Category: Community groups

Weston Road Flows event this weekend

Urban Arts is hosting Weston Road Flows this weekend (the 23rd and 24th).

It is

A multi-media exhibition that explores the transitory nature of the former city of York through the main arterial road, Weston Road. The exhibition will display the past, present, and future of Weston through new pieces created by local artists. This project will explore the transformation of Weston from its humble beginnings as a village to the multicultural urban area of Toronto that it is today.”

The primary focus will be on a sound installation that incorporates historic recordings of the area and its residents with modern beats created by youth producers from York South-Weston. The stories and sceneries have continually changed in York, but Weston Road has always been a main ‘flow through’ and will continue to do so as the area undergoes even more change and development.

They’re asking the community to share their stories: What does “Weston” mean to you?

The exhibition will be at Artscape Weston Common, and tickets are free.

Upcoming events

If, like me, you haven’t had the chance to go on a knowledge-sharing bike tour with Sofija Theodoru, you’re running out of time. Sofija, Weston’s Climate Action Champion, is hosting tours every other Saturday, and the remaining two are on October 23 and November 6. The group meets at Lions Park from 11–3.

The city is also hiring new climate champions. If you’d like to be one, you can apply online.

The Weston Mount Dennis Community Hub has many programs coming up in October—more than I can list here. Happily, they are listed on their Twitter feed.

There will be a community clean up on Sunday, October 24 at 10 a.m. in Weston Lions Park.

There is an ongoing outdoor art exhibit at Artscape Weston Common: Jill Downen’s “I Spoke Truth and Someone Listened”. According to the artist, “The dangerous rise in disinformation alongside a global pandemic inspired the project that is an ongoing endeavor where I invite participants to generate audio recordings of themselves speaking truth. Encoded in each audio file is a sound wave pattern that I translate into a painting called a ‘truth line.’”

Weston Common Sold

Artscape Weston Common and the residential rental units in 2020. File.

Another stage of the Weston Common story has unfolded with the announcement yesterday that the entire complex at 22 John Street has been sold to three sections of a real estate company by the name of Dream. The purchase includes the Artscape managed Hub, both the old and new rental towers along with the 26 artist live/work studios. According to an article in RENX.ca the company stated that, “Dream’s intention is to increase the number of affordable units provided on-site as per CMHC’s definition of affordable rent for the area.”.

Westmount Army and Navy Club selling its property.

Westmount Army and Navy Club has occupied its present Kingdom Street site in Greater Weston™ since 1938. Sadly, thanks to lengthy closures because of Covid, the club has been losing money for a while as noted back in April last year when they held a fundraiser. At a membership meeting convened today, club members voted to put the 450 x 120 foot site up for sale with the idea that monies raised will clear any debts and provide an income from interest on the capital. The club plans to reconvene in a new leased location. Whatever happens, directors insist that if the club needs to be wound-up, once debts are cleared, all proceeds will go to the charities that Westmount A.N.C. has supported for many years.

The club charter states that it must operate in Etobicoke and members hope to lease and move to a nearby property once the eventual purchaser takes possession of the site. This may not be for a couple of years so in the meantime, now that Covid restrictions have eased somewhat, it’s business as usual with activities such as darts nights being arranged for the fall.

The Westmount Army and Navy Club property at 41 Kingdom Street.

Real estate agents entrusted with the sale process and present at the meeting speculated that a price of up to $3 million was possible for the site which will be sold as one property. The sort of housing that will be built on the land is unknown but the options are likely to be a severance into three 50 x 120 lots, six 25 x 120 foot lots, or a townhome complex.

Upcoming events

Toronto Police are hosting an online meeting to discuss bringing the FOCUS program to 12 Division. The FOCUS program (as I understand it) coordinates a group of social programs to respond to people at acute risk of crisis or anti-social behaviour.

The meeting will be August 26 at 6:30. You can register online.

The city will be presenting their findings on laneway suite applications at two sessions: one on August 31, and another on September 1.

This isn’t a presentation for solely Weston and Mount Dennis, but it is an idea that could change housing (a little) here. We have a number of laneways that could be used to build additional housing as planing rules change.

Map of laneways near us from the city.

Another, similar housing option—garden suites—took a small step forward in a committee meeting in late June.

There will be free print-making and story-telling workshops every Wednesday this fall at the Weston Common.

Events this week

CultureShock runs this week—UrbanArts’ annual four-day celebration with music, dance, movies, and more. The event started yesterday (sorry!) and runs until Saturday, August 7.

West Park Baptist Church and Castlepoint Numa will be hosting a virtual meeting to discuss the Weston Park development at Weston and Lawrence. The meeting will be Monday, August 9 at 6:30 p.m..