As many of my regular followers know, I spent each weekend this summer on an awesome assignment for TV Ontario’s Independent Learning Centre. My task: to take original photos to support Ontario’s new on-line course for Grade 12 World Cultures. The course looks at the challenges and opportunities of World Cultures in Canada and it was my guide as I traversed Toronto in search of photos that would help tell this story. Above you can find a collage of some of the snaps I took and today I will share with you what I learned on this assignment as well as share a link to a new gallery I created this weekend that showcases many of the photos that I took on my journey. I wanted to tell this story now as my city is currently taking it on the chin in the news with too many stories of “he who shall not be named.” Surely there are better stories to tell about Toronto?

There are!  As I attended the many cultural festivals across Toronto this summer, and walked the streets of its quilt of cultural neighbourhoods, camera in hand, I was struck by Toronto’s celebration of diversity. The first thing you notice is the food!! Not only did I find a family run grocer on just about every neighbourhood street corner, but I also gained an appreciation that food is the common bond that ties us together. I loved meeting an older gentleman named CW at The Ukrainian Festival while waiting in line at “The World’s Best Pierogies.” He reminded me of my Grandpa Henderson. After talking about what brought him to Toronto from Yorkton, Saskatchewan many years ago (work) he asked me to join him for lunch so we could continue our conversation. Suddenly a lonely photographer looking for a “food shot” had unexpected company on a crowded city street.

Toronto is also a colourful city! Not only are the many neighbourhood grocer stalls a riot of colour, but it’s summer festivals showcase each culture’s proud heritage through folk dances and traditional fashion. While learning about cultures through “dress and dance” just scratches the surface of each culture’s story in Canada, it is interesting to discover that the world’s cultures that have found a home in Toronto feel safe to celebrate their heritage and welcome the rest of the world in to learn more. This is important! So many of the folks I photographed wanted me to know that yes, they are proud of their heritage, but more importantly, appreciate that Canadians and Torontonians have opened their arms and welcomed them to a new home where everyone has a chance to feel safe, accepted and appreciated. From the Tirgan Festival to the party that is the Toronto Pride Parade, this celebration of diversity in Canada’s largest city is a story that should not only be told but experienced!

So why don’t you join me to see this celebration of diversity for yourself? While TVO purchased 50 of my best shots for their site (thanks TVO!) I took well over 500 shots this summer and have compiled some of “the best of the rest” for you to enjoy in my World Cultures Gallery here. This photo journey will take you chronologically through this past July, August and September from the Toronto Pride Parade to each summer cultural festival I could attend and through each cultural neighbourhood across the city. I think you will find what I did: Toronto is a bright, colourful, welcoming, diverse and joyous city in which to live and love!

You may also enjoy the following links that I’ve gathered that support the notion of “Toronto the Good:”

* We Are More Than Ford

* Our Public Library

* Pinterest: Good News Stories

* #TorontotheGood: Cyclist Grateful To Good Samaritan