• The Olympic Torch Relay is in town for three days beginning today. As part of the celebrations, the torch will be stopping for parties at both the Scarborough Civic Centre and Nathan Phillips Square.


• Disney On Ice Presents Princess Classics is on at the Rogers Centre beginning on Friday and continuing until December 27th.


• Canadian Children's Dance Theatre presents WINTERSONG - dances for a sacred season on Saturday and Sunday as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps programming.


• For book-loving youth, McNally Robinson Booksellers events for this weekend include signings of the children's books A Winter Solstice Celebration and The Imaginary Garden, plus the YA novel Gravity Brings Me Down.


• Seasonal events continue at Toronto's many city museums - browse the museum events for craft workshops and family events.


• The Cavalcade of Lights continues around the city including a Saturday night concert by Faber Drive in Nathan Phillips Square followed by an Alternative skating party with DJ Misty Rock n' Roll.


• Skating parties and lessons also continue at Harbourfront Centre's Natrel Rink.


• On Saturday and Sunday an interactive puppet game show at the Ontario Science Centre explores water conservation, water protection and water science.


• As was previously mentioned here on the blog, both the TSO's and Tafelmusik's presentations of Messiah continue through the weekend, including the latter's sing-along version on Sunday.


• And of course whether you actually have holiday shopping to finish this weekend or just love the crush of a stressed out crowd laden with bags, most Toronto malls have extended hours for your shopping, urm, "pleasure".

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the December User-Posted Event Listings (or the user posted events for January).

The first round of Toronto Public Health's H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination clinics have now closed, but the city has announced 11 more days of public clinics in January. These clinics are intended both to give young children the second dose they may require and to give everyone else a chance to get vaccinated if they missed the first round. Of course flu shots may also be available from your doctor or a community clinic in your area.

According to the CBC article about the second set of clinics, Toronto Public Health already immunized 228,934 people this season. Were you one of them?

• Get all the details on the January clinics from www.toronto.ca/health/

Tomorrow both the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra begin presenting the seasonal tradition, Handel's Messiah. The TSO has concerts on the 16th and from the 18th to the 21st, with tickets ranging from $35-$99. Tafelmusik's concerts continue to Saturday night with tickets from $39-$89 (less for seniors and those under 30). Then on Sunday afternoon Tafelmusik moves to Massey Hall for Sing-Along Messiah ($39 general admission, with discounts for groups, seniors, and those 30 and under).

So do you Messiah? Or will you be attending for the first time this year?

• www.tso.ca
• www.tafelmusik.org

Beginning next September, the Ontario government is beginning to phase in full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds. The phasing in means certain schools will begin offering programs earlier than others, and late last week both the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Toronto District School Board released lists outlining where they are recommending that the first classes be offered. It's already known that not all of the schools on the lists will be included in the first year - the TCDSB proposed 38 schools expecting 28 to be approved, and the TDSB suggests 209 classes across 75 schools, knowing that only 190 programs will make the final list.

To see if your local school has at least made the first-round lists, go directly to the news release on the TDSB website or for the Catholic board visit www.tcdsb.org and click the link to the December 11th letter to parents.

• This winter's installment of the Toronto Small Press Book Fair moves to the second floor ballroom of the Gladstone Hotel. Admission is free and the fair runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday.


• Of course if you prefer your literature in our other official language, the Salon du livre de Toronto (The Toronto French Book Fair) is on at the Queen Elizabeth Exhibit Hall at Exhibition Place from Thursday to Sunday.


• The book fair is actually part of Francophonie en Fête , which also brings performances to Exhibition Place and Harbourfront Centre this weekend.


• The Toronto Motorcycle Show is on at the Direct Energy Centre from Friday to Sunday.


• A Saturday or Sunday visit to the Ontario Science Centre can include a free Introduction to Yoga.


• December 12th is a Global Day of Action for Climate Change and several rallies are planned throughout the weekend, including a 7pm candlelight vigil at Queen's Park on Saturday (Facebook event here). Other events are listed on the Climate Action Network Canada website.


• You have your pick of performances of The Nutcracker this weekend with the Toronto International Ballet Theatre performing at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday and Sunday, while the annual production from The National Ballet of Canada opens on Saturday night for a three-week run.


• DJ Skate Saturday Nights at Harbourfront Centre's Natrel Rink continues this week with DJ Ulysses Castellanos providing house and funk for your ice skating pleasure.


• Speaking of ice time, the AHL Toronto Marlies have home games coming up on Friday, Sunday and Monday at Ricoh Coliseum.


• Foodies with a fondness for homegrown desserts can head to the ROM on Sunday for "Canadian Sweet Treats: Food Experts Debate the Classics" (pre-registration and payment required).

And from this month's User-Posted Event Listings:

• There's a special photography exhibit on until December 13th at the Red Eye Studio Gallery in the Distillery District. As the listing explains, "Pictures Talk, a Canadian Red Cross exhibition featuring a collection of 25 photos taken by child survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, offers a rare glimpse of post-tsunami recovery through a child's eyes."


• And on Saturday from noon until 8pm-ish, a number of businesses on Markham Street in Mirvish Village will be holding what's billed as their "First Annual Holiday House Party" with treats, deals and a chance to visit some local art and design studios.

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the December User-Posted Event Listings (or the user posted events for January).

It was announced earlier this week that an upcoming G20 summit originally planned to take place in the Muskoka area will instead be moving to Toronto. According to the Toronto Star, an estimated 10,000 delegates are expected, along with their security personnel and media from around the world. Although an official announcement hasn't been made, the Star sourced Toronto Tourism with the information that the summit will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre - putting it squarely downtown.

If you've missed coverage of previous summits, its worth noting that these events generally involve closed streets, police lines, protesters, and motorcades. While officials have acknowledged the June 26-27 events will create problems, folks such as Tourism Toronto president David Whitaker are focusing on the benefits to the city through the influx of cash and the international exposure (he's quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying ""It gives Toronto a great platform to showcase itself").

So what do you think? Will the long-term benefits outweigh one weekend's problems?

Sources/Further Reading:

• "Security is summit's big challenge" by Jennifer Lewington and Anna Mehler Paperny, The Globe and Mail
• "G20 to play here with all that jazz" by Brendan Kennedy, the Toronto Star

I've always considered myself lucky that it's a rare occasion when my transit riding takes place during rush hour proper. That personal trend has continued recently, so I have yet to experience the crowd management techniques the TTC was trying out on morning commuters at the crowded Bloor-Yonge subway station for the past two weeks. Apparently the set-up involved a number of barriers and a whole lot of TTC staff on the southbound platform, ushering people in a way they hoped would make exiting and boarding move faster for each train.

Were you part of the experiment?
Now news reports are saying the maneuverings were a success, and the TTC plans to keep the set-up (although with fewer staff than were originally needed). Have you experienced the new set-up? Do you think it's worth keeping, or was it just an added frustration? Add you thoughts on the plan in the comments below.

Further Reading

• "TTC crowd control now permanent" on TheStar.com
• "TTC asks subway riders to go with the flow" on CBC.ca

The Olympic Torch Relay that has been making its way around Canada is finally set to reach Toronto on Day 49 of the journey - ten days from today. Is the flame coming to your neighbourhood?

Thursday December 17th, Day 49
Beginning the morning of December 17th in Oshawa, the relay will head east and then north before entering Toronto just before 2pm, via Yonge Street at Steeles. Near the 401, a convoy will take over for runners to take the flame east for a 3pm appearance at a Scarborough Civic Centre celebration. Torch bearers will then head back to Yonge (mostly via York Mills), eventually reaching Nathan Phillips Square for another public celebration at 6pm.

Friday December 18th, Day 50
On Friday the torch relay gets off to a 6am start from Queen's Park, heading north-east until an Aurora-bound convoy takes over near Eglinton and the DVP.

Saturday December 19th, Day 51
On Saturday the Olympic Torch Relay will mostly be west of Toronto, including putting in an appearance at a morning celebration at the Mississauga Civic Centre. The flame is scheduled to take a quick 20-minute jaunt through north Etobicoke between 10am and 11am.

If you'd like to see the flame on its journey to the Vancouver Olympics, get the full relay details for Toronto from www.toronto.ca/mie/olympictorchrelay or visit the Vancouver 2010 Official Site (relay details, including an interactive map, are found under "More 2010 Information" in the main menu).

So, will you be going to see the flame, or just trying to avoid the traffic diversions?

Santa comes to Etobicoke South on Saturday Photo © Marilyn Campbell

• At time of writing there were still spots available in Friday night's Sleepover at the ROM, which celebrates the DVD release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.


• Miss the big Santa Claus Parade downtown? You can take in a smaller, community affair at the Etobicoke-Lakeshore Santa Claus Parade this Saturday beginning at 10am.


• Christmas Remembered programming continues at Black Creek Pioneer Village along with Christmas by Lamplight on Saturday and Christmas Dinners on Sunday.


• It's a great weekend for Christmas Craft Shows in Toronto with four shows on from Thursday to Sunday, including the last few days of this year's One of a Kind Christmas Show and Sale.


• HarbourKIDS at Harbourfront Centre is hosting SK8 on Saturday and Sunday, a free two-day festival for kids ages 5-12.


• Celebrations in lights continue with the Cavalcade of Lights around the city and the Trail of Lights at Downsview Park.


• Habitat for Humanity Toronto is having their 7th Annual Gingerbread Build on Saturday and Sunday at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, inviting families to purchase a $50 gingerbread kit to build and decorate together. Although walk-ins will be taken if there's space, you can book your spot online up until 2pm on Friday.


• If you'll be near City Hall on Saturday and Sunday, visit the Rotunda between noon and 5pm to browse the free Christmas Around the World displays brought together by the Community Folk Art Council of Toronto.


• Candlelight vigils and other events are being held during the weekend to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Montréal Massacre. Several are listed on the Upcoming Events calendar on www.dec6fund.ca, including a Sunday evening concert and CD release from the Cantores Fabularum Choir.


• And from the User-Posted Events for December there are pet photos with Santa at Pawsway, a toy drive at a real estate firm at Bloor and Ossington and a community holiday sale with local artisans in Parkdale.

If you're an event planner hosting something this weekend, feel free to tell us about it in the comments section below. For later events, add them to the December User-Posted Event Listings (or the user posted events for January).

Did you hear that we just made it through the first November in Toronto without any snowfall since they started recording such things? Now that December's started, proper winter weather should finally be on the way as a sign of the season - along with that other sign of the season, extended shopping hours at Toronto-area malls.