Toronto, ON, Canada - July 3, 2016

*****DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO SATURDAY, JULY 2*****

*This post will be updated*



Librarything Meetup in Toronto!
Sunday, July 3, 2016 SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016

I've never been before so I'll leave the planning up to others, but I'll update this post as things develop!

Agenda:
BMV Books
Bakka-Phoenix Books
Reading time in a park
By The Way

Attendees:
Nora (norabelle414)
Zoe (_Zoe_) &
Mark (radicarian)
Shelley (jessibud2)
Cyrel (torontoc)
Faith (dk_phoenix) &
(?) Faith's husband
Jenn (Jenni_Canuck)

I'm super excited to visit Toronto and meet some LTers! Who else is coming? What else should we do?

What other things should I do while I'm there? I'm arriving early on July 1 and leaving July 5.

Ooh, pretty picture!

Mark will be there too (radicarian).

We'll be right by the U of T campus, which is pretty and grassy—I remember when we were in Alexandria we set aside an hour or so to sit and read, which I would recommend here as well.

Another thing to do in Toronto is eat all the food. There are a bunch of delicious cheap Indian buffets, and we'll be sort of close to Chinatown, and on another day we can go to the Danforth for Greek food.

There's also a new aquarium right next to the CN Tower, if your zoo interests extend to aquariums as well (did you go to an aquarium in Sarasota?).

I'll think of more things later.

>3 _Zoe_: Thanks, it was the first one that came up in Google :-D

If by "set aside and hour or so to sit and read" you mean "got exhausted and collapsed" ;-)

I do like aquariums too! I went to the aquarium in Sarasota and it was awesome. I will definitely put the Ripley Aquarium on my list, but I am still seriously considering going out to the Toronto Zoo one of the days.

>4 norabelle414: - Oh, my friend and I just joined the zoo this year to go for walking. We got a groupon and decent membership. There are 2 absolutely adorable baby panda cups, polar bear cubs and a baby white rhino now too! We go a couple of times a week. It's a great zoo but you'll need good walking shoes!

>5 jessibud2: It looks fantastic! I am used to walking around a zoo a lot because I volunteer at the National Zoo in DC. My only concern is how best to get to the Toronto Zoo since I'll be staying downtown. I even get a 50% discount on admission since I am a member of the National Zoo.

>6 norabelle414: - I will look into it for you. It is far from downtown, but only about 15 or 20 minute drive from where I live. How long will you be in town?

>7 jessibud2: I'm arriving around noon on the 1st and leaving in the morning on the 5th. I was thinking Monday, July 4 would be the best day for the zoo, if I end up going. Zoe suggested taking the train as far as possible and then taking an Uber or taxi the rest of the way.

>8 norabelle414:
I can come to the meet up on Sunday!
If you like galleries there are -The Bata Shoe Museum, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics, The Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum.
There is also good theatre-The Fringe Festival is on while you are in town- lots of one hour performances all over the city.
Great food in Kensington Market- Chinese, vegetarian, Central and South American
The Zoo- hmm-there are buses to the zoo from some of the subway stations- check the Toronto Zoo website.

>8 norabelle414: - Nora, where downtown will you be staying? I am going to the zoo this afternoon and will ask about the best/easiest/fastest transportation from downtown

>9 torontoc: - Yay, our numbers are increasing! Good suggestions, too, Cyrel. I forgot about Fringe. Will Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington have started by then? I went last year and it was great. It's when all streets in that area are closed to vehicular traffic and lots of street events are going on. Lots of fun

>1 norabelle414: - Time to update the list! ;-)

>10 jessibud2: Pedestrian sundays are the last sunday of the month I believe- so we will miss that one.

I had been wondering whether the Fringe Festival would be at that time! That's great news.

http://fringetoronto.com/

Program

>9 torontoc: Great! I've added all those places to my list!

>10 jessibud2: I'm staying near the Dundas subway station

Oh, I would also recommend going to the Distillery District at some point.

Also, your hotel is approximately 5 minutes from my sister's apartment; I can't remember whether I mentioned that before.

>14 _Zoe_: You didn't! I would love to see her again.

You are near the Art Gallery of Ontario- there will be an exhibit of Lawren Harris Paintings ( curated by Steve Martin) it is the exhibit that was in California and Boston recently.

Oh! LT friends! I'm so glad I logged in despite my recent absence... I'm going to do everything in my power to join you as well!

I will be at By the Way this Saturday so I will see about reserving a table for 6, for July 3

So...I just remembered...Toronto's Pride parade is also on July 3rd. I'm not sure where the meetup is planning to happen vs. the parade route, but inevitably the city is going to be insanely packed and very, very difficult to get in and out of all day. We might want to consider where we want to be in order to even be *able* to have reading time in a park, transportation, etc. Just an FYI!

Eek, I didn't think of that at all! Should we do the 2nd instead, if that works for everyone? Otherwise we'll find some way to make it work, but it will definitely be sort of crazy.

I'll check around today and see if I can find out exactly when and where the parade route is.

Ok, it shouldn't impact on where we chose to meet on Sunday:

"The 2016 Toronto Gay Pride weekend culminates on Sunday, July 3, at 2 pm, with the Toronto Gay Pride Parade, a hugely attended procession that commences at the intersection of Bloor Street East and Church Street. It then heads west to Yonge Street and proceeds south all the way to Yonge-Dundas Square, where the Final Play Pride Festival celebration takes place from 2 pm until 11 pm and features a slew of exciting artists, including pop star Joe Jonas and his band DNCE, Glee favorite Alex Newell, the string quartet Well-Strung, and many others."

We decided, I believe, to meet at By the Way Cafe, which is on Bloor St, corner of Brunswick. That is well west of Yonge Street. I don't think we should have any issues and if others are ok with it, I don't think we should change the date of the meetup.

I'd be up for the 2nd for sure. If we still want to do the 3rd, I might recommend meeting in Mississauga, as it'll be easier for folks to get out of Toronto than it will to get in & try moving around.

EDIT: Okay, if it's far enough west that might be all right! I'm just concerned about getting into the city, but if it's only me who might have an issue, no worries. I'll do my best to figure it out. :P

Is there any information on whether transit will be affected that day? If I try to drive in...yeah, don't even want to think about that. :P

We should be fine at By The Way cafe- as far as traffic- hmm-if you are coming from the west- you could park at the Islington subway station and take the subway to Bathurst or Spadina stops.

I can meet on the 2nd if we decide that works better.

Okay. I might just have to beg my husband to drive me in or travel with me. Going into Toronto alone is already a massive anxiety trigger and the thought of going in solo with so many extra people travelling in that day is already causing a physical reaction. (Not anyone's fault, just an FYI in case it seems like I'm making a big deal out of nothing, sorry :( ...) But I don't want to miss this, I've been hoping for an Ontario meetup for years!!! I think I'll have to play it by ear unless I can convince him to travel in with me. Stay tuned.

>22 dk_phoenix: Mark and I will be coming from Pickering, so I definitely share your concern about traffic coming in. We'll be taking the GO train, and I expect it to be packed (but functional). Since we're coming from the opposite direction, I wouldn't really want to meet in Mississauga. And once we're in the city and away from the parade route it should be okay.

But I agree with Cyrel that it would be far better to park at a TTC stop somewhere on the outskirts of the city than to drive the whole way in—I wouldn't recommend driving downtown on a regular day, much less during Pride!

Also, I don't know if we had any thoughts about timing, but I'd say we should go with brunch (say, 10:30 or 11-ish) rather than lunch.

Random facts:

• This 2014 article estimates parade attendance somewhere between 175,000 and 225,000, which of course includes people who already live in Toronto.


• This 2014 summary of GO stats says that weekly GO train ridership is 197,000, of which 91% of those are to and from Union Station.

Of course there are lots of other factors involved; those train numbers presumably include two trips per person, for the most part; I have no idea how many parade-watchers are coming from within the city, or coming from elsewhere but not by train; and there are more trains running on weekdays at rush hour (though they sometimes run extras for special events). But very very roughly, the number of people involved seems to be on the same order of magnitude, so there's no reason for the whole transit system to collapse or anything like that.

>26 dk_phoenix: I'll definitely push for a change to the 2nd if that's what it takes for you to be able to attend!

I could do July 2 -let me know what works-
I must admit that I have been in the Bloor/Spadina area on the day of the Pride Parade and have not seen crowds- they are further east near Yonge.
I will park at the Wilson Subway stop (the parking lots are free on weekends) and take the train downtown.
Wilson is near the 401 and Allen Expressway-if anyone wants to meet me at the Wilson subway stop we could travel downtown together!

I could do either day, as well. I agree about parking at some subway station and take the subway to the Bathurst station, on the Bloor line (By the Way is about 2 or 3 blocks from the corner of Bloor and Bathurst, 5 minutes walking time, at most). One more thing, though and I will check and edit the results in here. There has been a lot of work on the subway lines on weekends, with some sections (stations) closing and shuttle buses being put into operation. This usually happens on the weekends only, but I wonder if they will hold off on that weekend to accommodate the increased number of people in the city. I will call TTC and find out.

I still think the Sunday should be ok

YAY!!! I just spoke to customer service at TTC and she told me that there will be NO subway closures that weekend. So, that is good news. You can park at a station and then hop on a train to meet us. Faith, which direction are you coming in from? Also, would your hubby be willing to put up with a bunch of yackety-yackers and join us? It would probably be nice for Mark to have another guy around! If so, when you get to a TTC station, I would suggest you purchase a day pass for $12 - good for 2 adults, as opposed to $3.25 per person, each trip, separately. Zoe, you and Mark should check that out, too

https://ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Passes/Day_Pass/index.jsp

Let me know what you all decide about date and time. I am meeting LTer (and bookcrosser!) mathgirl40 at By the Way this coming Saturday and I can see then if I need to make a reservation for us. I see from above that we will be 6, maybe 7, so all that remains is date and time.

It's closer than we think! :-)

I was at By the Way this afternoon for a mini meetup with some bookcrossers (only one of whom is not also an LTer). Anyhow, I asked about reservations and was told that they don't do reservations and especially on a holiday weekend, they are not likely to hold a table so I would suggest that we decide on a time to meet and just do our very best to be there at or before that time. Let me know what we decide.

There are other places in that area but this one has good food, and an outdoor patio and is fairly central and easy to get to.

Thank you for looking into everything, Shelley!

I've been holding off on saying anything because I wanted to see if Faith would weigh in further on the date now that we have more information. But from everything I've heard, it sounds like travel on the Sunday should be fine, so I guess we'll go ahead with the original plan unless anyone has any objections?

Faith? I think it would really be no problem to change to the Saturday if that makes a significant difference for you, but we should come to a decision either way.

If I'm not too late to the party, I'd love to join in. I have volunteer shifts both Saturday and Sunday, but whichever day you choose, I'll be walking past By the Way and could stop in for a quick chat/coffee.

Hey, so my husband isn't able to commit on coming in with me one way or the other, so I'll probably have to make a call one way or the other on the day. I really don't want to inconvenience the rest of the group! I also feel like timing for brunch, as Zoe suggested, would be a better call than lunch. On transit, it'll take about 1.5-2 hours to get downtown from Brantford on a regular day, so avoiding the later rush of people to get into the city for evening events will be key. Good to know that previous crowds have centralized further east!

>35 Jenni_Canuck: Yay, of course it's not too late!

>36 dk_phoenix: It's honestly no inconvenience at all to change the day, especially since they don't even take reservations! I haven't seen anyone say they have a particular reason for preferring the Sunday; I just chose that day arbitrarily so that we could make a concrete plan. The company is much more important than the day :)

My takeaway from this whole discussion is that most people don't care about the date, while the person who's driving the farthest prefers the Saturday but is too nice and thoughtful to actually press the point.

So I think we should go with the Saturday, if no one has any objections.

So, shall we say 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 3? I just had another peek at the website and it looks to me from that that they DO take reservations. So, I think I will call or do it via the website and make a reservation for 8 (even though we seem to be 5, confirmed) for 11 o'clock. Or would 11:30 be better? Weigh in, please!

>38 jessibud2: Shelley, are you okay with switching to Saturday per Zoe's comment above?

>39 norabelle414: -In looking back, I see that Zoe and I posted at exactly the same time, so I actually did not see her note when I posted mine! Sorry about that.

I am fine with Saturday. I will check with Cyrel, to see if that's ok with her, too. So, then should we all try to aim for 11 am on Saturday, July 2? I'll see if I can book a reservation online but I have a hunch that they won't take reservations. I'll try, though. Have you heard if Faith has decided? So, it looks like at best, there will be 8 of us.

The weather forecast, at least at this point, looks like it will be a warm weekend. Hopefully, not as stinking hot as THIS weekend. A cool front is coming in by Tuesday, thank goodness but they said that the long weekend should begin to see a warm-up.

Ok, SATURDAY!! :-)

>40 jessibud2: I figured that's what happened :-)

Saturday! Great!

Yay, we have a plan!

>42 _Zoe_: - 11 am!

So, have you heard from Faith? Is she coming, with or without her hubby?

>43 jessibud2: I haven't heard from Faith, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! I'll try contacting her on Twitter if she doesn't post here in the next few days.

>44 _Zoe_: - Sounds good. I sent a PM to Cyrel, too, to give her a heads-up on the date change.

Hi- I may be late that day as I have an appointment that ends at 11am - I'll try to change it.

>46 torontoc: We can always shift it a bit later if necessary; just let us know!

>47 _Zoe_:, >46 torontoc: - I think we should keep it for 11 am, Zoe. I was at a film this morning on Bloor and there was a street fair, closing the entire stretch of Bloor to vehicular traffic with all the shops and restaurants putting up booths along the road. Perfect weather for a street fair (it was only today) but next week, being the holiday weekend, it might be nearly as busy. As I walked past By the Way, it was pretty full (mind you, it was after 1 o'clock). Anyhow, tables seat 4, so if enough of us can get there at or before 11, we should be able to secure 2 tables without any problems. I thought we wanted to aim for brunch, anyhow. I will still try the online booking, sorry, haven't done it yet but I just got home about an hour ago and am trying to cool off. But I say 11 is better than later.

I'll try to get there as soon as possible- I might be able to change my appointment.

I just looked at the 7-day forecast and next Saturday looks great. A predicted high of only 24C (75F), mainly sunny with some cloud. Unlike today, thank goodness, which had a high of 30, with the humidex making it feel like 35C (95F). Great meetup weather! :-)

Okay, 11 it is. Great news about the weather!

And for anyone concerned about the traffic on Bloor, I'll just repeat the suggestion that someone made above not to drive right downtown; park at a subway stop somewhere closer to the 401 instead.

Nora, yesterday at the street fair, there was a booth from the City of Toronto so I picked up a bunch of maps and brochures for you of things to do, and see around the city. I will bring it on Saturday

>52 jessibud2: Awesome! Thanks!

Another thing to mention, for your to-do/see list: at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), there is currently an exhibit by glass artist extraordinare Dale Chihuly. I saw it in Montreal a couple of years ago and it is fantastic. Here is a link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/overwhelmed-by-light-and-colour-dale-chihuly-s-glass...

It started last week and goes until the end of the year, I believe

Yes yes, I will be there! With or without hubster (who knows what he's doing) but I'll get there one way or another. Thanks so much everyone, Saturday makes me feel so much better about getting in/out. I know it's a holiday weekend so it'll probably be packed either way, but I think that also means Sunday will be EXTRA insane. 11am Saturday sounds great. Can I trade phone numbers with one of you though, to text updates in case I get stuck in traffic/train delays, etc.? There are any number of points at which I could end up being late and I don't want anyone to think I've ditched or hold up the group if it takes a while.

>55 dk_phoenix: Sent you a PM with my number!

Anyone else who wants it is welcome to it as well.

Happy to see all our plans moving ahead :)

>54 jessibud2: I was just reading that same article about the Chihuly exhibit and thinking that I'd like to find time to see it if possible!

I have moved my appointment and will be at By the Way at 11 am!

Looking forward to meeting everyone there!

Ooh, there's also a Lawren Harris exhibit opening at the Art Gallery of Ontario, if you want something super-Canadian.

Edit: Oops, I see this was already mentioned above, but it can be repeated! I can't seem to keep track of conversations from more than a week ago.

>60 _Zoe_: - The Lawren Harris exhibit is curated by none other than Steve Martin. Yes, THAT Steve Martin

The Chihuly exhibit is spectacular!

>62 Jenni_Canuck: - Did you already see it? I am planning to go in the fall, since it will be around till the end of the year

>63 jessibud2: I saw it yesterday and I will probably go see it again. The work is exquisite!

Great meet-up! someone has photos!
I had to leave after our second bookstore visit- I have a bad cold!

I do hope someone posts photos!! I don't even think my camera was in my purse, dumb, dumb, dumb!!!

Great meetup! I have pictures on my phone but for some reason they don't automatically transfer to my computer when I'm not in the US, even if I have wifi. I'll manage to post some eventually.

Ahh it was so great to meet everyone!!! I'm so happy that we were able to get together, thanks so much to everyone for coming together to make it happen. New books, a new game to find & play again (I want to try playing the ghost next time, such interesting mechanics...), and plenty of memories. Hope everyone had a great remainder of the weekend & safe travels!

>68 dk_phoenix: Yay, I'm glad you liked the game enough to seek it out again!

Here are a few pictures from the meetup:

It was really nice to meet everyone and I'm sorry I had to leave so early :(
I will have a few pix to upload as soon as I get my iPad back. I left it in a friend's car so it's gone to Niagara Falls for a few days!

I'm glad you had fun! It's now pouring down rain here in Maryland, USA. :(

>71 SqueakyChu: - Man, we could sure use a good downpour of rain!! We had one day of *rain* last week but it was hardy enough to make a difference. We are in a big drought and though the sun is lovely, the ground everywhere is parched. I don't want a deluge, just a good solid rain for a couple of hours, at least.

Missed you there. Maybe next time, Madeline. One of these days, it WILL happen!

Jenni, glad you could make it, and Faith, I am glad that your hubby joined you and us. It was indeed a fun day. Nora, did you get to the zoo? Hope you had a fun time exploring this city. There is always so much to do in the summer. Zoe, you and Mark will have to keep coming back, too! Did you get to see the Chihuly exhibit or the Lawren Harris one?

>72 jessibud2: It would have been great fun to be there with you, but the thought of that long drive just for the weekend just wasn't something I wanted to do. I'm so glad you got to meet "our" Nora! :)

Meanwhile , I'm home with my friend Barbara (whom Nora and Zoe know) making a 'goat cake". She is also a zoo volunteer (different zoo from Nora's, though), and we're trying to figure out how to do this cake for a zoo volunteer social. I'll send a pic of the results. Ha!

Oh my! I can't believe I totally forgot to mention this: Nora, Zoe, Mark, Faith and Dave: did you guys happen to walk by City Hall and see the funky, iconic TORONTO sign? It went up last year during the Pan Am games and has been so popular, it became a permanent fixture and an incredibly popular spot for photos. I cannot believe we never thought of it!

If this link doesn't work, just plug *Toronto sign city hall* into your search engine:

Toronto sign

>74 SqueakyChu: - That sounds hilarious and fun! Do you remember the popular polar bear cub from Germany, Knut, who was hand-raised by his keeper at the zoo? There was a lovely book that came out and a friend/colleague of mine bought it for me for our class. Our 2 classes combined to do a unit on it and we made polar bear cupcakes when we wrapped up the unit. Messy, for sure (what isn't, when kids are involved?) but loads of fun

>76 jessibud2: Do you have pictures of the polar bear cupcakes? I f so, would you share them with me?

>77 SqueakyChu: - I know I have pictures in my files. I'll search through tonight and if I find any decent ones I'll email them to you

Here's our goat cake! :)

That is hilarious - adorable! :-)

>73 jessibud2: I decided not to go to the zoo, Shelley. It would have taken a whole day and there were plenty of other things for me to do! Likewise, I did not go to any traveling or special exhibits at the museums, because there was more than enough for me to see just in the regular galleries.

>75 jessibud2: I walked past the Toronto sign many times! My hotel wasn't far away. It looks very different depending on what time of day you see it.

>79 SqueakyChu: Very cute!

I added LT Local entries for a few Little Free Libraries we (or I) found while wandering around:

Silver Birch Avenue (The Beaches)
Wineva Avenue (The Beaches)
Brunswick Avenue (The Annex)
Trinity-St. Paul's United Church (The Annex)

>73 jessibud2: I didn't end up seeing any of the exhibits; there was just too much else to do. Fortunately the Chihuly exhibit at least is there until January, but I've missed my chance for Lawren Harris :(.

>75 jessibud2: I already posted this in my thread, but here is the obligatory picture of me in the Toronto sign:



>79 SqueakyChu: I love that cake!

(I hope you managed to eat it without sitting on it! :D)

>82 norabelle414: I'm so impressed that you actually managed to add all the LFLs. I never seem to achieve my plans of doing things like that.

>83 _Zoe_: I was trying to add the books I acquired over the weekend and I couldn't add the "from where" if I didn't add the venue first ;-)

>83 _Zoe_: I froze the cake here at my house and sent it up to Catonsville with Barbara. I hope the cake makes it in one piece to the zoo social on July 17th. Barbara is in charge of that event.

Now that I have my iPad back, here are a few pix from our meet-up before I had to run off:











And, some of many pix I took at the Chihuly exhibit: