Drum Circle Kicks Up New Dust On Old Ground
Odds are, unless you're an absolute drum circle diehard, you weren't standing in Trinity-Bellwoods park during Tuesday's vicious thunderstorm.
However, some of us were crazy enough to be there to mark the first outdoor drum circle of the year, and in a sense a new beginning for the whole thing. You may have heard of (or just plain heard) drum circle as it grew over the years as a word-of-mouth phenomenon, but this year things are a little different.
When the circles reached a certain size and level of popularity, the people living around Trinity started to take notice - whether they wanted to or not, and often into rather late hours for some people's Tuesdays.
The past few years have seen the drummers driven out of Trinity-Bellwoods Park entirely for a period, taking refuge in Queen's Park on nice nights and venues like the Big Bop, Dance Cave and Toronto Sprouts on less hospitable evenings.
The bowl at Trinity-Bellwoods has a certain something that none of those other places could match, though. I know I'll never forget the experience of coming to my first circle, crossing the dewy grass towards the pit and then reaching the edge and having the throbbing group of people come into view.
The organizers, both recognizing the value of this characteristic of the park and wanting to go back more than anyone else, decided to survey people in the area to find out how much support or opposition there was for the circle, and what specific complaints there were that might be able to be sorted out.
The vast majority of people responded in favour of the circle, praising the culture and life it brought to the community. The primary issues were how late it went, and how some of the people in attendance behaved. Based on this, the organizers went to the city and managed to secure a once-a-month permit for the event in its original home, provided that it wrapped up at 11 p.m. and no public drinking or other illegal/disruptive activity was taking place.
The winter chased the drummers inside, but now this year they've re-emerged having snagged an even better deal with the city. They now have a permit (based on the same rules) to hold a drum circle in the Trinity-Bellwoods bowl every other Tuesday, counting from May 15th.
As in: May 29th, June 12th & 26th, July 10 & 24th, August 7th & 21st, Sept. 4th & 18th
I had expected the first one to be a really big event, but when Mother Nature crashes a party, a lot less people tend to show up. If there was a crowd that could appreciate a good thunderstorm, though, it was definitely this one, and every crack of lightning gave another kick of energy to the circle.
I overheard people joking about the communal drenching being somewhat of a baptism for the newly reborn drum circle, and that really did fit. Everyone and everything got soaked to the bone, and people just responded by kicking off their shoes and dancing in the mud.
If that sounds like your kind of thing and you haven't been to a circle yet, definitely come check it out on one of the dates listed above. Bring a drum if you've got one, or another instrument if you like - the saxophone player this time was awesome.
Also, from June onwards, make sure to show up early to the park to peruse the Trinity-Bellwoods Farmer's Market, which will be open from 3 to 7 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Air'leth Aodhfin, who has more drum circle photos than you can shake a didgeridoo at.)
Comments (19)
will defo have to check it out... I hung out with some drummers/poi people while in NZ and had a blast
What about people who want to enjoy Trinity-Bellwoods park without a whole lot of annoying drumming going on? Ugh.
drum drum, dance, drum drum, dance. Ah I love observing the Hippy mating ritual. A very rare site indeed.
Like a few hours every other Tuesday is such a big sacrifice for those people that can't get into the spirit of things...
Anyhow, the article mentions "organizers" but, in my understanding, the permit-gathering and other details were a result of spontaneous organization i.e. some people just came forward as a necessity. The drum circle is about as close to "community organized" as I have ever experienced.
No: I recognize your disdain and your preference for a quieter park experience, but come on now. Obviously some members of the Trin-Bell. community want this to happen -- the organizers, as I understand it, petitioned door-to-door to make it happen in that spot again this year. And it's twice a month for a few hours in the evening, and over by 11. Plenty of time to enjoy the park outside of those hours if you prefer it that way. You can plan your park time accordingly.
Gerox: About those organizers: there are a few, Tim Gentle and Ari Lesk in particular to my knowledge, who have worked hard to get the permit (and insurance?) from the city. (Disclosure: both are friends of mine.) They solicit donations, organize communications, ensure compliance and spread the word with admirable leadership, I think. That said, yes, there is a community organization (along the ,a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leave_No_Trace">"Leave No Trace" lines) effort, but I think saying that folks like Tim, Ari and others who have stepped up to make sure this keeps happening did so only by "necessity" devalues their contributions to some degree. It's not often easy to be the person who steps up. Kudos, boys.
What about people who want to enjoy Trinity-Bellwoods park without a whole lot of annoying drumming going on? Ugh.
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1. Its every-other Thursday, for a few hours in the evening. That leaves you 28-29 days of the month to enjoy the park. On those two other days - there are still plenty of hours in the day to enjoy the park before they come in.
2. Part of the joys (and also troubles) of living in a city, is the wide array of events that happen.
Now and then an event may impose upon other people in the area - but that is the price you pay for living in the city.
I'm sure not everyone along Church street is thrilled about pride, and I know that I get a bit annoyed with the Cabbagetown Festival at times, and hell - I'm sure there are a few people along the danforth who dread 'taste of the danforth'. But for all the benefits that you have because you live in the city, a few hours (or days) if inconvenience is a small price to pay.
If you dont like cultural events creeping in on your personal space once in a blue moon, move back out to the burbs - its quieter out there.
I can't believe people are actually complaining about drummers doing their thing in a public park once in a blue moon. It's a gathering for music, it's culture, and it's fun.
I guess it's okay for the City to hand out permits allowing people to make noise in a city park. But what about noise in my house? When did the City gain jurisdiction over that? And when I say noise, I mean noise - shit sounds like some horrific industrial process, like a ten ton malfunctioning washing machine. That many white people should never be allowed to drum at one time, permit or no.
HI- there are no organizers-
this has been going on for years-
I began to get involved to deal with the police when they came in for noise complaints-
while a few people did show up to weekly meetings after we got shut down 2 years ago- I ended up meeting with the Deputy Mayor's office, The Friend's of Trinity Bellwoods, and interviewing all the neighbours on my own- {this year and last}
Separately when we were shut down Tim and Dev set up a mailing list and website to keep the group together (although they focused more on the drummers)- they worked to provide winter venues and stepped up by making announcements on a mailing list and leading the group to Queen's Park-
They are currently working on permits for other weeks- I secured the permits for Trinity this year (and am seeking alternate solutions as well)- Tim helped with some of the insurance and park communication side
They have in some form separated from me in terms of working together on 'organization'-
Ari
Amazing article Chris, I'm putting this one up buddy. Thanks for your mutual enthusiasm!
Once things began taking a toll, people began uniting to pay that toll to the community where the drum circles are hosted on a weekly basis. Prior to this season's drum circle, many participants of the drum circle at Queens park and Trinity Bellwoods commited themselves to clean up Trinity Bellwoods park.
I've been going to this thing for about a year and a half, definately not as involved as those who "organize" it. However with the evolution of facebook, I felt compelled to do my part and host the group for our major population on facebook. We're Drummers in Exile on the Toronto On network! The group consists of drummers, drum circle goers, and of course explicit details from the "organizers" themselves as to where we are each and every week.
Thank you all for supporting such an event in our multicultural diverse city.
I have to say, I really think it's weird how much people seem to complain about sound these days... I'm not sure at what point in human history we started to think that things like sound and light and whatever else ought to be 100% controllable and 100% controlled to suit our exact preferences... and always us personally over anyone else.
We all have to live in this same universe together, and beyond that, even on this same planet... and we all choose to live in this same city together. There are a huge number of us side by side in this little neck of the woods we call Toronto, and we're all busy doing different things at different times.
It's not quite 2099 yet, and we don't have environment-controlled pods surrounding everything.
As has been said, if you really want to live somewhere where you're surrounded by nothing and no one and can have total control over your artificial environment, I hear Vaughan's expanding.
Obviously we have to accept the sounds made by others here in the big city. But there are limits, and we have to respect those if we all want to get along. For example, imagine every other Tuesday for five months I pull into the lane behind where you live with a cement truck, and then, having got the thing fully cranked up, I throw a wheel chair, a shopping cart, a dozen bowling balls and some cowbells into it. Then I call it culture and start to dance. And if you complain, I suggest you move to Vaughn.
The thing is, there are alternatives. East of Strachan ave. south of King is a perfectly lush big green space behind Fort York where you can drum to your heart's content and nobody need hear it if they don't want to. I'll bring the cement truck.
Hi Matt,
Why don't you join us next Tuesday and try playing one of our drums - you might even like it.
Does this mean the circle no longer meets at Queen's Park on Tues? I was there around 730 last Tues & no one, unfortunately, showed up. I assumed another venue was lost but the news about Trinity is great.
Thanks for the write-up & any info you have, Nick.
We drummed in Queen's Park almost every Tuesday last summer without a permit, so this year we need one or it wouldn't last 30 minutes. Until we hear word back from the City, the non-TBP days we'll be upstairs of Lee's Palace in the Dance Cave, 529 Bloor W. 8pm-12:30am. 19+.
check the website for updates: www.drummersinexile.com
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