Village Stories
People
Coco Schumann Playing To Stay Alive
Coco Schumann had just eased himself into his chair on the bandstand in the Berlin bar where he was playing guitar when he spotted a squad of SS officers come in. Their swastika armbands made it clear who they were. They headed straight for one member of the audience,...
read moreRoll Over Beethoven
The year was 1956 and a young generation – teenagers – was starting to get the music they’d always craved: rock ‘n roll. Their parents had been listening and dancing to the likes of the Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, the Andrew Sisters and now after the war, Patti Page...
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Upgrading Your Workplace Cheaply
How to Cheaply Upgrade Your Writing Workspace Not every author who works from has an ideal workspace. Many use a simple chair-and-desk setup, while others make do with the dining table. A few even work when lounging on the couch or bed. If you’re one such author, it’s...
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Upsizing Your Home In Retirement
While it may be common practice for seniors to downsize as they approach retirement age, Raymond James notes that many are finding benefits in upgrading to a bigger home. Upsizing can be a good solution for a variety of reasons, such as making room for family...
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Rabbi Elina Bykova
Rabbi Elina Bykova A rabbi caters to a diverse flock A gay couple joins in breaking the glass at the conclusion of their wedding. A lesbian couple signs the ketubah before a dual Jewish/Catholic ceremony with a rabbi and priest officiating. Parents who can’t afford...
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DooWop
Doo-wop Dom dom dom dom dom bedooby dom Can you imagine a group of teenage boys getting together to sing harmony in school and community centre basements and on street corners? It didn’t matter if it was cold. They’d fill a steel drum - they called it a fire barrel -...
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Saving Private Brubeck
Saving Private Brubeck How a little-known soldier saved jazz giant Dave Brubeck Pvt. Ray Wax landed on Normandy Beach 21 days after the invasion. D-21. The war had moved on. Wax was in General Patton’s Third Army, the Lucky Rear. Wax had got himself assigned from the...
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Joe Foster paints the homeless
Joe Foster paints the homeless Smith Falls Ont., artist befriends his models Artist Joe Foster was sitting in church one Sunday morning when the minister asked for volunteers to help pass out meals to the homeless at a local mission. “I felt I needed to give back to...
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The Bagg Street Klezmer Band
The Bagg Street Klezmer Band Klezmer is Jewish history set to music, a mixture of joy and sadness The klezmer music of the Bagg Street Klezmer Band fills the warm August night air at the Trudeau Park bandshell in Côte Saint Luc, QC. Rick Goldman, Bagg Street Band...
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vCOPS Côte Saint-Luc
vCOPs help keep Côte Saint-Luc safe vCOPS they may be, but cops they are not Long gone are the days of the cop on the beat, someone who knew everyone in the neighbourhood and what was going on – the good and the bad. People felt safe when the badge was around....
read moreShops
Zillah Creations Montreal
Zillah Tattoo Creations Montreal. Psychedelic art and mandala with colours that light up the night.
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Argaive Erotic Photography In Montreal
Argaive Erotic Photography in Montreal Argaive Frees the Nipples and the Id Do you long to take off your clothes and let the camera see you? See you in a way that your lover or lovers have never. Let them into your inner sexual sanctum. Free the id! Free the nipples!...
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M.T.L. Montreal bagel shop in Cote Saint-Luc
M.T.L. Bagels made with passion New flavours to please Millennial bagel eaters Meet Glen Spence Montreal bagel shop baker with a mission. “I realized the bagel industry wasn’t what it used to be: The quality had gone down. The costs of ingredients had gone up, so to...
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The Healthy Butcher
The Healthy Butcher wants you to eat less meat But, first, here are some barbecue tips Spring is here. May is upon us. Can barbecue season be far behind? Like all cooking, barbecuing demands timing, says Mario Fiorucci, co-founder of the Healthy Butcher. Without it,...
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Royal Antique Rugs
Carpets with a history David Bakhshi tells their story and passes on the wisdom of buying oriental rugs Open the door at Royal Antique Rugs on Eglinton Avenue. What the newcomer sees is a chaos of carpets. Carpets piled up row after row. Carpets rolled up and leaning...
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Majestic Auction
Majestic Auction brings Chinese antiquities to the Village A gathering of antiques from jade to sculptures each going to the highest bidder Have you developed a taste for Chinese antiquities? Majestic Auction has a collection on hand. Drop by the gallery to see what’s...
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St. Urbain Bagel
St. Urbain Bagel Celebrates 30th Anniversary Bagel chain born when 2 bored accountants rolled up their sleeves to roll dough What do two accountants do when they get tired of number-crunching and want something more hands-on? Answer: They open a bagel bakery. Bernie...
read moreGoings-On
Did you ever wonder whose idea it was to put pep talks on Halls cough candy wrappers?
I watched the brown fluid trickle slowly down the tube and into my right arm. The brown fluid was liquid iron. I was having an iron infusion since I had been feeling weak and unsteady after a recent operation. I sighed and tried to relax in the lounge chair while the...
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Marijuana For Seniors
Marijuana for seniors Marijuana for seniors. Just think of it: marijuana for seniors. Not just for therapeutic use. But pot for pleasure. It’s coming. Toking with nary a narc in sight. That first deep inhale. That rush. No more meeting up with a dealer in some grotty...
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Candyass Cabaret Burlesque Montreal
Candyass, Cabaret Burlesque Montreal revives burlesque but there’s more than just T&A Anyone expecting to see a night of scantily clad strippers parading around the stage when the Candyass Club Cabaret hits the boards at Montreal’s Café Cléopatre is going to be in...
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Art teacher inspires students to create art
George Deligeorge inspires his students to turn their creative impulses into art ‘Everyone can be creative!’ Sails on sailboats go from beige to black. A swimmer has an arm chopped off and painted back on. “You can fix anything; it’s a painting not a bouillabaisse,”...
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Côte Saint-Luc Seniors Community Garden
Autumn at the Côte Saint-Luc Seniors Community Garden The end of the growing season is a time for thanksgiving The marigolds are in bloom, lighting up the Côte Saint-Luc Seniors Community Garden with flashes of orange and crimson. Most of the allotments are bare...
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Columbus Centre Redevelopment Plan Sparks Outrage
Columbus Centre Redevelopment Plan Sparks Outrage Fear that a mixed-use building will replace a ‘jewel’ The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and the Villa Charities are not your typical developers. The TCDSB wants to build a much-needed school for...
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The Thrilla In Little Manila
Taste of Manila street fest celebrates Filipino culture and cuisine To the rat-a-tat-tat and the boom, boom boom of the snare drums, the dah – ditty – dah –ditty dah of the brass, and high-stepping majorettes, the Philippine Heritage Band opened the festivities at the...
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The MAD Project
The MAD Project Taking the MAD pulse of Village Clergy From time to time, I like to inject a little more serious content into the blog. I’ve done so with the Out of the Cold project at the Holy Blossom Temple and the Anne Frank post. I wanted to do one on medically...
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Canadians reluctant to hang up on pay phones
Canadians reluctant to hang up on pay phones But pay phones attract mostly curious glances By Lawrence Papoff The trio of twelve-year-olds hovers round the pay phone in the lobby of the Barbara Frum Library. Fascinated, they poke at its keyboard. Heeding the...
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Art Starts in Lawrence Heights
Art Starts makes the arts accessible to everyone Art projects bring out the artist in participants and bring down barriers to understanding Lawrence Heights is a tough area. Gun crime. Drug dealing. Gang violence. And heartbreak: the 2014 murder of a popular teacher –...
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