The Grange was just another manor for Toronto's elite until 1911. It then became the property of the Toronto Art Society — home of the future Art Museum of Toronto, renamed the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in 1965. Let's look back at the history of The Grange with photos... Continue reading

Canada’s 2016 Census revealed that visual artists in Canada earned on average $21,100 per year. More than 75% of that income was derived from employment not associated with creating and selling art. This income level seems dismal. So we've put together some resources for aspiring artists who are looking to... Continue reading

Map of New France by Samuel de Champlain (1640) Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was a Jesuit settlement on the land of the Huron-Wendat. Completed in 1639, this French compound was the first permanent European settlement in what is now Ontario. In 1649, the settlement was burnt down and abandoned during... Continue reading

Machine-guns are towed on boggans by the white-shrouded figures and; when needed; can be set up and in action like a flash (1941). Photo from the Toronto Star Photograph Archive. A Brief History Equipped with cross country skis, troops fighting for Finland pushed back and defeated Soviet forces in the... Continue reading

Toronto Harbour, looking west, 1812 The War of 1812 came to the town of York — now Toronto — on April 27, 1813. Departing from New York's Sacket's Harbor, Commodore Isaac Chauncey's squadron positioned itself at three strategic locations. Map show the movements of American fleet. From the publication, The... Continue reading

The United States congress declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. Britain had drawn the ire of the Americans by blockading their trade with France, stirring up uprisings from Indigenous populations and impressing (press ganging) US sailors born in Britain into the British navy. Map of Upper and... Continue reading

Crystal Palace (1858-1879), King St. W., n. side, at present Sudbury St. Unknown Picture, 18-?, English It was not named the Canadian National Exhibition until 1912, although the fair started back in 1858 with erection of a crystal palace at Shaw and King streets called The Palace of Industry. Sanford... Continue reading

'Arrow' & 'Gorilla', of the R.C.Y.C. fleet, opposite Toronto, Ont. Armstrong, William, 1822-1914 Picture, 1880 In 1852, eight men founded a boat club in Toronto harbour. A year later, they named it the Toronto Yacht Club. Out of patriotism to the British Crown, the club applied for a Royal Warrant.... Continue reading

Map of the British plantations, 1739 United Empire Loyalists (or Loyalists) is an honorific that was given in 1789 by Lord Dorchester, the governor of Quebec and Governor General of British North America, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America during or just after the American Revolution. The... Continue reading

Muskoka is a region in Ontario bounded by Georgian Bay to the west, Haliburton to the east and Simcoe to the south. Its main lakes are Muskoka, Rousseau and Joseph. It was named for Chippewa chief Mesquas Ukee who negotiated the land claim for the territory with the British in... Continue reading

Why are these two artists so little known in Toronto? PLAZAS From Vancouver to Toronto; recent transplant PLAZAS has only played a few gigs here but she was a regular on the Vancouver music scene. Plazas is Savana Salloum-Hedgecock. She produces dark-toned electro-pop with a wall of intersecting synth rhythms... Continue reading

Windows Live Movie Maker is now installed on every public internet access computer in the Toronto Public Library system. So why not try editing a movie from the video on your camera, phone or tablet? In brief, here is how to use Windows Live Movie Maker: Attach your camera or... Continue reading

A Haiku is a deceptively simple form of Japanese poetry. It consists of 17 on or sounds in three phrases. In the west, it is usually written as three lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables each. A Haiku is usually a meditation on some aspect of the... Continue reading

Writers are observant and introspective, and obviously bursting with things to tell the world about itself. They can also tell us about what writing is, what it is like to write, and how to do it well. Many illustrious writers have taken the time to share their expertise in books.... Continue reading

York Woods branch lies enviably at the juncture of two extensive ravine systems, Derrydown Park and Black Creek Parklands. Everywhere you look there are trees and bushes, as well as Jane-Finch's ubiquitous high-rise apartment blocks. The landscape is an evocative collision between the natural and the man-made. Check out these... Continue reading