That’s right… across the world today – April 1, 2023 – it’s International Pillow Fight Day. What’s it all about you may ask? Today, massive public pillow fights took place in cities around the world including London, New York, Rotterdam, Seattle… and Toronto, of course!
The first World Pillow Fight day took place in March 2008, and since then the movement has grown with pillow fighting flash mobs fighting it out in more and more cities every year, all just in the name of fun. It’s simply a good way to relieve stress and have some fun; much needed these days.
The rules are fairly simple:
Swing lightly
Do not swing at people without pillows
Do not swing at people with cameras (hello!)
Soft pillows only!
Bring a bag to help with clean up after the event
International Pillow Fight Day has been on hiatus a long time in Toronto but has finally returned, post-COVID. This year I literally stumbled upon it as I passed through Nathan Phillips Square on my weekend photowalk. I grabbed some shots of the fun, and also caught a couple of gentle clouts to the head from a badly aimed rogue pillow.
I hadn’t originally planned on publishing two posts on the same day, but I learned earlier this afternoon that today is officially City of Toronto Day; it seemed worthy of notice here on TOcityscapes….
What exactly is City of Toronto Day you may ask? Well, Toronto is 189 years old today. On this date in 1834 the town of York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto. Our city was designated as the capital of the province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation.
Here’s the official proclamation of City of Toronto Day:
March 6, 2023
WHEREAS today marks the date that the city of Toronto was officially incorporated in 1834, as we reflect on 189 years of history.
For hundreds of years, Toronto has been the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. Indigenous history is ingrained in our contemporary experience of Toronto. The very name Toronto is an Indigenous word, Tkaronto, meaning “where there are trees standing in the water” and it holds importance in the Indigenous community. Our city is built on sacred land and is covered by multiple treaties, including Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties and is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We are all treaty people, called to peacefully and respectfully honour the land, the Indigenous heritage and its people, which dates back to over 10,000 years.
Since its incorporation, Toronto has continued to flourish and embody its motto “Diversity Our Strength”, which can be seen in our city’s cultural and social fabric. As one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, our city has a global reputation for being a friendly, diverse, culturally rich city filled with vibrant neighbourhoods and unique cultures that make Toronto a great place to live and visit.
The valued contributions of Toronto’s multicultural communities strengthen our society and contribute to our city’s reputation as a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, on behalf of Toronto City Council, do hereby proclaim March 6, 2023 as “City of Toronto Day” in the City of Toronto.
What did Toronto look like in 1834?
Here’s some interpretations from the City of Toronto Archives, Museums & Heritage Services:
On April 22, 1834, Council agreed to petition His Excellency Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant Governor, to arrange to have a plan drawn up of the new City of Toronto, its liberties, and its harbour, showing its division into wards and the relative connection of its limits with adjacent township lands.
City of Toronto, 1834
Third Parliament Buildings, 1834
The Old Gaol, Fireman’s Hall built by Mr J.G. Howard, on Church Street
I’ve always enjoyed the annual Bloor-Yorkville Icefest, and it was great to see it return this past weekend after being waylaid for a couple of years by COVID-19. Despite that, though, I was so incredibly disappointed in this year’s offering – the energy and effort just weren’t there. I think ice sculpture placement had a lot to do with it – unlike previous years the event this year was decentralized, the activities and events scattered throughout Yorkville and Bloor Street West. Usually, Icefest lines Cumberland Street from Bay Street to Avenue Road; considerable energy and vibe is generated as a result.
Here’s how this year’s sculptures and activities were presented:
Ice sculpture and event map
Ice Sculptures on Bloor Street West
There were 6 or 7 works installed along Bloor Street West:
“Second Harvest: Coast to Coast”“The Chess Knight”“Sparkling Crystal”“Climbing At Clouds”“Young Cerberus”“Friends of the Forest World”
Later That Night…
As I’ve done during previous Icefests, I returned later at night with expectations of catching some of the sculptures softly bathed in coloured spotlights. No luck on that score this year; all that was offered were these four figures on Bloor Street West at Bay Street, starkly lit by what appeared to be LED or florescent tubes:
“The Melancholic Mermaid”“Etheric Pegasus”“Whimsical Castle”“The Princess Dress”
Meanwhile, Over at the Village of Yorkville Park…
Leaving Bloor Street behind me, I ventured over to the Village of Yorkville Park on Cumberland Street, which traditionally serves as the epicentre of the event. With camera and enthusiasm at the ready, I was let down: there were no ice sculptures at the site, only people wandering aimlessly about looking for said sculptures.
“Ice Wall Projections” According to the organizers, this ice wall was to serve as a projection screen for colourful lights. All I saw was a blank wall with a swarm of Instagrammers vying for space to take their selfies.
Organizers promoted the ice wall by saying:
Enjoy the sights and fantasies and immerse yourselves in a whimsical experience, as ice comes to life through a magically carved Ice Wall. As the sun goes down, take a glance at hidden dreams as Icefest offers you tailor-made projections on ice artwork, located in the Village of Yorkville Park.
Huh? Was this the same event?
I wandered the Park to see what else might be happening:
LED lights (not ice)Balzac’s was there, serving ice coffee from their ice counterI thought the Balzac ice tables were kind of interesting
All in all though, it was good to see people out and about again. Here’s hoping next year’s festival will be a little more inspiring.
After years of planning to attend and then never going (hearing reports of the crush from massive crowds had turned me off), I ventured down to the Distillery District’s Winter Village last night. Luckily (for me, anyway) we’d had the big “storm” last night and the weather was not great; this kept a lot of people away. The event has become so popular and crowded over the years that the Distillery’s Winter Village is now a ticketed, timed event – at least during the evening hours on the weekends.
I’ve always wanted to photograph this event during a white Christmas, so last night’s storm worked in my favour. Also, the temperature kept a lot of people away: it was -12°, with the “feels like” wind chill dropping the temp to a balmy, breezy -27°. I bundled up and was good to go, although my hands were turning into blocks of ice while hanging on to the camera… talk about suffering for your art.
This year’s 51-foot tall white spruce Christmas tree has been designed by Parfums Christian Dior. It features 70,000 twinkling lights, 400 custom midnight blue ornaments, 1,700 shiny and matte gold balls, and 1,000 custom DIOR star charms. Over 500 hours of labour went into creating this sparkling, one-of-a-kind tree.
The historic Distillery District has 65+ local shops, restaurants and cafés. Many of these were in full operation for the Winter Village event, plus vendor cabins offered specially curated seasonal items and gifts. Several food cabins also lined the cobblestone streets.
Distillery Winter Village, shot with a fogged-up lens & six-point star filter
As it is every Christmas, the Allan Gardens conservatory is decorated and filled with thousands of flowering plants, over 30 varieties of poinsettia and seasonal topiary masterpieces made entirely of plant material.
There are floral scenes with thousands of colourful blooms, vines and lush plants from around the world. The Flower Show is a welcome respite from the cold and grey of December, and has a nice festive feel to it.
This year Holiday Fair joined together with the annual Cavalcade of Lights event at Nathan Phillips Square. I checked things out this past weekend at the heavily-attended event.
Games & Midway for the Kids…
Lots Of Lights…
This year’s naturally grown spruce tree (55 ft. high) came from Baldwin, Ontario and is decorated with more than 300,000 energy-efficient lights and 500 ornaments. It will remain on display throughout the holiday season and will then be recycled into mulch for tree planting in the spring. The Christmas tree lighting is sponsored by Toronto Hydro-Electric System.
The Cavalcade of Lights will run until January 7, showcasing light displays and festive decor alongside public skating on Nathan Phillips Square. This year the event takes inspiration from light festivals and cultural celebrations around the world and features elements from a variety of holiday traditions associated with light, lantern and fire for new lighting installations.
The skaters returned to the ice after the Zamboni run-through…
Lots Of Vendors…
Mobile ATMs conveniently on hand beside the vendor tents
Food!
And of course, no event is complete without BeaverTails <so good…>
The Hudson’s Bay flagship store at Queen and Yonge Streets traditionally have superb Christmas windows, filled with a lot of intricate detail. I ventured down to the store last night with camera in hand and great expectations of a warm and fuzzy experience. As a Christmas traditionalist, though, I was incredibly disappointed: instead of the traditional cheerful Christmas vignettes, the window displays this year are all about the commercialism and automation of Christmas gift giving. The emphasis this year is on providing an interactive “virtual experience” which involves the spectator via their phone.
Since Saks Fifth Avenue moved into the eastern side of the building a few years ago, The Bay Christmas windows have never been the same. Anyone who’s lived in the city for a while and gone down to The Bay to check these out will see that now there are only five Bay windows remaining on the Queen Street side, near the west end. I remember when those fantastically-dressed windows stretched all the way across Queen Street and down Yonge to Richmond Street, utilizing all the Bay windows. At one time, The Bay’s Christmas windows were easily on par with Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s in New York; it was an awesome site, but is no more.
The Windows Theme This Year
For the first time ever, the digital extension will now transport Canadians inside the windows from anywhere across the country. To immerse themselves in the whimsy and wonder of the windows, customers just scan the QR code, point the camera at a surface and click to be transported into the augmented reality. Once ‘inside,’ device motion and screen interactions let people explore elements from all five of the holiday windows using both the front and rear cameras on their smartphones. An added bonus: Holiday enthusiasts can share a photo or video using the AR experience on Instagram or Facebook Story, tagging @hudsonsbay and using the hashtag #MyBayHolidayWindow for a chance to win one of five $1,000 gift cards to shop in-store and on TheBay.com*.
The unique QR code can be found at select Hudson’s Bay stores, on The Bay’s social media channels, on The Bay gift cards, and on packages ordered on TheBay.com throughout the holiday season.
“For more than 100 years, these holiday windows have been quintessential to the Toronto experience,” says Alexander Meyer, Chief Customer Officer at The Bay. “With the digital transcendence of this year’s windows, we are creating a whole new level of connectivity for our customers, not only in Toronto but throughout Canada.”1
The Bay’s Christmas Windows: 2022
The windows this year did not really lend themselves to still images as all the objects were in motion; instead I’ve captured a little video of each of the five window vignettes:
Mail-Room Department The inner workings of the technology used to scan, sort and process all of Santa’s letters. A giant computer spits out a list of names while a map of the globe gives Santa directions to find all the boys and girls around the world.Ornament-Making Department A snapshot of how some signature ornaments are painted and detailed with precision and care. A giant mechanical hand carefully selects each colour to be applied before the finished crafts are sent out for people to decorate their homes.Gifting Department A glimpse into all of the parcels being wrapped, sorted and packed by robots working in sync to keep up with the flow of presents coming down the conveyor belt. Plus, new technology allows onlookers to press a button on the glass and one very friendly robot will want to give you a high-five and take a selfie.Candy Cane Department A look at how the magical treats are made and gently packaged with a robotic arm before being dropped into queue to be sent in Santa’s sleigh and delivered to the children of the globe.Snow-Making Department Ever wonder how snow is actually made? A bounty of magical frozen flakes come to life in this winter wonderland. Passersby can snap photos in adult and kid-sized cutouts on the exterior of the windows and join in with the snow angels.
A Few Christmas’s Ago…
Christmas 2018 was a great year for The Bay’s Christmas windows. Here’s a few of the windows from that season:
Walking home last night I happened upon this event on Wellesley Street East. It was Pumpkins In The Park, at the Paul Kane House Parkette, from 4:00-7:30PM. The sun was dropping fast as I took these shots.
The sign at the entrance said: “Pumpkins provided, just bring your imagination!” – and many people did. The turnout was great and it was a hugely successful event. Kudos to the organizers!
I came upon this by accident with a friend when it was under construction. At the time we said we…