I met Sean a week or so ago to talk about issues in Ward 19, and why he decided to run for office in this area. If you are a sports fan you’ve probably heard his name as he was a broadcaster for Rogers Sportsnet for 15 years and host of a program called Connected.

While in that career Sean got connected to a bunch of charities including Right to Play, as well as the St. Joseph’s Health Centre, which is the benefactor of the fundraising from Queen Street Music Festival, so giving back to the community is part of Sean’s life in Toronto.

After recently leaving leaving Rogers Sportsnet, Sean told me he was looking for something new to do which would make an impact on his neighbourhood, where he’s lived since moving from Vancouver about 8 years ago. Sean lives on Queen St and has seen the great change that has happened to the area and wanted to keep that change moving in the right direction as well as impact larger issues such as improving the TTC and cleaning up parks in the city.

His background also contains a number of entrepreneurial ventures when he was younger, which seemed to be much of the basis for his platform – which is focused less on environmental and transit issues, and more on ensuring accountability in spending and reducing taxes for homeowners. His discussion on issues revolved a lot on making sure money is spent correctly in the city so that local homeowners can have their taxes reduced. His approach to most issues is very practical and business oriented, and the lack of his connection to the more political approach to issues may prove a great advantage in getting things done, but also will be a challenge.

Like the other candidates in the race, Sean is obviously well connected. The Queen West Music festival, which he organized, had a number of high profile sponsors including Rogers, TD and Molson, and it takes some influence to get them involved in a local music show. It shows a determination to make things happen and change the community, which the music festival does.

The Ward 19 race involves a lot of young candidates, and some names we know. Sean is a welcome addition and is going to provide more visibility to the issues of the neighbourhood. Let us know what you think of how the Ward’s election is shaping up.

I finally got to meet with Mike Layton, both over a coffee at I Deal and drink at Reposado. We talked about many of the issues of the neighbourhood, which, from his canvassing, he is learning quickly.

He’s a resident of the area, and obviously, through his father, he’s well connected. His clear passion is the environment, and he knows a lot about the politics of it, which is obviously a good skill and passion to have in this city. He currently works for an environmental organization doing research and communications work on issues related to renewable energy.

One of the great characteristics I thought he brought to the table was the ability to listen. He is very personable and friendly, and will lend an ear to all the local residents. People talk about the characteristic of “a politician you’d want to have a drink with” – and Mike fits right in that category.

His endorsement by Joe Pantalone, who we’re not a fan of on this blog, may help him, and may hinder him. In our conversations he was careful not to criticize his potential predecessor but stressed the importance of good communication within the community, something that didn’t happen with the restaurant moratorium.

We are happy that there will be a new and eager councilor for our ward, whoever is chosen. We encourage you to stay informed about who is running, we have been interviewing the candidates, and plan to do more in the next few weeks.

If you’re a regular to the neighbourhood or live nearby and want to keep up to date, keep checking in on this page to find out what’s going on.

If you run a bar, restaurant, theatre or gallery in the neighbourhood and you want to add upcoming events, please let us know and we’ll hook you up.

This morning “Crafted” opened in the location where Get Real used to be at 135 Ossington.  It is the newest location for the entrepreneurs behind Te Aro Roasted in Leslieville.

We stopped by this afternoon and tried a few of their blends – an iced tea which had a delicious peachy flavour and a cold filtered iced coffee. The people behind Crafted enjoy experimenting with different ways of brewing coffee and have a very funky machine which looks a bit like something I might have played with in a university chemistry class for making the cold filtered coffee. (I’m hoping there won’t be too much caffeine in it or else I’m going to be up all night)

Although they are still shopping for some furniture the interior is already comfortable with warm unfinished wood paneling and a nice table where people can congregate and work – and they even have free WiFi. There’s also a back patio area with a herb garden as a place to enjoy a coffee outdoors.

If you want to buy some of their specialty roasted coffee to take home, you can pack it up and take it with you.

They promised to be teaching some classes and having specialty coffee tastings and they’d tell us about. So keep an eye on the blog for upcoming events at Crafted.

In the meantime, stop by and welcome our newest business to the neighbourhood.

If you don’t know the deal about NXNE already, you can buy a wristband to get into all the music and film events, or pay at the door if you’re only going to a couple of shows.  If you are going to want to check out the music on more than one night, the wristband is worth it, since you are free to walk in and out of as many NXNE shows as you can, and as capacity allows. There are more bands from Canada than anywhere else, but you’ll see artists from Europe, Asia, the U.S. and elsewhere.

Considering our neighborhood has several venues to hear music all year round, we knew we wouldn’t need to travel far for this festival. The Painted Lady, Dakota Tavern, and The Garrison will all be hosting multiple nights of live NXNE music.  You can also check out shows at The Social and The Great Hall, and many places on West Queen West.

NXNE starts Wednesday night at some venues, but Thursday is when the festival really kicks into gear, with shows in every venue.

In the meantime a number of other Ossington businesses have joined the twittersphere and the community, Ossington Village blog included.

The community has grown.

Back in the early days, it was PizzaLibretto who was on Twitter. And they still tempt us with their daily specials, as well as their community interactions.

Delux lets us know the changes in their menu and new offerings:

Lab Consignment, out of Silver Falls Vintage, lets us know the celebs that are haunting their locale.

The ever-delightful Cindiloowho helps promote other businesses in the area, in this case @chefRoccoTO, of Pizza Libretto is opening Enoteca Sociale next week.

Our favourite tequila joint on Ossington helps out their neighbour at 134 by tweeting their next exhibits.

We do have to give some honorable mentions to neighbourhood locals and entertaining tweeters @whetmyappitite and @modernmod who keep us entertained and informed.

And let us know if there are other twitterers on Ossington, and of course, keep an eye on @OssingtonVil to keep up to date with us.

There were a whole series of Toronto walks, which continue tomorrow (Sunday). Ours was called Dundas and Ossington, the past and the future, and started at St. Christopher House, right on said corner. We walked west to Dovercourt, down to Queen and across to Trinity Bellwoods. The tour was led by someone from St. Christopher’s House with commentary from a couple of local Portuguese residents who talked to the group about the local churches and community centres.

We did learn a few great stories from some of the people who came along on the walk with us, including Ron Fletcher, who has written a few books on Toronto, including The Humber: Tales of a Canadian Heritage River, and is working on book on Queen West.

One of the pieces of trivia he offered up was that the wall that surrounds the CAMH was actually erected by patients of the facility, which has been a mental health facility since the 1800s (back then they had other terms for such institutions), in 1850. Tomorrow, there is another learning walk around the wall, given by Geoffery Rheaume. (Check out this little film his students put together)

Another little piece of trivia he offered up was that there was a toll booth at the bottom of Ossington, right near Queen. It was, at one point, the entrance to Toronto if you were coming along Dundas. You’d have to head down Ossington. Some of the locals who were coming into the city often used to duck around the toll booth and go down a little lane to the side. The lane ended up being named Rebecca St., after the Rebecca Riots in which Welshmen dressed up in their wives and daughters clothing and stormed tollbooths in the 17th century.

All in all it was an interesting tour!

Update: Walking by today we noticed a sign that says it will open this upcoming Tuesday. There are also hours posted in the window. It’s for early risers with weekday openings at 7am. They will also be serving Ideal Coffee, according to a sticker in the window.

It looks like the empty space which once housed Le Bar au Soupe will not be empty much longer. In fact, there is a big “Opening Soon” sign for the new cafe, called Crepes and More. It looks redesigned inside, with a coffee bar and tables and chairs and could be a unique addition to our neighborhood that would fill a void for convenient, “fast” food.

Our profile today is of art gallery MKG127. Located on the east side of Ossington at Argyle Street, MKG127 is a contemporary art gallery which showcases artists from Canada and around the world.

And now, 8 questions with Michael Klein of MKG127.

What’s your business?

art gallery

How is your business unique?

I’ve had people come in and ask “what is this place ?”
I often show work that challenges people’s idea about what “art” should look like.

How long have you been in business here?

Opened June 2007

What drew you to be here on Ossington?

I thought the strip between Queen & Dundas felt like a unique, self contained little village. There were a few galleries that had located there too.

What changes have you seen on Ossington since your business has been here?

Many more places to eat & drink.

How do you see your business and Ossington five years from now?

Probably the opposite of what I would predict.

What is your favorite spot on Ossington, other than your own? and why?

I have a lot of favourites but here’s a couple I’ve been frequenting recently.
Superior Dry Cleaners, they do a great job , quick and  very reasonable, recently even did a little repair job for me for free. I had the same hair stylist for about 20 years and when he retired last year I didn’t have to look very far for his
replacement, I tried Viva Hair, got a great cut, nice price & incredibly convenient.

MKG127 is located at 127 Ossington Street.

The Painted Lady is hosting a SuperBowl party with large screen TVs and a special menu including varieties of hot dogs. They are even conducting a football pool so you can really have something to root for.

Reposado celebrates “Superbowl Stupor” at 5PM with free munchies and $5 tall boys.

The Dakota Tavern continues with their usual live music lineup starting with Lickin Good Fried at 7 and house band the Beauties at 10p.

Communist’s Daughter hosts their regular Sunday afternoon jazz starting 4:30ish.

The Garrison’s Wavelength series continues tonight with bands playing from 9p- late.

You can check out some art at AWOL open til 5 with a new exhibition this weekend.

There are likely more events happening, but this is a start. Have a great Superbowl Sunday!