We sadly convey the news of the loss of Gabriella Carmena Micallef, known to our community as the friendly and approachable owner of More than Pasta, at 121 Ossington Avenue.
Gabriella passed away on Tuesday, December 13. She was diagnosed with advanced, non-small cell lung cancer in 2006, but continued to run marathons and set up businesses while fighting the disease.
Since opening More than Pasta last March, Gabriella embraced our community, throwing open houses and donating to local schools and charities. She quickly became a respected presence, and we will notice her loss.
A memorial service will be held at St. Alphonsus Church, 540 St Claire Avenue West, on Saturday, December 17th at 11:30am.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you generously support Lung Cancer Canada
1896-A, Avenue Road, Toronto ON, Canada M5M 3Z8
This Thursday, Opera Bob‘s, our local sports bar, is hosting a unique charity event. Gregg Zaun, former Blue Jay pitcher and Rogers SportsNet analyst, is putting on a charity casino night in support of the Sick Kids Hospital and Horizons for Youth. Opera Bob’s got quite a reputation this summer for their Jays Days events, where for a bunch of out-of-town games this season, they recreated the spirit of the game right in the bar, right down to the seventh inning stretch and servers walking around selling canned beer and hot-dogs.
Thursday night’s event is for a good cause, and also includes the opportunity to:
Play Blackjack, Roulette, Crown and Anchor with professional casino dealers,
Celebrity bar tending, including 2010 Miss Universe, Elena Semikina
Opera Bob’s is no stranger to charity events. They regularly provide a venue for many local charities to raise funds for all sorts of great causes. Head over on Thursday to Opera Bob’s and enjoy the tail end of the baseball season while helping others!
According to the notice posted on Bohmer’s door, filming will begin on Monday, August 8 at 7am at Bohmer Restaurant, followed by filming at Venezia Bakery on Tuesday, and explosives at Bohmer on Wednesday. The production notice mentions street closings on Wednesday, but the sign the city posted says the street will be closed on Monday. Be prepared for both.
Next Sunday afternoon, Michael Louis Johnson, the man behind the Ossington Blackout Party, and the regular Saturday afternoon Gypsy Jazz Matinee, is hosting an Ossington Village Alleyway Party. In the laneway between Argyle and Foxley, just west of Ossington, between 3pm and 9pM, there will be a party with music, street games, painting of garage doors, and much more. There will be the music of Rambunctious, Maria Bonita and the Band, The Lemon Bucket Orkestra and more.
Neighbours and locals are invited to bring out their barbeques, some food and drink, street hockey sticks, and anything else to make the party fun.
Don’t say the people in the Ossington area don’t have a good time and make the best of a bad thing. And who said Thursday and Friday nights are just full of douchy 905ers? We know how to have fun.
The corner of Ossington and Dundas has been closed for a few days while they repave the entire intersection. So the section of Ossington north of Rolyat to Dundas has been barren at night. So what are local businesses and regulars to do? A soccer match, of course.
For the last couple nights impromptu soccer matches have broken out in the street near the intersection with the staff from some of the local bars, including the Painted Lady, involved. While we’ve missed both matches, tweeters @tattsjane, @beatricebastado, and @HiMySyed sent some understandably dark pictures out via Twitter. @HiMySyed even live-tweeted the first game at 10:30 at night on Thursday. Thanks folks!
Robert Pattinson is in Toronto and fans are excited! Not only is he in Toronto, he’s filming his newest movie, Cosmopolis, right around the corner at the Lakeview on Dundas and Ossington, which has been turned into a NYC style “Luncheonette”
Cosmopolis is the upcoming feature film from Canadian director David Cronenberg, and from a book by Don Delillo. Other stars (who you may see on location) are Juliette Binoche, Paul Giamatti and Samantha Morton. Similar to the last film shot around here, Toronto stands in for a big American city. Based on the photos, Toronto is filling in for the Big Apple.
Let us know if you spot any celebs in the neighbourhood.
For artists curious about space at the former Shaw St school now Artscape Shaw Street Centre, there are a series of open houses coming up in June. You can explore this building at 180 Shaw Street and learn about purchasing space.
Renovations of the historic Shaw Street School begin this Spring, and the goal is to turn it into a dynamic facility designed to bring creative people, ideas and the community together under one roof. Once complete, Artscape Shaw Street Centre will offer a theatre training facility, a centre for dance and performance, papermaking skills programs, community-based multi-media workshops, arts training for youth, music education for amateurs and professionals, family resources to support the local community, openings, performances, exhibitions and events. The expected completion is Spring 2012.
Open House Series
June 1, June 14 & June 20
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Shaw Street School, 180 Shaw Street
Just north of Queen St. W
4:00 – 5:30 pm for building tours and to speak to a sales representative one-on-one. All attendees must RSVP online:
This new arts centre seems like a great opportunity for artists and those who support the arts, and should be a vibrant addition to our neighbourhood. Other Artscape projects include the popular Wychwood Barns at St Clair and Christie, which holds numerous events for the surrounding community.
If you do go to an open house, please let us know your thoughts!
Last night we attended a special event at the Ontario Bread Factory, in the laneway behind Ossington between Rolyat and Foxley. The party was thrown by RAW, the Toronto design firm behind Ossington’s Motif Lofts and an array of other building projects around the city and beyond. And what a party it was!
Along with sampling some amazing appetizers from chef and Globe and Mail columnist Michael Tong of Sublime Catering, we also met the owner of the factory, who is closing down to focus on environmental initiatives and work with Canada’s Green Party. He makes Polish rye bread for bakeries in Toronto and as far away as Kitchener. RAW has drafted plans to turn this old factory space into townhomes, but, because it is in an alley, they are facing resistance from the City.
We got to tour the facilities and enjoy the fabulous food and drink, including free beer from Steamwhistle, harder-to-get scotch from Glenfiddich and ice cream from a conveniently parked ice cream truck. We also watched some of the factory workers still making the bread.
For the time being, you can still go there late night/early morning (depending on your outlook) and buy a loaf of bread. None of the involved parties knows quite when the factory will close, and when the building will be converted. We’ll let you know when we do!
About 16 months ago we heard that there was discussion about stoplights going in at Argyle St, breaking up Ossington between Dundas and Queen Street. Over the last few weeks the construction has finally taken place and the new lights are up, but still not operational.
According to municipal documents, Joe Pantalone requested an investigation into the intersection in 2009 and said investigation took place (which is probably quite out-of-date considering the pace of change on the street) in that same year. There was a public meeting about the stoplight, which for some reason was held in East York, so it was unlikely to attract the attendance of neighbourhood residents, the very people most impacted by this decision.
According to the municipal documents, the lights cost the city $130,000. One assumes that there was some safety concerns about the intersection that led to the initial discussion, which is hard for city Councillors to turn down. Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to be the case. The report pointed out that
for the three-year period ending July 31, 2009 …six collisions had occurred at the intersection of Ossington Avenue and Argyle Street. Of the six collisions, none involved a pedestrian, and one was considered potentially preventable by the installation of traffic control signals.
But the report issued by the city raises some valid concerns about the lights at the intersection including:
Possible Increased congestion and delay to traffic on Ossington Avenue is possible;
Increased traffic volume on Argyle Street;
Parking must be prohibited at all times within 30.5 metres of the intersection resulting in a loss of about six parking spaces on Ossington Avenue and three parking spaces on Argyle Street;
Increased wait times for pedestrians crossing Ossington Avenue.
This all seems, to us, like a lot of negatives for not a whole lot of positives. There was a crossing guard at the intersection during school hours, who seems to have been removed, or at least have shorter hours these days. Only one accident (out of only 6) could have been prevented by this light which will cause more pedestrian wait times and more traffic. All this to address a 3 year old request from a now obsolete politician.
Dani Elwell, of Jaiden’s Petals, likes the new stoplight. Her daughter is often crossing Argyle and Ossington and she has always been nervous about cars that don’t pay attention to the cross-walk. The new light, she says, will help to create a bit of humanity at the intersection.
According to current councillor Mike Layton, the lights will remain green for those on Ossington until requested or actuated by a car or pedestrian request on Argyle.
What do you think about the new lights? Good? Bad?
This weekend, May 7-8, you’ll be seeing a lot of groups of people walking around Toronto as part of Jane’s Walks 2011. We participated in a few of the walks in our area last year, and despite bouts of rain, we enjoyed ourselves, learned a lot and met some interesting neighbours.
This year there are over 170 free walking tours planned for the GTA, and we are exploring those within walking distance of us. The titles alone demonstrate the diversity of the topics and should spark your interest!
Sunday May 8, 11AM-12:30PM: Trinity Bellwoods Park is featured in a walk titled, “How to Make a Great City Park.” Dave Harvey, the Executive Director of Park People, will talk about design and all the other ingredients that make a great park such an important part of city life.
Sunday May 8, 2-3PM: From the south end of the park, join “The Hipster’s Guide to Ossington,” through that street’s cafes, art galleries and vintage stores to “study the hipster in its natural habitat.”
Also on Sunday, from 4-5:30PM, learn more about “Dundas West: Behind the Scene” with a tour of the street that begins at Dovercourt and Dundas.
What you can expect in Toronto this weekend is a lot of variety and a lot of groups of people walking around. When you join them, wear some comfortable shoes and prepare for any kind of weather. It’s May in Toronto after all!
For the time being, you can still go there late night/early morning (depending on your outlook) and buy a loaf of bread. None of the involved parties knows quite when the factory will close, and when the building will be converted. We’ll let you know when we do!
This weekend, May 7-8, you’ll be seeing a lot of groups of people walking around Toronto as part of Jane’s Walks 2011. We participated in a few of the walks in our area last year, and despite bouts of rain, we enjoyed ourselves, learned a lot and met some interesting neighbours.