Aaron Davis is a composer and a keyboardist that has lots of years of experience in both of those fields as they relate to jazz blues and a person that can currently be seen regularly playing and arranging music for the singer Holly Cole.  Suzie Vinnick is a blues singer that has won a number of awards for her great talents and is also someone that has been credited with writing some of her own songs as well as playing some musical accompaniment on different instrumental recordings.

Together, the two of them are going to sound terrific and it is in this spirit that we take a look at the dynamic duo playing blues music in front of a crowd at the Textile Museum of Canada.  This is going to be a simply fantastic event for all to see and the fact that even non-members can get into the event for less than $20 tells you just how much value you can get for your money by attending this event.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Event: Blues by Aaron Davis and Suzie Vinnich

Date: January 9th, 2008 @ 6:30 PM

Location: Textile Museum of Canada (map)

Closest Subway Station: St. Patrick

More Information: 416-599-5321

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

On that semi-bright note, here is this morning’s round-up of stories of interest to the travelers of Toronto

1) The Ontario thaw causes fog that in turn causes flight cancellations

2) The same thaw breaks a city temperature record

3) In the wake of the thaw, a few pedestrian deaths have sparked a safety warning

4) The Toronto Megacity is 10 years old! Does anybody care?

5) Parking ticket scams and how to tell the real thing

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons 

Even though The Toronto Traveler has only been around for about two and a half months or so, there are still highlights to talk about!  Here are some of the more memorable posts that have come up in the short time that The Toronto Traveler has been online:

- The Welcome Post, on October 19th

- A Great Picture of the CN Tower, on October 25th

- Staying Safe on Halloween, on October 30th

- A Plug for the Official City of Toronto Website, on November 18th

- Great Music at one of Toronto’s best Jazz Locales, on November 20th

- Toronto’s First Snowfall in 2007, on November 24th

- Me Moaning and Groaning About the Toronto Maple Leafs, on November 30th

- Toronto’s First Real Snowfall in 2007, on December 2nd

- Instructions in Speaking Torontonian, on December 10th

- Christmas Wishes from The Toronto Traveler, on December 25th

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

- Tributes pour in for Oscar Peterson

- Pakistani Natives Living in Toronto Remember Benazir Bhutto

- Rangers Destroy Maple Leafs 6-1

- Walter Gretzky and Steve Nash named to the Order of Canada

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

If you are really into the New Years spirit and have kids, then one of the great ways for you to ring in the New Year would be at the Metro Toronto Zoo.  There’s going to be fun and fanfare in the guise of great music and entertainment as well as special visitors that will be doing animal acts to delight the kids.  There are very few things that they would find more delightful and at the end of it there will be a big celebration for the New Year, assuming your kids can stay awak of course!

The Metro Zoo is located at the eastern edge of the city and the best way to get there is to take the train to Kennedy Station and then from there take the 86 Scarborough bus that will take you directly from Kennedy Station to the Toronto Zoo.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Event: Toronto Zoo Family Countdown for the New Year

Location: Toronto Zoo

Date: December 31, 2007

Time: 6:00 PM

Cost: $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $6 for children

For More Info: 416-392-5929 or http://www.torontozoo.com

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

The City Playhouse Theatre is set to be host to one of the most interesting events of early 2008 when they roll out the red carpet (or rather, should that be the green carpet?) for the 2008 Green Reel Environmental Film Festival.

The festival is designed to have a number of different documentaries as well as mainstream and independent productions shown at it.  The only real requirement for a particular feature to be shown at the festival is that it needs to have an environmental theme of some kind.  When this was weighed by the directors of the festival, a list of over twenty different films were selected to be screened for free in some places and for a small admission fee of $4 in other places.

Here are some films that are going to be shown:

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash

The Edge of Eden: Living with Grizzlies

Black Gold

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Sicko

Being Caribou

Toxic Trespass

Perhaps the one major drawback of this event is the fact that getting to it is somewhat difficult if you are traveling by public transit.  You are going to have to go to Bathurst Station, take a bus north for quite awhile and then walk a bit to get to where you want to go.  For this one event, if you are interested in attending it, a taxi ride or a two-day car rental might be a better idea.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Event Name: 2008 Green Reel Environmental Film Festival

Event Location: City Playhouse Theatre

Event Dates: January 4th and 5th

Event Times: Both days 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM

More Info: Call 905-882-7469 or click here

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Bernie German is one of the most delightful musicians around in my opinion, because he is very energetic in the way that he sings.  Children from all over love his singing and this is true even to the extent that people that are in Toronto as families touring the city sometimes choose to carve out time to go and see one of his performances.

Well, he is performing on the 29th at the North York Central Library in what is being officially termed a family concert and sing-a-long session.  The tickets for the event are completely free, so if you have children that love singing along to different songs, bring them to the North York Central Library at 10:30 am on December 29th to get their tickets for the concert that starts half an hour later at 11:00 AM.

The North York Central Library is very easy to get to by TTC.  All you have to do to get to it is simply take the yellow subway line to North York Centre Station and then from there simply follow the signs into North York Centre, with the library being located within the actual shopping centre itself.

Event: Canada’s Singing Cowboy Concert and Sing-a-Long

Location: North York Central Library (5120 Park Home Avenue)

Time: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, tickets available at 10:30 AM from the Children’s desk

Cost: Free

For More Information: 416-395-5535

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Christmas is a very fun time, regardless of whether you celebrate it or not.  You get the chance to be with your family, many of whom you may only see at that time.  You get the chance to watch television and eat chocolate as much as your heart desires.  And of course people that do celebrate the holiday get to have presents, sing Christmas Carols and everyone also gets the day off from work.  All in all, Christmas is a very fun time and if you are going to be in Toronto this evening you can help the Metropolitan Community Church celebrate Christmas by attending their Christmas Eve Service at Roy Thomson Hall.

The service itself will be attended by people from all walks of life within Toronto’s diverse cultural community and people will gather to listen to the singing of Christmas Carols as well as a special performance by Louise Pitre.  It’ll truly be a fun Christmas eve get together and if you enjoy that kind of Christmas spirit, then there are fewer places to get it better than with the Metropolitan Community Church at Roy Thomson Hall.  Tickets start at $10.

Roy Thomson Hall of course has appeared on The Toronto Traveler at least two or three times in the eighty or so posts that this blog has, but just in case you’re new to the blog, here is a map showing you exactly where Roy Thomson Hall is.  it is located on Simcoe Street, which you can reach by going west on King Street until you pass University Avenue.  It is right next to St. Andrew Subway Station however, so if you don’t feel like navigating streets you can simply take the subway to that station and follow all the signs pointing to Roy Thomson Hall.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Winter Fest this year is going to be very interesting, with the highlight performance being sung by Omarion.  This is a man that is absolutely multi-talented, with the ability to produce, act and sing.  He is a performing arts genius and he will be joined at the Winter Fest concert celebration by young and upcoming R&B artists Trey Songz and Mario.  The price for this concert is quite hefty, with tickets starting around $65.00, but at the same time if you are a big fan of this kind of music and want to get in on the Winter Fest fun, this might be the time for you to shell out those extra big bucks.  Either way, there’s going to be plenty to do and see in the next two to three weeks, so if you want to wait and spend that money instead on two or three different events, that is also a good idea.

Massey Hall is of course one of the best known venues within the city and because it is just a bit east of Nathan Phillips Square and the Toronto City Hall, a lot of people end up performing at that venue.  It is located on Shuter Street just east of Yonge Street and the closest TTC station to it is Dundas Station, allowing you to walk southwards for about five minutes or so before you reach Shuter.

Post from: The Toronto Traveler

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By day, it is one of the more bustling shopping areas within the City of Toronto.  People go there in order to get great deals on a number of different things, while local residents and students from the nearby University of Toronto tend to go there during their off hours in order to shop from store to store.  It is one of the quintessential local shopping areas in Toronto and on the 21st of December, it is going to be home to an absolutely fascinating festival of lights.

December 21st is the winter solstice and also the shortest day of the year.  During this longest and darkest night of the Toronto year, a number of different presentations from the rooftops and storefronts of Kensington Market will light your way as you traverse the various areas of the market west of Spadina Avenue and south of College Street.  The exhibition will include the famed Samba Squad as well as a number of different characters in costumed garb in a carnival parade the likes of which you are very unlikely to see anywhere else during the coldest part of the year!

The map above shows the general location of Kensington Market, but if you want to get the main parts of the market then you are best sticking to the area that is immediately southwest of the Spadina and College intersection.  Staying in the rectangle defined by those two streets, Augusta Avenue on the west and Dundas Street on the south will ensure that you get to see a fair number of the festivities, although feel free to traverse all the way to Bathurst if you’re feeling particularly adventurous that day!  The closest subway station would be Queen’s Park Station over at University and College, which is about a five minute walk from Kensington Market.

What: Kensington Market’s Festival of Lights

Where: Kensington Market

When: December 21st, 2007, starting at 6 PM local time

Post from: The Toronto Traveler