Sorry folks, but Frank isn’t available to write his weekly blog post. His eyeballs are up to his eardrums in preparing the score for the Greater Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra‘s May 9th premiere of his clarinet concerto in Toronto with the wonderful Michael Westwood. Frank lost time this week taking care of me when I was sick so this is the least I can do!

You’ll be happy to know that it is Frank’s photo above that inspired my post as well as his own recent blog post that got the radio stations calling. You know you’ve written something from the heart when radio is dialing your number because of a blog post.

I don’t think there are any radio stations in Mimico (correct me if I’m wrong Mimicoites) but I still want to show my love for the part of Toronto that has been my home for the past eight years. Here’s why I love Mimico…

1. Feels like a small town. First place I’ve lived in Toronto where it feels like a community. Sure, I’ve lived on nice streets before but you go beyond that and you don’t feel at home (yeah, I’m talking about you Swansea :). But here in Mimico, there are no airs, just Mimico charm.

2. The people are interesting and do interesting things. I may live in the most multi-cultural city in the world but our neighbourhoods can be pretty one-sided. In Mimico, each person you meet isn’t like the other. We all do such different things from working on Bay St., to working in the arts, for the environment, in the health sector, in the sciences… Unfortunately, we don’t have any farmers anymore but at least we have a Farmer’s Market!

3. The businesses and cultural activities. Like any good ‘small town’ it has hard-working small business owners and cultural activity organizers. We have so many unique businesses/orgs like Birds & Beans, Sanremo Bakery, The Blue Goose Tavern, Lakeshore Arts and even those that aren’t unique like the Valumart have approachable owners working towards a better community.

And, we’ve got the all important cultural activities. (Sidebar: if you haven’t read this article on how we devalue our creative class, you may take a moment now to do so.) We’ve got our own film festival, Lakeshorts International Short Film Festival, an annual juried art show, Through the EYES of the Artist, to name two but come check everything out this year as we are part of Toronto’s 2015 Cultural Hotspot!

4. The Lake and Mimico Waterfront Park. This may be the best reason, the reason we just can’t live anywhere else. When in Mimico, you are always just steps away from a great lake. With trails, parks and a bit of wildlife, the lake provides everything you need to re-charge and re-inspire yourself.

Inspirational walk by the lake in Toronto.

5. Mimico is Toronto! I’ll say it, ‘I Love Toronto.’ And, living in its Mimico neighbourhood gives you the best of the city at your fingertips. With great views of the downtown, and easy access via transit, train or car. Thank-you Toronto for being the city that allows us to pursue our lives in music and thank-you Mimico for giving us a great place to live those lives.

These are only 5 reasons to love this neighbourhood. If you’ve been here or know what makes a great community, feel free to let me know what I’ve missed!

 
P.S. On a side note, our community is changing. A community is always evolving but here in the Mimico area things are changing pretty quickly. Hundreds of condo units are opening up each year (one of which I just moved into). A Metro grocery store with a Starbuck and a Shoppers Drug Mart just opened their doors. On Sunday I went for a grand opening tour and well… Walking around in these massive retail spaces, I didn’t quite feel like I was home anymore. I then proceeded to go home and I literally threw up. Perhaps unrelated, but it makes you wonder about the future of our community.