Toronto Time Machine

A creation of famed Canadian cartoonist Charles Thorson, Punkinhead the bear  was a common sight inside and around Eaton's department store. Bright colours and holiday festivities roared down the Toronto streets last week for the 2024 edition of The Original Santa Claus Parade provided a delightful spectacle for young people as well as those people young at heart. Part of the parade’s draw to audiences during this seasonal tradition is the appearance of whimsical characters. Of course, Santa Claus and more recently Mrs. Claus is lead figures of the holiday parade while other staples of the pre-Christmas event include marching bands as well as the Celebrity Clowns. Modern editions of The Original Santa Claus Parade have also involved a number of popular characters familiar to audiences beyond the parade. Former Canadian department store Eaton, the originator and longtime sponsor of the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, chose in 1947 to introduce a new mascot to appeal to toy-craving chil...

MuchMusic and MusiquePlus Stamps Released by Canada Post (Photo Credit: CNW Group/Canada Post) It was forty years ago when the broadcast of Rush’s "The Enemy Within" signified the launch of Canada’s first music channel. From 299 Queen Street East in Toronto, MuchMusic began broadcasting on August 31st between maverick media magnate Moses Znaimer and Canadian television producer John Martin. Formerly working with CBC, Martin pitched a show called The NewMusic that aired in 1979 on Znaimer’s City-TV (the television channel was purchased by CHUM Limited in 1981). The success of that show prompted the motivation for creating an MTV-like all-music station in Canada that went live in 1984.  From its inception to the 2000s, MuchMusic and later its French-language ami MusiquePlus that took to the airwaves in 1986 provided Canadians (particularly Canadian youths) with an avenue to experience musical culture. Immersive programming on the channel would include popular music videos, conc...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy The last weekend ahead of Christmas is typically a time when foot traffic inside Canadian shopping malls pounds the floors with rhythmic fury. The enclosed environment known as the Yorkdale Shopping Centre opens to shoppers providing more than the polarizing holiday music and crowded parking lots associated with other malls. For 2014, Yorkdale offers a host of guest services such as valet and lounges for some customers as well as rare Canadian shopping experiences such as Versace, the Microsoft store, The Lego Store and even a Tesla Motors sales centre (the first in Canada). Photo Credit: Chris Nagy In February of this year, the Yorkdale Shopping Centre celebrated 50 years of serving customers by setting new expectations for how we spend our money. I've written a tribute to the golden anniversary of the shopping centre in February but decided to largely capture what the complex was in 1964 . As a writer who deep...