Guided Tours: TBG and Edwards Gardens
2022-07-21 17:30 - 18:30, 2022-08-18 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Toronto) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
Explore the Toronto Botanical Garden and Edwards Gardens with a knowledgeable tour guide.

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Edwards Summer Music Series: OKAN
2022-07-21 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
Taking their name from the word for heart or soul in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria, Juno-Award winning OKAN fuses Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, courage and love.
Having recently worked with Bomba Estereo, Lido Pimienta, Hilario Duran and Telmary Diaz, OKAN has followed up on their Juno and Canadian Folk Music Award-nominated and Independent Music Award-winning debut album Sombras, with their sophomore release Espiral, (Lulaworld Records, 2020) Earning international acclaim from OkayAfrica, NPR and Songlines, Esprial debuted at the number one position on the !Earshot International charts and was included in CBC Music’s top 20 and NPR’s top 10 Alt Latino’s albums of the year.

Guided Tours: TBG and Edwards Gardens
2022-07-22 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-08-18 17:30 - 18:30, 2022-08-23 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-08-25 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-08-26 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-09-08 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-09-09 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-09-15 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Toronto) and 1 more date | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
Explore the Toronto Botanical Garden and Edwards Gardens with a knowledgeable tour guide.

Guided Tours: Wilket Creek Ravine
2022-07-23 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-08-12 14:00 - 15:30, 2022-08-14 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-08-21 11:00 - 12:30, 2022-08-27 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-09-10 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Toronto) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
Explore the Toronto Botanical Garden and the Wilket Creek Ravine with a knowledgeable tour guide.

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Edwards Summer Music Series: Imbayakunas
2022-07-28 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
The Imbayakunas’ music allows the listener to escape on an exotic voyage with traditional Andean Native music infused with Latin and European sounds. Traditional instruments like the pan flutes, rondador, charango, drum, ronrroco and cajas are mixed with newer instruments like the guitar, violin, bandolin and bass creating their unique sound.
Audiences have commented that their distinctive melodies speak to the heart and soul. Some of the rhythms are pensive and incorporate sounds of the natural world while others are upbeat and very danceable. The songs are sung in Spanish and also Quechua (pronounced “kee – chew – ahh”). Themes of the songs are of respect for “Pacha Mama” (mother earth in Quechua), annual Andean festivals, working overseas, love and new romance.
Their musical expression creates an environment that unites us all. The songs are interpretations of our past and the evolution of our culture into the future.

The Imbayakunas music group have won two Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards in Canada, for being the BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS ARTIST in 2014 and 2017.

Edwards Summer Music Series: Crystal Shawanda
2022-08-04 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
Crystal Shawanda is a Juno award-winning Canadian blues and country music artist. In 2021 Crystal won the Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year and was nominated for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year. Crystal is from Wiikwemkoong First Nation, Manitoulin Island, Ontario.
“This is a new blues woman on the scene with fantastic chops and command of songs. She is a valuable addition to the blues world, destined for wide recognition.”
— Steve Daniels, Big City Blues
There’s a tendency these days to try to pigeonhole any artist that attempts to breach the boundaries. Chalk it up to the restrictions of radio playlists or the media’s attempt to strictly define musicians by the music it believes artists ought to be making, creative instincts be damned.
Nevertheless, Crystal Shawanda opted to defy those demands and chart her own path forward. Initially signed to RCA in 2007, she hit her stride as a country singer and songwriter when she scored a top 20 hit with her song “You Can Let Go” and subsequently tallied sales of over 50,000 copies of her debut album Dawn of a New Day and subsequently debuted in the Billboard Top 20. Nevertheless, she began to realize that the blues had captured her muse, and with that, she left the label, shifted her stance and began recording albums that reflected her love of blues and her natural affinity for that sound.
As she once told an interviewer, “The whole time I was singing Patsy Cline on stage, I was singing Etta James at home.”
Her new album Church House Blues (due April 17th on True North Records) reflects that dedication and devotion and finds her co-writing seven of the ten songs on the album. Produced by her husband, collaborator and cowriter Dewayne Strobel, it not only marks her fourth blues effort to date but one of her most demonstrative as well. That’s evident at the outset, from the fiery delivery of the title track, the riveting drive of “New Orleans Is Sinking,” and the assertive strains of “Rather Be Alone,” to the quiet, contemplative desire and despair that scorches “Evil Memory,” the radio-ready hooks illuminated in “Hey Love,” and the emotive strains instilled in the bittersweet ballads “When It Comes To Love” and “Bigger Than the Blues.” At the center of it all is Crystal’s evocative vocals, a powerful, provocative force of nature that elevates each encounter and sends the album’s entries soaring towards the stratosphere.
Credit is also due to some spectacular guest artists, including session superstar Dave Roe on bass (Johnny Cash, Yola, Ceelo Green, among the many), the McCrary Sisters on backing vocals, Dana Robbins of Delbert McClinton’s band on sax, and Peter Keys of Lynyrd Skynyrd playing keys.
Most importantly, Crystal says that the recording allowed her to express herself without feeling like anyone was looking over her shoulder. “This is the most I’ve ever loved an album out of everything I’ve ever done,” she insists. “This is really who I am. It’s my most definitive album yet. All these songs reflect different aspects of who I am. It’s putting a finger on that definitively. I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m just being me. I’m done with trying to fit in.”
It’s that free-spirited approach that’s found her becoming a critical favorite. Her last album, VooDoo Woman elevated the Canadian-bred, now Nashville-based singer to the upper strata of today’s most expressive and exhilarating performers. Although influenced by such iconic individuals as Etta James, Koko Taylor, and the Staple Singers, she claims a specific signature style all her own.
The critics all agree. “Shawanda is a real deal blues artist who isn’t dabbling in blues so much as channeling it,” Steven Ovadia wrote in Elmore Magazine. JD Nash of American Blues Scene raved, “Not only does Shawanda capture KoKo Taylor’s southside growl but after a brief slow down for breath morphs into a primal scream that would grab Janis Joplin by the short hairs.” Bill Wilson, writing in Reflections in Blue, concurred. “Crystal Shawanda is every bit the real deal. This is an incredibly powerful piece of work.”
Still, Crystal is hardly what one might call an overnight sensation. “I grew up with blues music and I used to jam with blues musicians when I was still living in Canada,” she recalls. “It’s funny. After moving to Nashville the second time in 2000, I was discovered while actually playing the blues —the music made by Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, and Janis Joplin. But when I was offered the record deal to make country music, it felt like the opportunity of a lifetime, and so I took it and ran.”
After scoring initial success as a country artist, she garnered a legion of devotees, marquee status as a major headliner, and even became the subject of a reality show, “Crystal: Living the Dream” as seen on the CMT television network.
She followed her stint at RCA with an independent effort Just Like You, garnering Canada’s prestigious Juno Award in the process. She also had the distinction of performing at President Barrack Obama’s inauguration festivities in 2013. She’s since made her name as a motivational speaker and currently serves as a board member of the not-for-profit Nike 7 charitable foundation.
“I veered towards the blues because that’s the music I love to sing,” Crystal says in retrospect. “It feels so natural, the kind of music I was meant to sing. It’s a beautiful release. It’s like letting a bird out of a cage. This is what I’m supposed to do. This is how I fly.”

Orchid Sale hosted by the Southern Ontario Orchid Society
2022-08-07 12:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | ON
The Southern Ontario Orchid Society is sponsoring a 1-day, mid-summer orchid sale on August 7th, from noon till 5 PM. There will be 9 vendors with a wide variety of orchids: Catleyas, Paphiopedilums, Phalaenopsis, and many more. Some are large, some are smaller. Whether you have a large area or a tiny one, there will be orchids to suit every fancy. As well, we will have orchid art and orchid supplies as well as information on the society and how we actively support native orchid conservation. We hope that you will join us this day.
Admission is FREE.
List of vendors:

A Bloom’n Addiction
Alexander Arts
AnLi’s Orchids
C & C Orchids
Crystal Star
Di Ciommo Orchids
Flora Peculia
Orchids in our Tropics
Ravenvision

For more information or for a list of vendors visit soos.ca

Edwards Summer Music Series: Bobby Dove
2022-08-11 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
Bobby Dove, from Montreal, Quebec, has become known as one of the country’s most dedicated troubadours, crooning live audiences with their heart-worn originals, and paying tribute to the golden age of Country Music.
Bobby Dove’s new album, Hopeless Romantic, was co-produced with Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo)and Tim Vesely (Rheostatics) at The Woodshed studio in Toronto, ON. On the record Dove collaborates with some of the finest on the Canadian music scene, including members of Blue RodeoJim Cuddy, Bazil Donovan, Jimmy Bowskill (The Sheepdogs, Blue Rodeo), and Burke Carroll(Kathleen Edwards). Along the road, Bobby has worked with a number of legendary players, and shared stages with artists such as Mary Gauthier, Richard Thompson, The Sadies, and JD Mcpherson. In 2019, Bobby spent a month in residency at the Banff Centre, and toured Canada with performances at the Vancouver FolkMusic Festival and Vancouver Island Music Fest.

Edwards Summer Music Series: Tafelmusik
2022-08-18 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
This Tafelmusik Trio featuring Patricia Ahern, Christopher Verrette & Lucas Harris will celebrate the beauty and our connection to nature through the music of the past with new energy brought to baroque music today. Each piece is played on period instruments, underscored and illuminated by scholarship.
Founded over 40 years ago on the pillars of passion, learning, and artistic excellence, Tafelmusik continues to bring new energy to baroque music and beyond. Historically informed performances of 17th- to 19th-century instrumental and choral music share the stage with vibrant, insightful multimedia programs, and bold new music written just for the group. Each piece is played on period instruments, underscored and illuminated by scholarship.
Through dynamic performances, international touring, award-winning recordings, and comprehensive education programs, Tafelmusik invites audiences to engage with beauty and experience the breadth of emotion music can inspire.

Toronto Cactus & Succulent Club Plant Show and Sale
2022-08-21 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
Admission is FREE. Public Welcome.
For more information visit www.torontocactus.club/

Edwards Summer Music Series: Laila Biali
2022-08-25 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | ON
The Edwards Summer Music Series includes eight FREE outdoor concerts showcasing contemporary Canadian talent, within the beauty of the Toronto Botanical Garden. Hosted by TV Personality Mike Chalut.
The concerts take place Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in July and August within the courtyard adjacent to the historic barn in Edwards Gardens. Concerts are held rain or shine (they move indoors in the case of extreme weather). Admission to the concerts is FREE. General seating is available on a first-come basis or guests are encouraged to bring their own chair. Generously Supported by the Edwards Charitable Foundation.
Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali continues to earn high honours in the Jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post).
Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City’s Carnegie Hall to Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO (Canada’s GRAMMY) for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.” The year prior, she was awarded top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named “SOCAN Composer of the Year” and “Keyboardist of the Year.” She received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light (2011), and a spot on DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of the Year” for Live in Concert (2013) and Out of Dust (2020). In September of 2017, Laila was brought on as the host for CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz, a weekly show broadcast to listeners across Canada. While Laila continues to earn high honours in the Jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Laila’s highly anticipated album, Out of Dust, which features multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fischer, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis, was released March 27, 2020, and was also nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award.
“The album’s production is shimmering, the arrangements are lush and Biali’s voice – spanning registers – is pure and warm. She’s also fearless on piano and, above else, in her imagination. ★★★★“ – DownBeat Magazine
“There’s no boxing Laila Biali in … Capable of making you laugh and cry all at once, her delivery Out of Dust is divine. 4.5 stars.” – All About Jazz
“Out of Dust sparkles like a soundtrack for spring.” – The Vancouver Sun
“Biali provides the positive, come-together messaging we need in these challenging times.” – Parade Magazine

Yoga at the Garden
2022-09-01 10:15 - 2022-09-22 11:15 (America/Toronto) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
This outdoor gentle hatha yoga class is suitable for beginners, and new participants are welcome. Stretch, breathe, and meditate as you take in the sights and smells of the garden in bloom. Participants must bring their own towel, yoga mat, and water if desired. All levels are welcome.

Thursdays, 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. September 1 through September 22, 2022Registration for the four-week session: Public $80, Member/Volunteer $64Registration per class: $23 per class
Plus applicable fees and taxes
Safe Program Access: This is an Adult Education program at TBG. All participants must be 16+.

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Fall Into Fitness: Session 1
2022-09-06 10:00 - 2022-10-11 10:00 (America/Toronto) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
You will practice standing movements designed to increase balance, agility, alignment, and strength. These exercises are gentle and thoughtful, focusing on whole-body movement to prevent pain, falls, and all-around creakiness. You will feel great after an hour of a little moving, a little stretching, a little weight work, and a whole lot of fun.
Program Schedule
Session 1: Tuesdays, September 6 to October 11, 10 – 11 amSession 2: Tuesdays, October 25 to December 13, 10-11 am
About Tena van Andel
Tena van Andel is a certified Level II 3-D Workout™ instructor who wants to keep all of us moving till we’re 102.  She enjoys volunteering for the Toronto Master Gardeners and is busy rewilding a 19th-century rundown farmhouse, fondly referred to as her ‘estate’.
Safe Program Access
This is an Adult Education program at TBG. All participants must be 16+.
Registration Deadlines:
Session 1: Monday, September 5 at 12 pmSession 2: Monday, October 24 at 12 pm

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Heygo Virtual Garden Tour: What's in Bloom at the Toronto Botanical Garden
2022-09-08 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Enjoy a guided stroll through the Toronto Botanical Garden. This one-hour tour is led by Abdullah, a knowledgeable garden guide who will share his favourite areas of the garden and highlight the flowers that are currently in bloom. Abdullah is an orchid grower and has been a Toronto Master Gardener for over 10 years. He is a long-time TBG member and active volunteer. His garden interests include the importance of native, indigenous plants and music in the garden.
RESERVE YOUR SPACE ON OUR VIRTURAL HEYGO TOUR. IT’S FREE!

Author Talk | The Mexico Lunch Party
2022-09-13 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Toronto) | Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave E, Toronto, ON, M3C 1P2, Canada
Former Toronto Star gardening columnist Sonia Day celebrates the amazing flowers of Mexico in a talk about her latest book, The Mexico Lunch Party: A Sisters of the Soil Novel. A fun afternoon with a special treat – Capitorada, or Mexican Bread Pudding, baked by Sonia herself- thrown in.

Sonia’s new book will be available for sale and is happy to personalize your copy at the end of the talk.

Tuesday, September 13, 2 to 4 p.m.Public $5, Free for members and volunteers

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About Sonia Day

Sonia is the author of books eight books (so far) and has written for numerous newspapers and magazines. For two decades, she contributed a popular weekly gardening column called The Real Dirt to the Toronto Star which ended in March 2018. She is also a painter. Her work is in the City of Toronto’s permanent collection and has been purchased by corporations like the Royal Bank and Versa Services –and by hundreds of private buyers everywhere she’s lived. For more information visit soniaday.com.

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, September 13 at 12:00 p.m.

Safe Program Access

To ensure the safety of our participants and instructors, all staff, volunteers, and participants are welcome to wear masks indoors and maintain physical distancing.Please review our Health and Safety Policies and Refund Policy and Terms of Agreement.This is an in-person, indoor, Adult Education program at the Toronto Botanical Garden.All participants must be 16+ years old.

We appreciate your support and cooperation.

Heygo LIVE Virtual Tour: What's in Bloom in Edwards Gardens
2022-09-15 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Online
Enjoy a guided stroll through the beloved and historic Edwards Gardens. This one-hour tour is led by Abdullah, a knowledgeable garden guide who will share his favourite areas of the garden and highlight the flowers that are currently in bloom. Abdullah is an orchid grower and has been a Toronto Master Gardener for over 10 years. He is a long-time TBG member and active volunteer. His garden interests include the importance of native, indigenous plants and music in the garden.
RESERVE YOUR SPACE ON OUR VIRTURAL HEYGO TOUR. IT’S FREE!
