LOVELY LUBA AIR FARCE MAID, GLAD YOU WERE FREE TO TAKE SOME TEA WITH ME

A night on the town with Luba Goy, star of the Royal Canadian Air Farce, invariably turns into a Magical Mystery Tour. Last night, singer-actor Dorothy Post and I joined La Goy at one of her fave hang-outs, the Wish Cafe on Charles Street East, where she soon had the staff bending over to accommodate her every, erm, wish.

After a tasty meal, plus a brief interlude that consisted of a comparison of luxury lingerie (with Dorothy, not me, but who knew you could spend so much on a brassiere?!), we were off to catch Luba's friend and colleague Bruce Dow deliver a bravura performance in Tim Luscombe's Pig, given its impressive premiere at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre under the sure hand of director Brendan Healy. (If the MORE link doesn't work, click on BLOG above.)

In search of dessert and further adventure we soon landed at a Toronto landmark, Fran's on College Street, where we found ourselves sitting next to film/television actor Eve Crawford, who dropped in with artist/videographer Max Deans. That was how we chose our next stop in the night's madcap roundup: Max's Cancer Is Our Story, a riveting video installation featuring multiple hands and arms in tightly choreographed movements. The video, which repeatedly won applause from passersby, was a major Nuit Blanche exhibition on University Avenue across from Princess Margaret Hospital.

While there, La Goy was mauled by media-guru George Stroumboulopoulos, just one of thousands roaming the streets and checking out the artistic offerings on display. (BTW, Luba is a scheduled guest on George's show this Wednesday night on CBC--don't miss them!)

Of course, the night couldn't end there. We next grabbed a cab and swung all three blocks over to the Eaton Chelsea to round up my friend Eslam, who had just texted to say he was free. (The more the merrier!) Eslam, a veteran of the Libyan civil war, is currently receiving medical treatment in Toronto and has become a big fan of all the city has to offer. He knows Canada is a very cool country!

Cabbing it again, the four of us trekked off to city hall to view the extraordinary large-scale Ai WeiWei work, Forever Bicycles, made up of 3144 interlocked bikes erected at the centre of Nathan Phillips Square. Having seen the full Ai WeiWei exhibition currently on at the Art Gallery of Ontario, this final piece capped for me the work of one of today's most impressive and relevant living artists.

Thanks to the great weather, the square was packed well past 2 AM. I don't think it's ever looked so good. Come to think of it, the city hasn't been this much fun either for a very long time. But that's just what happens when you venture out with Luba Goy.

(All fotos by moi, except for the promo shot of actors Bruce Dow and Paul Dunn. Oh yeah, duh, and the one with me in it, taken by the Lovely Luba.)