The club’s Kensington Market Tour was excellent. Despite the recent bout of cold weather that felt like it was becoming the norm for the city, the sky opened up for the club to enjoy a sunny and warm day in the heart of Toronto. We had a nice mix of veteran and new club members attend the event and our club’s Vice President, Martin Wojtowicz, provided a guided tour of Kensington Market from the perspective of a resident who has seen this part of the city evolve over the past quarter century.
Starting from what must be one of the best secret open spaces in downtown Toronto – the top of the Kensington public parking garage, we were provided a tour of the market, past and present. Fred Hopper provided a side story of when the Toronto HackLab (located in the market at the time) was believed to be under electronic surveillance by Canadian law enforcement during the G20 in 2010. Martin took us through the market and included a stop at the statue of Al Waxman, start of the Canadian sitcom King of Kensington in the late 1970s. Martin then took the tour to his garage where we got to see his latest Saab restoration projects and his famous 2000 Monte Carlo Yellow Viggen. We finished the event with a nice lunch at one of the market’s signature foodie hangouts, Rasta Pasta.
