Thanks to TD BankTD Bank has given the Cabbagetown Festival a very large gift. This generosity has lifted a considerable load off the backs of the local merchants who regularly pay for the event. The BIA will use these funds toward the 2010 Festival and also with permanent fundraising techniques.
TD is, of course, opening a new branch in our neighbourhood soon. They obviously want to connect with our community and to make a difference here.
TD’s new branch
Anthony Caporiccio has been appointed as our first manager at the new TD bank branch. He’s hard at work in his new space at Carlton and Parliament (493 Parliament). He’s hired most of his staff and the furniture inside has largely been installed. Before long, they’ll be getting a nice inventory of new money and they’ll be ready to go.On Monday August 23 at 8 am, Anthony will throw open the branch doors and they’ll be in business. We urge everyone to save up your pennies and get in there for a new bank account.
Anthony is already planning the bank’s booth for the Festival. We expect the area will have lots of music, souvenirs and, of course, craft vendors and street patios will crowd around as well.
Epicure’s Spanish weekend
Patty is bringing back her popular Spanish tortas, in both sweet and savory flavours. People have been regularly asking for them and she’s quite happy to oblige. To go with her Spanish theme, she’s got a great deal on Serrano ham - only $4.99/100g, a savings of $2. Stop by and say “olé”. Epicure Shop, 473 Parliament.Labour of Love’s grand opening
Regina officially launched her new Carlton Street store with a lovely reception on Thursday night. She featured black, gift-filled balloons and pop corn to keep everyone amused. 242 Carlton.It’s hot, hotter, hottest at Foxy Boutique
Michele has just picked up some beautiful new pieces at an awesome estate sale. Shoes, handbags, belts, jewelry, clothes – all in excellent condition. She’s also continuing her storewide 50% sale – lots of deals to be had. And here’s a good reminder. If you’re cleaning out your closets, she can take your shoes, clothes and accessories in return for generous store credits so you can get a whole set of new duds. 251 Gerrard.Cabbagetown Festival performers
When you come to the Festival, you expect good food, lots of craft vendors and comfy street patios. To sharpen your appetite, here’s a quick preview of the entertainment that we’ve got planned for you.
On Saturday, UforChange is in charge of the stage at Winchester. We asked them to introduce us to the talents and music of kids from St James Town. They’ll be joined by Da Youngsta’s from Regent Park Focus.
At Carlton Street on Saturday, another popular group from our June concerts will be returning. Donna Green and the Moo’d Swings feature 1940s swing, bluegrass and some sentimental old country tunes.
Cabbagetown Steve and Code Green were a big hit last year. They’re back again on Saturday at Spruce Street with lots of vintage rock and crazy harmonica.
On the Winchester stage on Sunday, Danny Marks will strut his stuff throughout the afternoon. He’ll be joined by kids from the Cabbagetown Youth Centre, a karate demonstration and the Samba Kidz drum corps.Introducing David at Kendal & Co
David brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Kendall & Co retail team. He’s also rapidly becoming one of their best customers – ever since he started to work there, he’s been making regular purchases. He loves beautiful gifts like these nature-inspired candles shaped like succulents, fruits and blooming flowers. 438 Parliament.
Weblocal.ca is an online search site that finds and reviews local businesses, products and services. Recommendations, ratings and reviews, as well as pictures and videos, are shared among users. With over 2 million unique visitors (and hundreds of thousands in Ontario alone), it’s a growing community of active and receptive consumers.
Marilyn and the other steering committee members at Blair’s Run are looking for more street captains. It’s a fun job. Captains are asked to recruit runners for the event from their streets and to find donors in their neighbourhoods. Every year, Cabbagetowners donate over $25,000 for the Cabbagetown Youth Centre through the Run. The Run itself takes place on Saturday September 11 at 8:30 am – it’s the opening event for our Festival. For more information, email 
On August 12, Av Atikian has planned a very special evening with Alexandrine Roy. Her small domaine is located in Gevrey-Chambertin, a district that boasts of nine of the 23 Grand Cru wines from Burgundy. It’s been in her family for four generations and she personally handles the vineyard and cellaring and she produces only 20,000 bottles annually. To give her wines a proper matching, Av has a six-course tasting menu. Seating for this event is limited. For reservations, call (416) 921-1255. 195 Carlton. For all the details about this evening, 
Stephanie is now the manager at Big Mamma's Boy (554 Parliament) and is proud of their many recent successes. Life for her is now settling down after the rush of events that happened when Caroline Murphy became a partner. Caroline is off on Sunday for the PWA bike ride from Toronto to Montreal and we wish her well. Sunday brunch is being served regularly from 11 am to 3 pm – this is the one that earned such a high rating from NOW Magazine.
At The Ben Wicks (424 Parliament), repairs are over and life on the patio has returned to normal. There’s new flooring, new tables and stool arrangements, new siding along the upper railing, new windows and new lighting. Robert wants to thank everyone for their patience throughout the ordeal. David has started work on his menus for the Festival – his early plans sound very good indeed.
Dominik is the Design Studio Administrator at Kendall & Co (438 Parliament). He’s shown here adjusting the new Red Oriental Bird Cage Lamp, part of the store’s Asian inspired décor. Kendall & Co are celebrating the new exhibit, “Warrior Emperor and the Terracotta Army”, at the Royal Ontario Museum and you get a $5 discount coupon for the exhibit when you visit the shop. And don’t forget their summer sale – up to 50% off as they make room for their newly arrived inventory.
Franca is quite happy to present this week’s special. For one weekend only, Patty has Kicking Horse Pass coffee on special at $13.99 for a one-pound bag. This is a savings of $2. She also has buffalo mozzarella back in stock. You can always check Epicure’s lovely website at 
To celebrate the opening of her lovely new store, Regina is hosting a grand opening party on Thursday July 29 from 4 to 9 pm. Labour of Love (242 Carlton) features a unique and eclectic assortment of jewellery, fashion accessories, gifts and one-of-a-kind collectibles. She will also showcase local artists in new and exciting ways. Currently, Toronto illustrator and sculptor, Gosia, has an installation there. At Thursday’s party, you can meet Gosia and enjoy snacks, refreshments and give-aways throughout the evening.
Victor has moved Business Plus Wireless across the street to 420 Parliament. He’s now refinishing his store’s interior and he’s open for business as one of our cell phone specialists.
Our plans for our 2010 Festival are quickly coming into focus. One of our more exciting (chaotic?) new wrinkles is the plan to highlight Cabbagetown’s lovely dogs in our Parade. We’ll be working with our two pet shops, our groomers and our veterinarian to make this a success. We’re going to highlight a couple of rescue agencies as well.
This year, we’ll be highlighting a lot of Cabbagetown performers. U4Change is an art-based service group who work with St James Town kids and they’ll be handling the Saturday stage at Winchester. The Cabbagetown Youth Centre will show off their choir, dancers and karate skills on Sunday at Winchester. GetItStraight has Regent Park talent. Among our Cabbagetown professional musicians, we’ve got Danny Marks, Cabbagetown Steve Grant and Jim Heinemann. In the parade, we’ve got the Cabbagetown Pipe Band, St James Town Steelpan Band and ROTC. There’ll be lots more by September – so far, the line-up is already exciting.
Regina has just opened her new store in this lovely space at 242 Carlton. She’s got gifts and accessories with a special emphasis on Canadian handmade jewelry, purses, bags, home furnishings and fun-filled knick knacks. She’s already had lots of retail experience with her successful store, Propaganda at 686 Yonge Street which was recently given high marks by NOW Magazine. She’ll be open from 10 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday.
Sharon (503 Parliament) has just received two new Canadian west-coast labels, Kersh and Press. She also has new items from Cabbagetowners’ favourites, Neon Buddha and Pure. Men’s Players Sports Tee’s and golf shirts are now in stock too. She also reminds us to check out her summer clearance rack with items from $9.99 to $19.99 – she’s adding new items there every day. The beautiful turquoise necklace that she’s wearing is part of her summer jewelry collection.
Ms Roy will co-host this special six-course tasting dinner at JAMCafe as the visiting winemaker. Av Atikian’s menu will complement her wines – hors d’oeuvres, sea scallops, quail, Ontario elk, braised beef short ribs, confit of pork belly and dessert will all be offered along with seven lovely wines. Only 22 tickets are available. 7 pm, Wednesday August 11, $130 per person. For all the details, click here: 
Kentridge Johnston have very attractive offices available with shared amenities in their beautifully restored heritage building. Bright sunny space with two separate offices – it can be subdivided into smaller offices of 500 and 600 square feet. Boardroom, kitchen, fax and copy facilities available. 185 Carlton Street. June 1. Contact (416) 323-1444 or 
Visit Kendall + Co (438 Parliament) to get a $5 discount off the ticket price at the ROM for “Warrior emperor and China’s terracotta army.” Kendall will be featuring Asian inspired home décor and other distant treasures.
Daniel et Daniel (248 Carlton) provided lunch for Queen Elizabeth and 500 of her friends when she visited Toronto’s Pinewood film studios on Monday July 5. The group enjoyed ballotine of chicken with leeks, apricot and thyme bread pudding, fresh asparagus with apricot marmeletta and dessert of minted Ontario berries with cream. They washed it all down with Inniskillin pinot noir and Henry of Pelham chardonnay. Very yummy. Earlier that day, the Queen received a personalized Blackberry during her visit at RIM. She can use it – after that lunch, she’ll want to go to D+D’s Facebook Page to keep up with their latest menu changes.
It’ll be a busy day at Lord Dufferin School (350 Parliament) on Sunday. Regent Park’s annual festival, Sunday in the Park, offers games, bbq, raffles and entertainment. For football fans, the World Cup Finals will be playing in the Roger’s viewing tent.
Gunnar Ostby from Church Street Winery (420 Parliament) has just won two silver medals from the International Wine Maker Competition. Over 4500 entries from eight countries participated. Gunnar’s two awards came for his personal Red Vinifera Blends – a cabernet sauvignan/carmenera and a rosso fortissimo in a super Tuscan style. He’s almost as proud of the awards won by several of his major suppliers whose grapes build the kits that Church Street Winery has on sale.
Central Neighbourhood House (349 Ontario) has opened its 2010 Summer day camp. Camp runs daily from 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. There’ll be an adventure trip every week to Wild Water World, Christie Lake, Toronto Zoo, Canada’s Wonderland, Ontario Place and more. $75/week includes lunch and snacks. For more information and registration, call Amanda at (416) 925-4363 or email 
So Patty has a full line of prepared foods that you can take home for an instant (and delightful) meal. This weekend, she has a chicken cutlet with any small prepared salad for only $4.99. She also has goat beemster and fresh buffalo mozzarella back in stock. The Epicure Shop (473 Parliament)
Elie always joins Summerlicious (July 9 to 25) and produces a great menu for the event. For lunch, his prix fixe is $20 and for dinner, it’s $35. He has, as usual, an amazing choice of wines by the glass and bottle. For menu details, click here: 
Here’s a chance to enjoy Stonegrill’s menu at Summerlicious prices – a three course prix fixe at $35. They’re open for dinner (5 pm to midnight). Your dinner choices are available from their stones or from the kitchen. For a full menu, click here: 
Both The Ben Wicks (424 Parliament) and the Samovar Room (51A Winchester) are open for soccer fans who want to gather together for good company while their team thrashes the enemy. Games start at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Cheering and commiseration continue well into the night.
Everyone is still buzzing at BMB (554 Parliament) over the NNNN rating that their Sunday brunch has received from NOW magazine. Brunch is usually served from 11 am to 3 pm but on Sunday July 11, the hours will be shorter (open only to 1 pm) to allow for a private function throughout the afternoon.
At Kendall + Co (438 Parliament), things are smelling likes roses – and narcissus and peonies. Choose from three exquisite floral essences and Kendall’s porcelain fragrance diffusers. Each one dispenses a fabulous scent into your home. They also have an assortment of organic home sprays in a mixture of lavender water, sweet orange, lemongrass, mandarin, pink grapefruit, sage, rosemary, juniper berry, vanilla and ylang, ylang.
The planting in the community garden at Prospect and Parliament has started. Last week, local gardeners joined forces to plant the perennials that’ll be the backbone of the future garden. Next on the list is the installation of rain barrels and painting the building’s side wall. Many thanks to Nettleship Hardware (576 Parliament), Royal Home Hardware (485 Parliament) and the Cha family (owners of the next door building) who have been so helpful with the project.
Samovar starts the day with the 10 am match
Ben Wicks starts with the afternoon game.
Diggity Dog Grooming is back at Pet Valu (240 Carlton) this weekend, Saturday July 3 from 11 am to 4 pm. Marilyn will clip your pet’s nails for only $10. Drop by and see why this is becoming a more and more popular service.
We’re waiting with great interest for photos from Scotland and from Normandy. Flag sales are brisk as tourists come through Cabbagetown while touring Toronto. We’ve been asking our visitors to send us back a picture and we’ll post those that we get here on our Newsletter. Here’s a reminder to local people: check your flags and get a new one if needed – call (416) 921-0857.
NOW Magazine has just given one of its top ratings – NNNN – to Big Mamma’s Boy for their Sunday brunch. They comment that “co-owner/chef Michael Guenther has significantly upped his game, delivering a card that’s both locally sourced and unusually polished…” That’s high praise. For all the details, read the full review here: 
Patty wants us to remind you about her famous Breakfast Bagels - available daily and, despite the name, it's available all day long. It's a bagel with cheese and a real egg - only $2.99. Also this week, she's got Cendre de Pres cheese from Quebec on special and she's still offering Feta Toppers on sale, buy one and get another one free. The Epicure Shop (473 Parliament)
Also on Thursdays, once a month, they’re holding their Cabbagetown Comedy Showcase with hosts Johnny Hastings and Andrew Mimey along with some of Toronto’s hottest and most talented comics. Thursday July 15, 8 pm, $10 cover includes a free drink.
At Kendall+Co (438 Parliament), they’re proud to be design friendly. To celebrate the 2010 Pride weekend, they’ve got a colourful assortment of brilliantly designed merchandise and accent décor. A portion of the sale proceeds from select items will be donated to benefit HIV/AIDS Research and Education.
Cabbagetown has one very strange secret. For some unknown but serendipitous reason, it attracts Dougs. They live in every little corner, on every street, at every landmark location. Find a beautiful heritage building and there’ll be a Doug lurking nearby. Here’s a crowd of four Dougs (from the right, Worts, Rowlands, Hurlbut and Fisher) who all live near Wellesley Cottages. To break the tedium, that's Charlie in front.