Butterflyway Parade & Toronto Beaches Fest 2017

Sometimes those targeted Facebook promotions actually hit their mark, it seems. I can't remember why or when, but for some reason (an algorithm, obviously) Facebook thought I'd be interested in the David Suzuki Foundation's Butterflyway Parade & Pollinator Party on September 16. In fact, I was. I love bees. I love raising awareness about bees. I love looking at bees. I love eating the things bees make. (I also like other pollinators but bees are my fav.) And it sounded like a cute little event, and near to home which is a definite bonus.

The parade attracted people of all ages in all sorts of bug-themed costumes!

Turns out that it was the same day as the first ever Toronto Beaches Festival (not to be confused with the Beaches Jazz Festival or Beaches Ribfest!). I had a few friends already going to that (maybe) so I thought I'd swing by and check that out as well. Make a beachy day of it.

It was beautiful weather for both and the turn out for the parade was actually higher than I expected which was nice to see. And the looks on people's faces as the parade made its noisy, musical way down the boardwalk were lovely. The small brass band led the way with jaunty tunes and 60s protest/spiritual songs which I found actually quite fitting. There's nothing like a group of people all dressed up as butterflies, lady beetles, birds, and bees, standing on the beach belting out "Down by the Riverside (Study War No More)".

A lone wandering saxophone player joined the band on their march. After this, I half-expected it to be like a movie musical where random people just start joining in all along the route. That sort of happened.

The parade made its way from Woodbine Beach to Kew Gardens to continue the party with more live music, pollinator-themed crafts, ecology lessons, face-painting, and free ice-cream. I feel like the free ice-cream is a big deal and huge treat, especially since it was from Ed's Real Scoop--which, if you're a Beacher, you know the queue outside that place in summertime!

But alas, I couldn't follow the whole parade and had to turn back to check out the Beaches Fest with my limited time allowance.

A couple chow down on some fish and chips after the long wait in line!

Now, the first year of any festival--especially a local one like this--is bound to be a bit lacklustre and awkward as they figure out what works, what people want, and who their demo is. I can't say this was a roaring success from my short time there (in mid-afternoon so maybe it picked up before its very early curfew of 8 PM!). But, if you were in the area, it couldn't have hurt to stop by. There were some beer vendors, some cider, some fruity beach-y type drinks, some food, and some merch -- most vendors were local businesses from the area. By far it seemed the biggest draw was the fish n chips and the Caribbean food, followed by Carter's Landing because who doesn't love a quick slider?

I don't know if it was the clever branding of "We The Beach" or the sliders that drew such a crowd.

It was a mix of young and old(er), some mums with tots, a few dogs and kids, but mostly the usual 20-and-30-somethings that attend similar beer sampling festivals in the city. In theory, it was a decent idea: a gorgeous late summer day, the beach, refreshing drinks and a snack or two whilst you lay about on the sand.

Except they didn't have enough chairs. (I'm always reminded of that Family Guy episode when talking about chair shortages.) If you want people to lounge around especially in blazing sunshine, they need places to do so. There was a tent or two set up for shade with blankets, and they were packed. A few vendors brought their own chairs, a few people brought their own beach towels. And I understand why there was limited seating if they expected crowds. But that said, an area away from all the foot traffic and vendors for people to chill out would have been a bonus. Unlike, let's say, the cider festival I just attended, this had a much more relaxed vibe of "Please, grab a drink and a bite, take your time and enjoy the beach!"

A woman gives some water to her adorable & fluffy golden retriever.

All in, I'd say it was a decent first showing for a local festival. (Certainly better than Nookfest from last weekend.) I heard a girl lamenting that she expected it to be a bust, and it was... but I'll respectfully disagree. Whilst it wasn't the greatest local festival I've been to, it certainly has potential with a few tweaks for next year. A later curfew would be nice. Just saying!

Looking forward to next year, guys!

Learn more about the David Suzuki Foundation and the Butterflyway Project.

Toronto Cider Festival 2017

The thing about Toronto summers is that every weekend something is happening somewhere. I'd wager that multiple festivals are happening everyday at weekends. August 26, 2017 was the date for the Toronto Cider Festival (and also the Tamil Festival, Scarborough Afro-Carib Fest, Craft Beer Festival, Taiwan Fest, Korean Harvest Festival, Coconut Festival and Market, Leslieville Beerfest, Bloor Arts Fair, Scarborough Alive with Art fest, and more!)

I didn't even know about the Cider Fest until a day before. We quickly decided that it might be interesting as I love cider but have had difficulty enjoying Canadian ciders due to being spoiled by UK ones. (I used to live in Bristol which is basically known for the best cider in the entire world.) We figured that a festival would be a great chance to sample all sorts that I wouldn't normally pick up at the LCBO.

We ended up arriving just before 7PM and staying 'til after dark. There were a few pretty decent offerings and a few that I just couldn't take (the worst one smelled like urine to me, although it didn't taste like it). My favourite had to be the Muddy Waters 8% scrumpy from Duxbury's, a Meaford brewery. Sulker's kombucha cider was also quite nice to me, especially with my adoration of kombucha (as long as it's not flavoured).

There was even more to Cider Fest than just cider sampling. There was free stuff! Food trucks! Clothing! Now, I'll be honest and I didn't really have a chance to explore all the booths which is something for next year. But there were vendors giving away t-shirts and more! All for a little Instagram post. If I had been paying better attention, I totally would have done that too. Indie88 was giving away cheap sunglasses, stickers, and the best: high fives! I'm sure there was way more stuff but I was intent on drinking cider and hanging in the party zone.

I wasn't sure what the music really was but people really enjoyed it! You had DJs spinning hip-hop and pop throwbacks from the 90s and 00s. There was also a guy doing cover songs with a violin that were a huge hit. Didn't get his name but I think it was William.

Everyone seemed to be having a great time, just dancing, drinking and singing. So, here's to next year!

Please enjoy some photos and check out even more here on my flickr.

Please Keep Off the Bloomin' Trees!

It's a selfie frenzy. It's botanical madness. It's cherry blossom time in Toronto!

Even her dog is like, "What's the big deal here?"

Have I ever bothered to care? Nope, not really. Not because I don't like plants (I like plants very much) but rather because I've never been particularly obsessed with Japan or selfies. It's just so far... and all that way just to see some trees in bloom? Seems excessive. There are beautiful trees and shrubs popping everywhere right now, and many of them even more amazing than cherry trees. I can see one from my back window and it's more glorious.

But this year, I was in the area shooting the West End Food Co-Op for a blog article and decided it was perfect weather to talk a walk. (Or, hop in an Uber morelike because it's only April and I'm not quite ready for an hour walk in 22 degree weather.) So I arrived in High Park near Grenadier Pond with only about an hour to spare before I had to be on the subway heading towards another appointment. I'm not sure what I expected... but it wasn't quite what I saw.

I expected a lot of people. I'd heard about the crowds. Okay, seems legit. I expected a bunch of trees in bloom. There was also that. But there were more people than I expected and 90% had cameras in their faces trying for the perfect selfie or Instagram post. Very few people appeared to be there simply to enjoy the beauty. I guess it's sort of difficult to do when everyone else is bumping into you and crawling over every inch of the grass.

There's no point in really talking about the history or ecology of the cherry trees in the park as their website does that well already. Check it out here! And the trees have their own website here.

As I mentioned on the photo gallery page, there were two boys that stood out as they appeared to really care about the trees themselves -- something it appears too many people take for granted. (Which sort of fits with the tourist M.O. of showing up, snapping Instagram pics, and trampling all over nature with no respect. But that's a rant about Toronto for another day...) Luckily I didn't see any of the notorious bad behaviour that has become associated with cherry blossom time in High Park. There were no children (or young adults...) climbing the trees. There wasn't a single person molesting a branch to shake the delicate petals off for the perfect Facebook profile pic. Yet we know it happens. The signs are everywhere politely and humorously asking people to not do that bad thing, as per the Canadian way.

"Please Keep Off The Bloomin' Trees!"

So quirky and unthreatening.

Petal Princess: A model and a photographer go over the shots he just took. She attracted quite the crowd of onlookers.

I have heard rumblings that the trees in High Park aren't doing well and aren't expected to make it through the next 5 years. This is partly due to climate but primarily due to abuse by visitors to the sites. In order to mitigate the damage being done to the trees, the City has decided to relieve the pressure on High Park sakuras by planting a new grove in Woodbine Park. They're building a tunnel! A cherry tree tunnel in the Beaches! (Yes, Beaches. Don't even get me started.) It's expected to reduce the number of people who flood High Park annually with blossom fever.

I remember exam days at U of T and the sakura tunnel beside Robarts. I was always too distracted by severe end of year anxiety to even appreciate what we had right there on campus. So if you're in the neighbourhood of Harbord and Huron, help out the High Park trees and take your selfies there instead. Trinity-Bellwoods is also an alternative. But if you're like me and have never done the cherry blossom thing, you'll probably be drawn to High Park not sorely for the blooms but for the sheer spectacle.

The cops had actually blocked off roads into the park from Bloor so the only way in was on foot... which is fine since most visitors were coming by TTC anyway.

So, please, if you want to enjoy the cherry vistas, take care and respect the trees. They're non-native (and non-invasive) and fragile. Yes, they make wonderful backdrops for the perfect springtime portrait but they're not like our hardy oaks and pines, or even our crab apple trees (which are also fantastic in the spring bloom, as most fruit trees are, jsyk!).

Check out my photo page for a complete gallery of snapshots I took during peak bloom this year.