genkav
New Member
One of my co workers wrote up a nice little piece on her recent trip to Toronto and the nightlife:
It’s not very often that we can make time to have a little getaway. Most of my time is spent making sure the kids are where they need to be, if they are fed, and making sure our home business is running smoothly. My husband and I run a local catering business, so our schedules are always full of events where people need to be fed. The past year has been pretty good to us; we had a throng of weddings and receptions come through our doors, as well as corporate events, and we found to our surprise that a two-week block in July was empty with nothing booked. We immediately decided to plan a getaway, something for just the two of us to enjoy – the kids were already off at camp so there was no worry about having to place them in someone else’s care.
Being from Buffalo, Canada seemed like a good place to head. We figured we’d spend our time in Toronto, and apart from arranging a hotel to stay at, my husband suggested we wing it when it came to creating an itinerary – he happens to be a man of spontaneous adventure.
Our hotel was located in the downtown core by the west end, putting us in a central area where a lot of the cities hotspots were minutes away. Jon and I decided to take a stroll to see what was close to the hotel and made note of certain places we could return to. We were both excited to be in an area known for its nightlife, Buffalo doesn’t have much in the form of evening entertainment, and there were a number of options for us to choose from.
After having lunch at what appeared to be a pub on John Street, we strolled further south and found Toronto’s Second City theatre. Known for comedic greats like John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Eugene Levy, I mentioned to Jon that a night of drinks and laughter might be a good idea. We purchased our tickets and headed back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening.
The tickets we had purchased happened to be for a new show that had just started playing at Second City. Titled Barack to the Future, the show is the Toronto theatre’s 62nd main stage revue. Jon and I had a great laugh, and I loved how the cast was able to keep the production so current given the time frame they have to come up with new material. I guess that’s what makes improv so great.
Our evening was filled with laughs despite the fact that some of the sketches received a lukewarm reception. Engaging the audience was also a favourite – Jon and I were huge fans of “Whose Line is It Anyway?” back in the day, so being able to yell out situations and conflicts was great fun. Another great thing about the theatre is their full table service for food and drinks; you never have to get up! Jon and I were a little peckish after a few glasses of wine so we decided to munch on some finger foods. All in all it was a great experience, and something inexpensive for an early evening activity on our first night.
The show ended around 10 and we were still up for some late night fun. Being in the club district, we took a stroll around the area and headed into a nightclub we had seen earlier that day. Crocodile Rock is a nightspot for that older crowd of people, namely parents and older professionals. I said we should make a note of it because of the Elton John reference. Apart from the less than friendly staff, the club was packed with all walks of life. The drinks weren’t too overpriced, but the crowd seemed a little too much for us to handle. Namely the middle aged men going through a mid life crisis hoping to snag a young blonde. After a few drinks and a bit of dancing (the music was actually pretty good), we called it a night and lazily strolled back to the hotel, watching younger kids stumble from clubs to cabs.
It’s not very often that we can make time to have a little getaway. Most of my time is spent making sure the kids are where they need to be, if they are fed, and making sure our home business is running smoothly. My husband and I run a local catering business, so our schedules are always full of events where people need to be fed. The past year has been pretty good to us; we had a throng of weddings and receptions come through our doors, as well as corporate events, and we found to our surprise that a two-week block in July was empty with nothing booked. We immediately decided to plan a getaway, something for just the two of us to enjoy – the kids were already off at camp so there was no worry about having to place them in someone else’s care.
Being from Buffalo, Canada seemed like a good place to head. We figured we’d spend our time in Toronto, and apart from arranging a hotel to stay at, my husband suggested we wing it when it came to creating an itinerary – he happens to be a man of spontaneous adventure.
Our hotel was located in the downtown core by the west end, putting us in a central area where a lot of the cities hotspots were minutes away. Jon and I decided to take a stroll to see what was close to the hotel and made note of certain places we could return to. We were both excited to be in an area known for its nightlife, Buffalo doesn’t have much in the form of evening entertainment, and there were a number of options for us to choose from.
After having lunch at what appeared to be a pub on John Street, we strolled further south and found Toronto’s Second City theatre. Known for comedic greats like John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Eugene Levy, I mentioned to Jon that a night of drinks and laughter might be a good idea. We purchased our tickets and headed back to the hotel to freshen up for the evening.
The tickets we had purchased happened to be for a new show that had just started playing at Second City. Titled Barack to the Future, the show is the Toronto theatre’s 62nd main stage revue. Jon and I had a great laugh, and I loved how the cast was able to keep the production so current given the time frame they have to come up with new material. I guess that’s what makes improv so great.
Our evening was filled with laughs despite the fact that some of the sketches received a lukewarm reception. Engaging the audience was also a favourite – Jon and I were huge fans of “Whose Line is It Anyway?” back in the day, so being able to yell out situations and conflicts was great fun. Another great thing about the theatre is their full table service for food and drinks; you never have to get up! Jon and I were a little peckish after a few glasses of wine so we decided to munch on some finger foods. All in all it was a great experience, and something inexpensive for an early evening activity on our first night.
The show ended around 10 and we were still up for some late night fun. Being in the club district, we took a stroll around the area and headed into a nightclub we had seen earlier that day. Crocodile Rock is a nightspot for that older crowd of people, namely parents and older professionals. I said we should make a note of it because of the Elton John reference. Apart from the less than friendly staff, the club was packed with all walks of life. The drinks weren’t too overpriced, but the crowd seemed a little too much for us to handle. Namely the middle aged men going through a mid life crisis hoping to snag a young blonde. After a few drinks and a bit of dancing (the music was actually pretty good), we called it a night and lazily strolled back to the hotel, watching younger kids stumble from clubs to cabs.
