The Toronto Zombie Walk was a frightful success this year. Over 3,000 zombies showed up at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto's west end and proceeded to saunter, shuffle and scare along Queen St. W. and up Bathurst to Bloor.

On my way to the park, I dropped by the Bazaar of the Bizarre, where chocolate brains and fresh eyeballs were to be had, as well as a wonderful variety of clothing and accessories. Among my favourite, the steampunk jewellery by Colleen Manestar's Clockwork Zero and steampunk clothing by Retro-G Couture.

But it was nearing 3 p.m. so it was time to head to the park. En route I was greeted by a werewolf with an iPod. A couple of lost 15-year-old kids eager to participate in their first zombie walk soon joined our entourage. The zombie walk phenomenon started in Toronto five years ago by event organizer Thea Munster (pictured below the werewolf photo) and has since taken cities around the world by storm.

Need a little Gothic something to add to your wardrobe or party outfit for Hallowe'en?

The Bazaar of the Bizarre is a hallowe'en and holiday marketplace this Sunday, organized by a Toronto arts-based collective known as The Royal Sarcophagus Society (The RSS).

You'll find exotic and macabre items from corsets, hats, tailcoats, horror t-shirts, jewellery and accessories to spooky dolls, pillows and divination products. There will also be eerie artwork, haunted sculptures, glass and metal art and some frighteningly good Hallowe'en chocolates.

Over 40 local artists, clothing designers, publishers and other local artisans will be represented at this eccentric emporium of curious crafts. The marketplace is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will offer free treats for the kids, a snack bar and a live painting by horror artist Peter Mihaichuck.

Following is a brief Q&A with "Creepy" Christine Stait-Gardner of The RSS.

The world's third largest cut diamond is coming to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as part of The Nature of Diamonds exhibit, opening to the public on October 25.

Invited to a special media preview of one of the most famous diamonds of the exhibit, I was surprised with the laissez-faire security. While there was plenty of museum security staff present, I witnessed no pat-down or ID check prior to my entrance into the ROM's Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall. I get scrutinized closer upon entry to some of the live music venues in Toronto.

After signing in, we made our way into the bowels of the ROM, where we were led to a 16-section steel walk-in gem vault, where all the bling was kept. In the middle of the vault was an empty showcase, where ROM preparator Sue Ventura was about to bring in the bling.

The Red Bull Street Style freestyle soccer championships crowned Scarborough native Jose Pena at the Canadian finals at The Great Hall yesterday.

"I practiced for three hours every day after school in preparation for this," said Pena after beating out Vancouver native Pablo Villalta in the final match.

Kneegrab, Shin Spin and Around the World were among the tricks performed by 16 finalists, culled from regional battles in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.

Kids as young as 13 wowed the crowd with their freestyling soccer ball skills, balancing the ball on their faces and doing acrobatic tricks with the ball that at times appeared to defy gravity.

Each round featured three minutes, two players and one ball. Possession of the ball had to alternate between players every 20 seconds. Pretty much anything is fair game, aside from using your hands and arms.

TTC bus and streetcar shelters finally got a facelift today.

About to get on the Queen streetcar just east of Landsdowne, I noticed a maintenance crew busily working at the spot previously occupied by a bus shelter that had been noticeably absent in recent weeks.

The new bus shelters are an extension of the TTC Next Train Arrival program announced last month that will bring us information such as when the next TTC vehicle is to arrive to the streets of Toronto. The displays on the new shelters will also feed us information on delays, helping us make decisions like "Should I wait for the next vehicle, take a cab or walk instead?"

Alison Moyet (formerly of Yaz) kicked off her first solo tour of North America in 14 years at Toronto's newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Theatre last night.

After a successful world tour (Yazoo: Reconnected) that saw her reunited with her old bandmate Vince Clarke of Erasure, I was hoping for a more electric show. Instead we were treated to a handful of hits from her Yaz days (Don't Go, Situation, Only You) interspersed among some lesser-known songs from her solo career, accompanied by a five-piece band.

The crowd was made up of nostalgic couples in their late thirties and forties, most of them men. Not too unlike the Blondie show earlier this year. It was great to see the enthusiastic crowd cheer her on, even though they were sparse in number. The venue could have easily held 1,500 but the show was less than half sold.

I didn't know whether to cringe or laugh when a particularly enthusiastic guy in the front row stood up after each song and hollered in approval, only to sit down again with the rest of the audience until the end of the next song. And so on. The entire show. It's nostalgic acts like this that bring out the giddy fanboy in all of us.