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CONTENTS 28

R Rocco DiSpirito

50

Improve Canada

25

Jill of all Trades

46

A Night g to Remember

Sky Cranes and Electric Brains

64

Dec/Jan 2012/13 Volume 10 Issue 6

50

ON THE COVER 28 Rocco’s Road: Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito comes to town to dish on his sizzling Now Eat This! empire

Birthday Freebies

FEATURES 46 A Night to Remember: From Bachelor Brad Smith to wine expert Tony Aspler, local figures share their favourite end-of-year tales 56 Ice King Elvis Stojko: An interview with the three-time world champion reveals how he revolutionized the Canadian arena of figure skating 60 Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Real or fake fir? City Life gives consumers the dirt on the thorny Christmas tree debate ARTS AND CULTURE 24 It’s a Vaughanderful Life: Skate, ski and tobaggan your way through the winter blues with fun-filled family activities across the city 64 The Transformer: How the iconic Canadian artist Michael Snow continues to transmute the art scene in Toronto and beyond 66 Turn, Turn, Turn: Hit the books this season with these must-reads PHILANTHROPHY 40 The Shoebox Project: Think inside the box to spread the sole of the season FOOD AND DRINK 50 Birthday Freebies: Breakfasts, bagels and buffets, the one day you don’t have to spend a dime

TRAVEL 54 Coming Home: Guest editors Andrew Vanover and Austin Simmons ignite a message of conversation with their worldwide 50 Days 50 Meals project 62 Between the Ocean and Sand: A Baja adventure in Los Cabos GIFT GIVING 36 Naughty or Nice: Deck the halls with boughs of holly as you fa-la-la-la in love with these naughty and nice gift ideas FASHION 44 Changing Spots: Add a little spice with haute holiday style AUTOMOTIVE 42 Joy Rides: Five cars that will steer you through wicked weather IN EVERY ISSUE 12 Publisher’s Note 14 Editor’s Note 16 People & Places 63 Readers’ Survey: Lucky readers can take home these great prizes

Michael Snow

36

Naughty or Nice

42

Fi CCars Five for Winter 8 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

56

Elvis Stojko

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PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michelle Zerillo-Sosa • michelle@dolce.ca MANAGING EDITOR Simona Panetta • simona@dolce.ca DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Angela Palmieri-Zerillo • angela@dolce.ca ART D E PARTM E NT CO-FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR Fernando Zerillo • fernando@dolce.ca SENIOR DESIGNER Christina Ban GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Marianna Osko, April Ware WEB PROJECT MANAGER Steve Bruno

FITNESS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU

ACHIEVE AND FORGET, IT’S SOMETHING YOU

ATTAIN AND MAINTAIN

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Gerard Chataigneau, Jesse Milns, Jonathan Pushnik, Austin Simmons, Michael Snow, Christoph Strube, Andrew Vanover, David Whittaker VIDEOGRAPHERS William Lem, Thomas Nagy VIDEO EDITOR William Lem REPORTER Amanda Storey EDITORIAL BEAUTY & TRAVEL EDITOR Angela Palmieri-Zerillo FASHION & HOME DECOR EDITOR Michelle Zerillo-Sosa COPY EDITOR Simona Panetta PROOFREADERS The Editing Company, Toronto; Simona Panetta SENIOR WRITERS Michael Hill, Simona Panetta, Madeline Stephenson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Austin Simmons, Andrew Vanover, Cassandra Tatone EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Amanda Storey PUBLISHER

ADVERTISING T: 905.264.6789 • Toll-Free: 1.888.68.DOLCE info@citylifemagazine.ca DIRECTOR OF NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Susan Bhatia OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Dina Mastrantoni FRONT COVER Rocco DiSpirito, Photo By Christoph Strube Makeup By Taylor Savage (judyinc.com)

City Life Magazine • Volume 10 • Issue 6 • Dec/Jan 2012/13 City Life Magazine is published bimonthly by Dolce Publishing Inc. 111 Zenway Blvd., Unit 30, Vaughan, Ont. L4H 3H9 T: 905.264.6789 • 1.888.68.DOLCE F: 905.264.3787 info@citylifemagazine.ca • www.citylifemagazine.ca Subscribe online at www.citylifemagazine.ca or by calling 905.264.6789, TOLL-FREE 1.888.68.DOLCE. City Life ’s yearly subscription fee is $13.80. We accept Visa, MC & AMEX. Send cheque or money order to Dolce Publishing Inc. 111 Zenway Blvd. #30, Vaughan, Ont. L4H 3H9 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40026675

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The opinions expressed in City Life Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or advertisers. Dolce Publishing Inc. does not assume liability for content. The material in this magazine is intended for information purposes only and is no way intended to supersede professional advice. We are proud to be a Canadian company that has successfully published magazines for the past 16 years without any government funding or financial assistance of programs to cover editorial costs. It has all been possible thanks to the wonderful support of our readers and advertisers.

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

M

AY YOU FOLLOW THE 5 W’S OF LIFE COME

2013

t and you might just find tha P.S. Follow the 5 W’s of Life for. g lookin inspiration you have been

A

Michelle Zerillo-Sosa Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

The 5 W’s of Life at makes you special.

WHO you are is wh .

Do not change for anyone l always be a mystery.

WHAT lies ahead wil .

Do not be afraid to explore der. you over, you push back har WH EN life pushes one you choices to make, make the WH ER E there are won’t regret. will never be certain.

WHY things happen forward.

Take it in stride and move

We e hav ve the to ools to p you be eat the odds! help

*No animals were harmed in the making of this campaign.

nother year will soon be behind us. Too often we find ourselves making promises at the year’s onset and realize several weeks in that they never materialize; much like a recipe that doesn’t turn out.

The prospects of new beginnings seem so promising on New Year’s Eve, so why do we fail in staying the course? Experts tell us that successful resolutions are those that inspire us to pick up new habits and not just to break bad ones. Planning in advance will help keep those changes alive, and ideally, on schedule.

Looking to get in shape in 2013? Mark specific days on your calendar reserved for fitness. Find a support system, a friend or family member, to keep you motivated. You can’t just decide on December 31 that you’re going to completely reinvent yourself.

Your desires will be dictated by your mindset of the evening, and come New Year’s Day, will be a distant memory. Look ahead, create an environment that fosters change, and most importantly, stick with it. Don’t be deterred by minor setbacks.

Change is possible with preparation and commitment.

We hope you find lots of inspiration within this issue of City Life Magazine to help you on your journey. Our cover story on celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito (page 28) demonstrates the power of living in the moment, and how meaningful change flows from passion and determination. (Watch the video on CitylifeTV.ca.)

Although most of us are more generous around the holidays, we should remember to be charitable all year long. Not an easy task, but caring for others cannot be a habit we pick up with the lights and holiday décor. It doesn’t need to be a grandiose act or weighty obligation. It could be as simple as donating a shoebox filled with essential items and cheerful surprises that will brighten the day of someone living in a shelter. Our shoebox story on page 40 does just that, as Caroline Mulroney Lapham shows us how an idea has escalated to a tradition that many less fortunate look forward to receiving.

So you see, you do not need to make that list loaded with impossible achievements, but just goals that will inspire you and others to live a healthier, happier, more loving life.

Wishing you holiday cheer and a Happy New Year!

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13

EDITOR’S NOTE

‘‘

NO SPACE OF REGRET CAN MAKE AMENDS FOR ONE LIFE’S OPPORTUNITY MISUSED

‘‘

Simona Panetta Managing Editor

— Charles Dickens

P

ress the rewind button — keep going, a bit more, OK, stop. Can you hear it now? Ah, yes.

Silence. Peace. Fair-weather companions during the holidays. While holding onto a sane state of mind through the season may seem next to impossible, this issue’s cover man, Rocco DiSpirito (page 28), gives us food for thought: how about believing in the possibility of the moment, seizing it, tasting it? However blithe and bon mot-mouthed the New York City chef may be, he gets serious when it comes to capturing the potential of a moment.

Of his decades-long career, Canadian artist Michael Snow (page 64) recalls grasping the opportunity to be in film animation, a field he wasn’t all that interested in at the time. Almost 60 years later, Snow continues to shape our visual perceptions of art, most recently with his exhibit “Objects of Vision” at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Snow’s legendary work not only commands attention in galleries across the world, but in public spaces we’re all mostly familiar with. If you happen to stop by the Eaton Centre this season, look up past the teeming crowds to a moment that will still the frenzy. Life-like geese, compliments of Snow, soar across the skylight, moving harmoniously together without a sound, but ever resounding.

Enjoy everything the season has to offer, whether it’s rounding up the family to cheerfully wrangle about Christmas trees (page 60), or slipping back to the golden days of ice king Elvis Stojko (page 56), this issue of City Life Magazine will get your feet back on the ground.

INTRODUCING THE DEC/JAN

GUEST EDITORS ANDREW VANOVER AND AUSTIN SIMMONS GUEST TRAVEL EDITORS Sparked by an insatiable appetite to form human connections, Andrew Vanover and Austin Simmons embarked on a journey that took them to 19 countries, where they engaged in meaningful meals and conversation with hundreds of strangers over the course of 50 days. They share an experience of human connection, and what it means to be back on terra firma in their touching account, “Coming Home,” on page 54.

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PEOPLE & PLACES

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1a. Christine Burych, CAMH Foundation, Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Hats On founders Benny Caringi and Enza Checchia

1. HATS ON FOR AWARENESS HATSQUERADE GALA Over 400 people attended the 4th Annual Hats On for Awareness Hatsquerade gala this year wearing their favourite — and at times outrageous — hats in support of mental health.

Keynote speaker Michael Landsberg of TSN’S Off the Record brought the crowd to its feet with his stirring anecdote on battling depression.The event was a success, raising $65,000 in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). www.hatsonforawareness.com

For more events, please visit

WEB www.citylifemagazine.ca/people_places

1b. Keynote speaker Michael Landsberg, host of TSN’s Off the Record

1c. Winner of Best Female Hat

2. NORTHERN KARATE’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY Northern Karate Schools (NKS) celebrated its 40th anniversary with students, supporters and staff who are all a part of a four-decade success story on Nov. 24, 2012. With 10 locations across the GTA, including Maple, Richmond Hill, Woodbridge and Thornhill, NKS has sharpened the body, mind and spirits of people of all ages. “A lot of places change for the sake of change. While we continue to adapt and expand our curriculum, we’ve always stayed true to our founding principles,� says NKS Rutherford director Kyoshi Cos Vona. “I think that’s the main reason we’ve had staying power.� www.northernkarate.com 2. Kyoshi Vona and Kyoshi Ouslis with fellow senior NKS staff

4. Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Tony Zingaro, gala chair, Safehaven

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3. GTMA’S CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENT The Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance hosted its third successful Celebrity Golf Tournament: A Celebration of GTA Communities at the picturesque King Valley Golf Club in King City on Sept. 13, 2012. Over 100 guests participated and helped raise funds for the GTMA’s regional efforts in attracting foreign investment and its internship program in the GTA. The GTMA thanks all tournament attendees and sponsors for their support. www.greatertoronto.org

3a. Golfers are ready to embark on a day of sport, networking and GTA celebrations

4. SAFEHAVEN GALA The Safehaven Gala: Celebrating 23 Years event attracted over 700 supporters and raised $100,000 at the Bellvue Manor in Vaughan. Guests included Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, the Knights of Columbus of St. Peters Parish, the directors of Italian Car Day and chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell of Global News Toronto.

A charitable organization, Safehaven provides support to families whose children suffer from multiple disabilities and complex needs. www.safehaven.to

5b. President of Microsoft Canada Max Long celebrates the company’s ďŹ rst Canadian store opening at Yorkdale Shopping Centre by donating $1.5 million to local Toronto charities — $250,000 each to Evergreen and Girls and Boys Club plus $1 million to Junior Achievement

16 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

3b. LEFT TO RIGHT: Alan Diner, partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP; Mayor David Ryan, City of Pickering and co-chair (public sector), Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance; The Hon. Michael Wilson, chairman, Barclays Canada Capital Inc. and co-chair, GTMA 2012 Celebrity Golf Tournament; George Fierheller, president, Four Halls Inc. and chair emeritus, Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance

5a. Breakfast Television’s Live Eye host Jennifer Valentyne, Yorkdale’s general manager Anthony Casalanguida and Oxford Property executives celebrate the opening of the shopping centre’s new 14,500 sq. ft. expansion that boasts 30 new retail spaces

5. YORKDALE EXPANSION Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto rolled out the red carpet this holiday season by unveiling 145,000 sq. ft. of fresh retail for spirited shoppers to revel in. The grand, multi-million dollar expansion that launched in mid-November introduced Microsoft, Ann Taylor, Kate Spade New York, Joey Restaurant and Hugo Boss among an exclusive list of hot spots. www.yorkdale.com

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PEOPLE & PLACES

6a. Chair of The Big Give Margot Grant Witz addresses the crowd 6b. A supportive turnout enjoys great food, drinks and entertainment for a big night at The Big Give

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7. Leafs GM Brian Burke, Dragonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Denâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arlene Dickinson and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair get ready to sleep out on the street for homeless kids

6. THE BIG GIVE Elizabeth Grant Skin Care presented THE BIG GIVE on Nov. 7, 2012, at Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Berkeley Church. Hosting 650 young professionals and raising close to $30,000, the event supported Canadian cancer charity Look Good Feel Better. Delicious food and beverages were provided by Frozen Assets, Elle Cuisine, QualiďŹ rst Foods, Cupcake Culture, Three Olives Vodka, Corona and Rosehall Run Vineyards as The Little Black Dress, The Apollo Effect, Black Mink and DJ Jody Litvack entertained guests. www.dothebiggive.com

6c. A guest walks away with a Corona wakeboard â&#x20AC;&#x201D; just one of the lucky winners of the night

8. LEFT TO RIGHT: Anna Siciliano, councillor Deb Shulte, Louise Morano, Rosa Stalteri, Maria Muia, Gianluca Muia, Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Rosa Stalteri, Maria Rovella and Alessia Sili

9. THE JOY OF AGING 2012 With over 350 attendees, The Joy of Aging 2012 raised funds for Mackenzie Health Foundation. Tina Tehranchian and Janine Purves were the co-chairs. Erin Davis was the master of ceremonies and Rona Maynard was the keynote speaker. www.thejoyofaging.ca

For more events, please visit

WEB www.citylifemagazine.ca/people_places

8. BELIEVE COMMITTEE GALA FOR SICKKIDS On Nov. 9, 2012, the Believe committee hosted its 6th Annual Red Carpet Affair in support of SickKids Foundation at the Venetian Banquet Hall. Helping to raise $20,000, guests enjoyed entertainment

by Enrico Gallante, Christian Boni and DJ Marco Del Biondi. The Believe committee would like to thank all guests for their continued support, and for believing in SickKids. www.sickkidsfoundation.com

9. LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. G. Zachos, Dr. N. Khatri, Vivian Risi, Rona Maynard, Tina Tehranchian, Erin Davis and Janine Purves 10b. Michael Luisi Couture eveningwear owned the runway at the MLC Fashion Show, which raised funds for the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wish Foundation of Canada

10a. Maurizio Bevilacqua, mayor of Vaughan; Michael Luisi and his wife, Connie Luisi, and daughters Gloria and Grace

10. MICHAEL LUISI COUTURE FASHION SHOW On Nov. 18, 2012, more than 400 people ďŹ lled Montecassino Banquet and Event Venue in Woodbridge for the Michael Luisi Fashion for a Cause on the Runway. Haute couture, live music and refreshing fare made the joys of giving back even more enjoyable.

Hosted by Michael Luisi Couture, the event raised funds and awareness for the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wish Foundation of Cananda. www.michaelluisi.com

18 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

7. COVENANT HOUSE â&#x20AC;&#x153;SLEEP OUTâ&#x20AC;?

Dragonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Denâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arlene Dickinson, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke and other well-intentioned leaders slept out on the streets of downtown Toronto to raise awareness on homeless youth. The inaugural â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sleep Outâ&#x20AC;? raised $530,000 for kids at Covenant Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth shelter. www.covenanthouse.org

11. Supporter Amy Lapedus and Steve Roy, founder of the Mane Event

11. 15TH ANNUAL MANE EVENT Solo Bace Salon, April Maloney Salon, Lift Salon and Bob and Paige Salon hosted this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Annual Mane Event fundraiser.

Proceeds from hair care services, a rafďŹ&#x201A;e, silent auction and direct donations raised $32,000 for The Teresa Group, a community-based charitable organization serving children and their families affected

by HIV or AIDS. Steve Roy, founder of the Mane Event and stylist at Solo Bace Salon, explains that the well-being of innocent children fuels his passion for the cause. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for the kids,â&#x20AC;? he says. www.teresagroup.ca

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

19

ADVERTORIAL

EyesABOVE TORONTO

T

here’s more to Dr. Mark Fava than meets the eye. Educated in prestigious universities across Canada and taking the road less travelled to the U.S. to further pursue his passion for eye health, the born-andraised Vaughan native is now a leading authority in ophthalmology. And where better to cultivate his homegrown skills than the place where he first envisioned a future in medicine. “My roots are here,” explains Dr. Fava, who recently left Boston to debut an innovative, fullservice practice in Vaughan. “Eyes Above Toronto represents my homecoming.”

Introducing a new generation of eye care to the city, Eyes Above Toronto fuses a patient-driven approach with state-of-the-art procedures. Fitted with the most advanced diagnostic equipment and medical technologies to treat the tertiary stage of eye disease, the clinic welcomes patients with friendly staff members and a warm, comforting environment. Among its star technologies is the iLASIK platform, a revolutionary bladeless procedure in laser vision correction that reshapes the cornea to correct your vision. Safe and painless, the sophisticated procedure is also efficient, requiring about 10 minutes per eye and one weekend of recovery time. “We’re giving patients not just the freedom from glasses, but the ability to see the world,” says Dr. Fava, who coedited Cornea and Refractive Atlas of Clinical Wisdom (2011), a medical book that shares invaluable clinical experience

20 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

from authoritative voices in cornea and refractive surgery. “It’s quite an amazing experience to wake up in the morning and not scramble to find your glasses because you can now see.”

Relying on his compassion as much as his skill, Dr. Fava builds a safe, trustworthy experience for every patient that walks through his door. “I know how nervous you can get because I’ve experienced iLASIK myself, so I make sure that patients know exactly what to expect. Communication is key — I talk my patients through the entire process and explain exactly what I’m doing and how I’m going to do it. In the end, most patients feel quite comfortable,” says Dr. Fava, who offers his patients his personal phone number so that they can reach him at any time.

‘‘

WE’RE GIVING PATIENTS NOT JUST THE FREEDOM FROM GLASSES, BUT THE ABILITY TO SEE THE WORLD

‘‘

After years of study abroad, Dr. Mark Fava is back to deliver optimal eye health care in his hometown of Vaughan

While iLASIK has the aptitude to take your vision to new heights, the ophthalmologist carefully examines each patient interested in iLASIK to determine whether or not he or she is the right candidate for the procedure.

Dr. Fava then customizes patient care using wave scan technology, tending to every step of the process himself. “You’re not meeting me the day of your surgery,” he explains. “Your evaluations are with me, your surgery is with me, and your post-operation visits are with me. And it’s all done at one location,” says Dr. Fava, who travels yearly to northern Ontario

Mark Fava, MD, FRCSC, is the founder of Eyes Above Toronto in Vaughan

vision Dr. Fava takes with to new heights logies in no advanced tech vironment en a comfortable Dr. Fava co-edited Cornea and Refractive Atlas of Clinical Wisdom, a medical book that explores cornea and refractive surgery

to provide treatments in areas where ophthalmology services are scarce.

After earning a bachelor of science from McMaster University, a medical degree from the University of Western Ontario and undergoing ophthalmology training at Queen’s University, Dr. Fava was awarded with the prestigious E.A. Baker Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness fellowship through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. The fellowship, which provided Dr. Fava with the rare opportunity to continue and expand his training in cornea, refractive surgery and external disease, sets him apart from the rest.

“Patients come back to me with such a new view on life; the biggest compliment is when they ask me to take care of their loved ones — the most important people in their lives.” www.eyesabovetoronto.ca 955 Major Mackenzie Drive West, Suite 410 Vaughan, Ont. (905) 553-1404 www.citylifemagazine.ca

SMILE MAKEOVER The best investment you’ll ever make

Zaher had many worn down, broken and missing teeth. He was very unhappy with the way his teeth looked, and was having trouble eating.

Dr. Sclodnick restored Zaher’s smile with a combination of fillings, fixed and removable teeth.

With his teeth restored and his bite corrected, Zaher looks better, feels better and eats more comfortably.

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Dec/Jan 2012/13

21

ADVERTORIAL

5

QUESTIONS MORTGAGE BORROWERS SHOULD ASK

BUT OFTEN DON’T Written By Cristina Piccirillo

Cristina Piccirillo, mortgage broker with Dominion Lending Centres

1 If I have mortgage default insurance do I also need mortgage life insurance?

Yes. Mortgage life insurance is a life insurance policy on a homeowner, which will allow your family or dependants to pay off the mortgage on the home should something tragic happen to you.

Mortgage default insurance is something lenders require you to purchase to cover their own assets if you have less than a 20 per cent down payment. Mortgage life insurance is meant to protect the family of a homeowner and not the mortgage lender.

2 What steps can I take to maximize my mortgage payments and own my home sooner?

There are many ways to pay down your mortgage sooner that could save you thousands of dollars in interest payments throughout the term of your mortgage. Most mortgage products, for

22 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

instance, include prepayment privileges that enable you to pay up to 20 per cent of the principal (the true value of your mortgage minus the interest payments) per calendar year. This will also help reduce your amortization period (the length of your mortgage). Another way to reduce the time it takes to pay off your mortgage involves changing the way you make your payments by opting for accelerated biweekly mortgage payments, which will not only help you pay off your mortgage more quickly but will also save you a significant amount of money over the term of your mortgage.

Visit me to find out which strategy suits your specific needs.

3 What mortgage term is best for me?

Selecting the mortgage term that’s right for you can be a challenging proposition for even the savviest of homebuyers.

If paying your mortgage each month places you close to the financial edge of your comfort zone, you may want to opt for a longer mortgage term, such as 5 or 10 years, so that you can ensure that you’ll be able to afford your mortgage payments should interest rates increase.

By the end of a 5- or 10-year mortgage term, most buyers are in a better financial situation, have a lower outstanding principal balance and, should interest rates have risen throughout the course of your term, you’ll be able to afford higher mortgage payments.

4 If I want to move before my mortgage term is up, what are my options?

The answer to this question often depends on your specific lender and what type of mortgage you have. While fixed mortgages are often portable, variable mortgages are not. Some lenders allow you to port your mortgage, but your sale and purchase have to happen on the same day, while others offer extended periods.

As long as there’s not too much time between the sale of your existing home and the purchase of the new home, as a rule of thumb most lenders will allow you to port the mortgage. In other words, you keep your existing mortgage and add the extra funds you need to buy the new house on top of it. The interest rate is a blend between your existing mortgage rate and the current rate at the time you require the extra money.

5 How do I ensure I get the best mortgage product and rate upon renewal at the end of my term?

The best way to ensure you receive the best mortgage product and rate at renewal is to enlist your mortgage broker once again to get the lenders competing for your business just like they did when you negotiated your last mortgage. A lot can change over a single mortgage term, and you can miss out on a lot of savings and options if you simply sign a renewal with your existing lender without consulting your mortgage broker. www.cristinapiccirillo.ca Visit Cristina Piccirillo at Dominion Lending Centres’ new location: 281 Woodbridge Ave., Unit 28 Woodbridge, Ont. 905.605.5363 / cpiccirillo@dominionlending.ca www.citylifemagazine.ca

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23

IT’S A

L

VAUGHANDERFUL IFE THERE’S NO NEED TO HIBERNATE — OODLES OF WINTER ACTIVITIES ARE CALLING YOUR NAME, AND THEY’RE ALL JUST AROUND THE BEND :ULWWHQ %\ $PDQGD 6WRUH\

Black Creek Pioneer Village Step back in time and discover the rustic simplicity of a pioneer Christmas. Black Creek Pioneer Village invites you to celebrate with traditional candlelit dinners, Victorian-style ballroom dances, taffy pulls and more. www.blackcreek.ca

Uplands Ski Centre Hit the Alps — without leaving town! Uplands Ski Centre, Vaughan’s hidden winter wonderland, gives families a safe environment to make a day of dashing through the snow.

www.uplandsgolfandski.com Supervised Outdoor Skating Rinks It’s like a scene from The Bishop’s Wife: skates laced, scarf wrapped and hands clasped to your significant other’s. Give your holiday a playful spin by hitting the ice at Nathan Phillips Square or Woodbridge’s Chancellor Park. www.toronto.ca

Tobogganing Hills Neither children nor grown-ups can let the wintry weather slip by without flying down a snow-frosted hill, laughing all the way. Haul your sled to the Boyd Conservation Area for a day of fun in the flurries. www.trca.on.ca

Winterlicious, Jan. 25–Feb. 7, 2013 The fun doesn’t stop at the end of December — this annual event keeps the snowball rolling with its focus on Toronto’s local restaurants. After your holiday turkey, be sure to leave room for Winterlicious! www.toronto.ca

Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market, Nov. 30–Dec. 16, 2012 Rustic romance, homemade goodies and holiday cheer can all be discovered at the Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market, inspired by the Old World and set in the city’s historic Distillery District.

www.torontochristmasmarket.com The Nutcracker at the National Ballet of Canada Dec. 19, 2012–Jan. 5, 2013 Bedazzling costumes, a twinkling stage and the whimsical movement of dancers’ legs — this refreshing rendition of The Nutcracker will whisk you off your feet and into the holiday spirit. www.national.ballet.ca

24 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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25

ADVERTORIAL

Value

AND GRANDEUR The Grand Palace brings affordable luxury to Richmond Hill

A

new standard of grandeur is coming to Richmond Hill, and its name is Grand Palace Condominiums. While its lavish amenities and stunning edifice exudes opulence of the highest order, this palace isn’t reserved for royalty. Its project leads, Stefano Guizzetti, Jack Scivoletto and Albert Gasparro, share a spectacular vision for this city on the rise, and it’s one that doesn’t cost a king’s ransom.

With a name like Grand Palace, thoughts of unbridled luxury accessible only to the city’s elite may parade by one’s mind. But the Guizzetti Corporation team puts a halt to such processions.

“It’s luxurious, but it’s affordable luxury,” says Scivoletto, vice-president

26 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

The three pillars of Guizzetti Corporation’s Grand Palace Condominiums: Partner and director Albert Gasparro, president Stefano Guizzetti and vice-president Jack Scivoletto

of Guizzetti Corporation. “We’re trying to update the city’s esthetic; to bring it up to the class it deserves.” The plan is to reach beyond the now customary fare of condo living that’s springing up across the GTA, to accent Richmond Hill’s skyline with progressive style and to create a community that caters to and complements modern lifestyles, all starting from the low $300,000s.

Designed by renowned architectural firm Hariri Pontarini Architects, which has worked on other notable landmarks such as York University’s Schulich School of Business, Grand Palace’s three exquisite glass towers are fashioned with contemporary design unique within the city. Thanks to soaring nine-foot ceilings and stylish glass walls, which

both come standard in each of the 524 units, living spaces are bathed in natural light. Sleek fixtures and energy-efficient appliances including Fisher & Paykel refrigerators and Whirlpool stainlesssteel dishwashers, ovens, microwaves and full-sized stacked washers and dryers enhance the open-concept suites.

Granite countertops and premium porcelain tiles are also standards, further adding to the prestige.

For Scivoletto, a 30-year veteran in construction and development, Grand Palace’s in-suite climate control is a premium feature not to be overlooked.

In many condominiums, the building’s management often controls heating and air conditioning, leaving residents at the mercy of the condo corporation. www.citylifemagazine.ca

At Grand Palace, however, each unit has been sub-metred, placing climate control back in the hands of residents. “You control the temperature of your home,” Scivoletto says. “It not only adds to the comfort of condo living, but it’s also a great way to help residences manage excessive utility costs.”

While the in-suite luxuries abound, Grand Palace is more than just a place to lay your head — it’s a hub that accommodates all facets of life.

Commercial and retail spaces make up the base of the towers, placing services immediately, and literally, at residents’ feet. Conference centres, party rooms, outdoor terraces, 24-hour concierge service and guest suites are available for both business and pleasure, and a tranquil winter garden is open for peaceful strolls year round. But the pièce de résistance is the Grand Spa. “We wanted the spa to be more than a typical pool and gym,” says Scivoletto as he outlines the fitness studio, yoga studio, sauna, pool, whirlpool and lounge it houses. “It really adds a resort feel.”

It’s a significant and welcomed feature, one that places Grand Palace head and shoulders above the competition.

“We strive to be the best at what we do,” says Guizzetti, president of Guizzetti Corporation. “We wouldn’t be happy with a mediocre project. It had to be top-notch.” Guizzetti’s father, Giovanni, was a key figure in shaping Richmond Hill and the Yonge Street Corridor. It’s a city Guizzetti still calls home and one he hopes to influence with the same respect www.citylifemagazine.ca

‘‘

WE TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY WE WANT TO BE TREATED. AND THAT’S REFLECTED IN OUR PROJECT

‘‘

PHOTO BY JESSE MILNS

Grand Palace’s three15-storey glass towers accent the Richmond Hill skyline, while its Grand Spa creates a resort-style atmosphere for residents to enjoy

— Stefano Guizzetti and honesty as the family patriarch.

“We treat people the way we want to be treated,” adds Guizzetti, who’s worked in land development for over 20 years.

“And that’s reflected in our project.”

To mark their shared commitment to Grand Palace, each partner also bought his own unit — an unflinching and automatic reaction, Guizzetti explains.

“We wanted to back what we’re saying,” adds Gasparro, partner and director at Guizzetti Corporation. “Owning a unit in the project that you’re building is just that.”

Client response has already demonstrated the demand for such age-old attitudes. All three partners note how many customers insist on dealing directly with specific team members because of the integrity and honesty they’re shown. It’s a fact

Scivoletto exemplifies by hurrying away to welcome entering clientele. “We understand that this is how customers expect to be treated,” Gasparro explains.

The 30-year financing veteran adds that this shared stance helps foster a strong working relationship between all three partners. “We complement each other, we all listen to each other and we solve problems very quickly, which is great for a project and great for our clients.”

While they take great pride in this landmark project, when it comes to charitable efforts, the partners remain reserved. Gasparro humbly outlines his work with Sunnybrook Hospital, to which he donated over $1 million, and the Yellow Brick House, a shelter for abused women and children. Philanthropy, he says, is a natural extension of being a responsible corporate citizen and a necessary means for helping crucial organizations operate. “It’s our job to support and to provide the means to do what they need to do,” adds Gasparro, also a recipient of the Star of Solidarity from the Italian government.

“This in turn allows the community to grow.”

The GTA is budding with condo developments of all shapes and sizes, but few offer the range of amenities, luxuries and value of Grand Palace. Gasparro’s words sum up the impact Grand Palace will have on the city: “I think this project in Richmond Hill will be the benchmark for which all others will be measured.” www.grandpalace.ca www.guizzetti.com City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

27

Watch our interview with Rocco DiSpirito at www.citylifeTV.ca

Celebrity chef and author Rocco DiSpirito

ROCCO’ S ROAD A bittersweet journey of sugar, salami and why love is all you need when it comes to food

T

here’s a sizzle of spirit spilling through a Vaughan Chapters, and of its endless rows and stacked tables of literature, the open book is Rocco DiSpirito. He’s walking in brown leather shoes and fitted in an olive zip-up, weaving through a fidgeting crowd. A woman brazenly shouts out a dinner invitation to him, and he presses a mic to his mouth. “Buy a book or give me a hug,” he deadpans. A shameless grin spreads across her face as he wraps his arms around her. The audience inches close.

The American celebrity chef and bestselling author from New York City is in town to promote his latest cookbook, and while expounding the virtues of

28 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

www.citylifemagazine.ca

Makeup by Taylor Savage/judyinc.com

Written By Simona Panetta / Photography By Christoph Strube

healthy food, he’s unabashed when confessing an erstwhile sweet tooth for saccharine cinnamon rolls. “I had an addiction to Cinnabon — it was harder to break than my crystal meth habit,” he jokes, the crowd doubling over in a fit of laughter. Continuing to quip and cajole and lightheartedly lecture on Japanese kale and kamut, he concludes his visit with personalized autographs and photos that stream through the Twitterverse.

‘‘

WHEN YOU HAVE TO BE YOURSELF ON TV, THE ANXIETY OF WORRYING WHETHER THAT SELF IS THE SELF EVERYONE WILL LIKE JUST GETS TO YOU

‘‘

However comfortable he appears to be in his own skin, DiSpirito surprisingly had difficulties achieving a level of assuredness that leaves audiences enraptured.

A few meals before, at Alimento Fine Food Emporium in Toronto, he’s sipping on espresso at a table tucked away from the lunch crowd. Vividly recalling his early days, the cordon bleu cook, food show host and former culinary judge was once gripped by self-consciousness. “I have to tell you of the days I was frightened over my own shadow. I used to practise Today segments in the private dining area of my restaurant: a host would play Matt Lauer and a hostess would play Katie www.citylifemagazine.ca

Couric. When you have to be yourself on TV, the anxiety of worrying whether that self is the self everyone will like just gets to you.” He moderates the disclosure with a bon mot, his modus operandi. “I take medication now, so it’s much better.” At 46, his charm braises in a drum of alacrity.

In 2005, a series of fortunate serendipities came together at an opportune time for DiSpirito. He had just left behind the tizzy timetables and sleepless nights of the restaurant scene, was starring in a reality television series and about to launch his first book.

Withdrawing from the pressure-cooked realities of a restaurateur allowed him the freedom to pursue the options swirling around him, leading him onto a road that reversed his self-neglectful lifestyle into one of self-renewal. “I was flirting with the idea of getting in shape and being athletic, but I never had time.

Then a couple of things happened: The Biggest Loser asked me to be on the show, my chiropractor friend asked me to help him with a fundraiser, and my doctor told me I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol and I had to go on three medications. This all happened within nine months, and everything was pointing me down the same path. I could see where I was headed.”

Swallowing the valuable lesson that diet and exercise really work, DiSpirito has since shed 30 pounds, eating the food he loves while training for rigorous triathlons, Iron Man competitions and hopping on his bike for morning rides up the Upper West Side. The ingredients that shaped a turning point in his life gave spirit to his Now Eat This! empire, a fusion of books, TV shows and an NYC food truck that reflect his personal search for better health. “I had to figure out what I was going to eat. Athletes drink a lot of shakes, eat whole wheat bread with peanut butter on it and lots of bars. And I thought, ‘I’m not going to eat this crap for the rest of my life! I’m going to figure out how to make my food taste good.’”

His latest book, Now Eat This! Italian: Favorite Dishes from the Real Mamas of Italy, reflects his sojourn to Southern Italy to whittle down North American waistlines. There, the New York Times bestselling author wandered into the

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29

kitchens of local cooks, absorbing the simplicity of age-old techniques and the principles of preparing Italian food.

“I had to go there and relearn and take those lessons to create dishes that were lower in fat and calories. I had to bring Italian food sensibilities into the Italian-American food culture.” The result is a cookbook of over 90 recipes — all under 350 calories.

Rocco DiSpirito keeps the spirit of good food alive with the latest instalment in his Now Eat This! empire

‘‘

YOU HAVE TO INVEST IN YOUR KIDS FROM WHEN THEY’RE YOUNG. NEVER FEED THEM THE BAD STUFF AND THEY’LL NEVER KNOW ABOUT IT

‘‘

30 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

Photo By Jonathan Pushnik

Born to Italian parents, DiSpirito admits that it took him three decades to embrace his roots, a critical impasse selfdescribed as the common awkwardness felt by first-generation kids. “You don’t know what culture you’re part of and it turns out you’re part of both,” says DiSpirito, who as a child would hide his lunches in the back of his cubbyhole at school. Weeks later he would find rotting salami sandwiches wrapped up in tea towels. “It took me 30 years to realize what a fool I was, because how lucky was I to have a mother making food for me every day?”

The Culinary Institute of America alumnus is the one now rolling up his sleeves — with a few tricks up his apron. Hosting his annual Christmas dinner last year for close to 60 family members, he blended hale and hearty www.citylifemagazine.ca

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The Red Snapper Puttanesca dish found in Rocco DiSpirito’s latest cookbook, Now Eat This! Italian: Favorite Dishes From the Real Mamas of Italy, is one of over 90 recipes under 350 calories

RED SNAPPER PUTTANESCA

INGREDIENTS 1

tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

6

cloves garlic, thinly sliced

32 2 12

grape tomatoes tablespoons nonpareil capers oil-cured black olives, pitted

6

tablespoons roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley

4

(5-ounce) boneless red snapper fillets salt freshly ground black pepper

1

lemon

METHOD 1 Preheat the oven to 325°F. 2 Heat the olive oil with the garlic in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet and cook until the garlic is golden brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook until they blister and soften, about 3 minutes. You can help the tomatoes pop by gently pressing them with a fork. Add the capers, olives and parsley to the sauce and bring to a simmer.

3 Season the snapper with salt and pepper and place on top of the tomato sauce skin-side up. Place in the oven and cook until the fillets are warmed through, about 5 minutes.

4 Remove the fillets and place them on 4 plates. Using the small holes of a box grater or a Microplane zester, grate ¼ tablespoon lemon zest and add it to the sauce, then cut the lemon in half and add a squeeze of juice. Spoon the sauce over the fish.

32 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

ingredients in a traditional menu of fish and turkey, unbeknownst to his loved ones. “I’m totally down with lying and deceiving, especially when it comes to making people healthy. They didn’t even know. I deceived them and manipulated them and they were happy about it.”

Through his weekly syndicated TV show Now Eat This! with Rocco DiSpirito, he sounds the alarm of skyrocketing child obesity rates, encouraging families to prepare home-cooked meals and teach their kids healthy eating habits to avoid a lifestyle of weight issues.

Growing up, DiSpirito paradoxically resented his parents for banning sugar at home. “We weren’t allowed to have soda and candy in my house; we used to fight with my father all the time.

But now I understand why he did that. You have to invest in your kids from when they’re young. Never feed them the bad stuff and they’ll never know about it.” DiSpirito now rolls out pasta with sprouted wheat flour, grows his own vegetables and herbs, and pickles what’s left of his homegrown tomatoes. “‘Restaurant’ was a bad word in my house.”

As for how to achieve what may seem gastronomically impossible, the gourmet DiSpirito lets us in on a chef ’s secret: seizing the possibility of the moment with raw emotion. “We are talking about people who are in touch with their passion place — your centre, your core, the place that aches,” he says, his fingers tapping the middle of his chest. “And you can taste it. Food absorbs and collects your feelings and your emotions and your energy and it’s reflected in the flavour.” www.roccodispirito.com www.citylifemagazine.ca

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Photo By David Whittaker

ADVERTORIAL all the while making you feel at home.

“It’s like eating dinner with your family on a Sunday afternoon,” explains Beccati, who entered the restaurant world at a tender age, peeling potatoes in a kitchen in Southern Italy. “This is a place where you can rediscover the taste of your mother’s cooking and the aroma of age-old recipes in a rural, familyoriented environment.”

The restaurant’s ample interior and separate event space affords corporate meetings, private events and cocktail parties the luxury of creating a personalized setting with an intimate surrounding that can accommodate up to 200 people.

With contemporary Italian music

market-style charcuterie are among the restaurant’s favoured features. A glance at the sunken dining area in the heart of Autostrada reveals a table for eight embraced by a mesh fabric scrim. The centrepiece showcases a sentimental print of Italian people gathered in tradition. Speeding along the wall of the main dining area is a customized Pirelli tire tread, achieved by individually placed, luminescent tiles that result in a stunning 3D feature. In 2011, Boutique Design Awards praised Autostrada with a Best Restaurant award.

Travelling across the culinary regions of Italy, the extensive lunch and dinner menu at Autostrada whets the palate with samplings from the salumi bar, tantalizing antipasti, wood-fired pizza and tried-and-true entrees brimming with extraordinary flavour. Think gnocchi gorgonzola, black linguini pasta, braised ribs, osso bucco and the ever-popular pappardelle al coniglio dish. “At Autostrada, our philosophy is to deliver an experience that never has to be forgiven,” says Beccati. And his delivery is spot-on.

Whether it’s a midday meal or evening affair, the establishment whisks you away to a far-off Italian experience,

flowing through the sound system, traditional recipes and a dedication to décor, the restaurant attracts an eclectic list of patrons, from businesspeople stopping by for lunch, to families out for dinner and suburban trendsetters stopping by for a glass of wine and appetizers. “The ambiance of the restaurant ignites a five-star urban experience in a price-conscious, suburban setting and a comfortable downtown vibe without the hustle and bustle and parking nightmare of the city,” says chef Beccati, who recently launched the Autostrada Wine and Dine Tour Dinner series. Guests can choose from one of three packages to indulge in a sensory experience of food and wine pairing, as well as limousine service. A connoisseur of lifestyle, Beccati’s Autostrada evokes an experience driven by passion, a devotion to family and a good time. a1autostrada.com 3255 Rutherford Road, Vaughan, Ont. To reserve your Wine and Dine package, please call (905) 760-8338

All ROADS LEAD TO

Autostrada W hen it comes to the palate of the experienced epicurean, ambiance is a distinct necessity. It involves an unabashed drive to beautiful design, a commitment to exceptional service and an irresistible selection of gastronomic creations. For the seasoned restaurateur, it’s a road map to raising the roof for those that crave the wow factor. “This is an urban restaurant for the suburban patron — someone searching for a downtown feel without leaving home,” says Luigi Beccati, owner of A1 Autostrada in Vaughan. “And it’s all about family and good food.”

A restaurateur and chef with over 20 years of experience, Beccati’s unending search to reinvent the dining experience has culminated in an innovative concept that began two and a half years ago.

Guests are immediately welcomed into a sublime setting that ingeniously simulates the adrenaline rush of riding in a supercar. Designed by the awardwinning firm II BY IV DESIGN, the spacious interior is awash with pops of colour, subway-inspired graphics, marble fixtures and a pizza oven blazing with a mosaic of red-orange tiles. A wine cellar and trendy prosciutto bar displaying

34 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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It pays to plan ahead – particularly if you’re a business owner looking to leave as much of your business success to your heirs as possible.

“If your business has investments, the amount your heirs ultimately receive after taxes may be less than you had expected,” said Jeff MacDonald of MK Total Wealth Management Group.

“Fortunately, there’s a cost-effective way to ensure that the fruits of your success go to your family, not to taxes,” he said.

The Challenge: Mark and Susan – both 55 – own a successful company that has corporate investments. They want to use these investments to supplement their retirement income, and then transfer the balance to their children. Yet, when the investments are liquidated, the funds will be taxable.

The Solution: Pay less tax and leave more with the corporate investment shelter strategy. Mark and Susan could continue to draw funds from the investments every year after they retire, and the excess investments could be used to fund a tax-exempt life insurance policy.

“On the death of the second parent, the policy would pay a tax-free death benefit, allowing some or all of the proceeds to be paid out tax free,” said Jeff.

The MK Total Wealth Management Group would be pleased to discuss how the corporate investment shelter strategy could work for your business.

MK Total Wealth Management Group TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice 4950 Yonge Street, Suite 1600, North York, ON M2N 6K1 T 416 279 1473 mktotalwealth@td.com www.mktotalwealth.com

All life insurance products and services are offered by life licensed agents of TD Waterhouse Insurance Services Inc., a member of TD Bank Financial Group. No one should act upon the examples/information without a thorough examination of the legal/tax situation with their own professional advisors, after the facts of the specific case are considered. MK Total Wealth Management is a part of TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice. MK Total Wealth Management consists of Jeff MacDonald, Investment Advisor and Peter Konidis, Investment Advisor. TD Waterhouse Private Investment Advice is a division of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. – Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund. ®/The TD logo and other trade-marks are the property of The Toronto-Dominion Bank or a wholly owned subsidiary, in Canada and/or other countries.

1209539MC

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SIGN ME UP Sweet, rustic touches like this ‘Noel’ sign will make your home merry and bright this season. www.potterybarn.com

Ï DANGLING DAZZLES Don these white coral Angelica earrings for an alluring look. www.vivre.com

SWEET & SWANKY Å This platter of luxury chocolates with Swarovski Elements will bewitch your guests. www.godiva.com

NAUGHTY

e c i N

Produced By Michelle Zerillo-Sosa Written By Amanda Storey

OR

Ï BOLD BAUBLES S

Cast a spell with these bold old and unexpected accessories from rom Anthropologie. www.anthropolgie.com

RUSTIC RETREAT Å Shop Pottery Barn’s Luxe Lodge collection to transform your space into a cosy winter escape. www.potterybarn.com

Holiday

for her s e h s Wi

Á HAND CANDY Find your fancy flair with this baroque-inspired Kotur box clutch. www.net-a-porter.com

Ï ALL THAT GLITTERS Be dynamic with this glittery jumper and all eyes will be on you this season. www.hm.com

SILVER BELLES Deck your halls with these sparkling, stylish adornments from Pottery Barn. www.potterybarn.com

36 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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ÏMARVELLOUS MONROE Dive into this stunning biography

by Taschen to explore the life of glamour icon Marilyn Monroe. www.vivre.com

STAGGERING STYLES Give the gift of class with this antique-like stag decanter. www.potterybarn.com

SOUNDS LIKE HEAVEN Little speaker, dynamite sound! The Braven speaker streams room-encompassing sound while still staying sleek. www.braven.com

NAUGHTY

Ï JA JAVA JOY When nestling up by W the fire, a bottle of Kahlúa coffee liqueur Ka will turn up the heat. wi www.kahlua.com ww

e c i N

OR

or h i m f s e ish Holiday W

LINKS OF DISTINCTION Å IIIIt’s all in the details — these Silver Aura cufflinks promise head-to-toe sophistication. www.vivre.com

PARTY HEARTY Á Between the candy canes and gingerbread houses, be sure to provide guests with a healthy alternative. Organic Select’s Holiday Party Mix is a nutritious snack that will leave guests jolly. Please inquire about this product at your local grocer. www.organicselect.ca

for kids s e h is Holiday W Ï BLOCK’EM SOCK’EM Inspired by Japanese Shinto Kumi-Ki puzzles, the Cubebot gives kids the perfect blend of thought and play. www.sharperimage.com

GIFTS OF HOPE Å By gifting a goat, you can bless an underprivileged family with the nourishment of milk. This holiday, present your loved ones with the lasting joy of making a difference. www.plancanada.ca

A VERY PEANUTS CHRISTMAS Å Your little readers will go nuts over this classic collection of holiday tales. www.wbshop.com

38 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

www.citylifemagazine.ca

DISCOVER DIS S COVER YOUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL THROUGH OFF MARTIAL ARTS ARTS. TH ROUGH THE STUDY YO

St di show that students enrolled in martial arts programs have Studies increased self-esteem and improved focus and concentration abilities in the classroom. With 40 years of martial arts instruction under its belt, Northern Karate Schools is the trusted choice for many men, women and children in the GTA. With 10 world-renowned locations, NKS offers award-winning programs taught by instructors with decades of experience.

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WWW.NORTHERNKARATE.COM 39 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

THE The Shoebox Project co-founders: Vanessa, Katy and Jessica Mulroney with Caroline Mulroney Lapham

SHOEBOXPROJECT

Thinking inside the box, four sisters-in-law have found a creative way to give back. How the Mulroney family is spreading joy with a simple gesture Written By Madeline Stephenson

W

hen the women and children at Red Door Family Shelter in Toronto awoke last Christmas morning to find nearly 200 shoeboxes stuffed with thoughtful presents from local women, they were shocked. “It’s a real gift to see that the community cares about them and cares about the crises they’re going through,” says Bernnitta Hawkins, Red Door’s executive director. What stemmed from a generous gesture has become a national initiative to spread joy over the holiday season to those who need it most. “It’s not a huge thing, but I do believe in it,” says Caroline Mulroney Lapham, co-founder of The Shoebox Project.

After a conversation in midNovember 2011, Mulroney Lapham was inspired to help her sister-in-law Jessica Mulroney extend her mother’s philanthropic mission to the streets of Toronto. “Her mother would put together shoeboxes filled with small items that women really enjoyed — little splurges — and she would ask her friends to do the same and deliver them all to a local shelter in Montreal. Jessica said she wanted to bring it here and I thought it’s such a nice idea.” So they banded together with fellow sisters-inlaw, Vanessa and Katy Mulroney, and sent an email out to family and friends inviting them to participate. “We were worried for a while that we wouldn’t even get 100 shoeboxes, and low and behold, we got almost 400 without any kind of marketing,” says Mulroney Lapham, who was delighted to be able to share the shoeboxes with other local shelters across the city.

This year, the response has been even greater. From gift certificates and luxury makeup products to hair accessories and

40 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

winter scarves, compassionate women have been packing boxes with love and bringing them to designated drop-off spots, where they will make their way to various shelters across the city. “A lot of these women have never had perfume or lotions that smell nice or fancy chocolates, so it really does make them smile and it also makes them feel like they’re not forgotten,” says Mulroney Lapham. “I think that people who are privileged in their lives, where they can give back and make a difference, they should try.”

In just one year, Mulroney Lapham and her sisters-in-law have developed a hands-on model that’s been adopted in six cities nationwide, including Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary and London.

“The big dream would be that women in shelters all across Canada would have shoeboxes to open on Christmas,” she says. www.shoeboxproject.com

Local drop-off locations include Royal LePage — Your Community Realty’s Vaughan and Richmond Hill offices (9411 Jane St. / 8854 Yonge St.). For content guidelines and additional drop-off spots across the city, visit www.shoeboxproject.com.

Deadline for drop-off is Dec. 17, 2012 www.citylifemagazine.ca

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JOY RIDES Winter is underway, and with it, those fluffy, fender-bender-causing flurries of calamity. While there’s no substitute for a level head and snow tires, this list of winter-ready autos can make life behind the wheel a little less frigid. So bring it on, Mother Nature — let it snow.

Written By Michael Hill

Infiniti JX

̷

Just because it’s like the Arctic tundra outside doesn’t mean luxury curls up to hibernate. The seven-seat Infiniti JX keeps the comforts roaring all winter with, among other things, three-zone climate control, leather seating and steering wheel, heated seats and a seveninch information display. Intelligent all-wheel drive (AWD) adjusts power and handling to combat erratic weather while Infiniti’s Safety Shield, Blind Spot Intervention and Backup Collision Intervention keep an eye on traffic.

Traction control and anti-lock brakes also come standard, and with this midsize luxury crossover’s remote starter, you’ll never have to sit shivering in the driveway. Starting from $44,900. www.infiniti.ca

̹

Jeep Wrangler

Be it a remote cabin or an annual icefishing trip, if you’re headed off the grid this winter there’s no more familiar off-roading face than the Jeep Wrangler.

With 260 lb-ft of torque pumping from the 3.6-L Pentastar V-6 engine, Jeep’s Command-Trac part-time four-wheeldrive feature, best-in-class ground clearance, roll mitigation and anti-lock brakes, the Wrangler confidently handles whatever frosty tantrum Mother Nature may throw. Starting from $21,195. www.jeep.ca

42 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

www.citylifemagazine.ca

Volvo XC60

̿

They get a bit of snow up in Scandinavia. So when the Swedes were producing the Volvo XC60, you know they put this compact crossover through the wringer. The T6 AWD version is ready to brave frosty conditions with its brawny 325 lb-ft of torque and options like heated seats, heated windshield washer nozzles, anti-lock brakes and traction control. Safety features — like City Safety, which monitors forward traffic and automatically brakes to avoid collisions, and pedestrian detection with full automatic braking — are also ideal for unpredictable roads.

Starting from $46,900. www.volvocars.com/ca

Subaru Impreza

̷

The daddy of all-season capability, the Subaru Impreza is an attention-grabber for car drivers wary of slick asphalt. Its low centre of gravity, rigid chassis and highly regarded symmetrical (AWD) system keep this winter warrior balanced and planted. Factor in anti-lock brakes, more airbags than a hot air balloon festival and its Top Safety Pick status from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and you can breathe easy when faced with a wall of white. Starting from $19,995. www.subaru.ca

̹

Audi A4

If you like to keep it classy even on the chilliest of days, the Audi A4 quattro will be a warm welcome. Audi’s quattro AWD system is heralded as one of the finest in the world, and when winter’s at its worst, you’ll be glad to have its grip. Coupled with heated seats as a standard and the 258 lb-ft of torque from the A4’s 2-Litre engine, you’ll arrive in road-salt-stained style, warm bottom and all. Starting from $39,700. www.audi.ca

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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2

1

CHANGING

Spot s

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1. Zippers, studs and houndstooth coats make the coldest winter months worth it. www.soakedinluxury.com 2. This beaded miniskirt gives Tinseltown new meaning. An unexpected biker jacket kicks this look into full gear. www.zara.com 3. Shake up the classic holiday ensemble by sporting a sequined, embroidered cardigan over an oriental print chiffon blouse. Slip into seamed jeans and go get your jollies. www.zara.com 4. Who said a leopard can’t change its spots? Prowl the party scene in a cocktail dress charged with an animal and floral print. www.basler-fashion.com 5. For the runway rock stars who dare to go there, this bad-to-the-herringbone blazer with tuxedo-collar sweater layered over a twill shirt is your next big hit. www.zara.com

Say goodbye to winter blues with a refreshing wave of seasonal textures and hues :ULWWHQ %\ 0DGHOLQH 6WHSKHQVRQ

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hether you’re standing under the mistletoe or the office glow, these outfits will ensure you’re always in the spotlight. One of the perks to imperfect weather is the plush, patterned fashion that tends to trend this time of the year. Add a little spice to your wardrobe with these haute holiday pieces.

There are no boundaries you can’t break in this limited-edition, checked, double-breasted suit.

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This tailored look that’s soft around the edges will warm up the coolest crowds. www.zegna.com

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44 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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A Night to Remember LOCAL FIGURES REVEAL THEIR FAVOURITE NEW YEAR’S EVE MEMORIES Interviews By Madeline Stephenson

BRAD SMITH Bachelor Canada, Citytv

‘‘I

smashed sweet potatoes. We also had about seven bottles of wine.

Whenever I go back to Montreal I love doing the same thing, which is just trying to get my entire family under one roof because we’re just absolute crazies! This year I think Bianka and I are actually going to be in Mississauga for New Year’s.

We’re going to my parent’s from December 21st to the 25th and then we’ll head to her parent’s for Christmas night probably through to New Year’s.”

Photo By Citytv

started a tradition about five years ago where I would always go back home to my parent’s place in Montreal for New Year’s Eve and cook them dinner.

So every year since then I’ve spent it subsequently with my brother, my sister and the kids, and we’d just have everybody over to celebrate.

The most memorable one was 2009. I made six pounds of mussels in a spicy tomato marinara sauce, Swiss chard and collard greens with diced bacon, and goat cheese

MATTHEW JOCELYN Artistic and General Director of Canadian Stage

46 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

on Cap Corse and knock on the door.

The sister on service aff rightedly lets me in and miraculously shows me to a little cell in an abandoned wing. There is a shower at the end of the hall. I have a piece of Camembert, a bit of bread and some pâté from my bag. By 9 p.m. I am asleep. At 6 a.m. I awake and walk down to the beach to watch the sun rise over the Mediterranean. It is Jan. 1, 1981. A new life begins.”

Photo By V. Tony Hauser

‘‘W

inter 1980: Break after my first term at Oxford. I am at the tail end of a two-week trip hitchhiking around Corsica with a Canadian friend, except that he has just flown off to Geneva for a conference about saving the whales. Advice: while Corsica is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful islands in the world, do not plan a hitchhiking trip there. We had been reduced to waving cars down, had been escorted by police out of town(s); we had scavenged, camped by force and were very poorly equipped — I had not felt a trickle of hot water in 10 days.

Dec. 31, 6 p.m.: I walk up the steps of the Benedictine Convent in Erbalunga

Matthew Jocelyn will be directing a new production of THIS by Canadian playwright Melissa Jane Gibson, which will run from March 18 to April 13, 2013. www.citylifemagazine.ca

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TONY ASPLER Wine Expert

Photo By Steven Elphick

‘‘M

y most memorable New Year’s Eve was Dec. 31, 1996. My partner Deborah and I were celebrating it at The Metropolitan Hotel in downtown Toronto. I was in a dinner jacket and she wore a gown. The evening, for some reason, was excruciatingly boring. To compensate, I had been consuming copious quantities of Pol Roger champagne just to make it until midnight when I decided to liven

up the occasion by proposing to Deborah (it had been my intention to ask her to marry me in the new year). So, in the middle of the dining room, I got down on one knee and popped the question. The room went nuts and suddenly the party came alive and everybody came over to congratulate us. I kid her now that as a result of the champagne I had slid off the chair and said, ‘Will you carry me?’ She heard, ‘Will you marry me?’”

AINSLEY KERR

‘‘S

ince my sister and I have left the nest and she has moved across the pond to London, we rarely get a chance to spend time together during the holidays with our immediate family.

Two years ago we were just so lucky.

We all happened to be in town, so my parents booked a reservation at Scaramouche Restaurant in Yorkville, which I have had fond memories of ever since I was a little girl. The atmosphere at Scaramouche is very

special. There are no hats or whistles, just patrons who love being there, particularly at this time of year. It also offers the most incredible view of our city as it is perched high on a hill. My dad brought out some extra special wines because we were also celebrating the news that my sister was expecting! It was the last time it would just be the five of us and we were so excited to celebrate the arrival of our plus one in the new year.”

MAURIZIO BEVILACQUA Mayor of Vaughan

Photo Courtesy of the City of Vaughan

‘‘W

48 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

here does one start! I have always viewed New Year’s Eve as a time to reflect upon the past year with gratitude and to look ahead with much hope and optimism. There were many wonderful New Year’s I spent with family and friends — in New York City, welcoming the new millennium in Ottawa, awaiting the birth of my first child born on Jan. 4th — but a very memorable one I want to share happened in 1970. In 1966, my father Azeglio left his homeland Italy to seek greater opportunities in a beautiful country called Canada. His dream was to build a brighter future for his family. He made the choice and left my mother Filomena, my brother Emidio,

Photo By Ryan Emberley

Co-chair of Boobyball Fundraiser

my newborn sister Anna and myself behind, seeking a better tomorrow for us all. We didn’t see my father for four years while he worked as a labourer and later as a small businessman in North York. I was 10 years old when I finally saw my father and we all truly enjoyed our first New Year’s Eve in Canada as a reunited family. That night, the Asti Spumante tasted particularly sweet as we rejoiced in all of our blessings. A new country, a new home and, yes, a new beginning, just like a New Year’s Eve. The choice my father made was the right one. I have been able to enjoy every New Year’s Eve since then and have had much to celebrate. Salute! Cheers to a great 2013!” www.citylifemagazine.ca

www.citylifemagazine.ca

City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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BIRTHDAY FREEBIES City Life Magazine gives you 10 good reasons not to cry on your birthday.

We’ve scoured the GTA and uncovered free merchandise, food and fun for you to save hundreds of dollars on the one day you can Written By Madeline Stephenson

1. COMPLIMENTS OF THE CHEF For those who think there’s no such thing as a free lunch, feast your eyes on Tucker’s Marketplace’s free birthday buffet. Located in Mississauga, Burlington and Etobicoke, this culinary hot spot will make you salivate on that special day with scratch-made soup, hand-carved roast beef and crème caramel. Just show some proof and enjoy the bread pudding!

Value is $18.99 on weekdays and $22.99 on weekends. www.tuckers.ca

1 2 Photo By Martin Lehmann / Shutterstock.com

3

2. IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW This is the ideal deal for the good friend who offers to treat their birthday buddy. The rules are simple: simply pick up the celebratory chum, take them to the nearest Casey’s restaurant, order yourself a delicious entrée (min. $14.99) with a drink and let Casey’s cover the cost of your ID-carrying comrade.

Maximum Value is $14.99. www.caseysbarandgrill.com 3. A CHEAP LAUGH Do you remember the last time you had a free laugh? Neither do we, but we spoke to Yuk Yuk’s Vaughan and apparently a good guffaw doesn’t cost a thing if it’s the week of your birthday. To capitalize on this stand-up deal, make a reservation online in advance and include a note in the comments section that you’d like to take advantage of the birthday offer. You should receive an email confirmation shortly.

Value is $22 on Friday and Saturday nights with the exception of special shows. www.yukyuks.com 4. HOLE-IN-ONE What A Bagel gives you 12 yummy reasons to enjoy turning a year older. On that special day, get a dozen freshly baked bagels to share with family and friends. Most locations we checked across the GTA will honour this deal but, to be sure, call your desi desired spot in advance. To squeeze the most out of this freebie, simp simply freeze your leftovers and snack away on a rainy day.

Valued at $6. www.whatabagel.com

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5. F FREE TIME Chiv Chivalry might be dead most days of the year, but at Medieval Tim courtly manners come to life for birthday-celebrating Times gue guests.

Those who think ahead and sign up for the Birthday Fell Fellowship program online will receive a coupon code and inst instructions for free admission. Just bring a paying friend and your dinn and tournament show will be on the castle. dinner Value at $63.95. www.medievaltimes.com Valued 6. A GOOD BUZZ With dozens of locations across the GTA you’re bound to pass by Wit aB Boston Pizza on your birthday. If you’re not already stuffed, let’s hop hope you signed up for the BP Buzz email club online so you can red redeem your free b-day pasta or dessert.

Maxi Maximum Value is $16.99. www.bostonpizza.com

6 50 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

7. BIRTHDAY B SUIT This century-old business hasn’t lost its courteous customs. If you Thi tak take a minute to become a member online, Parkers Dry Cleaners will not only instantly send you a $10 free dry cleaning coupon for signing up, it will also send you another $10 on your birthday.

Do Don’t get caught in your birthday suit, with six locations across Tor Toronto, your favourite ensemble will be perfectly pressed and pol polished. www.parkersdrycleaners.com www.citylifemagazine.ca

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8. GRAND SLAM If you’re going for a birthday joy ride and happen to pass a Denny’s, step on the break fast. It doesn’t get better than piping hot buttermilk pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns for #free. This is the glory of starting your b-day off with a bang at Denny’s. With locations in Brampton, Mississauga and Oakville, there’s no excuse to miss out on a gratis Grand Slam breakfast. While it’s not mandatory, you may want to splurge on a cup of Joe to get you through the chaos that awaits.

Valued at $9.69. www.dennys.ca 9. GET THE SCOOP Marble Slab Creamery sweetens the deal with a free medium vanilla waffle cone and one “mixin” when you sign up for Marble Mail (which takes about 20 seconds). You also get the option to enter the names and birthdays of four family members so they can also receive free birthday surprises!

The joys of giving are oh-so saccharine. www.marbleslab.ca 10. CHERRY ON TOP Who needs cake when you can get a sugar rush from Sephora? Beauty Insider members get a special b-day kick-back that repairs, nourishes and plumps your mistletoe mechanism. There’s no sign-up fee, so the Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini Lip Duo is complimentary. While the actual value is unknown since the mini versions are custom-designed for this occasion, we can tell you that the regular sized sticks sell for $26 each. www.sephora.com

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

51

Jing le BELLE

1

Tease the season for amped-up eyes and angelic complexions. Makeup artist Rita Stirpe shows us how.

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1. Express your eyes with a seductive stare using Infallible Never Fail Eyeliner by Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;OrĂŠal 2. Kiss your cupidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bow with a stroke of MACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Subculture lip liner 3. Blend Lise Watierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Couleur Folle Mineral Loose Powder Eyeshadow in Folie Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;or for a star-studded wink 4. Create a sultry smokescreen with the Black Pearl Eye Palette from Bobbi Brown 5. Be ready for the spotlight and the sun with Chantecailleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Protection Naturelle sunscreen face powder 6. Deborah Lippmannâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glitzy holiday polishes will nail down your 15 minutes of fame 7. BeneďŹ tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brow Zings kit is equipped with soft wax, setting powder and expert tools to deďŹ ne and ďŹ ne-tune your arches 8. Yves Saint Laurentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volume Effet Faux Cils Shocking Mascara gives a gaze thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as good as gold 9. Get in the nude with Bare Mineralsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Pretty Amazing lip glaze for a soft seasonal look 10. Tired? Try the Supernova Radiance Brightening Pen

by Fresh for a quick, luminous pick-me-up 11. Notes of Christmas rose and white hyacinth capture the magic of winter in Neiges Precious Shimmering Body Cream ParfumĂŠ by Lise Watier

10

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86 Rita Stirpe, makeup artist and host of Cosmetic Art on Rogers TV

www.makeupbyritastirpe.comm www.facebook.com/MakeupArtistryByRitaStirpe S @makeupartbyrita

52 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

53

Juliana, a fashion writer in Brazil

COMING

Coming

Home

Prashant, a co m consultant in Indputer ia

AUSTIN SIMMONS AND ANDREW AND VANOVER SCOUR THE WORLD TO FORGE MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS

54 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

‘‘

THROUGHOUT OUR EXPERIENCE, WE HAD 70 MEALS WITH PEOPLE WE HAD NEVER MET BEFORE. ALTHOUGH FOOD WAS AT THE CORE OF OUR PROJECT, IT WAS IN NO WAY WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT

‘‘

P

rashant worked as a computer consultant for a leading telecommunications company with networks across Europe and most of Asia. We ran into Prashant during an afternoon stroll in a busy city park in Mumbai. He spoke English fairly well, so we were able to engage him in conversation about a typical week in his life: 12-hour days, meagre earnings and a constant flow of people around him. He explained how he had been offered a job in Europe with better pay and fewer hours, but he had declined it simply because he couldn’t give up what he had here in his country. It occurred to us as we sat in that city park — with trash piled everywhere and a fountain in the middle of a garden constantly spurting oily black water — that Prashant was a living, breathing reminder of what home really is. We realized that home is more than beautiful landscapes, city attractions and social status, and it’s not where you lay your head down to sleep. This

became clear to us after a few minutes of talking to him.

We met Prashant during the course of our journey around the world, passing

through 19 countries, boarding over 20 planes, travelling over 60,000 miles to engage with 300 different strangers.

Throughout our experience, we had 70 meals with people we had never met before. Although food was at the core of our project, it was in no way what it was all about. The heart and soul of our search was an honest attempt to collide with the stories of people, with the belief that everyone has a tale to tell. We sought to engage with individuals from all walks of life and all types of locations on the map. Our mission was to love and serve the stranger, not because we wanted to change the world, but rather because we thought the smaller, more intentional encounters are the types of interactions that actually matter.

Prashant had the power to remind us that home is made up of the things that matter the most: relationships, family www.citylifemagazine.ca

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Mike, a sa from Sou ilor th Africa

Ghanem (right), from the United Arab Emirates

Ollie, owner of a restaurant in South Africa

and memories. This was at the root of Prashant’s joy, and it would resonate more clearly with us throughout our journey. We soon found that we longed to be in no other place than the tiny little city of Raleigh, North Carolina, our hometown. It didn’t really make sense. Here we were soaking up the dazzling landscapes of India, the South Island in New Zealand and beyond, and we couldn’t seem to get Raleigh out of our heads. Homesickness isn’t a

bad thing — it brings you back to what you hold close to your heart. Prashant loved his family. He loved his country.

And he wasn’t going anywhere. What a refreshing perspective: to be where you long to be. Prashant, and the many other people we met along the way, helped to shape our new definition of home.

FALL IN

AUSTIN SIMMONS AND ANDREW VANOVER GUEST TRAVEL EDITORS 50 Days 50 Meals was a simple idea born from a love for people, an ear for stories, an appetite for food and a desire for travel. Bloggers AUSTIN Andrew Vanover and Austin Simmons set out on a journey around the world earlier this year, with hopes to fill in the gaps of a socially disconnected world by connecting with strangers through meaningful interactions.

Based in North Carolina, Vanover, a filmmaker and photographer, and Simmons, a photographer ANDREW and designer, are now back home after their curious adventure, and hope that they can inspire others to engage in conversation, whether it’s sitting down for lunch with someone eating alone or talking to the bus driver on your way home. Vanover and Simmons are currently sifting through a massive collection of content, images and stories for an exhibit and documentary of the 50 Days 50 Meals project, which they plan to launch in 2013.

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

55

ICE ING ELVIS STOJKO ON LIFE IN MEXICO, GOING PRO AND HIS LAS VEGAS WEDDING VOWS :ULWWHQ %\ 0DGHOLQH 6WHSKHQVRQ

56 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

Seven-time Canadian figure skating champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion, Elvis Stojko

one bull’s-eye benchmark that stands out as his most memorable. “Oh my gosh,” he says, sweeping the corners of his mind to find the right feat. “Making the world team back in 1990 was huge because I was only 17 and I came out of nowhere,” he begins, segueing to the clean program he delivered at the Canadian championships that same year: “I’ll always remember that skate in Sudbury.” One stride at a time, he started seizing world titles and Olympic medals, breaking records in-between by landing the first-ever competition quaddouble and quad-triple combinations in ’91 and ’97. “It was crazy, it was just so intense and I just put it all on the line,” he says of the latter accolade, which he nailed at the sold-out Grand Prix finals in Hamilton. “I could have just went for the win because I was first after the short program, but I said, ‘no, let’s do this, let’s risk it all.’”

But the juggernaut’s adrenalinedrenched tone dilutes as he transitions to the bittersweet Olympic Games of Nagano ’98. “There’s some point in an athlete’s career where they have to go through something pretty traumatic along the way,” Stojko says of the severe groin injury that tested his mettle. He persisted despite the pain and found his silver lining with a second-place finish after a gutsy, near-flawless long program that commentator Scott Hamilton deemed “one quad from clean.” When he finally made it to the kiss-and-cry area, Stojko clenched his fists, squeezed his eyes shut and doubled over in anguish. “I am content with what I did,” he says, “to win it, yeah, that’s something that would have been nice but I know in my heart that if I wasn’t injured, that was an absolute possibility.”

Stojko’s best friend and martial arts coach, Glen Doyle, who worked www.citylifemagazine.ca

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E

lvis Stojko is peering out of his office window, directing his gaze towards Mexico’s shimmering Lake Chapala. Surrounded by lush Sierra Madre mountains in the town of Ajijic, Jalisco, the Canadianborn ice icon has found his home in a hacienda-style estate that’s more than 5,000 feet above sea level. “You pretty much see the sun every single day,” he says over the phone, revelling in the dry heat he’s become acclimatized to over the last 11 years. In the cottage country community of 15,000, Stojko has found the warmth and seclusion he’s always craved. “Living life here is very relaxed in a way,” says the three-time world figure skating champion, who savours the anonymity his celebrity rarely sanctioned on the streets of Toronto.

It’s been a decade since Stojko officially left the competitive realm, but as he reflects on his remarkable career and the personal and professional spin-offs it elicited, there’s a sense the word retire will never be in his lexicon.

The 40-year-old, whose blades first sliced the ice when he was four, captured Canadian audiences with his unconventional charisma and outspoken opinions, yet he can’t aim a dart at just

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58 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

This midair moment was captured by acclaimed figure skating photographer, the late Gerard Chataigneau

‘‘

I USED TO GET TEASED ALL THE TIME. YOU’RE ALWAYS GETTING PICKED ON BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT PLAYING HOCKEY

‘‘

with him during the pivotal ’90s, has witnessed the wunderkind’s wave of highs and lows. “To skate with a groin injury, that is the most painful, excruciating thing, and for him to do what he did on that leg? I just shake my head, it’s unbelievable,” says the man who Stojko credits as his secret weapon.

“He had that cerebral strength and focus that just pushed him through and it wasn’t inhuman but it was probably as close to an inhuman sense of strength that I’ve ever seen.” Limping to the podium to accept his medal, roaring fans brandished Canadian flags and lionized Elvis as king.

His resilient enamel can be traced back to the early years. Growing up as a male figure skater in the ’80s wasn’t easy for the Newmarket native who was raised in Richmond Hill. “I used to get teased all the time. You’re always getting picked on because you’re not playing hockey,” he says. That was until his high school classmates spotted him on TV and realized they were in the presence of a rising star, someone who had the capacity to become one of the most astonishing athletes in Canadian history. “You start because you want to do it, then later on you realize your coaches and the people working with you are like, ‘yeah, you’ve got talent,’ and you start improving and then you see yourself passing people and getting faster and faster, stronger and stronger, better and better and you realize, ‘you know what? This is a possibility.’” By the end of his senior year, his entire class surprised him by filling the stands at nationals in Sudbury.

“It was amazing,” he says, grateful that the sport has grown to better embrace both genders.

Stojko has always viewed success as a perpetual ring — an infinity with no finish line. “He’s not a stationary object, he has to be a rolling stone, he has to be in constant motion whether it’s mentally, physically or spiritually, that’s just the way he’s made,” says Doyle, Canadian kung-fu champion and founder of Doyle’s Martial Arts in Milton. Once his on-ice milestones were etched, Stojko began sharpening his singing, acting and, more recently, racing skills. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved anything with motors,” says Stojko, who heads from the rink straight

– Elvis Stojko to the track to practise almost every day. Applying no less pressure than any other enterprise he’s pursued, race-car driving is a passion he’s mastering at a fast pace and eventually plans to turn into a full-time career.

Switching gears, he gushes about his bride, Gladys Orozco, who ardently supports his endless endeavours. The pair locked eyes nearly four years ago at a competition in Orozco’s hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, where she’s become a household name for her status as a national figure skating champion. “I saw her and I was like, ‘I have to meet her,’” he says of the love-at-first-sight scenario. Later that day he traipsed up

to the Juliet balcony to find her again, but before he could, the statuesque brunette tapped him on the shoulder and ignited a conversation that led to dinner that night. “There was an instant connection.”

His spontaneous persona was in full swing when he popped the question a year later. “We were at home, already in bed, and he asked me, ‘Are you sleeping?’ and I said, ‘Almost, why, what’s up?’ and he said, ‘Will you marry me?’” recalls Orozco, noting it was 2 a.m. at the time. “It just happened.

That’s how Elvis is and I love it.” That weekend they jetted to Las Vegas and said “I do” in an intimate, impromptu, Stojko-style ceremony.

These days, in addition to the rays, Stojko is soaking up the opportunities that radiate from a post-Olympic existence. Travelling to Ontario this December to kick off a circuit of Stars on Ice shows featuring fellow Canadians Kurt Browning, Joannie Rochette, Jeff rey Buttle and Patrick Chan, he’ll be doing what Doyle says the boy wonder does best. “He was always proud that he got so many different types of people watching skating. He didn’t mention it a lot, but the fact that he was able to get somebody from a dance instructor to a construction worker to sit down and watch one of his programs, that’s his secret gold medal.” www.elvisstojko.net www.citylifemagazine.ca

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City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

59

OPINION

A GREEN Chris t mas PINE OR PLASTIC? THE CLASSIC

DREAMING OF

CHRISTMAS TREE DEBATE Written By Michael Hill

60 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

Pacific. The North Pole has moved its head office to Beijing.

But you already know this; it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Heck, most of the toys stashed high in Mommy and Daddy’s closet, hidden away from the prying eyes of snooping tots, rolled

‘‘

THE BIGGEST BENEFIT TO GETTING YOUR OWN REAL CHRISTMAS TREE IS THE FAMILY MEMORIES

‘‘

P

erhaps the decision between a real or fake Christmas tree was once a contentious matter for consumers. But today, it seems, the decision is becoming more and more clear-cut.

Faux fir is decking our halls.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2011 the fresh-cut Christmas tree industry reaped more than $51 million in sales. Not bad, especially considering over $28 million came from exports (Canada is a net exporter of Christmas trees, StatsCan notes). In 2010, however, the industry raked in $56.6 million — that’s a 9 per cent drop. In fact, there’s been a significant slide in real Christmas tree sales over the last decade: down 22 per cent since 2006 and nearly a third since 2001.

Artificial tree sales, on the other hand, continue to climb. Last year $47 million worth of fake Christmas trees were imported to Canada — more than double 2001’s figure — with the vast majority of those coming from China. Like virtually every other holiday hallmark, Canadian souvenir or bargain-priced paraphernalia that fetches our hard-earned cash, we’re importing Christmas from across the

– Jane Blenkarn off some far-off assembly line. And we’re OK with it. We’re fine with these lifeless simulacra — these signifiers of commercialization, the corporate pursuit to synthesize and commodify every heartfelt memory — twinkling in our living rooms. Artificial trees are cheap, require zero maintenance and

will be around longer than your wacky aunt’s fruitcake. From the sensibleconsumer standpoint, they’re plain economical. Swing on down to the local Big Box, snatch a prepackaged replica evergreen for the low, low price of fortynine ninety-five. Slap it together from the comforts of your Ikea-furnished living room. Disassemble when the festivities wind down and store away for next year. Rinse and repeat for years to come. Why bother with the mess and maintenance of a genuine Ontario pine? We’re busy, kind of lazy and have Christmas-themed cat videos to YouTube. It’s convenience versus tradition, ease versus nostalgia — decking the halls with boughs of holly is fading like an old Polaroid; homes are fashioned with more plastic than Joan Rivers’ face.

C’est la vie.

But fear not, dear holiday sentimentalist. All is not lost in Corporate Christmas Land. Memories of sleigh bells, walks in winter wonderlands, chestnuts, open fires and acts of roasting said nuts remain ripe for the making.

“You don’t create a memory by walking to the attic to get the Christmas tree down,” says Shirley Brennan, executive www.citylifemagazine.ca

director of the Christmas Tree Farmers we opt to replace these ageless, polymer relatively painless, as Brennan explains. of Ontario (CTFO). Christmas is pines, we know where we toss them: She recommends leaving it outdoors about bringing family together, and the dump. Where they’ll stay pretty until you’re ready to put it in water, for Brennan, there’s no better way than much forever. ensuring it stays fresh. Water it everyday through softwood. On tree farms across For Fred Somerville, president of and never let it dry out. If it does dry the province, families can peruse vast Somerville Nurseries, when it comes out, make several deep cuts in the bark fields of evergreens and pick a pine so to being green, real trees are the where water can reach. If your tree is perfect Chevy Chase would weep with environmental ornament. “Real trees are drinking — if water levels go down — envy. It’s an opportunity to bring the renewable, recyclable and 100 per cent you have a healthy tree. family together, to disconnect from the biodegradable,” he says, explaining how When the holidays are long past, digiverse for an afternoon, to experience tree farms are a source of oxygen, filter and you’ve snuck the lone slice of winter in all its frigid glory and to do the air, protect land from erosion and leftover pumpkin pie, and that last some serious chopping. Although, pre- offer homes for wildlife. Besides that, turkey sandwich is staring at you in cuts are available for those lacking the they create employment on the home all its mayonnaise-smothered glory, burly, lumberjack-like arms of a disposing of Old Prickly isn’t magazine writer. much of a hassle. For Vaughan Jane Blenkarn, president residents, Christmas trees are of Hockley Valley Tree Farm, picked up the weeks of Jan. 7 caters to these romanticisms and 14 by designated collection with tractor-drawn wagon rides, vehicles and brought to Miller fire pits and complimentary hot Waste System’s Bloomington chocolate for tree shoppers. She Compost Facility, where they echoes Brennan’s sentiments: will be composted — an added “The biggest benefit to getting bonus for the eco-conscious. your own real Christmas tree Trees over seven feet need to be is the family memories. Even if cut in half and placed curbside, it’s just a walk in the woods the in an easily accessible location family normally wouldn’t take (not hidden behind snow time to do.” Feel free to bring According to Statistics Canada, since 2001, real Christmas tree sales banks), no earlier than 6 p.m. the dog, she adds. Just be sure to have dropped nearly one third, while artificial tree sales have doubled the night before and no later keep Fido on a leash. than 7 a.m. collection day. All “It’s connected to building traditions, front and support Canadian business. tinsel, ornaments and tree stands must understanding the value of celebration, While real Christmas trees may be removed, as well. being together as a family — that whole seem like the obvious eco-conscious If you currently roll with an artificial process,” says Vaughan resident Rolando option, the matter isn’t so cut and dry. tree, chances are the debate is already Mastrantoni. Mastrantoni first bought According to a life cycle assessment wrapped up and waiting in a box a real Christmas tree after the birth by Montreal-based consulting firm downstairs. And that’s fine, I’m right of his daughter 12 years ago. Since Ellipsos Inc., considering an average there with you. Even if that tree is as then it’s become a part of his family’s lifespan of six years of use for an artificial soulless as a Michael Bay film there regular holiday routine. He describes tree, and that consumers travel roughly are plenty of good times to be had the connections made with both family five kilometres to purchase their natural decorating the plastic pine. Christmas and friends, singing carols, drinking hot tree, the real Christmas tree is the better oldies crooning through speakers, chocolate and picking a new ornament environmental choice. But consumers eggnog at hand, the family cosy and dry each year to commemorate the new tree. who need to travel more than 16 km — it’s still wholesome fun that would “It’s a beautiful thing, it really is. We from their home to buy a real tree would draw a “Bah, humbug” from Ebenezer. didn’t get that from just opening a box.” be better suited with an artificial tree.

But if nostalgic traditions dance Real Christmas trees are about more Artificial trees, after all, are reusable. like sugarplums inside your head, the than just winning some face time with The study recommends that consumers Canadian Christmas Tree Growers your smartphone-gripped kids, too. can lessen the environmental impact of Association has dubbed December 8 “When you go to a landfill and you see artificial trees by using them for 20-plus is National Christmas Tree Day “For an artificial tree there, it doesn’t break years. In the grand scheme of things, one day, one afternoon, go out, create down,” says Brennan. Yes, artificial trees however, the Ellipsos study notes the a memory,” encourages Brennan. “Your are not exactly eco-friendly. They’re environmental impact of either natural kids and grandkids are going to talk made in factories, most from polyvinyl or artificial is “negligible” compared to about it years later.” chloride — a fancy word for plastic — more damaging human activities, like Hitch up the one-horse open sleigh, loaded on massive container ships and driving cars. grab the family and make some memories ferried across the Pacific for sale here While real Christmas trees do Charlie Brown would be proud of. Just in the Great White North. And when require some upkeep, caring for them is hope it doesn’t rain, dear. www.citylifemagazine.ca

City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

61

Photo By Cabo Adventures

Writer Cassandra Tatone, left, takes the lead on a Camel and Outback Safari

BETWEEN THE

Photo By Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau

OCEAN SAND AND

THIRTY-SIX HOURS OF ADVENTURE, PAMPERING AND TEQUILA TASTING IN LOS CABOS Written By Cassandra Tatone

62 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

El Arco, Los Cabos’ famous arch

Fiesta Americana Grand SOMMA WineSpa

Photo By Fiesta Americana Grand

Mexico massage I receive after sipping the house special is unique to any other. The oils and aromatherapy being used, such as the ever-popular wine mud, have the essence and aroma of a Mediterranean vineyard.

I’m informed that these wine-based products consisting of pips and pulp benefit the body through antioxidants that are absorbed directly through the skin. This is my first time being exposed to what’s known as Vinotherapy, and I leave hoping it’s not my last.

Later, a tour of downtown San José del Cabo reveals a quiet, historic locale with a vibrant culture, sundry culinary scene and inspiring Spanish architecture. I roam the art district, which is entrenched in indigenous beauty, and discover a street lined with open doors that expose otherwise clandestine interiors bursting with innovative design. I end up at Don Sanchez Cantina restaurant to enjoy the delicious contemporary Baja fusion they’ve become known for. A combination of surf and turf, accompanied by live Mexican music and afterdinner salsa lessons carries me into the night.

With a destination as vibrant as Los Cabos, it’s impossible to point out all the treasures that exist between the vast ocean and sandy expanses, but if you take the time to explore, you might be amazed at what you’ll find. www.visitloscabos.travel

Photo By Don Sanchez

T

he morning sun begins its ascent, enticing a brilliant wash of new hues over the Pacific Ocean’s rising tide. To my left, a series of graceful white caps release as they kiss the shoreline. To my right, the endless desert expanse exhales with sublimity. The setting is Los Cabos, Mexico, but this isn’t any ordinary stroll along the beach. The once-in-a-lifetime view flashes into my frame from atop a camel’s back as he steadily meanders across a refined blanket of sand that glistens like silk.

This moving Baja experience is just one pinnacle of a multitiered outback and camel safari excursion conceived by Cabo Adventures. After saying goodbye to my new four-legged friend, I arrive at a local ranch to taste and savour delicious regional cuisine. From handmade tortillas to spicy salsas and beans, this culinary stop casts a spell on my palate. True to the flavours of Mexico, the stirring jaunt concludes on a spirited note with a tequila-tasting session. When I arrive back at the Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, I feel alive, accomplished and in awe of all I’ve seen.

My excitement is eclipsed by a state of unparalleled relaxation bestowed by the SOMMA WineSpa at the Fiesta Americana Grand Golf Resort. The

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63

Michael Snow challenges us with Transformer, one of 14 works in “Objects of Vision,” his solo exhibit at the AGO. Snow explains the objective of the collection — familial sculptures made over a 20-year period — as “how you, as a spectator, situate yourself”

THE

FROM PAINTING AND SCULPTURE WORKS TO PHOTOGRAPHY, FILMMAKING AND MUSIC, THE VENERATED ARTIST MICHAEL SNOW FALLS INTO A CATEGORY OF HIS OWN Interview By Simona Panetta

What inspired you to create the 14 works that constitute “Objects of Vision,” your exhibit on display at the AGO?

64 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

Photo By Michael Snow

I

t’s tough to keep up with Michael Snow. The 84-year-old juggernaut of art, who over the years has entranced the public imagination with such iconic works as the odyssey of grandiose geese in Flight Stop at the Eaton Centre, the sculptural gazers that toast the facade of the Rogers Centre in The Audience and the landmark film Wavelength, continues to provoke and stretch artistic paradigms in Canada and beyond. Unrelenting in his ability to transform and shape our visual perceptions of art, his current master strokes include “Objects of Vision,” an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), In This Way, a video installation featured in the National Gallery of Canada’s exhibition “Builders,” and a glowing canvas display that will climb its way up the Trump Tower in Toronto, illuminating a spectrum of light and Snow’s innovation and resilience. With works housed in prestigious galleries the world over, the thriving, decadeslong career of Snow is a portrait of his permanence. The pluralist sees beyond single artistic realms, comfortably drifting through mediums, flowing through time with experiential art as new and relevant today as if unveiled decades ago.

Flight Stop, 1979. Sixty suspended fibre-glass Canada geese forms surfaced with tinted black and white photographs. 3200 x 2000 x 1600 cm.

Collection of the Eaton Centre, Toronto

It’s an assembling of works from various periods. I won the Gershon Iskowitz Prize, and one part of it is that you can have an exhibition at the AGO. And for many years I’d been thinking about attempting to bring together these separate sculptures that had been made at different times. The Gershon Iskowitz Prize was an opportunity to finally bring them all together and see what they kind of said to each other.

Explain the interactive approach you apply to your works.

A sculpture is the art of an object. One of

the things that you consider is how the object that you’re making is going to be seen, and by the term “objects of vision,” I meant that the works, each of them in their own way, guide the spectator around them, or in looking at them, and sometimes in a fairly simple way. There’s the piece called Transformer, which is a suspended tree actually sharpened at one end. It’s a kind of horizontal thing, and it guides you in looking at it that way. The way sculpture is presented, whether it’s suspended or whether it’s on the floor is all part of what’s interesting about it. For example, Abitibi was made with two sheets of varnished plywood bolted together and between the two of them a grey epoxy resin. When it congealed, it made the whole thing stand up vertically.

So, the process that made the thing stand there, it’s like a kind of a vein, but the veining is around the edges rather than on the surface. Part of the interest in the piece is how and what was done to make it stand up. It’s much more interesting to see it rather than hear me talk about it: they all involve many different ways of perceiving, like the piece called Blind, which is four eight-foot-by-eightfoot rectangles of different weights of screening, or meshes, that when looked through — wherever you look, from this side or that side or through two or three of them — and if you move, you see it differently. It’s very involved, and the very abilities of it are built-in. But www.citylifemagazine.ca

Photo Courtesy of the AGO

TRANSFORMER

it is part of how you, as a spectator, situate yourself.

Quits, 1960, wood, paint, 240.0 x 40.8 x 92.0 cm.

AGO, gift of Michael Snow, Toronto, 2001

Art is often a reflection or commentary of the times. What are some significant moments that have influenced or inspired your work?

It’s really hard to sum that up because I’ve been doing what I do, whatever it is, for quite a long time, and I can’t sort of isolate any kind of individual stimulus of any kind, other than getting started and wanting to try to make art.

© Michael Snow 2012

And you had no experience whatsoever?

No, I hadn’t even really had any interest in it — it just turned up. How can I make this long story short? I had an exhibition of drawings, my first exhibition, and this man [George Dunning, who animated and directed the 1968 Beatles film Yellow Submarine] saw it, and phoned me up and said that he liked it, and that he wanted to meet me. When I met him, he said he liked it because he thought that whoever had done those drawings was somebody who was interested in the movies, and that he had a film company, and that he would like to offer me a job — which I was very desirous of at the time; I was trying to find my way. He thought I would be a good animator, and I did animation for a while, but it introduced to me the whole field of film, which became my main medium, I guess.

How have you managed to adapt to cultural shifts and demonstrate them through art?

Well, I don’t adapt to anything, I just keep on going, fortunately.

Perhaps artists have adapted to you?

Well, it depends. There’s an exhibition that’s on at Ryerson [University] right now — I have a completely new piece in that, too, which is a production work.

And a lot of what I’ve done in the last 10 years has been gallery projection works, films and effect, which are shown in a gallery rather than in an auditorium. So, www.citylifemagazine.ca

432101234, 1969, chromed steel, aluminum, polyurethane foam, 27.6 x 59.2 x 68.0 cm.

AGO, gift of Michael Snow, Toronto, 2001 © Michael Snow 2012

I don’t know — I keep wandering away from your question, but it’s just that — my stuff has had such a variety that it’s kind of hard to pin down.

As a prominent artist for over 50 years, how have you remained relevant all along?

[Laughs]. That’s kind of an impossible question. I — I just keep on doing what I do, and go from one thing to the next, and hope it’s of interest.

Let’s go back to the beginning. Did you always know what your calling was?

Well, things happened. When I was in high school, I started playing music, playing jazz. And then I continued to do that and sometimes for a while I made my living from it, and I continued to do it. I studied art at the Ontario College

What’s up next for you?

I’m having a meeting this afternoon about a great big show I’m having at the Philadelphia Museum [of Art], which is a very distinguished museum in modern art history. The curator’s coming this afternoon, and this is one of several meetings in the last couple of years. The show will be in about a year from now, and it’s going to be a retrospective of my work with photography.

You’ve contributed works of art that have dramatically affected the art scene. What has been your biggest life achievement yet?

I think my biggest achievement is that I have been an artist for many years, and apparently I’m continuing to do good work, and some people think it’s great. It’s really nice. Actually, it’s more than nice.

Michael Snow’s “Objects of Vision” exhibit at the AGO has been recently extended to March 17, 2013.

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Photos Courtesy of the AGO

As a builder, is it your intention to convey a moment, a cultural insight, a mood?

No, it’s to make an experience for other people. It’s not an experience for me — of course, it is on the way in making it, because I have to find out what it does — but really, it’s to make a particular kind of experience that otherwise isn’t available.

Do you find that your approach has changed over the years?

Well, I work in many mediums.

Everything that I’ve done, I think, is sort of individual, and they came up out of different periods or different occasions. For example, I’ve done a lot of public sculpture, a lot of public art, like the flock of geese in the Eaton Centre. And there’s going to be a new project, actually, called Lightline, which will be on the Trump Tower at Bay and Adelaide. It’s still not completely ready, but we hope to have it started pretty soon. It’s a work that uses a vine of light that goes 60 storeys up the corner of the building and is visible for miles and miles. This is going to be a new work, and it’s completely different from anything I’ve done before.

of Art and Design here, and then by — a kind of maybe too-long story to tell — but by a very happy accident I was asked to take a job learning how to do film animation, this was around 1954.

And I hadn’t had any involvement with film before that, but all of a sudden I was introduced to film, and that really changed everything that I did, because I basically became a filmmaker.

Wish You Were Here’s book launch was captured by www.citylifeTV.ca

To everything there is a season; to every book there is a reason Written By Amanda Storey

Paper roses, www.etsy.com

TURN, TURN, TURN THIS IS PARIS

BY MIROSLAV SASEK In the tradition of Miroslav Sasek’s This is children’s series, This is Paris paints a playful picture of the city for little world travellers. With colourful images depicting favourite corners of Paris accompanied by charming, informative text, This is Paris will ignite a passion for travel — and for the City of Love — in young readers.

WISH YOU WERE HERE

BY FRANCESCA CAVALIERE When Vaughan resident Francesca Cavaliere lost her son to suicide, she made a vow to raise awareness on mental health.

Wish You Were Here is a true story of a family’s journey through tragedy and newfound hope. Published by Vaughan-based Dolce Book Publishing Inc., part proceeds from Wish You Were Here will go toward supporting the Suicide Studies Research Unit, Mental Health Services at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN BY MITCH ALBOM Warm up your holiday season with Mitch Albom’s beloved tale of life, death and the meaning of both. Through the character of Eddie, a Second World War veteran now working at an amusement park, Albom flies readers to the heavens for an enriching glimpse of the afterlife.

THE ROLLING STONES 50

BY MICK JAGGER , KEITH RICHARDS, CHARLIE WATTS & RONNIE WOOD July 12, 1962 found a musical foursome playing the blues in London’s smallish Marquee Club. Now, at half a century old, The Rolling Stones have stirred up pop culture and their music has touched the walls of the world’s largest stadiums. In this memoir, the band members scrawl out their reminiscences.

VIRGINIA WOLF

BY KYO MACLEAR Inspired by the friendship of author Virginia Woolf and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell, Virginia Wolf takes little readers by the hand and paints them a whimsical, magic-filled adventure that will open their minds and kindle their imaginations.

LITTLE PRINCES

BY CONOR GRENNAN When Conor Grennan makes the horrific discovery that the children at Little Princes Children’s Home in war-ravaged Nepal are not orphans but victims of human trafficking, he promises to deliver them safely home.

In Little Princes, Grennan shares his inspiring true tale of mending broken families and chasing freedom.

LONG WALK TO FREEDOM: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NELSON MANDELA BY NELSON MANDELA Get up-close-and-personal with one of the 20th century’s most coveted icons. In his autobiography, Mandela invites readers to track his influential footsteps, from his beginning in the humble tribal environment of his ancestors to his legendary resistance against the apartheid of South Africa.

HAPPIER AT HOME

BY GRETCHEN RUBIN There will be no need to try and escape the everyday after drinking in this novel by happiness expert Gretchen Rubin. In the wake of her bestselling novel The Happiness Project, Rubin logs her nine-month-long journey to rediscover the meaning of home, resulting in a hilarious, heartwarming piece of work that proves that there is no place like it.

FANCY NANCY: POET EXTRAORDINAIRE!

BY JANE O’CONNOR AND ROBIN PREISS GLASSER French fancy-pants Nancy Clancy is back with an entirely nouveau adventure that your little ones are sure to gobble up. With her usual playful flair and inviting illustrations, Jane O’Connor sends Nancy — and her miniature readers — on an inspiring quest to create the perfect poem.

ATLAS SHRUGGED

BY AYN RAND This classic dystopian novel will get your intellectual fires roaring. When America’s most productive minds retreat from society in protest of their government’s crushing regulations and taxations, the country falls to ruins — sending readers on a thrilling trek of mystery, philosophy, science fiction and romance.

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66 City Life Magazine Dec/Jan 2012/13

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