Check out this recent addition to Roncesvalles. Balluchon is a quaint little pret a manger, torrefaction de cafe, and fromagerie. This corner shop is located in the midst of the residential neighbourhood at Wright Ave and Sorauren, just steps from Sorauren Park. Coffee aside, the croissants are delicious, the bread pudding is yummy, and they offer some nice cheeses and salads too. Hooray for another solid addition to the area!

The Ontario College of Art’s annual fundraiser art sale is happening next week. It’s always fun to see what great art has been created on such small canvasses, not to mention guessing who has created the mystery pieces.

Each piece is 5½ x 7½ inches in size, costs $75 and is donated by a famous or not-yet famous artist. Can you guess which is which? Or does it even matter? A beautiful piece of original work to look at on your wall for years to come is certainly worth more than $75.
Public Art Preview:

Wednesday November 19 @ noon – 8
Thursday November 20 @ noon – 6
Friday November 21 @ noon – 8

Public Art Sale:

Saturday November 22, 2008 @ 10am – 4pm

This event is first come first served, so I guess you should get there early if you think many people want the same piece that you do.
All events take place at 100 McCaul Street, Toronto.

There’s nothing better than a high participation grassroots event. Last night, the eve after Hallowe’en, I went to Sorauren Park in Roncesvalles to see the annual pumpkin display. Hundreds of people from the area bring their pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns to line the sides of the park and light up one last time. It was mind-blowing how many pumpkins people brought – I’d estimate 500 or more.

There were lots of cool designs, and funny arrangements too: jack-o’-lanterns on the playing fields, jack-o’-lanterns nestled into rock gardens, and even jack-o’-lanterns hanging out on park benches. The humans were definitely outnumbered.

Some of the carvings had a truly amazing level of detail. A few were carved with likenesses of famous and infamous people; see if you can spot Harry Potter and Sarah Palin below.


I highly recommend checking it out next year. Boo!

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