According to CBC’s Chris Boyce, the goal of this weekend’s CBCMusic.ca Festival is twofold. First and foremost, the CBC wants to celebrate Canadian music. Second, it wants to celebrate CBC Music, the broadcaster’s online music service, which launched a little over a year ago.

In 1996, Theatre Columbus premiered playwright Michael O’Brien’s “freely adapted” take on the famous Beaumarchais play The Barber of Seville, which was written in 1775. O’Brien’s version mixed in music from the 1816 opera of the same name by Gioachino Rossini, as well as original tunes by composer John Millard. The adaptation also propelled the story forward a couple centuries, with pop culture references galore. With Theatre Columbus co-founder Leah Cherniak at the helm, the musical ended the season with six Dora Award nominations (it won three) and plenty of critical acclaim.

Seventeen years later, Soulpepper Theatre is remounting this zany reimagination of The Barber of Seville, updated once again by O’Brien, Millard, and Cherniak. But, for some reason—the change in decade, or company, or sense of humour—whatever had made the original so magical, has faded, save for a few key performances.

Over 5,000 Toronto Zoo members, as well as members of the press, got a special sneak peak at giant pandas Er Shun and Da Mao earlier today. The pair is expected to be at the zoo, on loan from the Chinese government, for the next five years.

Zoo director of public relations Katie Gray said that the day was meant as a warmup for the pandas’ official unveiling on Saturday.

“Today is a learning opportunity,” she said. “We’re trying to manage the crowds and see how fast people move through the exhibit, but overall everyone’s having an amazing experience and the pandas are being amazing.”

The pandas, for what it’s worth, were remarkably unfazed by both the crowd—which included both children and adults squealing with delight—and the dozens of cameras being pointed at them. Four year-old male Da Mao lounged in the sun, eating bamboo, sitting in a remarkably human-like posture and staring back at the crowd, while five year-old female Er Shun avoided the heat and lay sprawled out in the indoor part of her enclosure. This seemed to be more than enough for the onlookers. That’s the great thing about pandas. They don’t have to do much to impress you. They’ll spend 16 hours a day eating, reject roughly 85 per cent of the bamboo you offer them, poop roughly 40 times, then go to sleep for eight hours, and you’ll love them for it.

The exhibit also features an information centre, where zoo-goers can read about pandas and their habitat, watch panda videos, and play panda-related touchscreen games. The space was designed by architecture firm Reich and Petch. Project coordinator Carolyn Smith said that the aim was to create something that was distinctly Chinese, but without resorting to cliched imagery.

“We wanted to create something that was fresh and informative and kid-friendly and modern,” said Smith. “There have been so many other panda exhibits that have done the old school, hokey kind of Chinese pagodas, and almost stereotyping China. China is very modern and forward thinking, and they’re making a lot of great efforts to save the pandas, and we wanted to tell that story.”

Overall, Gray said she was pleased with the day, both logistically and in terms of crowd response.

“I think the best thing I’ve heard is people referring to them as rock stars,” she said. “That’s sort of the hype around them…and they’re definitely acting the part. They’re just laid back and chilling out and having a great time.”

WHERE: Toronto Animal Services, East Shelter (Highway 401 and Markham Road)

WHEN: Wednesday, 10:30 a.m.

WHAT: We did not know that there was such a thing as World Cat Day until recently, but apparently there is. To mark it, Toronto Animal Services is holding a kitten and cat adoption drive from August 8–15. (Two for the price of one!) This morning at a press conference, Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker (Ward 38, Scarborough Centre) made a pitch for more Torontonians to give the kitties forever homes, pointing out that cat owners are likely to have better heart health, stronger immune systems, fewer allergies, and are less likely to become depressed. The kittens in the gallery above—and many more, besides—are all available for adoption, though some are not yet ready to go as they have to be neutered or spayed. The fee is $75, and all the cats and kittens available through the City are checked by a vet, sterilized, vaccinated, and microchipped before adoption.

The intersection of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue reopened today after being closed for two weeks while TTC construction crews replaced the streetcar tracks there.

As one of only three intersections in the city where streetcars need to turn in all eight possible directions (the other such intersections are King and Bathurst and King and Spadina), Queen and Spadina presented unusually complex engineering problems.

Mohammad Kashani, a project engineer for the Spadina track-replacement effort, talked to us about the process of overhauling the intersection. For step-by-step details, check out the (mostly) chronological gallery of the work, above. All the information is in the captions.

The intersection of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue has been shut down for a week while road crews replace the streetcar tracks there. If everything goes according to plan, the intersection will reopen next week, at 6 p.m. on July 23.

Streetcars and buses are diverting around the mess. It’s also completely impossible to drive through the area, so chances are that most commuters haven’t even seen the source of all the temporary chaos. Our photographer has been visiting the site on an (almost) daily basis. Here’s a gallery of photos of the intersection taken over the course of the past week. We’ll update it with today’s photos as soon as we have them.

As luck would have it, the TTC’s decision to perform major construction work on Spadina Avenue’s streetcar tracks happened to coincide with a new CD release by the jazz-funk band whose weird, sax-driven homage to Spadina’s pre-streetcar transit situation made them (relatively) famous. Today, the band and the transit agency joined forces for a well-timed photo-op.

The Shuffle Demons, whose 1986 single “Spadina Bus” was an unexpected hit, hadn’t released an original album in almost 20 years when word came down late last month that the TTC would be shutting down Spadina Avenue’s streetcar right-of-way until fall, in order to repair the tracks and upgrade them in preparation for the arrival of a new generation of high-tech light-rail vehicles. And what would replace the streetcars while the work was happening? The same mode of public transit that operated on the street before the tracks went into operation in 1997: the bus.

At almost the same time, the Shuffle Demons began promoting a new album, Clusterfunk, which was released on July 3.

By going back to buses for a few months, the TTC risks provoking the ire of drivers and transit riders, both of whom will be inconvenienced by the temporarily more-congested Spadina Avenue. The Shuffle Demons, meanwhile, have to promote a new album to a listening public that hasn’t heard from them (except at the occasional music festival) for decades.

As it turns out, these are compatible public-relations problems. This afternoon, the Shuffle Demons put on a special concert on a retired TTC GM bus—similar to the kind they serenaded in their best-known song—as it drove down Spadina Avenue. They played songs from their new album. And they played “Spadina Bus,” naturally.

Do you feel better about the bus now? Do you kind of love the Shuffle Demons?

You’d have to be a monster not to. TTC public relations wins.

A video, with photos of the performance, is above.

WHERE: High Park

WHEN: Friday, April 13

WHAT: We genuinely couldn’t tell if this was part of some planned performance or just one guy who really, really appreciates cherry blossoms. Either way: don’t. We like the Sakuras as much as anyone, but you are taking your trees too seriously right now, guy.

For the past year, TTC Chair Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence) appeared content to advocate for Mayor Ford’s transit agenda, right down to her recent vote on the 2012 budget. Never mind that a majority of councillors approved a $5 million addition to the TTC subsidy, to undo planned service cuts. Stintz was right there on the barricades defending the Ford budget story, and planned to thwart the will of council by using the money either for capital spending or for Wheel Trans.

Now Stintz champions a revised rapid transit plan, one that blends bits of the original Transit City, a small fragment of Ford’s Sheppard subway extension scheme, and a bus rapid transit (BRT) upgrade to Finch Avenue running across the city.

First, a clarification, since the term “LRT” has suffered much abuse, and misuse, in our current debate. A light rapid transit route is one with streetcar-like vehicles running in reserved lanes with limited cross streets and priority at traffic signals. “Light” refers more to the infrastructure than the vehicles because complete grade separation of tracks and stations is not required as it is for subways.

Now, a rough outline of the revised plan:

• The Eglinton (Crosstown) LRT would revert to a surface alignment between Leaside and Kennedy, much as proposed in Transit City. In Transit City, only a short section at Don Mills Station would have been underground; in the new version vehicles would surface east of the Don Valley Parkway.
• The Scarborough RT would be converted to LRT and through-routed with Eglinton as in the current plan.

Funds released from the Eglinton project (estimates of saving range from $1 to $2 billion) would be shifted to paying for:

• An extension of the Sheppard subway two kilometres east to Victoria Park, with a stop at Consumers Road.
• A BRT line stretching across Finch from eastern Scarborough to Humber College in northwestern Etobicoke.

This plan appears to have good support from across the political spectrum of Toronto council—though not from the mayor, who remains opposed to rail transit on streets. (Rob Ford’s policy advisor, Mark Towhey, told the National Post that they still preferred the current option of burying Eglinton entirely, saying “Residents don’t want trains running down the middle of the street.”) However, support for specifics beyond the Eglinton line may not be as broad, and a consensus could be undone by conflicting priorities.

Metrolinx and Queen’s Park bought into the original Ford plan with undue haste almost a year ago, and they must agree to any revisions. Metrolinx President and CEO, Bruce McCuaig, emphasizes that council needs to be clear in its desires. It’s about time. For the past year, Metrolinx worked on the Ford plan as if it were official city policy without any council endorsement.

If Toronto heads down this path, more is at stake than just shuffling around an $8.3-billion nest egg from Queen’s Park. Some open questions:

• Recent attention has focused on the eastern portion of the Eglinton line, but debate remains about the section from Black Creek west to Jane Street. How will the line pass through Mount Dennis (Weston and Eglinton) and connect with GO services on the rail corridor? During the environmental assessment, TTC and Metrolinx staff fought for a surface route claiming that a tunnel would be too expensive. This claim shattered when Queen’s Park agreed to put the whole Crosstown route underground.
• A two-station extension of the Sheppard line will take some time to build, and by the time it opens, the mayor’s anti-LRT stance may have less weight in transit planning. Will Victoria Park Station simply be a temporary terminal that anticipates further extension, or will it provide for the possibility of a Sheppard East LRT? How would a Finch BRT compete with rapid transit on Sheppard?
• Construction priorities could be revisited especially if Finch will be a comparatively inexpensive and easy to build BRT operation. Could this be moved up so that a Finch West BRT opens concurrently with the Spadina subway extension in 2015? Politicians love “quick wins” and this is an obvious one.

Completely missing from the current discussions is any comment about waterfront transit. Even though a council-approved review of plans for the Port Lands and the area around the Don River is now underway, there is no talk of how to finance transit to serve a large population east of Yonge. TTC cost estimates for such a transit line continue to rise thanks to the complexity of expanding the streetcar loop at Union Station and the challenges of building a new tunnel exit to Queen’s Quay East. Expensive this may be, but the cost is tiny compared with the billions to be spent elsewhere.

Toronto cannot afford to muddle through and hope to serve the new developments with rudimentary extensions of the bus network. This is not the “transit first” planning we were supposed to see on the waterfront: developments here will be in place before any of the suburban lines opens for business.

Finally, council must address the issue of transit service quality and quantity. Just building new lines isn’t enough, and Toronto must strongly support day-to-day operations. Even Metrolinx recognizes that operating costs and service may be a funding challenge, but they form an integral part of transit delivery. How can Toronto justify billions in construction while passengers languish on overfull buses and streetcars? The new alliance on council must think hard about what it expects transit to do and how they are willing to pay for this service.

Council now knows that it can amend a Ford budget, and those who would see better transit cannot hide behind the spectre of a penny-pinching, all-powerful mayor. Council must seize control of the plans for future years so that the TTC goes into 2013 and beyond with a strong mandate for improvement, not further cutbacks.

Karen Stintz has told the CBC that $5 million re-added to the TTC budget yesterday during the budget debate will not be going to mitigate planned service cuts that are slated to hit approximately three dozen bus routes.

The money was part of an omnibus motion moved by Josh Colle (Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence) which reversed many budget cuts Rob Ford was hoping to include in this year’s budget—and it was earmarked specifically for service. The language of the motion, as proposed and passed by council yesterday: “That…the TTC budget be increased by $5 million to prevent service reductions” (see 1A(g) here). Colle’s intention in putting that money into the TTC budget, and council’s intention in endorsing that proposal, was specifically to stave off some of the proposed reductions to service levels. (“Some” because the full value of those service cuts is $9 million; councillors could only reach consensus on reversing $5 of that $9 million.)

So how can Stintz overturn the wishes of council? She can’t on her own, but the TTC Board which she chairs can. Council decides how much money to give its various agencies, boards, and commissions (which include everything from the TTC to the Police Service to Exhibition Place), but it does not have the authority to specify how exactly that money will be spent. That is up to the leadership at each organization—in this case, the nine member TTC Board. Councillors knew this when they cast their votes yesterday, but presumably their hope was by explicitly attaching a particular goal for this money—preventing service cuts—they’d be able to influence, if not guarantee, the TTC’s decision. Stintz, however, along with the vast majority of Ford’s allies, voted against the $5 million restoration.

Stintz told the CBC that the money would be used for buses, streetcars, WheelTrans service for dialysis patients, or some combination of the three. During yesterday’s budget debate Ford and his allies consistently returned to the question of how to pay for streetcars—Toronto has to replace its current fleet, at a cost of about $700 million—and had been pushing hard to have the entire surplus dedicated to that task this year, and in future years until the full purchase had been paid for. (This, in large part, is because the administration is opposed to using debt financing for this purpose.) Stintz’s announcement today, therefore, is a return to that theme, and one way the Ford administration is trying to push back against councillors who reversed the cuts they had been aiming for. Stintz, meanwhile, maintains that it would be relatively pointless to use the $5 million for bus service, since it is one-time money (insofar as it came from the 2011 surplus) and can’t be banked on for future years. It would, she told the Star today, just be delaying the inevitable.

The next TTC Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 31.

The St. Lawrence Market Christmas tree lot operated by Jeffrey Jordan.

In the holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown doesn’t find his inspirational Christmas tree among hundreds displayed behind temporary fencing in the parking lot of a hardware conglomerate or a big box grocery store.

Good grief, no.

As overwrought with anxieties as he may be, Charlie Brown realizes, if the true meaning of Christmas begins with the selection of the perfect tree, best to visit an independently owned and operated tree lot.

Drats, there aren’t many of those left.

Before the tree market, real and artificial, was cornered by the chain stores, the first of December meant the arrival of rural tree farmers to the city. With nothing more than a truckload of fresh-cut conifers, a string of gaudy lights, a hand-painted sign, and a beat-up camper trailer, they would set up curbside operations selling mostly Scotch pines to city slickers until Christmas Eve.

Then, just as quick as the jolly old man himself, they’d vanish for another year.

The various tree lots had their own personalities. Where one vendor was known for being cheery and festive, happily haggling over cost, another would sooner run their trees through a chipper than budge on the price tag.

Bound Fraser firs.

Today you’re more likely to purchase a tree from a part-time employee whose usual shift is in the tire department of a nationally recognized retail and automotive chain. Most often, they know less about trees than you do. In some ways, the demise of the independent tree lot has dulled the flavour of Christmas.

Don’t get us wrong—a few independents still exist, but they’re not easy to locate. The same man has been selling trees at the corner of Parliament and Spruce streets since Louis St. Laurent was prime minister.

We found another old-school tree lot, minus the camper trailer, located in the north market of St. Lawrence Market.

Tree farmer Jeffrey Jordan’s sidewalk setup may not be the fanciest, but if it’s a tree and the accompanying trimmings you desire, along with an opportunity to meet the friendliest, most knowledgeable tree merchants around, come see what Christmas is like down in the market.

Though he can’t verify it, market supervisor Jorge Carvallo believes that since the end of the 19th century, someone has been selling Christmas trees in Toronto’s original marketplace. Carvallo could confirm, though, that every holiday season since 1976 a vendor has operated a tree stand here.

For three quarters of this time, Jordan has been a seasonal mainstay, first with a partner, then solo.

The Christmas tree lot at St. Lawrence Market.

Home for Jordan is in Creemore, Ontario. Throughout the year, Jordan lives and breathes coniferous trees. Loose needles literally line his pockets. They also manage to deposit themselves in his hair, his hat, and every fold of his clothing.

This helps explain why he’s known as Jeff, the Tree Guy.

The tree guy got his start in tannenbaums early one morning at age 12 when childhood friends rapped upon his front door. They excitedly told him of an opportunity to make money hauling Fraser firs across a farmer’s field. Pay was a dollar an hour. After four tiring hours, a young Jordan had earned his keep, plus a bonus of a Coke and chocolate bar, too. Since then, he’s had a good life in the Christmas-tree game.

When the holidays are least in our thoughts, like in August, Jordan can be found in his fields, sweltering under the sun, pruning Fraser firs with a knife.

At the close of November, things shift into high gear. Upon the arrival of trees to the north market, the intersection of Front Street and Lower Jarvis gives off a fragrant, pine forest scent. Jordan has a workforce of 10. Some are returning employees. The Market itself is open only weekends, but the tree lot operates seven days a week.

Cameron Ross working the tree lot.

Cameron Ross has been working for Jordan since 1997. At over six feet tall, Ross is a gentle giant. During his time at the lot, he’s seen some unique sights. Once, a customer purchased an eight-foot tree, then carted it away balanced on a unicycle.

On weekdays, foot traffic consists mainly of office workers from nearby towers. Families with children in tow show up on weekends to shop for the ideal tree.

Lovebirds seem to gravitate to Jordan’s tree lot. Ross couldn’t count how many times he’s heard squeals of bliss from nascent paramours, delighted to find their very first tree as a couple. At times like these, it’s not unusual for Ross to be handed a camera and asked to capture the couple’s joy on film.

And talk about holiday romance—on a recent Saturday, a wide-eyed young man nervously asked Ross if the lot sold mistletoe. Relieved they did, he sheepishly announced his plan to incorporate the mystical shrub into a marriage proposal planned for later that evening.

He received a great, big shiny yes topped with a bow, we hope.

Tyler Parr talking to a tree lot customer.

A new face this season at the lot belongs to Tyler Parr. Quick witted and happy to chat, Parr excels at customer service. An actor with Russell Crowe–like features, he found this job while perusing the classifieds. Except for the weather, Parr has no complaints about the long hours he works at the downtown tree lot. Entirely outdoors, come rain, snow, and everything in between, the tree lot will remain open until Christmas Eve.

What about stragglers, those trees unworthy of decorating that nobody buys? After years in the business, Jordan can accurately estimate the number of trees that will sell even before the season begins. Still, there’s bound to be a few remaining.

At any other tree lot, the ugly truth is they’d face the dreaded wood chipper. Not here. Through a contact at a local production company, Jordan gives the unlovables to a film industry friend who gives them a second life as greenery in the movies. Corny, yes, but in the end, trees that aren’t topped with a star still manage to become stars themselves.

Charlie Brown would agree: you’re a good man, Jeffrey Jordan.

TRANSIT: The future of transit in the city is a hotly debated topic right now. On the one hand, it’s exciting to have the first of the new subway cars on the tracks and new streetcars on the way. On the other hand, there are lots of issues plaguing the system. Tonight, a discussion series takes a look at those issues with a transit-themed session. “Transit City is Dead: Now What?” will feature transit expert Steve Munro (a recent Torontoist guest contributor) talking about the current transit situation in the city and exploring what people can do to get the transit debate moving in the right direction. Metro Hall, Room 310 (200 Wellington Street West), 7 p.m., FREE.

DESIGN: The Centre for Social Innovation Design Common is hosting the first in a series of panel discussions examining current issues in design and its ability to create change. Tonight, the panel will talk about the Occupy Movement and will feature six panellists who work in a variety of disciplines, including activists and planners. Centre for Social Innovation Annex (720 Bathurst Street), 7 p.m., FREE.

THEATRE: Never got a chance to see all the wonderful Off-Broadway shows you’ve heard about over the years? Angelwalk Theatre can give you a taste of what you’ve missed with its new musical Off Broadway On Stage. The show features songs from many popular musicals, including The Fantasticks, Altar Boyz, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. The Brian Goldenberg–created show starts tonight and runs until Sunday. Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge Street), 8 p.m., $25–$35.

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to events@torontoist.com.