If you are interested in participating in the excursions, please contact Jed Meltzer at jedmeltzer@gmail.com.
To stay in contact with the group during the excursions, especially if you get lost, we recommend using the telegram group for the conference.
https://t.me/+JJPhWAPIQPMwM2Ex
Please check the page for housing for information on how to arrange housing during the excursions.
Friday July 11 – Union Station and Roundhouse Park.
2pm – Meet in the Union Station Great Hall to see some tourist sites in the city centre.
We will meet at 2pm in the Great Hall inside Union Station. From there, we will walk along the “Sky Walk” to Roundhouse Park.
Roundhouse Park is a park in the city centre, right next to the most famous tourist sites of Toronto: The CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquariam, Rogers Centre (stadium), and the Steamwhistle brewery. Inside the park itself is the Railroad Museum of Toronto, free and including several old locomotives. From there, we can decide what to see according to the wishes of the group, and even divide into different groups.
TIckets:
Roundhouse Park: Free
CN Tower: $45
Steamwhistle Brewery: $17 (includes tasting)
Ripley’s Aquarium: $46
Monday July 14: Neighbourhood Walk and Royal Ontario Museum
To limit the number of people, these excursions will be repeated twice. Both will start at 11 AM and again at 2 PM, and will meet outside the Royal Ontario Museum (yes, the neighbourhood walk will also meet there). If there are not many people, we will stay as one group and do the walk at 11, and the museum at about 2pm.
Neighbourhood Walk: Starting at the ROM, we will walk through part of the University of Toronto, including the famous and beautiful “Philosopher’s Walk.” We will see some important parts of the University, the Parliament of Ontario, and then will walk along Spadina Avenue and will pass through the famous Chinatown. If you saw the Disney animated film “Turning Red,” you will already know the place! Next, we’ll enter the “Bohemian” neighbourhood Kensington Market. Then, we will see Graffiti Alley, as seen regularly on the Canadian TV program The Rick Mercer Report. Finally, if time permits, we can check out a secret museum known only to true Torontonians! After this first excursion, we will return to the ROM on public transportation.
There are two good opportunities to buy lunch quickly:
First, in Kensington Market:
Latin American Food Court
214 Augusta Ave
And second, near Graffitti Alley:
Waterworks Food Hall (a bit more expensive and gourmet)
50 Brant St.
Royal Ontario Museum: A general museum with dinosaurs, jewels, mummies, etc.
https://www.rom.on.ca/en
Tickets: $46
Tuesday July 15 – Niagara Falls
After the congress, on Tuesday, July 15, there will be a group excursion to Niagara Falls. The group will leave that morning and travel to Niagara to view the falls and see the sights. Some activities which are being considered for the excursion include the Journey Behind the Falls, the Hornblower, and the Rainbow Bridge. The group will return to Toronto that evening. It is recommended to arrange to stay in the same lodgings for that night as for the congress. If you are interested, please contact Jed Meltzer, who will send out details on the excursion 1 month before the congress.
Wednesday July 16 – Swimming and beach hangout on Toronto Islands
Several people have expressed interest in swimming, and the best place in Toronto for that is the famous islands, easily reachable by ferry. So we will visit the Islands on Wednesday. Optionally, for those who are interested and can walk a bit further, we can also visit the famous Naturist (nudist) beach at Hanlon’s Point – yes, we even have that in our city! It is clothing optional, nudity not required. Although it is a famous cultural site for the LBGT community in Canada, it isn’t strictly gay – you can see all kinds of people there, even families.
We will meet at 10am at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal. We will buy tickets for the ferry to Centre Island. Note – there are three ferries – we want the one called Centre Island. We will reach the island, and then walk to the Centreville Amusement Park. This is an amusement park for all ages. Entry is free; you only pay to use the rides if you want. You can also buy food there. From the amusement park, it’s a short walk to the beach (Centre Island beach), where you can swim and hang out freely for the whole day. Afterwards, we can return to the city by the same ferry.
Hanlon’s Point: For those who want to experience it, the easiest way is to walk West along the beach for about 40 minutes. Afterwards, you don’t have to walk all the way back to the Centre Island ferry point, because there is also another ferry called “Hanlon’s Point” that is closer – about a 20 minute walk. Both ferries return to the Jack Layton terminal in Toronto.