Toronto :: A City of Pride
Looking downtown from the Parliament lawn facing College and Queen streets, it's Godzilla meets Bambi: towering office complexes dwarf the quaint two- and four-story buildings. Glass and steel behemoths flex their muscles while homely 19th century brownstones cower in their shadows. But don't be put off by this incongruent cityscape. In Toronto, even polar opposites seem compelled to work together for the common good.
So, consider yourself invited to Toronto's biggest party of the year: Pride Week, June 20-29, when millions of visitors and residents (now in its 28th year) take over the staid streets in a raucous celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of unrepressed sexuality and human dignity. More about Pride Week in a couple minutes: let's get settled in first, take a short tour of the neighborhoods, and sample what Toronto offers, and then on to the party.
Sutton Place Hotel and Walking Tour
There is no better base of operations in the entire city than the Sutton Place Hotel (1-866-378-8866). It is centrally located on 955 Bay Street - only a few minutes walk from the subway, Parliament, the University of Toronto as well as shopping and the entertainment districts. It is a bastion of comfort and civility. The rooms are spacious and affordable. It encapsulates everything great about a small hotel that is wrapped inside a large building. At night the name is illuminated on the penthouse level, so it becomes a convenient landmark, never far from view.
Bruce Bell (1-647-393-8687), an accomplished actor, author, historian and tour guide, met me in the Sutton Place lobby to begin our walking tour. Bell has lived in Toronto since age 17. He is passionate about the city and its neighborhoods.
We stroll to the St. Lawrence Market, at Front and Jarvis streets, first opened in 1803. Under the market's roof there are 120 specialty merchants and vendors. While much of Toronto seems new - there is a constant clamor of construction everywhere - there is also a lot that is undergoing preservation. Bell points to historic plaques he has lobbied for to be affixed to several of the downtown buildings reminding passersby of long ago but now not forgotten historic events.
"I researched what happened here and petitioned the owners of the buildings to have the plaques erected," Bell says. "It just proves that any citizen can make a difference."
(Pictured: A mural of Saigon in Toronto's Chinatown - Robin Chase.)
Gay Village and Pride Toronto
Gay Village is a short cab ride away from St. Lawrence Market, located around the intersections of Church and Wellesley streets. There are bars (two popular spots are Woody's and Sailor), a steambath or two, the offices of a gay newspaper Xtra, clothing stores and restaurants. A relatively new addition to the neighborhood is a club called Mandy Goodhandy's, which Toronto's own Fab: The Gay Scene Magazine describes as "the first of its kind where burlesque, drag kings, transsexual go-go dancers and mixed orgies can all be found under one roof."
Seated outside on the sunny patio at Zelda's (1-416-922-2526), Fatima Amarshi, executive director of Pride Toronto (www.pridetoronto.com), talks about this year's Pride Week.
"Pride Toronto is an event that celebrates diverse cultures and sexualities and makes a statement about the need to lobby for international human rights," Amarshi says.
This year's Grand Marshal - who will lead the parade that begins at Toronto's City Hall - is Gareth Hendry, co-chair of JFLAG (Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays).
"Gareth is the victim of multiple homophobic attacks," Amarshi says. "Against all odds and at grave risk to himself, he has and continues to courageously campaign for the rights and protection of all LGBT Jamaicans."
The theme of Pride Toronto is "Unified," a hopeful message that resonates throughout the city. Running from June 20-29, it will feature multiple entertainment stages, a Dyke March, community fair and marketplace, family pride events, and lots of frivolity.
(Pictured: Gareth Hendry, Pride Toronto Grand Marshal)
From the Harbor to Chinatown
Toronto is an open city. The streets are orderly and easy to navigate, so plan on walking - a lot. A long stroll from Sutton Place Hotel to the harbor, including a ferry tour and a walk back uptown to Chinatown for lunch, took a total of three hours.
From Toronto harbor, the city is indeed a wall of the mighty titans, skyscrapers that clash against the serenity of small islands. The harbor cruise guide will tell you that the folks who live on the island will one day be displaced as the city turns these islands back to a wildlife refuge. This is one small step toward reclaiming that which has been lost in the building boom. Today, the island community shares the space with a park that is open to the public, where one can picnic or rent a kayak, all within the sight of the glass and steel office towers.
Later, in Chinatown, at his spacious restaurant on Spadina and St. Andrews streets, I meet Steve Chan, the owner of Bright Pearl Seafood (1-416-979-3988). Bright Pearl specializes in dim sum - served all day and night - and it is scrumptious.
"I left Hong Kong and settled here, opening this place 11 years ago," Chan says. "There have been successive waves of immigration from Asia since and before that time. But this current wave of Asians are making their mark in the city politically, with new representation in the government."
Chan's own civic involvement is evident by the number of photographs of him and luminaries that line the wall near the entrance. He is passionate about his role as a citizen.
"My ancestors came overseas, made money and left," he says. "Other immigrant groups came, made their mark, and moved to the suburbs. I am staying here and investing in Toronto."
The Chinatown neighborhood is a mixed bag: hip hop music blares from a boom box across the street from a synagogue that clashes with a mural next door to it showing a scene from Saigon. Welcome to Kensington Market, a menagerie of shops and food stalls. The area is not without tension: any crowd of people coming close together produces friction. During the afternoon I visited, a shop owner chased a shoplifter down the street, until the thief reluctantly, but without incident, handed over the stolen goods. But good-natured funkiness seems to prevail overall.
(Pictured: A Chinatown storefront - Robin Chase.)
Food and Entertainment
And, finally, there are multiple diversions and scores of tasty restaurants, more venues than space allows me to recommend in this city of over 4 million people.
Here are a few must-dos:
For a meal full of surprises and a staff that transforms the art of dining to a new level of comfort and professionalism, check out Ki Modern Japanese Restaurant and Bar (1-416-308-5888). Located at 181 Bay Street, a fifteen minute walk from the Sutton Place Hotel, Ki features sushi, dishes that are meant to be shared, secret sauces that delight the palate, all in a comfortable and elegant atmosphere.
Fuzion Restaurant Lounge and Garden (416-944-9888) is a stone's throw from all the action at Gay Village, at 580 Church Street. You can dine inside or outside on the patio. The food is imaginatively prepared with locally grown produce, game, meats and seafood. The wait staff serves you with a quiet elegance that is respectful and engaging.
Coco Lezzone (416-535-1489) is in the Little Italy neighborhood that is teeming with nightlife, bookstores, a theatre, and lots of passersby. I sat street side, and enjoyed an incomparable meal expertly prepared by master chefs all while watching a constant flow of people pass me by. It was stimulating and relaxing all at once, and the meal was topped off with a delicious presentation of fresh fruit and Champagne.
And finally, the theatre scene is alive and well in Toronto. Second City (51 Mercer St., 1-416-343-0011) features wonderfully acerbic sketch comedy and improvisational scenes that capture the pulse of Toronto. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (12 Alexander St., 1-416-975-8555) is Toronto's very own gay theatre and is currently showing "Happy: A Very Gay Little Musical," with book by Sky Gilbert and music by Micah Barnes. The production, which centers around conflicts involving two married gay men who are writing a musical, is touching. It is full of warmth. Come to think of it, it is a lot like Toronto itself.
(Pictured: Happy, A Very Gay Little Musical - Andy Parks.)