DesiFest

Yonge Dundas went a little south east asian today, as the 2012 edition of DesiFest was held today.

The square was teaming with lots of people there to watch the performers, buy some products from the various merchants, or try some snacks like fruit freezies, or some red hot sauce, and even some yummy chips! And there was even a mascot for the show, Miss Suhaag!

While I was there, tthe show presented a rocking female vocalist,

Urvah Khan, who belted out some great songs! And fortunately for me, there were also lots of lovely ladies around!!

Anime

Every year the fans of Anime get together at the Toronto Congress Centre in all their finery. Lots of wigs, dresses, and weird weapons are produced by those attending, and its always a great show simply to see those who go.
They are even more dedicated to costuming than what I see at Comic Cons and SCi Fi events.
And best of all, they like to hang out in the parking lot, or travel between the many buildings holding the event.
Some of the costumes were simply fantastic, including a wicked pikachu:

Some of the other costumes:

Enzo Matrix from Reboot!

I'm always amazed at how many of the fans of this are female. And I've got to say, they too have some very nice costumes!! Of course, with all these costumes, you get some very interesting women who show up. My favourite, someone I've seen at other events is this woman,

who I've seen before during the pillow fights,

which happend to be arranged by Lori Kufner,

who is the cofounder of Newmindspace.

Here are some of the other lovely women of Anime:

It was well into the evening, and the group was still going before we called it an night, said see you to everyone!

Open the door and let him in.....

This weekend in the Toronto area was the annual "Doors Open" event. Various buildings were open to the public, and even better they ere open for free, including the kitchen of For York!

On hand was a city of Toronto guide, in uniform, from Fort York, as well as a Fife and Drum band.

And keeping with that theme (War of 1812), the Waterfront BIA had 15 ships docked along the waterfront. There were two tall ships on hand. The first was the Empire Sandy.

Now when you see this ship, you would be amazed to know that in fact, it was involved in WW2, and used to be a Deep Sea Tug! After being decommisioned and ready to be sold for scrap, a new owner took over and spent 5 years transferring it from a tug to a tall ship.



But I was there to see the Toronto Brigatine sail-training vessel (STV) Pathfinder. And the reason was that this ship is going to be involved in the The Navy of 1812: Sailors on the Lakes at Niagara on the Lake on July 14 and 15, 2012. She is a very nice looking ship, with lots of sails, ropes, and varnished wood!

The wheel and compass of the ship.

one of the main mast,and the various spars that hold the many sails that power the ship.

I'm hoping that during the 1812 event that they will mount some canon for the demo, but who knows!! Here's the info on the ship: Specification Value Year Built 1963
Designer Francis A. MacLachlan
Location Built Kingston, Ontario, Canada Builder Kingston Shipyards
Hull Welded steel, 1/4″ hull plating, 1/2″ keel plating, frames every 2′
Length Overall 22m (72′) Length On Deck 20m (66′) Length Waterline 14m (45′) Beam 4.5m (15′) Freeboard 1.3m (4.3′) Draft 2.5m (8′)
Registered Tonnage 31.63 tons
Displacement 50 tons Ballast 12 tons
Foremast Height 16m (52′) Mainmast Height 16.5m (54′)
Sail Area Over 250m2 (2,600 sq. ft.)
Sails (Sails in bold are standard press) Jiptop, Jib, Foresail, Forecourse, Foretopsail, 2 Forecourse Studding Sails, 2 Foretopsail Studding Sails, Fisherman Staysail, Main Staysail, Mainsail, Main Gaff Topsail, Spritsail Hull
Speed 8.2 knots (15.3 km/hr or 9.4 mi/hr)
Cruising Speed (under sail) 4-8 knots (7.5-14.9 km/hr or 4.6-9.2 mi/hr)
Cruising Speed (under power) 7 knots (13.1 km/hr or 8.1 mi/hr) Water Tank 1200 litre (300 gal US) Waste Tank 800 litre (200 gal US)
Fuel Tank 1800 litre (450 gal US)
Engine Volvo TAMD41-H Engine Power 110 kW (150 hp) at 3000 rpm
Complement Total 28:
1 Captain
1 First Mate
3 Watch Officers
1 Bosun
1 Cook
3 Petty Officers
18 Trainees

who's a good doggie?!

This morning the Ontario SPCA held its first dog walking fund raiser. Early this morning people and their dogs headed to Corination Park, just outside the CNE, to walk 3km in support of the SPCA. Individual walkers were to raise money for the orginization in an effort to help the many animals the SPCA take care of. After a bunch of introductions, a quick warm up, the crowd moved to the start line to wait for the ribbon cutting, done by Tanya Kim


, who works for E Now.

And then they were off,

with lots of pooches making there way around the course.

After the walk there were loot bags, lots of BBQ food, and fun times for all!