The End of Summer and Open-Air Theatres

The fall weather has definitely settled into the city. I have pulled the my sweaters out of storage and incorporated cute polka-dot tights with my skirts. Just a few weeks ago warm summer breezes still settled into calm, balmy summer nights and on one of these such nights, I found myself seated at an outdoor theatre about to enjoy a good old Shakespeare comedy. To me open-air theatres are the epitome of what summer is about. That as well as cooking outdoors, eating out of doors, being outdoors...*wimper* it's such a long winter indoors.

It took me all summer to finally make it out to High Park and just barely made it at that. Labour Day weekend was its last weekend of the season, it also happens to be my mother's birthday. Dinner and a show proved to be the perfect gift; picnic and Comedy of Errors to be exact.

This was our first time attending Shakespeare in High Park put on by Canadian Stage, (but certainly will be returning next summer) and apparently the thing to do is to arrive soon after gates open with a massive, elaborate picnic spread in tow and kill the hours before the show eating, chatting, and guarding your precious spot. I might have gone into creeper mode trying to photograph some of the picnics that surrounded us.

A gourmet salad she put together right before my eyes. My mouth was watering.

Chicken fingers and fries. Where's your five-a-day?

I think we did pretty good with our picnic. Not pictured: butter tarts for dessert.

Those Bloomin' Trees; Sakura in High Park

Like everyone and their mother, on a warm hazy weekend morning I found myself heading to High Park in Toronto to view the Japanese cherry blossoms. Many of these trees have been here since the 1950s, but for some reason this spring seemed to be on everyone's radar and on everyone's agenda to check out.

The original 2000 Somei-Yoshino Sakura trees (sakura means cherry blossoms) were gifted to the city of Toronto on behalf of the displaced Japanese Canadians that were welcomed here after the Second World War. In 1984 a grove of more trees were donated to the people of Toronto from Yoriki and Midori Iwasaki and again additional trees were plated in 2001 and 2006. They can be found throughout much of the park.

The white with slight pink blossoms have a very short bloom time (usually from 4-10 days occurring around the end of April beginning of May) and often seen as a metaphor for life itself: "luminous and beautiful, yet fleeting and ephemeral".

The Japanese tradition of flower viewing, Hanami, dates back to the 8th century and was limited to elite and nobility classes. Today, everyone can take part in hanami and often gather in groups to walk among the blossoms or hold feasts under the trees.

According to the handy High Park Cherry Blossom watch website the blossoms have all since fallen and the growing season has begun, until next spring.