Author Archive for Blair

Episode 11 - September 13, 2008

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by
Blair
on September 14, 2008
in Visual art, food, music and photography
. 0 Comments

We’re back!

Yes, it was a little touch and go there for a while after our last vlog, but we’re back on the air - this time in HD! Woot! Thanks to our brand new Canon HG10, you’ll be able to enjoy TNIT through the magic of HD - it’s almost as if you are actually there with us! (Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration …)

On Saturday, Katherine and I decided to check out the Queen West Arts Crawl, a favourite weekend event amongst many Torontonians. What’s different about this vlog is that we filmed it BEFORE 5pm! That’s right - this is not about a night in Toronto as much as it is about a day in Hogtown. As that was the case, it only made sense that we grab a bit of brunch because c’mon - it’s Saturday morning!

We made our way over to Squrily’s which neither of us had been to before (for brunch). It’s an incredibly eclectic restaurant in its décor. There’s a lovely patio in the back where we sat (well, we sat on the edge of it because there was a great big red couch that Katherine wanted to rest up). The brunch was delicious and pretty darn cheap, if you ask me. Only $20 for the two of us (incl. tax and tip!).

Then it was off to Trinity Bellwoods Park to take part in the artist fair and to take a peak at some of the amazing artists who live in this fair city.

You’ll have to watch the episode to see how it all went down. :)

We’d like to say thanks to Megan Hamilton for providing her song “Detroit” as the music for this episode! If you’ve got some music that you think would work well for for TNIT, drop us a line!

Follow our journeys through the following ways:

What we talked about in this episode:

Photo of Trinity Bellwoods Park by Katherine Grainger.

Spadina WaveDeck opens!

Published
by
Blair
on September 12, 2008
in city
. 0 Comments

I’m sitting on the new Spadina WaveDeck, one of the first projects completed by Waterfront Toronto. The mayor and many members of various levels of government were on hand for the launch of this impressive deck - one of seven to be built over the next few years. I took some photos which I’ll try to upload from my phone here or when I get back to my computer. Time to enjoy my lunch! :)

Episode 10 - August 27, 2008

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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)

Continuity issue in Episode 7

Published
by
Blair
on July 27, 2008
in TNIT Info
. 0 Comments

There was a small error in Episode 7 … bit of an oversight. Can you figure out what it is? :)

Episode 7 - July 23, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on July 27, 2008
in food, music and photography
. 3 Comments

Katherine’s leaving the east end for the west end of the city and in homage to her tenure as an east ender, That Night In Toronto takes you through some of her favourite spots along Queen St East between Broadview and Logan Ave.

The night started off at the Dark Horse Espress Bar (not Café as Blair keeps referring to it), located at 682 Queen St. East (just west of Broadview). It’s a great place to meet up and have a coffee or tea. The atmosphere is relaxing and inviting. The large communal table with all the daily and weekly papers is one of our favourite reasons for visiting. And they display local artists’ work on the walls.

Speaking of art, Queen St. East has a great network of artists called the Artists’ Network of Riverdale (due to suspicious activity, Google has advised against visiting the site as it may harm your computer … we’re not sure what’s wrong - but hopefully the problem will be remedied soon). One of the galleries we walked by is the Hangman Gallery which is a great space to visit and support your local artists.

One of Katherine’s hang outs is Kubo Radio (894 Queen St. East) - a great restaurant sharing the joy of Asian cuisine. The vibe is cool and funky, the food is delicious and the $5 martini’s on Wednesdays is a REAL treat to get over the mid-week blues (the martini’s are made with sake … mmm mmm good!).

Our evening ended off at The Opera House where we took in a performance of She & Him - the group formed by actress Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. A quick and quirky bio on the group:

The She & Him story begins when in 2006 , renowned one man band M. Ward, recorded a duet with a girl named Zooey Deschanel. A delightful recording session, the experience lead to a dialogue between the two about collaborating further. This, in turn, led to Deschanel admitting to secretly making dozens and dozens of home demos and hoarding them like acorns for the winter. Sick and tired of being stingy and secretive about music, Deschanel realized that if songs were acorns then this was indeed her wintertime: she sent the recordings to Ward and these demos became the basis for their first record, entitled Volume One.

Here’s a little sample of their music (and music video)

The concert was fantstic! We had a great time chillin’ and hanging with some friends we saw at the concert. Overall it was a very good night.

Katherine had one last surprise to show Blair before they left for the evening … to find out what it was, watch the video. ;)

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 6 - July 15, 2008

Published
by
Blair
on July 17, 2008
in Visual art, music and theatre
. 2 Comments

On a beautiful Tuesday night, Katherine and Blair find themselves strolling through the cobble stone streets of Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Full of galleries, restaurants, and boutique shops, micro-breweries - the Distillery has a plethora to offer the culture vulture. It’s also a great hub of music.

A brief history of The Distillery (from their website):

Founded in 1832 by Brothers-in-law William Gooderham and James Worts, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery eventually became the largest distillery in the British empire. Set on 13 acres in downtown Toronto, the forty plus buildings constitute the largest and best preserved collection of Victorian Industrial Architecture in North America. The Distillery District is a national historic site.

The Distillery is a hub of creativity housing some of Toronto’s outstanding performing arts companies. One of the crown jewels of the entire site is the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, a multi-venue theatre, home of Soulpepper Theatre Company and George Brown College’s Theatre Program. Katherine and Blair took in a performance of The Way of the World at Soulpepper before heading over to the Mill Street Brew Pub for a bite to eat and a sip of beer.

Follow our journeys through the following ways:

What we talked about in this episode:

Photo taken of the Gooderham & Worts Building in the Distillery by Katherine Grainger.

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

Become a fan of TNIT!

Published
by
Blair
on July 9, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Now you too can become a fan!

We’ve started a Facebook page for That Night in Toronto so now you can become a fan and interact with us on a whole new level - isn’t that exciting?! To join, simply log into Facebook and become a fan! It’s that easy.

Just another way to feed your addiction to FB! :)