On Saturday, local authors and a range of publishers gathered at The Gladstone Hotel for the Small Press of Toronto Book Fair (or SPoT for short). In its 22nd year, the bi-annual event stocked shelves with a high calibre of printed works, from glossy books, to comics and zines, to arty chapbooks, handmade crafts, and more.

For the past week, City Hall was abuzz with artists and activists as councillors debated a new billboard bylaw. Strongly campaigned by the Beautiful City Alliance, this bylaw would regulate and tax outdoor advertising if passed. The outcome? Passed with flying colours, 29 votes to 12.

The One of a Kind Christmas Show and Sale is on until December 6 at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. The monolithic hall is crammed with all-things arts and craftsy, and having gotten a sneak peek at the show I've yet to get the delightful smell of vanilla potpourri out of my hair. I love the holidays.

Gamercamp invaded the Lower Ossington Theatre on Saturday.

The inaugural celebration of Toronto's gaming community featured speakers, demos, and even an arcade outfitted with the best retro games you can remember (plus the games you can't). The brightest of the city's indie devs came out to play, and play they did. (Devs is short for developers, n00b.)

The City of Toronto launched a design competition yesterday for the St. Lawrence Market fallout shelter, er, I mean, North Building. The competition brief calls for architectural teams to design plans that will replace the ugly and underused brown box of a building currently standing at Jarvis and Front with a new four-storey, multi purpose facility. It's about time.

Canzine returned at the Gladstone Hotel.

Brought to you by your friendly quarterly magazine Broken Pencil, Canzine is Canada's largest celebration of small press publishing and "alternative culture." Five bucks got me access to an all-day gigantic zine fair, interactive art installations, and a bunch of awesome activities, including a screen printing workshop... plus a free copy of BP's latest Olympics issue. Not bad for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I maneuvered the Melody Bar of The Gladstone in a daze (not sure if that was due to my previous night's festivities or because it was so packed with people). Over 150 kooky and creative zines were on display, from small press zines and comics to arts and crafts.