Special Reports



Two Blue Jays fans holding hands

Families spring to Dunedin to bond over Blue Jays

For some, baseball is just a game, but for others it capsulizes decades of family tradition. Two seasoned Blue Jays fans were having a bite to eat at Marguerite’s, a fan hotspot outside the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, before the team hosted the Atlanta Braves. John McKague reminisced about his ongoing tradition at Blue Jays spring training with his wife, Jenny. “It was a sad story,” he said. “My wife’s father died and my brother died about two weeks later. We said, ‘I need a holiday, let’s get the hell out of here.’ We came down here, and we have come down here ever since. That was 25 years ago.


Danforth East Mural

The G-Word on Danforth East: Who has a say in gentrification?

Gentrification. Most people agree it’s a loaded word. Depending on where you sit on the property ladder, it could mean enjoying the boon of higher property values, or the fear of being displaced by them. The latest neighbourhood in Toronto’s east end to see this kind of change is the strip of the Danforth from Greenwood Avenue to Main Street, sometimes referred to as Danforth East.


band playing a concert

Brave the winter: Upcoming Toronto festivals

With a bevy of festivals quickly approaching, a chilly Canadian winter won’t be a strong enough deterrent to keep Torontonians within the confines of their homes. From genre-specific music festivals to art exhibits and three-course dinners, locals have plenty of reasons to brave the cold this season. The Observer samples some of Toronto’s ongoing and upcoming winter festivals.


UFC fighter Elias Theodorou

Rising UFC fighter still calling Toronto home

Mixed martial artist and Mississauga native Elias Theodorou is riding a three-fight win streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), his sport’s most reputable promotion. But despite a steadily rising stock, Theodorou is keeping his camp at home.


Cosmos on Queen West

Vinyl stories: Inside 5 Toronto record shops

The emergence of iPods and mp3 players may have caused the near demise of the CD, but Toronto’s dozens of record stores are proof that vinyl is still alive and well. From the Danforth to Little Italy, one would be hard-pressed to venture into a neighborhood without its own purveyor of LPs, 45s and 12-inch singles.



man and woman holding hands

Looking for love beyond the keyboard

Modern dating has become a minefield of options: Tinder, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish, Match.com, eHarmony, and the list goes on. All of them are digital, happening from behind a screen. What does meeting someone even mean anymore? Two young journalists decided it was time to find out by experiencing dating the old-fashioned way and actually meeting like-minded singles face-to-face.


swimming pool inside Pan Am pool building

Swimming in Canada: A new pool and a bright future

With the 2015 Pan American Games in the past, the pool at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Scarborough has turned its focus to the future of swimming in Canada. Coming off the most successful summer muti-sport event in the country’s history, the goal is to continue to grow the sport not only for the 2016 Olympics, but for the next few cycles. However, the first step is Rio, and improving on the two medals won at London 2012.