Queen/King West : In The News

The Canadian Opera Company has become the newest Toronto organization to embrace the urban bee-keeping trend. According to the Globe & Mail the COC has installed two honey bee hives on the roof of its home at Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. While urban bee-keeping is by no means unique to Toronto, the city has been quick to pick up on the worldwide the movement. Casa Loma, the Toronto Island, Downsview park, New College at the University of Toronto, and at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel all boast operational bee colonies.

"At their summer peak, the new COC hives are expected to attract some 120,000 bees and to generate about 50 pounds of honey annually. It can't be sold, because it won't be pasteurized. But, quipped Mr. Neef, "we might consider giving it away as a bonus to those who subscribe to the opera early."

"Why the urban buzz? There are several reasons. A principal goal is to help offset the effects of colony collapse disorder, a global epidemic that has caused the annual loss of some 30 per cent to 40 per cent of honey bees in many countries, including Canada. Although no specific cause has been identified, most scientists blame a combination of factors, including Varroa mites, insect diseases, exposure to pesticides and, possibly, cellphone radiation."

"Cities often provide a happier bee-scape for honey bees, because there are fewer pesticides being sprayed and a more diverse range of plants and flowers."

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original source the Globe & Mail

IndieWire writes on the TIFF Bell Lightbox theatre, the King street theatre set to become the festival's permanent home. In an announcement made at Cannes by Piers Handling, Director and CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, it was confirmed at least three of Lightbox's five public theatres will be open to the public during this year's festival. When completed, the Lightbox theatre, designed by Toronto-based architecture firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, will be home not only to five public cinemas, but also "a three-storey atrium, two galleries, three learning studios, a centre for students and scholars, the staff offices of TIFF, a bistro, a restaurant and a lounge."

"Beyond the festival itself, programming in TIFF Bell Lightbox "will give context to films through innovative cross-media exhibitions, lectures, and film-related learning opportunities for all ages." The year-round programming in TIFF Bell Lightbox is being driven by Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox and his programming team. To date, two significant programming initiatives have been announced for 2010: Essential Cinema, a TIFF-curated film and exhibition programme, and Tim Burton, the highly successful MoMA exhibit."


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original source Indiewire

Toronto's luxury hotel business is expanding at breakneck speed. Within just a few years Toronto will be home to 5 new hotels aimed at the wealthy traveler and the lavish Torontonian. Toronto Life profiles the first of these hotels, The Thompson Toronto, which will open its doors to the public within the next month. Situated in the King West neighbourhood (at 550 Wellington), the boutique hotel aims to double as an arts and fashion hub.

"The Thompson Toronto is the first international arm of a New York brand, and it comes to a city that's been slow to embrace its kind. Boutiques or "genre hotels" pour art and fashion from a cocktail shaker. Guests see them as anti-generic, even though many are now multinational chains. The best of them become cultural hubs, a scene of art shows and film screenings staffed by modelesque bartenders. The American hotelier Andr� Balazs calls his boutique chain The Standard, presumably since that's what it wants to be: the measure of vitality."

"Montreal saw the rise of boutiques in the early 2000s while the Toronto hotel market stood relatively still (unless you count the massive overhaul of the Windsor Arms, which had closed a tatty shell in 1991 and reopened elegantly in 1999). The last real estate bubble made investors skittish, and the city's inferiority complex fed the reticence. Were we world class? Not enough to deserve a bunch of nice hotels. Now, the GTA has swagger: a population boom, a cultural rebirth to flesh out its merits as a destination, and foreign investors snapping up our real estate."

"In the first blush of these changes, well before the economy turned, developers began planning several hotel projects to keep in step with the growth. The Ritz-Carlton, the new Four Seasons, the Trump International and the Shangri-La should be completed by 2012, at which point the city will have more than 1,000 new luxury rooms to rent. The big four will be considered five-stars, in the rankings of the hotel world. (Until now, Toronto's only five-star has been the two-year-old Hazelton Hotel in York�ville.) They come with altitude, ranging from 52 to 66 storeys."

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original source Toronto Life

The Torontoist looks at the Toronto Underground Cinema, the city's newest repertory movie theatre. With a tentative opening date of May 14th, the theatre will screen its films in a revamped basement of an old movie theatre at 186 Spadina.

"If you've ever been a regular at your local repertory cinema, then chances are you've romanticized the idea of rebuilding your own independent movie house in the style of Cinema Paradiso or The Majestic. For three Toronto guys, the dream is quickly materializing in a long-defunct screening space at Spadina Avenue and Queen Street West. Alex Woodside, Charlie Lawton, and Nigel Agnew have revamped the space in the basement of the building at 186 Spadina Avenue�formerly home to a popular Chinese cinema�rebranded it as the Toronto Underground Cinema, and are currently preparing it to open its doors (tentatively) on May 14."

"And while there's little doubt as to the vibrancy of Toronto's film culture, the question of whether the city can sustain another rep cinema hangs over the heads of the Underground's eager managers, especially given their proximity to the Scotiabank, NFB Mediatheque, and Rainbow Market Square. "Once we get rolling we are interested in attracting more independent film, first run stuff, to this location," says Woodside. "Being so close to Queen West and being so close to OCAD might be pretty good for us. If we get some film in that has some buzz in those kinds of scenes, they can come see it here."

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original source the Torontoist

LG fashion week's Women x Women exhibit, featuring the top female fashion photographers in Canada, opened this week at Queen's streets's Thrush Holmes Empire. In light of the event Eye Weekly profiles 8 of Toronto's most promising female fashion photographers.

"The glossy world is edited largely by women, so why are most of our imagemakers men? I can think of nary a female photographer at the pinnacle of the Toronto fashion game. Hearteningly, however, I know at least a half-dozen young lenswomen who might just leapfrog there -- or, if we're not careful, elsewhere -- very soon."

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original source Eye Weekly

A BlogTo interview with Toronto entrepreneur Dufflet Rosenberg's reveals what the pastry chef loves about her hometown. Rosenberg is the owner and founder of Dufflet Pastry, arguably the most recognizable name in the Toronto dessert scene.

"There are few ways to elicit delight more reliably than by announcing that you've brought 'Dufflet's' for dessert. Self-taught and self-assured, Toronto's very own 'Queen of Cake' Dufflet Rosenberg has been helping people make people happy for nearly three decades now. A staple at weddings around town--let alone the hundreds of restaurants, cafes and shops--the desserts of Dufflet Pastries are synonymous with celebrating the sweeter things in life."


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original source BlogTo

The National Ballet of Canada's upcoming season is already generating lot of interest. As reported by Music Magazine Craw Daddy a particularly innovative piece entitled Chroma, will be making it North American premier in Toronto next season; designed by Wayne McGregor, of England, the dance piece is set to the music of Detroit's The White Stripes.

" The White Stripes may be from Detroit, but it's Canada that's proving its love for Jack and Meg. The National Ballet of Canada has announced a collection of works to be performed this season, with an emphasis on more innovative pieces. Among them is Chroma, a ballet designed by Wayne McGregor, of England. From CBC News: "McGregor was hailed as a breath of fresh air in dance circles with Chroma, a piece for five couples in flesh-coloured dancewear set to music by the White Stripes."

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original source Craw Daddy

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters' innovation awards recently recognized a number of Toronto businesses. As reported by the Toronto Star, Toronto-based bicycle frame-manufacture Cervelo and Kitchener-based Christie Digital were among the 7 companies recognized for the prestigious national award this year.

"Five of the seven companies being recognized are from Ontario, including one to be honoured for hiring practices and another for philanthropy."

"It has not been a great year, but I think the companies we have in Canada that are still in business are very resilient," said CME spokesman Jeff Brownlee."

"Between August 2008 and August 2009 Canada's manufacturing exports fell 32 per cent, with sales down 20 per cent and job losses topping 200,000, according to a CME report. "

Despite having to adapt, many CME members are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, Brownlee said. "It is not all doom and gloom, there are some great stories out there."

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original source the Toronto Star

An innovative project from Toronto non-profit Artscape, could see a vacant Queen Street school transformed into a vibrant arts hub within the next two years. As reported by the Toronto Star, Artscape recently purchased the Shaw Street School from the Toronto District School Board with the goal of creating  "affordable non-residential condominiums and rental studios for arts groups".

"Our vision is to create a community arts hub, and we're hoping this has a strong educational focus," said Tim Jones, Artscape's president and CEO. To be called the Artscape Shaw Street Centre, the 70,000-square-foot building will be used to promote the arts and provide community programming with a focus on youth."

"I'm not in favour of selling off school lands, but this one is different," said Chris Bolton, Trustee for Ward 10. "In this one we're actually gaining by the sale, and it remains in the community. It's going to offer services to the community and will enhance (it)," said Bolton.

"It's expected the arts groups who buy condos or rent space will collaborate with neighbourhood schools.
The three-storey sandstone school on Shaw St., just north of Queen St., was closed years ago because of declining enrollment. "

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original source Toronto Star

The National Post recently reported on the career of entrepreneur Carissa Reiniger, founder and President of Silver Lining Ltd. Silver Lining, a Toronto-based marketing company which was launched in 2002 with $5,000 of Reiniger's personal savings, was generating over a million in sales within two years. Originally in the business of public relations Reiniger is now focusing on mentoring owners of emerging small businesses.

"No longer a public relations machine, Silver Lining mentors business owners, to help them overcome their most common and powerful problems: understanding their best purpose; identifying their target market; and staying accountable for getting things done."

"There are a lot of people running businesses like hobbies, she says. "90% of businesses never go anywhere. We want to help small business grow."

"Reiniger contends most entrepreneurs need a SLAP - Silver Lining action plan - a 13-month program that helps entrepreneurs create and achieve a one-year plan. The program is mainly delivered online, for $100 a month, or there is a $12,000-a-year option in which entrepreneurs get weekly one-to-one coaching and benefit from monthly meetings with other SLAPhappy business owners who share their challenges, learnings and resources."

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original source National Post

A story on Blog TO looking at the best new fashion retailers in the city, declared 2009 as "the year of the homegrown designer".

"Of the 15 best new fashion stores the city introduced last year just under half carried Canadian lines...Canadian designers can compete with the best of 'em, and it's wonderful to see that Toronto's shop owners trust that our city's fashion fiends are finally buying local and loving it".

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original source Blog TO