The Taste of the Danforth
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This weekend was The Taste of the Danforth. For any non-Torontonians, it's a street festival on Danforth Avenue, which is the Greek part of town and also happens to be my neighbourhood. Starting Friday and ending right about now, the festival brings in approximately 1.5 million people over the course of the weekend.
There are three stages with various shows, from Greek dancing to reggae and pop bands to a showing (?) of the finalists of the Miss Asia Toronto pageant (didn't even know that was a thing). But primarily, the festival is all about the food.
There are three stages with various shows, from Greek dancing to reggae and pop bands to a showing (?) of the finalists of the Miss Asia Toronto pageant (didn't even know that was a thing). But primarily, the festival is all about the food.
The Smell
Unfortunately and fortunately (for the businesses) it's so busy and the lineups are so long that I've heard the festival has been nicknamed the Smells of the Danforth since it's become very difficult to get your mouth on any food.
The Touch
Today I made two trips down to the Danforth. The first trip was on my own. I went with the intention of checking out a Ginga dance class that was scheduled for the main stage, but after bumping through the wall-to-wall people, I found myself getting a shaded, 10-minute Shiatsu massage instead. It seemed like a better choice on a 31-degree-Celsius, sunny day.
I've never had Shiatsu massage before, even though I have had lots of different types of massage in my life. There may be a reason for that. I sat in the massage chair where you rest your face and chest on the back (front?) of the chair. The therapist asked me what I wanted, which seemed like a really deep question coming from someone I just met, so I went with the simpler answer - some neck and shoulder work.
He started to press into my neck, the base of my skull and continued to press along each side of my spine and shoulder blades up and down my back through the very lengthy 10 minutes. It may have been beneficial to my body - I don't know that yet. But it certainly wasn't pleasant or relaxing. He told me to take an Epsom salts bath tonight and that I would feel sore tomorrow. Awesome.
I've never had Shiatsu massage before, even though I have had lots of different types of massage in my life. There may be a reason for that. I sat in the massage chair where you rest your face and chest on the back (front?) of the chair. The therapist asked me what I wanted, which seemed like a really deep question coming from someone I just met, so I went with the simpler answer - some neck and shoulder work.
He started to press into my neck, the base of my skull and continued to press along each side of my spine and shoulder blades up and down my back through the very lengthy 10 minutes. It may have been beneficial to my body - I don't know that yet. But it certainly wasn't pleasant or relaxing. He told me to take an Epsom salts bath tonight and that I would feel sore tomorrow. Awesome.
The Sound and Dance
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When I returned home, I found out that my kids wanted to go down to the festival. No surprise since the neighbour's grandkids had been and were sporting some new, coveted inflatable hammers.
So off we went. I managed to get the kids to one of the stages where we listened to some great reggae/pop music. In front of the stage, a shirtless dancer started to do some breakdancing. Not for money - just for fun. A circle widened around him.
I convinced my daughter to get out of the stroller to dance to the music, which she did willingly because she is my daughter after all. And let's be honest, I was dancing too. Of course I was.
The dancer saw her and immediately came over and started dancing next to her. She edged a bit closer to me (again - she is my daughter) but still kept dancing with a big smile on her face. She strangely didn't even notice the people watching her. OK - that one's not from me.
So off we went. I managed to get the kids to one of the stages where we listened to some great reggae/pop music. In front of the stage, a shirtless dancer started to do some breakdancing. Not for money - just for fun. A circle widened around him.
I convinced my daughter to get out of the stroller to dance to the music, which she did willingly because she is my daughter after all. And let's be honest, I was dancing too. Of course I was.
The dancer saw her and immediately came over and started dancing next to her. She edged a bit closer to me (again - she is my daughter) but still kept dancing with a big smile on her face. She strangely didn't even notice the people watching her. OK - that one's not from me.
The Stuff
One visit to the ice cream truck and the inflatable hammer stall and we were on our way home. And the Smell, Touch, Sound, Dance, Stuff and Taste of the Danforth is over for another year.
Now I just need the kids to fall asleep so I can take an Epsom salts bath.
Now I just need the kids to fall asleep so I can take an Epsom salts bath.