The Toronto Zombie Walk kicks Halloween off early when it returns to Trinity Bellwoods Park on Saturday, October 22. The 2011 9th Annual Zombie Walk is open to everybody who wants to dress up and participate, and if you have been there or read about it, you know people dress up! The walk begins at 3pm, but go early to see the crowd and enjoy the Zombie Wedding!

Reposado is planning a Halloween bash on Saturday, October 29 with prizes for best costume, live music and Duggan’s Beer.

Last year’s show must have been a success, because Lower Ossington Theatre is encoring the Rocky Horror Picture Show this October. The show runs Thursday, October 20 – Monday, October 31, with a sing-along edition on the 27th. Tickets here.

The Garrison is holding a Halloween House of Horrors on Saturday, October 29, with a $5 cover with costume, or $8 without. DJs Shit la Merde, Scott Cudmore and Jilly Botting will be entertaining party-goers starting at 9:30PM.

Also in the Halloween spirit, Crafted is running a “Best Costume Idea” contest and offering a pound of coffee free to the winner. Check into the shop for more information and/or to enter.

Additional parties announced: Levack Block is hosting a Halloween party weekend with DJs and costumes Friday and Saturday nights starting at 9PM. On Friday night, head over to Watusi for a Halloween Dance Party with DJs and a prize at midnight for the best costume. Opera Bob’s is having a party on Saturday night after 9:30PM and giving out some good prizes for costumes: $60 Opera Bob’s gift certificate for best group costume, $30 for best individual costume.

Please check our calendar for these and other upcoming events.

The sneak preview happened today at Reposado where they showcased some of the talent – from musicians to cigar rollers. They also allowed us to taste some authentic Cuban food and drink, including a new rum they are launching this year during the festival,  Havana Club Selección de Maestros.

Some of the highlights of this year’s event include a Rumba party at The Ossington on Friday August 19th with IYÁ IRÉ Dance Company, and the Latinada Band from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Also on Friday, local Latin artists Son Aché will be performing upbeat Latin dance music at Watusi.

On Saturday afternoon, you can take a master class in rum drinks and the origins of Cuban rum, the secrets of rum production and learn how to mix a few classic Cuban cocktails at a special Havana Club Master Class at LeVack Block from 2 to 3pm. Even the Lower Ossington Theatre is involved with some Cuban films including “Eso Que Anda” and “Lisanka”.

And once again the wall of Levack Block will be painted during the festival by local grafitti artist Angel Carrillo.

The festival is a great fit for Ossington, taking great advantage of the diversity of businesses and individuals in the neighbourhood. Keep an eye on our calendar for a full line-up of events as the date approaches.

The great jazz musicians – Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie among many others- honed their chops and gave audiences wild and random shows late nights in the clubs in New York, so the Painted Lady is hoping to get musician musicians down to Ossington to keep our neighbourhood in the forefront of the arts in Toronto.

We think there’s room for at least a few more venues to join in on this fun. How about Reposado, The Port on Dundas, Dakota Tavern or Bunda Lounge? Let’s get a few more venues going and be the place in the city where the real fun and creativity happens.

Thursday

Among a few other bands we saw on Thursday, a highlight was Paper Thick Walls, a 5 piece band from Chicago which played at the Painted Lady.

Friday

Early on Friday night we again stopped by and saw Haunted Hearts, from Charlottown, PEI.

Saturday
Through the magic of Twitter, we managed to catch a secret Stars show down at Edward Day Gallery near the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art at 12:30pm on Saturday. With an audience of just over 100 people, (most NXNEers still aren’t awake at this early hour) it was an intimate setting to see such a great band.

Opening for the show was Chad VanGaalan, who later played at The Great Hall.

Then Stars rocked the afternoon:

We then moved over to Reposado, who held an impromptu, rogue NXNE show with Chains of Love, Hot Kid and Modern Superstitions, generously sponsored by Steamwhistle and Rdio in the north lounge of the bar. The heat in the room was offset by free ice cream offered by the sponsors.

After some recovery we strolled over to the Dakota Tavern for great sets from Chris Velan, Bellewoods, and Portland, Oregon’s Horse Feathers.

Sunday

On Sunday we wandered over to Trinity Bellwoods Park to watch a NXNE showcase played out among the trees in the park.

NXNE is over for 2011. What were your highlights?

One of the oldest back-patios on Ossington belongs to Sweaty Betty’s which recently upgraded their furniture and decor. Here there’s always a young and interesting crowd, and sometimes you might even run into a celebrity enjoying a pint. (or, if you’re lucky: owner, Pol, without his shirt). You won’t get table service at Sweaty Betty’s so pick up your drinks before you wind your way through the back room out to the oasis outside. The back patio can get crowded, but usually people will make room on the benches or move chairs around to accommodate you. It’s a friendly crowd.

Another spot which you might not notice from the street is Reposado’s back patio. Here you’ll find a nice retreat where you can imagine you’re tucked away in Mexico City while you drink a blood orange margarita or flight of nice quality tequilas. This patio has less seating, but the servers will come to you, so once you’ve finished your drink, you don’t have to get up to replace it.

There are even more hidden patios on Ossington. Keep your eyes on the blog for more of the street’s outdoor gems.

Bunda Lounge, for one, is hosting a special night on Saturday, February 12, with DJs, bottle service and appetizers.

On the dining side, Delux Restaurant is hosting a prix fixe menu on Monday, February 14. Salt Restaurant is also offering a prix fixe menu – you can check it out online. We also called Beau Lieu Bistro, and this lovely French boite is also doing a set menu, so call now for reservations!

Paramour is also doing a special Monday opening for Valentine’s Day and will offer their regular menu and some specials, including a special cocktail menu. They are offering an early and a late seating.

Union Restaurant tweeted that they will be open for Valentine’s Day and we are waiting to see what the menu will be.

Bohmer is still working on their set menu, but rest assured, will be open. Reposado is planning some special Valentine’s “oysters, Cava and crooning,” according to their website.

If you don’t want a fancy dinner but want to throw down and have some fun with your S.O. or some friends, there are some good choices for you too! Head on over to The Painted Lady for Big Rude Jake hosting the weekly Open Mic Night. The Rattlesnake Choir will be playing at The Dakota.

And, if your Valentine’s night doesn’t turn out like you plan, check out the fun and original night planned at XPace Cultural Centre on Feb 18! Called “Heartbeats,” it’s a new, live interactive dating show. They are even looking for contestants!

I’m sure you’ve all seen the arresting Barbie display in the windows of 100 Ossington, and it’s made you curious. If so, read this article which profiles the creator of that collection.

Telegramme Prints had a nice write-up in the Globe and Mail this past weekend, with an article about the popularity of Toronto-themed poster art, which also featured Dave Murray’s poster which we recommended in December.

The Star went on a bar crawl, starting at Dundas and Ossington, and hit several of our local watering holes, including Camp Four, Churchill and The Garrison.

Finally, Via Rail’s “Destination” magazine covers Ossington as the “in street,” with mentions of our hot shops, like Ministry of the Interior, and restaurants and bars, including Foxley, Beau Lieu Bistro and Reposado to name just a few!

If you’re looking to find Dinner on Ossington on Christmas Day you’re going to be pretty much out of luck. There are a couple places to get food on Christmas day including the Pho place Tien Thanh and Lakeview Restaurant, and you’ll be able to stop by Sweaty Betty’s and Opera Bob’s for drinks.

We’ve collected the hours from many of the local restaurants, cafes and bars for the Christmas weekend so you don’t end up heading out to a closed restaurant or bar.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!

Restaurant	24th	25th	26th	Notes
Beau Lieu Bistro	Closed	Closed	Closed
Bohmer	Closed	Closed	Closed
BQM	Open until 5pm	Closed	Closed
Communist’s Daughter	Open	Closed	Open	We miss Michael J’s Christmas Carols. Bring it back!
Crafted by Te Aro	Open until 1pm	Closed	Closed
Crooked Star	Open until bartenders discresion	Closed	Closed
Delux	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed until the 4th of January
Foxley Bistro	Closed	Closed	Closed
Goed Eton	Open until 1pm	Closed	Open!
I Deal Coffee	Open until 5pm	Closed	Open!
Lakeview	Open	Open	Open	Always Open as usual!Yum!
Levack Block	Closed	Closed	Closed
Opera Bobs	Open	Open	Open	To escape your family, head to Opera Bob’s for a drink
The Ossington	Closed	Closed	Open!
Paramour	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed all the way until the 3rd of Jan
Painted Lady	Closed	Closed	Open!
Pizzeria Libretto	Closed	Closed	Open!
Pho Tien Thanh	Open	Open	Open	Get your Pho here to warm up!
Rua Vang (The Golden Turtle)	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed all the way until the 30th
Reposado	Closed	Closed	Open
Salt Wine Bar	Closed	Closed	Closed	Open on the 27th
Sweaty Bettys	Open	Open	Open	Bartender may close early on 24th and 25th.
Union Restaurant	Closed	Closed	Open for Dinner
Watusi	Closed	Closed	Closed

In addition to the Mexican beverages, our favorite tequila bar, Reposado, will be part of the action. Their house band, The Reposadists, will play two sets at the show, at 4:30 and again at 8:45PM. Plus, mixologists from Reposado will be serving up some margaritas and other creative cocktails.

Tickets are available online, and include the entertainment and 10 sample tickets. Ole!

Ossington and the vicinity already has it’s share of Cuban influences from the House of Horvath cigar store, to Julies Cuban over on Dovercourt and Foxley serving Cuban tapas, to Delux, whose Cuban cooking we’ve been enjoying since they opened. And, of course, nothing says Cuba like rum. The festival is sponsored and promoted by Havana Club, so there’ll be lots of rum cocktails served with that brand.

This festival brings music, dance and art from Cuba to the Ossington strip. And the list of events is extensive. (Don’t forget to check the Ossington Village Events Calendar for full listings)

They’ve even come up with a special cocktail for the event called the Cuban Correspondent, created by Brad Gubbins from the Toronto Institute of Bartending, which is a variation on a Daquiri inspired by Hemingway’s time in Toronto in his early writing career (or that’s what they tell us).

There will also be a performance by Gilles Peterson,  DJ/producer/musician.  Peterson and his band will perform tracks from his just released, remixed album, Havana Cultura: New Cuba Sound at the Great Hall at Dovercourt and Queen.

In the back of Reposado there will be a cigar lounge with rolling demonstrations and some guests will receive complimentary cigars. 

Angel Carrillo, a local graffiti artist and urban designer will be painting a large mural on the wall outside of Levack Block, and Cuban artist Ernesto Villanueva will be showcasing his artworks Friday and Saturday from 3pm until 8pm.

Elmer Ferrer, a super-talented Cuban guitarist, is playing with his band at The Painted Lady at 3 p.m on Saturday.

It’s going to be a very Cuban next couple of days on Ossington, so take the time to enjoy everything this festival has to offer, and of course, buy a few rum drinks to keep the festival coming back next year.