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The Monkey Bunch kicks off the 2nd Annual Family Series at the Drake this Sunday. Skip the Superbowl and shake it with your kids instead!
Welcome to the weekend!
Shameless Recommendations August 2010
August already…say it ain’t so
Seems like yesterday we were switching over long sleeves for short and tucking away sweaters in anticipation of endless sunny days. With but a month to go, we’ve assembled some tips to help you squeeze every last drop from the season.
Drop-in:
Toronto is home to many family summer drop-ins. High Park hosts: The Children’s Garden Thursday Watch Me Grow program (10am-12pm until 26 August), the Nature Centre Family Nature Walks (1pm, Tuesday 17 & 31 August) and the TD Dream in High Park Family Day Sundays (running until 5 September). Jennielea of Circlesing holds a music circle at the High Park Adventure Playground (Wednesdays, 11am) and Dufferin Grove Park (Tuesdays, 11am). If you have a baby or children who don’t mind sitting a spell, drop by Coxwell Parkette between 6-9pm Wednesday evenings for the Danforth Mosaic does Jazz Series or go to the Sunday afternoon Classical Music Series at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Drop-out:
Head for limpid waters with Toronto Life’s recent best nearby beaches article as your guide or gain inspiration from this site and draft some plans for a treehouse.
Go for ride:
The West Toronto Rail Path is a wide, often under-used asphalt bike path. You can pick it up near College and Lansdowne and bike 2.1km N, ending up close to St Clair. The Don River Valley is another great place to explore; visit Todmorden while you’re at it. In other news, Type Books is working with Bike Sauce to get a two-wheels good library up and running at their bike-repair space and community hub, grand opening 7 August.
Create vintage memories:
Stay up late sharing reads from your youth. Some chapter books to try: Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Borrowers, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (or anything by Roald Dahl), the Fudge series by Judy Blume, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy. Bring your own flashlight.
Get foodie:
Evergreen Brick Works Wild Blueberry Festival, 15 August celebrates the noble blueberry with a pie contest, blueberry pizza baking for kids, “kids can cook” workshop and more. Not sweet enough? Try the hands-on chocolate making show, 21 August, High Park Family Fun Place.
Take in some art:
Kid-friendly options include: the Bata Shoe Museum, Power Plant Gallery at Harbourfront (free all summer long) and the McMichael Gallery with its sprawling grounds and fantastic selection of Group of Seven and Inuit works (Family Sundays, 8 August, Discovery Days, 22 August).
Fall if you must:
If you’ve got that back to school feeling, browse lavishandlime for some stylish eco-friendly lunch containers; click on balancethemotherload.com to learn to do just that and note that the High Park Nature Centre’s fall program registration starts19 August, 8am. These courses sell out fast
Here's another suggestion for
Here's another suggestion for Things to Do in August:
CNE HorseCapades
August 3 to August 19 (Free)
Time: Noon - 3 pm (Horse Palace)
Before the Canadian National Exhibition opens on Friday, August 20, the Canadian National Exhibition Association (CNEA) invites the young and young at heart to participate in CNE HorseCapades, a delightful and free introduction to horses.
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CNEA Horse Show Competition
August 2 to August 19 (Free)
Ricoh Coliseum & Horse Palace
As part of your afternoon at CNE HorseCapades, you can also watch the professional horse competition in the coolness of the Ricoh Coliseum. Cheer your favourite horse on to win the first place Red Ribbon! For complete Horse Show details please click here: Horseshow Competitons
** You can add to your visit to the HorseCapades by taking the GO Train to the CNE.
Thanks Elaine - can you tell
Thanks Elaine - can you tell us a bit more about what families will experience? Vicki
Hi Vicki. I just saw your
Hi Vicki. I just saw your question about the HorseCapades at the CNE that I wrote to you about in August.
Here's the info...for next year.
I took my 2-year-old granddaughter and here's what she did/saw:
- went for a horse-drawn wagon ride out of Horse Bldg., past the kids' midway, to the Fountain and back;
- rode a mechanical 'horse';
- fed a carrot to a horse;
- saw miniature horses, up close (owner talked to older kids & adults about the horses & answered questions;
- peddalled a kid-size 'sulky' around a track;
- viewed horses and a donkey in their stalls (staff were close by to answer questions);
- coloured horse-themed pictures at the 'colouring table';
- watched judging of competition in the horse ring.
For older children (and adults), there were informative displays about horses - their life-cycle, various breeds & sizes, how long they live, their anatomy and what they eat, etc.; plus, examples of riding attire & the equipment used - set up in the empty stalls.
The best part - everything was free! (Probably the reason why there were several day camps there.)
I took my granddaughter - in her stroller - on the GO Train for the first time. I had some concerns about being on my own and managing her in the stroller, but it was a breeze! I didn't know that they have a raised section on the platform just for wheelchairs & strollers. The train stops with the door right in front of you; a staff member puts a metal plate across the opening between the platform & the track and you just wheel right onto a car with seating reserved for riders with strollers & other special needs riders.
Sorry for the l-o-n-g reply, but I thought some of the information might be helpful for your August 2011 issue!
- Elaine
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