My T.Dot 'Must Sees' & 'Favourite Spots'

Here's just a wee list of things I've compiled after living in Toronto for a year and a half!!! 

All my favourite things to do and places to hang out, etc, & what I consider to be the "Best" in Toronto :) 

Enjoy!

BEST OF COFFEE SHOPS: 

For Meeting Friends - Manic Coffee, Saving Gigi

Place to Take the Parents - Rooster Coffee House

Having Meetings - Tango Palace Coffee Company

Take a Coffee and RUN! - Sam James Coffee Bar or Sam James Coffee Pocket

For studying alone - Merchants of Green Coffee [couches!], The Green Grind

For Reading & Hanging Out - Saving Gigi 

For Studying in Groups - Merchants of Green Coffee (tons of space! wi fi!

For a Latte - Sam James Coffee Bar/Coffee Pocket

For a Mocha Latte - Te Aro hands down. 

For the Sweet Tooth - Ella’s Uncle for the banana bread, & The Remarkable Bean for the variety of sweet and savory scones! 

For Drink Variety  - Moonbean (endless choices!!)

           My Favourites: Iced Mocha over ice, Winter Soother (Honey, Lemon, Ginger - all fresh!)

For Service - Crema Coffee Co. Great People! 

For Atmosphere - Moonbean, Holy Oak

Have some Late Night Fun: Snakes and Lattes (board games! open late!), The One in the Only, The Holy Oak

If You're To Lazy to Grocery Shop & Need Food: The Hub Coffee House [great sandwiches!]

Special Shout Outs to: 

Cafe Novo - You MUST try their Honey Latte!! Make sure you stir it well! 

The Good Neighbour - Great display of old photographs

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Best Poutine: Poutini’s without a doubt!!! 

Best Cheap Grocery Shopping: Korea Town. Lots of cheap produce, etc, maybe not as cheap as Chinatown, but at least it’s not as busy and dirty! 

Best Neighbourhood/Area to spend the Evening: 

• With a Fancy Fella/Gal

Queen Street West at The Drake Hotel for a drink, or the Drake Underground for a show. Now, the drinks and such does get expensive... make sure they are special fancy fella or gal. Make sure to check out the photo booth! 

• With Friends Having Out 

Ossington and Dundas

Start off hanging out in Trinity Bellwoods, then hit up the Dakota Tavern for a show, or Communist Daughter for a drink, then, if you’re not done for the night, grab a booth at The Lakeview which is open 24hrs a day.

Best Neighbourhood to Dress Fancy: Yorkville. For obvious reasons. Famous people roam the streets... ooo 

Best Neighbourhood to Get Lost In: 

Kensington. So many different shops and stores to go into... you can spend a while roaming Kensington Market. 

Best People Watching Neighbourhood: 

Kensington Market - You get everyone from the hipster, to the confused tourists, to the Kensington locals who can’t stand the confused tourists, the musicians (well, everyone there ‘looks’ like a musician), to just your regular joe. They are all here. 

Best “Kids Friendly” Neighbourhood:

Leslieville - I saw many families with strollers here. Tons of shops for kids, and kid friendly cafes, etc. Perfect for young families. 

My Favourite Neighbourhoods to Hang Out in: Ossington/Dundas, Dundas West, Kensington Market 

My Favourite Neighbourhood to Live in : The Annex 

Best Museum: Royal Ontario Museum. Can’t really compete with this place. It has it all, and looks pretty awesome inside and out as well. Plus, free after 3:30 - 5:30 on Wednesdays! Take advantage of that!! 

Favourite Walking Route(s): 

From Dundas Street West up Bathurst to Kensington to The Annex via Major Street then up Walmer. 

From The Gladstone Hotel at Gladstone ave, down Queen Street headed east past Trinity Bellwoods all the way to Spadina. Lots of awesome shops to check out and coffee shops to stop in. 

Favourite Subway Station: Museum Station [for the beautiful totem poll platform]

Favourite Park: Trinity Bellwoods Park - It’s huge. Lots of space. Great for picnics and walks. Beautiful park stretching from Queen Street West to Dundas Street West. 

Favourite Area to Go Shopping: Queen Street West. Tons and Tons of options from Spadina down to Dufferin. 

Favourite Music Venue: The Dakota Tavern - I’ve seen the best live music here. Best atmosphere and great crowds (usually). 

Favourite Toronto Summer Time Activity: Blue Jay Game at the Skydome a.k.a Rogers Centre! & Doors Open Toronto 

Favourite Festival/Event: NxNE - The city just becomes one big musical party. People running around everywhere at every hour of the day. Amazing.

Where I Loved Getting My Hair Cut: Barberella’s on Dundas West

Best Record Store: Sonic Boom on Bloor, now attached to Honest Eds! 

Best Place to Take a Date: Walk Around Trinity Bellwoods, and eat a Kalendar on College. Or for something fancier, The Distillery District 

Best View of the City: From Toronto Island. Great view of the skyline. 

Best Organics Store: Essence of Life in Kensington Market. Cheap organic products! love this place! Rachel McAdams has been spotted shopping there if that helps :) 

Best Cookie: The Gypsy cookie from Bunners in The Junction. So good!

Must Do for Visitors to Toronto: Wander and get lost in Honest Eds, and buy something you don’t need and probably leave behind. 

Best Nachos: Sneaky Dees!!! SO FILLING, SO GOOD! 

The Place I’ll Miss the Most: The Dakota Tavern 

And there you have it!! 

If you need any recommendations about what to see in Toronto just leave me a comment and I'll help you out!! 

:) 

Hope you enjoyed the list! 

Monica

Ticking Off the Toronto Bucket List: Week #21 & 22

HELLLO!

Gosh, it's been so long since I've updated you on my bucket list!

Well folks, I'm done. Actually, I'm technically not done, but I finished as many activities and visited as many places that time and my wallet allowed! Week 21 and 22 are now a complete blur, so I'm just going to have to bunch them together! Is that alright with you?

I have finally said farewell to Toronto. To be completely honest with you, I felt as though I had broken up with a boyfriend the day I left the city. I thought I was okay until I realized that I no longer could walk out my door and wander down to Kensington, or go stroll in Trinity Bellwoods Park. I felt as though someone had left me. Toronto was such a big part of my life. It allowed me to really grow as an individual and opened my eyes to so many different things. However, now is not the time for reflection! I'll save that for another post!

My last two weeks in Toronto were all about seeing things I haven't seen, hanging out with friends that I won't see again for a long time, and visiting my beloved spots!

Enjoy!

The Dakota Tavern 

Bluegrass Brunch 

http://www.thedakotatavern.com/

Every Sunday 11am-3pm, except for Long Weekends! They go fishing! 

I'm not sure if I have mentioned the Bluegrass Brunch at the Dakota Tavern before so I thought I'd tell you about it even though it wasn't on my list! Since I love the Dakota so much, and eating brunch there is so awesome, I just had to visit it one last time. 

If you haven't been to the Dakota Tavern at Ossington & Dundas, you should. It's a Toronto music venue that everyone should go to! I've seen the best live music there, and it makes my heart ache knowing I won't be able to see more shows here! Maybe when I visit again? It has the best atmosphere. Very relaxed, and warm. Everyone there is friendly. The beer is great and the decor really does make you feel like you're in a tavern. The twinkle lights are my favourite. I have so many fond memories from the Dakota, please go here! 

Anyway, brunch is all you can eat! They take you to your seat, and basically just start bringing you food. You don't need to order. With your meal you get: pancakes, sausages, potatoes, scrambled eggs, a fruit bowl, orange juice, coffee/tea! All you can eat!!! AND you get to watch a great Bluegrass band play while you're eating. It's amazing. When you're finished with your meal, you can ask for more of anything. The service is swell, but don't expect quick service when it's busy! Those girls are workin the bums off! 

Great times. I love the Dakota. Enough said. 

Dutch Dreams Ice Cream
http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/dutchdreams
79 Vaughn Road

This place is BUSY! Great for a summer's night with the ladies, which is exactly what I did!

Great selection of flavours, great decor. There was some seating at the back, but we decided to enjoy our ice cream outside beneath the stars. I'd recommend visiting this popular ice cream parlour!

Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO)

Part Two

I first visited the AGO during Week #18, during their free Wednesday night program, and I decided to visit one more time! I didn't have a chance to finish the entire gallery the first time, so I had to go back! 

This time I discovered, my now, favourite Canadian artists. 

George A. Reid

What I love about George is how real his paintings look. From far away they look like they are popping out at you. I couldn't take my eyes off his paintings. Now, I don't know much about art, but what I do know is that Mr. Reid paints the 'everyday life'. It's wonderful. One particular painting of his called "Gossip" really got to me. It's a wonderful portrait of two women, just hanging around gossiping. When you look at it really closely, you see all the subtle details he adds in with the curtains, the women's eyes, their expression, the body language. Everything was wonderful.

William Kurelek

I loved his attention to detail. The colours were so bright and lovely. The detailing in his art is spot on. He paints with Canada in mind, and I really appreciated that about him. That's the sense that I felt when looking at his work at least. I especially loved the ones which depicted winter in small town Canada.

The AGO is a must for art lovers. I really enjoyed roaming around and seeing all the art that Canada has to offer :) Check it out!

The CNE a.k.a The EX

http://www.theex.com/

Have you ever wondered what deep fried butter tasted like? Or anything deep fried for that matter? Well, you should go to the Ex. Now, the Ex isn't only about eating (actually it kinda is), but it's also about going on rides, playing games, and eating your weight in anything that is coated batter. 

As a kid growing up in Cambridge I always heard about The Ex, but I never actually got to go. It's held at Toronto's Exhibition Place, happens every year at the end of the summer, and is $5 to attend after 5pm, which is what I did! I would only recommend visiting in the evening, but if you must, during the day is okay too! 

I visited the Ex with a lovely lady who showed me the tricks of the trade. She knew where to go, explained what games were worth playing, showed me what rides were good, and most of all, knew where to get food. 

We ate a beaver tail (Classic Canadian treat)

Deep Fried Cheese Curds (not bad!)

Deep Fried Mars Bars!!!! (SO GOOD!)

Now, we could have tried a lot more deep fried treats, but our bodies probably would have hated us. They had deep fried cheese burgers, butter, coco cola? Strange. 

Anyway, we visited some animals (the pigs were adorable), played a round of BINGO (we lost, but that's okay!), watched people go on rides, shared some laughs, it was a lovely night :) I'd recommend visiting the Ex! Oh, and you MUST try the Mars Bars! 

Luna Cafe 

181 Dovercourt [Beaconsfield Village] 

So, I visited Luna Cafe for brunch! Luna was not on my list but it turned out that Saving Grace was closed for vacation, Luna was the next best thing! 

Turned out Luna's brunch was just as good as Saving Grace! It's located on a cute quiet corner just north of Queen Street West in Beaconsfield Village. Cute interior, and nice patio. Since it was a lovely summer's day, we sat on the patio. Now, the service is alright. It's pretty slow (they have 2 people working), and they aren't the MOST pleasant, but the food was pretty awesome! Their french toast was amazing with caramelized pears on top, and their breakfast wrap with sun-dried tomato pesto was delicious!

I would definitely go back here for the french toast!! 

BUT I still need to try Saving Grace. I'm not sure if I can leave Toronto completely without having tried Saving Grace. *sigh*

Casa Loma 

http://www.casaloma.org/

Now, I have lived about a 10min walk away from Casa Loma the entire time I've been living in Toronto. I used to run up and down the Casa Loma steps when I was "working out", I've gone for walks around that neighbourhood, I'd see it everyday when I'd walk to and from the subway. Basically, Casa Loma was a big part of my everyday life in Toronto. So, the day I moved out of my apartment, I decided to visit with my mom! 

The history of Casa Loma is a bit to much to write out, but I'll give you the cliff notes:

- Guy has lots of money, (1st one to bring electricity to Toronto)

- Guy builds a HUGE home that looks like a castle which sits on a hill overlooking Toronto's Annex and beyond

- The interior is insane, posh, extravagant, and everything in between

- Guy looses his fortune, goes bankrupt, died living in his chauffer's home.

Lots went on at Casa Loma, and I'd recommend googling it to find out more. I would recommend visiting the castle though, it's quite beautiful inside, and it's so strange to think that someone actually thought he was worthy enough of building such an extravagant home! When the city of Toronto only had 200 phones in the entire city, Casa Loma had 50! His personal bathroom was equipped with a 'modern' shower, bathtub AND a toilet. Talk about loaded! 

Here are some shots from the inside :) 

It's a self-guided tour. I'd recommend visiting :) 

The Hub Coffee House and Locavorium 

1028 Shaw Street 

Lovely little place! It's tucked away amongst houses near the intersection of Ossington and Dupont. 

Loved the sandwiches here. They look so simple, but are so very tasty! I also really enjoyed their iced tea, and my friend said the latte was also quite nice ;) 

What I loved about this place was how relaxed it was, and how at home I felt. Maybe it's because it's amongst homes that it didn't feel like it was a regular coffee shop. It felt like someone just opened up their home, and were serving some snacks and drinks. Also, we saw a man with a parrot! How random and awesome is that?!?

They offer wifi, and there is patio space, as well as indoor seating! I'd say it's a great place to come to work, meet with friends, or even just stop by to read the paper. You can do it all here. Very comfortable spot! Oh, and their cookies are a $1 and are very good! Healthy too! I forget what's in them, but I remember them being good for me, even with the chocolate chips :) 

5/5 Smiles! 

----

So that's it!!! 

Doesn't seem like I did a lot, but I must say, as much as I wanted to complete the list, my heart really wanted to visit some of my favourite spots again. I had to go back to Moonbean, Saving Gigi and Ella's Uncle. I went for walks around The Annex, Kensington and Trinity Bellwoods. It was grand :) 

I'll probably need to reflect on my time in Toronto soon, and when I do I'll make some Top 5 lists for those hoping to explore Toronto in a less "touristy" way. Or maybe you've just moved to Toronto and need some advice on where to go. I can help you with that :) 

You can take the girl out of Toronto, but you can't take the Toronto out of the girl :) 

- Monica 

P.S There is more to come... this isn't the end of my Toronto blogs just yet! I still need to post about some more coffee shops I visited months ago!

P.S.S I leave for Ireland in a week!! 

Updates on Week #21 and #22...

Hey Everyone!

Just in case you are patiently waiting for Week 21 and 22, they will come a little late this time around!

I'm really busy enjoying the city so it's been hard for me to find time to sit down and update you guys!

It will come soon though!! I've been really ticking off my list, you'll be impressed!

Talk soon,

Monica

Ticking Off the Toronto Bucket List: Week #20

Wow guys...I've made it to Week #20! It's incredible! I have roughly 2 weeks left in Toronto, so just wait until you see the posts for weeks 21 and 22!! They will be jammed packed with Toronto goodness.

Now, this week I visited a lot of coffee shops. Hopefully you guys aren't sick of those posts. It's just a duty that I need to fulfill. My Dad says that "There is no life without coffee". Therefore, I need to respect his belief and continue to discover new places in order to live my life to the fullest :)

Anyway, I finally visited St. Lawrence Market so that was something different :)

So here it goes!

Bulldog Coffee 

89 Granby Street 

http://www.bulldogtoronto.com/home.htm

Oh Bulldog. I've been afraid to visit you!! I have heard that Bulldog Coffee is "the best coffee joint" in town, but I was very skeptical. I'm not sure if you have noticed... but I've been to many different coffee shops in Toronto, so I felt like it had a lot of hype to live up to. Now, I've also heard that the owner is a bit of a "meanie" and that the stuff aren't the greatest. So, I was a little nervous. But, I decided to face my fears and try it out. 

Bulldog Coffee is located in the Gay District, near College and Yonge. Not a far walk from College station. It's just tucked away into a side street. It was alright. Not a terrible place, but not a place that I would want to visit again. The staff was pleasant. The menu was alright. No brewed coffee though, which is fine for me, but not fine for many that I witnessed coming to the shop. Not all coffee places offer brewed coffee, so I totally understand. Anywho, I had a latte. It was nice :) Just a standard latte. Good form, nice art ;) 

There isn't any wi-fi. So it's not a "students go here to study place". It's more of a "professions" type place. I wouldn't recommend it for studying. It's more of a small chat, read the paper and go type vibe. I wouldn't come back here again, but if I'm in the neighbourhood I might. 

Good For: Reading the paper while drinking a nice latte, meeting up with co-workers/family

Not Good For: Studying, students, etc. 

3/5 Smiles! 

St. Lawrence Market 

http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/

Saturday Morning Market! 

Opens at 5am! Though, I was not there for 5am. More like 7:30am. 

I'll try to keep this one short. 

More expensive than Kensington Market or Koreatown. However, the produce is from local farmers who are coming from outside of the city. So it's all fresh and lovely. Though, it's more expensive than St. Jacob's Market in St.Jacob's Ontario, and I blame this on the fact that it's in Toronto. There is no other reason. Plus, St. Lawrence is located in a more "posh" part of Toronto. 

Great view of the city! Check out that Flat Iron building! 

Look at all the Butter Tarts!!!!!  

Lots of things to choose from, and the South Market (which is the building pictured above) has lots to see inside. The South Market is open throughout the week, whereas the North Market (with all the farmers) is only open Saturdays. 

South Market

St. Lawrence is definitely a place to visit as a tourist and occasionally as a local. However, I'm more of a Kensington Market kind of girl... 

Broadview Espresso 

817 Broadview Ave

http://broadviewespresso.com/

I decided to visit the Danforth once again, but this time to a little coffee place near Broadview Station. It's a cute place. Pretty homey feeling. Coffee was nice and the cookie satisfied my hunger. The people were very much Danforth residents, making it feel as though I wasn't really in Toronto. This place seems to attract the "older than 40 crowd", with a few 30 somethings here and there. It's located on the Danforth, so I'm not that surprised. It's not in the heart of downtown where all the "young people" are located. 

Seating was really decent. Some window seats, a few tables and chairs, two comfy arm chairs. Not a place I would study or do work in though... 

In all, it was nice.

Good For: Reading your favourite book, meeting up with the locals, 

3.5/5 Smiles 

Mitzi's Sister 

1554 Queen Street West 

http://www.mitzis.ca/sister.html

I have finally visited one of the Mitzi locations!

This particular Mitzi is located in Parkdale, and has an interesting vibe to it... I'm not really sure what kind of vibe it had.. but it's something. 

It's not exactly what I pictured it to be, but it was tasty nonetheless! The brunch menu looked really standard and nice. I got the fish cakes :) I didn't know fish cakes could be part of a brunch menu! 

My friends had pretty yummy dishes as well! 

The homefries are tasty and they offer fruit with each dish :) Nice touch. 

Now, I do feel like it was a bit pricy for some items. I had this conversation with someone the next day who told me "You need to visit Saving Grace, it's WAY better". Guess where I'll be visiting Week 22?!?  I'll be able to compare and let you know ;)

Mitzi's gets a 3/5 Smile rating today. Man, I'm pretty mean with the smile rating today! 

The Holy Oak Cafe 

1241 Bloor Street West 

http://holyoakcafe.wordpress.com/

I love this place! 

It's located on Bloor Street West near Landsdowne Station. Great vibe, open really late (it doubles as a bar), and has plenty of seating. Latte was great. I had a decaf latte, and it was just as tasty at the real thing! I would definitely come back here to relax with a good book, or study (if I were a student), chat with friends, etc. etc.. You can feel comfortable doing anything here :) Loved it. 

I want to come back here before I leave for sure!!!! 

Good For: Everyone. 

5/5 Smiles and then some! 

__________

ALRIGHT! Done Week #20!! Holy Crap. 

Only 2 weeks left to explore Toronto!

 This next little bit is going to be very exciting! 

Can't wait! ;) 

Keep Smiling, 

- Moni

Long-Distance Indie Coffee Date #19. [Cafe 260] - King West, Downtown

Indie Coffee Shop #19 

Cafe 260

http://www.cafe260.com/

Drink Ordered: Banana Chocolate Latte 

Now, when I had this drink it was pretty yummy. I recommended it to a friend and she hated it. She wouldn't recommend it to anyone. So, beware folks! To each his own! 

I also purchased some lunch! They offer a range of paninis and soups! I had a taste of their chili. It was  a cold day, so I decided chili would be a perfect fit! And it was tasty :) 

Size: Small but cozy. It's perfect for those students in the area looking for a comfortable and cozy place to study. I sat at a little table, but there were some comfy couches. 

Menu: Lots of food items to choose from... I feel like they are known amongst the student crowd as the place to visit for breakfast and lunch. After having their chili, I'm not surprised! 

Atmosphere: Colourful. I just remember it being a busy place. It's a "quiet" place for students just doing some casual studying, but really it's a place where a lot of people are coming and going. It's great for meeting up with friends and study groups. It does have quite the cozy feel for small study sessions. 

Overall, Cafe 260 was alright. The service was nice, but it was alright. I wouldn't go back here, even though the food was nice. If I were a student in the area, yes I would go back. But I'm not, so I won't make the trek down there again. 

Date Potential: None. 0/10 Hearts 

Great For: Students. Study groups. Meet-ups

2/5 Smiles 

My Summer Music Festival Adventures: Part Two - Mariposa Folk Festival

For those just joining this particular "music festival" themed post, let me explain!
I've attended four music fests this summer, and now it's time for me to reflect on them, and share my experiences. Hopefully it'll make you want to attend them yourself! Or perhaps attend a music festival near you! I found that all music festivals have their own little personalities, so I'm also going to share some "tips" on how to survive, and an analysis to see if that festival is for you!

Enjoy!

PS. In case you missed it... here's Part One: NxNE 


Mariposa

Where do I begin?

This year was my second time attending Mariposa. Before last year I didn't even know it existsed. Mind you, last year was when I first discovered a lot of things. I was quite the naive young girl when I first arrived to Toronto! I thought I knew it all! Anyway, my friend won passes to Mariposa, and another friend was attending the festival, so we thought it was a great excuse to get out of the city! We had a wonderful and life changing time. Therefore, we decided to attend this year!

The Mariposa Folk Festival is located in Orillia, Ontario, just 90 mins north of Toronto. It takes place in Tudhope Park, along the shores of Lake Couchiching. The park is quite large, and close to the water (perfect for afternoon swims). Now, Mariposa started back in 1961, but not always in Orillia! It originated in Orillia, but if you read up on it's history, you'll see that it has been moved around quite a bit in the last 50 years! The festival was forced out of Orillia in 1964, and didn't come back until 2000! Crazy eh!? I'm happy that it's back in Orillia, beautiful setting for a folk festival :)

For those who know a thing or two about Canadian music, or music in general, you'll know that Gordon Lightfoot is quite a huge name when it comes to folk music. Well, Orillia is his home town. He is no stranger to the festival. However, here's a fun tidbit:  during the festival's first year, they deemed Lightfoot, "not high enough caliber". Silly eh!? He has played there since, and is now a renowned folk musician. Fun fact eh?

The line up for this year's festival was quite special! Unlike NxNE which is busting through the roof with artists, Mariposa is smaller and more intimate. They'll book "bigger" musicians to play the main stage, but you're able to see these musicians a few times throughout the course of the weekend in workshops and playing their set at smaller stages. It's perfect for those who might not be able to catch the entire weekend. If you miss a band Friday night, you'll most likely get to see them Saturday night or Sunday afternoon!

The musician we were most looking forward to this year was Jim Bryson, who brought The Weakerthans as his backing band. It was brilliant! Not only did we catch the main stage show on Friday night with the full band, but on Saturday afternoon as well! We had some more Bryson action later Saturday evening. It was amazing! Throughout the weekend we saw Yukon Blonde, The Beauties, a surprise guest appearance by Danny Michel, and much more!

Now, the type of crowd you'll see at Mariposa is the laid back hippies that love their lawn chairs and blankets. The festival even needed to put a rule in place that requires patrons to take their lawn chairs and blankets with them at the end of the night. You see, patrons basically "set up camp" by the main stage, and leave their chairs in order to be prepared for the evening show. Mariposa patrons LOVE sitting. They love sitting there, watching their music, basking in the sun, feeling the breeze off the lake...very relaxing experience. There is dancing, but not much. I believe I saw a sign at the "Mariposa Pub Tent" that designated an area at the back of the tent for "dancing". This is a very different sight at the Hillside Music Festival, I'll explain more in part four! Anyway, it's a very "sit" down type of festival.

On to food. Food at Mariposa is quite yummy! You can live off corn on the cob (dipped in flavoured butter like dill pickle and maple chipotle), and the always delicious samosas. The samosas are cheap and filling. It's all you will ever need at Mariposa. Trust me!

As for the bugs...well it's expected. I mean, we are by a lake after all! However, this year the bugs were horrible. You literally had to swat mosquitoes out of your face the entire time once Saturday night rolled around. It was so horrible that my friends and I called it an early night. So, just be warmed, you are in a park by water, so don't be surprised if there are tons of bugs flying around!

How to Survive Mariposa: 

• If you love sitting, bring a lawn chair or blanket. If you're more of sit and go type of festival goers, than just wear something comfortable to sit in!
• Bring a water bottle. They have a free water re-fill station. Stay hydrated! 
• Bring a hat and sunscreen. There isn't always a lot of shade at certain stages. You don't want a burnt red nose!
• Don't carry to much around if you are planning on hopping from one stage to the next. 
• Do bring your schedule and map with you. You'll need to in order to figure out the grounds and the distance between things. 
• If you want a space up at the front for shows at the Mariposa Pub Tent, make sure to get there before it starts and scope out the space. You'll probably be able to squeeze in once the act beforehand finishes up!

Musical Discoveries/Highlights

• Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans
• Yukon Blonde w/ The Beauties
• Surprise appearance by Danny Michel 

Mariposa is Good For: 

• Those who love sit down festivals
• Laid back atmosphere
• Samosa and corn lovers
• Folk and Rock lovers
• young at heart. 

That's the end of Part Two! 

Part Three will be about the Home County Folk Festival in London Ontario! 

Keep Smilin' Gang! 

- Monica