In March 2019 The Visual arts faculty visited Toronto, Canada – joined by members of the More House School Jazz band.
It began with A packed day for the Jazz band, while the Visual Arts students explore Downtown Toronto.
First concert of the day was at the historic Scottish inspired mansion ‘Casa Loma’ – a famous filming location that doubles for Batman’s Wayne Manor.
Miss Patel and Mrs Gooderham were entranced by the foliage in the conservatory used for scenes in The Great Gatsby….
The artists explored the stately mansion and spotted some original works by the Canadian artists known as The group of Seven.
Whilst the band set up their 2nd gig of the day, the Visual Arts students visited the Rogers stadium, home of the Toronto Blue Jays , during a home game – we made sure to allow time for sampling of the official food of baseball – Hot Dogs.
On the way to the stadium we popped into the TIFF Bell Lightbox – this is the Downtown home of the Toronto Film Festival – and is like Ontario’s version of the British Film Institute.
We also had time for some shopping at The Eaton centre, Torontos largest shopping mall.
We also had time for some shopping at The Eaton centre, Torontos largest shopping mall.The next day was a bright & sunny day in Downtown Toronto – perfect for the 2 hour walking tour that showcased the amazing and renowned Graffiti artwork that this city is home to.
Our guide Jackie, herself an artist, knew all the shortcuts as we ducked down and around the avenues and backstreets to explore a range of diverse and intriguing artworks.
The group learned the differences between the artistic styles, and what clues to look out for when tracking down the work of a particular graffiti artist.
After lunch we visited the Rogers centre again for a second time , and this time managed to see some of the home team players warming up on the Baseball field for that nights game against the Detroit tigers.
For dinner we enjoyed an all-you-can-eat buffet at Shopsy’s Deli – a historic downtown restaurant thats almost 100 years old.
Then it was time for an early night – tomorrow will be a big day – we will be visiting Niagara Falls!
We visited the world-famous Niagara falls today, and after a long drive from Toronto were greeted with freezing wet weather that included icebergs at the base of the falls!
The sound is absolutely deafening as you traverse beneath the falls themselves to emerge at their base amidst a tumble of jutting ice blocks. With a backdrop this memorable Miss Patel had no trouble directing the photography students in capturing some iconic shots.
After this epic experience there was time for some fun at the Amusement park adjacent to the falls on that Canadian side, that included a Crazy Golf tournament between Mr Burnett and Mr Place, some of the most weird waxworks ever seen, and Mrs Gooderham and Mr Bloomfield tucking into huge portions of French Toast BLT sandwiches.
Afterwards the band entertained crowds at a sold-out Canadian institution – the ‘Oh Canada Eh!’ dinner show, which included a huge Chicken and Roast beef dinner, meaning everybody went away happy.
Tomorrow we explore the Distillery District and climb the CN tower!
We wake up to freezing temperatures and a very spur of the moment (but common for Canada) snow storm – which actually meant a great opportunity for the Photographers to take some very atmospheric and wintery shots around the historic Distillery District in the oldest part of Toronto.
Surrounded by the bleak conditions and ominous modern sculptures the Visual Artists found lots to inspire them before taking much need respite in a very welcoming coffee shop. Every where we go we are made to feel most welcome – and the owner was happy to host 20 wide-eyed art students marching in from the ice & snow.
Afterwards the entire group climbed the height of the CN tower – North Americas tallest building, for a Steak dinner as big as the tower is high! The restaurant revolves around 360 degrees, and despite the ominous snow front that had rolled in the sun peeked through the clouds just enough to show us glimpses of the fantastic city far below.
Then off to the Impressive Art Gallery of Ontario, home to Warhol, Hepworth , Moore and Giacometti.
The gallery is huge – unfortunately this was a most flying visit as we only had time for a hair-raising 45 minute dash around the building before heading off to Chinatown to buy souvenirs and eat gourmet donuts.
Finally we rounded off the day with our second all-you-can-eat buffet of the trip in a downtown restaurant, where the Jazz band held in impromptu session whilst the guests dined.
It’s felt like a very long time, and every day has been jam-packed, but tomorrow we return home, with just a few hours spare to have some fun by the Harbour front.
It was a very cold but bright final day. We were all fairly exhausted by the whirlwind trip to Canada so took the time to relax by the lake front.
We’d enjoyed some fantastic sights, inspirational art and accompanied a hardworking and tireless jazz band. All agreed it had been a memorable visit and many vowed to return (though possibly next time in the summer…!)
Visual Arts 