BETWEEN YOU & MEE: VOL 1

VOL. 1: THE ULTIMATE HIP HOP BATTLE

HEY SO IT’S ANOTHER DAY ON PUNISHMENT IN MY ROOM. I’M 16 AND ABOUT TO GET THESE RHYMES STARTED ‘CAUSE I’VE BEEN ENTERED IN THE NY VS. TORONTO BATTLE AT THE CONCERT HALL.

paperMichie MeeAugust 7, 2020

ISTAR IS BORN

Mahamed Aden Elmi has expanded Istar Restaurant, which his mother opened in 1999, into a de facto civic centre, a place where his community not only eats but celebrates, organizes and makes itself at home.

paperMelissa VincentJuly 31, 2020toronto, food, counter

THE KIND OF GIRL YOU READ ABOUT

Taborah Johnson saw it all singing with the Mary Jane Girls for funk superfreak Rick James, and knows how to tell it, too.

paperNehal El-HadiJuly 24, 2020toronto, music

WE ARE FAMILY

Through pop-ups across Toronto’s West End, photographer Yannick Anton is reviving, and reinventing, formal portraiture. On the heels of his most recent event, in Kensington Market, he sat down with Huda Hassan to talk about why these images add up to something ‘bigger than just a picture’.

paperHuda HassanJuly 17, 2020toronto

ISOL8ED INCIDENT

The artist Elicser Elliott is quarantining alone, but here he paints a fever dream of his future – a “vision-board diary.” In it, the virus is still raging and he’s still trapped inside, but at least he’s with his girl, in a house with enough space for loving and fighting. “An old story,” as he puts it, “for new times.”

paperElicser ElliottJuly 13, 2020toronto

COMMUNITY DISPATCHES

Neighbours across the country offer insight into the ways life in lockdown has changed them.

paper, communityVarious AuthorsJune 17, 2020toronto, community, neighbours

BUILDING BLACKNESS, BRICK BY BRICK

The Leslieville artist Ekow Nimako makes sculptures out of a surprising medium: Lego. Almost always monochromatic, frequently black and composed of both animals and human- like figures, his art is deeply focused on representation, Blackness and identity.

paper, artNavneet AlangJune 12, 2020toronto, art

YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD FAVOURITES NEED YOUR SUPPORT

As they adapt to the new reality, some of your favourite local cafes, restaurants and other businesses continue to offer their services. They’re a big reason why the West End is such a great place to live, so let’s all support and help them thrive.

paperminto CommunitiesMay 23, 2020toronto, small business, neighbours

Pets of the Month: The Ducklings

In the two and a half years I've written about animals for the West End Phoenix, I’ve had a donkey lick my boot, met a pig the size of a hatchback hiding out in a downtown backyard shed and witnessed a snake murder a live rat… Which brings me to Bo and Cubester.

paperHeidi SopinkaMay 22, 2020toronto, animal, pet

FAST COMPANY

Even before restaurants across the city closed their doors, the food industry was a tough one for workers. That’s why Chuck Ortiz started a Wednesday run club for chefs and kitchen staff, to help them deal with stress.

paperIvy KnightMay 12, 2020toronto, food, recipe, kitchen

THE LONGEST INTERMISSION

If life is a sandwich of routine and duty, sport is its grape jelly. It’s our dream bubble, our fantasy lair, a swimming pool surrounded by concrete. Going under, we hold our breath for as long as we can.

paperDave BidiniMay 4, 2020toronto

CENTRAL TECH UNDERDOGS ARE GOING OVER THE TOP

The Blues’ basketball program is only in its third year, and its competitors are prep school teams with deep resources and better facilities. But under coach Kevin Jeffers, they made it to the semis, and proved they’re the ones to watch.

paperEmma HealeyApril 17, 2020toronto

16 STORIES FOR 16 SWEATERS

Charles Molgat – everyone calls him Chuck – is the sartorial MVP of rec hockey, known across the city for his remarkable sweater designs. Here, he takes us through some of the favourite sweaters he’s made and acquired during a lifetime spent appreciating what we wear when we skate.

paperChuck MolgatApril 3, 2020sports

IN MOSCOW APARTMENT'S KITCHEN

Moscow Apartment met in band camp at 13. Now 17, the duo has landed a recording contract and has a new record dropping in May. In the kitchen and onstage, their chemistry is clear.

paperIvy KnightMarch 20, 2020toronto, food, recipe, kitchen

PARKDALE LIBRARY'S FREE INSTRUMENT-LENDING PROGRAM SHOWS US AT OUR BEST

Parkdale Library’s free instrument-lending program, Katrina Onstad writes, is that rare civic project that shows us at our best.

paperKatrina OnstadMarch 12, 2020community, library, music

PRESS PLAY

Elvis, The Stretch Marks, Lucinda, Tom Waits – my keenest memories are set to the mixed tape in my mind.

paperMiriam ToewsMarch 10, 2020toronto, music

SIX PEOPLE, EVERY DAY

That’s how many are hit by vehicles. Here are six West Enders’ stories behind the statistic.

paperKelly BoutsalisFebruary 28, 2020toronto

IN CATHERINE'S KITCHEN

Catherine Tammaro, who grew up Irish-Italian, never understood what drew her to the ceremonies she observed when she was younger – crushing berries for face paint, lining her path in cedar boughs, drumming by the High Park burial mounds – until she discovered her mother was adopted and that another culture had been waiting for her to find it.

paperIvy KnightFebruary 5, 2020toronto, food, recipe, kitchen

STRONG MEDICINE FOR AN AILING SYSTEM

Racism in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms is a fact of life for Indigenous people living in the GTA. But this trio of women – a communications mastermind, a doctor and strategist, and an Elder in residence – have set out to change that.

paperKelly BoutsalisJanuary 16, 2020toronto

SOLID AS LAROCQUE

Team Canada anchor and the first Indigenous woman ever to play hockey at the Olympics, Jocelyne Larocque came of age in the sport with few peers and a burning determination to make an impact.

paperDave BidiniDecember 20, 2019toronto