July 10, 2005
"Toronto Unlimited" & Sampling
Toronto's Street Festival
I recently went to my first press conference in Toronto's hip,
recently renovated Distillery District, where the new "brand"
of Toronto was unveiled. Toronto's Branding Project was the culmination
of a 13-month process with over 4,500 local survey responses and
more than 230 in-depth interviews and roundtable discussions with
leaders in the leisure and customer travel and convention business
and other experts.
Getting ready for the press conference at the Distillery District
The outcome of all these consultations is Toronto's new brand:
Toronto Unlimited, which is intended to express Toronto's
unlimited opportunities, whether they be in film, biotechnology,
meetings, conventions or tourism. Our mayor, David Miller, announced
that "Toronto is a financial and cultural leader" and
competes with such international renowned cities as Chicago, Milan
and Barcelona. I learned that upcoming major investments in arts
and culture include a new home for the Toronto International Film
Festival; renovations and additions to the Royal Ontario Museum
and the Art Gallery of Ontario; and construction of the Four Seasons
Performing Arts Centre, the new home of the National Ballet of Canada
and the Canadian Opera Company.
Mayor Miller (4th from the left) unveils Toronto Unlimited
The creation of the new brand of Toronto went hand in hand with
the development of a new set of logos, that also encompass stylized
images of musical notes, a camera, balloons, a knife and fork, and
a paintbrush, images that symbolize the great diversity of entertainment
and culture Toronto has to offer.
The echo in the press, on talk radio and other interactive media
has been mixed, I have heard comments that Toronto Unlimited
is "too bland", "too corporate", and the
logos are not everybody's cup of tea. But when I think about it,
my own personal experience has been that Toronto is a city that
provides a great deal of opportunity, both as far as entertainment
and leisure is concerned, as well as business opportunities, and
the opportunity to truly become oneself, given Toronto's open-minded,
tolerant environment.
Taking myself as an example, I came from a small rural town in
Europe, barely at the age of 20, was able to complete 2 university
degrees part-time in Toronto, build a full-time business with several
employees that has now been in existence for 15 years, and as of
last year, I have also ventured forth into the sphere of Internet
publishing.
Urban impressions on Dundas Square
So I would say, this Toronto environment has been very successful
for me, and the implication of "unlimited opportunity"
is really not that far-fetched. From my own experience, Toronto
provides a great mix of entrepreneurial spirit combined with a strong
social conscience, which in my opinion is a tough combination to
achieve, particularly when you throw in the hundreds of ethnic groups
and thousands of new immigrants that come to Toronto every year.
Overall I'd say the city has managed these challenges fairly well
and I am proud to be part of this multicultural mix in my new home
town.
Of course Toronto is not only a good place for entrepreneurs and
immigrants, it's also a pretty fun place. Take this weekend for
example. This past weekend alone there were 9 major entertainment
events going on:
- The Celebrate Toronto Street Festival - Toronto's outdoor
festival with music, food, performing arts and audience participation
that takes place on 4 major intersections along Yonge Street
- Afrofest, a festival of African music and dance
- Beats, Breaks & Culture: Toronto's Electronic Music
Festival
- The Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta - Italian food and culture
on St. Clair Avenue
- The Molson Indy, one of the most popular races with the
Champ Car World Series
- The Ontario Place Canada Dry Festival of Fireworks -
the Grand Finale
- The Taste of Lawrence Festival - food and entertainment
for the whole family
- The Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival - hosting over
750 artists from Canada and the world in 134 productions, and
- The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition - featuring established
artists, undiscovered talents and innovative students in traditional
and experimental art forms.
Tango lessons at the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival
When I read the line-up of events this weekend I was astounded
at the breadth of happenings offered on one weekend, and time is
simply too short to sample them all. But my husband and I decided
to hop on the bike and check out the Celebrate Toronto Street
Festival. We got going around noon yesterday and checked out
the Yonge and Eglinton location first. The festival had just started
and the crowd was still a little thin. A band was playing on the
Midtown Stage, there were a number of food stands, Mr. Bunk
was entertaining the crowd with his clowning, marionettes and juggling
and there was a midway with a number of rides, entertaining the
crowd.
The thrill of speed...
We then headed south to the St. Clair location of the Street Festival.
Riding our bikes south on Yonge Street was great fun. There was
very little traffic, people had seemed to heed the traffic warnings
and refrained from bringing their cars into the downtown core. Since
the terrain slopes noticeable downwards as you approach the lake,
the ride was a breeze and with very little traffic we didn't have
to worry about getting cut off by motorists. At St. Clair we stopped
to watch the tango lessons that pulled in some keen participants
from the crowd.
The stage at Yonge and Dundas
On Dundas Square, at Yonge and Dundas, across from the Eaton Centre,
there was another big stage and an African band Fojeba
was playing hot African rhythms. Further south Professor Olaf
Stevenson was using his chest of drawers, using everyday
objects and even vegetables, to entertain the crowd. We headed further
south, in search of some comfortable outdoor seating and some food
and we ended up at Harbourfront, Toronto's waterfront entertainment
district. We plunked ourselves down on an outside bench where we
had a beautiful view of downtown Toronto's skyscrapers.
Downtown Toronto's skyline
Once refreshed we started our trip home and headed eastwards. After
the hustble and bustle of downtown I stopped off at one of my favourite
places: Toronto's Eastern Beaches. A major beach volleyball tournament
was going on and thousands of people were sunbathing, pick-nicking,
swimming (the water quality of our beaches has improved substantially
so people can swim in the water again), rollerblading, biking, walking
their dogs. The Beaches are just a zoo on a beautiful Saturday or
Sunday afternoon, and it's a perfect spot for people watching. One
of the areas that often draws a crowd is a place where there are
numerous large loose stones that people assemble into stone sculptures,
or "inukshuks" as these sculptures are called by Native
People. A young couple was going at it and they were balancing large
odd-shaped stones precariously on top of one another, drawing an
admiring crowd.
The sign says "May these efforts be for the good of all
beings everywhere."
The two young people later pulled out a sign saying that they were
making a living from building the stone sculptures, and indeed a
few appreciating members of the crowd made some monetary contributions.
While I was watching them, people sat down beside me on the bench,
and it's just a normal every-day occurrence in Toronto to hear French,
Spanish, Chinese, Hindi or Russian right around you. After a snooze
on the bench by the water I headed further eastwards to a much quieter
area of the Beaches and I strengthened myself before having to ride
up the steep hill from the Beaches to our neighbourhood. I briefly
sat on another bench and admired all the activities on the beach
and then got on my bike to go home.
The serenity of Toronto's Beaches
Although I sometimes still miss the mountains, (not surprising,
coming from someone who's grown up in the Alps), I do love Toronto's
waterfront, and it's fabulous being located on one of the Great
Lakes. When I get to the Beaches, it's almost like being on an ocean,
since you can't see the shoreline on the New York State side. It's
such a relaxing, leisure-oriented place and it's perfect for people-watching.
The whole neighbourhood has such a relaxed atmosphere to it, with
the ecclectic shops and restaurants on Queen Street, that I call
it "my little California".
By the waterfront itself, on any given day you could be watching
beach volleyball players, kite-flyers, tennis players at the Kew
Gardens Tennis Club, Lacrosse or occasionally even championship
rowers, practicing their strokes. Recently I did a 50 km ride on
my bike and I went all the way west past Harbourfront, to the CNE
grounds, admiring the sailboat harbours, going as far west as the
Sunnyside Beach Pavillon on Toronto's Western Beaches. I find the
waterfront is the perfect place to restore inner balance after a
hectic work week.
Although I was only able to catch a small sample of Toronto's entertainment
offerings this weekend, it gave me a taste of everything this vibrant
city has to offer.
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