Category Archives: Annual Events

Annual Events, Toronto Events

Celebrate the 2013 Chinese New Year in Toronto on a Budget

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When is Chinese New Year in 2013? How does the Chinese lunar calendar work? How can I celebrate Chinese New Year in Toronto on a budget?

(Added Feb. 16, 2013): Be sure to read the “…Family Day” section below if you’re still looking for ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Toronto.

When is Chinese New Year 2013? What is the Chinese Zodiac Sign?

"Chinese New Year Shopping in Toronto" image by Andrew Currie
“Chinese New Year Shopping in Toronto” image by Andrew Currie

The 2013 Chinese New Year will be February 10; it starts the Chinese lunar year known as the Year of the Snake.

How Does the Chinese Lunar Calendar Work?

The lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese lunar calendar also cycles through the Chinese zodiac, which associates a constellation with each lunar year. Where Western astrology links each of its zodiac sign’s characteristics to people born during that month, the Chinese zodiac sign applies to everyone born during that Chinese lunar year.

The Gregorian calendar, which is used by most Western countries including all of North America, is a solar calendar.

I’d already discussed how lunar calendar dates drift across the Gregorian calendar in “Why Must Toronto Ask When is Diwali in 2012?“.

Of course there are other calendars. My “Looking for an Orthodox Christmas in Toronto?”  explains why Orthodox Christians continue to use the Julian calendar for Christmas and Easter.

Kung Hay Fat Choy: Celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year on a Budget

I’m sure you have favourite Chinese restaurants in Toronto to celebrate the 2013 Lunar New Year. Since it’s one of the major holidays in China, you will want to celebrate the 2013 Chinese New Year in grand style.

However, there are several winter events in Toronto where you can enjoy 2013 Chinese New Year festivities on a tight budget. In fact, many of these are free; but do check the officials sites for details. (I cannot guarantee that these are annual Toronto winter events, but they’re available in February 2013).

Start the Year of the Snake at the Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto

Celebrate Chinese New Year in Toronto one day early at Scarborough Town Centre on Sat. Feb. 9, 2013 from noon until 6pm. This event features thunder drums, dancing with lions and opportunities to win Lei Si Lucky Money. (Otherwise known as “lì xì red envelopes” or “Chinese red envelopes”, these tokens express a wish for good fortune: both as “good luck” and “prosperity”).

I would expect that you could stock up on your Chinese New Year party supplies while you’re there.

The Scarborough Town Centre is on Borough Road between Brimley Road and McCowan Road, just south of Hwy 401. Transfer from the Bloor/Danforth subway to the Scarborough RT line, or either the 129 McCowan North or 21 Brimley bus to STC.

See “Kung Hay Fat Choy” (PDF) for more details.
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Celebrate the 2013 Chinese New Year at the Lillian Smith Libary in Toronto

Step into “Chinese New Year Celebration at the Lillian Smith Public Library“. Call ahead to register, then be at the Lillian Smith Library at 239 College Street (at Spadina) on Feb. 16, 2013 at 1pm. This free Chinese New Year celebration for children and adults runs from 2-4pm. It includes lion dancing, demonstrations, a Feng Shui presentation, and some free gifts “while quantities last”.

CIBC LunarFest at HarbourFront in Toronto

“CIBC LunarFest” runs Feb. 8-10, 2013 from noon through 8pm at Harbourfront Centre, located at 235 Queens Quay West at York St. Their main theme seems to be exploring the jungle.

Feel free to follow the City of Toronto’s link to the official LunarFest site, which receives my first nomination for annoying web site of the year. However, LunarFest does say that it began with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; this year’s theme is “Lantern Jungle”.

Send Lunar New Year Greetings

It’s also a tradition to send Chinese New Year greeting cards to family and friends. It might be a bit late to mail physical paper Lunar New Year cards this year, but consider e-cards.

You can send Lunar New Year greetings by creating your own personalized e-cards to your online friends. “Create Easy Animations and E-cards – Made in Minutes, Remembered for a Lifetime!” tells how to make e-cards. Use the Amazon Prime program to borrow this book onto Kindle for free; but they also show a retail sales price. 7 reviews give it an combined rating of 4.9 out of 5.

While they aren’t quite the same as physical Chinese New Year cards, these e-cards do express your feelings creatively.

Extend your Chinese New Year in Toronto at a Family Day Event

"Tiger Rat Snake at the Metro Toronto Zoo" image by Nicholas Doumani
“Tiger Rat Snake at the Metro Toronto Zoo” image by Nicholas Doumani

(Added Feb. 16, 2013): Since you’re reading this article well after the Lunar New Year, try using Family Day in Toronto events to mark the celebration. I’ve just updated that article with more free or frugal activities in Toronto, including a dog show and skating. (The linked page about free skating covers other GTA and Ontario cities, so it’s worth noting even if you’re not in Toronto).

Although the Metro Toronto Zoo had a special admissions price for St. Valentine’s Day, it’s one of the best places to see snakes in Toronto. For one example, Central and South America is home to the Tiger Rat Snake.

 

Looking for More Annual Toronto Events?

Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu for other fascinating, free or frugal annual events in Toronto.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other web sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlight these online articles on this blog page.

Thanks for reading about celebrating Chinese New Year in 2013 on a budget in Toronto.

Annual Events, Online Articles

The 2013 Groundhog Day in Canada and the USA

(Updated Jan. 27, 2016): My latest is “The North American 2016 Groundhog Day“. My 2015 article, “Prepare for Groundhog Day 2015 in Canada and in the USA” has the marmots’ predictions for that year.  The 2014 results are in “A More Crowded 2014 Groundhog Day in Canada“. Now let’s return to 2013…

Prepare for Groundhog Day 2013!

Here are your answers to: “What day is Groundhog Day?”; “What is Groundhog Day?”; and “What Groundhog Day activities can my children do?”; and more.

(Added Feb. 2, 2013): The Groundhog Day predictions for 2013 are listed in the next section.

(Added March 14, 2013): How accurately did Wiarton Willie predict Toronto’s winter or spring? See the new section near the end of the article. (Added March 23, 2013): Phil is in hot water for cold weather in Ohio…also in that section.

The Actual 2013 Groundhog Day Predictions

The rodent weather predictions are, in the order that they were made:

  • Shubenacadie Sam forecast six more weeks of winter for 2013 spring. (680News report by Irene Preklet with files from The Canadian Press).
  • Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring for 2013.
  • Québec’s Fred la Marmotte agreed with Sam, that winter will be prolonged in La Belle Province in Canada (per the Brandon Online article, below).
  • Wiarton Willie agreed with Phil, that spring will come early to Ontario, Canada.
  • Groundhog Gary lives in Kleinburg, Ontario, but I haven’t seen his prediction.
  • Winnipeg Willow stayed in her cozy Mountain Equipment Co-Op store for 2013 rather than heading outdoors into the cold. Her prediction is an early spring, since she didn’t see her shadow outdoors. From the same province, however, Manitoba Merv was spooked by a bright sunrise in 2013 at the Oak Hammock Marsh and returned to hibernate for an extra six weeks. Brandon Bob agreed with Merv.
  • Balzac Billy agrees that Alberta will have an early spring.

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Perhaps, after a few weeks, we should check the accuracy of these forecasts.

What Day is Groundhog Day?

"Photo of a Groundhog in Toronto, Ontario" by qmnonic (Matt MacGillivray)
“Photo of a Groundhog in Toronto, Ontario” by qmnonic (Matt MacGillivray)

The second of February marks Groundhog Day every year.

In 2013, ground hog day falls on a Saturday, which leaves plenty of time for festivities and celebration.

What is Groundhog Day?

The official point of Groundhog Day is to ask a local celebrity groundhog how much longer winter weather will remain.

If the groundhog sees its shadow early in the morning, it will retreat to its burrow in fear. This predicts an extra six weeks of cold weather.

Conversely, a cloudy morning allows this timid rodent to remain outdoors. The weather prediction then is that spring conditions will arrive early.

Unofficially, I see Groundhog Day as an excuse for light-hearted scholarship and small-town civic boosterism with annual events to bring in tourists. Both are beneficial in the chill, grey light of a Canadian winter.

Who are the Weather Predicting Groundhogs of Canada?

In “Wiarton Willie set to give Groundhog Day forecast” (London Free Press online via QMI Agency), Jim Fox reported that Canadian groundhogs Wiarton Willie (of Wiarton, Ontario) and Shubenacadie Sam (of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia), will predict how much winter weather remains to be endured on Feb. 2, 2013.

I’m adding Balzac Billy to beef up the Canadian roster.

The American champion is Punxsutawney Phil Sowerby, perhaps the most famous groundhog, a resident of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Phil’s breakfast party will be on Sat. Feb. 2, 2013 at 8am; see “Breakfast with Phil”  for cost and other details.

Other proud American weather-predicting groundhogs include Buckeye Chuck in Ohio; General Beauregard Lee in Georgia; and Staten Island Chuck of New York (“Early spring in 2013”).

Are there Annual Events or Official Activities for Groundhog Day in Canada?

Each celebrity rodent’s home has official activities for groundhog day. Here is a map for the three eastern celebrity groundhogs.

"Map for 3 Weather Groundhogs: Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam and Punxsutawney Phil" image by Mike DeHaan
“Map for 3 Weather Groundhogs: Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam and Punxsutawney Phil” image by Mike DeHaan

Wiarton Willie celebrates with a weekend festival, starting Friday night. However, the official weather prediction will take place at 8:07am on Saturday Feb. 2nd, 2013. See “Wiarton Willie Festival” for contact information.

Shubenacadie Sam makes his prediction at 8am in his Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in Nova Scotia. The rest of the park will be open at 9am, weather permitting. Apparently, on Groundhog Day admission to this provincial park is free. See Shubenacadie’s “Our Park” page  for contact information and other details.

"Richardson's Ground Squirrel in Alberta"
“Richardson’s Ground Squirrel in Alberta” is not a groundhog!

Balzac Billy, the “Prairie Prognosticator”, works from his home in Balzac’s Blue Grass Nursery and Garden Centre, just 8Km the north of Calgary, Alberta. Albertans will celebrate “Groundhog Day 2013” on Feb. 2nd from 7-9am with free pancakes at the Blue Grass Nursery. My apologies to Balzac Billy for not putting Calgary on the map with his Eastern cousins. (Added Feb. 1 & 2, 2013): I’m glad that some people visited this article by searching for “groundhog day in Calgary”. Hopefully they found what they wanted to know! By the way, Billy is actually a Richardson’s Ground Squirrel. I’m sure I’d call him a “gopher”, but that’s probably not the right name for the Urocitellus richardsonii or “flickertail”. I trust he’s on friendly terms with his fellow forecasters.

What about Children’s Groundhog Day Activities?

Children’s groundhog day activities should include learning about groundhogs. May I recommend an article I wrote last year, in a now-defunct web site: “Groundhog Day: The Weather-Predicting Woodchuck!”. It has the basic background, several terrific photos of groundhogs and links to a couple of sources at the end. (Did you know that both “woodchuck” and “whistle pig” are alternative names for “groundhog”)?

Other online articles and learning resources include links from “Wiarton Willie’s Kids’ Zone” (including a link to a colouring page), and Balzac Billy’s own colouring contest (PDF format; it’s not there any longer, but here is the Balzac Billy home page).

Celebrate Groundhog Day by sending personalized e-card greetings to your online friends. Amazon offers a book on how to make e-cards, “Create Easy Animations and E-cards – Made in Minutes, Remembered for a Lifetime!“. The Amazon Prime program lends this book to Kindle users for free, although there is also a retail sales price. It’s only 34 pages, and seven reviews give it a combined rating of 4.9 out of 5.

As an adult, my own groundhog day activities include checking the various predictions made by our woodchuck weather forecasters. Many TV stations report live from the Ground Hog Day ceremonies.

Groundhogs at the Metro Toronto Zoo

You can visit the groundhog in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Zoo, but ask for “woodchuck” instead. The woodchucks live in the Kids’ Zoo section of the Toronto Zoo.

(Added March 14 & 23, 2013): Wiarton Willie Not Quite Correct in 2013

Today is March 14, 2013; 5 weeks and 5 days since Groundhog Day. Yesterday Toronto hosted a brief blizzard; last night had light snow and lowest temperature of -7C or 19.4F.

On the other hand, none of that snow survived the morning sunshine. This afternoon we’re at zero (32F) with gusty winds, so it’s a really nice finish to winter but a tad chilly for spring.

Although we’ve experienced some mild temperatures and a few trees are showing signs of budding, it does not seem correct to say that Toronto Ontario had an early spring. Would anyone claim that Wiarton Willie was accurate this year? My call is “not quite correct in 2013”.

We’d welcome any anecdotes from other regions. One Facebook friend had replied last weekend that they’d had a mild winter, but that was in the mid-latitude United States where they might not need the prognostications of weather rodents.

(Added March 23, 2013): DeHaan Services is not alone in noting groundhog inaccuracies. As reported in “‘Indictment’ issued against groundhog Punxsutawney Phil for ‘purposely’ predicting an early spring falsely” by the National Post, a prosecuter in Butler County, Ohio, published an indictment against Punxsutawney Phil for “…purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early”. Since Ohio is still enduring below-normal temperatures and risks another snowstorm, the charge might be upheld.

Phil’s colleague, Buckeye Chuck who is based in Ohio, has not been charged although he also was shadow-less and predicted an early spring.

Looking for More Annual Events?

This is one of my first “annual events” article article that does not deal specifically with Toronto events.

Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu for other fascinating, free or frugal annual events in Toronto.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlight these online articles on this blog page.

Thanks for reading about the upcoming 2013 Groundhog Day in Canada.

Annual Events, Toronto Events

The 2013 Toronto Design Offsite Festival

The 2013 Toronto Design Offsite Festival, “TO DO” returns to Toronto in late January.

What TO DO about the Toronto Design Festival? Attend and Enjoy

"Toronto Design Offsite 2013" detail from the TO DO web site (modified by Mike DeHaan)
“Toronto Design Offsite 2013” detail from the TO DO web site (modified by Mike DeHaan)

The third annual TO DO Festival runs Jan. 21-27, 2013. It features the best Canadian designers working independently in graphic design, industrial design and interior design. It’s become an important and popular annual winter event in Toronto for aficionados, students and practitioners of design.

Note that many of their art exhibits will remain on display beyond the end of the TO DO design festival itself.

Visit their site to learn the schedule and venues for the 42 events (by my count), which include art installations, exhibitions of the designers’ works, lectures and related activities. I’ve noticed that almost all events say “admission is free“, but there are exceptions.

Several events caught my attention about this festival of design.

I noticed “Ash out of Quarantine…” because I own some ash furniture, and because I’ve written several articles about the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect pest of concern to the designers, Brothers Dressler. See the exhibit at ARTiculations, at 2928 Dundas St. West (just west of Keele St.) from Jan. 19 through Feb. 17.

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A short walk away, Smash will host a free reception and product launch at 2880 Dundas West at Keele on Jan. 19 only. They base their industrial design for bookshelves on 19th century library shelves.

“Tables, Chairs and Other Unrelated Objects” will be displayed in the Student Gallery at OCAD from Jan. 16 through Feb. 9, 2013; but only Wednesdays through Saturdays from noon to 6pm. OCAD, at 52 McCaul Street, is one of the best design schools in Canada.

The Trade Toronto Show requires admission by barter. It’s on Jan. 21 at the Centre for Social Innovation (215 Spadina Ave., 4th floor); and Jan. 23, 25 and 26 at Graven Feather (906 Queen St. West at the west border of Trinity Bellwoods Park). Trade School Toronto provides educational opportunities on a barter basis. The official TO DO schedule page provides more information.

Education is vital at every stage of life. Another avenue for learning is provided by online companies such as Course Smart, which sell e-book texts and other course materials.

Looking for More Annual Toronto Events?

Check the “annual events” or “Toronto events” categories toward the end of the left-hand menu for other fascinating, free or frugal annual events in Toronto.

Disclaimer: DeHaan Services has no relationship to the organizer(s); I am not reimbursed for writing this article. However, DeHaan Services does write web site or advertising copy for clients. Our skills are demonstrated in online articles in Decoded Science and other online sites. That’s why DeHaan Services highlight these online articles on this blog page.