Culture on the Road

Last Thursday, I took the day off.  I was very fortunate that the threatened rain didn't materialize.  I had to rent a car.  I probably would have done so anyway, as it isn't normal to take a car-share car hundreds of kilometres (even if car-share companies hadn't mostly crumbled in Toronto).  At any rate, I made it up to Danforth and got the car slightly after 8:30.  It was a fairly smooth ride up the DVP to Major Mac.  Major Mac had construction at several points, and there were many stretches that I found the speed limit set too low, relative to the design speed of the road.  But I mad it up to the McMichael in just under an hour and a half.  I was actually early, as the gallery hadn't opened yet.  I wandered around the grounds for a bit, and they let me in at 10:15, even though my timed ticket was for 10:30.

My timing wasn't great, as they had closed down a large exhibit of First Nations' artists, and the exhibit on female artists who were contemporaries of the Group of Seven, Uninvited, doesn't open until Sept. 10.  I may make it back up for that, but we'll have to see.  What was on view was still pretty great.  They had a much deeper dive into Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven than I had seen before.  This stays up for about a year.

It's always hard to pick what to show from a Group of Seven exhibit, but I'll focus on less typical paintings that I don't think I've seen at the McMichael before.

A.Y. Jackson, Radium Mine, c. 1938

Arthur Lismer, From My Window -- Montreal, 1940-49

Lawren Harris, Houses, Gerrard Street, Toronto, 1912

Given I live right near Gerrard Street, this was of particular interest!

The exhibit Denyse Thomasos: Odyssey was also open and this exhibit runs through Oct. 24.  While it was interesting, the pieces did feel somewhat repetitive.

Denyse Thomasos, Excavations: Jaisalmer Night Suspension, 2007

Denyse Thomasos, Displaced Burial/Burial at Goree, 1993

After this, I set out for Stratford.  My main regret was I didn't stop along the way for bottled water or something, so I was parched.  I ran into a lot of construction on 401 West, which probably added 30-45 minutes on what was already a two hour trip.  I probably should have pulled over when I finally made it to Kitchener, but I just wanted to be done with the driving.  I'm definitely out of practice, not having driven in a couple of years at least.

I finally made it.  And I found a parking meter on the street (I had another 20 minutes or so before I could park at the Tom Patterson Theatre).  The first Thai place I went to only was doing take-out, but the other one had outdoor seating, so I grabbed a quick lunch (and drank four glasses of water!).

I was running a bit late, so I didn't do much shopping on the main drag, but it was still a nice feeling that life hadn't completely stopped.

Then I went over to the theatre.  It's quite nice from the outside, and I hope that next summer I'll actually be able to go inside (and I really hope the Stratford bus is running!).

They were doing The Rez Sisters in an outdoor pavilion, which was fine.  I felt that we were spread out and there was good ventilation.

I think I still need another day or two to process the performance, but I'm glad I saw it. Now maybe next season someone will put up Dry Lips, which is sort of the mirror image of this play. Or even Rose, which is Highway's much lesser-known third play set on the "Rez." I will say I could really feel it when they kept talking about the six hour drive to Toronto for the World's Biggest Bingo, as I had two hours to go to get back to Toronto. (Maybe this wouldn't have resonated as much had I seen this in Toronto itself...).

On the drive back, there was quite a bit of construction, and when I finally hit Toronto, the 401 E was literally stop and go for long stretches.  I gambled that the 401 to the DVP would be better than taking the 427 and the Gardiner.  I have no way of knowing if that was the right call.  Probably both routes were terrible.  The DVP had very heavy traffic but actually was moving pretty well.  

I had to stop near my house to fill up gas, as I had used half a tank.  One small mercy was that I was able to drop off the vehicle after hours after all, so I didn't have to pay for an overnight parking permit.  And I was just so relieved to no longer be responsible for the car.  

While I was an hour later than I wanted, I went over to Streetcar Crownest where they have just started a live music series. I caught the very last song of Alison Au's set and then stuck around for the 2nd set.  

I may start going to this on a regular basis, but we shall see. Certainly a very eventful and cultural day!