Dusk Dances in Earlscourt Park

On our way home from the soccer game last Friday, we heard some music playing in the park and decided to investigate*.  What we walked into was a huge crowd cheering on a group of performers dressed in traditional West African clothing and dancing to the beat of the drum.

We soon discovered that this was part of Dusk Dances, a free outdoor dance festival that showcases local talents of different dance backgrounds. This is the 17th season for the festival and we're glad that one of the venues is right in our hood!

There was a really positive energy in the crowd and the performers were lively and entertaining. Unfortunately we're still learning how to use our fancy new camera, but these shots will give you some idea...

*During the month of July there was at least one festival every weekend, so hearing music coming from the park is nothing new to us :)

Climbing Monkeys at Boulderz

Last Sunday we opted for physical exercise over sleeping in (what were we thinking?!) and checked out Boulderz- an indoor climbing gym in the Davenport neighbourhood.  We have a couple of climbing enthused family members who told us about the place and we were pleasantly surprised to learn how close it was to home.

Boulderz is primarily a bouldering gym, but there are opportunities to harness in and climb up, up, up.  We decided to try bouldering, since it looked fun and relatively easy.

Pfft.  Right.

The fun part we got right.  It only seemed easy because of the other pro climbers in the gym who scaled the walls like monkeys.  Regardless, the fun definitely outweighed the challenge.  Matt had a natural knack for it, and managed to reach the goal several times over.

I, on the other hand, couldn't quite get passed the fear of falling, and never made it high enough.  BUT - Boulderz is also equipped with a small workout area on the second floor, and it was there where I discovered my true talent...

I kept at it for almost 10 minutes until I realized we were at a climbing gym and that I should probably get back to that.

Looking forward to going again!

Manila Food

After a Friday night soccer game at the St. Michael's School field,  we decided to walk west along St.Clair on our way home.  Just up ahead we saw a guy bbq'ing in front of a storefront called Manila Food and we knew we'd have to stop for quick snack break (I'm also half-filipino, so I was happy to discover a filipino store near our hood). 

He was cooking up some talapia and BBQ chicken - Yummmm.  Ok, so Matt was the one to play soccer so he had an excuse for his appetite.  I'm just hungry all the time, so that's my excuse.

We didn't get his name, but the guy running the BBQ was really friendly.  I guess it helped that I also used the little filipino I knew to thank him.  Yup, I pull out that card every once in a while :)

Taking a walk through Corso Italia

Loving our new neighbourhood!  Just a few pics during an hour walk around the new hood...

              A busy bee working on a sunflower in the Community Garden (Earlscourt Park)

Something about catching of a glimpse of the CN Tower makes it feel more like home :)

Soccer = Corso