http://www.facebook.com/bloordaletimesMARCH 2013 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2

Neighbourhood news worth repeating

BY GLYN BOWERMANmrtsgold@msn.com

Metrolinx played host to a heat-ed public consultation as residents along the West Toronto Railpath clamour for electric trains.

Project leaders behind the Union Pearson Express, a large GO Transit undertaking to re-shape the railpath and build a link between Pearson International Airport and Union Station along the Georgetown South Rail Corri-dor, held a meeting at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, Feb. 21.

The consultation was intended

to update residents about con-struction, road closures, noise re-duction and vegetation removal, as well as how to take advantage of employment opportunities cre-ated by the project.

But many of the nearly 50 resi-dents who attended the meeting came to voice their continued displeasure over the project’s in-tended use of diesel instead of electric trains when the Air Rail Link opens in 2015.

Suri Weinberg-Linsky, co-chair of the Weston Community Coali-tion, told the crowd she has been fighting against diesel trains since 2005.

Weinberg-Linsky said the rush towards diesel was the result of Toronto’s successful 2015 Pan Am Games bid, and ignores residents’ calls for a cleaner, electrified rail system.

“We’re already building some-thing with taxpayer dollars,” she said. “If we just morphed it a little bit, and not force it down everybody’s throat for a two-week sporting event, we would have exactly what we need in the city.”

Metrolinx has said it will elec-trify the line sometime around 2017, but plans to open the line in time for the games, using diesel

trains retrofitted with Tier 4 emis-sion reducing technology, still in development.

Davenport’s federal and provin-cial NDP representatives, MP An-drew Cash and MPP Jonah Schein, were in attendance; but the long-time political proponents of elec-trification also drew some criti-cism from residents.

Kevin Putnam of the Junction Triangle Rail Committee told the Bloordale Times that the sup-port doesn’t go far enough, and the NDP at Queen’s Park should use the electrification issue as a...

see SAFE ROADS page 2

INSIDEA MOVIE JOURNEY FOR

THE AGESResident embarks on an

incredible year-long project Page 3

BLOORDALE GUIDE TO MARCH BREAK

Bloordale’s road map to a fun, eventful March Break

Page 9

NEW MAKEUP SCHOOL OPENS ITS DOORS

Theatrix School of Makeup opens up on Geary Ave.

Page 6

TRAFFIC TEAM LOBBIES FOR

SAFER ROADS Local meeting prompts talk

about Junction Triangle roads

BY KHRIS REARDONkhristopher.reardon@gmail.com

Safety and traffic flow was con-sidered at a community meeting on Feb. 28 discussing potential changes to incoming and outgo-ing traffic for the Junction Tri-angle area.

The potential changes to the area are going to see a slew of one-way streets installed creating a looping pattern in the residential areas west of Symington Ave..

Ward 18 Councillor Ana Bailão accompanied by her Traffic Com-mittee made of community mem-bers, led the cheer for safer roads. Bailão held the meeting to gather ideas from the community on how to make the area safer for transport.

“There were already a lot of concerns that were starting to mount up. That I thought it was better to bring the community to-gether to try and address some of these issues and who better than the people the live on and use...

COMMUNITY CALLS FOR ELECTRIC TRAINS

TIMES

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see ELECTRIC TRAINS page 3

02

News

The Bloordale Times March 2013

BY JOSHUA SHERMANjoshuaxsherman@gmail.com

The Beer Store has opened a new recycling facility at 299 Campbell Ave., just west of the intersection of Dupont St. and Lansdowne Ave., where in addition to empty alcohol con-tainers consumers can return old electronics, batteries and cans of paint.

“We were looking at ways to better serve customers who come in weekly returning their case, buying their case, as well as bulk returns,” said Brian Zeiler-Kligman, a spokes-person for The Beer Store.

The facility, which was launched as a pilot project called Recycling Plus, is operated in partnership with Stewardship Ontario and Sims Recycling Solutions.

No beer will be sold on-site, but custom-ers will still receive refunds for deposits on empty alcohol containers as they would at any Beer Store.

Smoke detectors, medical electronics, aerosol and air conditioners are not accepted at the facility.

While most types of paint are accepted, automotive and marine paints are not. Zeiler-Kligman said the location for the pilot was chosen because of its proximity to Beer Stores that see high return rates on empties.

Eight Beer Store locations within a five-kilometre radius of the facility account for 30 to 40 per cent of all empty alcohol containers the company recovers in Toronto, said Zeiler-Kligman.

If the response to the pilot is positive, Zeiler-Kligman said The Beer Store would consider opening up other facilities in the province.

Possible sites include additional locations in the GTA as well as in Ottawa and Ham-ilton.

“We’re part of the community and so it makes sense for us to be there,” said Zeiler-Kligman of The Beer Store’s involvement with the project. “Environmental leadership is one of the core values of the company,” he said.

The Beer Store’s Recycling Plus facility is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

BEER STORE OPENS UP RECYCLING DEPOSITORY TO COMMUNITY

...these streets every day,” said Ana Bailão.

For nearly a year, the residents who made up the body of the Traffic Commit-tee met with city traffic staff to come up with solutions for the traffic problems in the area. By working with the city, the resi-dents came up with a better understand-ing of the traffic issues in the area using information collected by the city like traf-fic counts.

The area has been hard hit hard by traf-fic with people using residential streets to cut between Dupont St. to Bloor St.. This causes particular concern in the Junction Triangle because many of the side streets are very narrow and unable to manage the traffic safely.

“The number one concern here was safety. Slowing down cars and diverting them onto arteries and hopefully making it a safer place to live,” said Matt Sawa, a member of the committee.

Among proposed changes are the one-ways which will see major funnelling of traffic to make it less convenient to cut between Dupont and Bloor streets. Bailão and her committee say this will cut overall

traffic on the backstreets of the area.“The amount and speed of traffic in the

Junction Triangle has increased in the ten years I’ve lived at Perth and Wallace. A large percentage of this traffic is look-ing for shortcuts on residential side streets instead of staying on major arterial roads such as Bloor, Symington and Dupont. Volume speeding and noise not only af-fect safety but also affects quality of life in a community,” said Scott Dobson, another member of the traffic committee, appeal-ing to other residents.

“The goal of the committee was to im-prove the quality of life in Junction tri-angle by slowing down and discouraging non local traffic. We recognize that once changes like this are made it takes awhile to adjust.”

Other changes will see new all day park-ing and a student pick up and drop off zone on Perth at Ruskin avenues and new advanced turn lights at the Dupont St. and Symington Ave. and Dupont St.and Landsdowne Ave. intersections. Another change will be no left turns during rush hour restriction when turning onto Camp-bell Ave. while going west on Dupont St.

Ana Bailão is still seeking residents’ feedback on the traffic plan.

SAFE ROADS from page 1

As part of an initiative by the Beer Store to convey their environmental care, the Recycling Plus program is launched in Toronto with hopes for expansion

We are currently selectively expanding our roster!

**Please email us a few recent photos of yourself (does not have to be professional) along with some measurements and your contact information. We will proceed with the registration process from there if we choose to work together, please email us at: membership@torontofilmextras.com**

www.torontofilmextras.com

Work In the Film Industry*IT’S EASY!*The first of many hopeful Recycling Plus locations in

Ontario. Photo by Joshua Sherman

With the Oscars right behind us, more than a few moviegoers lined up at theatres across the city the past few months to catch up on all those nominated films. But imag-ine watching a movie in the theatre every day.

Since ringing in the New Year, that is ex-actly what Bloordale resident Jessica Berry

has been up to, along with documenting her experience in her blog http://myyearatthe-movietheatre.tumblr.com/

Her mission: See a different movie in the theatre for 365 days in a row, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2013

The Rules:1. She must see a new movie that is only

playing in a movie theatre2. She can watch the movies at any time of

the day, as long they are on different calen-dar days. i.e. She can watch a 7:30 p.m. show

and watch another movie in the same the-atre that starts at 12:01 a.m. This is consid-ered legal within the rules as the 12:01 a.m. showing is technically the next day.

3. If she misses a day, the challenge is over.This is no ordinary challenge, as she not

only invests on average close to two hours each day for watching the movies, but must also invest time for travelling back and forth to the theatres, as well as the funds required to complete such a task.

So far for the months of January and Feb-

ruary, Berry has spent 111 hours and 52 minutes watching the movies, and $430.02 on tickets, which she shares as infographs on her blog following each month.

But as a lifelong movie buff, this has not been difficult for Berry. Having completed a similar month-long challenge back in the 1990s as a bet, this year’s challenge is only upping the ante.

“I like challenges. I thought this may be a good opportunity to break a world record,” said Berry.

Talking of the inspiration for this chal-lenge, and the one in the past, Berry was fed up with movie critics giving great reviews for average movies.

“Does watching a bunch of bad movies make you think a mediocre movie is good?” asks Berry. “A lot of bad movies get made because of the DVD market.”

She was also curious to find out things like if your mood can affect how you view and enjoy the movie.

After every film, Berry posts on her blog details of what movie she watched, where and when she saw it, humorous accounts of what happens in the theatre before the movie, her review, along with photos of the movie ticket, title screen of the film and any other special features.

But how can one person possibly watch 365 different new movies? Luckily Toron-to is a hotbed for the film industry, where anything from multi-million dollar block-busters like Life of Pi, children’s animated features like Wreck-It Ralph, and even low budget indie documentaries and dramatic shorts like Curfew are all within reach. “Shadows of Liberty is a great documentary. The Central Park Five was amazing”, says Berry, as she rhymes off some of her favou-rite movies watched thus far, with Zero Dark Thirty topping her list.

03

News

The Bloordale Times March 2013

BLOORDALE RESIDENT EMBARKS ON YEAR-LONG FILM JOURNEY Longtime movie buff Jessica Berry plans to visit a movie theatre everyday for the entire 2013 calendar year and so far, two months in, she shows no signs of slowing down

BY MELISSA MILLERSONmelissa.millerson@gmail.com

...condition for cooperation with the Ontario Liberals’ minor-ity government.

During the question and an-swer period, Schein echoed the frustrations of residents he has spoken to.

“It’s like somebody’s broken into your house without permis-sion, and then is rearranging the furniture,” Schein said. “The real message I’ve heard is that people want this to be electrified. And we know it will happen very soon, but the deadline around the Pan Am seems absolutely arbitrary at this point.”

Schein was set to introduce a

private member’s bill enforcing electrification, until former pre-mier Dalton McGuinty resigned and prorogued parliament just days before a vote on the motion was scheduled.

Now, with a new Liberal gov-ernment and Minister of Trans-portation – Toronto Centre MPP Glen Murray – Schein hopes to put the issue back on the table.

“I will bring a new bill to the floor,” Schein told the Bloordale Times. “We’re going to continue to find as many ways as possible to engage on this issue. So I’ve spo-ken to Glen Murray already, for-mally I’m planning to meet with him to talk about this.”

Stephen Lipkus, the George-

town South Project’s executive director, told the Bloordale Times it was clear from the consultation that residents want electrification, but it will require a new environ-mental assessment.

Lipkus said previous assess-ments did not consider an electric option which may include its own set of concerns for residents.

“The construction for the Georgetown South corridor ab-solutely will take up to the end of 2014 to complete,” Lipkus said. “And electrification couldn’t pos-sibly begin to go in until all the tracks, and all the infrastructure is in place. So, our aim, our goal right now is to get that complet-ed.”

Local resident Jessica Berry is two months deep in her 365 day challenge and has the tickets to show for it. Photo by Justin Millerson

Councillor Bailão stands in front of a mock example of a proposed noise reduction wall aimed to mitigate sound from the trains. Photo courtesy Kevin Putnam

ELECTRIC TRAINS from page 1

Two young artists are quickly making a name for themselves in Toronto’s diverse media industry.

Martin MacPherson and Ian Carleton, both Sheridan College graduates who studied media arts, moved to Bloordale Village a few

years back to pursue their creative dreams.

“[Media arts] encompasses all kinds of things,” said MacPherson. “Anything from graphic design to animation to video editing.”

Although MacPherson has dem-onstrated his innovative talent through music videos, short films, set design and claymation, he said

his innate passion for art began as an aptitude for drawing as a young boy.

“I’ve always had a knack for drawing,” he said. “I always drew. I always start doodling. Even now, if I’m out at a bar, I’ll grab a pen and draw on napkins. I want to make a mark.”

But no matter what context his

work is in, MacPherson said he wants his finished products to have a lasting impression, to mean some-thing profound.

“At the end of they day, I want my content to not just take up space, but I want it to teach something,” he said.

MacPherson and Carleton be-came friends at Sheridan College, and have since collaborated togeth-er on a number of different projects, including music videos and short films.

After graduating from college,

Carleton, who works primarily as a cinematographer, has dedicated his time and energy to the company he established in 2009, Ian G. Car-leton.

“I get hired by people who have projects that they need moving im-ages for, and I help them translate their ideas into images,” Carleton said, adding that most of the proj-ects he receives are through refer-rals in the industry and word-of-mouth.

Carleton shot two independent feature films last year: The Oxbow Cure, which was filmed last March, and Hunter Green, which is cur-rently in the post-production phase.

MacPherson and Carleton are continuing to make use of the vast artistic industry that exists in To-ronto. MacPherson grew up in Grimsby, near Niagara Falls, and Carleton grew up in Almonte, a small town outside of Ottawa. Both said the big city has expanded their horizons.

“Working in Toronto is really cool right now because the industry is so broad,” said Carleton. “There are so many different avenues to work in, and so many projects you can do. You can find many like-minded individuals.”

Although the artistic industry in Toronto is immense, Carleton said it is still possible to stand out among the crowd.

“The industry is so diverse, but you can have your own little niche and find a way to work with it,” he said.

As for the future, MacPherson and Carleton both have a common goal: to continue moving forward in the industry and produce inspiring content with people who are just as passionate and creative as they are.

04

News

The BloordaleTimes March 2013

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TIMESBLOORDALEB

TWO LOCAL MULTI-PLATFORM ARTISTS LOOK TO NESTLE IN TORONTO’S MEDIA SCENE

Local artist Martin MacPherson readies himself for a sketch. Photo by Darryn O’Malley

BY DARRYN O’MALLEYdarryn17@hotmail.com

COUNCILLOR ANA BAILÃO 416-392-7012

Dear residents, As City Council awaits final re-

ports regarding new ways to fund the fast, efficient, and sustainable transit our city needs, the Province of On-tario has its own transit plan, the Big Move. An important part of this plan is the Georgetown Corridor, a rail line which runs directly along the western boundary of our community. While plans have been made to have the Air-Rail Link route within the corridor operate using Diesel trains, I stand firmly with local residents in favour of the electrification of this rail line to minimize noise and pollution for the surrounding neighbourhood.

On March 8th, the City of Toronto marked the one year anniversary of Council’s motion that called on the electrification of the Air Rail Link as soon as possible. The motion further

requested that the Province consider elec-trifying the Corridor by 2015, and for al-ternative transportation to be arranged for the Pan-Am games so that electrification of the Georgetown Corridor could begin as soon as possible. To mark this impor-tant anniversary, I wished to provide you with an update of recent developments on this issue

In addition to electrification of the Air Rail Link, many residents have spoken with me about the proposed sound walls that Metrolinx announced as part of their noise & vibration mitigation work. I share the concerns of residents – including seri-ous questions about the safety, aesthetics, and impact to the West Toronto Railpath – and contacted Metrolinx regarding these community concerns immediately upon hearing of the proposed installations.

To further ensure that our neighbour-hood concerns were heard, I invited Metrolinx to our community to respond directly to these concerns in a meeting I hosted on February 7. At this meeting Metrolinx recognized that greater efforts were needed to hear from our community.

The meeting included additional details on how Metrolinx planned to gain commu-nity feedback regarding the sound walls; as well as a pledge for to hold more meet-ings, have increased outreach and greater engagement of local residents in our area.

I also recognize that the electrification of the Air-Rail Link is a decision that must be made politically. For this reason, I or-ganized a meeting with then-Minister of Transportation, Bob Chiarelli, the Mem-ber of Provincial Parliament whose minis-try oversees Metrolinx operations. Myself and members of the community had the opportunity to speak with the Minister and express our shared concerns about the sound walls and the need for electric trains. At this meeting the Minister indicated that electrification of the Georgetown was pos-sible by 2017.

We now have a new Premier and a new Transportation Minister, and I look for-ward to working with both toward this 2017 electrification target and to ensure that our community has the safe, sustain-able and forward-thinking transit it de-serves.

MP ANDREW CASH 416-654-8048

MPP JONAH SCHEIN416-535-3158

A year ago we wrote in this pa-per to share our plans to advocate for clean, electric trains along the UP Express Air Rail Link. We want to thank the community for all the hard work you have done to fight for healthier communities, a cleaner en-vironment and smarter investments in public transit.

As many of you remember, last year over 600 residents joined On-tario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath at our Clean Train Festival, along with community advocates, local MPs, MPPs and Councillors, and to tell the Premier that we want clean,

electric trains in our communities. Directly following the festival, Jo-

nah Schein introduced a bill in the Ontario Legislature that would have required the Union Pearson Air Rail Link be built using electric trains. It was a huge disappointment however when three days before the bill was set to be debated, Premier Dalton McGuinty shut down Queen’s Park thus wiping the Clean Trains Bill off the province’s legislative agenda.

Jonah then convened an emer-gency press conference at Queen’s Park with community groups and concerned health and environmen-tal groups. The following month, Metrolinx announced that electri-fication of the Union Pearson Ex-press was a priority for Metrolinx, and part of the next wave of the Big Move.

This was welcome news, and a direct result of the hard work done by so many of you. Every petition signature, email and phone call told the Premier and Metrolinx that we will not accept dirty diesel trains in our neighbourhoods. We continue to demand clean, electric trains, and this announcement puts us closer than ever to winning this goal

We know that electrifying the UP Express and Go Transit lines is the smart choice for our communities, our health, and our transit system. Now, it seems as though Metrolinx has heard us.

We’ve come this far, because west-end residents and community groups like Junction Triangle Rail Committee, and Clean Train Coali-tion continue to speak up loudly for electrification. We heard your con-

cerns and as your representatives we continue to work hard with you to mobilize our community and to keep this issue squarely on the po-litical agenda.

Jonah and his colleagues Cheri Di Novo and Rosario Marchese have been tireless advocates on this issue, and Andrea Horwath and the On-tario NDP made a strong commit-ment to immediate electrification in the 2011 election platform.

Andrew and his colleagues MPs Peggy Nash, Mike Sullivan and Ol-ivia Chow and federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair continue to cham-pion electrification as part of a Na-tional Transit Strategy.

Earlier this year, Toronto City Councillors from across the political spectrum and across the city voted overwhelmingly to support electrifi-cation and integrate the UP Express into a commuter transit plan.

Immediate electrification is sup-ported by transit advocacy groups like TTC Riders and health organi-zations including Canadian Asso-ciation of Physicians for the Envi-ronment (CAPE) and the Asthma Society of Canada.

We have written a letter to Minis-ter Murray asking him to meet with representatives from along the UP Express Air Rail Link, and we will make sure that he understands how important this issue is to Davenport residents.

And now that the Legislature is back, Jonah plans to reintroduce his Private Member’s Bill to ensure that the government commits in the Legislature to the electrification of

the UP Express. This issue must be taken seriously and we need to know when and how this government plans to electrify the UP Express.

Still, the most powerful advocate for clean, electric trains is you-- con-cerned residents and local commu-nity groups. It is your hard work and dedication that has pressured Metro-linx and the government to change tracks, and we need your help to take the next steps which is the financial and Legislative commitment from the Liberal Government to electrifi-cation of the Air Rail Link.

Take Action:We need you to send your own

letter, email, phone call, or tweet to Minister Murray to make sure that he knows our community is com-mitted to clean, electric trains. We need to hear the Ontario Govern-ment commit resources and a clear timeline for electrification. You can reach the Minister by email at minis-ter.mto@ontario.ca mto@ontario.ca; by phone at 416-327-9200; and on Twitter @Glen4ONT.

Please get in touch if you would like to get involved. Contact our of-fice to request a Clean Trains Now lawn sign, to sign our petition, or simply if you would like more infor-mation.

Working for you in Davenport,Andrew Cash MP and Jonah

Schein MPPAndrew’s office can be reached at

416-654-8048 or andrew.cash@parl.gc.ca

Jonah’s office can be reached at 416-535-3158 or jschein-co@ndp.on.ca

05

Letters from your political representatives

The Bloordale Times March 2013

06

New In Business

The Bloordale Times March 2013

BY ASHLEY COWELLashleymcowell@gmail.com

The Theatrix Costume House is es-tablishing itself as a one stop spot for its customers.

The Theatrix School of Makeup, which opened in the past few months as a sister company of Theatrix Cos-tume House, is offering customers and clients an opportunity to touch up their makeup skills.

Gina Anki, Owner and Artistic Di-rector of the Theatrix School of Make-up, said over the years she noticed many customers of the costume house being interested in learning to apply and utilize the makeup that they were buying in hand with their costumes. Just like that, the idea for a combined experience was born.

“It’s one thing to go into a costume store and purchase makeup and then it is another to know how to apply make-up,” Anki said.

The full experience is offered be-tween the two companies. At Hal-loween, for example, many people came in to not only rent a costume but they were able to book appoint-ments to get their makeup done by a professional before their event they were going to. As well as having their makeup done, they have affordable options for learning how to do their own makeup or developing skills they may already have.

Theatrix’s website shows a selection of workshops, some over the course of a few weeks and others over the course of a few hours. The costs vary between the different kinds of spe-cialized workshops they offer. There are beauty and makeup courses for the non-professionals and there are also theatre and special effect cours-es for industry professionals. For most of the non-professional work-shops, no previous experience is...

‘D-Mart Natural Foods’In your daily travels, you may notice D-Mart as you pass by the corner of St. Clarens Ave. and Bloor St. The neighbourhood grocer prides itself as a shop that offers an assortment of health food products along with your standard food options.

The store boasts a full grocery section with plenty of organic and natural food options. With that, D-Mart features a health and beauty depart-ment, a wide selection of vitamins and tucked in the back, a baby foods department. D-Mart vows to offer the lowest price on health food products in the neighbourhood. See below for sale details!

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The Theatrix Costume House, seen here, now plays a complementary to Theatrix School of Makeup which opened just months ago. Photo by Ashley Cowell

NEW MAKEUP SCHOOL OPENS AS PART OF A COSTUME SHOP BRANDOwner and operator Gina Anki, opens up Theatrix School of Makeup with hopes to provide what she believes is a need among the costume dwelling community

see MAKEUP page 10

Who could resist free hot choc-olate, s’mores and art?

Fourth year Material Art and Design students from Ontario Col-lege of Arts and Design (OCAD) University braved the cold weather for 12 hours on Feb. 16, for Repeti-tive Creation, an art project held at Dufferin Grove Park.

Cheyenne Twiner, one of the

event’s organizers, said that in-stead of selling their work they wanted to take people through the process of how they create.

“We’ve limited ourselves to do just what we can create without electricity and just what we can do by hand sitting outside,” Twiner said.

The five students knitted, cro-cheted, embroidered and did wax work from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The inspiration behind the stu-

dents’ art was the very environ-ment in which they worked in. The 12-hour day, the weather and the lighting (or in the evening, the lack thereof) were all honed into each piece of art created.

OCAD student Jocelyn Kalde-way said it was like any other day for the group, just in a different setting.

“12-hour days are so regular in the lives of art-ists and stu-

dents, so this is just any other day, but we’ve decided to take it out into the community,” Kaldeway said.

The group held the event as part of a school project.

OCAD student Colleen Mc-Carten said the process of organiz-ing and planning the event took about a month and a half.

“We sought out other people

for donations with wood and hot chocolate, so it was helpful in that sense,” McCarten said.

Each piece of art created during the event was available for pur-chase.

For those who didn’t make it to Repetitive Creation, the artists said they are planning to follow up with an event this summer. Details have yet to be set.

07

News

The Bloordale Times March 2013

Art students bare the outdoor elements while creating a number of different pieces of art at Dufferin Grove Park. Photo by Raquelle Collins

OCAD UNIVERSITY STUDENTS RUN PROJECT AT DUFFERIN PARKBY RAQUELLE COLLINSraquellecollins@hotmail.com

GREEKO GRILLGreeko Grill and Cafe nestled itself at Dufferin station’s eastern exit a few months ago and since, the new restaurant has garnered some serious interest from the community. With a wide variety of eats hailing from many different parts of the world, Greeko vows to serve the public at an affordable price. Burgers, pitas, tacos and burritos is just the tip of the menu iceberg. The restaurant also serves a number of platters starting at $5.00. For the chicken lovers out there, Greeko offers whole, half and quarter chicken dinners served with rice and salad. If you are looking for a bite before work, a variety of breakfast plates is also available for purchase starting at $3.99. And don’t worry about sleeping in, breakfast is served all day!Looking for a quick hot beverage? Greeko boasts a full cafe menu which includes coffee, espresso and number of different teas.For full menu details, visit www.greekogrill.com

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Organic Foods

Bulk Foods

Arora Foods Market opened its doors in the Fall of 2010 for the residents of Toronto area. We bring you the finest Canadian groceries, organic foods, nuts & spices, fresh vegetables, bulk foods, mouth-watering snacks & deli, whole grains, frozen foods, and health foods including coconut sugar, herbal garlic supplement, & essential vitamins. Our snacks and sweets are made of best quality and fresh ingredients. Come for a friendly, flavorful and enjoyable shopping experience.

Come and taste the difference at Arora Foods Market!

“Foods you will find no where else!”

Ph: (416) 588-5250At the corner of Bloor St. & Concord Ave.

Follow us on Twitter @ArorafoodsMarke

This page is a joint effort between the Bloordale Times and the Bloordale BIA to showcase local businesses.

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Doing a stay-cation with the kids this March Break? Great idea! March Break is a perfect time to spend the week relaxing and ex-ploring this wonderful city. You may choose to hit hot spots like the R.O.M., A.G.O. and Young People’s Theatre, but there’s also much to explore in Ward 18 and for the most part, it’s free.

Our Toronto Public Libraries

Check out the Bloor/Gladstone branch for activities nearly every day of the break. Starting Tuesday March 12 from 2-3 p.m., children six and up can take part in a craft workshop that echoes the current season.

Are you a more adventurous type? Learn fun facts about Bloor/Gladstone on Wednesday March 13 (pop in anytime) during an age specific scavenger hunt through the library (10-20 minutes in

length depending on age). Once your detective skills have been honed, stick around in the after-noon (2-4 p.m.) for the Canadian French language film Daniel et le Super Dog.

Thursday March 14 magician Stephen Elvay entertains those five and up from 2-3 p.m. with comic flair. Get your complimentary tick-ets from the children’s department ahead of time to ensure you catch this popular act. Finally, round out your week with another Friday matinee film (2 p.m.) with Mon-sters, Inc! and on Saturday March 16, enjoy Spanish storytime (not limited to Spanish speakers) lead by local resident and early child-hood educator Yecid Ortega from 10:00-10:30 a.m.

The Perth/Dupont Branch offers a few rounds of Bingo. On Tues-day March 12 from 2-3 p.m. and on Wednesday March 13 a craft workshop runs for ages six and up. If you couldn’t get tickets to the Bloor/Gladstone magic show, come by Perth-Dupont for Ma-gician Jason Palter on Thursday

March 14 entertaining ages six and up from 2-3 p.m. and finish up the week with movie matinee (TBD) on Friday. Showtime is at 2 p.m..

Wallace Emerson Community Centre is running March Break “special themed” camps (register for next year 416-392-0039) at the reasonable rate of $125 per week (5 years), $107 (6-12 years) $61 half

days (3-4 years). Feel like some ex-ercise? Then the Wallace Emerson pool runs family hours all through the break. Be sure to call 416-392-7985 to get the special March Break schedule.

Dufferin Grove Park rink is open until March 15. So bring your skates (or money to rent) and get ready to enjoy the last free skates of

the season. As well, Thursday from 3-7 p.m. is the weekly farmer’s market, always filled with healthy treats for the family. And if you feel like recreating a winter camping experience, check out the campfire program whereby you can book a spot with friends and family. You can reach it here: http://dufferin-park.ca/campfires/wiki/wiki.php/

09

Feature ~ Health & Wellness

The Bloordale Times March 2013

BY DR. JENNIFER BAERhealth@drjenniferbaer.com

Ask Your Bloordale Naturopath/Nutritionist – Dr. Jennifer Baer, RHN, ND

Got a question? health@drjen-niferbaer.com

You Are What You Eat: In hon-our of National Nutrition Month

Nutrition has been defined as: the organic process of nourish-ing or being nourished by food. I would add: the mechanical and chemical process of digesting, absorbing and making available energy and nutrients from food, necessary to sustain life. Would it be fair then to say that we are what we eat?

There are multiple origins to this idiom. However, it was never literal in intent – but pointed to the idea that what you eat affects your state of mind and health. Mi-chael Pollan illustrates in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, that we have, in fact, literally become what we eat. And what we eat, appar-ently, is a lot of corn.

The ancient Mayans referred to

themselves as “corn walking”, ow-ing to their reliance on corn as their staple. Corn still makes up 40% of the Mexican diet, with wheat as our staple here. Yet, Pollan asserts, North Americans should adopt the moniker “processed corn walking”. Scientists can now identify how much of the carbon in our tissues comes from corn. And it turns out; North Americans are signifi-cantly “cornier” than Mexicans.

To what do we owe this shift in our composition?

Surplus. American. Corn. Enough surplus to necessitate

a whole industrial food & pet-rochemical industry to support it. Virtually ALL processed food is made from fractions (re-imag-ined by-products) of industrial grade surplus corn (or soy) – that wouldn’t be deemed fit for human consumption as its corn-self. A full 60% goes towards feeding formerly grass-eating cattle/livestock. And - Pollan reminds us - you aren’t only what you eat, but what you eat, eats too. A typical processed food’s ingredients read like a veritable corn-ucopia: lecithin, corn meal,

MSG, citric acid, glucose, fruc-tose, maltodextrin, mannitol, xanthan gum, modified starch-es, vegetable oil, margarine, shortening, and the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup just to name a FEW.

If we are what we eat, and what we eat, eats, shouldn’t we spend a little more time think-ing about the quality of the food we consume? March is National Nutrition Month, and I entreat you to spend a little bit of time considering the fol-lowing:

- Where does my food come from; how was it grown or raised?

- How did food get to my lo-cal supermarket?

- Can I include organic, seasonal, local and sustainable foods in my diet?

- How does the quality of the food I eat affect my health? The environment?

- How can I become more educated about food choices?

Jennifer Baer, RHN, ND is your local Naturopathic Doc-

tor, trained chef and Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She offers additional guidance & resources on these topics on her website http://www.drjenniferbaer.com

and in her local private practice. Jennifer offers nutritional consul-tations and a Spring Cleanse Pro-gram for those interested in mak-ing healthy dietary changes.

ASK YOUR BLOORDALE NUTRITIONIST AND NATUROPATH DR. JENNIFER BAER

Dr. Jennifer Baer, licensed nutritionist and naturopath.

YOUR BLOORDALE GUIDE ON WHAT TO DO DURING MARCH BEAKBY MARY B. VALENCIAmarybvalencia@yahoo.ca

The Bloor/Gladstone Library is one of many local community hubs holing events over March break. Photo courtesy Creative Commons

For over twenty-one years, the Loyola Arrupe Centre for Seniors has been a place for those 55 and

over to go to engage in meaningful and affordable social programs. Previously located near Keele and Bloor streets, the centre promotes active and independent living for Toronto’s west-end senior com-

munity, and has recently rebrand-ed to become the L.A. Centre for Active Living, and has made the move to Bloordale at 55 Rankin Cres..

Program Director Melissa Scott

is confident with the relocation of the centre and what it will ulti-mately offer to Bloordale residents.

“We like the Bloordale neigh-bourhood because it is so diverse and that’s what we are

really targeting,” said Scott

Since the move, resi-dents are becoming famil-iar with the centre and the number of programs run within its walls.

“Our membership is creeping up slowly, and there are people out there interested for sure,” said Program Assistant Nancy Beatty.

“Now that we are in the neighbourhood, we are learning the demograph-ics and also learning that there is truly a need,” add-ed Scott.

The centre offers high quality programs and ac-tivities such as movies,

line dancing, Zumba, cardio and a chair fitness class, yoga, special lunches and computer classes. Many of these classes and pro-grams run at a subsidized cost for seniors, who are often faced with a limited, fixed income.

Funding for the $125,000 an-nual budget comes from a variety of places, including the City of Toronto, the Ministry of Health and Catholic Charities Funds. As a registered charity, public contri-butions are also accepted, with all funding strictly put towards the Centre’s programming.

The Centre is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A weekly schedule of events is available online by going to http://www.loyolaarrupecentre.com.

For more information on the Centre and its programs, you can email the office at office@loyolaar-rupecentre.com, or by phoning Melissa Scott at 416-452-4875 or Nancy Beatty at 416-452-4530.

New In Business ~ News

10 The Bloordale Times March 2013

...needed for people who are interested in getting started.

“Our courses are not geared towards one specific population or target population,” Anki said. “What we do is very different from any other school in North America.”

All workshops are taught by freelance makeup artists who are currently working in the business, which makes the content of each workshop relevant.

Anki said the school has three main in-centives – to have working artists as educa-tors, the workshops to be short, intensive in a small class structure and affordability for all clients.

Theatrix Costume House moved from its downtown location a few years ago and is now located on the upper floor of 165 Geary Ave., the school and the costume

house being right beside each other. Due to the cost of being downtown, the com-pany moved into a neighbourhood that it is feeling at home in.

Anki said the surrounding community is a very creative one and the location they are at is very accessible for local residence and the ones that come from outside of town.

With the costume house being around now for almost 47 years, its establishment provided a jumping off point for the ex-pansion of the sister company. Enroll-ment, which is keeping average numbers right now, is expected to grow as the school continues to gather attention from previous clients and new clients.

For more information or to register for the workshops, visit their website at http://www.theatrixschoolofmakeup.com or call 416-588-8008.

MAKEUP from page 6

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The Theatrix School of Makeup sits just meters away from the costume house. Photo by Ashley Cowell

ACTIVE LIVING CENTRE FOR SENIORS OPENS ON RANKIN CRES

Program Director Melissa Scott (far left) and Program Assistant Nancy Beatty (far right) are joined by city dignitaries for the centre’s grand opening held a couple months ago. Photo courtesy Loyola Arrupe Centre for Seniors

BY MELISSA MILLERSONmelissa.millerson@gmail.com

11

Community Contributions

The BloordaleTimes March 2013

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR? HAVE A HAND IN YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER? WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING PHOTOS, COMICS, POEMS, PUZZLES AND SHORT

STORIES FOR THIS PAGE. EMAIL US AT THEBLOORDALETIMES@GMAIL.COM!

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Fill in the grid with digits in such a

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Hair Hairchild a.k.a. madame HAIR is a local artist, DJ, puppeteer, and vocalist living in the Bloordale village. She is presently working on a children’s picture book...coming soon.

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