The small offices on the second and third floor above Ginger (Carlton & Parliament) have been demolished and there’s plenty of evidence that the upper floors are being renovated. The owner is creating two larger office areas with a single tenant on each floor. The second floor will be home to the administrative offices of a dance group. The third floor has offices, teaching spaces, storage and a worship area for the local Salvation Army congregation.Ten people can have dinner for only $31.10
The Yonge Street Mission (306 Gerrard) has a Thanksgiving fundraising drive underway. In just a few weeks, they’ll serve thousands of Thanksgiving turkey dinners to homeless and hurting people. It takes a lot of time and planning to put this project together. So they’re asking now for your support. To learn more, click on http://www.ysm.ca/
Big Mamma’s Boy
Caroline, Michael and Stephanie have been very busy in the past couple of weeks. During TIFF, Alliance Entertainment held fan meet-and-greet parties at Big Mamma’s Boy (554 Parliament). Sean Kanan, D-Teflon and Daniel Goddard were among the celeb’s who stopped by.Next Wednesday, Caroline and Michael will be appearing on Daytime Toronto, the Rogers’ daytime talk show. It starts at 10 am and there are reruns through the day at 3 pm and midnight.
Sunday’s Waterfront Marathon
Over 20,000 people from more than 40 countries will run in Sunday’s marathon. Marilyn Marshall is calling all of us to the special Cabbagetown cheering section at Front and Parliament Streets from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. There’ll be entertainment and food and a chance to cheer along our four champions in the race – Heather Hopkins, Angela Jonsonn, Dr Philip Marsden and George Smitherman. All of this is part of the Neighbourhood Challenge, a fundraising event to support our local Cabbagetown Youth Centre.
Green Thumbs Growing Kids
GTGK works with kids and their families to grow and prepare fresh nutritious foods. They focus on gardens located at neighbourhood schools. You can become a member and help directly in this fascinating project. Their annual general meeting will be held on Saturday September 25 at 603-1/2 Parliament. The meeting will start at 10 am with a tour of the Rose Ave Public School garden and an 11 am tour of the Winchester Public School garden. From noon to 2 pm, the meeting and lunch will happen at their offices. For more information, call 647-348-5437. http://www.kidsgrowing.ca/Wow – Labour of Love
Regina keeps getting rave reviews about her new store, Labour of Love (242 Carlton), in the city’s big newspapers. This week, NOW Magazine has a lifestyle article about her that expands into a great review of a dozen other Cabbagetown landmarks. You can read it here: http://www.nowtoronto.com/lifestyle/story.cfm?content=176869 . You can catch up with the special offerings available at Labour of Love through their web site, http://thelabouroflove.ca/Butter Chicken Factory
Gurinder has officially opened his new restaurant at 556 Parliament, on the corner at Prospect. He’s done a lovely renovation and turned his space into a charming, inviting room. As part of our mission at the BIA, we’ve done extensive research into his menu – so far, we’ve had thali for lunch and dinner with butter chicken and lamb with madras spices. Delicious. There’s a $9.99 lunch special and for dinner, there’s a full range of northern Indian dishes. Take-out and home delivery are also available.More Quebec cheeses
At Epicure, Patty is continuing her heart-stopping, adrenalin-laced weigh-your-own coffee contest. Just fill a bag with your beans and aim for one exact pound (454 grams). If you are exactly on the mark, you’ll get a second one free. People win regularly, so join the fun. And do it while she has her special offer running on Reunion Island beans – one pound for $10 or $2.20 for 100 grams. Patty is also very pleased to offer two award-winning Quebec cheeses – Le Chevre Noir and Douanier.Blowout at Barracuda
Gerry and his staff have a store-wide blowout sale underway. You can enjoy big savings on furniture, ceramics and garden containers.Getting ready for Thanksgiving
Turkey orders are now open at St Jamestown Steak & Chops (Parliament). Tell Mark what you want and your bird will be ready for you just before the holiday.Mi Casa
The beautiful home furnishing available at Mi Casa (238 Carlton) are still on sale through this weekend. Save up to 70% on items throughout the store.What’s happening at the gas station?
Our local Esso station (581 Parliament) is undergoing some regular maintenance. The underground tanks have been checked and repaired. After several days’ work, the hole has been filled and the fencing is coming down.Paris in Cabbagetown
The first delivery of charming décor accessories and serving ware from Europe has just arrived at Kendall & Co (438 Parliament across from Spruce). To make room for all this, they’re holding a 50% off clearance sale on selected items. They also have a special 20% sale on Bumble Bee & Dragonfly French glassware and on their lamps and classic furniture.Tour of Homes
With another Tour of Homes just successfully completed, it’s timely that Kendall Williams received his Chairman’s Award plaque this week – in recognition of his fine contribution to the Tour in previous years. He joins Bruce Prouty, Helen Coltrinari and Dave Pretlove who also served as Tour chairs and also received this recognition of their work.
Kelsey Butler has just finished her summer work at the Cabbagetown BIA. She did an outstanding job for us organizing the Festival. She focused on our “people” projects – the parade, the program, the vendors and the street patios. These are difficult and detailed problems and she managed them with considerable skill. She has a friendly enthusiasm that makes other people happy to work with her. As many people have already noted, our 2010 Festival was a great success and much of the credit for our success belongs to Kelsey. Our thanks and best wishes to her as she heads into her final year at Ryerson.
We had a marvelous time – from Parliament Street to Riverdale Park and to all the garage sales in between. More about all of that next week.
The official opening for our new TD Canada Trust (493 Parliament) happened on Friday September 10 with a pleasant event inside the bank. Senior staff from TD Bank joined people from our local branch and community groups. They distributed gifts to the Cabbagetown BIA, the Cabbagetown Youth Centre, Green Thumbs Growing Kids and the Heritage committee. Their generosity has made it possible for the Cabbagetown Festival to embark on aggressive advertising and fundraising campaigns and we indeed appreciate their help.
The Sun Media chain ran an extensive article about FTJCo (523 Parliament) in its papers in mid-August. The story appeared right across Canada. Ryan Taylor has devoted his business to the principles of fair trade mining and environmental sensitivity. He offers his customers detailed information about the source of the precious metals and gems that adorn his creations. He provides assurances that the people and the landscape that contribute to his jewelry are treated with respect. For the full story, click here: 
It’s back – Patty’s wild and wooly weigh-your-coffee event. If you pour yourself exactly one pound of coffee beans, you’ll get a second pound free. People with heavy duty gambling addictions are advised to stay away. This is also the last week for Epicure’s Reunion Island special – only $10/pound (save $3). Snow Goat Brie is also on sale at $3.49 for 150 grams, a saving of $3. The Epicure Shop, 473 Parliament.
This is an event worth checking out. The beautiful furniture and decorations at Mi Casa are now on sale and being offered at discounts up to 70% off. Alex tells us that these bargains include new designs. The sale runs from Saturday September 18 to Sunday September 25. Mi Casa also has special incentives for people who have purchased tickets for the Tour of Homes. 238 Carlton.
Margaret and Chris are making great headway with their fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society. You will recall that they want to plant 2000 daffodils in the Parliament and Prospect area. Every gift made to the cancer society’s campaign earns their team additional bulbs. To date, they’ve raised over $2000 and their target of $3500 now seems within reach. If you’d like to donate and also help with this beautiful garden effort, please click here: 
Kendall & Co (438 Parliament) has a new collection of plush, 100% wool rugs from New Zealand and they’ve dedicated them to Cabbagetown. Each one is named for one of our streets. The rugs are fair trade certified. They range from 2X3’ to 10X14’ in round, rectangular and runner shapes. Prices start at $89 each. Come and find your style, colour, size and street. Kendall & Co will host a Welcome Refreshment Station on Winchester during Sunday’s Tour of Homes.
Michelle at Foxy Boutique (251 Gerrard) is now releasing her new line of Fall coats, hats, woolens, scarves and leather goods. She has her best boot collection ever. Her 50% sale continues with selected items from her summer lines.
For several months, George Rondina and the staff at Number 9 Audio have been producing a jazz album as their contribution to Haitian relief programs. World Jazz for Haiti will launch on Sunday evening, September 26 at Hugh’s Room (2261 Dundas). The party will feature John McDermott, Laila Biali, Mike Janzen, Jane Bunnett and many other artists who appear on the album. $22.50 in advance, $25 at the door and all proceeds go to the Canadian Red Cross Haitian Relief Fund.
This guy is busy. He attended the Burning Man event in the Nevada desert in early September, returned to Toronto in time for the Festival and took care of the management of his fine Barracuda store (527 Parliament). In the meantime, he made dill pickles – and his pickles are so good that someone in my house says she’d marry any man who can perk up a burger like that! It’s no surprise that he proudly displayed his Cabbagetown Tee while cavorting in Nevada.
Kick off your annual Festival weekend with an evening of short films from around the world. This year, seventeen films are being shown – from filmmakers living here at home and in far flung spots in Spain, England, France, Germany and even Winnipeg. This event is always a sold-out favourite. If you plan to attend, we suggest that you get your tickets in advance (at 237 Carlton, 416-921-0857) or be at the box office when it opens at 7 pm.
As everyone now knows, the TD Bank (493 Parliament) has been open for a few days already. They’re hosting their official opening on Friday September 10. Drop by and take a look. The whole corner has been transformed as the landscaping finishes and the interior is a very friendly, welcoming space. TD Bank have been very generous sponsors of our 2010 Cabbagetown Festival. They’ll be in the parade and in a booth outside the branch throughout the event.
Pet Valu (240 Carlton) is hosting our 1st annual Cabbagetown Festival Dog Show onj Saturday September 11. This decision follows extensive studies done by store staff and Festival organizers - we wanted to learn exactly which categories would have the greatest appeal for you. We can reveal some of them now: biggest nose, curliest hair, shortest legs, longest tail, smallest owner, look-a-like with owner, best dressed and silliest tricks. Bring your dog! There’ll be fame, glory and lots of prizes for the winners. Saturday, 240 Carlton, after the parade (approx noon).
It’s the first Saturday in the month, so Marilyn from Diggity Dog is back at Pet Valu (240 Carlton). Get your pal spiffied up for the Dog Show. Marilyn is one of the judges so it can’t hurt if you exert some pressure on her in advance. She’ll be doing her nail trimming and grooming specials on Saturday September 4.
Menagerie Pet Shop (549 Parliament) will be another pet owner’s destination during this year’s Festival. They’re hosting Dr Jennifer Day, the vet at Cabbagetown Pet Clinic (239 Gerrard), along with some rescue agencies and a dog fitness specialist.
Kiki is preparing special sales to offer Festival visitors on Saturday and Sunday. She has retail products from Goldwell, AG, Hemp and others at 20% discounts. They’ll have a table out front where you can shop easily for your latest hair products. Hair Lift, 503B Parliament.
This week, as a pre-Festival caffeine boost, Patty is featuring Reunion Island coffee at very good prices - $2.20/100g. That works out to $10/pound or a savings of $3/pound. At our household, we drink her Reunion Island continental dark so I’ll be there for some of her supplies. The Epicure Shop (473 Parliament) is open as usual from 9 am to 5 pm on Sunday and closed all day on Labour Day.
Kendall & Co Design and Décor (438 Parliament) have named one of their accent rugs “Carlton”. It’s in recognition of the work that has gone into this year’s festival by the BIA staff at 237 Carlton. This beautiful and plush rug is a welcome mat to residents, business owners and visitors who will be making another event such a great success.
Simmons Flowers (540 Parliament) turned 116 in July. Founded in 1894 at Yonge and Elm Streets by John Simmons, the shop was a major success. Mary Pickford was a regular customer. John’s son, Ernest, was a founder and eventually president of the FTD system. They were Toronto’s first florist to use a motorized vehicle for their deliveries. Merion Clement bought the business forty years ago and 25 years ago, she moved to Parliament Street. Today, Simmons is one of our landmarks and Merion and Tina can be deeply proud of the contributions that they continue to make to our community.
We want Cabbagetown’s artists to remember that we’re offering free booth space to you on Saturday afternoon. Just call Kelsey at (416) 921-0857 for more details.
Our entertainers are Cabbagetowners. Danny Marks, Jim Heinemann, Cabbagetown Steve Grant (and Code Green), CYC Choir, U4Change, Snooky Tynes, Da Youngstas - all are our friends and neighbours.
Our parade this year will be one of our biggest. Almost fifty groups are participating. It starts at Parliament and Wellesley at 10 am and goes south to Gerrard and then west to Ontario.
Bring your pooch to the Cabbagetown Festival parade. March along happily with other dog owners. Then finish your outing at Pet Valu (240 Carlton) where a special Doggie Beauty Contest will take place. The categories are amazing – the longest nose, the curliest fur, the best dressed, the littlest owner – and the prizes will be mind boggling. You won’t believe your luck!
Anthony is throwing open the new TD Bank’s doors on Monday morning – 8 am to be exact. As you can see in the photo, money is flowing into the branch. There’s already been a stream of people coming to try the front door, so we expect a healthy crowd next week. Several members of his staff have been canvassing local businesses to introduce themselves and extend a welcome. Contrary to urban myth, however, the new bank will not be using that new money as a grand opening giveaway souvenir. Ah well. 493 Parliament at Carlton
To honour some wonderful friends who’ve been visiting Toronto and are now on their way back home to Cape Breton, Kendall & Co are presenting a truly remarkable Lobster Rug. It’s made of hand-hooked wool and it’s definitely worth its salt. It’s available exclusively at Kendall & Co (438 Parliament)
Patty is bringing back her deep discount pricing on her popular brownies – buy one and then get a second one at half price. Plus she has a new shipment from Italy of her ever-popular Buffalo Mozzarella. And her Spanish tortas (very yummy!!! – says Patty) from Seville are also back in stock. 473 Parliament.
Last week, we told you about the project that Margaret and Chris have organized to plant hundreds of daffodils around Cabbagetown. It’s a fundraiser with the Canadian Cancer Society. Every $5 gift earns one daffodil bulb. So far, your response has been terrific. They’ve raised over $600 in just one week toward their $3500 target. Here’s a link at the cancer society to give you more information and an easy way to donate. Add your name to the honour roll and watch the thermometer climb. 
Sharon’s summer clearance sale is now underway – her hats, jewellery and clothing are now available at great bargain prices. She’s making room for the Fall favourites that are now arriving. There are Neon Buddha jackets, Pure sweaters, Fresh FX tops and lots more. She also wants us to remind you that she still offers a layaway plan. 503 Parliament.
Leslie is having a 30% off sale of mid-century and antique furniture from Saturday August 21 to Sunday August 29 (from noon to 7 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday). Drop into her store and see the beautiful items that she’s featuring. There’s a De Boers Danish teak table, a mid-1940s buffet, a tubular chrome couch sofa, a chrome and glass coffee table, teak chairs and lots more. 
The new bank building is getting its finishing touches and its landscaping. The BIA, together with the building’s owner, is using grey granite stone on the boulevard and a darker grey brick in the planter boxes. This treatment will continue down to Broadcast Lane with a third planter box to be built in front of the laundry. The boxes will soon house trees, ground cover and floodlights. Two freestanding decorative light poles will be placed on the boulevard. It’s our hope to repeat this renovation next year on the boulevard on the south side of Carlton.
The National Post has just done a terrific article on Labour of Love (242 Carlton). Click here to read more 
Elie is launching a prix fixe Sunday pasta night this week with Franco Agostino. It’ll be held weekly. The menu includes tomato confit with green beans and chives and then pasta pesto, bucatini matriciana, pennette porcini, linguini primavera Nicoise and fettucini Bolognese. And for dessert, there’s fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries with white wine, lemon and mint. All of this for only $28. Plus there’s Elie’s usual amazing wine list. 12 Amelia. 
The top magazine for audio professionals in Canada has written a cover story about George Rondina and Number 9 Studio. You can read the full story here - 
Once again, proud Cabbagetowners have marched off to a new destination with our flag and Tee shirts. This time, it’s the annual bike ride that a group of Wellesley residents enjoy. They went to Thorold, rode along the Welland Canal and displayed their hometown colours as they traveled. Word has it that the trip included great meals, side trips to wineries and other exotica.
Blair’s Run is always the opening event at our Festival. The 2010 Run is being organized now. It’s time to think about getting yourself in shape – run, walk or crawl the 3 km course with your family, your dog and your baby. It’s also a convenient opportunity to make your donation to the Cabbagetown Youth Centre. Saturday September 11, 8:30 am, $10 registration, Carlton at Parliament. For more information, call (416) 960-1032.
As you can see, Kristin looks really good in her Cabbagetown Tee. You can too. Send us an email (
Last week, we saw Cabbagetown’s local tourist scene personally. Family members visited us and stayed at Toronto Townhouse B&B (213 Carlton). They loved it – they’ve stayed in other B&Bs in Toronto previously but this was their most enjoyable experience. Their room was clean and elegant and they received very friendly service and advice about the neighbourhood. Check them out at 
As usual, the Yonge Street Mission (280 Gerrard) has a fun-filled day planned for this location. YSM has regularly offered a great Festival program with food, family games and entertainers. Be sure to drop down on Saturday afternoon, September 11, to take part in it.
Regina reports that the first weeks at her new store have been hectic and welcoming – a good start to her business. She’s scheduling a workshop on gift wrapping for Sunday August 22 and Sunday September 5. Drop by the store for more details. The workshop is free and she will provide the scissors, glue and a ton of fun ideas. Customers will purchase the paper for their projects. 242 Carlton.
The windows at Kendall & Co (438 Parliament) feature a variety of their current offerings: twin owl umbrella stands/tall vases resting on a Serengetti buffalo leather recliner, next to a floor lamp of woven twigs. Nearby there’s a mobile of hand-carved wooden swallows returning home to their glass bird cages. Find out more at 
In June, Cole Street became the first new road to be opened to traffic in Regent Park in decades. We’ve all seen the new condo at One Cole and the new stores and RBC branch along the street. The Daniels Corporation asked the Coleman-Lemieux dance group to organize dancers and music to celebrate. It was all recorded in a short video called “Dancing down the avenue” by Eric Murphy and Jeff Cipin. Click here to enjoy it: 
Provence Delices (12 Amelia) will launch its Fall cooking classes with an evening of “Cooking with Dough” on Monday August 23 at 6:30 pm. Elie will take you through his lessons with a hands-on approach that emphasizes understanding and fun. For $99, you’ll enjoy his lesson, eat a meal and have a glass of wine. He has a very good web site describing the classes, so click here for more information: