Yorkville is now home of the infamous Mink Mile, the seventh most expensive luxury shopping district in the world. But what was here before the glitz and the wealth?
Join us as we explore the neighbourhood that was the centre of Canada’s bohemian, activist culture in the 1960s.
Yorkville was the site of the radical experimental Rochdale College, a hub for folk musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and where unknown writers like Margaret Atwood, Gwendolyn MacEwen, and Dennis Lee flexed their skills. How did the transformation from counter-culture hub to capitalist mecca take place? What were the forces that emerged to see so much change in such a short period? Toronto-based music legend Bob Wiseman will lead us through the fascinating history of this mercurial neighbourhood. Take a walk with us to learn more. Bring your cell phone with a camera, and come dressed for the weather.
Speaker
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Speaker
Bob Wiseman
Bob Wiseman is a musician, producer, and author who teaches songwriting and improvisational piano. Recent projects include scoring the winning feature film The Drawer Boy at the 2018 Canadian Film Festival, preparing the ECW Press release of his journal: How To Write A Bad Song and finishing his Master’s degree in Environmental Studies at York University where he is exploring how songwriting problematizes and is itself an answer to a problem. He believes in libraries and pickled ginger.
