Ossington, Trinity Bellwoods & The Rex

Getaway Day 4 began with breakfast sandwiches made by JT. The plan for the day was movement, munchies and music. We were staying pretty local, but there was a whole lot of good stuff to enjoy in and around JT’s neighbourhood.

Movement on Ossington Avenue 

The last time I walked on Ossington Avenue was in 1984 when my friend Bob lived in one of the many boarding houses on the street. I remember it as a bit dingy and rundown. A whole lot has changed since then. The northern part is still residential, but is greatly improved over the past. 

The Ossington Strip, however, which runs from Dundas Street West to Queen Street West was recently named by Time Out magazine as one of the “coolest streets in the world.” It is know for it’s nightlife, dining and shopping establishments as well as a variety of festivals including OssFest. It is considered an exciting entertainment district and a vibrant community where there is often a reason to get out on the street and celebrate. I think my friend Bob, would love the new vibe.

I have to agree that it is now very, very cool. We had a wonderful walk along the strip and further north on Ossington. 

There was also a lot of street art in the Ossington area. I snapped these as we walked north towards College Street.  

Munchies at Trinity Bellwoods Park

On College Street there was a great little cheese shop called La Fromagerie where we picked up some cheese from Quebec and a package of sliced meat. Then we headed to Trinity Bellwoods Park for a picnic. JT had packed a very nice bottle of wine (and a corkscrew), a loaf of bread from his favourite bakery, a knife and a small cutting board. He proceeded to pour the wine make us a lovely charcuterie picnic. Of course, it was delicious.

Trinty Bellwoods Park  is one of Toronto’s busiest public spaces. It is between the Toronto neighbourhoods of Queen west and Little Portugal, south of Dundas Street. It was certainly busy the Saturday afternoon we were there. The park is approximately 38 acres in size and is truly a community recreation hub. There were birthday parties and wedding showers taking place at picnic tables, kids playing, tennis matches, volleyball games, dogs running in off-lease areas, everything mingled with laughter and the sweet smell of marijuana, which is legal in Canada.

The park is also home to a recreation centre, which has two indoor pools, a gymnasium, a fitness centre, an indoor track and multipurpose rooms. It all seems to be the center of a very busy and very social community. (Some details: Wikipedia) 

Music at The Rex

I had been hearing about The Rex since JT moved to Toronto, at least ten years ago. The Rex is Toronto’s longest running jazz club. It is also a restaurant and an inexpensive, bare-bones hotel. Based on what we paid for our rooms on this trip, I might consider these bare-bones on my next trip. The Rex has live music performances every day. It is known for attracting the best Canadian Jazz and Blues musicians and for still being affordable. The set during the dinner hour that we attended was free or pay what you can. 

We were treated to a wonderful performance by the Lauren Falls Quartet. Lauren Falls being the bass player. She and several of the accompanying musicians are also instructors at Humber College, where JT studied music. Here is a taste of their music:

It is always a treat for us to see live jazz. We don’t get to do it as much as we used to since our days of traveling to attend jazz festivals are pretty much over. Plus, the Halifax Jazz Festival has been pretty disappointing lately as it is concentrating more on other aspects of music. Musicians, far removed from the jazz we love, closer to Rap or Hip Hop, artists who will bring in bigger crowds and therefore make them more money. So seeing some live instrumental jazz on this trip was definitely one of the high points. 

Thank you for reading.

Photos: Jenn Stone except where indicated

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