Entertainment in Toronto
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Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre
A restored masterpiece, the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre is the world’s last operating double-decker theater. Constructed in 1913, the stunning Winter Garden was built as the flagship for a vaudeville chain that never really took off, while the downstairs Elgin theater was converted into a movie house in the 1920s. Saved from demolition in 1981, the theaters then received a $29 million facelift: bread dough was used to uncover original rose-garden frescoes, the Belgian company that made the original carpet was contacted for fresh rugs, and the floral Winter Garden ceiling was replaced, leaf by painstaking leaf. Public tours are worth every cent.
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Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto's sporadically successful Major League Baseball team plays at the Rogers Centre. Buy tickets with a credit card by phone, online or through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca) for a fee. You can buy tickets for cash at the Rogers Centre box office near Gate 9. The cheapest seats are way up above the field. Instead, try for seats along the lower level baselines (from $32) where you have a better chance of catching a fly-ball (or wearing one in the side of the head). The Jays haven't won a championship since 1993, but who knows, this could be their year.
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Cineforum
Though there have been a few attempts to shut it down, an off-the-wall experience (or perhaps on-the-wall) still awaits at Cineforum. Irascible Torontonian character Reg Hartt wraps posters around telephone poles advertising his cinema – the front room of his house where he showcases classic and avant-garde films. Animation retrospectives are his specialty, as are Salvador Dalí prints. Come prepared for idiosyncratic lectures designed to expand your consciousness (like ‘What I Learned from LSD’), sometimes delivered while movies are playing. Seats 20; bring your own food and drink.
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Toronto Maple Leafs
The 13-time Stanley Cup winning Maple Leafs slap the puck around the Air Canada Centre in the National Hockey League (NHL). Every game sells out in advance, but a limited number of same-day tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca) at 10am and at the Air Canada Centre ticket wicket from 5pm. You can also buy tickets via the website from season ticket holders who aren't attending – expect to pay around $80 and up. Coach Paul Maurice's post-match dissertations are as entertaining as the games.
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Harbourfront Centre - Premiere Dance Theatre
A focal point for Canadian dance companies, the Harbourfront Centre also hosts a kaleidoscopic array of international touring troupes, usually performing at the two-tiered Premiere Dance Theatre in the Queen's Quay Terminal. Classical Indian dances, traditional folk performances and modern French comedies are among the productions staged here. Dancespeak, a chance to talk with the dancers, usually takes place on the second night of the performance run. Buy tickets at the Harbourfront box office at the York Quay Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
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Trinity-St Paul's Centre
The world-renowned Tafelmusik (www.tafelmusik.org; tickets $22-77) baroque orchestra and chamber choir performs most of the time at atmospheric Trinity-St Paul's United Church, as does the Toronto Consort (www.torontoconsort.org; tickets $14-48) for early medieval and renaissance music. Check schedules for family matinees, meet-the-musician nights and the annual sing-along to Handel's Messiah at Massey Hall.
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Woodbine Racetrack
Secretariat's last race was run at Woodbine Racetrack, where the action revolves around thoroughbreds and standardbreds (harness racing). Look out for the statue of Canada's famous racehorse Northern Dancer. The racetrack is northwest of downtown Toronto off Hwy 427, near Hwy 27. Take the subway to Woodbine, then the shuttle bus picking punters up before post time (usually noon or 6:45pm) and returning them 20 minutes after the last race.
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LCBO
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) limits where and how alcohol can be sold, but its moral creed is more anachronistic than draconian. Toronto's main LCBO is in the former North York train station, built by the Canada Pacific Railroad in the early 20th century. It's Canada's largest liquor store, with a dazzling array of Niagara ice wines and over 100 vintages for sampling (call for details; nominal fees apply).
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Air Canada Centre
The 13-time Stanley Cup–winning Toronto Maple Leafs slap the puck around the Air Canada Centre in the National Hockey League (NHL). Every game sells out, but a limited number of same-day tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster at 10am and at the Air Canada Centre ticket window from 5pm. You can also buy tickets via the website from season ticket-holders who aren’t attending – expect to pay around $80 and up.
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Mill Street Brewery
With 10 specialty beers brewed on-site in the atmospheric Distillery District, these guys are a leading light in local microbrewing. Order a sample platter so you can taste all the award-winning brews, including the Tankhouse Pale Ale, Stock Ale and Organic Lager. On a sunny afternoon, the courtyard is the place to be. Typical brewery fare is served, with beer-friendly pairings like burgers, sandwiches, and wraps.
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Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times is an innovative venue for Canadian lesbigay and alternative theatre that's been wowing crowds since 1979. Original plays here often weave together Canadian themes, contemporary dance and jazz. It's tiny – only 300 seats for the main stage, and there are even fewer in Talullah's Cabaret, a clubby performance space for comedians, writers and singers. So book early!
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C’est What
Over 30 whiskeys and six dozen Canadian microbrews (mostly from Ontario) are on hand at this underground pub. An in-house brewmaster tightly edits the all-natural, preservative-free beers on tap. There’s live music most nights at the Music Showbar next door. There’s good grub as well – the menu encompasses all-local meats, including peameal bacon from St Lawrence Market next door as well as free-range bison.
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Toronto Raptors
The 'Raps' have been around since 1995, competing in the American National Basketball Association (NBA). Before Vince Carter left town, they made the playoffs a few times, but were eliminated without causing much of a flap. They slam-dunk at the Air Canada Centre. Single game tickets, which can cost hundreds of dollars, are sold through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca).
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CanStage
Contemporary CanStage produces top-rated Canadian and international plays by the likes of David Mamet and Tony Kushner. Plays are staged at its own Berkeley Street Theatre, and the larger St Lawrence Centre for the Arts. CanStage also runs Dream in High Park, wonderful mid-summer productions of Shakespeare under the stars in High Park. Show up early and bring a blanket.
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Toronto Dance Theatre
Kinetic and poetic, this contemporary dance troupe performs at a restored church in Cabbagetown and the Harbourfront Centre's Premiere Dance Theatre during winter and early spring. The annual Four at the Winch event spotlights four works by emerging Canadian choreographers. The School of Toronto Dance Theatre also performs in Cabbagetown – opening nights are highly recommended!
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Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts of the fast-paced professional Canadian Football League (CFL) crack helmets at the Rogers Centre. They haven't won the Grey Cup since 2004, but over the past century the Argonauts have brought home more championships than any other Canadian team (15, two ahead of Edmonton). Bring a jacket as the game may be hot, but the open-roof Rogers Centre cools off at night.
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Hardrock Café
Yeah, we know, it's a big-ass multinational chain, but you just can't beat this view! Where else can you sit with your pint by a huge plate-glass window and watch the Toronto Argonauts bump into further success, or the Toronto Blue Jays fail to live up to expectations. And it's free! The usual collection of John Mellencamp guitars and signed Aerosmith records adorns the walls.
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Esplanade Biermarkt
The BierMarkt bouncers act like they're guarding some kind of mythical realm of ultimate pleasure. Ignore them. What you're here for is a beer menu that chases the finest ales, lagers and pilsners around the planet, from Belgium to South Africa to Trinidad, with more than 150 varieties all told. Avoid European labels actually brewed in Ontario, which lose flavor in trans-Atlantic translation.
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Toronto Rock
Lacrosse may not immediately spring to mind when someone mentions Canadian sports, but the 13-team National Lacrosse League (www.nll.com) has been building momentum for two decades. The Rock are red hot, having won the championship five times in nine years. Games at the Air Canada Centre; tickets through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca).
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T.o. Tix
For half-price and discounted same-day 'rush' tickets, T.O. Tix has a booth on Dundas Square. These tickets for theatre, comedy and dance performances, even as far away as Stratford or Niagara-on-the-Lake, are sold in person on a first-come, first-served basis only. You can check what's available first by calling. Rush tickets may also be available at theatre box offices.
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Royal Cinema
By the time you read this, the newly renovated Royal – a funky art deco Little Italy landmark – will have opened its doors and made a triumphant return to the Toronto alternative cinema scene. Well, that's what they have planned… Expect documentaries, second-run and repertory releases – anything from Monty Python to Hong Kong punch-'em-up flicks.
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Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts
With an entry awning protruding over Front St like a Hummingbird beak, this place is hard to miss. Book through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca) or at the box office for shows like Annie, performances by the American Dance Theatre or maybe the Soweto Gospel Choir. In true North American style, there's pizza and beer available in the lobby.
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Sweaty Betty’s
In a city of infused vodkas and creative cocktails, Betty’s refuses to mix anything with more than three ingredients. This no-nonsense approach pares a night out at the bar to the essentials: having a good time and chatting people up. The tiny place is packed with hipsters on the weekends, and the living room-ish setup kinda makes it feel like a college house party.
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Young Centre for Performing Arts
The $14 million Young Centre houses four separate performance spaces, utilized by theatrical tenants including Soul Pepper (www.soulpepper.ca), Moonhorse Dance Theatre (www.danceumbrella.net/clients_moonhorse.htm) and George Brown Theatre Co (www.georgebrown.ca/theatre). There’s an on-site bookshop and bar too.
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Second City
Sharing its name with a comedy club in Chicago, the club's moniker dates from the days when each city was perceived to be playing second fiddle, Chicago to New York City, and Toronto to Montréal. But the 300-seat Second City is legendary, and many Saturday Night Live comics started here. Improv performances held after the last show ends are free.
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