Hey, y'all, how's it fringing?

I mean, you are going to the Fringe, right? Trust me, the whole thing is just way too much fun to miss, especially when the fun is this affordable. You should not need further convincing, but in case you do, here is an extra incentive: you can recoup some of your Fringe ticket costs by trading your ticket stub for special deals and discounts at a number of Annex businesses . So if you have seen some plays already, I hope you haven't emptied your recycle bin yet.

Below are reviews for The Africans and Bus Stop Boogie.

With street theatre shows, Live Earth concert broadcasts (powered by green electricity), and dozens and dozens of exhibits showcasing environmentally-friendly products, today's Green Toronto Streetfest was a total blast! The event was well-attended without being overcrowded, the mood was joyous, and Yonge Street closed to motor traffic felt so... right. The ingenuity and the sheer number of the displays completely knocked the socks of my inner enviro-geek! From rooftop wind turbines to electric scooters to worms (yes, worms, those long wiggly thingies) for compost bins, the Streetfest had them all! And if you ever wanted to check out the colour temperature of light produced by energy-efficient bulbs or see if you could fit inside those tiny eco-friendly cars, today was your chance. (The cars, by the way, feel surprisingly roomy! And no, I'm not short!)

This coming Saturday a huge musical and environmental event is taking place: over 100 of some of the world's most popular musicians and bands will give Live Earth concerts all over the globe to promote awareness of the global warming and inspire folks to do something about it. If that sounds exciting, but your plans for the weekend don't happen to include a jaunt to Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Kyoto or any other concert locations, the next best thing has to be the live broadcast at Yonge-Dundas Square, between noon and 8 p.m., at the Green Toronto Streetfest. Isn't it nice when those giant screens are used for something other than ads, like these concerts or sci-fi flicks?

In addition to the broadcast, you'll get a chance to find out about environmentally-friendly products and services that are available locally, and learn about ways you can help fight the climate crisis. Yonge St. will be closed between Dundas and Shuter to make room for the festivities, so hop on the TTC or your bike - and see you at the green party!

Image: City of Toronto Green Toronto Streetfest poster

In case you didn't know, the City of Toronto annually publishes a free cycling map of the city, showing every single one of Toronto's bike lanes, bike paths and designated bike routes, as well as providing miscellaneous bike-related info such as bike store and bike locker locations and tips on safe cycling. The maps can be picked up at the City Hall, civic centres, community centres and many bike stores throughout the city. An online version is also available on the City's cycling website (although it hasn't been updated from 2006 yet).

Well, after a few weeks of delays, the 2007 edition of the map is finally out! It's got its share of inaccuracies and flaws, the most glaring being the lack of indication for one-way streets (are they trying to encourage wrong-way cyclists?) - but it's packed with tons of useful info and the price sure can't be beat. The map's greatest shortcoming, however, has nothing to do with quality of printing or accuracy of information. It's simply the unfortunate fact that the current map differs so little from the 2006 version, it was hardly worth printing.

I love beer. I love a sparkling lager on a hot summer day, I love a hearty stout on a cold winter day, I love a good pale ale on just about any day... So I jumped on the opportunity to cover a tour of five local breweries organized by the Ontario Craft Brewers, an association of 29 Ontario microbreweries that brew some truly exceptional world-class beer.

I admit that my desire to cover this event was stemming partly from ulterior motives (I wanted free beer!), but the main reason I wanted to write this piece was to give the local breweries more media coverage that they so richly deserve. Unlike the big companies who spend millions on advertising bland mass-produced product, the local craft brewers have little advertising budget. Their time and money goes into doing what they are passionate about: making amazing beer. So here you are: after the jump are profiles of five local breweries.

A Toronto councillor (Paul Ainslie, Ward 43) suggests banning the sale of spray paint to minors in an attempt to fight graffiti. If the proposal succeeds, stores would have to ID their customers before selling them spray paint, and perhaps even be required to keep the cans under lock and key. Some North American cities (including London, Ontario) have already adopted similar restrictions, while Chicago went even further, prohibiting the sale of spray paint to all private citizens.