists and homeowners. The city finally got the details of the proposed user fee increases out yesterday, and the short version is that costs are going up in small increments all over the place—a family with kids could easily find itself getting dinged with higher fees through the year.
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Today in Toronto: Bob Saget, Diotima Quartet, Disney Live and The Mill
Bob Saget He was saccharine-sweet as a widowed dad on Full House, the king of cheese as the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos and—lest he be typecast as a square—the dirtiest thing about The Aristocrats, a phenomenally filthy doc about stand-up comedy. Find out more »
Diotima Quartet This French ensemble looks as if it has stepped off the pages of a fashion mag. Not just pretty boys, its members have earned a fistful of prizes, particularly for their new music contributions. Find out more »
Disney Live! Mickey’s Rockin’ Road Show Like Willie Nelson, Jack Kerouac and Peter Fonda before him, Mickey Mouse is hitting the road. Disney’s big-eared hero is tripping with Minnie, Donald and Goofy to ferret out talent for their new act. Find out more »
The Mill Theatrefront’s ambitious multi-play series about an Ontario town comes to a close this month with the premiere of Damien Atkins’ apocalyptic Part Four: Ash. Find out more »
Where to Get Good Stuff Cheap
The recession might be over. The dollar is flying high. But we’re still feeling conflicted about money. Spend conspicuously and you’re either a heroic economy booster or a reckless squanderer. Admit it: your lingering frugality is fighting your inner lust for stuff. The solution? Think like Rob Ford (just the tightwad part) but live it up like a robber baron. Our annual guide to the city’s best bargains offers 200 ways to do it.
Good Stuff Cheap: the best deals for kids’ favourites
Your tyke’s room can work without cramping your style or extending your credit line. Here, a kid-approved collection of cheap thrills
Good Stuff Cheap: Toronto’s five best vintage stores (no rummaging required)
For Luxury Labels
Venture a few blocks north of Yorkville to Haute Classics for immaculate second-hand pieces sourced from very tony closets. Chanel, Chloé, Dior and Christian Louboutin (patent sapphire pumps for $270 instead of $700-plus) are priced in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.
946 Yonge St., 416-922-7900.
For Menswear Read the rest of this entry »
Parkdale’s House of Vintage has outstanding men’s garb—a rarity on the old-is-new circuit. Dudes can put together a Michael Caine Alfie look with ankle boots ($60) and a Pierre Cardin blazer ($50).
1239 Queen St. W., 416-535-2142.
