Results tagged “santa”

Throughout vast swaths of the South, no veranda is complete without an old codger kicking back with some hooch and making passersby uncomfortable. Riverdale, where this front porch denizen passes the days, seems to be just close enough to the Mason-Dixon line to qualify. A local resident insisted that this handrafted handyman, equal parts kitschy and creepy, moves with the weeks and the seasons, assuming different positions every once in a while to ease his creaky joints.

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.

In some households, hockey is a key element during the Christmas break. Skates under the tree. That long-desired California Golden Seals sweater from Santa. Fans that cannot be pulled away from the TV during holiday games and tournaments. Christmas songs recorded by a favourite player.

Really not much on in terms of Christmas films this week. The Bloor is showing National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (which is about as far away from a Christmas classic as we can imagine without being a film about aliens from another galaxy that have never heard of Christmas) and White Christmas. We’re still happy to recommend Enchanted (we just saw it, and it was absolutely lovely), but for those of you who want to see something specifically related to Christmas, the Revue has come to your rescue with the help of Dion Conflict, who will be showing Christmas Kitsch-A-Roo at 9:30 p.m. If you’re familiar with Dion Conflict’s Hunk-A-Junk screenings, you’ll know what to expect—a variety of utterly bizarre found shorts—but they’re normally excellent fun and the Christmas theme means some really weird stuff is going to show up. Hopefully he’ll be showing the legendary Santa Claus' Punch and Judy, which really has to be seen to be believed.

That headline is only slightly misleading in order to alert you to Kensington's annual Festival of Lights, celebrating the winter Solstice tomorrow night. But we can assure you that there will be giant puppets and there will be fire, if not necessarily at the same time.

Gate House goes coed. After a series of puerile, childish, vaguely misogynistic stunts, the infamous all-male U of T residence has been come down upon by that stuffy old dean. Of note is Gate House's claim to be an inspiration for the movie , just like every other "look at us we're so wild" frat house on every college campus ever, despite the fact that Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis went to McMaster.

Feeling “Christmassy” yet? We aren’t either (we've just assumed you weren’t, apologies if you are, or something), and there isn’t that much on at the cinema yet to start ramping up the festive joy. It’s a Wonderful Life is showing at the Fox starting tomorrow and Bad Santa is going to be on at the Revue this Wednesday. To be completely honest, if you’re going to check out anything at those cinemas, we recommend you go and see King of Kong (which we talked up last week) when it’s on. The Fox is showing This is England, too. Not Christmassy at all, but fantastic.

A new study says that diseases and parasites from farmed fish are having devastating effects on wild salmon stocks in parts of B.C. Skyrocketing global demand for seafood means fish farming can be very profitable, even when the cost of frequent tractor replacements is taken into account.

A longtime staple of the holiday season is a special visit from jolly old St. Nick to the nearest shopping mall or department store. Kids relish the opportunity to tell Santa that they want the latest hot toy, peace on Earth or an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model air rifle, while retailers hope these gift lists translate into sales. If the establishment has hired their Santa carefully, kids will not need to...

Are you getting geared up for the season finale of The Hills on Monday? If so, continue reading. If not, we don't need another lecture about how the show is quasi-scripted—tell it to your boring friends. The last few weeks have surprised loyal viewers with some major plot twists: Audrina finally dumped Justin Bobby, Lauren wants to make a boyfriend out of notorious man-whore Brody Jenner, Spencer's sister has turned cat-fighting into the official...

If you like crowds, candy, and Christmas, but hate––absolutely hate––having time off of work, celebrating holidays at the proper time of year, and snow, this weekend's Santa Claus Parade is your month-too-early Mecca. Now in its hundred and third year, the parade will begin on Sunday, November 18, at 12:30 p.m., traveling from Bloor and Christie, east along Bloor to Avenue, south on Avenue, around Queen's Park, and further south along University to Queen....

So much for Brampton.

Atomic Vaudeville's Legoland is an absolute delight from beginning to end; a perfect Fringe experience. If you see only one of the 140 show in this year's Fringe, see this. Celine Stubel and Amitai Marmorstein play, respectively, Penny and Ezra Lamb, two bizarre teenaged siblings with a completely insane story to tell about drug trafficking and popstars. Often, they will use toys or puppets for clarification.

Hot on the heels of our review of the National Post's new Posted Toronto blog, they've reported that Toronto icon and terrifier-of-tourists Zanta, né David Zancai, is leaving.

The first time Torontoist encountered Dave Meslin was at the August 2004 Trampoline Hall at the AGO's Walker Court. Ostensibly speaking about "Drinking Games," Mez instead develivered a speech about his first experiences with alcohol, the hegemony of mixed drinks, and the backwardness of the cup half-empty, half-full metaphor. It was one of the most spectacular things we have ever heard.

CityNews and the Toronto Star are reporting that Canada's Wonderland has closed its free-fall ride, the Drop Zone (named after the Wesley Snipes skydiving movie) due to a grisly accident on a similar ride in the States.

There are three interesting happenings in the local art scene right now. This evening Mercer Union presents new compositions by Stephen Parkinson, a local musician who creates "do-it-yourself situations...with various friends as performers, reacting to a variety of methods of prescription/notation, involving toy instruments, electronics, vintage turntables, field recordings, as well as more traditional musical instruments." Tonight's various friends include Martin Arnold, Allison Cameron, Eric Chenaux, Rob Clutton, Aimée Dawn Robinson, and Doug Tielli. The event begins at 9 p.m.

We can't quite put away our coverage of CMW without letting you in on some great music that went on Saturday night. Thousands of people milled about town on the busiest night of the festival, and that made it even more difficult to decide which bands to go see. People lined up around the block for the city's hottest events, such as the songwriter's showcase starring Bedouin Soundclash and Jim Cuddy at The Mod Club.

Not only are you eating rice noodles out of that Styrofoam takeout container, you may be feeding yourself tasty carcinogens. Oh, and you'll pollute the environment when you toss the container in the garbage (or on the sidewalk, for all the difference it makes). Of course, that won't matter if the styrene in the Styrofoam gets to you first.

Only a day after it was reported that the customer information database for Winners was hacked, a hard drive with the private information of 470,000 CIBC clients was lost/stolen. So even if you shred your personal documents before putting them in the trash, those pesky identity thieves can still get you where you buy your panties.

Each weekday morning, we pick a recent image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

Not everyone's December 25th consists of bulging stockings hanging from a mantel, unwrapping presents in the reflection of Christmas tree ornaments, and a grandmother in her pearls and green and red apron carving a turkey at the family dinner. For those not living in a movie, who are boycotting the holidays, or who forgot about Santa’s birthday, Torontoist has the guide to an alternative Christmas.

Happy Holidays from the Ist-A-Verse!

When the holiday season rolled around, Eugene Lee, an OCAD film student, decided that he wanted to do something special for his favourite teacher. A simple Christmas card just wouldn't do -- not for this ambitious student.

So it’s Christmas next week, which means, as per usual, not very much going on in terms of independent cinema in Toronto but shed loads of films shoved out in the multiplexes to get that much sought after cash of people who want to sit in a darkened room. Ironically, of course, all of the festive films came out in about September so they could bleed as much cash out of them as possible, so there’s really very little Christmassy (or Chanukahey, or Kwanzaey) on, unless we count the Bloor showing It's A Wonderful Life at 7 pm tonight (it’s a free screening for members, too).

We're experimenting with a new daily photo posting. Each weekday morning, we'll pick a recent image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

As the countdown to Christmas kicks into high gear (only seven more days to go!), it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. Between shopping for presents, visiting with friends and family, and waging a pathetic battle over pine trees, many of us forget to consider those in need.

This year's Santarchy brought inebriated joy to Queen West, hitting Parkdale bars, renovated hotels, streetcars and even the Cavalcade of Lights. Unsurprisingly hosted by a group of naughty Burning Man attendees, the night was characterized by bewildered passersby, uproarious shouting of "Ho Ho Ho!" and many, many litres of "Santa Juice".

Shopping and the Santa Claus Parade are all fine and good, but baking over a hearth and drinking apple cider might just be a better way to celebrate the holidays. Most of the City’s museums are open year-round, but they really shine during the holiday season. Giant Edwardian Christmas tree, anyone? Historical cooking and paper chains? Yes please!

Overheard in a midtown tea shop where two women are sitting with with their respective children, a boy and a girl. Both of the kids are about four years old. The little boy is talking excitedly to his mother about Santa Claus.