Congratulations to Cindy!

It was a delightful surprise for me when I found out that my colleague and friend Cindy Lloyd had won BILD Member of the Year earlier this month!

Cindy (pictured here with Bryan Tuckey of BILD and Paul Golini of Empire Communites), an advertising sales manager here at the Star and BILD board member, was given the honour for her volunteerism, participation and commitment.

The Star is one of BILD’s (the Building Industry and Land Development Association) marketing partners and Cindy has helped to cement that great working relationship.

"It is such a special honour," Cindy told me. "I was totally surprised at the chair’s dinner; I was thinking about leaving early." Good thing she didn't ... she would have missed her big moment!

Cindy is a tireless organizer for the Toronto Star/BILD Race for Humanity, a raucous scavenger hunt that has participants going all over Toronto solving clues that would lead them to their next destination. The teams race not only to beat their opponents to the finish line but, more importantly, to support Hatbitat for Humanity Toronto.

Congratulations Cindy!

Photo by Rodney Daw courtesy of BILD

 

As one door closes, another opens

This is a sad time for me. My friend, Neil Hetherington, is leaving Habitat for Humanity Toronto, and this is his final day.

Neil is one of the good guys. In fact, he's one of the very best. A natural-born giver, Neil has given over his career to Habitat and has worked tirelessly to make life better for countless Habitat partner families in Toronto.

And what better testimony to Neil, that when his friends and colleagues got together to bid him farewell, donations to Habitat in Neil's honour amounted to over $600,000. If you can measure a person's worth in dollars and cents, Neil is a very rich man.

But Neil isn't finished with Habitat, he's just taking on a bigger challenge, moving to New York City to become CEO of Habitat for Humanity NYC.

I wish my friend all the best and also give him this warning: I'm coming to visit, so you better have a comfy sofa for me to sleep on!

For those of you who don't know what Habitat for Humanity is, this is from their website:

"Established in 1988, Habitat for Humanity Toronto is a non-profit, non-denominational Christian housing organization. We welcome all people without discrimination to join us as we build simple, decent, affordable homes in partnership with low-income families. One hundred percent of all administrative and fundraising costs are paid for by the operation of our ReStores. Habitat ReStores sell quality new and used donated household and building materials. Every 10 minutes, Habitat for Humanity helps a family improve their housing situation in more than 100 countries around the world."

This is me, Neil and Tina Holmes from Marketplace Events. A fabulous trio if there ever was one.

Top photo of Neil Hetherington by David Cooper/Toronto Star

 

 

Another award for Heathwood Homes

Today, Heathwood Homes was honoured for its commitment to building healthy, energy-efficient homes by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Heathwood, led by the extraordinary Hugh Heron, has demonstrated this commitment by incorporating efficiency and sustainability as standard features in their homes, CMHC said in a press release. The development of the Green Home, a house with advanced energy- and water-saving features and a monitoring system that measures the home’s energy performance is another of Heathwood's initiatives.

Hugh Heron is also the co-founder of the Mikey Network, which creates public awareness, eduction about heart-healthy lifestyles, and places portable defibrillators in public locations. So far, the Mikeys are credited with saving 15 lives.

Photo of Hugh Heron by Pawel Dwulit/Toronto Star

 

 

Happy birthday Archie Alleyne

What do Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Mel Torme, Chet Baker and Coleman Hawkins have in common? Answer: legendary drummer Archie Alleyne was often their sideman during their visits to Toronto.

Alleyne, who turned 80 on Jan. 7, will celebrate his birthday with a tribute concert at the new Regent Park Paintbox Bistro on Jan. 19, kicking off their new “Season of Entertainment,” sponsored by the Daniels Corp.

Alleyne will take the stage at 8 p.m., alongside Stacie McGregor on piano and Artie Roth on bass. The event will also feature Alexander Brown Cabrera on trumpet and special guest vocalist Jackie Richardson.

Alleyne career started in the early 1950s and he became a familiar sight as the resident drummer at the Town Tavern from 1955 to 1966. During the same time, he was a regular studio musician, and a featured sideman, touring with Marion McPartland and Teddy Wilson.

But after car accident in 1967, Alleyne settled into the restaurant business, partnering in the popular Underground Railroad. But all that jazz called him back to the stage and he went back on the road with saxophonist Jim Galloway and as a sideman with pianist Oliver Jones, according to the Canadian Jazz Archives.

In 2000, he helped form Kollage, a jazz sextet that is now one of the busiest bands in Canada.

Alleyne has been recognized with a Toronto Arts Award, an Order of Canada 2011 and a dazzling collection of industry accolades including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban Music Association of Canada, numerous Drummer of the Year nominations from the National Jazz Awards and an African Canadian Lifetime Achievement Award from Pride, Canada’s leading African Canadian and Caribbean magazine. Alleyne keeps his long-standing Archie Alleyne Mentorship Program, the Evolution of Jazz Productions active in schools.

The Paintbox Bistro is at 555 Dundas St. E. Reservations for the Jan. 19 concert can be made by calling 647-748-0555. A three-course dinner package, including the performance, is available for $40 and the performance only is $15.

 

(photo by Colin McConnell/Toronto Star)

 

 

 

 

 

A gift worth celebrating

Carter Hansen has a lot to be thankful for … including the Mikey defibrillator that recently saved the 2-year-old’s life.

The defibrillator, provided through the Mikey’s Kids program, was on standby at the Hansen family’s Nobleton home after the youngster was diagnosed with a benign heart tumour. In early December, Carter went into arrhythmia and his parents, Craig and Jennifer, used the Mikey to save their son.

In May, 2012, Carter went cardiac arrest due to the previously undiagnosed tumor. “The paramedics got a rhythm back after 27 minutes, but the resulting significant brain injury kept us at SickKids and Holland Bloorview Children’s Rehab Hospital for 6 months,” Craig said, “and we’re still fighting to regain as much of our son’s co-ordination, vision and speech as we can.

“We went home a month ago with an AED from the Mikey Network, knowing that any further arrest would be incredibly critical. Neurologists told us that by the time EMS arrived, it would be too late. Our only chance was the defibrillator.”

Carter went into arrhythmia again on Dec. 4 and his parents immediately started CPR. “Because of the training supplied by the Mikey Network, we had his shirt off and the pads on him well ahead of the voice prompts from the AED, which analyzed and advised a shock, which we delivered. The change in our son was immediate,” Craig recalls. “He started breathing on his own again. We observed him and kept the AED on him until EMS arrived.”

The Mikey Network, founded in 2003, works to create public awareness and provide education about heart-healthy lifestyles. To date, 15 lives have been saved, over 1,300 Mikey defibrillators have been placed across Canada and 11,000 people have been trained in CPR/AED.

The Mikey Network was named for Mike Salem, a valued partner at Heathwood Homes and The Heron Group, who experienced sudden cardiac arrest and died on a golf course in 2002.

His good friend, Hugh Heron, president of Heatwood Homes, founded the Mikey Network in Salem’s honour.

 “When a child has a serious cardiac problem, the family lives in constant fear, knowing the heart can skip a beat at any moment,” said Heron. “The Mikey’s Kids program provides families with portable Mikeys so these children can lead more normal lives.”

“You guys gave us another chance with our son. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Craig said.

A Gift From the Heart

I know what I’m getting everybody on my holiday gift list: a bag of nails. Really!

Actually it’s a box of nails and the price is $30. And each of those nails will be used to build a house for a Habitat for Humanity partner families. I might also buy and door handle or two ($50), and maybe even the kitchen sink ($150). Click here to see the entire catalogue.

For those of you who don’t know, Habitat for Humanity helps low-income families build and buy simple, decent affordable homes through a no-interest, no-profit mortgage. This means that low-income families can build assets, reduce their dependence on other forms of social assistance and break the cycle of poverty. A hand up, not a hand out.

Habitat for Humanity Canada has logged more than 10 million volunteer hours and built over 2,000 homes. Each Habitat partner family, by the way, has to contribute “sweat equity,” 500 hours of volunteer, usually on a Habitat build site.

But back to the gift list: maybe I’ll buy somebody a roof!It's only $5,000!

Ikea's Holiday Gifts

There are so many reasons to shop at Ikea ... great kitchens, fabulous storage solutions, incredible meatballs and leading-edge designs at affordable prices. 

I recently installed an Ikea kitchen and love it ... and have now bought several other pieces for my home (including at TV/audio bench and a great armchair for my bedroom) and I am thrilled with how it all works in my condo. Perfectly sized and perfectly priced.

Ikea has lots of great holiday ideas for decorating and for gifts, but the ones I love the best are their soft toys. Great for the kids, and my Cairin terrier, Joey, loves them, too.

And from now until Dec. 29, for every soft toy or children's book you buy, the Ikea Foundation will donate $1 to help fund education projects supported by UNICEF and Save the Children.

Since 2003, Soft Toys for Education campaigns have raised over $59 million (Cdn.), and last year it raised over $15 million. 

That's a lot of money to help children across Africa, Asia and Europe acess to better eduction.

Just on more reason to love the big blue and yellow shed!

Bottoms up for Sonia Day

Sonia Day has a green thumb and a knack with words, but who knew she wrote, well, raunchy stuff?

Her most recent book, The Untamed Garden: A Revealing Look at our Love Affair with Plants, is about sex ... lots and lots of sex.

So much sex, in fact, that the book cover comes with a “plain brown wrapper” that hides a famous painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema of a Roman orgy scene called The Roses of Heliogabalus (1888).

On Monday, Sonia — who I’ve known for more years than I care to admit — won a gold medal for the Best Overall Product from the Gardens Writers Association during their annual award gala in Tucson, Ariz. for her book, beating out 250 other entries, including books, magazines, newspapers, electronic media and trade publications.

The book, published by McClelland & Stewart, had already been named the silver winner for Best Book.

“It was a great thrill to win the fold, as virtually all the 250 entries I was competing against were from the U.S.

“The book is about our sexual relationship with plants,” Sonia told me by email. “Perhaps that’s why it won! It’s not a how-to gardening book; I think people are getting sick of those. I was inspired to write it because I wanted to shake things up a bit. It bothers me that gardeners have an image of being boring old codgers. (It isn't true. Some of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met love growing plants.)

“I gathered together all kinds of sexy tales from legends, botany and myths — running through the raunchy Romans and Greeks to the staid Victorians.”

The stories in Sonia’s book are told through the arc of a love affair — starting with Innocence (the Madonna lily) moving on to lust (orchids) and ending with devotion (the Coco de Mer, a kind of coconut from the Seychelles; "surely the most salacious thing on the planet — it looks like a woman’s bottom,” Sonia says).

I have to admit, it’s one of the sexiest things I’ve read in a long time (and that includes the  Fifty Shades of Grey, which was a real turn off).

Way to go Sonia!

BTW, The Untamed Garden ($26.99) is available at all major bookstores and online at indigo.ca.

The book cover's brown paper wrapper and, below, the full painting.

 

Canadian Shield in Yorkville Park

Anyone who was wondered along Cumberland Ave. is familiar with the hunk of rock that is the centerpiece of The Village of Yorkville Park across from Sassafraz restaurant.

But that isn’t just any chunk of rock; it’s a piece of the Canadian Shield and it weighs a slight 650 tonnes. It’s also the place where, in summer and winter, you can see people lazing, eating their lunch or otherwise enjoying the sights and sounds of Yorkville.

It has become such a central part of the area, the American Society of Landscape Architects honoured David Oleson with a Landmark Award for his work there. Of course, The Village of Yorkville Park is more than just “the rock,” as it has become known. The grounds also feature horizontal fountains, misting fountains and 20 evergreen trees planted in round planters arranged in five rows of five trees. The park features a series of gardens designed to showcase the varied Ontario landscape, including a marsh area with a boardwalk, prairie grass, flower gardens and, of course, “the rock.”

The Landmark Award recognizes a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes significantly to the public realm of the community in which it is located.

“Receiving the Landmark Award is a tremendous honour,” says Oleson. “It’s always been a privilege to be part of the design team that brought Toronto such a unique and engaging public space. So to be recognized for the lasting impact of the Village of Yorkville Park is a bonus.”

The Village of Yorkville Park was a collaboration between Oleson’s firm, Oleson Worland Architects, and landscape architecture firm, Schwartz / Smith / Meyer, which was based in San Francisco at the time of the park’s design.

Oleson is the architect behind ART Condos, the 11-storey residence at the corner of Dovercourt and Sudbury Sts. Already nearing completion, Oleson designed ART to embody the creative spirit and the Queen West arts community.

He has also designed several other iconic and award-winning Toronto projects, including the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre, which won the prestigious Governor General’s Medal for Architecture, the beloved Don Valley Brick Works, and Sherbourne Lanes, Toronto’s first midrise, infill housing project.

 

 Photos courtesy Oleson Worland Architects

David Mirvish + Frank Gehry = Spectacular

David Mirish and Frank Gehry.

In my opinion — not that anyone was asking — the proposed three-tower project at King and John, developed by David Mirvish and designed by master architect Frank Gehry, is visionary. Of course, I’m not alone; Toronto city councillor Adam Vaughan in inclined to agree. “This is an astonishing proposition,” he said today at a press conference at the Frank Gehry-designed Art Gallery of Ontario, although he was quick to caution that “this is a big story and will require lots of public debate.”

And debate we will; it’s already started on Saturday when the first inklings of the massive three-tower project (with heights reaching to 85 storeys and an estimated 1,500 units) hit the Internet/Twitterverse/blogasphere.

Many, of course, worry about the density, with 3,000 people more people be added to the precinct. Not to mention the infrastructure improvements that will be required and the traffic nightmares that would follow (especially during construction). Others bemoan the loss of the Princess of Wales Theatre, and others are worried about affordable housing.

After listening to David Mirvish and Frank Gehry explain their plans, however, and Vaughan adding his qualified approval, I am thrilled with the density and the coming amenities that will finally hit a street that has restaurants and hotels and not much else. A piece of urban day-to-day life is just what the doctor ordered.

That this particular piece of real estate is going to be designed by one of the world’s great architects, is just the icing on the proverbial cake.

“These are not just buildings,” Mirvish said today, “They are three sculptures for people to live in.”

The centerpiece will be the 60,000-square-foot Mirvish Collection, a free art gallery that will showcase Mirvish’s large collection of modern art.

“Collections like David’s, are pretty rare,” Gehry said today. “To be a part of this is a great honour.”

The development will also include a multi-floor facility for the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCADU) Public Learning Centre for Visual Art, Curatorial Studies and Art History, including galleries, studios, seminar rooms and a public lecture hall.

After all, this is “about building a city, not building a building,” in the words of Adam Vaughan.

To see a video about the project, go to mirvishandgehrytoronto.com.

View from the southwest.

View from the southeast.

View from the south.

Podium