Italian Greyhound - Woofstock 2014

Location: Woofstock, Woodbine Park
Date photo taken: 25 May 2014

I almost missed it this year! Woofstock, Toronto's annual outdoor festival for dogs, snuck up on me. It was held last weekend, a few weeks earlier than usual, and it moved to a new location, Woodbine Park. The park setting seemed much more natural for an event of this type and there was plenty of room for everyone to move around but I missed all the restaurant patios on the sidelines where you could sit, have a cold drink, and watch all the cuteness go by. Despite not spending the hours and hours there that I have in the past, I did manage to pick my "it" dog for 2014. While there was a stunning number of bulldogs and Shiba Inu, I also noticed that there were quite a lot of these diminutive dogs, which I am told are Italian greyhounds. As I don't recall seeing nearly as many in past years, I'm giving them the title this year.

Collective Arts Brewing

  

Date photo taken: 22 February 2014
Location: Back patio of The Only Cafe during their Winter Beer Fest

One of the things I enjoy most about Toronto is our vibrant craft brewing scene. At last count - and it seems to change almost weekly - there were over 30 craft breweries and brewpubs either operational or in the works in the GTA. That's a lot of people making a lot of awesome beer!

I don't like to play favourites so it was hard to single one out to profile first but I've decided on Collective Arts Brewing. They have combined a love of beer with a love of the arts and their labels feature beautiful and innovative work from emerging artists around the world, although with a strong Toronto showing. Their second series of labels was released earlier this year and features 78 different works. Artists featured receive $200, support from the brewery for events and launches, and tons of visibility. Collective Arts even has its own app that lets you scan the label and access additional online content and information about the artists.

If art on the labels doesn't intrigue you, you'll still want to consider Collective Arts. Their Rhyme and Reason is a pale ale with a delicious hop-forward character and their Saint of Cirucumstance Citrus Infused Blonde Ale is the perfect summer patio beer. Both are available at the LCBO and on tap at bars around the city.

Trilliums

Location: Wooded area in High Park
Date photo taken: 12 May 2014

Springtime in High Park means cherry blossoms but there are other treasures to be found at this time of year. If you happen to be walking on any of the wooded trails through the more naturalized parts of the park, keep your eye out for trilliums. Growing singly or in clumps, their brilliant green leaves and glowing white flowers are relatively easy to spot against the brown of last year's leaf cover. The trillium is a perennial and native to the area. It was chosen as Ontario's official flower in 1937. It is slow to grow, taking a minimum of seven years to get to the flowering stage, and if the leaves and flower are picked, the whole plant may die. The plants are now protected by the Ontario Trillium Protection Act, which was introduced in 2009. Anyone guilty of picking, pulling up or otherwise injuring a trillium is liable for a minimum $500 fine.

Fun fact: The trillium also happens to be the official state wildflower of Ohio and since 2008, the Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew, from Columbus, Ohio have competed for the Trillium Cup.

Deeds Speak

Location: Inside front lobby, 60 Richmond St. E.
Date photo taken: 2 October 2013
Image 3 in the Remnant Series

While walking by the condo building at 60 Richmond St. E. I noticed a familiar figure hanging on the wall in the lobby and I just had to pop in to say hello. For years I had passed by this figure, affixed to the outside of a rather drab brick building in the same location, the corner of Berti and Richmond. Dubbed 'Our Lady of York' by Terry Murray, a wonderful Toronto chronicler of architectural sculpture, this was one of two pieces by Jacobine Jones commissioned for the York County Registry Office in 1941. After the office closed in the mid-1960s, the two pieces remained in place. In 2008 however the old registry building was torn down to allow for a new condo building and I was curious about the fate of these sculptures. It turns out, both pieces have remained on-site. One piece, a coat of arms, can still be seen outside, affixed to a parking garage fence. Next to it is a historical plaque which provides context and points you to the building lobby to see this second piece..
For more detail on these sculptures and their relocation, check out Terry Murray's blog.