Archive for Fun

Saturday, 2011 October 22, 12 pm to 6 pm
Nathan Philips Square (100 Queen St West)

Here’s your chance to take part in an environment-inspired chase through the streets of Toronto! From the announcement:

Searching for an inspiring, informative GREEN EVENT? Do you love your world? Do you know your city? Put your knowledge to the test!

See how long it takes you to navigate the city’s greatest sustainable spots, and learn a few things along the way. Celebrate completing the chase as you uncover the FINAL CLUE to join the rest of the teams for some mingling and a prize ceremony.

For more information or to register, visit the Toronto Eco-Chase 2011 website.

Yesterday, I represented the Green Party in Toronto-Danforth for the trophy distribution ceremony for the East York Soccer Club.  Many hundreds of children participate in this wonderfully inclusive and supportive organization.  I personally sponsored a team there this year, and the Green Party of Canada riding association sponsored another.  It’s easy to get involved.  Go here.

Here I am talking to the team I sponsored, waiting our turn:

I went on to the Vegetarian Food Fair on Friday night.

There are films, good music and great food in almost obscene quantities.

Find out more here.

Toronto Vegetarian Food Fair
Fri – Sun, 2011 September 9 – 11
Harbourfront Centre,
235 Queen’s Quay West

Thursday, 2011 September 8 to Sunday September 11

There will be lots of events throughout the weekend, including the Cabbagetown Short Film and Video Festival, a September 11 Memorial and  the Grand Parade (Saturday, 10 am – 12 noon). The Danforth Greens will be in the parade, so please join us! Visit cabbagetownfestival.org for more details.

Saturday, 2011 August 13
2:00 to 5:00 pm
Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth Ave., Lower Level

From the announcement:

This is an eco fair on everything related to growing food in small, difficult, vertical, or rooftop spaces.

• Displays & info on growing foods in containers, raised beds, and on rooftops
• Vendor tables with supplies & resources for containers and food growing advice
• Guided tours of the new Carrot Green Roof garden at 3pm and 4pm

FREE admission. Light refreshments, live music, and raffle prizes. Give-aways while supplies last!

Organised by: Community Animators – South (contact: martina@ecospark.ca or 647-208-1810)

In Partnership with: Carrot Green Roof

Join the Toronto Greens contingent – featuring Elizabeth May and Mike Schreiner – at the Pride Festival parade on Sunday, July 3!

What: Pride Parade
When: Sunday, 2011 July 3, 1:30pm
Where: outside the Green Party of Ontario office, 14 Isabella Ave (just east of the Artful Dodger)

We will be meeting around noon. The parade begins at 2pm. We want a big group of Greens demonstrating our pride in our longstanding commitment to LGBT rights.

The parade is fun, noisy and wet. We will have a hand drum band, bubbles, water guns and a big green flag.  Please plan on wearing a Green t-shirt (see below).     Read more »

I have often thought of reversing the way that proportional representation is calculated and applying it to the MPs already in Parliament.

The one Green seat represents almost 580,000 votes.  166 Conservative seats represent 5.8 million votes.  So while each Conservative MP represents just over 35,000 voters, Elizabeth May represents 580,000.

Therefore one Green is worth 16 Conservatives.     Read more »

Update:  Click here for the provincial debate.

The debate is just ending now, but Chris Tolley is already sending out his photo of his video of the proceedings.  As campaign manager, I get to hold fort at the office, anxious to hear how it went.

Update:  Someone has posted the full audio here.
Chris Tolley’s raw video is below:

Update:  Now with English subtitles:

Here’s one of three Portuguese-language interviews Adriana’s done during this campaign.     Read more »

Peter Bevan-Baker is running for the Greens in Malpeque, PEI.  He understands that it’s a marathon.     Read more »

The Xof1 solar car is not allowed to drive on public roads.  So its creator, Marcelo da Luz, pulled it all the way as he walked the distance from Niagara Falls to Toronto.  His ceremonial end point was Queen’s Park.  After arrival, Adriana walked with him and the car back to his home in Toronto-Danforth.

Young Greens around the country will be drawing out lines to the advance polls tonight.  When people wake up tomorrow morning, green chalk lines will have appeared on sidewalks all over the country, leading to advance polling stations.

A large group of Young Greens in Toronto will be meeting at     Read more »

Tuesday, 2011 April 26, 7 pm – 10 pm
Gabby’s in the “Library Room”
729 Danforth Ave, east of Pape

Adriana will be there from 7 to 8 pm and then she’s off to Rogers TV for a live all-candidates debate. Watch the debate live, starting at 9pm, with your fellow Greens! We meet the last Tuesday of every month – come join us!

Just had a Portuguese language interview with Sandro Miranda of PanTV.  He pointed me to a Brazilian campaign to reduce water use.  I have been impressed with the creativity of public campaigns in Brazil on AIDS, abuse of women, nutrition among the poor and other areas.  Brazil routinely achieves tremendous progress on the cheap.  Here’s how they are reducing water use:

We’ve had to revise our sizing chart:

… with love from Adriana.

This moving video was made for Rebecca Harrison’s campaign.  Rebecca is busy as both the Green candidate in Whitby Oshawa and the Green Party’s Ontario Organizer.

Watch this video created by a Green Party supporter.

Yesterday

At a talk I attended on Friday afternoon with constitutional scholar Peter Russell, he pointed out that of the 51 democracies in the world today, 48 are led by either coalitions or minority governments acting with the support of other parties.  If Stephen Harper rejects coalitions, he rejects democracy, because democracy is all about coalition building, partnership, working together and finding solutions.

Morning

This morning at an interfaith breakfast organized by Greening Sacred Spaces, I ran into a colleague who pointed out that Stephen Harper got the vote of 22% of eligible voters – that’s 38% of the 59% of the electors who bothered to vote.  So many people are disgusted with government they don’t vote at all.  And with the support of  less than one quarter of voters, Harper thinks the right thing to do is ignore other parties.

At the interfaith breakfast, I was very impressed with Rabbi Miriam of the Danforth Jewish Circle, who said that whenever she thinks about the environment she is reminded of Genesis.  She quoted in Hebrew but paraphrased in Jewish the phrase:

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Afternoon

Zito Hellas! I spent the afternoon at the Greek Independence Day Parade on the Danforth with two supporters and my young son carrying a Greek flag.  Then we bought some spanakopita and brought it back to the office we had just claimed at 1338 Danforth.  From now to election day, it will be open daily from 10am to 9pm.

The office was bustling all afternoon.  We have some very energetic local supporters who were helping move things around.  Thanks to Kashkoush and all his friends.  Six supporters went out with more window signs.  Our signs are up on Danforth, on Gerrard, on Donlands and Coxwell now.  My daughter and some young supporters made some progress towards a big sign over the office while office manager Jo Oppenheimer supervised the delivery of office furniture.

Evening

Our lawn signs are in print.  Our first flyers are in print.  Supporters and passers-by walked in and talked.  At 9pm, we were still talking to neighbours who had recently moved to the riding and wanted to know more about the Green Party.

You can find more endorsements like these on the new video endorsements page.  Hilary and Ed have fuller videos there.

Parts of this are eerily familiar.

It’s exciting to see various faith groups taking action to protect all creation, like the Green Choices for Faith Communities forum happening in Toronto later this month.

Visit ecosikh.org for more information.