Wrapping up summer

Well, it’s about time we move on to Fall. After all, it’s getting dark at 8pm and even required a winter coat to step outside today. Thanksgiving holiday was over. Yeah, it was on October 11 and it certainly didn’t feel like Thanksgiving. Too early to be thinking about one.. Nevertheless, I thought I would just share some summer events that went on.

The last time we tried going to the center island, it was on labor day weekend. The line to the ferry was impossible even at 8am. So this year, we took an out of town friend to this Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) instead. It has a lot of ethnic food, fun rides and shopping area for stuff from around the world. This is one of the places we can certainly see how Canada is really promoting multi culture. I went there last year as a guest as someone local here took me there. This time, I get to be the local. Not bad, eh?

CNE

CNE

TIFF – Dundas SQ

At CNE – it took a few moments to decide where to dump the trash

TIFF – Free Movie

TIFF – Free Movie

TIFF – Free coffee

Free Horror Movie at TIFF (Dundas Square)

Toronto Film Festival – Director doing a QA session

Yonge Street – near Dundas Square

CNE – ice skating show

CNE – ice skating show

We went there using a streetcar – those that run on rails. And they were all jammed packed. We happened to go there on the last day and there were about 8 cars before we could get on one. After seeing the ice-skating show and all the exhibition, it was all worth it. This time, we didn’t try any ride.

Then, there was a Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in early Sept. I didn’t know what that was about until I tried one. Apparently, a lot of hollywood movie stars came to Toronto to promote their films and these films are brand new which weren’t shown anywhere else. Normally, it costs about $12 for regular movies and for movies during the event, it’s about $20. Even with the marked up price, all the shows were gone by the time we decided to go. Only then did I learn that we had to get the ticket in advance to get a movie that was popular. The great ones were all sold out even before the event! Just for the sake of it, we tried one. We just grabbed one that were available and it was not even in English but with some English subtitle. The director of the movie introduced the movie before and afterward he came out and did some Q/A session. The particular movie we saw was totally stopped in the middle. At least that’s how I felt. He said it was open ended and it’s left for our own interpretation.

One great thing though is that it brought a lot of people out on the streets and around the cinemas. At Dundas square, they held a few movies free out in the open. I saw a horror movie and it was a unique experience. I enjoyed it even more. A few vendors such as starbucks and some soda company were giving out free drinks. The city was lively and we could feel the excitement in the air.

I guess, the events are pretty much over. It’s hard not to think about the looming freezing weather. Oh well.