City in illuminato
Luminato - the city’s festival of arts and creativity - is back! From June 6-15, the city will be illuminated with visual arts, theatre performances, music and dance. The city is literally transformed into beams of light, both in his appearance and vibrant event offerings. It all starts with a party at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 6.
This year, there’ll be more dance and theatrical exhibits, with a mix of art installations and interactive displays. I remember walking down the lakefront during Luminato’s wrap-up free festivities last year, after taking the L’Art boat cruise that roamed adrift of the Harbourfront area, and was intrigued by these cut-off trailers with arts installations inside. People had to walk into them, one or two at a time, and stare into the abyss, figuratively. Freaky cool. Propped in the middle of Harbourfront was a Mardi Gras party - part of Carnivalissima - I still have my purple beads from that night.
The people I went with, including me, all thought we were in “bizarro world” or something, at “the nexus of the universe” - to use some Superman and Seinfeld lingo - a riddle wrapped up around a mystery. It was a mysterious night for sure and we had a hoot, even though it was damp and rainy. There’s nothing like venturing around the city in the rain, everything seems to look so different. Just be sure to carry a sweater, since the cool lakefront air could leave you wanting to run inside for warmth, and what would be the point in that?
So, are you planning to check out Luminato this year? Did you last year? Feel free to share your Luminato stories here.
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I never had a chance to comment on last week’s Rolling Stonemagazine’s list of the best 100 guitar rock songs of all time. Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode was ranked as number, with good reason. Do you agree with it? I do - it was one of those songs that just had the punch and rhythm to get you off your feel and practice some air guitar! It was one the first songs I listened to as a kid that got me hooked to rock ‘n’ roll.
Of course, the list wouldn’t be complete without some Beatles tunes, Led Zep, Jimi, Elvis, the Who, Queen, Clapton, Springsteen, U2, AC/DC, etc. I was surprised to see Prince’s Purple Rain on the list of guitar rock songs, but who doesn’t love Prince? He should be on every “best of” list! To check out the Rolling Stone article, click here.
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On Monday, I will have my take on the Sex and the City movie — I’ve just been waiting for a colleague (That’s me! And I’m seeing it tonight, pre-purchased tickets!!! — Ed.) to finish seeing it, who doesn’t want to read or hear anything about the movie until she’s seen it. She’s a Sex fan too — who can blame her? All I’ll say is that if you go to see the movie as a fan, without any pre-conceived expectations, then you’ll enjoy it for sure!