Results tagged “newyears”

National Non-Smoking Week starts January 20—as most New Year's resolutions to quit go up in smoke. It's a shame that the National Non-Smoking Week website sucks. The layout is plain, the links aren't updated frequently, and the only materials up for 2008 are a few fact sheets and posters with this year's theme, "Taking My Life Back From Tobacco." (The artsier French version is better: "Ma nouvelle vie sans tabac" or "My new life without tobacco.") The lack of enthusiasm might explain why Toronto has nothing new online for planned 2008 activities. (Although you can't flick a butt without hitting an article about how bad smoking is for you.)

Each week, Torontoist shows off the most interesting, creative, and cool submissions to our Torontoist Flickr Pool. We're especially partial to photos that show our city in a new light, highlight a recent event, and remind us why we live here. Join the Flickr pool and show us what you've got.

Photos by Paul Terefenko.

Torontoist is one of fourteen cities in the worldwide Gothamist network. Each Sunday, the editors of every site—from LAist to Londonist—choose their most interesting article, a list which is compiled into the network-wide feature Elsewhere In The Ist-A-Verse.

Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto was assassinated yesterday in a bloody suicide attack that killled at least 20 other other people. Anyone thinking that this news isn't sufficiently Toronto-centric should hope that the destabilization of this nuclear-armed extremist-incubator state doesn't have much direct impact on Toronto, because if it does it's likely to be in ways that are not at all fun.

The Drake is gearing up for an ambitious week of post-holiday, end of year music celebration. They are calling the short run What's in the Box: 5 nights, 5 bands, 5 bucks—a clever ploy to attract the empty-pocketed portion of the city (that's if you go for the music, not the booze). Despite being known for attracting enemies to the neighbourhood in the past (err...every Saturday night), the 5 nights (5 bands, 5 bucks) of solidly booked bills might win over the locals, even if it's just for those 5 nights (5 bands, 5 bucks).

The ever-reliable Transit Toronto has just posted a comprehensive list of a number of Ontario transit services' holiday hours. If you have any intention of using any or all of Barrie Transit, Brampton Transit, Burlington Transit, Durham Region Transit, GO Transit, Guelph Transit, Hamilton Street Railway, Milton Transit, Mississauga Transit, Oakville Transit, Orangeville Transit, Region of Peel Transhelp, Toronto Transit Commission, or York Region Transit between today and December 28, the list is an invaluable look at how you will and won't be able to get around over the next week.

Per a suggestion by chairman Adam Giambrone, The TTC has voted to provide free service after midnight this New Year's, along with extended subway hours until 4 a.m. The free service—an attempt to deter people from drunk driving—hasn't been offered by the TTC since the late 70s, and you'd think it might be a costly venture. But it's not exactly setting them back that much; the free admission offer will only cost the TTC an...

Showdown's hot picks for cold season include cropped leather jackets and cute jumper dresses. Photos courtesy of Showdown Vintage. Why Showdown Vintage isn't like Toronto's 1348 other vintage stores: 1. It's not really a store. Staysail Shedd, Mick Jackson and Andrew Pepall launched Showdown as an eBay retailer in April 2006, using their combined years of vintage-picking expertise to sell the coolest of Toronto's castoffs to customers all over the globe. But with a...

Photo of delighted fans by Carrie Musgrave.

Starting today, the three-week long New Ideas Festival 2007 takes over the Alumnae Theatre. Week one and two feature six plays each while week three has five. Each night of the festival, you get to see them all. But they're short! So it's OK!

When the half of the moon not illuminated by the sun faces the Earth, the moon is dubbed a "new moon." The Lunar New Year -- more commonly known as the Chinese New Year -- is on the first New Moon of the Gregorian calendar. In 2007, Lunar New Year's Day is on February 18, the first day of year 4705 according to the ancient Chinese calendar. It will also be the year of the Pig!

We don't know about you, but it's friggin cold out there. Well, not for some of you. It seems as though places that are supposed to be cold are warm and places that are supposed to be warm are cold. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, we're freezing.

Now that New Years resolutions to lose those extra holiday pounds are firmly in place, the perfect excuse to break them and indulge is just around the corner -- Winterlicious.

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to.

Photo by avp17 from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

organization, and as such not in the business of providing snuff films. If you want to see it, go to Fox or CNN, who both have it. No, no links. Torontoist is likewise not in the business of providing snuff films.

Water rates are due to rise nine percent in the New Year. City officials also say that similar rate increases will probably happen every year until at least 2012 - the city's water pipe infrastructure simply needs the money. For those wondering how this affects your "real" costs - a typical four-person household spent $429 on water in 2006. Assuming a nine percent increase every year, that means the same household will spend $720 in 2012. And that's the United States invades us for our freshwater supplies!

So you're stuck at home with the kids. Or you're feeling under the weather. Or you're tired of scrambling around at 11:58 looking for someone to make out with. There are many, many reasons why you might be staying in this New Year's Eve. But there is no reason why you can't be a party of one in front of the tube! There are offerings for any taste Sunday night for those who don't make it off the couch.

¡Prospero año! Perhaps the only party "weekend" that Torontonians take more seriously than Halloween weekend, New Year's starts days before the calendar ends and terminates in a hangover, often in strange settings. We have rounded up what this Torontoist considers the best parties at which to get your groove on and completely forget the year 2006. When the glitter settles, the real question will be, "Where's the afterparty?"

For live music junkies, the week between Christmas and New Year's can offer very little in terms of quality shows. The folks at The Drake Hotel are trying to remedy the situation with their What's In The Box? week of shows. Running from the 26th to the 30th, the Drake Underground and Lounge are featuring the best acts from 2006. Each day is five dollars and features five bands, leading to a nice "5 Bands 5 Days 5 Dollars" slogan.

What's the perfect way to combat the inevitable disappointment of your New Year's Eve plans? How about celebrating tomorrow night, instead of December 31st?

From the newest Year of the Dog-themed Google logo, everyone should know that this is the Year of the Dog. Other fun facts you may want to know:

Today marks the "100% Canadian Cool" beginning of L'Oreal Fashion Week. Sensibly titled Toronto Fashion Week last year, the fashion-forward event will include trend-setters such as Ula Zukowska, Beckerman, Jeanne Beker and Shinan Govani. Unfortunately for the non-industry types, it's mostly media/special guest/invite only events - like the screening of Fernando Meirelles produced Brasil documentary on Thursday. Introductory remarks by "his worship" David Miller, however, are open to the public. Read more of the sked. (Also, it's New Year's Day for Sikhs.)

, due out in March, has been hailed by the Boston Globe as "another swirling experiment in psychedelic rock."

Lucky for us, Torontoist has had only good times at the trendy late night spot on Queen West. Open till 4am on weekends, it's a great place to stop in for a reliable meal or decent drink any time.

For those hosting a New Year's soiree, why not have a small, unobtrusive collection box for the victims of the massive tragedy in South Asia? Whatever money is collected could be donated to relief efforts at these places in Toronto. Torontoist figures this won't be a huge sum of money, but we all know every bit helps. Also, showing that you care about our fellow human beings might help you land that midnight smooch you want so badly. Just a thought...Check here and here for in-depth coverage.

Brit-pop has officially become a legitimate cultural subset in Toronto. The Anglo-affectionate crowd already has several successful music nights (Dance Cave, Labyrinth Lounge, or anything involving DJ Mark Holmes), clothing stores (FCUK, Vespa, anywhere that sells Ben Sherman), and now a publication.

Crown is a 23-year-old Ryerson graduate and Oakville native who performs regularly at the Rivoli and Catch 23 Improv, as well as working with the 4-person troupe "Knock Knock (Who's There?) Comedy!", also nominated on this night.