'MO - July 2008 - (Page 20)

travel TORONTO A GREAT PLACE TO MEET Text and photos by Aefa Mulholland Lake Ontario is one of the ﬁ ve Great Lakes of North America. As Canada’s center of industry and commerce and a favored immigration point from every corner of the globe, the Huron word “Toronto” (meaning meeting place) is still—centuries after native Canadians named it—a valid description of the city. Now a metropolitan area of over 5 million, the core of this mega-city is made up mostly of singlefamily homes and parks with several “downtowns” scattered throughout. The core downtown’s skyscraper-crammed skyline easily passes for a sort of generic “big city” America on ﬁlm, which has contributed to Toronto’s success as one of the largest TV and ﬁlm production centers in North America. But forget all the comparisons with New York and the long running rivalry between T.O. and Montreal; Toronto is a thrilling city in its own right. As each new wave of immigration dilutes the steely reserve left over from centuries of polite British dominance. Canada’s friendliest metropolis gets more and more enticing. This vast, vibrant city shakes off its chilly winters and throws itself into summer with a fervor that has to be experienced to be believed. Walk through the city’s diverse neighborhoods and it seems like there’s a festival going on around every corner. June’s thrilling arts festival Luminato has barely ﬁnished before the entire city enthusiastically embraces Pride. Outdoing all other North American Pride festivals with its scope and quality, Toronto’s celebrations are gargantuan and last a joyful ten days. It’s statistically impossible to throw a dart at the city’s summer calendar and not hit a festival. Summer offers ﬁlm, theatre, dance, jazz, sports, and ethnic celebrations, including North America’s largest Caribbean festival. A photo from Luminato, Toronto’s festival of arts and creativity. The LGBT community lives throughout the city, but Toronto has two distinct homo hoods—the traditional and more mainstream ChurchWellesley gay village, and the stretch of West Queen Street West, home to a hip alternative set, that has been nicknamed “Queer West.” STAY With its slew of well-deﬁned neighborhoods, where you choose to stay will give your Toronto trip distinct ﬂavor. Opt for the elegant, celebrity-favored Four Seasons (21 Avenue Rd; 800-819-5053 or 416-964-0411; www.fourseasons.com/toronto; C$275+), in upscale Yorkville, to have museums, designer shopping, and chic eateries on your doorstep, and perfect service and generous accommodations within. Choose Cawthra Square and Gloucester Square Bed and Breakfast Inns (512-514 Jarvis St and 10 Cawthra Square; 416-966-3074; www. 20 celebrating seattle’s gay community http://www.fourseasons.com/toronto http://www.cawthrasquare.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - July 2008

'MO - July 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Series 2008 Needs Volunteers Voices 'mo-BIZ: City Lights Sign Company HIV Is Still a Big Deal, The Online Video Series Instant Activist Pet Project: Wiener Takes All Charlene Strong on the Rights Fight Form & Function: Molding Your Middle Will the Economy Ruin LGBT Funding? Toronto is a Great Place to Meet Feature Film Review: American Teen Live Event Preview: Sitting In Circles with Rich White Girls Book Review: In the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson Capitol Hill Guide Three Dollar Bill Cinema Presents: Features from the Black Lagoon Raising Spirits: Tini Bigs Offers Five New Martinis SceneOut: People@Places

'MO - July 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.