YORKVILLE Plaque unveiling with Gordon Lightfoot...May 6-2016

[charlene]

Friday, May 6; 5 PM to 8 PM
YORKVILLE'S MUSIC HISTORY

Heritage Toronto and The Greater Yorkville Residents' Association invite you to a musical performance and unveiling of three plaques on Yorkville's Music History.

Three plaques will be unveiled: Two commemorating the Purple Onion and the Penny Farthing, and one general plaque about the history of Yorkville.

Plaques will be unveiled by special guests, including Gordon Lightfoot. A performance by Luke and the Apostles will follow.

LOCATION: Masonic Temple (888 Yonge Street)

This event is free, though we suggest a donation of $5 to $10 per person to help us continue delivering quality programming in celebration of Toronto's history.

The Historical Plaques program is made possible by a generous grant from Scotiabank. We are grateful for their support in interpreting Toronto's shared histories and celebrating the people, places and events that have made our city the remarkable place it is!

http://heritagetoronto.org/event/yorkville/?utm_source=E-News+April+14&utm_campaign=HT_eblast_jun25&utm_medium=email

[charlene]

TORONTO - CTV news- http://www.ctvnews.ca/live?autoPlay=true Friday at 6-Scott Lightfoot (no relation) and Gordon LIghtfoot. Scott's TWITTER pic and caption: ''Just did an interview with someone I have waited my entire life to meet..''

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/inspirationlady/ChtUfi5WsAABBP0.jpg (http://s660.photobucket.com/user/inspirationlady/media/ChtUfi5WsAABBP0.jpg.html)

[charlene]

VIDEO:- CTV news interview: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.2892041

[charlene]

I saw TG there but didn't get over to speak with him so am expecting some great videos and pics! The podium had no lighting so my video and pics are dark. I will post asap. It was a great turnout and a terrific night commemorating the history of the Toronto music scene. Gordon spoke for about 14 minutes! lol.. ohmygoodness...video to come..

I had a fab time with Ron Jones and his wife and a fan who is from Brazil and in TO for a visit. She was in TO for the 2012 and 2014 Massey shows too.

[charlene]

It was a wonderful event - Jerry Gray (The Travellers) leads the audience on This Land Is Your Land at Heritage Toronto's plaque unveiling at the former Rockpile (Masonic Temple) on May 6 2016. (singing along is Gordon Lightfoot)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LtbSmQ6Kmc&feature=youtu.be

[charlene]

lighting was awful but you can hear him for the most part:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQpok9_Os20

[T.G.]

I saw TG there but didn't get over to speak with him so am expecting some great videos and pics! The podium had no lighting so my video and pics are dark. I will post asap. It was a great turnout and a terrific night commemorating the history of the Toronto music scene. Gordon spoke for about 14 minutes! lol.. ohmygoodness...video to come..

I had a fab time with Ron Jones and his wife and a fan who is from Brazil and in TO for a visit. She was in TO for the 2012 and 2014 Massey shows too.

I don't understand why they kept the speaker's podium so dark; I got a crummy video too which I will post shortly.

[T.G.]

A bit of Luke and the Apostles at the event ...

Luke and the Apostles - Yorkville Historical Plaques Unveiling 2016-05-06 - YouTube

[charlene]

It was too bad they couldn't throw a light on the podium for the speeches.
It's so great that Nicholas Jennings and Jane Harbury do these things for the city..

[charlene]

ILKA from Brazil, me and Ron Jones at the Royal York Hotel for after event martinis! http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/inspirationlady/IMG_7420.jpg (http://s660.photobucket.com/user/inspirationlady/media/IMG_7420.jpg.html)

SUNDOWN cocktail! http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/inspirationlady/IMG_7416.jpg (http://s660.photobucket.com/user/inspirationlady/media/IMG_7416.jpg.html)
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/inspirationlady/IMG_7415.jpg (http://s660.photobucket.com/user/inspirationlady/media/IMG_7415.jpg.html)
Jerry of The Travellers with Gordon
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[T.G.]

My video of Gord's speech:

Gordon Lightfoot - Yorkville Historical Plaques Unveiling 2016-05-06 - YouTube

[T.G.]

Gordon mingling among the crowd ...

Gordon Lightfoot - Yorkville Historical Plaques Unveiling 2016-05-06 (Part Two) - YouTube

[charlene]

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2016/05/heritage-toronto-plaques-highlight-yorkvilles-music-history

[charlene]

Gordon Lightfoot reminisces about Yorkville’s music history, folk music scene as neighbourhood gets three Heritage Toronto plaques
http://m.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/6547801-gordon-lightfoot-reminisces-about-yorkville-s-music-history-folk-music-scene-as-neighbourhood-gets-

While today’s Yorkville is known for its toney boutique shops, hotel towers and posh eateries, its history as the centre of Toronto’s counterculture and fast-growing folk music scene in the 1960s and ‘70s will not soon be forgotten.

Three new Heritage Toronto plaques – one denoting the area’s history as a whole and two marking the sites of once-famous coffeehouses The Purple Onion and the Penny Farthing – were unveiled at the Masonic Temple on Friday, May 6 at a special ceremony that featured a concert by Yorkville mainstays Luke & The Apostles and presentations by Jerry Gray of the Travellers and legendary singer Gordon Lightfoot.

Yorkville’s bohemian past served as a launching pad for the careers of several famous musicians, including Lightfoot, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon. At Friday’s plaque unveiling, Lightfoot reminisced about what made the area so special to him when he was starting out as one half of the Two Tones with partner Terry Whelan.

“The first time (Albert Grossman, who would become Lightfoot’s manager) ever came to listen to me play…he came to the Purple Onion,” he said.

“You’d do three sets a night in the Riverboat (a coffeehouse at 134 Yorkville that was commemorated with a Heritage Toronto plaque a few years back) and it was not a big deal. You’d play until your chops were almost falling off.”

Music historian Nicholas Jennings noted Yorkville was once considered a blight on the city by City Hall, with politicians hoping to quell the growing counterculture and quiet the bustling bohemian scene. Despite their unpopularity with politicos, Yorkville’s coffee houses – which famously served harder stuff than just coffee – were vital in Canada’s emergence on the international music scene.

“Those clubs were pivotal to the rise of music culture in this city,” he said. “David Clayton-Thomas (of Blood, Sweat and Tears fame) said he went to high school on Yonge Street, but he went to university in Yorkville.”

As much as musicians cut their teeth on Yorkville stages, they were also able to meet and form bonds with fellow performers. Jennings noted the dozens of clubs and coffeehouses were so close, artists could take a break between sets and catch some of a fellow singer or band’s show at a nearby venue.

While it is credited with playing a vital role in forging Canada’s music scene, Yorkville was also a literary hotspot, a place where a young Margaret Atwood would hold readings and where the poetry of Leonard Cohen was first turned into songs.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam was pleased to see Yorkville’s musical heritage remembered.

“(The scene) laid the groundwork for what was going to be a musical revolution in Canada,” she said.

Heritage Toronto worked with a number of partners, including the Greater Yorkville Residents’ Association, music store Long & McQuade and Info-Tech Research Group – the current owners of the Masonic Temple – for the unveiling of the new plaques.

For more information on Heritage Toronto and its plaque program, visit www.heritagetoronto.org