About York County, ON

I just want to post some pictures from the 10th Annual Cornell BBQ wich was held on the 10th of August 2008. This is one event that is being marked in our calendar many months before it takes place. Our kids love it and it is an opportunity to meet neighbours, connect with the local business community and have a great BBQ after all.

There were inflatable play zones,



live music,

face painting,

raffles and even hot air balloon rides for the curageous ones.

And plenty of food as it was a BBQ after all.

Cornellius the Lion, the mascot of Cornell, had some fun too.

We really enjoyed the fun, food and entertainement. But as in every show, the army of people who actually make things work remain behind the curtains. These are the people in the CRPA board who generously donated their time for us. A big, big THANK YOU !!!

And good luck with the Cornell Classic Golf Tournament!

August 22nd to Aug 24th The 19th annual Eaglewood Folk Festival is ramping up to present some great Canadian talent in this years festival. While in the past the festival has had talent from across North America they are sticking to Canadian talent this year and have lined up some great performers. Eaglewood is totally Wheelchair accessible and even has Braille program Guides. If you cant make it to the festival The University of Toronto member driven radio station CIUT 89.5 fm will be broadcasting live from 1pm to 11pm on Saturday or on-line at www.ciut.fm

"Folk" music as presented at the festival is said to be "the kind of music you might play at a party, songs you can jam on and have a good laugh afterwords. Good Music by good people"

This years line up of talen includes Brent Titcomb, Brian MacMillan, The D. Rangers, Darlene, David Essig, Donné Roberts, Evalyn Parry, Hey Stella, , Kobo Town, Kristin Sweetland, Liam Titcomb, Little Miss Higgins, Nathan Rogers, Old Man Luedecke, The Perpetrators, Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley, Sheesham & Lotus, T. Nile, Tannis Slimmon, Treasa & Lisa, Wabs Whitebird, British Native Allies, The Georgina Community Drum Circle, The Bloor Street Gospel Chorus.

For a sampling of the music click on the links The D. Rangers, Evalyn Parry, Little Miss Higgins, The Perpetrators

I recently came across a very interesting book called '1000 Places to See Before You Die' by Patricia Schultz and although I'm not sure whether or not Toronto Island made her list, it certainly should be there.

In early August a friend and I decided to sail over to Toronto Island and spend a few days exploring. Although I've lived in Ontario for most of my life and have visited Toronto many times, I had never been to Toronto Island before and now, after our recent visit there, I see that I've been missing out on one of our provinces most intriguing places.

While moored at Toronto Island, we were in awe of the fact that downtown Toronto was so close, and yet we felt as though we were on a distant island paradise of forests, beaches and trails.





















Toronto Island has an intriguing history extending back to the days when aboriginal people called it home. They saw it as a place of great spiritual mystery and magic and often took vacations there from the mainland.

























Over the years Toronto Island became the playground of the wealthy and eventually the City of Toronto began to develop it into a place that preserved the natural beauty while still providing features that appealed to all ages and income levels.



































Today thousands of people from all over the world take a ferry over to the island and spend the day exploring the many trails, attractions and beaches.





























It's one of the few places in Ontario where an official 'clothing optional' beach can be found and even though the day we visited was windy and cool, some visitors there were oblivious to the weather as they bared their all to the elements.
































During our stay there we took the Hanlan Point ferry over to the mainland and did some exploring of Queen's Quay in downtown Toronto.
The South-east Asia festival was on and we were treated to a show by colourful and talented Tibetan dancers.
























Taking cover from a storm, we came across a cosy auditorium where East Indian food was being prepared by a master chef and as curry and rice scents drifted through the air, I couldn't help but be enamoured at the wide variety of visitors from so many different cultures and backgrounds.



























I truly love it in that area of Toronto. The energy level is amazing and everyone is friendly.

Again, there is so much to see and explore, you would need to spend many days there to see it all.

As soon as there was a break in the weather, we headed for the ferry that would take us back home to the island.








It was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the day and we arrived back at the boat just in time to miss a major downpour.






















The evening saw a clearing in the skies and a great peace took over the Toronto harbour and the island inlet where we were moored.

I can't even begin to describe the magical feeling I felt as I gazed across the water to the lights of the beautiful Toronto skyline.















Tourboats run day and evening from the Toronto harbour and in and around the many inlets of the island, offering tourists a comfortable and exciting way to see the island for themselves.

We were only moored at the island for two nights and did not have enough time to explore all the places that I wanted to see and the weather was touch and go with many thunderstorms and downpours during our stay.










I've made a vow to myself to visit again, soon, and this time explore more completely since the little that I saw was very beautiful and intriguing.
As you can see from the following slide show, an abundance of new experiences awaits you when you come to the Toronto waterfront.

I know it would take many visits there to see everything and I've put this on my list of the thousand places I want to see 'again', before I leave this fragile blue planet we call home.

©2008JoSmith

Welcome to Cornell Village!

Situated on the North-East corner of Markham - Ontario, Cornell is a mixed-used community that was built 9 years ago following the New Urbanism philosophy. It was one of a kind development long before the mixed-used communities became a mainstream development trend.
I won’t bother you with numbers and stats, you can find more information about Cornell here.

The Cornell houses are replicas of Canadian heritage houses and you will find a mix of Victorian, Arts and Crafts or collonial styles on each street.

Let’s take a walk on the memory lane, when houses were smaller and the families were larger, neighbors were looking out for one another, streets were alive. Kids were playing outside all day long coming in just to grab a bite or when it was too dark to see the ball, sidewalks were chalked out with hopscotch games and there was always a group of kids playing street hockey without having to stop and yell “car” every minute. Neighbors were chit-chatting on the porches or at the coffee shop just around the corner, everybody knew their names, their kids and even relatives who came to visit.
For those of you who can’t remember, I envy your youth, but feel a little sorry though for not experiencing the childhood we had.

I did not long for these old days for years, but then my son was born and everything changed. Got tired of organizing play dates and always driving him to friends to play or to the park. Everything was a rush against the clock, and this wasn’t going anywhere soon. This is when we discovered this one of a kind community - Cornell, that had this "old" neighbourhood feel and took everybody by surprise when we decided to move here. We traded a fancy big house in a posh neighborhood to a not so big one, a ravine setting backyard to a little puny one, a great location to the “middle of nowhere kind of ”... Yes, I know what you are thinking, but we are not that dumb:).

We won’t trade this one for the world.

I won’t say that everything is perfect, but Cornell offers far more for its residents than a “standard” subdivision. Parks at less than 5 minutes walking distance wherever you live in Cornell, lanes where kids play all day long, great schools, walking distance to the Convenience store and coffee shops, hair salons, dentists, medical or even massage therapy clinics.

As for its residents, hats down for the ones who run the CRPA(Cornell Rate Payers Association), those who moderate the Cornell Village Forum, for those who publish the Cornell Crier , for those who build hockey rings for our kids in the winter and for all volunteers who donate their time just to make things better in Cornell.

The plans for the future of Cornell are grand. We will surely be here to witness.

And so it continues. Or maybe it has ended. Toronto has always had this big city - small city syndrome. Are we world class or not? Do they love us or hate us?

Well, it seems that Toronto doesn't need the NFL. The CFL and the NLL (lacrosse) will do just fine for the folks at Hasbro. Toronto, as well as Montreal and Vancouver will be featured on the new Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition.

Just don't tell Torontonians that Montreal has the prestigious "Boardwalk" location...

Read the PRESS RELEASE HERE.

To view the ORIGINAL POSTING VISIT HERE.