Hockey returns to Goulding Park

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1:27 pm

The tradition of outdoor hockey on a natural rink returns to Goulding Park this winter, and along with it a story that would make Don Cherry smile.

Hockey in Goulding Park started with an outdoor rink (the arena that encloses it wasn’t built until 1962), and the area has been a hotbed of community hockey ever since. Leagues for players of all abilities are operated by the astonishingly dedicated Brant Snow and a team of community volunteers.

But there hasn’t been a natural rink in the park for many years. Enter Mathew Cribari, a young man who approached me, along with his brothers and friends, wanting to give back to their community by creating two outdoor rinks – one for hockey and one for pleasure skating.

All the while, city parks staff had decided that new rinks could no longer have hockey boards! Too expensive, they claimed. Talk about the Grinch who stole hockey!

Just as the issue was about to turn into a fierce debate at council, staff relented. The boards are now set to go up and, nature willing, there will be pucks bouncing off the boards in no time.

Cribari knows that the rink will bring together people of all ages.

Brant Snow, who remembers playing at the outdoor Cameron rink as a boy, will be helping out and, no doubt, lacing up his skates. Likewise a local councillor who hasn’t played hockey for 25 years won’t be able to resist that unique sound of blades against natural ice and the sight of happy faces enjoying winter in Canada the way it was meant to be — with hockey boards.

Enhancing parks in Ward 21

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1:26 pm

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My office has collaborated closely with city staff and residents to redesign many of the park playgrounds in our ward. In 2009 and 2010, we redesigned and constructed three new playgrounds, including Glen Cedar Park, Laughlin Park and Ben Nobleman Park, in Ward 21. Recently, I joined community members to officially open the new Suydam Playground, which was expanded to add more equipment, and a new coloured rubber surface was installed.

Many of you attended my skating party and ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the new and much-anticipated Cedarvale Outdoor Artificial Ice Rink on Dec. 2.

This year, a long and thoughtful visioning process in Cedarvale Park culminated in late fall with a Cedarvale Park and Ravine survey to identify the capital improvement projects, if any, that have community support. Hundreds of residents responded and provided feedback, offering support for pathway lighting; changing, washroom and warming facilities for the new rink; and a water play feature. These projects will be constructed in the next two years. I'll be consulting with the community as we move forward. Stay tuned to my e-newsletter for updates.

We have a number of exciting projects on the way in the new year, including playground redesigns for Wells Hill and Frankel Lambert Parks and Arlington Parkette as well as the construction of the Barns Shade structure!

Please join my e-mail list at joemihevc.com and stay up to date on the latest projects and get engaged in your neighbourhood.

Tony Aspler’s Weekly Wine Pick: a vibrant, lively white from Burgundy

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Of all white wines, Chablis is perhaps the most versatile when it comes to matching with food because of its vibrant acidity. Straw coloured with a nose of white flowers and green apples, this one is fresh and lively on the palate; medium-bodied, with a lemony, minerally, green apple flavour and good mid-palate fruit.

Food match: smoked salmon, Camembert

Domaine Laroche Chablis St. Martin 2011, Burgundy, $21.95. LCBO #289124

Post City Magazines’ wine columnist, Tony Aspler, has written 14 books on wine and food. Tony also created the Ontario Wine Awards. He can be heard on 680News.

New entries to the Kates 100

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9:44 am

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Renowned food critic Joanne Kates has made some changes to her top 100 restaurants list in light of recent closures, menu changes and chef switch-ups. This isn’t a new top 100, just an update to keep the list current. Two new entries have been added: Edulis and Hoof Raw Bar, and the listings for Acadia, Splendido, Morton’s and Yours Truly have been updated. Stay tuned for Kates’ 2013 list, which will be revealed in May.

Weekend Warrior: Next Stage Festival, Canada’s Bridal Show, The Motorcycle Super Show, Aria Entertainment Complex, Brewer’s Backyard

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2:22 pm

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Rocket of Love

If you’re looking for something more subdued over the weekend, we recommend the comedic stylings of With Love and a Major Organ, part of the Next Stage Festival at Factory Theatre. Actors Julia Lederer, Robin Archer and Martha Ross take you through some of the crazy things people do to find love, satirizing situations such as speed dating and star-crossed TTC moments — because only native Torontonians would understand falling for someone on the Rocket.

Here comes the bride

Though we’re still a few months away from the beginning of the bridal season, winter is when all the of pre-planning happens. Not that you’re going to get everything organized this weekend when Canada’s Bridal Show comes to town, but it is the perfect place for couples to get ideas, meet vendors and generally move closer to the first day of the rest of their lives.

Get hog wild

The North American International Motorcycle Super Show hits this weekend, sporting an array of custom choppers, speedy dirt bikes and, if we’re being honest, pretty ladies. It’s a plus if you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, but casual observers may also be surprised by this year’s top 50 vintage bikes that harken back to those Rebel Without A Cause days, or intrigued by the owners entering the Canada Cup Championships, never letting Old Man Winter dampen their enthusiasm.

Go, DJ, go

The entertainment district has seen its fair share of clubs that have come and gone over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean clubbing on Richmond Street is dead and buried. Aria, a new four-floored, multi-tiered club, is having its grand opening this Saturday, and aside from having your usual full-service bars and promises of unique custom visuals, the complex has paid homage to the real superstar of the night, the DJ, elevating him or her on a centre platform.

A cold one in the cold

This year’s first Brewer’s Backyard brings together six breweries (Nickel Brook, Grand River, Great Lakes, Amsterdam, Indie Alehouse and Cheshire Valley) for an exclusive tasting of some strong, winter-friendly beers at the Evergreen Brick Works. Patrons can enjoy some Hawaiian street food provided by Big E’s Grinds alongside their choice of draught. And consider yourself warned: you’ll need the warm fuzzies that each sip provides, because this event is outdoors.

The entertainment district is about to get even cheesier

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Melt Grilled Cheese is set to make its downtown debut near John and Richmond next month. The franchise — which bills itself as “grilled cheese with a twist” — has two other locations, one in Etobicoke and another in Oakville. Melt prides itself on keeping its meals under $10, which means club-goers can load up on cheese without lightening up their wallets. The new spot is slated for a mid-February opening.

Melt Grilled Cheese, 300 Richmond St.

Avenue of dreams

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11:43 am

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“Uptight” and “condescending” were just two descriptors used to critique North Toronto’s Arta Ghanbari during season one of reality web series The Avenue. The show, which follows four twentysomethings in Toronto, first aired in 2011 with Ghanbari playing the role of fashion editor and villain extraordinaire.

“At first, I did mind being portrayed as an antagonist,” says the 21-year-old, who was recruited for the series when she was just 17. “But after a while, I realized, if viewers are getting a kick out of it, to just let them have it.”

But when it came to signing on for a second season, Ghanbari found herself busy balancing her final year at Ryerson with her job as assistant editor at Lifestyler magazine. She knew things would have to change for it to be worth her time.

“I said, ‘Listen, I would really like to be myself this season.”

The show’s producers agreed to highlight her career as a journalist covering events for teen magazine Vervegirl. Ghanbari is excited to have her career be the focus.

“Before, I was convinced that I would end up in fashion journalism,” she says, a direction fans witnessed during season one as she co-created fashion publication Défilé magazine. “But now, I definitely want to do more news stories, special interest features and long-form journalism.”

Her shift from fashion may surprise some viewers, but Ghanbari has few fears about public scrutiny.

“I was always different at North Toronto Collegiate, and I didn’t mind,” she says. “I don’t ever want to give in to the pressure of the majority.”

It was during her time at North Toronto, that Ghanbari was encouraged to pursue her journalism dreams by her Grade 12 English teacher.

“Mr. Zohar always believed in me,” she says. “I was nervous when I heard how hard it is to get into Ryerson’s journalism program, but he bet me $5 that I’d get in. On the day I got my letter from Ryerson, I waited until I stood in front of him to open it. I got accepted, and it was the happiest $5 I’ve ever spent.”

So what can fans of The Avenue expect to see this season?

“I’ll be covering events and doing a cover shoot, but I can’t say much more without spoiling it,” she says. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Hole in one

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At just 20 years old, North York’s Albin Choi is quickly becoming one of Canada’s star golfers — an accomplishment that he’s been working toward when he’s not busy cramming for his university courses.

The amateur golfer is in his third year at North Carolina State University, where he’s built a successful career that initially took root during his high school years at Northview Heights Secondary School.

“Golfing really has been a calling for me and I’ve been in love with it ever since,” says Choi, who took up the sport when he was a toddler in Surrey, British Columbia. “

I didn’t take the game seriously until I was about 13, just because as a kid, I played other sports and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do growing up.”

By Grade 11, the talented athlete joined his high school’s golf team where he trained with fellow Canadian amateur star, Rebecca Bentham-Lee, and his personal coach Tony Lee.

“I had a great program at Northview,” says Choi. “It really helped athletes get out of school early so that they would have time to train.”

Choi regularly switched from the classroom to hitting his stride on the golf course. The hard work paid off — just a few months after his high school graduation, Choi won Canada’s Amateur Championship in 2010.

Now, Choi spends most of the year enjoying the sunny, warm weather in North Carolina where he perfects his swing and majors in sports management. But he still calls Toronto home.

“I live in Raleigh right now, which is a pretty big city but nothing like Toronto,” says Choi, whose family still resides in North York. “I grew up in Surrey, B.C., and I grew up in Toronto. I was always the big city person.”

With the long hours at practice, tournaments and completing coursework, Choi spends the little time he has off the greens by relaxing at home. But he’ll have to wait a little bit longer for a real vaction since 2013 is gearing up to be the biggest year of his career.

“For 2013, I just want to have another good season,” says Choi, who represents Canada in the Copa de las Americas golf tournament this month.

“It will be my last season here with N.C. State. I will be turning professional in the summer, so I just want to go out with a bang.”

Designing woman

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11:43 am

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Going to university full time and running a business is no easy feat, but jewellery designer Desiree Girlato does both with style.

Back in high school, Girlato was “really into school.” She was on the swim, field hockey and soccer teams, all while taking a keen interest in her studies. It was during her time at Thornhill Secondary School that her budding design career bloomed, when Girlato took a fashion design course: “It was really great, because I found this passion for style.”

So, she applied to Ryerson’s fashion design program. However, while making her portfolio pieces, she realized that she wasn’t a big fan of sewing: “I reached a level of boredom with fashion and sewing, so I needed to find another creative outlet,” she says.

Then one day, her mother tried to throw out some old jewellery — mostly broken chains and friendship bracelets, but Girlato had other plans for it: she completely repurposed the old pieces over a summer.

When a friend came over and was amazed by her work, Girlato said to her, “I guess I should make jewellery.”

She did a few trade shows and sold her creations at school fundraisers and other local events. Then she graduated high school and went to U of T for sociology. After a few years there, she realized that her heart remained with fashion. She switched to Guelph-Humber to study fashion management.

While she was in school, her jewellery business started to take off, selling so quickly that she was inspired to open her own shop.

After she scoured the city for a location, the shop was open for business on Dundas West last summer. By September, she was loaning pieces to stars, such as local actress Charlotte Sullivan, to wear at TIFF.

In a short time, Girlato has had to learn every facet of the business, from hiring, to pricing to sourcing materials. Not only does she supply and run her own store, and go to school full-time at Guelph-Humber, but she supplies a handful of other shops around Toronto with her highly coveted pieces. “It’s unbelievably hectic,” says the designer.

Every style she makes is either one of a kind or in a limited quantity and includes elements sourced from all over the world.

“More than anything, I love making jewellery,” says Girlato. “And I love the jewellery that I make. And thatʼs saying a lot.”

Back to his roots

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As a student at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, Rainbow Sun Francks never would have thought his drama teacher would one day invite him to come back as a guest speaker. That’s probably because years before starring as Dev Clark on CTV’s The Listener, the multi-talented Torontonian failed his high school drama class.

“I never took drama seriously because I had already been acting,” says Francks, who entered the entertainment industry when he was just a toddler. Still, the actor only has great memories of his high school years.

“Forest Hill was such an amazing school to go to — it was fun, which is a weird thing to say about high school,” says Francks, who transferred to the school in Grade 10. “When I left Northern Secondary to go to Forest Hill, I got reunited with all of my childhood friends. I’m still dear friends with so many of my high school buddies,” he says.

The talented group of friends formed a hip hop group, the Oddities, in their teens, in which Francks performed under a variety of pseudonyms until he eventually settled on “the Whippersnapper.”

By the end of his high school years, acting was his focus, and Francks landed his first leading role at 17 years old.

“I think my dad at some point just said I can either have a nine-to-five job or I can do this,” said Francks, who comes from a family of performers that includes his famous jazz musician father, Don Francks.
“Growing up on set, watching my father, my sister and my mother all working in the industry, it was the natural course for me.”

Following stints as a VJ for MuchMusic and then moving to Vancouver to join the cast of television series Stargate: Atlantis, Francks is now back in Toronto and lives in the same neighbourhood where he grew up, Forest Hill.

“Since I got back here, I’ve been witnessing the growth of the city, and it’s incredible. It’s like it’s on steroids but in a good way,” jokes the small screen star.

When Francks isn’t busy filming the fourth season of The Listener, he is gearing up to produce his first solo music project.

Although he’s unsure about exactly what kind of songs he will be writing, he knows that they’ll be about his hometown.

“Everything I do is Toronto themed. I can’t help but show that in my [music] and everything else.”

Building up to the new year

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Have you driven by the large lot just north of Wonderland lately? There, a sign identifies the property as the future site of the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital. Years ago, to show the province how serious the city was about building a hospital, it purchased the property. Without a doubt, that act helped secure the estimated one billion provincial dollars for this project.

Construction is expected to begin within the next few years.

Have you also noticed the construction taking place in the Jane Street and Highway 7 area? It will be the University subway line extension that will end at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station. It is expected to be completed in late 2016. Without the efforts of Vaughan City Council many years ago, the new line would have ended at York University. Our new downtown is starting to be built in the area around the subway terminus.

Have you been to the Vaughan Civic Centre yet? If not, come and take a look at one of the most environmentally sustainable public buildings in Canada. In the next couple of years, a new library and a public square will be constructed to provide a gathering place.

In this new year rather than look back, I say, look forward to the future and to the great things that are happening in our city. We have so much to look forward to.

For more information on these issues and others, subscribe to the W5 Update eNewsletter at www.vaughan.ca/enews/subscribe_alan.html.

I can be reached at 905-832-8585, ext. 8349, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Town puts art in the spotlight

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I strongly believe that the town of Richmond Hill could be a leading town in developing the arts.

We have the best location in the whole of York Region, an area which can be reached from almost anywhere. We also have a very classy theatre where artists’ backgrounds, professional or otherwise, can display their talent. Most importantly, the town has an art policy in place, which strategizes how we can move the arts to a higher level.

Recently, council established a Public Art Reserve Fund of $200,000 to be considered in the 2013 operating budget, with an additional $75,000 to be provided from future operating budgets starting in 2014. In order to make the art policy even stronger, council has also approved a 1.5 per cent contribution of the capital budget for the construction and expansion of all municipal buildings larger than 500 square metres. This amount is to be allocated to the Public Art Reserve Fund as of 2014.

On a personal note, I am proud to say that, for many years, I have been organizing galas and other fundraising events, through Arts Richmond Hill, to build a sculpture for the town.

Finally, the funds are in place, and a sculpture has just been approved by council to be erected in front of the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

This bronze sculpture is about 14 feet tall, will cost approximately $200,000 and will be unveiled on Sept. 28, 2013, for the celebration of the 140th anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Richmond Hill.

Long live the arts!