Admission to nine of Toronto’s history museums is free throughout November. You can keep your coins at Colborne Lodge, Fort York National Historic Site, Gibson House Museum, Mackenzie House, Market Gallery, Montgomery’s Inn, Scarborough Museum, Spadina Museum and Todmorden Mills.
This opportunity feels like a teachable moment.
On occasion, I’ve had to field visitor’s questions about the city’s newness. These are tourists from places with deep histories, like Barcelona 2,000 years deep, and there’s an air of haughtiness when they stack that up against the city we know as Toronto’s relatively measly 224 years.
I’ve often wished I was armed with solid facts that speak to our complex history. (Mentioning that Indigenous peoples have inhabited the land the city sits on for at least 10,000 years is a solid start.) But true to form for a city whose denizens hesitate to travel lengths along the subway line, I’ve never visited the history museums to up my education.
Join me in changing that. Mackenzie Investments is footing the bill for all this free-ness. Here are five events and exhibitions to check out.
1. Challenge the Scarborough Museum staff to a cook off
Like a televised cooking show with a survivalist premise, Canadian Taste Buds pits amateur cooks, Scarborough Museum kitchen staff and community youth chefs against an old-school wood stove and open hearth. Will cherished family recipes meant for electric stoves fare against an open flame? Sample the results and deliver your verdict. Part of weekend culinary fest Canada Cooks, Toronto Eats.
November 4 & 5, noon-5 pm, Scarborough Museum (1007 Brimley), 416-338-8807
2. Make a map of Canadian identity at Spadina Museum
Toronto is an immigrant city teeming with stories of migration. Contribute yours to artist Xenia Gonzalez’s collaborative project Our Journey: An Art Map Of Canadian Identity. Your illustrated origin story will appear on a large-scale map, which pays homage to diverse communities while acknowledging that it stands on Indigenous land.
Through December 31, noon to 4 pm (Tuesday to Friday) noon-5 pm (Saturday to Sunday), Spadina Museum (285 Spadina), 416-392-6910
3. Learn recipes from Canada’s first English-language cookbook at Fort York
Fort York’s Cooking For The Officers – a part of Canada Cooks, Toronto Eats – conjures images of regulation barrack’s food. But the live cooking demos and food and drink samples may prove more adventurous. The recipes come from the first English-language cookbook published in Canada back in 1831. It’s called – take a deep breath for this one – The Cook Not Mad, Or Rational Cookery Being A Collection Of Original And Selected Receipts, Embracing Not Only The Art Of Curing Various Kinds Of Meats And Vegetables For Future Use, But Of Cooking, In Its General Acceptation, To The Taste, Habits, And Degrees Of Luxury Prevalent With The Canadian Public.
November 4 & 5, noon-5 pm, Fort York National Historic Site (250 Fort York), 416-392-6907
4. Remember department-store-employees-turned-soldiers at Mackenzie House
During WWI, 3,327 Eaton’s employees enlisted to fight. Whenever one of them was shipped overseas, the department store would display the soldier’s photo. Two thousand portraits survive, and Mackenzie House staff is unearthing the forgotten stories behind them in the exhibit Eaton’s Goes To War: Family, Memory & Meaning. Find out who the men were and what became of them.
Through January 31, noon to 4 pm (Tuesday to Friday) noon-5 pm (Saturday to Sunday), Mackenzie House (82 Bond), 416-392-6915
5. Learn about the maple leaf’s history as a brand icon at Market Gallery
The maple leaf has been synonymous with Canada ever since it was chosen to adorn the flag in 1965. The artifact-rich exhibit Maple Leaf Forever: Toronto’s Take On A National Symbol looks at Toronto’s role in that process, including the ways the leaf was incorporated into commercial and industrial branding throughout the 20th century.
Through November 25, 10 am to 4 pm (Tuesday to Friday) 9 am to 4 pm (Saturday), Market Gallery (2nd floor, St. Lawrence Market, 95 Front East), 416-392-7604
For more information, visit the city’s website.
