Ontario

Is Toronto’s Christmas Market family friendly?

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Is Torontos Christmas Market Family Friendly @DownshiftingPRO
20191221 125603
Great family-friendly activity in Toronto –
Christmas Market in the Distillery District

Is Toronto’s Christmas Market Family Friendly?

Toronto’s Christmas Market has become a Christmas tradition for many Toronto residents and it is drawing attention from visitors also. This year the Market was from November 14 – December 22, 2019. I decided to take a quick trip with my two daughters to see the market before it closed for the season. I’m so glad I did. This will have to become a tradition for us from now on. I wanted to find out if the Toronto Christmas Market was family-friendly. After spending more than a few hours there this weekend, I understood why it’s become so popular.

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What’s Great about Stratford Festival’s Little Shop of Horrors

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Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors at the Stratford Festival 2019

Little Shop of Horrors

Something that occurred to me as I came home after seeing the Stratford Theatre Festival’s production of Little Shop of Horrors is that musicals transcend the qualities of most stage plays. It begs the question: What’s Great about Stratford Festival’s Little Shop of Horrors?

Okay, hear me out.

What's Great about Stratford Festival
Audrey II in the Gift Shop of the Avon Theatre

I like musicals. Musicals are a cool, fun way to tell a story through an unconventional sort of medium. Because of constant singing, there’s an emotional disconnect of sorts. So long as the characters are singing and dancing, you can tell even a grim, morbid tale with glee and joviality.

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Great Intergenerational Activities – Cirque du Soleil – CORTEO Review #Corteo

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Corteo Cirque du Soleil
Corteo Costumes Dominique Lemieux 2018 Cirque du Soleil Photo 13
Photo Credit: Corteo Cirque du Soleil 2018

They are literally swinging from the rafters… on chandeliers to be exact. There are women on poles suspended in the air (not nailed down to the floor), men jumping on beds, couples spinning in the air and little people performing Romeo & Juliette.  There were also balloons, really, really big balloons.  This is the circus after all.  This is Corteo.

Corteo is one of five arena shows put on by Cirque du Soleil.  Along with their six Big Top Tent shows and eight permanent resident shows in Las Vegas and Mexico.  You will be able to see a Cirque show somewhere in the world and be entertained by artists representing 50 nationalities and speaking 25 different languages.

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To Kill a Mockingbird at Stratford – Outstanding Production

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To Kill a Mockingbird at Stratford @DownshiftingPRO compelling theatre
To Kill a Mockingbird at Stratford - review by Hayden Ibbott

It’s not too late to see To Kill a Mockingbird at Stratford.  Just go!

This year was a slow start for us.  We have left going to Stratford until the end and now, I regret not getting on it sooner.  So far, we have seen The Music Man and To Kill a Mockingbird (one of the best productions I have ever seen at Stratford), and at the end of the month, we will see The Rocky Horror Show.  Our son was lucky enough to catch The Tempest in September.

Chastising myself for missing out on The Tempest and Coriolanus,  I’ve picked up the line-up for the 2019 Stratford Festival season and have started to plan which plays to go to next year.  There are no excuses not to go, Stratford is located a short one-hour drive from both Toronto and London.  If you love live theatre and you love Shakespeare, you can’t go wrong with the Stratford Festival.

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