Gord Perks City Councillor, Ward 4, Parkdale-High Park

Raising Our Voice: Organizing During the Global Pandemic

With new information coming out daily, it is difficult to know where to turn to make sure our views are heard on how we can rebuild a fairer, more just Toronto.

As the City prepares to release its 2021 budget in early January, every voice is critical to make sure the issues we care about are acted upon as we move forward. Housing, the environment, public transportation, and child care will all be up for debate as the City tries to find a path forward. By working together we can strengthen our voice to ensure no one is left behind.

Join me as I welcome both local and city-wide leaders and activists to discuss how we organize in these unprecedented times.

WHEN: Monday, December 7, 2020

TIME: 6:30 pm

REGISTER HERE

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Councillor Perks by email at councillor_perks@toronto.ca or by phone at 416-392-7919.

Bloor West Village Businesses are teaming up with Santa and local food banks to support “Neighbours Helping Neighbours.” Neighbours Helping Neighbours is an outreach initiative in Bloor West Village.

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, these community members have spearheaded the Neighborhood Pods’ creation. They are receiving charitable donations to fund the community’s needs during these unprecedented times, and Santa and his elves are here to help! 

On Sunday, November 29th, from 11 am to 4 pm, Santa and his Elves will be cruising the neighbourhood collecting food donations for our local food banks. Windermere United Church Food Bank, The Sharing Place Food Bank and Bloor West “Loaves and Fishes” Food Bank Operated out of St. Pius X Parish.

Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations’ is hosting Virtual Tenant School.

These are free legal workshops for tenants via Zoom taught by staff from community legal clinics and the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations

Date: Saturday, November 28 & Sunday, November 29

Time: 2:00-3:30 PM

To register and receive your Zoom invite, visit https://forms.gle/KSPhnanN3cy5RYKW7 for the online registration form or contact Joeita Gupta at joeita@torontotenants.org or 416-413-9442.

More information: www.torontotenants.org Register now!

Through its PollinateTO grants program, the City funds pollinator habitat creation projects that educate and engage the community.

All resident-led groups are encouraged to apply. More information is available on the City website.

The deadline to apply is January 8, 2021.

Roncy Reduces and Parkdale High Park for Climate Action (PHP4ClimateAction) are two community groups that are encouraging residents and businesses to phase out single-use plastics and instead Bring Your Own (BYO) bags and containers:

During the pandemic, use of single-use plastic packaging has increased dramatically. It is visible in our community, and invisibly works its way into the ground, water and our bodies. But over 100 global scientists and health experts (1) as well as the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment CAPE (2) confirm that reusable bags and containers are safe. Toronto Public Health simply requires containers to be clean and leaves the decision with businesses whether to accept reusables. (3)

As individuals and a community, we are already starting to change our “disposables” lifestyle, ahead even of the 2021 proposed federal ban of 6 plastic items. Many places accept BYO bags, cups and containers in Roncesvalles, including: Coffee shops: All That Jazz, Extra Butter, Sunny Joe’s; Restaurants: The Goods, TDot Jerk, Shadi Shawarma, Sushi Kira, Kami Sushi, The Dizzy, Sunrise Grill and Crepe, Café Polonez, Round the Horn, Cinco Mexican Restaurant; Refill/Bulk: Kim Natural Foods, Ecotique, Pollock’s; Produce stores: Maple Produce, Roncesvalles Fruit Village. While many chains and bulk stores officially have policies of non-acceptance, many have not been preventing shoppers bringing their own bags for loose items/produce, especially at, self check-out. It’s worth a try! And a discussion!

Experiments with deposit and return systems will soon be launching in our neighbourhood — look at start-ups such Inwit (containers) (4) and Muuse (coffee cups) (5). You can also check out Roncy Pickup Dinner www.roncypickup.ca for a monthly takeout dinner in deposit & return containers (supported by Roncy Reduces) — the next one is November 27.

We can help our struggling local businesses who are still taking up the challenge of reducing plastic both by our patronage and by reducing their packaging expenses when we BYO. Let’s support them now, when they really need it.

Gallery 1313 is pleased to present the Parkdale Art Window Project.

With the reduced foot traffic to many businesses due to COVID-19, Gallery 1313 is launching this project to help bring more attention to businesses in a safe way. This project will feature artwork by local and Toronto based artists in various storefront windows across Parkdale.

The artworks will be placed in businesses all along Queen West (between Roncesvalles Ave . and Dufferin St.) and will be presented as an art crawl, encouraging people to explore Queen West to see the works. The businesses featuring artwork will also have a logo featured to signify they are part of the project as well as a link to a map on our website showing all of the businesses involved. Visit gallery 1313’s website for more information.

Magical ‘Window Wonderland,’ Toronto’s First Augmented Reality Outdoor Art Exhibition, Opens This Weekend in the Junction

Window Wonderland is a new interactive and magical way to shop, walk and discover the Junction. Take a stroll along Dundas St. W. and become immersed in winter-inspired artwork from 20 local artists brought to life by Augmented Reality.

TORONTO, ON, Nov. 9, 2020 — Discover Window Wonderland, The Junction’s first annual immersive urban art-walk, presented by MEDS Junction Pharmacy. From Nov. 14, 2020 to Jan. 31, 2021, the Window Wonderland exhibition will transform the Junction neighbourhood into an outdoor gallery that is interactive, engaging, and magical. The exhibition will feature local artists and animators who will paint ten storefront windows brought to life by Augmented Reality (AR) to create an impressive public art display. This will be the first activation of its kind in the City of Toronto.
Window Wonderland is presented in partnership with Buds Collective, a Canadian non-profit organization based in Calgary that provides local artists and makers with opportunities, visibility, fair compensation and access to tools and resources, and with Augle, a Canadian-made art and lifestyle mobility platform, that allows users to see an enhanced point-of-view of the world through augmented reality.

Visitors can see the creations ‘come to life’ by downloading the Augle App and pointing their phone cameras at the large-scale artwork displayed on the windows of ten storefronts to engage with this exciting public art experience outdoors.

“We needed to think outside the box and find new ways to support the Junction community, our local artists and businesses, during the pandemic. With creative thinking and collaboration, we’ve now turned a challenging circumstance into an incredible outdoor exhibition. Window Wonderland presents an opportunity for us to see the work of our local artists in an entirely new way; large-scale and brought to life on the storefronts of Dundas Street West,” said Carol Jolly, Executive Director, The Junction BIA. “Window Wonderland is bringing our eclectic neighbourhood to life and giving families a great reason to get outside this winter. Our goal is to support local artists, shops and businesses during the colder months with a safe and magical experience that all Torontonians will enjoy.”

WINDOW WONDERLAND IS THE FIRST URBAN ART WALK TO USE AR IN THE CITY OF TORONTO
Window Wonderland visitors will become immersed in local art like never before. By downloading the Augle App and pointing their phone at the artwork displayed in each of the ten large-scale art installations, visitors will see the artwork transform and transport them to a digital world of wonder. Here’s how it works:
● Local artists paint various scenes on windows along Dundas St. W., inspired by the shops and their owners
● Each scene is animated by local animators to align with the painted windows
● “Meet at the Pacific Wall Mural” and follow the flags to discover the ten interactive painted windows along Dundas St. W. in the Junction
● Using the Augle AR app, visitors point their phones at the art to see an entertaining series of digital animations bringing the window artworks to life!
“I built my installation at Junction Pharmacy to transport the visitors of Window Wonderland into an enchanting snow globe scene, to create the feelings of whimsy and wondrousness that winter and the holidays bring,” said Jasmin Pannu, owner of Jasmin Pannu Art Studio. “The Junction is such a beautiful community, and I wanted to include design elements that inspire us to explore and connect.”

WINDOW WONDERLAND OFFERS RESIDENTS & VISITORS A NEW WAY TO GET OUTDOORS WHILE SAFE DISTANCING THIS WINTER
Window Wonderland is a safe and family-friendly outdoor public art experience that everyone can enjoy, allowing for social distancing by following Ontario’s health and safety guidelines. Window Wonderland is the best way to get outdoors this winter to support our local artists and businesses. Take a walk in Window Wonderland to experience all that the Junction offers, from coffee shops to art galleries and local small retailers.

ABOUT THE JUNCTION BIA
The Junction BIA is a community-driven non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the economic & cultural vitality of The Junction. We provide a beautiful, safe space where the local business community can flourish as part of the robust neighbourhood anchored at Dundas St. West and Keele St., east to Indian Grove, west to Quebec Ave.

The Micki Moore ‘Art Over Bridges’ Project

Toronto is home to some of the best street art and artists in the world!

In celebration of this, and Toronto’s 2021 Year of Public Art, the Micki Moore ‘Art Over Bridges’ project is a transformative new StreetARToronto (StART) initiative to engage artists to design and install three-dimensional artwork on bridges in Toronto.

At the heart of Micki’s vision is a series of vibrant Art Bridges throughout Toronto, beginning with art over the Jameson Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. Micki’s placemaking initiative promises to strengthen the connection between people and the places they share through a collaborative process to improve the look and feel of our streets and the public realm.

________________________________________

Three proposed design concepts for art on the bridge are being considered by the Advisory Committee. Please take a moment to review and respond to each design concept by answering two questions at the URL below. https://cotsurvey.chkmkt.com/StARToverBridges

In addition, Artists will present their designs to the community during an online event on November 18th from Noon-12:45pm EST. If you would like to attend this presentation please email streetart@toronto.ca and put RSVP – ART OVER BRIDGES in the subject line, and we will send you the link and instructions about how to join the event.

Your feedback will be shared with the Advisory Committee and will be one of several aspects that will help inform their selection of a concept to be implemented on the bridge. Constructive feedback will also be shared with the artists for their design development consideration, as well.

All three proposals will be evaluated by Advisory and Technical Committees in November, and a final concept selected for implementation on the Jameson Avenue Pedestrian Bridge in spring/summer 2021, in celebration of Toronto’s Year of Public Art.

Thank you for your time and participation.

________________________________________

StreetARToronto projects demonstrate the positive impacts of diversity and inclusion, foster community engagement; add colour and vitality to neighbourhoods; encourage active transportation; showcase the creativity of artists, arts organizations and the City of Toronto through continued collaboration with public, private and not for-profit partners and stakeholders. StreetARToronto is an initiative of the City of Toronto, Transportation Services Division.

Remembrance Week (November 5 to 11) is a time when Torontonians can reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and honour all Canadians who have fought and continue to fight for peace.

This year, Remembrance Day commemorations will be held virtually in keeping with public health advice against in-person gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Toronto encourages the public to observe this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations virtually at home or at work. The City will ensure appropriate respect and honour is paid by placing wreaths at the City’s cenotaphs on behalf of various organizations.

The City’s virtual commemorations will focus on the diversity of Toronto’s participation in times of war and significant milestones, as 2020 marks the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and 100 years of marking Remembrance Day with a public ceremony.

Commemorative activities planned for Remembrance Day include:

• The Toronto sign and the City Hall Towers will be lit in red on November 11.
• Virtual ceremonies will be made available via broadcast media and the City’s YouTube channel throughout the week.
• All Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) vehicles will stop for two minutes on November 11 at 11 a.m. In addition, “Lest We Forget” window cards will be placed in TTC vehicles prior to Remembrance Day.
• Commemorative posts will be available on the City’s official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts throughout Remembrance Week.
• The public can show support for veterans and commemorate Remembrance Day by using the City’s Poppies Facebook frame available at https://www.facebook.com/profilepicframes and search ”City of Toronto Poppies” to change their frame.
• The Toronto Archives’ 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War web exhibit shares the history of Canada’s participation in the Second World War through historical images from the time: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/access-city-information-or-records/city-of-toronto-archives/whats-online/web-exhibits/first-second-world-wars/75th-anniversary-of-the-end-of-the-second-world-war/
• The World Wars section of the Toronto Archives’ Black History in Toronto page provides information about Black Canadians’ participation in World Wars:  https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/access-city-information-or-records/city-of-toronto-archives/using-the-archives/research-by-topic/black-history-in-toronto/
• Artifacts from Fort York National Historic Site, Canada’s largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings and an 1813 battlefield, can be seen online through the Toronto History Museums Artifact Collection. Search “Remembrance Day” on the web page to view commemorative items, including Remembrance Day programs, proclamations and photos, and military medals and uniforms. https://toronto.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll?logon&application=COLLECTIONS&language=144&file=%5BCOT_OPAC%5Dhome.html

In addition, Torontonians can view the Mayor’s official proclamation, learn how the City remembers and access a virtual Golden Book of Remembrance and additional resources on the City’s virtual commemorations web page at https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/awards-tributes/tributes/toronto-remembers/upcoming-commemorations/.

The City will be hosting a virtual community meeting to discuss planned park improvements to Melbourne Avenue Parkette (located near King St W and Dufferin St). This meeting is an opportunity to hear about potential design proposals and for the community to provide feedback on what improvements they would most like to see in the park. The current plan involves upgrading playground equipment, new accessible surfacing, a water bottle filling station and other improvements. Councillor Gord Perks will be in attendance.

Event Details:

Tuesday November 17^th 2020 – 6:30-8:00pm

WebEx Registration: https://toronto.webex.com/toronto/onstage/g.php?MTID=e5872d4e4097d80e346633553fd8e30e5

Please register in advance to receive the instructions for joining the meeting.

For more information on the project, please visit: www.toronto.ca/MelbourneImprovements

The following attachment provides the design options that were presented by Parks Staff: