Andretti Boom Race Weekend Kick-Off Party

The racing kingdom known as Andretti joined Boom! Marketing for a Honda Indy Toronto Race Weekend Kick-Off Party at the Thompson Hotel in downtown Toronto. Boom President and party host Nicole Gallucci says a few words to the group, photo below.

Michael Andretti was joined by his son, Marco Andretti, along with Andretti Autosport team mates Danica Patrick, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway. NASCAR and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series NCTS driver JR Fitzpatrick joined the party as well. I was there as a guest of Dr Pepper and I found the party, the drivers and the hotel to be amazing.

JR Fitzpatrick, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Mike Conway, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick.

I think they were just about to ask me for some driving advice - photo by Joe Hamilton.

We were introduced to the Canadian branding of the #26 Marco Andretti Dr Pepper Car which was at the hotel entrance. Pictures were taken with the race car, then we were brought up to the rooftop where we mingled with some heavy hitters, had a few beverages and enjoyed the conversations and sights.

The drivers answered some questions and enjoyed a little calm after the days practices and the upcoming race on Sunday, July 10, 2011. The event was held on the rooftop of the hotel and the views were spectacular. There is a walkway running along the edge of the roof and there is even a cool outdoor pool. Wow, what a place.

See more pictures after the jump.

Relaxing by the pool.

Welcomed to the party.

DJ spins some tunes.

NASCAR driver JR FitzPatrick.

Michael Andretti with James Hamilton - another photo by Joe.

Here are some photos from the Streets of Toronto Honda Indy Toronto 2011 race weekend.

Marco at practice in the 2011 race 

Danica during driver introductions

Ryan in Victory Circle, comes in 3rd

JR minutes before the start of the NASCAR NCTS race on Saturday

Many thanks to Dr Pepper, Boom and Andretti Autosports!

Red Canoe and Bobbers

The Canoe Landing Park and it's bright and gloriously red canoe sits beside the Gardiner Expressway. It's bigger than you think and sits at the apex of the slope rising from the street towards the south. You can see my picture of the park taken from the Gardiner on my post here. It is definitely a visually rich park, perfect for lounging in the sun and walking the dog.

The open space park overlooks a soccer field and provides an outstanding view of the downtown condos and the CN Tower. It looks like you are in a painting when you are beside or in the canoe. There is a gigantic fishing bobber art installation near the street - bobbers, you know those things that go up and down in the water when fish are biting.

See more pictures after the jump (click Read More >>, below).

Gardiner: concrete art

The sheer scale of many civil projects, like bridges and buildings, tend to make many objects art installations and not merely functional creations. Toronto's own space needle, otherwise known as the CN Tower, really makes the Toronto skyline. I look for the CN Tower as I come down from the Niagara Escarpment and feel comfortable knowing where Toronto is. The Gardiner Expressway is like that. One of my favourite views is down near the Air Canada Centre (above).

It brings thousands of people into and out of the City, day in and day out - except for maintenance or accidents, and it's raised presence has annoyed many people, but as I have said before, the highway is a lot smaller than the wall of condos that Toronto has built along the shores of Lake Ontario.

Part of the Gardiner along the far eastern reaches of Lakeshore Boulevard have a series of vertical supports left in place as an X marks the spot tribute and art installation of the Gardiner. One day it will be too expensive to maintain and too expensive to replace (or put underground) and it will come down, and that time won't be that far in the future. On that day we will miss it when it worked and how it looked when it worked.

In the downtown core the east and westbound lanes are separated by a small wall of vertical green fins. When you come in from the west you approach a wall of cranes as they construct new buildings which of course include many more condos. It's time to get your down payment ready and get a condo of your own, I think interest rates on mortgages are still low, low, low!

Ship in the inner harbour

The inner harbour of Toronto is a busy place in summer and really sleepy in winter. Lake Ontario's ice cover is almost done and precious few chunks remain so the late spring weather will see the return of pleasure boats and harbour tour ships. A large freighter remains tied at the dock off Cherry Street as the sun sets to the west of Toronto.

Happy Earth Hour Day

There is no big party in Toronto this year. The WWF-Canada event held in Younge-Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square has gone the way of the dodo bird. Instead you are supposed to reduce electrical demand for Earth Hour which runs from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Panda's are a big part of the WWF and the Earth Hour celebrations.

I Panda my planet string bracelet - I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

The WWF says "It will continue to be a call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. A call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the global journey to a sustainable future." I think you are supposed to not wear underwear and then turn off your lights. Whatever feels good and saves the environment - the Panda doesn't judge.

The city's skyline on the evening of March 26 already seems quite dark as it waits for the start of Earth Hour.

UPDATE: TORONTO, March 27 /CNW/ - The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) tonight reported that compared to a typical Saturday in late March, demand for electricity in Ontario fell by approximately four per cent or 560 megawatts (MW) as a result of Earth Hour. This drop is equivalent to the average peak energy needs of a city the size of Brampton.

"More than anything, Earth Hour gives people a chance to think about their energy use," said Paul Murphy, President and CEO of the IESO. "Ontarians have become keenly aware of the need to conserve electricity - not just during Earth Hour, but at other times of the year as well."


Local media reported that the energy reductions during the event have been rapidly falling over the past three years - from 15% in 2009, 10% in 2010 to this years 4-5%. My opinion is that rather than indifference the many residential, commercial and large buildings in Toronto have long since joined the energy conservation bandwagon in an effort to have positive PR, be green, help the planet and help the bottom line.

Things that go zoom in the night

Continuing my night time photographic excursion I end up along the Gardiner Expressway and later walked around the Exhibition grounds. The bridge reconstruction work has created large piles of excavated materials that overlook the highway. I climbed one of the little mountains - alone with no Sherpas, and set up my tripod looking towards the downtown core. The long exposure creates rivers of light flowing through the city on the divided highway which brings traffic into Toronto along the edge of Lake Ontario.

In the CNE grounds the wind turbine spins and turns the world with it's power. I hate it when it stops spinning and the world lurches to a stop. I wanted to take a shot of this structure ever since I saw a shot my brother had taken.

Night at Sunnyside Beach

I was out at night checking the sights around Sunnyside Park and the Bathing Pavilion. The edges of the beach still had hunks of ice gathered along the beach. Surprisingly there were no one in bathing suits taking a dip (you can check out some previous Polar Bear Dips on these posts - 2010, 2011). The large pool looks like it has finally been rebuilt and should be ready for this years swim season.

The dock at Sunnyside beach points out towards the concrete barrier of the inner harbour.

The beaches along the western side of the city provide some great views of downtown Toronto.

The boardwalk, normally full of joggers, pedestrians and bikes is quiet late at night - especially in winter.

Toronto: Ghost City

A far away view of the City of Toronto from Hamilton Harbour looking over Lake Ontario to the most recognizable Canadian landmark. The hazy skyline seems unreal and ghost like.

Shangri-La DiDa: Post-its in the sky

When you build a fancy new hotel and condominium sometimes you forget how to put it together so sometimes you have to leave big pink post-its to remind yourself of the next step. The 65-storey Shangri-La luxury hotel and condos goes up on University Avenue. The hotel is on the bottom 17 floors and the condos take over the upper floors.

Toronto Skyline - Where is the colour?

The City's skyline stands tall above the waters of Lake Ontario, but there is not much colour in the view. Most of the dominant colours are the blue, green and concrete grey.

 I think the skyline should be more like a Rubiks Cube mixture of colours. Here is a little more grey from the airshow (CIAS) down at the lake front.

Glass and Buildings in Toronto

Well, people make a city and Torontonians make the best city in the world, but it takes a lot of glass and concrete to house all the people. I am glad we have a mix of old and new buildings and that many buildings have character, colour and interesting designs. Wikipedia has a great list of the tallest buildings in Toronto and I think my favourite of the skyscrapers is the Royal Bank Plaza, it's bold and gold baby.

Another great building is the CN Tower, it becomes a focal point of so many Toronto skyline pictures and I think it is a simple yet functional space needle, it pretty much almost pokes the moon.

See more photos of buildings after the jump.