BEYOND CARNIVAL

Irie Music Festival is a perfect addition to Toronto's carnival activities. It is a three day multi-stage festival featuring music, food, dance, art and culture taking place from August 4th, to August 6th, 2006. The programming will take place in the downtown core at Nathan Phillips Square and on the waterfront at Ontario Place. In addition to international headline artists and local performers, the festival will also feature a visual art exhibit, a literary component, dance performances, film screenings, food demonstrations, a beer and wine garden, an art & craft market and children's activities. For more info visit www.iriemusicfestival.com.


Black Creek Pioneer Village is a tranquil and authentic historical recreation of an early Ontario village, with homes, gardens, shops and a mill. Currently it features a multimedia exhibit on the Underground Railroad and the accomplishments of early African American settlers in southern Ontario, produced by Steve Shaw Productions and sponsored by Ontario's Ministry of Culture. The material has been assembled by Afua Cooper, Adrienne Shadd and Karolyn Smardz Frost from archival sources across North America. It includes a short documentary called The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Freedom! about a woman named Deborah Brown who escaped with her family from Maryland to settle on Markham Street in Toronto. Black Creek Pioneer Village, located at Jane and Steeles, is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students aged 15 and up, and $6 for ages 5 to 14. Children under 4 are free. Parking is $6. 416-736-1733.



For a look even farther back in time, the Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park) is known for its rich and extensive Nubian and Ancient Egyptian collection. It's open daily. Admission is $10 ($7 for students and seniors, and $6 for children from 5 to 14). Friday nights are free. 416-586-5549, www.rom.on.ca. (For those who want a truly educational visit to this city, the Toronto Museum Passport includes admission to the Royal Ontario Museum, Historic Fort York, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art and six other city museums. It costs $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students and $15 for children.)



Paramount Canada's Wonderland (Highway 400 & Rutherford Road, 905-832-7000, www.canadas-wonderland.com) is for thrill-seekers. Canada's premier theme park boasts more than 200 attractions, 65 rides, an excellent selection of roller coasters, a 20-acre water park and numerous live performances. New this year is Sledge Hammer™, a, 80-foot menacing mechanical giant that hurls riders through accelerated jumps and freefalls. Nickelodeon™ Central is an all-new area for children featuring popular Nickelodeon TV characters like Jimmy Neutron. A one-day adult ticket costs $52.42; seniors and children aged 3 to 6 pay $26.20 and children under 3 are free. (There are discounts for online ticket purchases, and special rates for multiple-day passes).



The Toronto Zoo (Meadowvale Road north of the 401 in Scarborough) is home to more than 5,000 animals and birds from around the world, grouped according to geographical origin. The African Savanna of Kesho Park features great natural habitat for the Zoo's African elephants, lions, cheetahs, river hippos and white rhinos. The Zoo's gorilla population and especially its senior male Charles are particularly popular with visitors, and the Zoo has proudly welcomed babies born in captivity to its gorilla family. The Zoo is accessible on GO Transit (via bus from Rouge Hill Station) or TTC (via the "Zoo Rocket" from Scarborough Town Centre). Admission is $18 ($12 for seniors, $10 for ages 4 to 12). Parking is $8. 416-392-5900, www.torontozoo.com



Finally, Toronto is the third largest theatre-producing city in the English-speaking world, after New York and London. Tickets are becoming scarce for one of our most popular long-running attractions, Disney's The Lion King at the Princess of Wales, which closes on September 28. However, there are plenty of other excellent productions around town, ranging from outdoor Shakespeare to comedy to dance. On the day of performance you can pick up half-price tickets to many shows at the T.O. TIX Booth, conveniently located at the new Yonge-Dundas Square.



Out of Town



If you're eager to find out more about the pre-emancipation era, you can visit actual African American heritage sites west of Toronto near Windsor/Detroit. The area was a destination for many former enslaved people who made their way to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The Buxton National Historic Site and Museum in North Buxton (519-352-4799, www.buxtonmuseum.com) was once a settlement of almost 2,000 freed slaves. In July and August it's open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5.



The Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site (519-683-2978, uncletomscabin.org) was the home of Rev. Josiah Henson, who was the model for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's pro-abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. It is situated in the town of Dresden, and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays and holiday Mondays. Admission is $6.50 for adults, $5.25 for seniors and students aged 13 to 17 and $4.50 for ages 6 to 12. Children under 6 are admitted free, and there is a family pass for $20.



The North American Black Historical Museum and Cultural Centre in Amherstburg (519-736-5433, blackhistoricalmuseum.com) features special exhibits, genealogical research materials and an Afrocentric gift and book shop. It's open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and children under 14 and $20 for families.