Parkdale Showcase

Episode 28 of This Is Toronto is now available!!!

This latest edition previews the 12th annual Parkdale Film + Video Showcase; June 25-27.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: July 2, 2010

Toronto Steps Up for the Parkdale Food Bank

Yesterday was a great day in West Toronto. The snow dump and the problems that came with it make it even more impressive that the Music Marathon Fundraiser for the Parkdale Foodbank came off without a hitch. Of the 10 scheduled bands only one had to cancel and the Cadillac Lounge was full all day. Most people didn't come and stay for the full event but for every departure there was an arrival and in all $800 plus was raised for the food bank.

So, huge thanks are in order to all of yesterdays performers and to every single person who looked at the snow piling up yesterday and then came out anyway.

I have no heard how last night's other event (Monkey Toast: PWYC. Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St.) fared but in all I would say, to date, the effort to raise funds for and awareness of the problems facing the Parkdale Food Bank has been a resounding success. A third fundraiser (Sing For Your Supper: Dec. 22., 8:30 p.m. $12 or $10 with food donation. Hugh's Room, 2261 Dundas St. W. 416-531-6604) has already been scheduled and apparently there are more in the planning stages. The Hugh's room fundraiser is still looking for performers.

For all of the negative things said about Toronto, people here have shown once again that when it matters they will step up (bad weather or not). It would appear, after discussions yesterday, that I'll be doing some work with the food bank going forward so stay tuned for further updates.

Anyone who has not made it to a fundraiser but would still like to donate can send a cheque to St. Francis Table / St. Clare Centre, 1322 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M6K 1L4 make sure you mention in the 'memo' line of the cheque that it's for the Parkdale Food Bank.

Event Reminder: Sunday, All Day Music Fest For Parkdale Food Bank

Have a drink, listen to live music and feed some of Toronto's most vulnerable citizens, all at the same time!

There are Facebook events being created for this event left and right. (I think every band playing Sunday has their own). For those of you who still don't know the Parkdale Food Bank is in danger of going under. They operate on a mere 33,000 a year. So this Sunday there is a fundraiser happening at the Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen Street West. )

The event goes from 1 until 8 pm (that means you get to sleep in and can still make your xmas party that evening. It is Pay What You Can and if, like everyone else, it's a busy time of year for you, you can come for just part of it. Stop in, have a drink, listen to some live music and help feed some of Toronto's most vulnerable citizens for another year.

If you can't make it to the fundraiser but would like to contribute, you can donate to the food bank by sending a cheque to:

St. Francis Table
1322 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 1L4

Be sure to mention it's for the Parkdale Food Bank in the memo section of the cheque.

Now for those of you coming the lineup for Sunday looks like this

1:00 - 1:30 : The Tiny Alligator Quartet
1:35 - 2:05 : The Book of Gnomes
2:10 - 2:40 : Ronley Teper
2:45 - 3:15 : Rob’s Collision
3:20 - 3:50 : Frank Horvat 3:55 - 4:25 : Up All Night
4:30 - 5:00 : The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra
5:05 - 5:35 : The Ugly Bug Band
5:40 - 6:10 : Kanaka 6:15 - 6:45 : Calamity Royale
6:50 - 7:20 : The WG's
7:25 - 8:00 : Michael Holt

Parkdale Food Bank Update #4

So this is where we stand. I've talked to someone from St. Francis Table who assures me that they don't have the administrative resources to deal with the monthly auto withdrawal donations. As I understand it, St. Francis Table is a volunteer run organization and they also handle the administrative side of the Parkdale Food Bank (another volunteer run organization).

So, it looks like their are only three ways to donate. 1) Drop a donation off in person. 2) Send a cheque to St. Francis Table 1322 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario M6K 1L4 or 3) The very most fun way
Come to the Parkdale Food Bank Fundraiser at the Cadillac Lounge

MUSIC MARATHON AT THE CADILLAC LOUNGE IN SUPPORT OF THE PARKDALE FOOD BANK: 

SUNDAY DECEMBER 16 1:00 - 8:00 p.m.


In response to the threatened closure of St. Phillips Pantry in Parkdale, a diverse group of Toronto musicians have organized a seven-hour music marathon to raise money for this essential food bank.  The marathon will feature a line-up of musicians representing both the Parkdale area and Toronto’s broader musical community, encompassing a broad range of genres and styles - from pop to jazz to avant-garde music.  

The event is scheduled to happen at the Parkdale landmark the Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen St.West) on Sunday, December 16th from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The operating cost of the food bank isn’t great - just $33 000 a year to feed 600 families in the Parkdale area.  But this expense is too much for the Holy Family Parish to keep up and, while local representatives from all levels of government have donated $2,000 to keep it open another month, the food bank will be forced to close after two decades of operation unless a permanent funding solution is found soon.

The musicians involved in this fundraiser are setting out to accomplish two things: first, to raise money to give the food bank more time to raise funding and, second, to promote awareness of this extremely important issue.  

By this grassroots-level response, they hope to highlight the failure of government and business to make this fundamental service a priority: with the massive social and cultural changes that have taken place in Parkdale in recent years, there’s a definite sentiment that poverty has become something to be ‘swept under the rug’ in order to facilitate development.  Economic development at the expense of social responsibility is not progress at all - it’s moral decay.

The fundraiser came about through collaboration between local activist Justin Beach and Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip, the band leader of the acclaimed Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra.  When Beach learned about the crisis facing the food bank, he began organizing an Facebook-based relief fund and invited Mueller-Heaslip to take part.  The urgent need to do something to get the whole community aware of and involved in this issue led to the idea of holding a music marathon fundraiser at the Cadillac Lounge - the venue responded with immediate enthusiasm.

Mueller-Heaslip, a well-respected member of numerous facets of Toronto’s music scene, sent out a call to musicians inviting them to participate and to forward word about this event to their colleagues.  The response has been overwhelming: enough musicians want to take part in this to hold at least three seven-hour fundraisers, and the visual arts community has responded as well, putting together a silent auction of donated artwork to take place during the fundraiser.

The format for the music marthon will be a series of twelve half-hour performances, beginning at 1:00 p.m. and going on until 8:00.  The cost of the event will be a suggested cover of $5 (larger contributions being welcome).  All proceeds will go directly to support the food bank, and seveal of the bands taking part will be making their CDs, donating a portion of the sales cost as well. 

People are invited to stop by to see their favourite acts, to stay for a while and discover a new music they haven’t had a chance to hear before, or to come and experience the entire event - all in the support of a wonderful and important cause.

CONTACTS: 

Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip (the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra)
phone: 647 435 9068
email: ben@parkdalerevolutionaryorchestra.com

Justin Beach (publicbroadcasting.ca)
phone: 416 534 2868
email: beach.justin@gmail.com

THE BASICS:

Music Marathon in Support of the Parkdale Food Bank
at the Cadillac Lounge (1296 Queen St. West, Toronto)
Sunday, December 16 1:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Admission by donation ($5 min. suggested)



LIST OF PERFORMERS (including genre and links to audio):

The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra (melodramatic minimalism)
http://www.parkdalerevolutionaryorchestra.com
Ronley Teper (singer/songwriter)
http://www.myspace.com/ronleyteper
Up All Night (celtic)
http://www.upallnight.ca
Michael Holt (singer/songwriter with band)
http://www.myspace.com/mikeyholt  
The WGs (indie rock)
http://www.myspace.com/thewgs
Rob’s Collision (avant-jazz improv)
http://www.myspace.com/robstunes 
The Ugly Bug Band (folk/rock)
http://www.myspace.com/uglybugband
The Tiny Alligator Quartet (jazz quartet)
http://www.myspace.com/tinyalligator
Frank Horvat (concert pianist)
http://www.myspace.com/frankhorvat
Kanaka (edgy funk)
http://www.myspace.com/kanakatoronto 
Calamity Royale (singer/songwriter w/band)
http://www.myspace.com/calamityroyale
The Book of Gnomes (improv)
http://www.myspace.com/thebookofgnomes 

This exact time for each performance is still being set.  These listings, biographical information on all the participants, and more information about the fundraiser will be available as the event develops at the following website:

http://www.parkdalerevolutionaryorchestra.com/foodbank.html

Parkdale Food Bank Update #3

As mentioned yesterday, Benjamin Meuller-Heaslip of the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is organizing a fundraiser for the Parkdale Food Bank. Here are the details so far.

Time and Place

Date: Sunday, December 16, 2007
Time: 3:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:
The Cadillac Lounge
1296 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON

Five-hour Music Marathon in support of the Parkdale Food Bank!

10 half-hour sets including:

The Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra
Ronley Teper
Michael Holt
Book of Gnomes
The Ugly Bug Band

More in the works

Parkdale Food Bank Update:

While the mechanism still isn't in place for auto-withdrawals or online donations I've set up a facebook group called $5 For the Parkdale Food Bank. The purpose of the group is to gather people who would be willing to make a $5/month donation (via bank account or credit card) to the food bank.

$5 may not seem like much but 500 people donating $5 a month would put the food bank close to it's annual operating budget of $33,000. The goal is to find 1,000 people and significantly increase the food banks budget.

Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip of the Parkdale Revolutionary Orchestra is also trying to organize some last minute fundraisers. More details on that will be posted as they become available.

The Parkdale Food Bank currently feeds 600 families and will close in January without help. Please contribute in any way you can.

If you'd like to simply mail a cheque you can send it to ST. FRANCIS TABLE, 1322 Queen Street West, Toronto Ontario, M6K 1L4

If you're willing to make monthly donations join the Facebook Group and we'll let you know when the mechanisms are in place.

If you'd like to participate in a fundraiser please contact Benjamin Mueller-Heaslip at info@parkdalerevolutionaryorchestra.com

Parkdale Deserves Food Too

There are alot of poor people in the Parkdale area of Toronto. There are also alot of people who are right on the edge - people who are getting by but who could be in serious trouble if they had a bad month. There is also alot of money in West Toronto so it is completely unacceptable that the Parkdale Food Bank should face closure - especially when all they need is $33,000 a year in operating expenses.

I'm talking to a few people about how to fix it and (believe me) I'll mention it here in the mean time there is a Facebook group you can join or get in touch with me here or here.

..Stay Tuned

gentrifying parkdale

A quick stroll through the neighbourhoods of Toronto and it's not hard to see which ones are getting the big makeovers.

Places that were once down-at-heel are now all gussied up with more bells and whistles than a porn star on the Fourth of July. A recent article in the Globe and Mail had a list of signs your neighbourhood has "made it" to the cool places to live, the #1 indicator being a Starbucks.

Well, I can't say for certain whether the addictive coffee chain has made tracks to Parkdale yet or not, but if no, it must be on its way.

Thelon Oeming's new play, Lullaby, is about the changes and tensions that occur with neighbourhood gentrification.

One of its featured actors, David Ferry, says the push-pull of old and new in the neighbourhood is reflected in the play.

"The character I'm playing, Kenny, has different politics than the yuppie couple that move into his old digs," he explains, "All the husband is interested in is increasing value of the house -that's his interest. Not in community. And if there's one thing that's clear with Kenny, well, he may have lived in rooming houses, he's had a rough life a dangerous life, but he still believes in community. He constantly talks about the old Parkdale, the place where you knew people, trusted people. The character who owns house has none of those interests."

Politics is something never far from the surface of Oeming's work, as Ferry notes.

"No level of government has really dealt with the challenges of Parkdale properly," he says passionately, "The problems have been met in much the same way as they were in places like Vancouver when the Expo was coming -you know, this attitude of, 'just get rid of those people.'"

Ferry says that there have only been "band aid solutions" offered to the original inhabitants of areas seeing gentrification, noting that " historically, the changes that happen that push people out into community leave those people with no place to go-they weren't properly planned, there was no oversight."

There are, however, still traces of the rough old Parkdale, if you know where to look.

"Lastnight the writer and I went out to do publicity photos. He took me to a pretty rough bar around queen and roncesvalles, and there were characters from the old Parkdale there. I heard so many of my lines from the play there. One guy's been in Parkdale for few years -it was really interesting to his concerns and in-the-moment rants."

Clearly, there are no easy answers for dealing with the marginalized in society, particularly those left behind in newly-gentrified areas.

And though Lullaby takes place in a furniture store, not a newly-renovated house, the themes are no less obvious.

"When the character who owns house finds out it has termites, he wants to do a fast quick-finish to the renovations, selling it to someone else so they can deal with it."

"That, right there, is a strong poitical statement."

Lullaby opens November 3rd and runs until November 18th at Simone Interiors, 1690 Queen Street West.

For more information, go to www.darkhorsetheatre.ca