The best of October

A busy month and a lot of pictures to show for it!

BERNARD WEIL - James George, 92-year-old former high commissioner to India and former ambassador to Iran, relaxes in his Toronto apartment. In the 1960s, the Dalai Lama asked Canada to resettle Tibetan refugees. Canada refused. George convinced Trudeau (an old friend of his) to do it. In 1971, 228 Tibetan refugees came - in small groups and at different times - to Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.

DAVID COOPER - Competitor's are chosen when their names fall out of a burst balloon at the start of theround.  Art Battle 8, a painting competition involving rookie artists plucked out of the crowd, which then becomes the jury. Artists paint in the middle of the hall under bright lights, with house music pulsing.

DAVID COOPER - Small single engine aircraft made a forced landing on the West bound lanes of the 407 east of Woodbine Avenue on October 8th.

COLIN McCONNELL - Look Mom the slipper fits, little princess  5-year-old Hailey Chopik tries it on. A lot of little princesses got to hang out in Casa Loma for the launch of the Disney Princess Collection.

COLIN McCONNELL -  Shy little princess two-year-old Sierra Jacome gets to meet Cinderella. A lot of little princesses got to hang out in Casa Loma for the launch of the Disney Princess Collection.

RICHARD LAUTENS - Leah Pinsent and Peter Keleghan's (right) pied a terre/condo, which they share with Gordon Pinsent. The three actors keep the 700 square foot downtown condo to use almost as a hotel room when convenient.

RICK MADONIK - Lawyer James Lockyer departs from Osgoode Hall and the Ontario Court of Appeal where he was successful in having the convictions of two young mothers overturned and sent back to the lower court based on the flawed evidence of former coroner, Dr. James Smith.

STEVE RUSSELL - Lifted by the rest of the final 22, Denys Drozdyuk wins $100,000 and a car as the Best Dance in Canada at the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" at the Showline Studios  in Toronto.

CARLOS OSORIO - The Dalai Lama speaks to an audience at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

VINNIE TALOTTA - A Guiness World Record attempt in Support of Windfall was successfully made beating a standing record of 250 brides in one room. A total of 273 brides were present at the Sheration Hotel.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Irene Moore, 99, voted in this past election, but doesn't remember who she voted for.  A voting station was set up in her old age home, Extendicare Guildwood, but her family is curious as to how much 'help' she recieved from scrutineers. 

RICK MADONIK - Chante Clarke scoops up a loose ball as Nicole Stewart, right, tries to wrestle control for a jump ball. Northview Heights Secondary School plays host to the visitors from Downsview Secondary School in a league match up. 

STEVE RUSSELL - Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Colton Orr growls at the Rangers in the pre-game warm-up with pink skates on, Orr and Mike Komisarek will wear the skates in the game as the Toronto Maple Leafs play the New York Rangers at the Air Canada Centre.

RICK EGLINTON - Toronto FC #37 Nicholas Lindsay gets twisted up with Panamas #32 Harold Cummings in first half action as Toronto FC plays Deportivo Arabe Unido of Panama at BMO field.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Toronto Argonauts #3 Cory Boyd, gets an impromptu lesson on being photogenic from teammate #61 Cedric Gagne-Marcoux during their walk-through practice at the Rogers Centre before shooting their team photo. 

RICK MADONIK - Leafs Kris Versteeg sticks close to Michal Rozsival during NHL action between Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers.

RICK MADONIK - Leafs netminder Jonas Gustavsson watches as a puck defflects back towards him after hitting the post.

RICK MADONIK -  Leafs Colby Armstrong celebrates his first goal as a Leaf.

LUCAS OLENIUK - The Toronto Raptors unveiled their 2010-11 squad Wednesday night before hosting the New York Knicks. 

LUCAS OLENIUK - Jarret Jack attempted a few shots from the court side seats at the ACC prior to the teams 2010-11 home opener.

LUCAS OLENIUK - New York's Landry Fields took a spill after colliding with Toronto's Linas Kleiza while chasing a rebound in the first half.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Whatever he learned from shooting from the seats must have worked, Jarret Jack Jarret Jack cheered after bringing the Raptors within 3 points in the dying seconds of the game.

STEVE RUSSELL - Toronto defenders  Amir Johnson (15) and Jarrett Jack (1) force Cleveland Cavaliers guard Manny Harris (6) to pass in the second half as the Chris Bosh-less Toronto Raptors thump the the LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers 101-81.

October was Lovely,

LUCAS OLENIUK - The Toronto Star covered the plight of Haitians through the eyes of Lovely.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Mango farmer Durosier Arnaud arranged his mangoes in a storage room outside of Gros Morne, a mango rich area in north-central Haiti.  Mangoes need to sit upright to allow for the sweet milk to settle before shipment.

LUCAS OLENIUK - A group of Christian pilgrims climbed Mt. Canaan high above the ressettlement camps of Canaan and Jerusalem to pray before breaking a fast. Twenty kilometres outside of Port-au-Prince a massive resettlement camp is sprawling across the Haitian countryside into the mountains.  The large camp is divided in two towns, Canaan and Jerusalem.  After the capital was crippled by the January earthquake thousands of people started to arrive at this mountainside field in search of a life free of fear, disease and hopelessness. 

LUCAS OLENIUK - Children practice acrobatics on the shore of the Massacre River outside of Ouanaminthe, Haiti across from the Codevi garment manufacturing plant that lies on the border of the Dominican Republic.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Lovely

October was for Elections,

STEVE RUSSELL - Rocco Rossi's team begin to clean up their  campaign headquarters on Avenue Road after he pulled out of the mayoral race.

 VINNIE TALOTTA - Mayoral candidates take part, separately, in "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" promos. Joe Pantalone dances with Karen Moniz of Come Dancing.

JIM RANKIN - Children of supporters get ready to marck Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti into Le Parc Conference and Banquet Centre for his victory party. Scarpitti was elected to a second term as mayor.

JIM RANKIN - Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti cruises his way to re-election. Supporters watch results roll in at Le Parc Conference and Banquet Centre.

RENE JOHNSTON - Mohamed Dhanani gives a dry run of a celebration at the banquet hall. Dhanani was poised to be Toronto's first Muslim councillor, but, the number of councillors on the ballot broke up the vote and incumbent,Parker was able to hold his seat at City Hall.

RENE JOHNSTON - Mohamed Dhanani is consoled by his wife Amna at his campaign office after the loss.

STEVE RUSSELL - It wasn't a nail biter, George Smitherman supporters watch in disbelief as the numbers show a Rob Ford landslide victory at his election party at The Guvernment in Toronto.

STEVE RUSSELL - George Smitherman kisses the hand of his 23-month-old son Michael as he delivers his concession speech after losing the Toronto Mayoral election.

CARLOS OSORIO - Hazel McCallion smells flowers given to her as she celebrates at Mississauga City Hall after winning her 12th term in office.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Supporters at the Toronto Congress Center cheered after an Rob Ford was confirmed as Mayor of Toronto.

 

 

 

Wild Ride With TFC

Richard Lautens/Staff Photographer

Once in a while an assignment can throw you for a loop.  Last saturday night was just one of those times.

I was sent to cover the final home MLS game of the Toronto Football Club (that's soccer you know).  There is always something special about the first and last games of any season and this was a wild one.

The first difference in this game was the crowd.  The normal sea of red was replaced by green!  A protest was afoot.  The incredibly passionate TFC fans were fed up with rising ticket prices and the lack of quality on the pitch.

Even the über-passionate Red Patch Boys in the notorious section 112 sat for the entire game.  I don't think the seats in that section have been sat upon in 4 years. 

One of the normally vocal Red Patch Boys shows his displeasure

The action started out with the normal headers, slide tackles and goals but by the end of the second half it got strange.

  TFCs Jacob Peterson gets a hug following his goal in the second half from Nicholas Lindsay.

 

TFC goalie John Conway upends Columbus' Steven Lenhurt after a collision at the net.

Columbus Crew player Lenhurt shoves with members of the TFC after being dumped

TFC goalie John Conway gets a red for his part in the scrap.

In the dying minutes of the game with the TFC ahead 2-1, Columbus goalkeeper William Mesmer leaves his net at the far end of the pitch to score the goal that tied the game! He is seen celebrating his goal as he runs past the TFC bench.

The crowd looked highly umimpressed as they acknowledged the TFC players leaving the field for the last home game of the season

Between the quiet crowds, the goalie fights and a goalkeeper scoring the winning goal, it was an odd one.

Richard Lautens/The Toronto Star

 

A look back at September.

DAVID COOPER - Apartment fire at 200 Wellesley still burning. Woman stands on her balcony several stories above the flames trapped by the smoke in her apartment. The fire was has left everyone in the building homeless.

DAVID COOPER - Apartment fire on the 24th floor at St. James Town 200 Wellesley Street east Friday evening has put close to 1200 people out of their homes. Demetre Papadopoulos and his 14 year old dog Pluto, live on the 11th floor.

STEVE RUSSELL - Energy minister Brad Duguid tours Hydro One control centre in Barrie. The control centre divides the province into four sectors where controlers keep an eye out for problems and run through senarios in case of power shortages or other problems. 

LUCAS OLENIUK - Top NHL draft pick, Taylor Hall, took to the ice in Etobicoke as part of the 2010 NHLPA Rookie Showcase.  The event provided Upper Deck and Panini trading cards with an opportunity to photograph the top prospects for the upcoming season.  Unfortunately, useasonably warm conditions outside and a ventilation problem inside the arena, a fog took over the ice and the shoot had to move to an adjacent rink.

STEVE RUSSELL -  Giuseppe Piterna and his son Mauro have finished packing almost everything in their home. The elderly and quite ill couple (his wife Francesca is in the hospital) fell behind on their mortgage and are were evicted.

RENE JOHNSTON - The Toronto City skyline takes the late summer light from the west as the CityPlace condos rise.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Crews work to dry off the rain soaked rides at the CNE. 

CARLOS OSORIO - Kids paint in Jaylene Kostiuk's all day kindergarten class at James S. Bell Elementary School on the first day of school.

CARLOS OSORIO - Mayor Hazel McCallion announces that she plans to run again in Mississauga. 

STEVE RUSSELL - Anthony Russo, flanked by Kassie Brown in yellow and Robyn Baltzer in grey leap as they rehearse a number for Cirque du Soleil on Queen Street West for the show "Banana Shpeel" which will run until October 10 at the Canon Theatre.

COLIN McCONNELL -  Violinist Adrian Anantawan is reheasing with Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

ANDREW WALLACE - A smoker flings his butt.

COLIN McCONNELL -  Thousands of Muslims gathered at Exhibition Place in Toronto to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

RICK MADONIK - Rafi Karim, 3, drinks a juice box as he waits with his family on chairs in the recepiton area of the centre, Access Point on Danforth, a centre which brings together a number of services from health care to youth programs, and greatly serves newcomers to Canada.

DAVID COOPER -  Terence Houle, a Blackfoot artist who plays - with pleasant comic effect - with his ethnic identity and how it fits into the modern world in his new show Givn'R, at the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU). The piece he is standing beside is titled "Trail's End / End Trail's" playing on the noble savage on horseback.

DAVID COOPER - Katie Riley, tosses cake into the air after winning a $35,000 wedding at the Boiler House. Two Brides-to-be, Riley and Hayley-Shea Charuk dove into a 500lb wedding cake to find a key to win a $35,000 wedding at the Boiler House in the Distillery District.

RENE JOHNSTON - Mayoral frontrunner Rob Ford loses his umbrella in the storm.  Rob Ford coached his Don Bosco football team to a win in the rain.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Mayoral Candidate George Smitherman laps up a drink from the water fountain at the newly opened Sugar Beach before he talks to the media.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Aboard the Number 7 Snowbird plane piloted by Marco Rusconi during the Snowbird media flight.  The team toured Ontario's cottage country through sun and rain before returning to Pearson Airport for debriefing. 

DAVID COOPER - The Canadian International Air Show went ahead on the last day of the CNE down at the waterfront. Gray skies and some light rain didn't affect the show. A Westjet 737 aircraft passes in the background as The Canadian Forces Snowbirds finished of the show is spectacular fashion.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Actor Edward Norton photographed at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.  Norton was promoting his film "Stone".

RICHARD LAUTENS - Well known comedic actor Will Farrell was in town promoting his new movie, "Everything Must Go", on at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

RICHARD LAUTENS - Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is the director and star of the Movie 'Jack Goes Boating' at the Toronto International Film Festival.

LUCAS OLENIUK - Actress Kalki Koeclin photographed in Toronto at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

STEVE RUSSELL - National Film Board, NFB, chair Tom Perlmutter for Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor's look into the identity and the gatekeepers of Canadian Culture through media

STEVE RUSSELL - Toronto International Film Festival Piers Handling for Atkinson Fellow Kate Taylor's look into the identity and the gatekeepers of Canadian Culture through media.

 

SPORTS

DAVID COOPER - Toronto Argonauts Quarterback Cleo Lemon stretches at practice at University of Toronto, Mississauga campus as they prepare for Labour Day game in Hamilton.

RENE JOHNSTON - Rob Friend of Canadian National soccer team gets pulled down by Santiago Acasiete of the Peru National Team in first half action in a friendly in Toronto.

RENE JOHNSTON - Canadian National soccer team goalie Lars Hirschfeld tries to keep the ball out of the net with help from Kevin McKenna as Jefferson Farfan (17) of the the Peru National Team in second half action in a friendly. Canada lost 2-0.

RENE JOHNSTON - The Toronto Argos Chad Lucas gets hammered and loses the ball from the hit by Hamilton Ti-Cat Dylan Barker at Ivor Wynne in Hamilton on Labour Day in the first half.

RICK MADONIK - Rangers Nelson Cruz breaks his bat as he flies out during MLB action between Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

RICK MADONIK - Vernon Wells fouls off a ball during an at bat during MLB Action between Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.

RICK MADONIK - Fred Lewis can't come up with the ball as a runner turns on the Kyle Crawford triple during MLB Action between Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.

CARLOS OSORIO - Toronto Blue Jays Jose Bautista waits in the dugout with his jersey off after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. Some of the Jays players gave the jersey's they wore in the game to some fans.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Toronto FC's Dwayne de Rosario and Chad Barrett react in their 3-2 loss versus San Jose Earthquakes.

TARA WALTON - Toronto Maple Leafs' Captain Dion Phaneuf rocks Buffalo Sabres' Chris Butler during the first period of action Monday September 27, 2010.

RICHARD LAUTENS - The crowd jeers as Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez throws after catching a foul ball from Adam Lind. In their last home stand of the season, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 7-5 at the Rogers Centre.

The END(s)

RICK MADONIK - People gave the clothes off their backs at a fundraiser at the Carlu in support of the Canadian Art Foundation. The models were actually part of a performance piece. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peru defeats Canada 2-0

With far less mayhem and noise than a TFC match, Team Canada lost a friendly with the National soccer team of Peru 2-0 at BMO Field  Saturday.

Soccer to us, and football to the Peruvians, continues to amaze this  photographer. With far more hockey and basketball, heck even more  curling than soccer under my belt, I struggle to find the flow of the so called  beautiful game.

The pace varies greatly from under 21 FIFA ,to MLSE, to today's  National teams going at it. Canada did well in the first half keeping the score to nil each side but could not keep pace with the heavily fan-supported Peru team.

With fan support growing for soccer, the photographers here will have to get more familiar with the nuances of the biggest game in the world, but boy it is nice to feel the chill in the air. Go Leafs Go!

Enjoy the extra pics!

Rene Johnston

Dwayne De Rosario of the Canadian National soccer team tries to get around the defence of Carlos Zambrano ( l) of the Peru National Team in second half action in a friendly in Toronto on Saturday.(Rene Johnston/Toronto Star)

A look back at August

The Toronto Star Photo Department looks back some of the favourite pictures from August.

RICK MADONIK - Ontario Minister of Revenue John Wilkinson held a presser at the home of Paula and Jermaine Kirksey to further sell the HST. The Kirksey's received a direct deposit cheque to help offset the new costs to Ontarians when the HST kicks in. Son Shaine, 2, (left) was fidgety the entire time while brother Markus, 4, (right) eventually  joined his little brother under the family's glass table to play with toys while the Minister continued to speak to the media.

STEVE RUSSELL - Rev Canon Andrew Asbil gives his sermon amidst the renovations at the Church of the Redeemer. The church at the corner of Bloor and Avenue once had masses attended by 900 parishioners before  they dropped to about 40 in the late 70s. The church is busier and now reclaining pew space that was  walled off and used for programs.

STEVE RUSSELL - The summer of 2010 is quickly becoming the summer of the wasp, as August begins Torontonians are noticing an increase in the insects that  has been attributed to everything from a mild winter to last summer's garbage strike in Toronto.

RENE JOHNSTON - A egret wades beside some of the rocks piled as it hunts for small fish. Peter Riedel, an artist caused a small stir in the Humber River near the Old Mill erecting 39 rock sculptures.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Lucy Reimer, 2, grabs some thirsty relief from the water guns at the Wychwood Barns splashpad.

STEVE RUSSELL - Ted Holland holds his grade 13 picture from St. Charles College. Ted Holland was allegedly molested by Fr. William "Hodgson" Marshall in his grade nine year at St. Charles College in Sudbury.

KEITH BEATY -  Taste Of The Danforth claims to be Canada's largest street festival. Chef Mili Fernandez of Embujo Flamenco Tapas Restaurant cooks up a big batch of paella.

COLIN MCCONNELL -  Robi Roncarelli is a 74 year-old  bright tight wearing aquafit instructor who has led classes at the north toronto community centre for 20 years.

JIM RANKIN - Jason, 28, has been on and off the streets since he was 14. The Star handed out five Master Card and Visa gift cards in $50 and $75 denominations to people on the streets who asked for money, and then tracked what was bought. Jason bought a cheeseburger and root beer.

VINNIE TALOTTA - Sean Siveira demonstrates at the Sprite Flowrider Splash Zone in preparation of the opening of the CNE.

RICK MADONIK - Akear Miguel, 3, of Toronto, checks out the fountain at Yonge and Dundas Square on a perfect summer's day in the city.

RICK MADONIK - Sudesh Muthu shows off his Guiness World hair (male) which measures in at 1.91 metres and was recorded on Aug 6, 2010, in England. Sudesh holds Vehaan, 2, while Thedavi, 5, and Nesta, 8, help show just how long their dad's hair is. 

STEVE RUSSELL - Guisseppi Gigliotti downs some water to wash down the pizza pie and the front of his shirt. He ate 11 slices (almost four pizzas). He finished 29 slices behind the winner, super eater, Takeru Kobayashi, at PIE, Wood Fired Pizza Joint in Barrie. Competitors had to ate a Queen Pie, tomato, fresh basil and mozarella.

RICK EGLINTON - Justin Bieber performs live in concert at the Air Canada Centre.

TANNIS TOOHEY - James Byrne, 22, holds a petri dish with a countable amount of bacteria grown from a dog dish at a local Starbucks cafe, and Gabriel Wolfaardt, 22, holds a petri dish of a sample taken from a water cooler on the 2nd floor at the Queen's Park Legislative Assembly.

RENE JOHNSTON - Corey Mandell has been in the event entertainment industry for more than 20 years. He started out as a DJ for bar and bat mitzvahs at 17. At 21, he founded his own company, which provided DJ services. He also played piano during cocktails. Over the years, Mandell's company has branched out into producing the entertainment for major corporate events, owning unique event spaces and running a nightclub. Recently, the company has come full circle by providing entertainment for bar and bat mizvahs once again.

TANNIS TOOHEY - Paul "Earl" Perreault performs a stunt in his "manly hula hoop" (a Cyr Wheel) as a member of Stunt Double Circus during a performance at Buskerfest. 

CARLOS OSORIO - Mirella Amato, founder of Beerology, a consulting firm related to all things beer. Its founder runs beer tastings, judges beer competitions, writes for beer publications, has a regular feature on CBC radio about the world of beer and runs training sessions for bar staff about beer.

DAVID COOPER -  People headed over to the Toronto Island to escape from the heat of the city that hit 33 celcius.

JIM RANKIN - Swans dunk for lunch as cormorants line the break wall at the Western Beaches.

CARLOS OSORIO -  Toronto Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion breaks his bat on a foul ball during their MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

RICK MADONIK - TFC's Jacob Peterson goes upside down thanks to Ben Zemanski during MLS action between Toronto FC and Chivas USA at BMO Field Saturday afternoon.

VINNIE TALOTTA - Pierre-Ludovic Duclos serves but loses his match against Yen-Hsun Lu at the Rogers Cup Mens Tennis Tournament  the Rexall Centre at York University.

RICK MADONIK - Rafael Nadal of Spain takes on Stanislas Warinka of Switzerland during the night match on Centre Court at the Rogers Cup at Rexall Centre at York University.

RICK MADONIK - Stanislas Wawrinka lays on the ground after winning a tiebreak point. However, Rafael Nadal of Spain went on to win the match on Centre Court at the Rogers Cup at Rexall Centre at York University.

RICK MADONIK - Robert Sacre gets pinned in by Lombahe-Kahudi and Boris Diaw during a pre World Tournament basketball matchup between Canada and France Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre.

KEITH BEATY - Montreal Jon Banks (#1) and Anwar Stewart (#9) take down Argo Corey Boyd (#3).

RICHARD LAUTENS - Goalkeeper Stefan Frei grabs a shot.The TFC today were practicing ahead of their Champions League match tuesday night against a team from Mexico.

RICHARD LAUTENS - Running back Bryan Crawford makes a catch.The Toronto Argonauts work out on their practice field in Mississauga after their big win over Montreal.

RICK EGLINTON - Toronto Blue Jays John Buck and Jose Bautista celebrate a 3-2 win over the Yankees.

DAVID COOPER - Sweat flies off of the arms of Travis Snider as he swings in the bottom of the 9th. After Dave Stieb threw out the first pitch things went downhill from there as the Toronto Blue Jays lost 10-4 to the Detroit Tigers.

JIM RANKIN - Miguel Vadillo enters the water at 9 p.m., beginning his swim. Vadillo, 40, arrived at Marilyn Bell Park just after 3 pm Tuesday, Aug 11, crossing the lake in 18 hours, and three minutes. It was the eleventh fastest time on record. The Toronto Star designer swam for Jumpstart, a charity that provide swimming and water safety lessons for kids.

JIM RANKIN - Miguel Vadillo had swam through the night, and come daylight, felt renewed. 

JIM RANKIN - Miguel Vadillo, 40, arrives at Marilynn Bell Park after crosing Lake Ontario and is embraced by his partner Katie White, and son, Santiago Vadillo, 12. The Toronto Star designer swam for Jumpstart, a charity that provide swimming and water safety lessons for kids. 

To donate to Miguel's charity, see 

http://bit.ly/Malva-donate

 

Hot July, hot pictures!

Some of the best of Toronto Star photo department's best pictures of the Hot month of July!

ANDREW WALLACE - Water spills on people at Ontario Place water park. 

Manchester United defeat Celtic FC 3-1 in Toronto

Legendary football clubs Manchester United and Celtic FC played a rare match in Toronto July 16, 2010. Star staff photo Tara Walton was on hand for the action.

Dimitar Berbatov of the Renowned English Premier League club Manchester United puts one past Scottish power Celtic FC's keeper Friday July 16, 2010 at the Rogers Centre in a rare appearance by these two legendary football clubs in Canada.  Toronto Star/Tara Walton