All posts by Ric Amis

Community Day at Ex Place – Sept. 16

Exhibition Place is holding a Community Appreciation Day on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on the Ex Place grounds. During the summer people learned about beekeeping and attended weekly music concerts at Centennial Park.

Join in the celebration with free early morning cookies and coffee in Centennial Park, lawn games, music at the Bandstand, a scavenger hunt, making matching BFF Friendship bracelets, face painting, a guided walk through Exhibition Place and the history behind the beautiful buildings.

Here is a link to sign up for any or all of these events – https://www.explace.on.ca/community-event/community-day-at-explace/

Ontario Place Public Consultation – Sept. 7 & 12

The City is holding an In-Person Community Consultation Meeting.

Early in fall 2023, the City is expecting to receive a revised planning application from Ontario to redevelop the provincially owned lands at Ontario Place. Join their community consultation meeting to learn more!

Thursday, September 7th, 2023
Exhibition Place – Beanfield Centre (105 Princes’ Boulevard Toronto, ON M6K 3C3)

•  Open house design panels: 3-6 PM
•  Presentation and discussion: 6-8:30 PM
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ontario-place-development-application-public-consultation-tickets-699238319637


Virtual Community Consultation Meeting

Tuesday, September 12th, 2023
Presentation and discussion 7-9 PM

Link to register is available at: https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/get-involved/public-consultations/city-planning-consultations/

Parkdale Hub Update Pop-up – Aug. 23

Hear about the latest developments for the Parkdale Hub project. The Pop Up event will be outside the Parkdale Library on August 23rd from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM (at the corner of Queen Street West and Cowan Avenue) to see the updated plans and talk with City and CreateTO staff.

The City’s proposal for the building on the West Block of the site has increased from 10 stories to 16 stories to accommodate 60 additional homes. Within the additional height, a total of 231 new homes will be provided at the Parkdale Hub. City Staff have reviewed the impacts of the proposed changes to ensure the additional height does not adversely impact adjacent properties or the surrounding neighbourhood, and that the proposed height represents an appropriate built form. The depth of the property, which is deeper than many properties fronting onto Queen Street West, allows for sufficient step-backs and ensures a six-storey presence on Queen Street West is maintained, consistent with the policy direction resulting from the West Queen West Planning Study.

Parkdale Residents Association Comments on the Updates:

Mid-afternoon is an odd time of day to have residents attend a public feedback event. A lot of locals work during the day.

HEIGHT: We believe it is disingenuous to state that the increases from the original 6 stories to 10 stories to now 16 stories will have no impact on the West Queen West Planning Study which is being appealed by 17 developers before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT-PL200629).

An appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal recently approved 11 stories across from the Parkdale Hub on the North side of Queen St. W. by KingSett Capital at the old Designer Fabric store (OLT decision OLT-22-002167 section 34 and 42).

In the deliberations of the Adjudicator, the Parkdale Hub project at the proposed 10 stories was used as the rationale for allowing KingSett Capital to increase its height above 6 stories to 11 stories. It is guaranteed that other developers will follow suit and request much higher heights now that the Parkdale Hub project is proposing 16 storieslook to the corner of Queen & Noble proposing 24-stories, the Radiator development on Dufferin south of Queen 25-stories, or the 12-stories proposed at Jameson and Queen to use a similar rationale.

It’s accurate to assume that the West Queen West Planning Study will fail at the Ontario Land Tribunal.

CULTURE: An important element of the Parkdale Hub project is the Parkdale Arts and Culture Centre. Currently, there are three important existing features at the corner of Queen and Cowan – Parkdale Library, Masaryk-Cowan Community Rec Centre and the Parkdale Arts and Culture Centre. The Parkdale Library and Masaryk-Cowan Community Rec Centre will see major expansions. The Parkdale Arts and Culture Centre needs to receive the same consideration. What is proposed so far diminishes this cultural component. This new Update reduces the proposed 10 rental units for artists back to its existing 9 rental units for artists.

More consideration of the creative and cultural elements of this Parkdale Hub is required. Not a reduction or status quo.

Dream in High Park

A Toronto classic, the performing arts organization Canadian Stage remakes High Park’s Amphitheatre into a different Shakespeare play every summer through Dream in High Park.

This year Dream in High Park is celebrating its 40th anniversary by presenting Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the same inaugural production they presented at their first-ever performance in 1983. Runtime: 90 minutes with no intermission

Grab tickets herehttps://www.canadianstage.com/show/a-midsummer-nights-dream

Call to Collectors – Heirlooms & Objects: Where Treasures Tell Stories – Aug. 31

Calling all collectors for one day only! Bring your keepsakes and meet with experts.

The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts (CSDA) is very excited to be at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) this year! Come on by and say hello and bring a friend to their booth on Thursday, August 31 at the Enercare Centre (Heritage Court – 100 Princes’ Blvd Unit 1, Toronto, Ontario).

New this year! Wondering about a treasure from your gran, a junk shop find, or an eBay item that seems to hold a secret? The CSDA can help! At their CNE booth, they’ll provide a team of experts to assess your article of interest and share their wisdom.

If you have an object calling out to you for its origin story, please submit a photo with the completed form found HERE.

Submissions are due: Monday, August 14 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

Categories accepted are:

  • Ceramics
  • Glass
  • Wood carvings
  • Boxes
  • Baskets
  • Folk art
  • Asian art
  • Silver
  • Ephemera (vintage tickets stubs, playing cards, postcards)
  • Books
  • Photos

Any questions please call 647-249-6280 or email us at info@csda-ccad.org.

See you at the Ex!

Parkdale Community Foodbank New Digs – 263 Dunn Ave.

Their new location officially opened to the public on July 19th. This new space is fully accessible and will allow them to return to a shopping model.

With the shopping model, service users can now select their own grocery items instead of receiving a pre-made grocery hamper.

Dropping Off Donations

Moving forward all donations can now be dropped off at the new location at 263 Dunn Avenue during the following hours:

Wednesday & Thursday: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Friday: 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM

If you are planning to bring more significant donations please send an email to info@pcfb.ca to let them know when they can expect you.

There are usually volunteers located outside the entrance of the building that would be more than happy to accept your donations. If no one is outside please call them at 416-532-2375 and they will meet you at the door.

Music in the Park at ExPlace every Wednesday evening in July

In partnership with City Hall Live, Exhibition Place will be hosting Music in the Park at ExPlace every Wednesday in July. Taking place at 7 PM in Centennial Park, the series will feature a diverse lineup of emerging and established Toronto musicians.

Bring your friends and family, grab a picnic blanket, and enjoy a night of great music under the stars.

Join us every Wednesday in July from 7 – 8:45 PM.

https://www.explace.on.ca/…/music-in-the-park-at-explace/

Ex Place Beekeeping Workshops – July 6 or 8

Exhibition Place is thrilled to announce their upcoming Beekeeping Workshop at ExPlace – an unforgettable adventure that will excite you!

They are pleased to be working with Toronto Bee Rescue to bring this educational and fun workshop to the residents of Parkdale/Toronto.

Join them on either July 6 or 8 for 2 hours of hands-on fun, including interactive beekeeping on the roof and a Honey Harvest Experience inside Enercare Centre. You’ll get to uncap and spin frames, filter honey, and bottle your very own jars!

Please note there is a $10 dollar sign-up fee – this is a donation, and all money is being donated to CAMH.

Space is limited, sign up here!