Forget the snow, it's time to start planning your summer of cycling. The Toronto–Niagara Bike Train will be returning this year with an expanded schedule, more travel options, and some getaway package deals. Building on last summer's successful pilot program which saw dozens of cyclists and their bikes riding the train between Toronto and Niagara Falls on each of four weekends, the 2008 edition of the Bike Train spans eight weekends from late June......

Snow globes, ice sculptures, and an ice bar...sound like an arctic paradise? Even if you're sick of slipping on the white (and sometimes yellow) stuff, you're still invited to Bloor-Yorkville's IceFest Festival this weekend—and you don't even have to get your feet wet! IceFest ent-ice-s with enough of the cold stuff to carve out a ship—and that's 25,000 pounds! By donating five bucks to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, you buy yourself a pose......

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. Phillyist explored an impending implosion and lived to tell the tale.Gothamist marveled at the city's new NYC-branded condom campaign––especially the use of a Toronto landmark in the advertising. (Also, fun fact: Gothamist turned five years old yesterday.)Tired......

An ornately set table. A fine bottle of pink sparkling wine. A bouquet of flowers purchased in a hurry on the way home from the office. A filter on the window to simulate a blue moon. Andy Williams crooning "Moon River" or the 101 Strings playing "Light My Fire" in the background. All of the necessary mood-enhancing ingredients for a cozy tête-à-tête on Valentine's Day. There's a good chance many of these evenings from......

Just in case this is something you like to be reminded of, you're going to die someday. The good news is that day is likely to be further off than ever, because average life expectancy in Canada has risen, with a baby born in 2005 likely to live to 80.4 years of age. On the other hand, who wants to be an 80-year-old baby? CIBC has announced that they will be selling $2.75 billion......

Photo by karlofun from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. So Christmas is a week from... yesterday? Well, shit. Might be time to get on that gift-buying thing. If you're like us, you can count the number of shopping days left on one hand and the number of presents you've bought on the other—including three bottles of wine, two of which you will be driven to drink yourself after spending a mere ten last-minute minutes in......

The holiday season is a tribute to excess. We gorge ourselves on a lot of fatty food and we fill up on fruitcake. We make sure to drink copious amounts of wine, enjoy our rum and eggnog, sip a snifter of brandy, or even down a nice cup of Manischewitz. Beer, however, often gets the short shrift during the holidays. Some find it too filling for a post-turkey nightcap; others think that beer should......

It sounds pretty simple. There's one rule, right? Don't get so wasted that you a) spill the beans to your boss about i) the fact that you hate him/her or ii) the fact that someone is quitting, b) touch someone inappropriately, or c) throw up in your boss' lap. And yet come holiday season, we're bombarded by so much inane advice on how to not screw up at your office party that it's enough to......

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate (or not) the upcoming holiday season, it’s hard not to embrace a spirit of generosity that seems unique to this time of year. Students from the Ontario College of Art & Design’s Think Tank program are hoping that giving mood will be alive and well among restaurant patrons on Thursday, December 6, as they unveil the inaugural Bread Project. A joint project between OCAD’s Think Tank and......

Wouldn't your friends appreciate it more if you were present for dinner? Unless you are rewarding them, do you trust your friends and clients enough not to blow your credit limit in a swanky establishment such as this restaurant? Toronto was one of several Canadian cities featured in this late 1970s American Express campaign. All of the ads feature models who look too eager to serve cardmembers (check out Vancouver's entry). It's hard to......

Last week, we reported on a confrontation at College and McCaul Streets where a cyclist stabbed a motorist in the neck and face with a screwdriver. Police have arrested Yonan Inwia for assault, but give no further details. It's stories like this that need Rosie DiManno: "Yonan Inwia fell roughly to the ground, his hands reaching out in a Christ-like fashion to break the heavy fall. Little did Yonan know, today he would be......

The Entertainment District got a little more entertaining early Monday morning as an innocent bystander was wounded in a wild movie-style shootout involving at least four gunmen. Mayor David Miller called for a crackdown on gun smuggling as part of his strategy of blaming all problems in Toronto on forces outside of his control. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled tax cuts yesterday, including corporate and personal income taxes reductions and a one-cent drop in......

Photo by Greg Clow from Flickr. Yesterday, Torontoist got to go check out what's brewing with the Ontario Craft Brewers at the absolutely gorgeous LCBO that's been built into the old Summerhill-North Toronto CPR station. (Seriously. Go check it out. It's beautiful.) If you haven't heard of the OCB, it's an association of 29 small Ontario breweries dedicated to the craft of beer-making and to providing an alternative to the rather bland Molson-Labatt monopoly......

Think you can write, draw and finish a 24-page comic book in 24 hours? Next Saturday, October 20 is 24-Hour Comics Day, an all-night comics exercise held all around the world and at The Burrow Art Centre in Toronto. The pencils will commence their sketching at 2:00 p.m. and won't stop until 2:00 p.m. the next day. The idea originated in 1990 when future comic book theorist Scott McCloud (who we interviewed back in......

Given the chance to provide insider knowledge about Toronto to a well-known travel site on behalf of your city and fellow residents, what juicy local secrets would you reveal? Lucky Toronto members of Travelocity.ca presented with this very challenge seemed to buckle under pressure. Based on a poll of its members, this year’s Toronto finalists in Travelocity's 25 Canadian “Local Secrets, Big Finds” were Café Diplomatico and Riverdale Farm. While we can all agree......

A lot happens in and around Toronto, but we can only write about so much in a week. Here's the best of the rest, in a new weekly feature we're calling Superfluist. Superfluist will appear every Friday night. Cathy Gordon decided to get very, very publicly divorced on Monday, with an art piece she called "On My Knees." For it, she crawled around Toronto for a while (on her knees!), signed divorce papers, and then......

Ask Torontonians for an example of Toronto food and you will have an array of different answers. One astute response may be that Toronto specializes in having everything and having it available at your doorstep. With many of our nabes named after the cultural contingent that has congregated along a specific street or in a particular area, the free admission "Taste of" events allow you to explore them among celebrations. Not only do they......

Even though the city has voiced disappointment and considered allowing chain restaurants onto the list, Summerlicious has arrived with all its previous perks and kinks. Starting today and over tomorrow, restaurants participating in Summerlicious will begin taking reservations from Amex holders for the prix fixe menu event held July 6 to 22. Those who are sans Amex will have to wait until June 21 to start calling some of the highly demanded dining destinations.......

There’s nothing quite like leisurely strolling on a warm, sunny Saturday, exploring shops, nibbling some treats, and sipping some wine. Can this enticing combination be had in Toronto? Yes—tomorrow is the last day of Santé, the 9th annual Bloor-Yorkville wine festival, with several events left to round out your activities this Mother’s Day weekend. First stop for you and Mum—Village of Yorkville Park on Cumberland between Avenue Road and Bellair Street, where you will find......

With the explosion in popularity of natural, organic and local foods, grocery shopping has become a confusing experience. Now that supermarkets, big box stores and major manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon, it’s getting harder and harder for consumers to trust their food source. Luckily for us Torontonians, we don’t have to settle for the fluorescent food section at the nearest Wal-Mart Supercentre. St. Lawrence Market has been thriving downtown for over 200 years,......

Residential property taxes have skyrocketed this year, almost twice the rate of inflation. To lessen the blow, the city is considering a plan to set "pay-as-you-throw" fees for household waste pickup that would be integrated into your water bill. A standard-size garbage bin would cost $4 per month for weekly pickup, but the fee would increase with a special larger bin. There would be no penalty for additional recycling and compost pickup. Liberal MPP Kim......

The idea of dressing up dogs can be deeply divisive. Some people think it's cute, others contend it's traumatizing for the animal—and then there are those who think it's just plain stupid. But anyone who's had to carry a canine friend home after too much sidewalk salt has made for sore paws will tell you that dog boots are definitely not just a silly accessory. And no matter your view on dog getups, it's hard......

Hey, have you been outside? It's hella cold. Yesterday kicked-off the LCBO's new bottle recycling program, and the homeless dig it. It's estimated that the program could increase the recycling of wine and spirit bottles by 30-40%. My dad can chase down your dad. After his minivan was stolen with his 3-year-old son inside, Derrick Lahey jumped into the family car and hunted down the perp - the van was found less than a......

There's only so much one can write about the Robert Pickton trial, 48 Abell and the $8 minimum wage. Today, we present "News Roundup Lite"... The Immaculate Conception could have happened, proves a Komodo dragon in the Manchester Zoo. Flora got herself knocked-up with 5 baby Komodos despite the fact that she lives in solitary captivity. Scientists theorize that Flora was either impregnated after a visit from God, or had been sneaking out of her......

Toronto can't seem to keep its trash out of trouble. Those giant sidewalk trash bins aren't generating enough in ad revenue to honour their $1-million-a-year payout to the city, so now what? Well, bids for Toronto's street furniture contract are still being accepted. The winning companies will be supplying garbage bins, bus shelters and bike racks for no cost, but will reap the benefits of the "furniture"'s potential adspace. The Big International Headline: US......

Two of our contributors, Shari Kasman and Jenelle Rupchand, are all about arts & crafts this weekend. In this roundup, Shari brings you some of the many weekend fairs going on, while Jenelle's stocking up on some fair trade goods. Baby Liam wants something soft and turquoise, Aunt Priscilla needs a lavender shawl, and Herman the co-worker would love a fashionable paperweight. With crowds galore and awful renditions of the top Xmas hits, the......

Happy December Torontoist readers! The LCBO will start charging an extra 10- or 20-cent deposit on wine and spirit bottles in February in order to encourage recycling. Bottles can be returned to The Beer Store along with your Red Cap empties. Save up enough of them and those bottles can be recycled right back into your hand, chilled and containing a delicious elixer of satisfaction that you are doing your part for the environment. A......

Energy efficient LED lights in the sky are as enchanting and romantic as the starry nights of the countryside. Perhaps that’s a lie. Regardless, LED lighting displays have been set up in 19 neighbourhoods across the city for the 40th annual Cavalcade of Lights. Even in the less than attractive Bloordale Village, “blue and white illuminated festoons [are] suspended on light poles lining Bloor St from Lansdowne to Dufferin.” Festoons, eh? Take the Cavalcade......

EXT. QUEEN STREET SIDEWALK. LATE MORNING. RAIN. TORONTOIST walks purposefully West, STREETER ambles into her path. STREETER: Excuse me Miss, I was wondering if you could help me? TORONTOIST: Yes? (readies self to give directions, time) STREETER: I was wondering if I could buy you a glass of wine? TORONTOIST: No thank you. STREETER: You're good? You're cool? TORONTOIST: (Retreating) Um... yeah. STREETER: Alright Miss, just checking. Overhear something that you've got to share? Send......

The Tories are taking a chainsaw to Status of Women Canada, closing three-quarters of the organization's regional offices, including Toronto's. Heritage Minister Bev Oda insisted that the budget cuts and office closings will streamline the department and make it more efficient. Just like a business! Because government should be run like a business! In other comedy news, the Liberal leadership convention started yesterday. Given the choice between Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Gerard Kennedy and......