At today’s update on the city of Toronto’s COVID-19 measures, Mayor John Tory announced that the city is cancelling all public events through to June 30 including the Pride Toronto Festival.
The team at Pride Toronto was quick to issue a press release upon hearing the news stating that they were going to be working hard to “deliver Pride celebrations in new, creative and unique ways that ensure safety and physical distancing.”
Recognizing how essential the festivities are for its communities, the Pride team said it is also critically important that all organizations take any and every action to limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The decision by public health authorities to cancel permits through the month of June is a necessary one. Any future programming will be in alignment with the recommendations of the public health authorities and the communities we serve. At this time, we must all do our part to ensure the health and safety of our community.”
The cancellation of municipal events including Pride comes just days after the Luminato Festival announced that it was stopping all programming this year.
It looks like this move could also put the kibosh on the NHL, NBA, and MLS in the city.
The NBA is working out a few different scenarios including, reportedly, a single-site for a return to the season, which would mean the Raptors would still play some hoops. But there is a long way to go yet. There is no official word yet from the major sports organizations on today’s news.
Schools have always seen themselves as being responsible for helping to develop engaged citizens who go on to become positive and contributing members of society. Since the birth of the internet and the platforms that connect it, we have come to understand the powerful role it now plays in the maintenance of a functioning democracy.
One only needs to watch the news for a moment to see evidence of this in action. Tweets, posts, hashtags and updates now take centre stage alongside what leaders say in person. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. are powerful platforms that have been responsible for governments falling and injustices exposed as well the acceleration of positive change. Conversely, social media platforms have also been manipulated to spread misinformation.
Photos of the 2018 cohort
The students at The York School soak all of this up on a daily basis, and as a community, we have to help teach them how to interpret the flood of information, stick to their values and apply a critical lens to facts and opinions. As the adults our students look up to for modelling both good and bad behaviour, we have to help them to make sense of it all. It can be confusing and strange at the best of times.
It is clear that schools and teachers must now include “digital citizenship” when they consider the attributes that will best prepare students for the future. The conversations around online safety, security, etiquette, privacy, copyright, permission, interpretation and trust must now start at a much earlier age and be woven into the fabric of an evolving curriculum. As the tools and platforms change, so too must the conversations.
Five years ago, we were talking about Facebook and Instagram; today Snapchat and TikTok are top of mind.
The York School has had a rich tradition of embracing technology across its curriculum going as far back as 1999.
As one of the first schools in Canada to adopt one-to-one laptop learning, we have learned much along the way. One of our most significant takeaways has been that, when it comes to teaching these skills, young people learn best from digital natives who are fluent in the digital landscape.
Photos of the 2018 cohort
We recognize that students’ lived experience of the integration of digital tools into the fabric of their social lives makes them uniquely able to guide younger students. Rather than expecting young people to intuit how best to navigate this complicated digital world, we need to take time for explicit instruction and be open to the idea that our senior digital native students offer a more nuanced and authentic understanding than some of the adults in the building.
At The York School, carving out time during the school day to unpack and explore online interactions through conversation has been facilitated through our comprehensive Grades 6 to 12 advisor program. We learn alongside our students and have come to see them as our greatest resource in helping understand this ever-changing and interconnected world.
If there was ever a time we could all use a cheerful distraction and the chance to hone our home-cooking chops, it’s now. Fortunately, Mary Berg is offering us both with her show Mary’s Kitchen Crush, which returned to CTV on March 22. The new batch of episodes promises approachable recipe inspiration plus plenty of lighthearted entertainment. We sat down with the MasterChef Canada winner, TV host, and cookbook author to chat about the return of her show and how we can all become better home cooks.
Berg felt drawn to cooking at a young age after witnessing the meaningful influence food can have on people’s lives. When Berg was four years old, her father passed away in a car accident, and she says that food, in a small way, helped her family to heal.
“During that incredibly sad and hard time for my family, I saw how much deliveries of homemade casseroles from friends and family meant to my mom,” says Berg. “I’ve just always loved how much compassion you can convey through food.”
Berg began helping her mother cook meals for the family, and by the time she was in university, she was whipping up pies, pasta, and pastries for her roommates and, later, her co-workers.
“I have always loved creating and sharing food with those around me,” says Berg.
Berg’s culinary craft remained a hobby, however, until her win on season 3 of MasterChef Canada in 2016.
“It totally had a 180-degree effect on my life,” explains Berg. “I went from working in an office to getting to wake up every single day just thinking about food and what I was going to get to create that day.”
Following her win, Berg began appearing as a food expert on CTV’s Your Morning and The Marilyn Denis Show. Her own TV show, Mary’s Kitchen Crush, debuted in April 2019, and her first cookbook, Kitchen Party, which was published in September 2019, became a national bestseller.
Berg says the new episodes of Mary’s Kitchen Crush are more personal, introducing viewers to her friends and family.
“The show is just me in the kitchen cooking simple and delicious food for the people in my life who matter most,” says Berg. “In these hard and rather isolated times, I hope that the show will continue to make viewers feel like they’ve been invited into my kitchen just to hang out and enjoy.”
Berg’s goal with Mary’s Kitchen Crush is to help viewers feel more empowered about cooking at home. “For a lot of people, the idea of failure in the kitchen is such a hindrance to actually trying a recipe,” she says.
Berg believes that a sense of play is the antidote to the anxiety some people feel when attempting a new recipe.
“I think making something in the kitchen should be approached in the same way as a little kid trying to draw a cat for the first time. Grab all of your ingredients and try your best,” says Berg. “Does it look perfect? Probably not! But that’s OK! You still made something, and it is most likely still going to be edible if not delicious.”
According to Berg, cooking isn’t about getting a recipe exactly right. “My main tip for people starting to learn to cook is to just roll with it,” says Berg. “Yes, follow a recipe, but if, in the end, you find it a little bland, give it a squeeze of lemon or a splash of balsamic vinegar. Does it taste dull? Toss in another pinch of kosher salt. Want the flavours to come together a little more? Add a little extra virgin olive oil or a bit of butter and let that melt in.”
Following each new episode of Mary’s Kitchen Crush, full written and video recipes featured on the show are posted on ctv.ca, making it easier for viewers to replicate Berg’s kitchen creations at home. She anticipates that the hearty lasagne featured in this new batch of episodes will be a hit with viewers in need of a little indulgence.
“My friends are all real lasagne heads, so that’s a go-to when we’re all getting together. On an upcoming episode of Mary’s Kitchen Crush, I make a monstrous three-meat, four-cheese lasagne for my friend Rob, and if that’s not comfort food, I don’t know what is!” Berg says with a laugh.
One of the most popular recipes to date from her show is a garlic and herb flatbread made with store-bought pizza dough.
“It tastes like you’re making bread from scratch, but all you really have to do is heat up a pan, melt some butter and grill up some dough,” she says.
The secret to home cooking, says Berg, is to go with the flow. “Cooking isn’t a rigid thing. Recipes taste different depending on your ingredients and, at least for me, how I’m feeling on a given day,” she says.
“There’s pretty much always a way to make something taste better to you and it’s usually just as simple as adding some salt, lemon, butter or fresh herbs. And if that fails, I always just reach for my favourite hot sauce!”
Don’s Bakery has been a Muskoka tradition for decades. The Bala, Ont. shop is a hive of activity every spring and summer weekend beginning on Mother’s Day and stretching to Labour Day as cottagers descend en masse to stock up on their famous scones, butter tarts, cookies and pot pies.
Bryan Foster grew up cottaging in the area, same as his parents, and his grandparents before that. He and his wife Jana bought the bakery in 2010 and added a production bakery in Barrie a few years back to allow for a year-round operation to facilitate wholesale orders and other business.
Now, with COVID-19 measures impacting all facets of life in Ontario, the Fosters have decided to create what they are calling a “safe food initiative,” by preparing food boxes with items from Don’s such as scones, butter tarts, cinnamon buns, and make-your-own items as well as the bakery’s suppliers of produce, meat, and dairy.
The boxes, which are all custom created via an online order form, are available at the Barrie location as well as for pickup at the Foster’s North York home.
“We have elderly people in the community and there were questions about how to get food,” said Foster. “So we came up with the idea of pooling and pulling our different suppliers together to create these boxes.”
Foster said they will also be adding a food box drop in Muskoka in the near future at the store in Bala.
“It feels good to help out,” said Foster, who is even planning on hand-delivering a few boxes to customers in wheelchairs who can’t make it out of the house.
“A lot of businesses including our own are suffering from what is happening now and from the uncertainty, and our suppliers also supply a lot of local restaurants and they aren’t buying,” he explained. “So this opens up a new avenue for them too, and helps them pay their bills.”
On pickup day, the times are staggered and each customer is called when their box is ready to maintain social distance, according to Foster.
Currently, there are two pick-ups per week and special arrangements will soon be ironed out for next week before the holidays.
Foster said they are working towards opening Don’s Bakery in Bala as per usual on Mother’s Day weekend, but with all new procedures in place to keep customers and staff safe. But, he also understands that things are changing by the day.
After two weeks of your Instagram feed flooding with photogenic meals prepared by friends and family, you might have the itch to try your hand as a home cook. Well, Toronto restaurants want to make your culinary venture that much easier. Impress your family and your feed by ordering a meal kit from one of the city’s best and enjoy restaurant-quality meals prepared in your kitchen.
General Assembly pizza wants your family pizza party to go off without a hitch. For the time being they have added “make your own pizza kits” to their delivery and pick-up menus. Choose between two different pizza packs, complete with two portions of naturally leavened dough and assorted toppings. Opt for the classic Mila Margherita ($19) which includes their vibrant tomato sauce, fresh basil and pillows of fresh fior di latte and grated Grana Padano cheese. Or try their Loving Cup pizza kit ($21) where Ezzo pepperoni and aged mozzarella are the stars.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Good Hombres is offering its menu of Mexican classics for pick-up and on UberEats. Their fresh taco kits come disassembled so you don’t miss the fun of DIY Taco Tuesday. Pick from their selection of Carnitas ($21), Barbacoa ($22), Tinga de Pollo ($20) or vegan Hongos ($18). The kits are served with twelve tortillas and salsa. You can also order take-out groceries like masa ($9/kg), chips ($5) and black beans ($5).
This Leaside barbecue spot is sending out smoked meat care packages across the city. For free delivery, spend $100 when you pre-order from Adamson Barbecue. If you are a larger family or group, this is the perfect weekend meal. Get frozen, vacuum-sealed packages of sausage ($24), pork shoulder, pulled pork ($32) and sliced brisket ($60) along with some take and bake sides. Try their cornbread ($20), pinto beans ($6) or potato salad ($6). They are also delivering hot plates of outrageous proportions.
This Parkdale pizzeria has also started delivering DIY pizza kits. Unlike General Assembly, this party-sized pizza is for the whole family. The $10 order comes with an assortment of pepperoni, shredded mozzarella and tomato sauce. They also include a package of creamy garlic sauce for those who are so inclined.
This Roncesvalles South East Asian restaurant is putting together roast chicken dinners for pick-up. Pre-order on their site or send them a DM on Instagram and order a whole chicken dinner with your choice of sides. You can order a half chicken ($21) with two sides, or go for the full bird ($39), complete with four side dishes.
Assemble a German smorgasbord with a delivery or pick-up order from King West’s, Wvurst. This is made easy by Wvurst’s simple ordering system. Just pick your dog, bun and all the customary sides to go along with it. If you opt for currywurst, which we suggest you do, why not try a Bison or Berkshire honey or Beyond Meat brat? With all the options available at Wvurst, this meal could be the highlight of your self-isolation.
This hotpot spot is sending out everything you need to make hotpot in the comfort of your own home. Yes, that includes the burner, the pot and all the delicious fixin’s. Liuyishou’s new delivery service offers portable butane stoves with packages of their tender beef, tripe, shrimp and fatty beef for an at-home hotpot experience. Your order will also come with broth and a myriad of your favourite hotpot vegetables, like Chinese broccoli, king oyster and enoki mushrooms.
This Filipino restaurant is sending out whole kamayan feasts for you and your family to enjoy at home. Kanto’s traditional meal served on a banana leaf carries twelve different dishes inside. The meals are made to feed two to four people and are priced at $50. The massive feast comes with meat, poultry and fish along with assorted veggies and rice. Check their Instagram for the delivery range and to pre-order your meal.
Early this morning, Toronto’s own Aubrey Graham (a.k.a. Drake) introduced the world to his son, Adonis. The rapper posted photos of the toddler, with his already-famous golden curls, on his Instagram account @champagnepapi. Along with the photos of Adonis was a heartfelt message from the Toronto rapper about staying positive through this uncertain and “fearful” time.
Adonis, the two-year-old son Drake had with Sophie Brusseaux, has been kept from the spotlight up until today.
The child was kept a secret until Pusha-T released a track that outed Drake as a father.
Drizzy responded with lyrics about fatherhood in his 2018 track Emotionless, where he said, “I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid.”
His Instagram message is a good reminder of the importance of family and remaining positive while our global community continues to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of the post, he signs off with, “It’s impossible to always control your surroundings, but when you shift the focus to how you want to feel, everything will conspire to assist you. I love and miss my beautiful family and friends and I can’t wait for the joyful day when we are all able to reunite.”
To listen to all our Toronto Songs That Matter go to our YouTube playlist here: trnto.link/TO-songs
Charlotte Cornfield: “Sailing Away,” by Jennifer Castle
Every time I listen to this song, it conjures up all of these emotions and memories about coming and going from Toronto — moving away, moving back, passing through. That first line, “Here I go down memory lane, I’m always sinking with the ship that way,” just kills me. It’s that thing of, “Oh, here we go with the nostalgia again, but it’s still gripping me, and it’s still just as potent as ever.” I grew up around Ossington and Davenport and have since moved back to that neighbourhood, and the record cover for Pink City, the album that this song is on, is a photo of Joe’s Convenience at the corner of Ossington and Dupont. There’s this geographical resonance. Jennifer is a local legend, and she’s inspired so many of us. That’s why this song matters to me.
Odario Williams: “The Northside,” by Tara Chase
Back in the day, Tara Chase was one of my favourite Canadian MCs (no matter the gender). She’s a poet with a flow that can propel you into a nostalgic state, especially on this song. It’s the kind of hip hop you prefer to chill out to at home. The music video is dope too.
Miranda Mulholland: “St. Peter,” by Justin Rutledge
One of my favourite Toronto artist picks for now and forever is my friend Justin Rutledge. We’ve been pals and neighbours for 15 years, orbiting and comforting each other throughout many moves, heartbreaks and coming to terms of what the new digital era has had in store for us.
I remember JR playing this song at the Cameron House, in my back garden and on main stages across the country, but it’s always felt relevant. I played on that record. I still live in Parkdale, and so much has changed, but it still feels like a gentle insistent anthem.
Charlotte Cornfield
Devon Richardson of Jane’s Party: “Mushaboom,” by Feist
I can’t remember where I first heard the song “Mushaboom,” by Feist off her 2004 album Let it Die … definitely not in 2004, as I was still living in Europe going to high school. But I can tell you once I turned 30 and came across the song again (probably from my girlfriend playing it non-stop), I really started to notice the lyrics.
Rarely has a song spoken, so specifically, to the exact situation I find myself in.
She talks about how one day she hopes to be able to escape the city for a little slice of land in the woods to call her own.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking … but, for now, “Mushaboom” creates a world where I can escape to the woods for at least three minutes and 44 seconds of bliss.
Luka Kuplowsky: “Anew Day,” by Mary Margaret O’Hara
Mary Margaret O’Hara’s 1989 cult classic Miss America is an album of spastic energy, graceful balladry and limitless groove.
Every song on the album seems to be an outlier, and “Anew Day” is no exception: an upbeat gospel tune with a vocal melody that constantly skirts and defies expectation. Mary’s beautiful drawl makes the exact lyrics less important than the overall impression of sadness, resilience and rebirth she conveys. While the album is a meaningful time capsule for the Toronto music community of the ’80s and ’90s, its genre-less and unfettered quality is embedded in the DNA of Toronto’s current scene.
Born Ruffians: “Shine a Light,” by The Constantines
When we moved to Toronto to try to make it as a band, we would go and see the Constantines every chance we got. They were the best live band we had ever seen, and we wanted so badly to understand and be a part of their magic, and thankfully, they were playing a lot of shows in Toronto at the time. “Shine a Light” was such a highlight at every show because the band would all raise their hands high in the air until everyone in the room was also raising theirs. It wasn’t like a “Hey put your hands up everybody!” moment at all. It was more like they were possessed, using their superpowers to get the entire room to follow them.And we did.
Donovan Woods
Donovan Woods: “Who Hurt You?” by Daniel Caesar
A song by a born-and-raised Toronto artist that mentions Caribana. I’ve been obsessed with it since it came out. I love how it’s formed. I love that it doesn’t overexplain itself. The protagonist, ostensibly Caesar, has fallen for an exotic dancer and believes that she loves him. I mean, she doesn’t. “You make me feel so primal and, that’s what I am, I’m just a man,” he says. I remember that feeling in my 20s. Some sense that I had discovered the plain simplicity of my sexuality and, therefore, my life. I know now, of course, that nothing is that uncomplicated, and much of this song’s conceit is, at its core, rotten, but the melodies are foreboding enough that we sense Caesar knows that. The truth is hanging above it all, like a nightclub just before the fluorescent lights get flipped on.
Nikki Yanofsky: “Gold In Them Hills,” by Ron Sexsmith
I love the contrast of the super-clean production, instrumentation and melody against his amazing and unique voice. This song gives me the shivers each time I put it on. Ron has so much character and emotion when he sings. “Though our troubles seem like mountains, there’s gold in them hills”…. This song is all about the beauty in the struggle, which is something a lot of people can relate to, especially as I write this. Ron’s penned some of my favourite lyrics of all time. It was hard to choose just one song of his for this article. He is a true poet.
Zach Sutton: “Brownie Hawkeye,” by Jason Collett
My brother introduced me to Jason Collett’s album Idols of Exile in 2005. Through and through it is a classic album. The production is raw, the songwriting sublime and the musical performances pristine. “Brownie Hawkeye” stood out for a few reasons. For one, who writes a song about a Brownie Hawkeye? Ironically it was a gift I got from my now wife for her birthday when we were first dating. It evokes the idea of seeing our present life through a vintage lens. Summer nights, old Chevys, stargazing at night, and “bending pines.” What’s not to like? Thank you, Jason and Co. for a perfect song.
Pantayo: “Balikbayan,” by Ohbijou
Ohbijou was around when my family first moved to Canada in the mid-2000s. “Balikbayan” also came out around the time when we started learning kulintang pieces together as Pantayo. So to me, both Ohbijou and “Balikbayan” are specific markers of time and place during a transformative chapter of life. To see a Canadian band fronted by a person who looks like us was encouraging in the beginning stages of forming as a group. And to know that a song like “Balikbayan,” an ode to diasporic Filipinos, can be played on Canadian airwaves paved the way for artists like us to be able to have our identities also be part of our art-making. It’s very Toronto to have a complicated relationship with and connections to ideas of home.
Austra (photo be Virginie Khateeb)
Austra: “Aychte,” by Joseph Shabason
The sounds are warm and almost tangible, it might be better to describe how this song tastes rather than try to describe the effect of its frequencies. Matzo ball soup? The warmth of the broth as it slides down your throat is augmented in texture by light and somewhat granular dumplings; a comfort you return to over and over again. Joseph’s track is just that: a comfort I return to over and over again.
Mister Nobu, of Choir! Choir! Choir!: “I Gotta Plan (for Saturday Night),” by The Deadly Snakes
The Deadly Snakes are one of the most kick-ass bands to ever come out of deep Toronto. Rock ’n’ roll to the core, soulful as all get out, raw and immediate, the Snakes’ chaotic and stripped-down style brought a wild party that you could get lost in. All of their records are required listening, but Love Undone, their first full length, is my first love. It’s tough to choose one song, but “I Gotta Plan (for Saturday Night)” is a good start. Turn it up, dance your ass off and imagine a Toronto before the condos took over. Just imagine.
Tom Ionescu of Jane’s Party: “Maggie’s Hardware Store,” by Jack Marks
I heard and performed Jack Marks’ “Maggie’s Hardware Store” many times before I met the man behind the song and well before I heard the actual recording. For our band, and a dozen other musicians, The Cameron House was the home that took us in and gave us a steady place to play. Whether joining our friends playing it live on stage or drunkenly slurring through the lyrics during late-night jams, “Maggie’s Hardware Store” served as the lingua franca among us at the Cameron, learning it and passing it on like a traditional folk song. This song’s strength, along with many from Marks’ album Blues Like These, lies in its musical simplicity coupled with the sort of lyrical wit and turn of phrase that crosses genre boundaries across musicians and listeners alike. Hearing this song will forever transport me back to playing music with new and old friends at a time when our musical identities were just beginning to form.
Ian Blurton: “Progress,” by The Young Lions
There are two versions of this song out there that I’ve heard but this is the one really did it for me. Equal doses of hardcore and Detroit rock distilled into a maelstrom from one of a bunch of local bands showing me (the impressionable youngster) for the first time the possibilities of music and thought up close. The recording is kind of murky but that’s what I love about it; the song slowly reveals itself to you over multiple listens. I listened to this kick-ass jam so much that I think its DNA has imprinted on me.
R Grunwald: “Double Suicide,” by Sandro Perri
This song has a lot of strong meaning for me because I know the story behind the lyrics. It’s rather tragic and quite beautiful. But also, Sandro represents the creative side of Toronto to me. Growing up in this city and making music, playing in bands Sandro was the first person I saw that made me stop and realize how far we could go with things and still have it be beautiful and accessible. This was inspiring to me and a turning point in my own musical development. I still think he is one of the most creative musicians in Toronto and he continues to blow me away every time he puts music out.
Jaunt: “Gardens in the Sky,” by Martha and the Muffins
Here’s a song by a Toronto band that I think isn’t discussed enough. It’s a really beautiful song that definitely has been in heavy rotation for me in the last few years. It’s a deeper and more lush track than a lot of their other output, largely due to the production by Daniel Lanois.
Jeff Giles of Jane’s Party: “I Know,” by Zeus
Sometime in the summer of 2009, I remember Devon dropping by my place and raving about this Toronto band, Zeus, who he’d recently seen play at the Dakota Tavern. He said they sounded like a heavier hitting version of The Beatles White Album. So of course, I was immediately intrigued. Somehow the EP he picked up from the show found its way into my truck, and I can’t even count the number of times I looped through that incredible five-track rotation. One song off that EP that stood out for me was “I Know.” It transports me back to a time where the future was unpredictable and nerve-racking, but so exciting and exhilarating at the same time knowing there were bands like Zeus from my own hometown making music that resonates so deeply with me. 10 years later Jane’s Party gets to share in creating a record with Carlin and Mike of Zeus, recording our next full-length album.
As Toronto restaurants navigate the many challenges of switching to delivery/takeout models amid the COVID-19 closures, one Toronto restaurant owner is coming to the rescue with tech support. Nav Sangha, owner of Parkdale’s Miss Thing’s and co-owner of Otto’s Bierhalle and SoSo Food Club, is helping restaurants set up their own online ordering platforms for takeout and delivery.
In addition to his restaurants, Sangha has a tech business, called Ambassador, which offers an e-commerce element called Smart Cart. After leveraging the platform to set up ordering for his own restaurants, Sangha started reaching out to other Parkdale neighbourhood businesses and offering to help get them online. The solution, which he describes as “Shopify for restaurants,” allows customers to order from a restaurant’s menu and pay online in advance for pick-up or independent delivery.
He eventually created a post on Miss Thing’s Instagram account, making a blanket offer to create online ordering platforms, free of charge, for any small business in need. Dozens of restaurants have reached out since he made the post last week. “My inbox right now is pretty loaded,” says Sangha. Some, like Bloorcourt’s Little Sito, are already up and running with their new online ordering platforms.
Sangha says that Ambassador has long had a mandate of empowering small businesses. “People are adapting, so I want to help facilitate that,” says Sangha. “I’ve got nothing but time right now,” he jokes.
Although Sangha agrees there are benefits to working with third-party delivery providers like Uber Eats and DoorDash, his online ordering platform allows restaurants to keep 100 per cent of the profits on their sales.
“We can create an ordering interface that looks really similar to delivery apps,” says Sangha. “People can even place orders right out of Facebook messenger or Instagram,” he adds. “I’m able to get them online in 12 to 24 hours.”
Sangha says that in addition to volunteering his team’s web development services, his partner hosting companies have agreed to waive their fees for the first three months, allowing restaurants to start accepting online orders for free.
Aside from offering a short term solution for restaurants coping with the COVID-19 crisis, Sangha hopes this online ordering platform can be the first step in helping restaurants reevaluate their business strategy during this challenging time.
“I see this as a time where a lot of business owners are going to be reflecting and looking for new strategies, not only to survive through the crisis but also to improve,” says Sangha. “Maybe this is an opportunity to adapt their businesses, take on new tools, and to reopen with potential new approaches to what could be a very different marketplace.”
Chris Szarka, Michelle Nolden and their three boys
Michelle Nolden, known for her roles in Republic of Doyle and Saving Hope, is gracing TV screens yet again in The Wedding Planners. The series follows three siblings who are left to take over their mother’s (Nolden) wedding planning business. With all that wedding talk in the air, we decided to find out the story behind Nolden’s nuptials to husband Chris Szarka.
How they met
Michelle: We met at East Side Mario’s restaurant in Toronto where I was waitressing while studying at Ryerson University. Chris came in with a basketball teammate and ordered a lot of Italian wedding soup. I remember thinking he was very cute and funny, and I loved that he was so tall.
We met again briefly in an elevator, and he asked if I still worked at East Side’s, I said yes. Shortly after, I went home to my parent’s house for the summer, and Chris left a note with a fellow waitress asking if I wanted to meet for coffee.
She found the note in her purse four months later, and when I returned in September, she gave it to me. I was pretty sure it was that cute tall guy, so I called the number on the note, and, luckily, he was still single.
The first date
Michelle: We went to Jurassic Park at the cinemas at Market Square. We talked through the whole movie. He made me laugh — still does!
Chris: After the film, we went to a cool little bar on Front Street called C’est What and played backgammon.
The courtship
Michelle: We dated for five years before we married, and in that time I travelled the world. Six months into our courtship I got a six-month contract entertaining on a cruise ship. We wrote each other letters, and every Friday, when we docked in Miami, Chris would wait by the phone for the one-hour window that I had to call. No one had email then, or cellphones. We had voice recorders that we’d record messages to each other on and then send those in the mail.
The proposal
Chris: First I drove to Brantford to ask Michelle’s parents for their blessing. After bringing my parents into the loop, we invited all the Noldens and my whole family to my parents’ cottage. I planned something so big that it could only go wrong.
The plan was to take Michelle on a midnight paddle boat ride and propose. After she said yes, I was going to flash the shore with a flashlight, and our family members would set off fireworks and blast “Ode to Joy” across the lake. What could go wrong?
It was pitch black on the lake, and while paddling the canoe, a Jet Ski without its lights on was coming directly at us. I had to discreetly flash the Jet Ski with my flashlight and my mother yelled, “That’s the signal. Go!”
Fireworks took to the sky and Michelle said, “They have fireworks, and they’re not waiting for us!” I then proposed as dozens of people ran to the floating dock to shoot off champagne and greet us, only to have the dock submerge. It was truly an epic night.
The wedding
Michelle: We were married in Brantford at the Hungarian Hall because it was the only place that could hold all of our combined family. We knew we wanted good food, an open bar and lots of people, so in order to afford that, we made concessions on other parts. I wore my mother-in-law’s wedding dress. My veil was huge, but it was perfect, and if I had to do it all again at that time, I’d do it exactly the same way. We went to Barbados on our honeymoon. It was fantastic.
The kids
Chris: Three boys who are our entire world, Alex, 13, Joseph, 10, and Michael, eight.
Shared interests
Michelle: We started a film festival together called Lakeshorts International Film Festival. This year it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. It’s a passion project for us both. And also our cottage and hobby farm, which we purchased two years ago. We’re pretty handy.
Catch Michelle Nolden in The Wedding Planners on Fridays at 8 p.m. on Citytv starting March 27.
Barthelemy in an exhibition game for the Colorado Buffaloes
Keeshawn Barthelemy, NCAA basketball player for the Colorado Buffaloes, was six years old when he began playing basketball, and coaches and parents knew he was special before he reached high school at Thornlea Secondary.
But when Barthelemy was nine years old, he considered quitting.
“Because I wasn’t the best, I didn’t feel like I was good enough at the time,” he says.
He says his parents kept him in the game. They knew he had too much talent to give up. Since then, Barthelemy says he hasn’t let the mentally debilitating side of the sport get to him.
That has even been the case this year, during his first year on the Colorado Buffaloes at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he has practiced with the team all year but hasn’t appeared in a regular season game.
“I was mentally challenged to just keep working at it and knowing that my time will come.”
Barthelemy was recruited by the Buffaloes while in high school at Thornlea Secondary. He says it was while he was in Grade 10 that he realized basketball was something he could get serious about because he was getting international recognition.
“[The Colorado Buffaloes] were the ones that were pursuing me the most in the recruiting process, and they seemed like they prepared guards pretty well to be professional athletes,” Barthelemy says, whose position is guard.
But even before the possibility of a career in the U.S., Barthelemy had already made a name for himself in Canada. He was named to the 2019 Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) Second Team All-Stars and participated in the 2019 BioSteel All-Canadian Basketball Game, which represented the top 24 players in the country. And in what Barthelemy says has been his proudest career moment so far, he made the national team in 2018, playing in the 2018 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Argentina.
When Barthelemy thinks about his basketball role models growing up, he immediately mentions the late Kobe Bryant.
“My first ever basketball jersey that I owned was his. He’s just been a role model for me when I was a younger basketball player just playing for fun,” he says.
This has been a strange first year for Barthelemy, due to COVID-19. His team was in line for a March Madness tournament bid, but the tournament was cancelled due to the virus.
“It’s been very hard for our team because we were kind of on a losing streak, and the tournament was one big goal ahead of us.”
Barthelemy is back in Canada as the university has moved to remote learning for the remainder of the semester due to the pandemic. While here, he plans to stay focused and work on his conditioning and getting stronger.
June is usually an incredible month in Toronto when it comes to cultural events. There is Luminato and the Toronto Jazz Festival to Pride Toronto, North by Northeast and many more. These festivals bring millions of visitors to the city and come with a huge economic impact.
These festivals offer great opportunities for artists, create a slew of jobs and represent one of the many fantastic reasons people adore living in Toronto. Now, COVID-19 could put an end to all of it, and that is going to cause a lot of pain, both economically as well as in the soul of the city.
Today, the Luminato Festival, which was to run June 11-28, announced it is cancelling the entire festival this year. It’s a particularly meaningful move given Luminato was created to help the city come back from the SARS epidemic.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the health and well-being of our artists, staff and volunteers, and audiences above everything else in minds, it is with great sadness we announce the cancellation of Luminato Festival Toronto 2020.
“We have followed guidance from the City, Provincial and Federal governments very closely, and have been in contact with our colleagues in other cultural organizations, as well as with the artists and venue partners in our 2020 Festival. We have tried to make our best estimate of the practicality of going ahead with our 14th festival this June, but after all of that it is clear that Luminato 2020 is sadly not to be.”
A much larger economic hit may be coming if other June festivals such as Pride Toronto and the Toronto Jazz Festival shut down for the year.
In 2019, Pride saw 1.7 million visitors that created $374 million of economic activity. It is huge for the city for many reasons. Pride Month is set to begin June 1 but the actual Festival Weekend including the parade attended by more than a million people isn’t until the end of the month June 26-28.
Pride Toronto has not yet cancelled the festival, and are in a holding pattern as of the last update, waiting to get word on how best to proceed from public health authorities.
Pride Toronto COVID-19 Community Update; We will follow guidance from public health authorities on if and how to hold the Festival. Our primary concern is the safety of our community members, staff, volunteers, & the public. For a complete update, visit https://t.co/zEJd3jCe2vpic.twitter.com/5DeY00pyzM
The Toronto Jazz Festival, which has not announced any cancellations yet, also has some incredible concerts on tap this year including headliners such as Smokey Robinson, Herbie Hancock, and Femi Kuti. The festival is slated to run June 18-28 in venues across the city with a large number of events taking place on outdoor and indoor stages in Yorkville.
An 80th birthday celebration! ???
The iconic @herbiehancock celebrates his 80th birthday this year with a special September performance at @MeridianHallTO!
Farmers’ markets are closed indefinitely in Toronto but that doesn’t mean you have to forgo your locally sourced produce. Farmers across Ontario are working on new initiatives to bring you a farm to table experience, and that includes delivering fresh produce, dairy, and meat right to your front door.
Kendal Hills Farm has launched The Virtual Farmer’s Market, which uses their farm as a base for farmers, roasters, bakers, and other local food producers in Ontario to collect and package orders for delivery to home across the GTA.
Products are added daily and include vegetables, homemade soups, broths, prepared meals, poultry, pork, maple syrup, honey and preserves, dairy and eggs, homemade bread, baked goods and more. You can even get homemade soaps and fresh flowers. All products are listed with photos and the description of the farm sourcing the products.
They deliver the products in a cooler and leave it outside your door (you do have to prepay for the cooler). This ensures there is zero contact and your produce stays fresh.
Another option is Fresh City Farms, which works with more than 75 farmers across Ontario and runs a commercial city farm. They have everything from meal kits to prepared food, meat, produce, deli and cheese, as well as pantry items that are delivered right to your door.
