Tag Archives: out on the town
May 4, 2012 

FRIDAY FUN: Fashionably Late Fridays @ Dazzling Lounge

Last summer, a few ambitious folks got together and thought, “What is the Toronto nightlife scene missing?” Events that are not full of posed-up “industry” folks, parties that aren’t geared to the “I stole my 21-year-old cousin’s ID” crowd, jams that don’t end with hotheads scrapping over perceived disrespect…kinda hard to come by in general, but seem to be few and far between in Toronto. I’ve lived here for 5 years, and some say I’ve missed the golden era of Toronto nightlife – but I have to say, the good parties I’ve been to in the city have been GOOD PARTIES. Thanks to those ambitious folks I mentioned (the good people of R Flavour, This Is Your Conscience, and Goddess Intellect), Toronto has another good party series to coincide with the return of the good weather – Fashionably Late!

Summer 2011 found me at Dazzling Lounge nearly every Friday. Dope Asian fusion cuisine, yummy drinks, good company and hype music (shout out to main DJ Kold Fusion) – I had quite the time. I ran into old friends, met new ones, danced to Poison with Robin Givens and got holla’d at by Clifton Powell (aka Pinky from the Friday movies). Let’s just say, every Friday night was an experience.

Starting tonight (yes – TONIGHT!), Fashionably Late will regain it’s position as the Friday night place to be for a cool, sexy, and fun affair. Dazzling Lounge has just revamped its patio space, so I’m excited to do some patio photo shoots with the Toronto skyline as my backdrop! The Fashionably Late team has a ton of tricks up their sleeve to add to your party experience. It’s not just about a drink and a two-step – Fashionably Late plans to fully entertain you with special nights and pre-party happy hour events.

Speaking of special nights – the 2nd Friday of each month will be the Timeline party. DJ Kold Fusion will take you on a musical journey with an old school groove, taking us from current time to the mid 80′s in hip hop, RnB, reggae, soca, house, and anything else he comes up with (people have broken heels to Nirvana thanks to DJ Kold Fusion, so wear your good shoes, ladies!). Next Friday, May 11th, will be the first Timeline jam, and it’ll also be my birthday party! I’m calling it my Bee-Day Party, and I want you (yes, YOU!) there!  My actual birthday is May 10th, but I’ll be ringing in my new year at Fashionably Late on the 11th. If you want to come sip a drink or dance on a table top with me, shoot me an email! Hit me up on Facebook! Tweet me on Twitter! You know how to reach me :) I may be doing my own little event at an upcoming Fashionably Late, so I’ll keep y’all posted on that too…

Catch up with the Fashionably Late news via their Facebook page and Twitter – come shake a leg!

January 12, 2012 

Keepin’ It Fresh: Upcoming Events In The T-Dot

Looking for something to do in the city that won’t cost you an arm and a leg? Lately, my email inbox has been filling up with some interesting upcoming events, so Bee’s got you covered:

Photo via Harbourfrontcentre.com

Kuumba @ Harbourfront

As per Harbourfront’s site, “Join Harbourfront Centre for an exploration of African roots through a 21st-century perspective. This year’s festival also highlights the incredible role women have played in shaping the history of black culture and pushing it to new frontiers.” The waterside arts centre will be putting on a number of events (most of them FREE!) from Feb. 3rd – 5th.

Hit up the Honey Jam reunion and catch talent like Saidah Baba Talibah, Kim Davis, Eternia and DJ MelBoogie! Get on bad at the DJ Skate Night, soca style, featuring Dr. Jay! Preview some fresh Toronto talent at The Known (Un)known w/ Tika Simone featuring two of my favourite vocalists right now, Rochelle Jordan and Shi Wisdom! Short films, drumming exhibits, dance workshops and more – check out Kuumba for more details.

Photo via pommeisfrenchforapple.com

Pomme Is French For Apple

A two-woman show put on by Bahia Watson and Liza Paul, Pomme is “a fresh, funny, irreverent look at womanhood in all its glory: its perils, its pleasures, and all kinda madness in between.” I’ve been hearing great reviews from previous runs of this show, so I’ll definitely be making my way to the Tranzac (22 Brunswick Ave, Toronto) sometime between Feb. 13th – 18th. Check the official Pomme site and their Facebook page for more deets!

Photo via newcaribbeancinema.wordpress.com

 

 

Better Mus’ Come

A love story embedded in the framework of political turmoil in 1970s Jamaica, Better Mus’ Come is coming to the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Feb. 5th! I became obsessed with Jamaican politics in the 1970s and ’80s after watching a documentary that aired on MuchMusic wayyyyy back in the day (so far back that it was the days I used to tape X-Tendamix - co-starring Roxie – on VHS), so I’m pretty intrigued by this film, directed by Jamaica’s own Storm Saulter. Check the official site, and go here for more ticket details.

Photo via IFreeCan.com

IFreeCan: Relaunch feat. Warsan Shire

So, I’ve been following this amazing poet on Twitter named Warsan Shire. If you’re not familiar with this Kenyan-born, Somali-Brit, you need to catch up. She’ll be in Toronto on Jan. 14th for the relaunch of the IFreeCan initiative, which “is a platform that welcomes anyone that wants the alternative of the society’s expectations.” This event (being held at the Centre for Social Innovation – 720 Bathurst Ave.) looks to be a great night featuring music by DJ Jake d’ Snake, poetry from Warsan Shire, Keisha Monique and more, and photography from Kassandra T, Allen Agostino, and others. They’ve posted videos on Facebook from A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, and Kardinal Offishall to get us in the mood for the event, so I’m hooked. Official site here.

Don’t say I never gave y’all nothing! Hit me up if you’ll be attending any of these events…maybe we’ll meet up!

October 10, 2011 

Stylin’ & Profilin’: Wedding Guest Edition

Last night, I went to the last wedding in my 6 month wedding season of 2011. We were invited to 8 weddings this year, and were able to attend 6 of them…plus we had our own, so you can say 2011 was definitely the Year of the Wedding! Each wedding was gorgeous in its own right, and I loved seeing how creative people got with making their special day stand out.

However, as a guest invited to so many weddings, the problem becomes: What do I wear??? I can’t even say this is a women’s issue either, because most of the men I know are very fashionable too, and aren’t trying to get tagged in someone’s Facebook pic wearing the same thing they wore to a wedding last month…

Yesterday’s wedding was probably one of my favourite overall looks, if I do say so myself :) Even though my hair kind of fell apart by the end of the night, I still managed to make it work:

Details on the dress: this is a convertible dress by a Toronto-based design company called Henkaa – I chose these dresses for my bridesmaids, and made sure I grabbed one for myself! These dresses truly work for ANY BODY: they come in a ton of colours; short and long versions; plus-sized options; and you can tie them in a million different ways. I’ll need to pick up a couple more, because I could rotate the Henkaa dress in my wardrobe an infinite amount of ways!

As for the hair, I wanted to try a regimen I’ve seen on a number of other natural hair sites. On Friday night, I washed and deep conditioned my hair (using the products I mention here), then twisted it into about 8 thick twists. The idea was to allow the hair to dry in a stretched state, then set the actual style the next day.

On Saturday morning, I undid the twists, then re-twisted into about 20 twists and pincurled them, laying them flat to my head with bobby pins. I decided to try this versus doing bantu knots, because I wanted to be able to tie my hair down flat for the day, which is impossible with my bantu knot styles. I couldn’t for the LIFE of me find my silk scarves, so I tied my hair down with a satin scarf, then did a cute headwrap with a larger cotton wrap. This is very important for me, because cotton sucks the moisture right out of your hair. I’ve learned from my mistakes of tying down my hair with cotton scarves, then waking up the next day to parched hair – never again! I always ensure that before anything cotton touches my head, there is something silk or satin as a buffer in-between.

Off I went for my day and night….then woke up Sunday morning, ready to unravel and create my wedding style:

My pincurled twists turned out into a cool, serpentine wave, but wasn’t set well enough to leave down. So I grabbed my trusty bucket of bobby pins, and got to pinning, and ended up with this cute, curly, side-pinned bouffant style:

I learned that while I liked this regimen and style, I definitely need to trim some dead ends that looked a bit straggly. I also need to play around with the placement of the pincurls so that it doesn’t look too separated and scalpy when I take them down. Other than that, I ended up happy that my hair dresser was busy and couldn’t take me on Saturday! I got this style for $free.99!

September 25, 2011 

Road Trippin’ to the Maury Show

Ever had an opportunity present itself that was SO GOOD, you knew you couldn’t pass it up, no matter what the cost was? One such opportunity presented itself to me last week, and now I’m here to tell you – I went to The Maury Povich Show yesterday. I’ll let you take these 28 seconds to bask in your envy of me:

YouTube Preview Image

Anyways. A friend of mine sent away for Maury tickets back in March, and was finally contacted by the studio that her tickets were ready – it didn’t take much to convince me that this was a road trip I needed to take, so I packed a bag, gassed up the Pacer, and got ready to roll…

After a 9 hour drive, the Maury Massive reached Manhattan, where we would be picked up by shuttle and taken to the studio where the show is taped. We made our way through the labyrinth of one-way streets until we finally found a parking lot, and had our first encounter with the new stacking method of parking in NYC:

Cars on top of cars

Safe to say, we didn’t trust it. I’m always wary of leaving car keys with parking attendants, but we were getting closer and closer to our pick up time, so we said a prayer and handed over the keys.

We walked over near Madison Square Garden and after a short wait, the shuttle arrived and we were on our way to Stamford, Connecticut! Before we knew it (mainly because we all fell asleep on the ride), we were pulling up to the NBC Universal studio and got ready for the ratchet-ness that is The Maury Povich Show.

Just a note: both Jerry Springer and The Steve Wilkos Show are taped in the same studio…so you know that building is a den of boolshyt.

We were searched and went through a metal detector, then carted into a holding area where multiple flat screen TVs played Maury episodes while we waited…and waited…and waited…and waited some more. Three  episodes later, we wondered a) where was our free lunch, and b) where was damn Maury?? It was at this time that I finally got to observe the other folks who were waiting with us. There was one man, about 7ft tall, 700 lbs who kept snoring like a chain saw. Then there was the dude who ran for a front row seat when the episode showed a male stripper gyrating on stage. Then there was the girl who screamed at each and every person who took pictures in the waiting room. Then there were the scores of people who openly talked about coming to see Maury on the regular…I guess this was the new bingo hall/casino for some folks.

Finally, lunch was served:

Maury knows he's dead wrong for this...

 
That was it. One frowsy slice of cheese pizza. Want a drink? Buy one from the vending machine. The best I could do was go up for a second slice and hope no one said anything. I mean, come on. I’m sure there’s a catering company that would JUMP at the chance to have a contract with Maury. But what do I know…
 
So, another short wait after our lunch and we were directed to the lobby, where we would be seated for the show. Finally! Everyone’s mood lifted – we forgot about all the weirdos around us and the thin-ass pizza we just ate, and got ready to enter the holy ground of paternity tests and lie detector results:
 

The Maury studio - smaller than it seems on TV

Lights! Camera! Action!

 

The show was about to start.

One of Maury’s producers came out to give us the rundown. We were going to be on an “updates” show (insert groans from people who wanted the real deal paternity test episode). Maury would introduce the segments by playing clips of the guests’ previous time on the show – whatever the audience did in the clip, we were to do 10x louder. We practiced booing, cheering, gasping in surprise, groaning in disgust, and the standing ovation we were to give Maury when he took his seat at his throne as the king of television debauchery. We were promised tons of camera exposure, so I had hubby check my hair and teeth, and got ready to act a fool for Maury.

The show was HILARIOUS. I won’t give away all the details (watch Maury during the 2nd week in October to see your girl wild out in the audience), but we saw a ton of foolishness. A  16-year-old boy who lied to his mother about breaking up with his 32-year-old girlfriend; a woman who found out her man was cheating on her with her 19-year-old sister; and a grandmother who denied her grandson because the baby looked Norwegian (her son was Black), among other things. But even when it was a boring segment, just the sheer fact that we were asked to be ridiculously animated made it fun.

The man himself

Plus, Maury himself was a G. A chick screamed out “MAURY!!!” and he responded with “Yo!” He told us Connie was chillin’ and he’d tell her we said hi. At the end of the show, he told us we ended his week on such a good note that he was going to go and enjoy a 40 ounce. And let me tell you…I believed that man.

I left there hoarse, dying of laughter, and loving the fact that I got to see this nonsense up close. It’ll be interesting t0 see how everything gets edited, but I made sure that the cameraman found me doing my best boos and cheers, so hopefully you catch a sista’s TV debut in October!

Ever gone to a live taping of a TV show? Do you really think the nonsense on Maury is real? And please, if you happen to catch me on Maury, let a sista know!!

September 22, 2011 

Artsy-Fartsy Reviews: Dark Girls

Capping off my weekend, and symbolizing the end of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, my lady friends and I hit up the last screening of the documentary Dark Girls on Sunday. What an mind-bending couple of hours that turned out to be…

The theatre was packed. Old, young, Black, White, males and females were all in the house. In case you don’t know what documentary I’m talking about (directed/produced by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry), here is the trailer:

Now, I was happy to see that the film encompassed more that what I deduced from the trailer. It started from a historical and metaphysical point of view, with a featured psychologist speaking on the level of cellular damage that is carried from generation to generation after a significant trauma – in this case, slavery. The point made was that the colourism we deal with today could be attributed to the damage caused by slavery that has not yet been healed over the years. An interesting take, and a new perspective for me…

The film touched on family – women who received love and affirmation from their loved ones, and women who were told “you’re so pretty…but you’d be BEAUTIFUL if you weren’t so dark…“; love and relationships – showcasing women who felt “invisible” due to their darker tone, and perspectives of men (and boys) who expressed their preferences for either lighter-skinned or darker-skinned women. An interesting scene showed two dark-skinned guys, and one who said he preferred dark-skinned women because he wanted his children “to look like pharaohs…and queens…and with a light-skin girl, that won’t happen.” He then added, “I sound real ignorant right now.”

The film touched on the global aspect of colourism – statistics on the worldwide sales of skin-bleaching agents showed exactly how far-reaching this phenomenon is, and how it directly linked to the after-effects of colonialism. A scene showed a Korean-American girl who spoke about a visit to her parents’ homeland. Because she was more tanned than the rest of the population, she was viewed as an outsider – the Korean ideal of beauty was (is?) to be as white as possible. It was almost shocking to me to hear this girl express some of the same sentiments that I and other friends have had, and look so different from us…

All in all, the documentary made me think, get angry, laugh and tear up – but more importantly, I left the theatre looking at the world and myself with new eyes. Up next for Duke and Berry is a documentary around the colourism issues that Black men deal with, and also a documentary on the topic from the perspective of lighter skinned Black women (called “Yellow Brick Road”). The latter was inspired by a featured ‘Dark Girl’ who recounted a story from high school, when she and her friends would beat up lighter skinned girls, and throw Nair in their hair “just because”.

I do have to say, possibly the most thought-provoking part of the afternoon was the Q&A session with Duke and Berry. Among polite questions of “what was your inspiration?” and “what was the biggest lesson you learned?“, were questions inquiring about the class of the women featured in the film (not sure if this mattered as strongly as she seemed to insist), and a comment from a female viewer that caused a great deal of friction in the auditorium. She stated that she was speaking from her own perspective, but insinuated that a Black Canadian female’s views on colourism would be drastically different from a Black American female. This is not a direct quote, but she basically stated that we here in Canada don’t have the same colourism issues as the US. Perhaps she was functioning off of the meme that Canada is a multicultural melting pot and therefore doesn’t share the same harsh racism that seems to be prevalent in the US. However, as I’ve always said, the idealistic Canadian multicultural embrace is a false comfort. In my view, racism in the US is overt and in your face, while racism in Canada is a covert mission.

Bill Duke disagreed with the young lady in the audience, as did most of the women in the auditorium when Bill asked anyone who experienced any kind of colourism to raise their hands. Interestingly, the commenter (a Black female) did not….and I kind of wished I lived wherever she did.

You can keep up with the comings and goings of the documentary via the Dark Girls website here. I definitely have to say, I’m proud that Toronto was chosen as the world premiere for Dark Girls – TIFF is great for showcasing our city to the celebrities that visit, but I’m even happier that Toronto is recognized as a launching pad for ground-breaking documentaries that provoke thought and discussion around the world.

Did you see ‘Dark Girls’ at TIFF? What did you think? Have you experienced any form of colourism in your life? How much of a role do you think class plays today in the conflicts between darker and lighter skinned Blacks? Do you see a difference between racism and colourism in Canada versus the US? Tell me what you think!

Bonus: Click here to read another perspective on  the documentary and topic of colourism by Rowena aka NubianSoulsLocks!

September 21, 2011 

Afrobella in Toronto!

Afrobella and I

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Dinner Delights with Afrobella at the Trane Studio. My homegirl Rowena, her sister Stacy, and I battled through ridiculous Toronto traffic (worse than usual since the DVP was closed) to the venue, ready to eat, network, and meet Afrobella herself.

The event was put on by Ann Marie Collymore, the mastermind behind Soulafrodisiac (keep an eye out for this lady – she’s doing big things in Toronto!), and it did not disappoint. The Trane Studio is an urban, intimate setting, perfect for an event like this. Once we got in and were seated, Afrobella (aka Patrice Yursik) made her way over to our table and we had a great convo! I could already feel her warmth and sincerity through her writing, but to meet her and experience it in person was amazing. She was kind, funny, supportive and charming through the entire time we talked, and generally just had a beautiful spirit. She was very encouraging about our blogging ventures, and inspired me to stick with this thing and see what can come out of it. Only 5 years ago, she was in the exact same spot as I am now, so I realized that the possibilities are endless! I’ve been following Afrobella’s blog for the last 3-4 years, and it is an amazing resource for women – as per her site:

“Afrobella.com was created in August  2006 to fill a void that existed in print and in the blogosphere – a continual  celebration of natural hair and women all shades of beautiful. Afrobella readers  are enlightening and entertaining, intelligent and glamorous, friendly, fabulous  and fun. If you love the skin that you’re in and the beautiful natural texture  of your hair, if you enjoy learning about different  cultures and listening to eclectic music, if you have an obsession with makeup  and fashion and all things fabulous — then this is  the blog for you.”

While we ate, I had the opportunity to chat with some very cool chicks (hey Jaeda! hey Jannelle! hey Michelle!) Dinner was…delicious. My taste buds were thoroughly entertained, and my stomach was quite pleased. Things were officially kicked off with an awesome poem by Natasha of AfroChic, then we were treated to a Q&A session with Afrobella as she discussed her various journeys with her hair and her blog. It was inspiring to say the least. Cool giveaways were done, and my never-wins-anything behind actually scored a basket full of goodies from I Heart My Hair!

As the formal portion of the night came to an end, we had a great time chilling out and chatting with Afrobella and Luvvie G of Awesomely Luvvie – this chick is even more hilarious in person than she is on Twitter….she had us ROLLING!

All in all, it was a great night, and something that Toronto needs to see more of. Supporting Black-owned businesses, celebrating womanhood and various forms of beauty, meeting great people, eating great food, and being inspired to keep reaching for your goals – I definitely left there on a high note, and I’m SO glad Afrobella graced us with her presence!

Did anyone out there attend either of Afrobella’s events? What kind of events do you want to see more of in Toronto?

September 5, 2011 

Friday Night Lights

This past Friday I attended Fashionably Late Fridays at Dazzling Lounge on the King West strip (shameless plug alert: click that link, read up on the event, and find yourself there on a Friday night!), and had a GREAT time! Not only was I surrounded by old friends, new friends (including a group of party-goers who felt no way about moving tables and creating an impromptu Soul Train line), good food, cheap drinks, and AMAZING music (shout out to DJ Kold Fusion), but I got to meet AND party with two Black actors that have given me LIFE in nearly every performance I’ve seen them in: Robin Givens and Clifton Powell. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, Google was created so you could be smart. Use it.

Anyways, Robin and Clifton came through, ate and partied with us at Dazzling, and it was almost surreal seeing Jacqueline Broyer (from Boomerang) and Pinky (from the Friday flicks) live and in colour. Robin was MUCH shorter in person than she seems on screen, and Clifton was just how I imagined him – funny and charming. Thanks to him, my homegirl and I got to check out Church Girl, the play that they were both starring in this weekend.

Aside from some technical issues with lighting and sound, the show was incredible. The story was solid, the singing was powerful, and the house was packed! Toronto definitely represented on Saturday night at the Sony Centre for Performing Arts – which leads me to believe that we need more variety in events geared towards Black adults here in the city, but that’s another post for another day. All in all, we had a great weekend – hitting the dance flo’ at Fashionably Late and then being entertained, Black thespian-style at Church Girl! Just goes to show, you never know who you’ll meet and where they’ll take you…

Jason Q. w/ Robin G.

Bee and Clifton Powell