I've been the the Barns a few times over the years for different events. A few times when they…read morehave held their Vintage Fair here (amazing vintage items, clothing, jewellry); once for a play and most recently for the Tabasco Hawkers Market. This is a great place to hold an event, party or wedding. This is a former hub for streetcars back in the day but has now been turned into an event space. Interior brick walls, high ceilings and open floor plan allows the venue to become accommodating to almost any kind of event. It has that vintage but industrial kind of ceiling. There are a lot of great photo ops in here. There are also photos/info on the walls that tells the history of this place.

This is probably one of the best things to happen to the neighbourhood in recent history. Grand…read moreopening was November 2008 and it hasn't looked back since. The space is a reclaimed TTC barn and has five 'barns' each labeled with giant steel numbers. First is the artist live-work space, 2 is the event space where you will find the market on Saturdays in the winter and various other community events, 3 is the community theatre, 4 is The Stop greenhouse and kitchen, and 5 is the open air barn. There is also a children's playground on the east side of the building, an open field that becomes an ice rink in the winter on the south end, an off-leash dog park at the south-west corner, beach volleyball court on the west side, and plenty of benches and picnic tables scattered throughout. I find that their website is not as informative as it could be, perhaps because it is administered by the umbrella Artscape organization: http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/places-spaces/artscape-wychwood-barns So it's better to go directly to the Stop's website to find out about the market and the many very interesting fund- and awareness-raising events they have: http://www.thestop.org/green-barn-market I find that being on the mailing lists for The Stop and our local city councillor Joe Mihevc (http://www.joemihevc.com) keeps me informed of upcoming events like the solar energy info session this Sunday. Some additional notes: ** The Market ** During the cold months it is indoors and runs 8 a.m. - noon. It gets crowded by 11 and goodies like cinnamon buns don't last until then. Bring cash, your own bags and if you're really good, your own travel-mug for the wonderful Kurtis coffee. Interesting vendors include the venison guy, sweet potato man, Mennonite meat lady, knife sharpening guy, tofu dude, the fungi, and the freshwater fish people. In the warmer months it is outdoors and runs a bit later until 1 I think (it is still indoors as I write this so I'm not sure). The vendors are spread out over the walkways under their tents. Half the fun is stopping to chat with neighbours so check your usual Toronto sidewalk pace as you might get stuck behind a stroller and wagon jam. There are several vegetable vendors that also sell organic and heirloom variety seeds and seedlings in the spring. Too bad last summer was so cold and rainy - even so the purple tomatoes I planted were wonderful! ** The Dogpark ** It has weird hours and no commercial dog walkers are allowed. It is closed everyday between noon-3 p.m. and opens later in the morning on Sunday. I'll take a picture of the sign next time I'm there because it's confusing. There is a human + dog drinking fountain but the city doesn't turn on the water until mid-May so bring water for your pooches. Best doggy party times (as with most parks I'm sure) are from 5 - 7 p.m. There might be a morning party but I'm never up early enough to find out.

The organizers happily rip off the vendors. Vendors in the smallest booths pay $3000 plus booth…read morestructure fees for the 11 day sale. That means every day they need to sell $300 (plus plus) of product to pay the organizers. Another $200 to pay themselves to man the booth. Another x amount to pay for that first $600 of product that covered overhead of the show.... so... how much more to sell to cover all that product that paid for the booth and that paid for your day to run the booth? Mininally, you are giving away yes GIVING AWAY the first $500 of product sold at the show EVERY DAY. That is 5500 of sold product at the show before you BEGIN to make any money whatsoever. Are you okay with that? Instead just rent a chunk of space in your favourite retail store ? And because of the extraordinary overhead visitors get no price breaks. Everyone has money to burn?

This was my first winter One Of A Kind show ever. It is located in the Enercare Centre on the…read moreExhibition Grounds. It's super convenient to get there if you take the GO or TTC. There's a covered walkway that takes you directly to the doors so you won't get blasted by rain or snow. The tickets are kind of expensive since you're getting access to ashow to buy stuff. They're $18 for adults but I think the bundle with the GO tickets might get you some savings. The show is kind of organized by types of crafts. Notably there was a gallery alley for arts and a section for food. Everything else was mixed in together. You'll find things like hand carved stone and wood goods, ceramics, clothes made from leather and wool, etc. It's great to look for gifts for everyone of all ages and any sort of ailments. A few of things I picked up: - Handmade dainty silver studs that were $30 each or 3 for $70 - Wooden magnetic bookmarks that wrap around the page you were last at that came in a lot of different designs including lots of dog breeds, food related ones like boba and pho - A framed print of a map with a string heart over a featured city It's really well timed event as it's a great place to find gifts for the holidays. There were a lot of amazing things but at the end of the day, it was kind of cost prohibitive to be able to support all the different artists there.

What a great food festival this is. Definitely one of the busiest food festivals in Toronto. The…read morefood items here are outrageous. Lots of seafood offerings on a sick, lots of meats on a stick. The flavours are not only Chinese, but also Indian inspired. Think Hakka. Make sure to try some of the tasty and interesting drinks, from fresh fruit drinks (some served in a pineapple), to ice teas to bubble teas. The perfect accompaniment on a hot summer day. The festival is very busy, so be prepared for the crowds. Parking can be a hassle, but there is lots of street parking in the surrounding neighbourhoods. On a hot summer day, you can step into the adjacent Pacific Mall to cool down. So, why not a 5 star review you ask me? Simple reason: The place has a very unappetizing smell. I asked around, and was informed that it's the Sticky Tofu. I do believe that people eat it as a novelty, like durian fruit. So, I hope I'm not being culturally insensitive when I mention it. But honestly, I think this festival would be much better if the Sticky Tofu truck was stuck on the 401. Sorry. In case I'm misunderstanding the whole Sticky Tofu thing, please enlighten me! Other than that, I would definitely recommend this food festival. As an added bonus, there is a stage with dance and song performances.

Taste of Asia just isn't what it used to be. Sure there's still lots of food stalls this year but…read moreit's a far cry from the past. It feels more like a community fair now with many non-food stalls like GO transit, embassy of India, MPs, plants and even Scientology (lol). Food options were good, but predominantly Chinese. There's a few Thai and other Asian cuisines but the variety was rather poor and selections were limited compared to a Night Market that I attended last year in New York. Food prices definitely went up by quite a bit this year ($20 for 4 scallops/oysters).

I was very glad to get introduced to this Scarborough hub. This stretch of Lawrence is blessed with…read moremany options for Middle Eastern (Hallal) and Caribbean cuisine. The Taste of Lawrence festival featured some of the local delicacies. I had some skewers of Hawaiian style chicken, slowly grilled over charcoal flame and lightly basted in semi-sweet sauce. A pineapple garnish tied the skewer together. A taco truck was serving better-than-average, authentic tacos. I got a duo of succulent carnita (pulled pork) tacos with fresh corn tortillas, some pico de gallo salsa and a wedge of lime for the perfect citrusy finish. The festival has two stages. We saw a Brazilian drum ensemble accompanied by a dancer looking straight out the festival in Rio. There was a capoeira demonstration afterwards. There are also a handful of rides and concession stands fitting for a street fair.

Lots of fun for kids and food vendors. Variety of food from juice to BBQ's. I ended up buying…read morehalo-halo in FV Foods.

A Yelp experience a month ago introduced me to Planet Splatter. I recently returned to ask about…read moreprices for a potential department outing that our team typically has each summer. The location is perfect, as it's a five-minute drive from the office. This business is in a plaza that I had been to before for sushi, burgers, and slow-cooked chicken. Finding this business can be challenging. Its main entrance is a back entrance. You go around Passion Beauty Academy. You're looking for unit 12, not to be confused with another unit 12 that's a part of a furniture store. There is lots of parking. There is a short set of stairs to walk up. It's not the best setup if you require a wheelchair or a cane to move. At reception, staff have always been so welcoming. When you are going to participate in splattering paint on canvases using balloons full of paint, guns, paint brushes, and more, you do need to sign Planet Splatter's waiver. I did it online. You simply give them your e-mail address associated with the waiver signing and staff can find it. The concept is cool here. You can paint masterpieces with various paints and tool, and leave everything behind for staff to clean up. You just clean yourself up afterwards. I asked about pricing for a group of eight people. Prices start at $46 for the astro loadout. The alient blowout may have been what Yelpers got at the event, where you get more paint and tools to create your canvas masterpieces on. When I first mentioned this place to my intern and manager, the former was super excited. My manager felt that we had done pottery painting last year (also my suggestion based on a Yelp experience), we didn't need another paint experience. Well, I talked about how fun it was to use guns to splatter paint to create master pieces and throw paint everywhere. He had a change of heart. I had a good time at the Yelp event. I can imagine my colleague having an equally good time bonding over a fun activity. First, we had to put some protective gear on. We got a poncho with a hood that you can tie. It kept me protected, but it was so hot wearing it. I also got a pair of goggles. You can also get a shield if you wear glasses. Second, we got shoe covers. They were fun to wear. I went into a small room to sit down on a stool to get them on. They came up to just below my knees. I'm sure that I looked stylish. Third, we needed to grab a caddy with vessels to fill with paint, along with various brushes, rollers, a balloon with paint in it, and a reusable balloon. All paint is washable and non-toxic. The fillable ones were neon and glowed. It was cool. I got some on my hand and it glowed! Armed with our caddies, we headed to the paint splatter room, which was huge. There were two canvases that we could go wild with our creativity. The neon paint was thin, so it didn't adhere to the canvas as well as six colours that were on a mini paint palette. There were two guns that you fill with your paint and shoot at the canvases. One did a sprinkler effect. The other one worked like a regular gun. So much fun! The balloon with paint was tough to make it burst. I threw it at the canvas twice. It didn't break. Instead, I managed to knock my top canvas off the wall. It was only when I accidentally dropped the balloon on the ground that yellow paint came out of it. Figures! The refillable balloon was fun. You could only fill half of it up, but it was sufficient for my paint-throwing needs. I liked the roller and brushes for more detailed work. Frankly, I didn't have anything planned, so I made freestyled pieces. More daring folks could try a few other fun activities: - Selfie station - You press a button and have paint launched at you. The wait time was longer than expected and probably promoted some anxiety for some. - Slap splash - It's kind of like a mini Nickelodeon game. There's a bucket over your head when you sit down. You need to hit a target to have the bucket with paint come down on you. - Splatting cage - You place your canvas inside a cage and then hit it with a paintball. Once we were done, we headed to a room to wash up, with towels and a place to dispose of our plastic ponchos and shoe protectors. My hair looked like I had just showered, likely because the hoodie had no ventilation and I was sweating. It takes roughly twelve hours for the paint to dry. This place has cardboard boxes to take your artwork home. It looks like you've ordered small pizzas... haha! Planet Platter has two locations. The one is Richmond Hill is closer to where I live. This one is perfect for a work outing. I've planted the suggestion seed. We'll see whether our team outing ends up being here this summer. (233)

Had a great time planet splatter it was great . The staff…read morewas knowledgeable. I would try it again.

Love the concept of having art work scattered around the whole premises both outdoor and indoor…read more The "art" is all really colourful and lively, and some quite unique. Worth checking them out when you are either dining, having a walk or catching a movie in the premises. A smart and beautiful way to brighten and liven up public spaces!

This is definitely NOT your typical art museum. Instead of housing all the artwork in one building,…read morethe Remington art collection is spread out. There are some at the 169 Enterprise building (where you'll find the Cineplex movie theatre and restaurants like Me Ne Va) the adjoining 179 Enterprise building (wall murals and outdoor sculptures), the underground parking structure which houses photographer Hank O'Neal's work and the Pride of Canada Carousel which is catty corner to both buildings at 8080 Birchmount Rd. The cool thing is that the works of art are available for viewing 24/7 because the 169 building and parking garage houses a Goodlife Fitness which is open 24/7. This also means there are security guards stationed inside to keep an eye on the patrons' safety. Be careful in the parking garage and watch out for cars when looking at the artwork. Make sure to visit the cool touch screen directory in the parking garage near the entrance to the building where the stairs and escalator are. You can find information on the artists and their work here. Also look for the informational signs near each piece. A 3 star experience that can easily be bumped up to 4 stars if you include a meal at one if the restaurants; include a movie and you have yourself a 5 star experience.

Pretty farm-style center that offers art and wellness classes to the community. We went to the art…read moremarket to see what the local artists were up to. Lots of beautiful handcrafted gifts. They have classes too. Would be a lovely spot to book an event. Gravel parking lot. If you have some time, try walking the grassy labyrinth in the field in the back.

The Village at Black Creek transports you back in time and has plenty of buildings and activities…read moreto explore. A fun activity for museum/history lovers and families. The kids loved seeing all the animals, and the staff were in full costume (thank you for your sacrifice in a non-air conditioned house wearing full length dresses!). Staff were also very knowledgeable and friendly, and there seems to be plenty of events operated by other organizations going on at The Village. I think this would be especially nice when coming for a particular event, like during the holidays. I wish their parking lot was fully paved though.

We were here couple weeks ago, it was a bit cool now. But still have a few people come over and…read moreplay. We were here with kid's grandparents. We still have so much fun. There were lots of Maple Leaves on the ground. My kid love so much to play with the leaves. They took a lot of pictures. Since not too many workers there, we sort of skipping some rooms and just having fun.