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ww The East York ALL IN THE FAMILY n Singing up a storm at OBSERVER the DECA fair Page 3 Serving our community since 1972 Vol. 45, No. 7 www.torontoobserver.ca Friday, September 23, 2016 n COMMUNITY East York gets its chance to shine as a cultural hotspot By RAQUEL RUSSELL ent events and performances that will The Observer make up the Hotspot to come. Groups worked together around What makes East York East York? large tables to brainstorm areas of inter- That question will be answered next est. Representatives from organizations year when the Cultural Hotspot, a four- such as the Toronto Public Library and month summer program that launched the Youth Council spoke of what spe- in 2014, turns its attention to East York. cifically makes East York great. In 2017, it will showcase heritage, “This is the kind of program we need businesses and community members that has the city’s support and all the that make the community unique. peripheral partners coming together to “It’s to shine the cultural spotlight really make a concerted effort to say, on a particular area and help spark new ‘Look in every single corner of our cultural activities within a community huge, beautiful city,’” Oleksuik said. and share it with the rest of the city,” “We’re more than the core. It takes said Janet Davis, the city councillor for all of us and everything going on to Ward 31/Beaches-East York. “What we make Toronto Toronto.” hope to do is to help to support new art- “Sometimes people are sort of com- ists and build on the infrastructure and fortable in their little bubble and they capacity we already have for arts in the traverse in certain areas. People make community.” jokes about not going north of Bloor The Hotspot is an initiative put to- or over the Don. We want to give them gether by Toronto Arts and Cultural reasons to do that.” Services. The program works with oth- Projects that are highlighted for next er city divisions, local organizations year include SPARK, an initiative spe- Yeye Zhu /// The Observer and Tourism Toronto to bring more cifically for the Hotspot. SPARK helps Papito Wilson, who lost his leg in 1995, participated in his first Terry Fox Run on focus to an area. Since its 2014 launch new local artists and provides access to Sunday at Wilket Creek Park. in Scarborough, the Cultural Hotspot funding. moved to Etobicoke in 2015 and North “It’s intended to provide small grants York in 2016. to new artists who may for the first time Running for a Canadian icon Now it’s East York’s turn, as dis- want to generate artistic and creative cussed at a public meeting held on activity,” Davis said. By YEYE ZHU origanizers, “and the Canadian pub- cancer, spoke about the importance Sept. 14 at the East York Civic Centre. When asked if she sees this initiative The Observer lic continues to support (this) Cana- of cancer research and fundraising. “Toronto’s more than just down- continuing for a long time, the council- dian icon.” “You can help someone else by town,” said Tanya Oleksuik, commu- lor was optimistic. Papito Wilson acknowledges that Kinna Lin, 78, is a breast cancer what you went through,” he said. He nications manager for East York’s East “It’s a tremendously successful pro- a 1995 accident “changed my life.” survivor. She participated in the Terry thinks it’s a way to give back what End Arts. “We know that, but not ev- gram,” she said. “It brings a lot of new But it didn’t slow him down. Now Fox event as part of a team, the North he has received after being diagnosed erybody does.” cultural and economic activity to com- 51, Wilson has learned to play wheel- America Taiwanese Women’s Asso- with cancer four years ago. The Hotspot Connect event began munities and has been a tremendous chair basketball, sitting volleyball, ciation. Some members of the team Lewis brought his mother, his wife with a “sound performance” in the success at highlighting areas in the city para-rowing and wheelchair tennis. are in their 70s and 80s and have tak- and his two children to the event. He centre’s council chamber. The per- who have not had the attention that On Sunday, for the first time, Wil- en part in the run for 12 years. pointed out that family gave him a formance gives an idea of the differ- they ought to have.” son participated in the 36th annual “We feel it’s very meaningful to great deal of support during his treat- Terry Fox Run at Wilket Creek Park, show our support,” Lin said. ment. at the northwest tip of East York. Lin added that the Terry Fox Run “My parents made it to all my che- “It’s a great experience to do some- is also a good way to narrow cultural mo sessions, except for one, which I thing to support others,” he said. differences and “merge into the Ca- tease them about,” Lewis said. The Wilket Creek Terry Fox run nadian society.” Don Valley West MPP — and On- is among the largest in the country. The Wilket Creek Park run orga- tario Premier — Kathleen Wynne Since it began in 1980, it’s raised nizers invited some inspiring guest also participated in the Wilket Creek $10 million. speakers to share their stories about run. “I think the memory is Terry Fox,” Terry Fox and cancer. “It’s a great community event,” the said Jonathan Selmen, one of the Justin Lewis, a survivor of colon premier said. Police looking for missing E.Y. man, 67 By OBSERVER STAFF area. beige and yellow short-sleeved dress McCarron shirt and black pants. Police are requesting the public’s is described as Police are concerned for McCar- assistance in finding a missing senior 5’6”, weighing ron’s safety. in the East York area. 160-165 pounds, They ask that anyone with infor- Officers from 54 Division say that clean shaven, mation call 54 Division at 416-808- Raquel Russell /// The Observer John McCarron, 67, was last seen at with short, white n McCARRON 5400; or notify Crime Stoppers at around 12:50 p.m. on Monday near hair and brown 416-222-TIPS (8477) or online at ‘Sound performers’ helped open the Cultural Hotspot the Coxwell and Mortimer avenues eyes. He was last seen wearing a www.222tips.com. Connect event at the East York Civic Centre on Sept. 14. 2 NEWS The East York Observer /// Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 POLICE & WHAT’S FIRE UP IN E.Y. Senior taken to hospital with burns Lest we forget after fire in Donlands Avenue building This Sunday, Sept. 25, there will be a candlelight ser- An elderly woman was taken to hospital vice and memorial with severe burns after an overnight fire in march in honour a high-rise building located on Donlands of Canadian sol- Avenue near Cosburn on Sept. 8. The fire diers who have occurred in a second-floor unit of the build- taken their own ing at around 12:30 a.m. Firefighters and lives. The march, paramedics arrived and rushed the woman, begins at 6:30 in her 60s, to hospital. The woman is said p.m. at the inter- to have been burned over possibly 30 per section of Gamble cent of her body. The cause of the fire is Avenue and Tod- still yet to be determined, but fire officials morden Lane. The are examining the possibility of carless candle-lighting smoking as a factor. No other injuries were memorial will be- reported. Courtesy of Liam Racine gin around 7:15 p.m. A photograph from creative artist Liam Racine’s exhibition, entitled “Lo- golepsy,” which is showing in the second-floor Corridor Gallery of Cen- East Yorkers remember former tennial College’s East York campus until this Sunday, Sept. 25. Gogh-ing to the police chief William McCormack drawing studio Feeling the urge to East Yorkers were among those who paid Student combines photos express yourself? tribute to the late Toronto police chief Wil- “Open Drawing liam McCormack after his death on Sept. 8. Studio” is back “He was a true man,” said Keith Schultz of at Centennial Col- East York, adding that his former colleague and obsession with words lege’s East York was “always true to his word and always By NATHAN VAZ at the Carlaw Avenue college campus, said he’s campus, 951 Car- cared about the people of Toronto, espe- The Observer in awe of Racine’s work. law Avenue, every cially his family.” Schultz added: “You could “I think it’s fabulous,” McClyment said. “Here Monday from 6 to tell he had massive respect from everyone A picture is worth a thousand words — or at he’s taking the art of photography and layering 9 p.m. Classes are he worked with — not just because of his least a couple of dozen for artist Liam Racine. it with a whole other in- open to the pub- rank, but people respected him for his posi- In his gallery exhibition entitled “Logolepsy,” terest. It’s beyond the lic and you can tive attitude and who he was as a person in now showing at Centennial College’s East York conventional photograph. pay either $5 per general.” campus, Racine brings ordinary words to life by The photographs become session or $15 to McCormack was chief accompanying them with defining photos. theatrical backdrops for attend all eight of what was then the “The whole show is about my obsession with the words he chose to classes.