A funny thing happens on the western waterfront at the end of each summer. The Ex opens its doors to Children Of All Ages®, the Air Show deafens enthusiasts with aerobatic feats, and the City allows people to park—where else?—in the parks! Marilyn Bell Park is located just west of the CNE grounds and is used by cyclists, in-line skaters, soccer players, and anyone else who just feels like doing nothing but sitting on... [continue]

The TTC installed the first "Next Train Arrival" display at Dundas Station yesterday, with TTC Chair Adam Giambrone unveiling the addition to the OneStop screens. At the southbound platform, the text sat humbly along the bottom of the screen, as if it didn't dare disturb the advertisements above. While Giambrone fully admitted that the TTC is often "one step behind" other transit systems, he said that they make up for it by giving "one... [continue]

(At a child’s birthday party, The Clown is making balloon animals.) Boy: I want a dinosaur! Clown: Sure thing little buddy! One ferocious dino coming up. (The clown starts twisting and mangling a red balloon, and gives it to the child. The finished product looks like it could be a dinosaur, but it also could be a giraffe, dog, or horse.) Boy: This doesn’t look like a dinosaur! Dad! The clown won't make me... [continue]

The guys at Drunk Jays Fans, one of the city's better sports blogs, are kick-starting a grassroots campaign to have former Blue Jays play-by-play man Tom Cheek awarded the Ford C. Frick Award. The award, which is given annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame for "career excellence in baseball broadcasting," is the equivalent of being inducted into Cooperstown. Throughout September, fans can pick their top three broadcasters from a huge list of nominees,... [continue]

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve. The other scramble intersection BY HYFEN... [continue]

Contributor Tony Makepeace is taking us for some spins around our city with his panoramas. You can look up, down, side to side, in, and out—pretty much every direction but back at yourself, which would be kind of creepy. Say hello to Panoramaist, the Toronto shoe-gazer's worst enemy. Panoramaist is back with a friendlier format: it's now smoother and faster-loading, Flash-based, integrated into Torontoist's layout, and has a hideable toolbar along the bottom that requires... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

.shadowRollover { width:640px; height:872px; float:left; background-image:url(http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_david/20080827lostfound2.jpg); display:block; } .shadowRollover:hover { display:block; background-image:url(http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_david/20080827lostfound.jpg); } Discovered on Pape Avenue south of Dundas Street East by Torontoist Flickr Pooler squeakyrat (also responsible for this great discovery), there are at least a few other signs like these in the east end of the city. Corny? Yes. Pretty adorable? That too. Rollover the image to switch between the "Lost" and "Found" posters. Photos by squeakyrat from the Torontoist Flickr... [continue]

Though he wasn't exactly born and raised in West Philly (try Kenya and London, Ontario respectively), Toronto-based and Polaris-nominated emcee Shad has dropped this unstoppable shot-by-shot send-up of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air title sequence as the video for his latest single, "The Old Prince Still Lives At Home." With London valiantly subbing in for Bel-Air and just the right amount of neon, all he's really missing is a hi-top fade. Once you're done... [continue]

It's been a long, hot, cold, cloudy, humid, wet, stormy, rainbowy summer, and the photographers in Torontoist's Flickr Pool have been documenting the fickle weather continuously. Now that the summer that set a record for rainfall a full month ago is coming to an end, we're taking a look back at the best photos we've seen of the huge storm clouds, apocalyptic sunsets, double rainbows, and stunning lightning strikes that seem to have dominated the... [continue]

Torontoist is one of thirteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Each Sunday, the editors of every site—from LAist to Londonist—choose their most interesting article, a list that is compiled into the network-wide feature Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse. Londonist explored the hidden basement levels of the British Library.Phillyist wondered whether AT&T was treating them just like everyone else.Bostonist got all worked up about grammar. A local man, member of the Typo Eradication Advancement League and... [continue]

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Crystal Palace, 1871. Exhibition Place & CNE Archives Once upon a time, the consort of a queen whose empire stretched across the globe was the president of a society that encouraged the promotion of the finest arts, commercial enterprises, and industrial discoveries in his domain. With other major figures, he organized a... [continue]

FESTIVAL: HobbyStar's annual Fan Expo returns today. The largest of its kind in Canada, the event has grown exponentially since its inception in 1995. The Comic Book Expo, Science Fiction Expo, CNAnime Expo, Gaming Expo, and Rue Morgue Festival of Fear are all happening at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for the next three days. There are some pretty hilarious and fun things happening, like a masquerade ball where the best World of Warcraft–themed... [continue]

The TTC management and its workers' union have agreed that the TTC is not an essential service. However, they are saying this not because they are saying, "Yes, we are useless," but because they both want to avoid contract arbitration. However, since management wants to pay workers less than they would receive through contract arbitration, and the union wants workers to get more than they would receive through contract arbitration, one side or the... [continue]

Some fifty-odd canoeists and kayakists collected on Lake Ontario last night to show some local water-based support for Canada's Olympic canoe and kayak teams. The get-together, brainstormed over beers by Jeff Needham of the Complete Paddler and David Newland, included paddlers from the Harbourfront Canoe and Kayak Centre, The Complete Paddler, Canoe.ca, and the Virtual Voyageurs Canoe Club. The group congregated on the shore at 5:30 and spent two hours paddling around the lake... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]

... [continue]

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve. Hug Tree BY IZAK_NEUTRON... [continue]

Critical Mass bike rides in cities around the world stir up strong feelings on all sides. Rides in New York have seen arrests and assaults against cyclists, while riders in Seattle have been described as "rampaging." Critical Mass has become a polarizing event and although Toronto's version seems a little less controversial, the trip along the Gardiner Expressway in May was alternately hailed and vilified. Deserved or not, Critical Mass is getting a reputation... [continue]

Every Wednesday, Torontoist receives transmissions from the travel log of Gleebax, the alien Urbanaut, as he explores the foreign land of Toronto.... [continue]