Arts

The first of three visits to Toronto by the Beatles in the 1960s lasted only a few short hours but their effect on our city lasted a lifetime and if you were hanging around the King Edward Hotel Sept. 7, ...

Duncan McDonald — Downtown resident Edward Nixon writes to understand life: “One writes, speaks, and listens from where one finds oneself.” For Nixon, poetry was a natural form of expression, one he was fascinated with when he was “old enough ...

Kimberly Spice — Indie-folk, singer and songwriter, Quincy LePalm has been writing his own music since the age of 14 after his single mother bought him his first guitar. “She bought me my first guitar when I was age 12 ...

Paulette Touby — For those of you who feel your mother somehow got you into this mess The Mousehouse Years might resonate. Velvet Haney did not speak at her mother’s funeral. This book is Velvet’s eulogy, she says. Except there ...

Frank Touby — This detective tale by a Queens Quay resident features a 10-year-old “Sherlock,” aptly named Shamrock Holmes, who, along with his stodgily snoopy British bulldog Farticus, sets out to solve crime in Toronto’s Downtown. The author of this ...

Bruce Bell – One of my favourite Christmas stories of days past is the one about George William Allan, the son of one of the wealthiest families in Ontario, who decided it was time to do something to help the children ...

Dennis Hanagan – Today, music producer, sound engineer, musician, lyric writer and composer Chris Birkett is a Bathurst Quay resident with a studio on Sherbourne St. near King St. But before he became a Downtown resident, he experienced both rags ...

Eric Morse – On Sept. 19, the completed Fort York Visitor Centre, designed by Patkau Architects of  Vancouver and Kearns Mancini Architects of Toronto, was proudly opened by the Hon. David Onley in his last official act as Lieutenant Governor ...

Six years after taking top honours on Canadian Idol, Theo Tams remains as committed as ever to making heartfelt, soul-stirring pop music. The singer-songwriter and Leslieville resident has just released a new EP, Back Pocket, his first major project since ...

One of my favorite row of buildings is the Hutchison Block, a lovely yet unadorned grouping of buildings on the north side of Wellington just east of Leader Lane across from Berczy Park. It is also one of the oldest ...