This beautiful area of Toronto became a community in the 1890’s and joined Metro Toronto in 1967. Explorer Etienne Brûlé first set foot here in 1615. A beautiful winding, hilly stroll past many historic homes and parks including a park named in honour of Lucy Maud Montgomery who lived at 210 Riverside Drive from 1935…
Songs are a vital part of our lives. First, participants will give presentations on their choice of performers (e.g., Tiny Tim, the Beatles, Mel Torme), composers (e.g., Cole Porter, Jim Webb, Lennon & McCartney), historical period or favourite songs. Second, we can choose to sing the songs we discuss acapella or with accompaniment. Just listening is welcome…
At the start of each session the participants suggest topics from the recent newsworthy of further discussion. The discussion of each topic starts with a brief introduction by the person suggesting the topic followed by a general discussion. Facilitators Joan Bartel has lived in four countries, ending up happily in Canada. She enjoyed a long…
New this year!This workshop explores what makes companies tick. How should success be defined? Are there behaviours, conditions or opportunities that tend to generate winners? Focus will be placed on specific corporations and leaders. Corporations: Corporations today control budgets larger than the GDP of many countries. Some relative newcomers have succeeded masterfully, like Microsoft and…
Memoir, unlike autobiography, is the art of reminiscing about particular events, people and/or time periods in our lives and is becoming increasingly popular. As in previous years, participants will present extracts from their own writing. Ideas/prompts are offered to stimulate writing in class and provide a source for longer pieces. Time will be given to…
Can democracy be saved? Join us for a wide-ranging discussion about democracies; how they flourish and how they fail. How do democracies become dictatorships and how do dictatorships become democracies? What is populism and when did it start? Can a single, strong leader have a significant impact on the course of a country? Each participant…
A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage. Short stories are one of the oldest types of literature and are a growing and important aspect of contemporary literature. We will learn about significant and influential contemporary short story writers as well as focus on Irish short story writers. We will discuss…
Welcome to the official kick-off of a new academic year! This event is FREE for all Academy members. Meet the newest Academy members, greet old friends and celebrate as we honour our longest serving members. Enoy an assortment of delicious appetizers while you mix and mingle. Every member receives a free welcome beverage! Click here…
New this year!Henry James is considered among the greatest of English novelists and was nominated for the Nobel literature prize three times. He was born into a wealthy American family. As a child he travelled with them frequently to England, where he finally settled as an adult. He briefly attended Harvard Law School but preferred…
China’s rise coupled with “America First” are fundamentally changing the dynamics of the world order. Canadian alliances and trade have been tied to the U.S. for decades. Recent events suggest that even with a “reprieve” from tariffs, the status quo with the U.S. may not be tenable or advantageous for Canada on the not-too-distant future.…
Documentary films are a powerful medium that can be used to inform, educate, observe, persuade, expose, improve, and challenge ideas. In this workshop, participants will watch documentary films available on various streaming services including Netflix, Kanopy (free with a library card), CBC Gem and YouTube and then we will discuss the films at each meeting.…