Detroit gets decked out for the holidays; parades, shows, shopping, fun

   One-Tank Trip for Nov. 23/19

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Metro Detroit is getting all decked out for the holidays – and there couldn’t be a better time to visit.

   Starting with the U.S. Thanksgiving next Thursday and then less than a month until Christmas, this “come-back” metropolis is thriving.

   It’s “Go Time Detroit” as Thrillist, the online travel website, named it “one of America’s most fun cities.”

America’s Thanksgiving Parade

    Starting downtown, some attractions are the Thanksgiving Day parade, “pop-up” Christmas stores, decorated trees, special shows at the Fisher and Fox theatres and Noel Night in the Cultural Center.

   In the metro area, there’s Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village, lavish decorations at the Dearborn Inn and historic ones at auto baron homes.

   They’ve kicked off the season with the lighting of a huge Norwegian spruce wrapped in 19,000 multi-colored lights and ornaments at Campus Martius Park.

Holiday inspirations featured at Christmas shows and events

   One-Tank Trip for Nov. 16/19

      (c) By Jim Fox

   The International Centre in Mississauga will be turned into a winter wonderland as the holiday spirit returns for the Seasons Christmas Show.

   Happening from Nov. 22 to 24, show-goers can “add some sparkle to holiday shopping,” said publicist Jakki Roussel.

   There are craft workshops, holiday inspired stage presentations and Santa posing for photos beside a giant Christmas tree.

The Seasons Christmas Show is a popular place for shoppers.

    Some 100 artisans, along with talented food-makers and do-it-yourself crafters, will show seasonal decor ideas and handmade items.

   The Makeful Market has “pretty quirky gifts” for stocking stuffers including avocado hand cream, beer-infused mustards, espresso face balm and edible ornaments, Roussel said.

McMichael Canadian Art Collection to host Group of Seven centennial exhibition

   One-Tank Trip for Nov. 9/19

   (c) By Jim Fox

    It will be the 100th anniversary May 7 when a group of artists calling themselves the Group of Seven mounted their first formal exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto (now the Art Gallery of Ontario).

   Over a three-week run about 2,000 visitors viewed more than 120 paintings of which only

six were sold.

Franklin Carmichael’s autumnal symphony calked October Gold will be part of the Group of Seven exhibition.
Photos from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

    A.Y. Jackson wrote home that the exhibition was “attracting quite a lot of attention even if it is not understood.”

   They wouldn’t remain little-understood for long even though they had to return to their day jobs.

   In commemoration, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection (10365 Islington Ave.) in Kleinburg will mount a landmark exhibition of the group’s finest pieces from its permanent collection entitled “A Like Vision:” The Group of Seven at 100.

   “The collection “remains the spiritual home” to the group and is a destination for Canadians who cherish the artistic legacy of the country, said publicist Sam Cheung.

   It grew out of the personal devotion of Robert and Signe McMichael, he added.

Artist Lawren S. Harris created his painting Montreal River in 1920.

The Royal Ontario Museum publishes Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz

Photography by Tina Weltz

(News Release)

New book explores the story of India’s richly coloured textiles ahead of ROM original exhibition 

TORONTO, October 24, 2019 — The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is pleased to announce the publication of Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz on December 2, 2019. The collection of essays explores the far-reaching influence this vividly printed and painted cotton cloth has had on the world, from its origins 5,000 years ago to its place in fashion and home décor today. The volume is the official companion to the ROM-original exhibition The Cloth that Changed the World: India's Painted and Printed Cottons, which runs from April 4 to September 27, 2020 in Toronto.

 

The scholarly and beautifully illustrated publication draws from the Royal Ontario Museum’s own Indian chintz collection, which ranks as one of the best in the world. Featuring extensive new research, this multidisciplinary book traces the story of chintz and the indelible footprint it has left on the world. The publication combines vivid field photography of artisans at work with striking images from the ROM's world-class collection, as well as images from India’s fashion runways and the work of top designers embracing this heritage textile today.

 

"The world would be a drab place without India," says Sarah Fee, editor, Cloth that Changed the World and ROM Senior Curator of Eastern Hemisphere Fashion and Textiles. "Our blue jeans and printed T-shirts trace much of their lineage back to the ingenuity of India’s cotton printers and dyers. This exhibition and companion book celebrate how India ‘clothed the world’ in exuberantly coloured cottons for thousands of years. It explores the art’s resiliency in the face of modern industrial imitation and shares the exciting stories of reviving natural dyes and hand skills in India today.”

Billy Elliot goes on at Stratford; Mickey memories; and the Crooners in Port Stanley

   One-Tank Trip for Nov. 2/19

   (SHOWS)

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Encore, encore!

   The show will continue for several highly popular Stratford Festival performances.

   “The festival’s season will now stretch to Nov. 24, with a three-week extension of Billy Elliot the Musical, which has been packing houses since it opened in the spring,” said publicity director Ann Swerdfager.

   “Introducing Nolen Dubuc as Billy and featuring Dan Chameroy and Blythe Wilson, this production is not to be missed,” she said.

Performances of the blockbuster hit Billy Elliot the Musical have been extended by three weeks in Stratford.

    It’s an inspirational story about a talented young boy’s tough life, with moving dance numbers and music by pop legend Elton John.

   This gritty new take on the smash-hit show has been “reimagined for Stratford.”