Monthly Archive for August, 2008

Episode 10 - August 27, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on August 29, 2008
in Visual art, food and theatre
. 0 Comments

It started out as an excellent night.

Katherine and I met at City Hall to check out what installation was in the Rotunda. We found a great piece from Vietnam - 300 (out of an original 1,303) painted lanterns by school children about how they viewed the country. Some of the paintings were amazing for such young children! The piece was only on for a few days, and we weren’t allowed to film it, but Katherine took some great photos!

Then it was out to Nathan Phillips Square to take a look at the art on the square. Some people might not know that we have a Henry Moore sculpture right there! And how many of us have taken the time to actually read about the Peace Garden (how many of you knew there WAS a Peace Garden)? From the City’s website:

The Peace Garden in Nathan Phillips Square consists of a simple cube with a pitched roof, an eternal flame, a pool and stone platform walls. The roof has a damaged appearance, which signifies conflict and evokes the theme of civilization’s frailty.

The eternal flame appears to support the structure, symbolizing the hope and regeneration of mankind.

Former Mayor Nathan Phillips presented the sundial located in the Peace Garden to the citizens of Toronto. It is inscribed with the words, “In appreciation of the opportunity to serve.”

The sundial, which was installed on Nathan Phillips Square in 1969, was designed by G.R. Johnson (in consultation with City Property Commissioner H.H. Rogers and architect John C. Parkin) and fabricated by F. Caruk, Master Welding Limited.

On March 5, 1984, during the City’s Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebrations, then Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau turned the first sod for the Peace Garden’s construction.

In September of the same year, His Holiness Pope John Paul II lit the eternal flame with an ember from the Memorial for Peace in Hiroshima, Japan. The Holy Father poured a vial of water from the rivers that flow through Nagasaki into the pool.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II formally dedicated the Peace Garden in October, 1984.

Then it was off to the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre to see Avenue Q - but on our way over, we decided to investigate the flying Canadian Geese at the south entrance to the Eaton Centre. The piece, called Flight Stop, is by internationally renowned Toronto artist Michael Snow. This is another wonderful piece of art which many probably take for granted. But it’s a rather significant installation as there was some interesting controversy surrounding it.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat at Sushi Q in the Eaton Centre food court (to tie us over), we made our way over to the Elgin to pick up our tickets to Avenue Q. Before the show, we checked out another installation on the Palladian level of the Elgin by Theatre Museum Canada (yes! We have a theatre museum - it just doesn’t have a physical home … yet). They have some lovely costume and set designs on display at the moment. Make sure you check out what’s on display next time you’re there.

Here’s a quick peak at a song from Avenue Q:

It’s a hilarious show! We laughed and cried (from the pure joy of some of the songs). But then drama struck … you’ll have to watch the video to find out what kind of drama exactly … ;)

Follow our journeys through the following ways:

What we talked about in this episode:

Photo taken of the Toronto skyline by Blair Francey.

Formats available:MPEG-4 Video (.m4v), Flash Video (.flv)

Episode 9 - August 19, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on August 20, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Blair and I went to the Dream in High Park last night!  So, maybe we were not as organized as we would have liked, but we did end up having a great picnic and the show was awesome!  Lots of Drama!!!!!  Check it out!

That Night In Toronto Makes Its Official Debut

Published
by
Blair
on August 14, 2008
in TNIT Info
. 0 Comments

pressrelease

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 14, 2008
Contact:
Blair Francey or Katherine Grainger
nightintoronto[at]gmail.com
http://nightinto.wordpress.com

New Video Blog Brings Toronto Culture to the Mainstream

TORONTO, ON - Blair Francey and Katherine Grainger announced today, August 14, 2008, the official launch of a new online project, That Night In Toronto (TNIT), a video blog (or vlog - http://nightinto.wordpress.com) which puts culture in Toronto front and centre. TNIT was created to show Torontonians how easily accessible culture is in their city, both financially and geographically. All we have to do is walk out our door. 

Both Blair and Katherine have worked with a variety of cultural organizations in Toronto both as artists and administrators. The idea for the vlog was born out of their love of the diversity of arts and culture available in their city.

In each episode of TNIT, Blair and Katherine will showcase another neighbourhood or activity. Viewers will be given advice on how to make the most of their night with as little effort as possible. They will shed light on a particular artist/company/gallery that even they might not have known before. The whole goal is that the viewer gets a deeper connection to the cultural event and in doing so, a deeper connection to their community.

One of the goals of TNIT is to engage the community by submitting ideas to Blair and Katherine about upcoming events that might be covered. “We’re looking for events that neither of us know about,” says Blair. “What has been so exciting so far is that we have already discovered new galleries, artists and attractions, and we’ve only just begun! We thought we knew so much, but this city is already teaching us that we are just at the tip of the iceburg.” 

“We really want the community to help drive the vlog. We want to make it a show about Toronto for Torontonians, by Torontonians,” says Katherine. “Think of us as the travel guides, guided by the citizens of the city. And not just those in the downtown core. We’d love to hear about events happening in communities like Scarborough or North York, for example.”

Not only is TNIT looking for potential events to see and record, it’s also looking for up and coming photographers and musicians to help shape the creative side of the video. Photographers with interesting shots of Toronto at night are encouraged to submit their photos as well as local musicians are encouraged to submit samples of their music to be used in the opening and closing credits of the vlog. Along with a mention in the blog itself, they will also have a feature on the TNIT Facebook Page. 

Visitors wanting to know where Blair and Katherine will be next can visit the blog and check out their calendar to see what upcoming events they’ll be visiting. Fans of TNIT can join the official That Night In Toronto Fan Page on Facebook and receive updates as well as submit ideas for future episodes. On the blog itself, visitors are encouraged to comment on the episodes and provide feedback or tips on locations we’ve visited. Visitors can even subscribe to the TNIT RSS Feed to receive updates via e.mail or through many of the popular RSS aggregators such as Google Reader, Yahoo or Bloglines.

To submit ideas for future TNIT episodes, photos or music, e.mail Blair and Katherine at nightintoronto[at]gmail.com.

- 30 -

Epsiode 8 - August 12, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on August 13, 2008
in food, music and theatre
. 0 Comments

Have you missed us Toronto?! While it seems like forever since we’ve been on the air (well, it does for us) - we’re back! Katherine has moved into her new abode in the West end and I’m … well, still here. I was in Montreal for a few days over the long weekend, but I digress.

Last night we took to Queen St. West to partake in this years Summerworks Festival. We began our night at the Gladstone Hotel with 7 mini shows (we saw 3 of them) - all of which are under 15 minutes max. The shows take place in some of the rooms on the 2nd floor of the Gladstone which makes for some very intimate and interesting theatre - definitely worth checking out, in my opinion. AND, it’s PWYC (Pay-What-You-Can) … so for only $5 you could go see some really great new Canadian work!

Our next stop took us to the Factory Theatre where we took in the opening performance of Until June by Jane Maggs - a gritty new work about the relationship between two sisters. A great performance by the cast and wonderful writing by the relatively new Maggs.

Starving, Katherine and I headed west along Queen and grabbed a bite to eat at one of our favourite restaurants - Fresh, by Juice for Life. We gobbled down some delicious vegetarian food before heading over to our final destination of the night - The Theatre Centre - to take in some music and talk to Michael Rubenfeld, the Artistic Producer of the Summerworks Festival.

New to the festival this year is the Music Series - nightly performances by some great indie artists in Toronto including Matthew Barber, The Bicycles, Claire Jenkins as well as the two performers we saw, Julie Fader and Peter Elkas. Both performed great sets which we enjoyed thorougly. Sarah Harmer even made an appearance playing drums for Julie and we saw Ron Sexsmith in the audience!

At about 12:50am, we decided to call it quits as we were both exhausted and full to the brim of culture! It was an excellent evening. And thankfully, you too can still check out some of Summerworks as it’s on until August 17 (this coming Sunday)! Check out their website for more information on upcoming events …

Follow our journeys through the following ways:

What we talked about in this episode:

Photo taken of traffic on Queen St. West and Dovercourt by Katherine Grainger.

Formats available:MPEG-4 Video (.m4v), Flash Video (.flv)