The National Ballet of Canada just cancelled its entire season
The National Ballet of Canada has cancelled the remainder of its 2020-2021 season including the world premiere of Swan Lake scheduled for this coming March. Karen Kain, artistic director of the ballet, and executive director Barry Hughson made the announcement this morning due to the “ongoing uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic and in recognition that a return to large gatherings in the near future is unlikely.” The National Ballet of Canada performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which has a capacity of more than 2,000 people.
“Although this news is not unexpected, the decision to cancel the remainder of the 2020/21 season was made with a heavy heart,” said Kain, in a press release.“I am particularly disappointed that we must once again postpone the world premiere of my new production of Swan Lake which will now be presented in the 2021/22 season but the health and safety of our artists and audiences continue to be our foremost priority,” she continued. “We will return to the stage when it is safe to do so stronger than ever and until then, we will continue to share the artistry of our dancers virtually and, when possible, in socially distanced live performances.”
Although a serious blow to Toronto’s cultural landscape, many of the city’s arts organizations are pursuing new digital and live-stream works and the National Ballet is no different. It will continue with its virtual season with the upcoming Spotlight Series, described as “a digital reimagining of new and existing works, featuring world premieres of Trase Pa by Kevin A. Ormsby and Soul by Jera Wolfe.”
A lack of patio is the reason the downtown Pickle Barrel is closing
The Pickle Barrel’s first outpost in downtown Toronto has shut its doors after almost four decades of serving its famous deli sandwiches to the bustling area around Yonge and Dundas.
Despite the closure of the downtown Pickle Barrel, Peter Higley, owner and CEO of the Pickle Barrel revealed, “Much of the work-from-home population are now moving away from the city and are open to dining in places that are less crowded as compared to downtown. All the other Pickle Barrel locations will remain open and continue to offer takeout and delivery. In my opinion, suburbia has a better chance of prospering through this pandemic.”
The downtown location had long been a staple in the Atrium on Bay, going back to the 1980s. The restaurant persevered through double recessions, numerous riots, and major changes to the surrounding neighbourhood, but the long hospitality shutdown brought on by Ontario’s efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic were just too much of a blow to the bottom line.
In a statement posted to the restaurant’s door on October 26, the Pickle Barrel summarized the situation in sobering terms: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that our Pickle Barrel Atrium location will be closing doors permanently. We have survived many economic downturns; this one however is the worst. This was the toughest decision we have ever made.”
Peter Higley, explains that since the pandemic began in March, most downtown office spaces have been vacant, offering thinner traffic during lunches as well as post-work meals and drinks. And that’s not to mention that dearth of tourists in the normally busy area.
“Our customer base mainly comprised tourists, theatre goers, downtown office dwellers and sports enthusiasts and with the shutters drawn over all of those businesses, we have suffered beyond measure. There was really no coming back from this,” said Higley, who started as a bus boy at the Pickle Barrel in 1983 and went on to run the whole chain.
“Our Hydro bill alone is $12,000 a month, and then there’s the downtown rent,” he added. The downtown location doesn’t have a patio and is not allowed to serve indoors, so there was no practical way to keep it running.
“It is heartbreaking, but it must be done,” he offered by way of summarizing the situation.
Higley also expressed his apprehension for the entire hospitality industry, which relies so heavily on revenue from the holiday season. “With indoor dining prohibited and the colder weathers steadily approaching, I don’t see how some businesses will survive. Even with heated patios, outdoor dining on New Year’s and Christmas eve will have to be cancelled if it snows,” he noted.
The restaurant group behind Miku is launching a Japanese-Mexican pop-up
Aburi Restaurants, the hospitality group behind Toronto restaurants like Miku and Aburi Hana, is tapping into the city’s collective need for comfort food with its new pop-up. Hosted by Aburi Tora restaurant in North York, Marukatsu is a fun, fusion-style concept that blends Japanese and Mexican culinary influences.
The pop-up menu is focused on katsu, a deep-fried Japanese cutlet, which the Aburi team makes with a signature style of panko crumbs to give it a light, crispy texture. The deep-fried katsu slices are combined with fresh, Mexican-inspired ingredients. For example, the Marukatsu bowl features pork loin katsu drizzled with basil onion and tonkatsu sauces, sour cream, pico de gallo, all mixed with Grana Padano cheese, mixed beans, French dressing and steamed rice.
View this post on Instagram
The menu also includes more traditional teishoku (meal sets), such as the seafood teishoku, which features golden pieces of Atlantic salmon, Hokkaido scallop and a daily feature fish served over a bed of steamed rice and cabbage with tartar and tonkatsu sauces.
The Marukatsu pop-up originally launched at Aburi’s restaurants in Japan and has also had a successful run at their Vancouver locations, leading the dishes to become a permanent part of the menu at Vancouver’s Gyoza Bar, according to Dean Harrison, national director of marketing for Aburi Restaurants Canada.
Harrison adds that with Torontonians mainly eating at home for the foreseeable future, the brand wanted to diversify Tora’s takeout menu, which traditionally focuses on sushi, to inspire diners and their chefs alike. “It’s an interesting kind of comfort food,” says Harrison. “It balances out quite nicely with the fresh and fried components.”
Marukatsu by Aburi Tora is currently available for order via UberEats and Ritual. There’s no official set end date for the pop-up, so get these fresh-meets-fried fusion eats while you still can.
Local designer Ross Mayer launches a new line of face masks perfect for winter
Recognizing the dual need for warmth and safety this year, Canadian fashion designer Ross Mayer has dreamed up the winter wrap face mask — a chic yet cosy wool face mask that’s sure to be a lifesaver this season.
Complete with adjustable elastic straps and fabric lined with soft-touch bamboo rayon extending across the ears, the mask is perfect for protecting you and those around you from the virus, and your ears from the wind on chilly winter days. The seamed and darted tailoring is specifically designed to contour the face of both men and women, while the secure velcro strap behind the neck makes for a snug and secure fit.
“It’s going to be a long, cold winter and with COVID-19, we’re sure to be spending more time than ever outdoors socializing and enjoying winter activities just to see each other,” says the designer of the collection, Ross Mayer. “Canadians are committed to mask-wearing and with all the outdoor gatherings that will be taking place this winter, keeping warm will be an even bigger priority than usual. Naturally, an ear-to-ear face mask made sense as the new winter essential.”
The winter wrap mask is part of Mayer’s larger unisex collection of masks and winter apparel this season. With 24 styles of masks ranging in price from $15 to $44, there are plenty of options to choose from whether you’re buying for yourself or a loved one.
Keeping seasonal trends in mind, the collection features a range of playful designs including Buffalo plaid and checks in black, grey, red and pink for a pop of colour. The collection also includes splashes of animal print, sequins and embellished velvet as a nod to the holiday season.
Check out the full collection at mayerofficial.com. And for a list of other local designers who are making face masks, click here.
Six great shows to get your culture fix in Toronto this month
Digital theatre, live environment
The Princess of Wales Theatre is scheduled to present the first indoor theatre show in Toronto since the pandemic shutdown. Scheduled to open Nov. 17, Mirvish will be presenting the international premiere of the Donmar Warehouse production of Blindness, a socially distanced sound installation. The date is subject to change based on health and safety protocols.
“Our friends at the Donmar Warehouse in London came up with a brilliant and powerful way to tell a timely and important story in a theatrical setting. They came up with a unique adaptation of the modern classic novel Blindness by the Nobel laureate José Saramago, itself about the effects of a pandemic on a community,” says David Mirvish. “Blindness was a resounding success in August and September at the Donmar and helped to usher in the return of theatrical events.”
The show runs 70 minutes with no intermission, and there will only be 50 people in attendance per performance. According to Mirvish, the sound is designed to be “binaural, making the work sound as if it were physically happening around you, putting you in the centre of the action.”
Changing focus
Two new documentary photography exhibitions opening at the Art Gallery of Ontario give Torontonians their first chance to have a look at some of the latest acquisitions of works by African-American artists, including Dawoud Bey, John Edmonds, Wardell Milan and Ming Smith, as well as Malian photographer Malick Sidibé. It’s part of the gallery’s commitment to greater diversity and representation.
The Documents, 1960s–1970s exhibition focuses attention on a “moment of great social change internationally” and features both studio portraits and street scenes.
Opening on the same day in the AGO’s Robert & Cheryl McEwen Gallery, the exhibition Dawoud Bey, John Edmonds and Wardell Milan features works by three contemporary African-American artists exploring and re-envisioning “the history of Black representation and the Black American experience.”
Donovan Woods live and alone
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Donovan Woods will be live-streaming a one-hour solo acoustic concert at Roy Thomson Hall on Nov. 5. The performance, which was recorded by seven robotic cameras while Woods was alone on stage in the Toronto concert hall, is in celebration of his seventh studio album release, Without People.
In an effort to support others with the release of his album, 50 per cent of net ticket sales will be given back to participating show promoters, and Woods will donate 100 per cent of his artist proceeds to ArtsCan Circle (Canada) and Southern Girls Rock Camp (US). During the show, Woods will perform a nine-song set of songs off the new album and a few fan favourites. Philadelphia-based group Lullanas will open the show. Tickets are $15.
Of faith and folly
The Factory Theatre is kicking off its new season with a live streaming world premiere of acts of faith by award-winning Asian Canadian playwright David Yee, directed by Nina Lee Aquino, and starring Natasha Mumba. According to the Factory, this production has been written specifically to be performed in a digital environment.
The story revolves around the main character, named Faith, who is mistaken for a prophet. Acts of faith is a story about the power of faith, the inescapable persistence of our online identities and the nature of truth in a digital age. Sounds timely.
Acts of faith will stream live to audiences at home for six performances, Nov. 19–28. Admission is free of charge.
All that jazz
The Kensington Market Jazz Festival is offering two days of incredible live stream performances Nov. 7–8. One of those headlining the weekend of performances is jazz pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton, who is described as “one of the most gifted and pure jazz musicians of her generation.” She will be playing, alongside saxophonist Nick Hempton, Sunday evening, Nov. 8, at 9:30 p.m. Other performers include Paul Marinaro, Carol Welsman, Jane Bunnett and many more.
Taking the stage
The Musical Stage Company will be offering a virtual edition of its signature concert event, Uncovered: Notes From the Heart, running from Nov. 11 to Dec. 6 and featuring some of the city’s top musical theatre performers, such as Divine Brown, fresh off a run on Broadway where she performed in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, as well as Hailey Gillis, Bruce Dow and others.
Made in Toronto: The stylish and iconic Mariposa Bicycles
The staff at Toronto local, Mariposa Bicycles, have been constructing hand-built bicycles since 1969. The company, applying an artisanal process to bicycle construction, crafts each custom steel cycle to the individual rider’s needs. The company’s website says their bikes are built by cyclists for cyclists.
Dede Barry runs the company with her husband Michael Barry Jr., both are former professional cyclists. Dede rode with the U.S. Olympic team in Athens, Greece in 2004 garnering a silver medal, and both Dede and Michael raced professionally in Europe for many years before moving to Toronto.
A true family business, the company was originally founded by the late Mike Barry Sr., who ran the company until he retired in 2007. Barry Sr. maintained the location as a storage facility for his bicycles, and Dede and Michael Jr. restarted the business in 2014 when they returned from Europe.
Each Mariposa bicycle is unique and built to last a lifetime and the production process takes approximately two weeks, not including the design and consultation process with each customer. The owners say they enjoy working with the customers one-on-one and ensuring every small detail is customized accordingly. The company fulfils orders from around the world but works out of the company’s brick and mortar location in Toronto’s east end near St. Clair Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue.
The family business maintains close ties to the community. The Mariposa Cycling Team is a youth-based cycling club. The company’s community initiative has roughly 30 young cycling participants. The company also organizes custom cycling tours around Spain and France as well as custom pro-level training camps in various destinations.
Cyclists looking to check out one of Mariposa’s carefully crafted pieces can go online to their website or visit the shop on Cranfield Road for retail hours.
Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto will launch its online festival later this month
Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto has announced the details for its online presentation that will take place from Nov. 26 to 29 on its new website IFWtoronto.com. Along with runway presentations, audiences will also be able to enjoy a digital art exhibition, an online pop-up marketplace and more.
“At a time when physical gatherings are difficult and the online market is saturated, carving out innovative digital spaces for Indigenous creators to gather and share our work is vital,” says IFWTO artistic director Sage Paul. “IFWTO has brought together a talented multidisciplinary team to reimagine how audiences experience and interact with Indigenous-made fashion, craft and textiles online.”
For example, the four runway presentations are cinematically produced and feature 16 designers. The short films were recorded at the Harbourfront Centre in August of this year, and one will be screened each day of the festival and are free to all audiences.
The designers featured include Lesley Hampton, Warren Steven Scott, Maru Creations and Skawennati. Each film provides an intimate view of each garment through the use of material, movement and light with elements of fashion, film, theatre and dance.
View this post on Instagram
The pop-up marketplace is where audiences can shop for fashion, craft and textiles from 40 limited edition Indigenous-made collections. Goods will be available from Indi City, Blu Hummingbird, Catherine Blackburn, Mad Aunty, Tania Larsson, Running Fox Beads, Niio Perkins and Aylelum — The Good House of Design.
The live art exhibition titled, A Thread That Never Breaks, was originally curated to launch in 2020. Now it will be featured as part of the series of panel discussions and will take place at 4 p.m. on Nov. 27. It brings together artworks by seven Indigenous artists who are rebuilding physical threads into pixels for a virtual exhibition that will open in 2021 on Ab Tec Island in Second Life. The panel discussion will feature artist Jaad Kuujus with co-curator Lisa Myers who will discuss the digital adaption of textile and craft works as a continuum of the ancestral thread.
The series of panel discussions is co-presented with the Ryerson School of Fashion and is called Fashioning Resurgence. The topics include Indigenous representation in fashion, land-based fashion, fashion journalism and how community support is built through beading table discussions.
“I hope the four-day experience is a cathartic experience of getting dressed up for something special in a celebration of Indigenous art and culture,” says Paul.
Kensington Market rallies to support local restaurant after a fire
A fundraising campaign is aiming to help resurrect a beloved Kensington Market business. Neighbourhood staple Jumbo Empanadas shuttered its doors in late October following a three-alarm fire at adjacent grocery store Emporium Latino.
Although the fire didn’t enter Jumbo Empanadas, safety inspectors forced the long-running restaurant to close for an indefinite amount of time while the necessary repairs take place, according to the GoFundMe page. The fundraiser hopes to raise $2,000 to support Jumbo Empanadas in reopening.
Owner Irene Morales first launched Jumbo Empanadas in the 1990s, serving empanadas and humitas out of a hotdog cart in Kensington Market. In 1999, the restaurant moved into its brick-and-mortar home at 245 August Ave., later obtaining a liquor and patio license in 2007.
“Jumbo is a community hub. Irene has promoted and helped to run fundraisers for Chilean earthquakes victims, donated generously to meals for the homeless and more,” reads the GoFundMe page.
“Irene and her family are great people and embody the independent spirit that makes Kensington Market special,” it continues.
View this post on Instagram
The fundraiser hopes to help cover the income lost by Morales and her team, which had grown to four employees prior to the fire. The GoFundMe page states that any additional money raised will be used to fund repairs that the restaurant’s insurance will not cover, including damage to their ovens.
Led by local resident Leyla Razeghi, the Kensignton Market community previously organized a fundraiser for Emporium Latino, the primary site for the fire, raising over $27,000 of its $10,000 goal. The campaign for Jumbo Empanadas is already exceeding its target as well, with $3,130 raised of its $2,000 goal.
Kinka Family launches its first virtual Japanese restaurants
With the future of indoor dining still in flux amid the pandemic, Toronto restaurants are continuing to pivot their business models to stay afloat. Kinka Family, the hospitality group behind restaurants like Kinton Ramen and Neo Coffee Bar, is expanding its delivery options with the launch of two new virtual restaurants. Also known as “ghost kitchens” or “ghost restaurants,” virtual restaurants have no physical location and therefore rely on digital ordering and takeout to serve diners.
“Prior to the second wave of indoor dining shutdowns, we knew that we needed to better prepare ourselves for another disruption to our business,” says Stella Yu, director of marketing for Kinka Family.
During this uncertain time for the dining industry, Yu says that virtual restaurants were a natural way for Kinka to grow their business, allowing the group to leverage their existing spaces and kitchen teams.
“Much of the appeal that came with launching virtual restaurant concepts was that most of the elements needed to operate successfully already existed within our physical restaurants,” she says.
“Third-party vendors like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and SkipTheDishes were driving a lot of our business, and we recognized the opportunity to lean into these thriving business models and capitalize on the existing audiences who were ready to try new restaurants from the comfort of their homes,” adds Yu.
View this post on Instagram
Yu says the Kinka team spent several weeks testing the recipes for their two virtual restaurants, Tokyo Sando & Chicken and JapaSando & Co., with a focus on creating dishes that would travel well to cater to takeout customers.
Both concepts are centred on unfussy, Japanese sandwiches. Tokyo Sando features sandwiches marinated in soy sauce, including Karaage fried chicken and deep-fried horse mackerel; while JapaSando & Co. aims to appeal to diners looking for a filling but healthier option with its lighter, oven-baked sandwiches.
“Each virtual restaurant pulls inspiration from Japanese culture and cuisine and embodies the goal we have had at the company since day one, which is to revolutionize the Japanese hospitality experience,” says Yu.
Tokyo Sando & Chicken and JapaSando & Co. are now offering delivery via Uber Eats and DoorDash throughout Ontario and Quebec, with Yu adding that Kinka will be introducing an in-house ordering platform in the coming weeks. The group is also set to roll out two additional virtual restaurant concepts before the end of the year.
Local designer Ela partners with influencer Sasha Exeter on new bag
Local designer Ela Aldorsson and influencer and entrepreneur Sasha Exeter are collaborating to create a limited edition belt bag, which released today on Nov. 2.
Aligning with the new direction of Aldorsson’s handbag line, called Ela, the belt bag is entirely vegan, made in a black croc-embossed vegan leather.
Additionally one of the pair’s goals for this project is to support the talent of the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) community and reflect it in the creative process. Exeter and Aldorsson chose two Canadian BIPOC artists to design the packaging for the bag — Élana Camille designed the artwork for the tissue paper, and Rachel Joanis created the illustration for the thank you card.
“This collaboration with Ela, Rachel and Élana is a dream come true for me,” says Exeter. “I have always believed in our Canadian design talent, and being a part of this process from start to finish has been nothing short of an inspirational journey for me, one that I am very grateful to have been a part of.”
The Ela by Sasha Exeter belt bag is a multi-functional piece that can be worn as a cross-body or around the waist. The design goal for this piece was for it to be seasonless, functional and sophisticated.
The bag is also cruelty-free and sustainable, including a 100 per cent recycled lining made from eight plastic water bottles, which is all in line with the Ela brand.
“Sasha embodies our brand philosophy of humble luxury, which made her the ideal brand ambassador and collaborator,” says Aldorsson. “This project is such a highlight for us as a brand, and involving the BIPOC artists made it even more special.”
Beginning Nov. 2, the bag will be available for purchase online at Indigo.com and ElaHandbags.com.
Aligning with the project’s goal to support local BIPOC talent, Indigo is also the first Canadian retailer to join the 15 Percent Pledge.The pledge is an initiative created by Canadian Aurora James who is challenging retailers across North America to ensure 15 per cent of their suppliers are from the BIPOC community.
The number 15 was chosen as 15 per cent of the U.S. population is Black, and James kick-started this initiative south of the border.
By taking the pledge, Indigo has committed to dedicating 15 per cent of its shelf space to books written by BIPOC authors and BIPOC-owned third-party brands for its lifestyle business.
Exeter and Aldorsson are excited about the launch of this belt bag on the Indigo website in time for the holiday season.
“We are really proud of it and hope people will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating it,” says Aldorsson.
How this local filmmaking duo behind the new series Striking Balance started as high school sweethearts
The latest project that filmmaking duo Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert have been working on is TVO’s Striking Balance. The nine-episode series explores nine of Canada’s UNESCO-designated biosphere reserves and is narrated by the one and only Jim Cuddy. The series puts a spotlight on how important these natural landscapes are and seeks to challenge the viewer’s perspective on what they know about the natural world and their place in it. The series — which was directed by Melnick and produced by Drebert — also investigates how people are creating symbiotic relationships with nature and developing sustainable economies.
How they met
We are actually high school sweethearts. We met during a drama production of A Christmas Carol — Zach was playing Scrooge, and I was playing the kid who purchases the turkey at the end. It took a few more years, but we got together in Zach’s final year of high school and have now been together for about 20 years.
The first date
We were high school students, so our restaurant standards weren’t super fancy! We went to Swiss Chalet, Zach’s favourite restaurant at the time, and then to see a movie, Meet the Parents. Evidently, it was a successful first date as we’re still together! We probably went to a few hundred movies together after that, and even began working for Cineplex as one of our early film gigs, doing celebrity interviews, from Samuel L. Jackson to Justin Bieber. Sometimes the interviews were filmed on location and it was pretty eye opening for us to be behind-the-scenes on big budget films.
The courtship
When high school was over, we both went to different schools, but managed to stay together despite living in different cities. Zach went to McMaster for multimedia, and I studied sculpture/installation at OCAD. Our first place together was a tiny condo by the Rogers Centre. Needless to say, for a few kids from the rural south, living right downtown was a big change.
Since we both went through post-secondary for the arts, it just seemed natural to work together when we’d finished our degrees, and we began picking up commercial work. Zach was the camera operator and I was on the sound team. At the same time, we were shooting documentaries for our Ontario Visual Heritage Project series which had us travelling across Ontario, which eventually led us to Striking Balance and the work we’re doing today.
The proposal
We had been together for 12 years at this point, and our moms just couldn’t wait anymore for a wedding! So, on a trip to the west coast to visit Zach’s brother, we did a pretty amazing hike up to the Garibaldi Glacier. When we were at the top of the mountain, Zach went down on one knee and pulled a ring from his pocket and the answer was “Yes!” It was a pretty challenging hike, and as we picked our way back down through the scree, we joked that if we didn’t make it — no one would ever know we’d been engaged. We eventually made it down and were able to give our moms the good news.
The wedding
We were married in the fall of 2011 in Parry Sound on the beach. Zach’s family had cottaged in the area for 40 years, so it was really meaningful for them. Instead of a cake, Zach’s grandma made dozens of butter tarts. We lucked out with the fall colours and had a perfect fall day.
We have yet to go on a honeymoon, as work has always gotten in the way! We were planning an escape after our most recent series, Striking Balance, is completed later this year, but COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into those plans. So, maybe we’ll finally get to go on a honeymoon for our tenth anniversary next year!
Balancing careers and marriage
When you’re spending several months at a time driving a van across the country making films, there is honestly not a lot of work/life balance! The excitement and adrenaline make up for it, and our journeys are always really memorable, because we’re spending time at each location with people who are doing meaningful work. A lot of our films focus on subjects that interest both of us on a personal level, so it’s easy for us to really dive in. We work together pretty much every day, but we generally like each other, so that makes it easy! We are very careful about each taking on roles that play to our individual strengths. And regardless of what happens with the project, at the end of the day we’re still going to be there for each other, which gives us the strength to get through the hard times.
The challenge for us is really carving out time together that’s not work related. So, we do our best to head out in our canoe or hit the Bruce Trail — without camera gear — on a regular basis.
Secret of success
For most of our relationship we’ve worked together and have really “been through the fire” together. When we’re up against big deadlines, it puts all of the little things into perspective. It’s hard to get mad at each other for leaving socks on the floor when we’re trying to create a nine-hour TV show in our basement!
Life after retirement
We suspect we’ll be doing this work long after the usual retirement age. Hopefully by the point we can no longer pick up cameras, we’ll be able to use futuristic glasses or brain implants to keep making films!
Catch Striking Balance on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on TVO.
