On the west side of Dufferin Street, just south of Bloor, is a Wal-Mart. It is (currently) the only one in the former City of Toronto. On the other side of Dufferin is Dufferin Grove Park. It is the very antithesis of Wal-Mart, a collective community creation that is an exemplar of neighbourhood engagement—public space of, by, and for the people. Tonight, the Toronto Public Space Committee and Friends of Dufferin Grove Park invite......

Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream has returned! This small, Toronto-based artisinal ice cream joint that took our taste buds by storm several summers ago has always had trouble maintaining a venue. Last summer, it was operating out of The Back Alley (the restaurant, not an actual back alley) on Augusta. The summer before that, it was using the since-abandoned Sancis Fine Foods storefront on Kensington. Torontoist was dismayed a little while back when ice......

This week, the already-awesome Dufferin Grove Park is absolutely ablaze with awesomeness, with tendrils of wicked cool billowing through its leafy canopies and filling the lungs and hearts of theatre aficionados everywhere. The Cooking Fire Theatre Festival, which runs from June 20-24, is a presentation of five short plays, accompanied by a spectacular organic meal and infused with a spirit of collaboration and comraderie from start to finish. This is not your ordinary trip......

It’s time to dust off your basket, bust out the sandals, and head outside to relish the seasonal bounty of Ontario. Tuesday marks the unofficial start of open-air Farmer’s Market season, with the opening of Friends of Riverdale Farm Farmers’ Market. Now in its 7th year, it runs every Tuesday from 3-7 p.m. The timing is perfect; how good is it going to feel basking in the sun, the suddenly-warm air rejuvenating your pale......

Every weekday, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. View the full ladder here. Some highlights: Kensington Market turns out the lights on Nuit Blanche (118 - 95): Dizzy from the smell of fish, Nuit Blanche stumbles in this epic battle of nocturnal versus somnambulant. Al Waxman named MVP of Kensington for numerous slam dunks. IllegalSigns.ca revokes Dufferin Grove's permit (109......

Every weekday, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. View the full ladder here. Some highlights: ROM Crystal's sharp edges cut Miller's Hair (104 - 101): In the closest and most depressing match of the tournament so far, a napkin sketch gone wild shears the mayor's golden locks from atop his head. The late game upset may qualify for a recount......

Each weekday for the next two weeks, Torontoist is facing off local memes and blog drama in a tournament-style ladder and you, the reader, decide the outcome. View the full ladder here. Some highlights from yesterday's matches: Taste of the Danforth grills street meat (103 - 100). In an amazing and dramatic last-minute turnaround, Toronto showed that it salivates more thinking about one day of tasty meat to a whole year of drunk food......

From our good friends at Dufferin Grove comes word of a very slippery Sunday: We're planning a little public party at Wallace outdoor ice rink (1260 Dufferin St., south of Dupont) for Sunday March 4 (closing day for that rink, for the season), 2-4 pm. The party is promised to include ice painting and hot food, m-mm! But wait, there's more:On that same day there's also a DJ-on-ice and campfire at Dufferin Rink (and......

Stop doing laundry! Start saving your toonies! The Dufferin Grove market's tasting fair is rolling into town on Sunday. From 1-4 p.m. chefs, farmers and volunteer cooks will be whipping up an afternoon's worth of seasonal delights, each available to try for $2. Dufferin Grove is pretty much the most exciting park in Toronto. After eating, relax by checking your email with the free wireless internet or have a look at the construction of......

For all of those who think Dream in High Park or Scream in High Park just doesn't rock out enough, this Saturday ALL CAPS! is taking over Dufferin Grove Park with eight bands including the Diableros, Stop Die Resucitate and DD/MM/YYYY. The all-ages festivities starts at 2pm and goes until 7pm. It's PWYC and don't forget to wear sunscreen and drink plenty of fluid kids.......

In case you're sick of paying for coffee to get your daily Internet fix, and can't wait for Toronto Hydro's system, the good folks over at Wireless Toronto have created a free WiFi access point in Yonge-Dundas Square. If that's not enough, they've also been hard at work bringing up other new locations. Some notable recent additions include Dufferin Grove and Kensington Market. These and all other locations offer free wireless access, paid for......

Torontoist will take a look each week at what's being said on the people's perpendicular press on and around the Danforth. Given the absence of wooden poles and the city's policy of scrape, scrape, scrape, vox pop isn't as loud as it used to be. Pity. 1. Attention all residents "Ward 30"Don't forget summer is a time of year to be extra careful at parks and pools in all communities. *children are priceless *pets are......

With the hockey season over (moment of silence, please) it's time to move on to another sport. Well, the West End Volleyball Nights have been going on at Dufferin Grove park. The next game is tomorrow night (6:45pm) at the park. It's a beginners level game, so come on out to watch or to play... and don't worry, it's not BYOVB, just bring some good shoes (it's a sandless park.) For more information and......

The topic of HOT needs no further explanation. We all know that it’s hotter than hot. Yes, it’s a bazillion degrees with the humidex. Here are some tips to put a temporary hold on sweating your guts out: 1-Hop on the subway and ride it for hours. The TTC is in full swing and MOST subway cars (but not ALL subway cars) are kept cool. Spend your day listening to music and/or reading a book......

Firstly, Wireless Toronto would love to invite all you marvellous Toronto internet-users to come on out to their one-year Anniversary Party. WT is really pleased to be able to celebrate one year of spreading free, community-based wireless internet across the city, and they're doing so with cake and other fun suprises on Thursday May 25th, at one of the newest hotspots, the Rustic Cosmo Cafe on Queen West. At the party, sexy sexy one-inch......

It will be an eventful weekend at Dufferin Grove Park where you'll be able to promote peace, purge the old clothes, and binge on burgers! A Festival of Non-Violence will be held on Saturday from 1 until 6 in the afternoon. The day of non-violence is being celebrated worldwide to reject all forms of violent behaviour. The gathering is run by Toronto’s Humanist Movement and the event will feature music, speakers, poets, info tables,......

And these 27 organizations, individuals and businesses prove it! The City of Toronto has just announced the winners of the 2006 Green Toronto Awards of Excellence. Winners include eco-friendly champions such as: BikeShare, the EcoSchools Program, the Dufferin Grove Organic Famers Market and Bullfrog Power. Winners receive $5000 to donate to the environmental group of their choice and a public reception May 2nd. Past winners of the award have included lakewater cooling innovators EnWave, local......

There are few things more Canadian than pond hockey. This country's outdoor rinks are the birthplace of our national game and arguably one of the main reasons why Canada continues to have a leading role in ice hockey. But is global warming and climate change threatening our national game? Consider this mild winter in Toronto, the city's outdoor rinks at times are probably closer to wading pools than decent ice surfaces. A number of environmental......

This Halloweekend is packed with scary activities. - On Sunday the Mexican Consulate is helping Harbourfront with Day of the Dead celebrations, which include dancing, food and a workshop on how to make 'sugar skulls.' Also, a claymation short about a man who realizes being dead isn't so bad. - On Saturday there's a superstar graphic novelist panel with Seth, Chris Ware, Charles Burns and Chip Kidd, to be moderated by the delightfully exhuberant......

Late last fall posters popped up around Kensington Market advertising an event called “Guerrilla Gourmet.” What was it? A vegan restaurant? A new store selling organic foods? A gang of vicious foodie/freedom fighters bent on wreaking havoc on the fast food industry? In reality, Guerrila Gourmet was a series of Sunday-night dinners put together by Jesse Archibald and Maria Solakofski. Through November and December the pair held dinners in secret locations. If you wanted......