LIGHTING UP TORONTO
Event illuminates Distillery District, one of many attractions in Ontario capital
Toronto may not be top of mind as a winter getaway. Unless you’ve seen the light. Illuminating works of art are switching on visitors to the city’s historic Distillery District as part of a renewed way to attract wintertime visitors.
On until March 12, the free admission Toronto Light Festival, which organizers hope will become an annual event, takes its inspiration from other light art festivals including Burning Man in Nevada and the Amsterdam Light Festival.
The Distillery District has 21 light art installations, including a pair of giant origami tigers from Australia. They’ve been touring the world since 2010. Several of the installations are interactive.
A circle of heavenly bodies dubbed Angels of Freedom in the district’s main square beckons visitors to literally turn into an angel by posing in front of the colouredlight wings and below a white halo. It has become a popular photo spot and for a good cause. For every angel photo posted online with the hashtag #MillStLights, the Mill Street Brewery, which is located in the district, will donate $1 to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
“We wanted to create something special and something that will lift the collective spirit of the city,” said Mathew Rosenblatt, creator and executive director of the Toronto Light Festival. “We literally want to bring people out of the dark and into the light, to interact with and explore the city in a way they never have before.”
If you’re like me and always wanted to ride a galloping horse but were afraid of getting thrown, there’s a safe trick-of-the-light alternative called A Dream of Pastures. This piece of participation art has you galloping through pastures of light and shadows.
The Distillery District becomes an open-air gallery at sundown until March 12.
One can’t stay outside all the time, so some indoor respite is necessary.
The popular Royal Ontario Museum LEARN MORE
Tourism Toronto, seetorontonow.ca
Distillery District Toronto Light Fest, torontolightfest.com
Ryerson Image Centre, www.ryerson.ca/ric
Mackenzie House, toronto.ca GOOD EATS
Mill Street Brew Pub, Distillery District. Free samples of Mill Street’s craft beers await those of legal drinking age at the entrance, including many not available at the LCBO. Inside, there’s a full menu of pub fare.
Sassafraz, 100 Cumberland St. in Yorkville, within walking distance of the Royal Ontario Museum. Nine-spice roast chicken breast is a highlight.
T Bar Lounge at the Chelsea Hotel. Tucked inside the hotel’s mazelike lobby, its breakfast menu is hearty and traditional while Indian curry dishes highlight the rest of the day.
has a special exhibit showcasing 100 wildlife photographs from the 2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition until March 19.
I stayed at the family-friendly Chelsea Hotel at Gerrard and Bay streets, a good spot from which to walk to a trio of Toronto’s hidden gems, two of which offer free admission.
The Allan Gardens Conservatory on Gerrard Street East, just east of Jarvis, provides tropical respite. On the campus of Ryerson University, the Ryerson Image Centre at 33 Gould St. where the current exhibits tie in with Black History Month:
Attica, USA 1971: Images and Sounds of a Rebellion has stunning images of a bloody prison in Upstate New York led by black inmates. Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 is a series of 12 portraits by Dawoud Bey remembering the victims of the Ku Klux Klan’s bombing of a church. Both exhibits are in place until April 9.
In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, I made my first visit to the home of Upper Canada rebel William Lyon Mackenzie, who went on to become Toronto’s first mayor and the grandfather of namesake and Canada’s longest-serving prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie-King.
An often overlooked gem, Mackenzie House is located on Bond Street, south of Ryerson’s campus. Its offerings include a hands-on printing of your own free souvenir in an 1800s print shop and some of Toronto’s famous ghost stories centred on the bedroom where Mackenzie died.