For the first time in a very long time, a story about architectural heritage looks like it might have a happy - and relatively swift - ending. Nearly a month ago, two WW2-era airplane hangars on what was once an active air force base in Downsview began to be demolished, but thanks to their prominent location, they got noticed by the right people.

Built by De Havilland of Canada in the final years of the war, the two massive airplane hangars were once located among farms, miles away from Toronto's city limits, but today they're near the intersection of Dufferin and Sheppard streets, just north of the 401 and west of the Allen Expressway, just across the street from the Downsview terminus of the Spadina subway line. They're hard to miss, and it's no surprise that they caught the attention of Paul Oberman, a property developer notable for his willingness to take on and restore heritage properties.

Nitin is a Toronto-based house/techno DJ/producer who has been moving up the international ranks thanks to his new Silent Scales EP on local underground label No. 19. Renowned producer Osunlade lends his popular touch to Nitin's new track which has been played by some of the biggest names in electronic music.

Nitin is part of an amazing underground tech house movement going on in the city right now. Quality events are being put on by people dedicated to making every night count - and top international talent are pouring into this scene.

Nitin is DJing three big events this week alongside M.A.N.D.Y. (last night), Audion (aka Matthew Dear from Detroit), and Cassy (from Berlin). I spoke to Nitin about these big gigs, his influences, and his neighbourhood.

I don't watch a lot of Citytv programming but when I do I inevitably get nailed with a Cashman commercial. You know, the one with the dancing girls, club beats and aging Russell "Cashman" Oliver wanting to trade cash for my used gold and jewellery. His ads have been running for years and actually have garnered him a fair amount of publicity including an interview on CBC last year when DC Comics sued him for one that had a Superman theme.

His ads keep appearing which means they must be successful enough for him to keep paying his bills. When Terry O'Reilly, famed ad man on CBC Radio's the Age of Persuasion spoke at Marketing Week in Toronto last week I fugured he'd be the perfect person to ask about them. Keep reading for our Q&A in which we discuss these ads plus other salient Toronto advertising related topics like marketing the city, ad creep and the influx of illegal advertising.

The Toronto Gourmet Food & Wine Show is on this weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. I checked out the official opening last night, and I will say this: if you plan on attending this weekend, you better put your game face on.

Between the good old fashioned grape stomp, celebrity guests on the Food Network stage, 23 tutored tasting sessions, a mixology pavilion, a Portuguese culinary extravaganza and almost 200 exhibitors there is tons to see, taste and do.

Photo: "Korean Fried Dumpling" by Pete A. McLeod, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.

Events on Toronto's Radar for FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2009... lovingly handpicked from blogTO's events calendar.

FASHION | R4 Fashion
Style and eco-consciousness come together in this event put on by the University of Waterloo's Sustainable Technology Education Project. Some of Canada's top fashion designers including Carrie Hayes, Sonja den Elzen and Rachel Jasmine Chan will present designs that are as sustainable as they are sexy. The event brings together students, young professionals, industry leaders and fashionistas with the goal of finding eco-friendly technologies for the fashion industry.
Atlantis Pavillion, 955 Lakeshore Blvd. W., $25 - $70, 8 pm

GALLERY | 52 McCaul Grand Opening "$20"
A new gallery opens tonight in the art-rich neighbourhood centred around the AGO. 52 McCaul aims to be a different kind of artspace; a cultural hub that will connect local artists with the community and will feature work from both experienced and emerging artists (and everyone in between). At their grand opening tonight you'll have a chance to buy a wide variety of works each for the very reasonable price of $20, with all proceeds going to fund the gallery. The new gallery is a joint initiative by grassroots art organization Well and Good and curators Teresa Aversi and Charlie Irani.
52 McCaul St., Free admission, 7 pm - 12 am

EXHIBITION | The Everything To Do With Sex Show
This weekend the ETDWSS will be stimulating the body and soul (but mostly the body) at Exhibition Place with all the best of everything related to getting it on. A fashion show and carnival parade, body spray art demonstrations, seminars on how to find the perfect sex toy, and even a full scale dungeon are but some of the highlights that have made this one of the biggest shows of its kind in the world. Sure to be a very naughty weekend. Runs til Sunday.
Direct Energy Centre, 100 Princes Blvd., $20-$25 single day, $27.50-$35 weekend pass, Friday 3 pm - 12 am, Saturday 11 am - 12 am, Sunday 11 am - 6 pm

Photo: "Hot Dog On Xpro" by Metrix X, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

In their awful week, the TTC tried to ensure all blame for the Yonge Street subway shutdown was placed with Enbridge and their contractor, but now Enbridge is pushing back, saying the City of Toronto authorized the work. But the transit agency can't just focus there, they're also getting questions about why collectors let customers pay their fare without informing them they couldn't get on a train or get as far as they needed. Basically, the week just gets worse for the Red Rocket.

Councillor Joe Mihevc wants us to talk about issues, not just who's running for mayor next year, and is even having a public meeting next week to figure out which issues are on peoples' minds. He went so far as to set up a Setting the Agenda 2010 website so we can all discuss. Seems a laudable goal, but will people participate?

The American school of before-Christmas sales and discounts seems to be migrating north in the face of the sad worldwide economy. Look for Sears and Wal-Mart to start a big head-to-head price war: Sears is offering Boxing Day prices all weekend while Wal-Mart has a price reduction strategy that will see 18,000 prices drop in November. Small, independent retailers won't like this news, but none of the Canadian retailers will be happy if Canadians head to the U.S. for American Thanksgiving next week with such strong Canadian currency in hand to take advantage of the traditionally deep discounts.